#also look not to nitpick but there were like ten people standing there right? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bittersweetmelxdy · 3 years

Text

the other end of my scarlet thread...

Words: 4,255

Summary: Every year at midnight of Christmas Night, everyone is able to see the red string of fate connecting them to their soulmate. Y/N has spent the last few years, chasing hers with no avail and is just about to give up, and simply spends her Christmas at the LFG company party, and then goes home alone. Victor has known who his soulmate is since the first year Y/N joined the company, however that was also the year he heard Y/N say in a drunken ramble (due to spiked punch) say that in a tier list of ‘who she’d date in LFG’, Victor didn’t even make the list. This year he plans not only to get on that list, but to be her only option.

Merry Christmas @chibienvychan03, I’m your Secret Santa, I hope you enjoy it <3

Standing in the lobby of LFG, you tried to psyche yourself up to deliver the report to Victor, it would be your last report this year and you and your team had spent countless sleepless nights writing and refining the report so you could hopefully end the year on a glowing report. However, knowing Victor’s nitpicking tendencies you had literally stressed about this all night and even on the drive up to LFG, you had practiced the report with Anna, adding answers to questions you felt Victor would ask. However, the time had come, and Goldman walking up to you signaled that Victor was ready to see you.

“You look like death warmed up.” Goldman said as he got close to you.

“Gee, Goldman glad to see you too.” you replied playfully.

“I’m serious, you look even worse than the very first Christmas party you attended at LFG and you were so drunk.”

“Remind me, not to trust the communal punch bowl again.” you groaned, rubbing your forehead as if to banish the memory from you.

“Though I have to say, I didn’t think you’d have even less of a filter drunk than you did sober, it was pretty entertaining.” Goldman nudged you, as he laughed, “I mean that tier list, I didn’t even know you knew the main employees at LFG.”

“Of course, I do, I make a point to know all the people I interact with.” you said in a prideful tone.

Goldman scoffed, “Sure, you’re such a model business partner, you should give lessons.”

“I think you’re just mad I only put you as a ‘B’ on my list.” you stuck your tongue out at him.

“I wouldn’t date you if you paid me.” Goldman threw back, at your scandalised gasp, “I think everyone was more shocked our CEO wasn’t even on your list.”

“There is no way I’d go out with a man who doesn’t even call me by my own name.” you pouted.

“Don’t you think maybe it’s just affectionate teasing?” Goldman asked.

“You’re on thin ice Goldman, keep talking and you won’t be getting away of my famous gingerbread.” you threatened, pointing a finger in his face, as you both stopped in front of Victor’s office.

Goldman grabbed the finger lightly, moving it from his face, “Alright, alright, I’ll stop. Go and give your report.”

You turned your head, noticing you had reached your destination, and quickly stepped away from Goldman. Fixing your appearance and taking a deep breath, after throwing a final glare at Goldman you raised your hand and knocked thrice on the door. After a minute you heard a deep “Come in.” and you stepped over the threshold to accept your fate.

After you finished your report, having answered ten grueling questions from Victor, and barely stuttering through the questions that despite your careful planning you somehow hadn’t prepared for. You now stood with bated breath, wondering why Victor hadn’t let you leave yet, as you shifted your weight from foot to foot as the silence grew between you. Watching Victor shuffle his papers and sign documents you kicked the floor slightly with the toe of your shoe, the slight noise alerting Victor.

“Hey, take a seat, I’ll be done in a minute and I’ll give you a lift back.” Victor gestured at the couch in the side of his office, and without waiting for your response went back to work.

Swallowing the barb dancing on the tip of your tongue, you walked over and plopped down on the couch, pulling out your phone to watch some videos whilst you waited for Victor. After a few minutes, you suddenly felt your phone being pulled slightly out of your grasp, and looking up you noticed Victor hovering over you, already dressed in his coat.

“Come on Dummy, let’s go.” Victor called and then stood back to his full height turning around to walk back to his desk to pick up his briefcase and file folder.

You couldn’t help admiring the fine figure Victor cut in his winter get up, checking him out but quickly averting your eyes when he faced you once again. Standing up, you smoothed your outfit and then followed Victor, thanking him as he opened the door for you to exit the office. Passing through the corridors you passed Goldman, who seeing you with the CEO raised an eyebrow at you, but just as you took a deep breath to yell at him, he quickly called out.

“Remember, I don’t eat peppermint.” Goldman said patting you on the shoulder before leaving quickly before you could retort.

Shaking you head, huffing out a laugh and rolling your eyes as Victor behind you furrowed his brows casting his eyes between you and Goldman in confusion. However, he didn’t breach the subject until you were both sitting in his car and as he drove you home.

“So... what did Goldman mean?” Victor coughed once and glanced at you almost bashfully, but all this was lost on you as you kept your eyes on the scenery outside of the window.

“Oh, I bake a whole batch of gingerbread every year for my friends and stuff. And I do different flavour combinations for different people depending on their taste.

“You bake, does it taste good?” Victor said, and sadly his intended tease fell flat at your response.

“It’s good enough for people who aren’t gourmet chefs at least.” you threw back spitefully, and Victor winced slightly, deciding to change the topic instead.

“Anyway... you got any plans for Christmas?” Victor asked.

Deciding to cut him some slack, you humoured him in the change of subject, “No plans, apart from the LFG Christmas Party.”

“No... no plans with your soulmate?”

You laughed bitterly, raising your left hand to stare at your pinky finger, “I’ve spent years chasing after them and he obviously doesn’t want to find me, I think after this year, I’m just going to give up.”

Victor choked on his breath as he stopped outside your apartment building, turning to look at you with slight panic in his eyes, “What if he IS looking for you, right now?” he asked. You shrugged unbuckling your seatbelt and hopping out of his car, not answering his question you then shut the car door, turning to enter your building, missing how Victor stared at your retreating figure with determination in his eyes.

A few days passed and you found yourself navigating the supermarket at an ungodly hour of 1am so that you it was finally quiet and the only people accompanying you were tired college students and insomniacs. You picked up a basket, yawning as you walked through the automatic doors, before first navigating through the fruit and veg aisles, to pick up fresh ginger, oranges and other ingredients. You snapped a quick picture of the empty aisles, uploading it to your Moments with a yawning and sleepy emoji as the caption alongside the words, ‘Night Owl’, as you entered the dairy section. Crouching down in front of the various pots of double cream, you unlocked your phone to check the quantities you needed when you felt a cool sensation atop your head. Looking up, to your surprise, was Victor standing next to you, still dressed impeccably, a stark contrast to your very casual outfit. Grabbing the appropriate double cream containers and carefully placing them in your basket, you stood, and Victor placed a can of tea in your hands, before bending slightly and picking up your heavy basket with ease.

“You need anything else?” Victor asked softly, and you tilted your head as you once again saw the rare appearance of “soft Victor”, something that never failed to make you heartbeat race.

“Ah... um...” You stopped and collected your thoughts under Victor’s amused gaze, “No, I think I got everything. How come you’re here I thought you preached “8 hours of sleep a day”, and “if you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll continue to make stupid mistakes”.” during your quotations you deepened your voice to mimic Victor, before realising that it wasn’t the best idea to mock the prime investor of your company and you covered your mouth with your hands.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” you apologised quickly, looking in the opposite direction of Victor.

Victor sighed, switching the basket to the outside and reaching out he placed his larger hand atop your head, ruffling your tresses affectionately, “If you have time to practice impressions of me, you should instead put that energy into proofreading your report.” you looked up and stared as Victor smiled softly at you, but you chalked it up to your sleepy state, and you spent the next half hour wandering the aisles of the deserted supermarket with Victor, picking up various ingredients and supplies, and finally once you reached the checkout, as you fumbled in your purse for your wallet, Victor took the opportunity to swipe his black card and pay for your groceries.

Leaving the supermarket holding the lighter of your bags, you turned to Victor to admonish him for his act, “Victor, I could’ve paid you know!”

“I know that, just thought I’d help you out.” Victor shrugged before raising a hand to halt your open mouth, “No, you do not need to pay me back,”

You shut your mouth, and after a couple beats of silence, you erupted in giggles as Victor watching you also began to laugh at the silliness of the whole situation. Your combined breaths swirling around you both in white whisps, as you both calmed down. Once you had both regained your composure, you extended your hand out for Victor to return the bag to you so you can go home. But to your surprise Victor shook his head silently at you and then grabbed your right hand, leading you over to his car. As you walked the short distance in the still night blanketing Loveland City, you furrowed your brow as you felt a weird tingling feeling in your left pinky and looking down there was no visible change but shaking you head you dispelled such thoughts and simply followed the CEO with full trust.

A few more days passed, and you were window shopping in the New Light Mall, looking for a dress for the LFG Christmas Party. You had planned to just recycle a dress you already owned with a different jacket and some new accessories, but to your horror you noticed it had a stain on it, and it was in a pretty noticeable spot. Taking it to the drycleaners, the workers sadly informed that due to the holiday season, they would be unable to get it back to you before the Christmas Party date, knowing it was a fruitless endeavour, you apologised to the workers but still left the dress with them so you could at least have a clean dress for the next fancy function.

Leading you to the current predicament, aimlessly wandering through the shopping centre, window shopping and hoping something would catch your eye. After an hour of searching, you were just about ready to give up when a simple dress caught your eye. Approaching the window, you noted that although the dress seemed simple in its cut and style, the choice of slightly shimmery satin gave it an air of elegance, and even better because of the simple but fashionable cut you could easily rewear the dress and change the look with different accessories. Casting your eyes to the side of the mannequin you saw a small plaque with the pricing of the dress, and your eyes lit up seeing it was an affordable price. Entering the store, you prayed silently that the store would carry your size, and lo and behold, it did. You held the dress up against your figure, as you watched yourself in the full-view mirror, giggling lightly and swishing out the skirt to admire the cut.

After purchasing the dress, you noted the sky had grown dark and as you left the shopping centre you decided to take a detour through Creek Ancient Street where you knew there was a light display, before heading home. Just from approaching the bridge that led into Creek Ancient Street you could see the steady stream of people and the faint glow of the Christmas lights. Skipping your way past the colourful market stalls and following the pathway of lights, you found yourself in front of a large tree in the middle of the crossroads. The silver lights twinkled in the branches and in the darkness, it looked like scattered stars and casting your eyes to the side you saw that for a small price you could purchase a small ornament which you could attach a written wish to and then you could hang it on the tree’s branches. Walking towards the stall vendor, you examined the rows upon rows of Christmas ornaments, before spotting a small, cute snowman that wore a simple santa hat and a red sparkly bow around its neck. Pointing at it you asked for the vendor to take it down for you, when the vendor’s comment made you pause.

“Miss, this snowman comes in a pair would you like to buy the other one too?” the vendor handed you the smaller snowman, and then retrieved the snowman’s counterpart, a taller snowman with a deep red scarf, black hat and thick eyebrows, and showed him to you.

Looking at how well the pair looked together, you felt awkward in splitting them up, so you were about to hand the snowman back when a large hand appeared over your shoulder and plucked the snowman out of the vendors hand, replacing it with money to cover both ornaments. Turning your head quickly, your eyes widened as the sight of Victor, who simply thanked the vendor, who smiled in thanks for the purchase, and then he spun you around and led you over to the tree.

“Victor, what are you doing here?” you questioned.

“Just passing by.” Victor coughed into his fist and averted his eyes, and you could be mistaken but in the low hazy lighting you were almost certain that the red on the tips of his ears was out of embarrassment rather than the cold.

You squinted in skepticism at Victor’s response, with how far away you were from LFG it seemed unlikely that Victor was simply “passing by”. But shrugging you turned your eyes to the ornament and after running over the snowman with your thumb, you uncapped a pen from the jar on a table next to the tree and thought about your wish.

“You not going to wish to meet your soulmate?” Victor asked.

Noting this was the second time in the last week Victor had brought this up you queried him, “Why are you so interested in my soulmate?”

“Maybe finding your soulmate will make you better at your work.” Victor teased, poking you directly in the middle of your forehead.

“Hey!” you rubbed your forehead pouting, “What about you?”

“What about me?” Victor asked, not watching you but instead finishing to write his wish.

“Is your wish about finding your soulmate?”

Victor stopped looked at you for a few seconds, before reaching up and hanging his ornament on the tree branch before answering with a simple, “Something like that.”

You hurriedly finished your wish with hopes of the coming year to make your father proud, and whilst handing the ornament to Victor your fingers brushed his palm, and as he turned to hang your ornament next to his you felt that tingling sensation in your pinky finger once again. Thinking it was simply pin and needles you rubbed it with your other hand until the feeling faded once again.

Stepping into the rented, lavishly decorated rented hall that was the location of the LFG Christmas Party, you marveled at the decorations, snapping pictures of the decorations to quickly add to your Moments. When you felt a hand on your shoulder, and you jumped with a small yelp.

“Goldman!” you called, spinning around, and seeing the drink in his hand you looked around for a waiter.

“Don't even think about it, the waiters know not to give you any alcohol.” Goldman told you.

“Come on, one glass.” you pouted.

“Talk to me when you stop being a lightweight.” Goldman deadpanned, despite your sad puppy dog eyes, “Anyway don’t you want to spend one party sober so you can find you soulmate?”

You scoffed, “Fine, but when I don’t find him, you owe me.” you pointed at him accusatorily.

Goldman nodded and then you and him after a short conversation, you both parted and you spent the next few hours talking to various employees of LFG, and taking some fun selfies with Kiki, Willow and Anna. Finally, as midnight drew closer your social battery was running low and you made your way over a deserted balcony, and you sighed leaning your arms on the railing.

“Please tell me no-one gave you alcohol.” a deep baritone cut through your reverie, and you opened your eyes to watch as he approached you and at your shiver Victor began to take off his coat, reaching to put it around your shoulders.

“Shouldn’t you save this behaviour for your soulmate?” You teased.

“Be worried about a certain Dummy’s health isn’t something my soulmate would get mad at me about.” Victor threw back, his tone softer than usual but you felt this was due to the festive period.

You sighed, casting your eyes to the stars twinkling above, “How come you’re so calm?”

“Sorry?”

“Most people your age seem more concerned that they haven't found their soulmate.” you mused.

“My age?” Victor teased, standing next to you and placing a hand next to your elbow, so he could lean over you slightly, “Am I so old to you?”

“You know what I mean.” you rolled our eyes.

“Aren’t people YOUR age still full of hopeless fantasies about your soulmates?”

��Yeah, some of us aren’t.” you sighed, drawing a circle on the stone railing.

“Really, with an imagination like yours I’d expect you had your whole future planned out by now.”

“I did once,” you smiled, rested your hands flat against the railing and leaned backwards, “I still have the scrapbook I made with my high school friends, it may seem silly but it was really fun at the time.” you didn’t know why, but you suddenly felt you had to justify embarrassing younger self to Victor.

Victor reached out and placed it on your head, stroking your hair gently, “It’s not silly, not at all.” his soft tone, caused a heat to prickle under your cheeks.

“Thanks Victor, you’re really sweet when you want to be.”

“I’m glad even someone like you can see my good points.”

You scoffed, “You’re a good guy Victor, anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“Even you?”

You laughed, “Yeah even m-”

The clock struck midnight, and you looked down seeing a bright scarlet thread materialise around your left pinky finger, a neat little bow adorning it. Following the thread with your eyes, to your absolute horror for the first time in your life you saw the end of the red thread, neatly tied around Victor’s finger. You felt like ice cold water had been poured down your back, and you felt faint, stumbling backwards as you realised the only one who was shocked was you.

You lifted your trembling left index finger, pointing it Victor, “Y-y-y-you knew?”

Victor realising this was going south, tried to placate you, “Listen y/n-”

“How long?”

“...”

“How long, Victor!”

“... the first year you collaborated with LFG.”

“It must have been real fun for you, to string me along whilst you laughed behind my back.”

“No, that’s not it.” Victor took a step towards you, but you shook your head, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, stepping back once more, you ripped his jacket from your shoulders throwing it haphazardly at Victor’s face, before fleeing the venue.

Reaching home, you threw yourself on your bed not bothering to take off any of your clothes and started sobbing into your pillow. It wasn’t that you were disappointed in WHO your soulmate was, in fact part of your tears were full of relief, knowing that the guy you were beginning to fall for was your soulmate. Now the guilty feelings that were beginning to surface, that you were betraying your soulmate could be put to rest. You rolled over onto your back, teary eyes staring at your ceiling and hugging your pillow tightly to your chest. ‘What am I going to do now?’ you wondered closing your eyes and slipping off into a dreamless sleep.

You had spent the last week, avoiding Victor at all costs. If you had a meeting at LFG, Anna subbed in for you, saw him in the corridor, you hid behind a potted plant until you were certain he had gone. you had even recruited Goldman to give you updates on Victor’s movements, and although he had no idea what was going on, bless his heart he was still helping you avoid his boss.

You sighed, leaning against the wall of an empty hallway in LFG on New Year’s Eve with Goldman staring at you confused.

“So... why are you avoiding the boss?” Goldman asked, passing you a water bottle from the vending machine.

“Hah... I... Goldman I-”

“So, you found out?”

You whipped your head up to look at Goldman where he stood next to you taking a sip of his own water bottle, “Y-y-y-you knew?”

Goldman shook his head, “Not for definite but I had a feeling, most of the office did, there’s still an active betting pool on when the two of you are going to finally get together.”

You felt the heat prickle in your cheeks, “A-a-are you part of it?”

Goldman snorted lightly, and offered no response, which meant he was definitely in on it, “Do you like him?”

“Who? Victor?”

“No, the other CEO who’s your soulmate.” Goldman deadpanned.

“I... I do, it’s just he never-”

“For someone who runs around talking about how everyone has different love languages, you really fail to see when someone’s speaking yours.” Goldman pushed off the wall and stood in front of you, “I know I poke fun at you at lot, but I mean it when I say please don’t do that thing you do when you run away from your problems.”

“I don’t-”

“Y/N.” Goldman said sternly.

You sighed again, watching out the window at the city lights blinking as the city prepared to celebrate the new year. “I’ll think about it.” you finished the conversation there and made your way into the streets of Loveland City.

After aimlessly walking around the streets of Loveland City, your heart twinging with sadness every time you passed a happy couple snuggled up to each other whispering softly to each other in the wintery air. In a strange coincidence you ended up back at the large Christmas tree where you had bought the ornament. As you approached the tree you noticed that the shop vendors were taking down some of the ornaments and by chance the vendor you had bought the snowman from the first time spotted you and waved you over.

“Miss!” he called smiling at you brightly.

“Hello.” catching his infectious energy you smile brightly in return, “How come the ornaments are coming down?”

“City Council wants to take down some of the ornaments, so we don’t harm the tree, but I’m glad I caught you.” he then handed the two snowman you and Victor had bought over to you.

“Um, this one isn’t mine...” you started.

“Could you pass it to the gentleman that came with you?” the vendor smiled and then ran off before you could clarify to the vendor that you and Victor weren’t like that.

‘Yet’ your mind whispered, and you shook your head vehemently as if to shake it out of your head.

Stepping into the square, you saw that the minute countdown had started for the new year and you stood stock still amidst the happy people anticipating the new year, caressing Victor’s snowman with your thumb, before the crinkling of the paper caught your eye. Your curiosity winning over your conscience, caused you to turn the paper over to see in Victor’s neat handwriting.

“Please let Y/N, love me back.” a deep baritone voice was heard above you, and you looked up in surprise to catch Victor’s soft eyes.

“Victor?” you whispered, as he approached you, his large hands reaching out to hold your cold cheeks.

“You never let me finish, before you ran off.” Victor said, “I’ve known since the first year, but you got drunk and wouldn’t even put me of your list of people you would date in the company, I’ve spent few years trying to get you to see me in the way I see you.”

“You like me too?” you said in disbelief, the multiple times that Victor was sharp with you flashing through your eyes before overlapping with all the times he was soft with you.

The countdown hit zero as Victor rested his forehead against yours, and as the cheers of the public became background noise around you as the only thing you could hear was Victor’s deep voice saying sincerely to you.

“Dummy, since the moment I met you, I’ve been waiting for you to see the light.”

#mlqc scenarios #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc zen #mr love queen's choice #mr love victor #mr love li zeyan #mr love zen #koi to producer #love x evol #mlqc

78 notes · View notes

eternalpassions · 3 years

Text

He’s a Beast!

Summary: Kagome's life changes forever as her brother Sesshoumaru makes his way back into her life. What happens when two siblings with unlikable personalities are forced to live together? A tale of a beautiful beast and a tomboyish Belle.

Warnings: Incest, Language, Mentions of homophobia, suggestiveness

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30752492

@chierafied

My Kagome Art

Kagome frowns at her reflection, annoyed, and a bit angry for a few reasons: one being she has to dress feminine which she doesn't normally do. She’s tried being feminine, it just doesn't work. Her hair always sticks out on all sides no matter how she fixes it. She can't walk in heels even if her life depended on it. She prefers wearing straight-cut jeans, tennis shoes, and hoodies.The only reason why she’s kept her hair long all this time is because her stupid parents and stupid best friend Inuyasha told her not to cut it because she’d look “funny”.

Snorting at her reflection she plucks at a fly-away hair. Tugging at the dress she was wearing, feeling completely out of her element in the 3-inch heels she absolutely refused to wear the stockings her mother had provided. Glancing over to where they lay on the dresser she sneered at them.

The only reason why Kagome is wearing this ridiculous outfit today is because she is being forced by her parents for the occasion. Which brings her to the other reason why she is so put out right now...her stupid brother Sesshomaru.

The brother who she hardly knew besides a few old rusty memories. She remembers her being pushed high in the swings when she was younger, her older brother gathering his full force to send her flying into the sky with her hair dancing in her face, laughing uncontrollably, and his small smile behind her.

It has been ten years since she has seen him. They used to be close when she was little, but now he was practically a stranger to her. He moved out of the house when he turned 18 she was just a child at the age of 10 then. When he left it was like he had cut all ties, the memories she had she packed away never to look back on again. When he left it hurt, she had missed him at one point but now it was like she was an only child honestly sometimes she forgot that she wasn’t an only child.

He moved into a big bustling city for university leaving behind his old home in the rural countryside. When he had finished school he stayed in the city to attend law school snagging a top-shot position at some big firm. After that, he was nowhere to be seen except for the occasional holiday and those were rare, she could count on one hand the times she had seen him since he moved out.

His lavish life with High society, big fancy events, and other vain things he never bothered keeping in touch with her. Her brows knit together as a frown further marred her face at the thought of how he probably thought he was too good for the life he left behind.

What’s worse is that even when he did decide to grace his old home with his presence, he hardly acknowledged her. The only thing he would do was greet her shortly by saying her name as he walked by.

Had he always been so stoic?

His demeanor put her off, he felt so cold, callous, and uncaring. It was so different from the brother of her memories. It was like he was a completely different person.

How did he make it through life with that kind of personality?

“Stupid brother” She muttered to herself.

A knock on her door brought her out of her bitter thoughts. She turned towards it and sighed

“Kagome, hurry up! Everyone is waiting! What’s taking so long?” Her mom scolds from behind the door.

“Yea, yea I’m almost done” Kagome grumbles

She hears the muffled sigh before her mom adds “Don't even think about coming down with an attitude either.”

‘Hmph’ Kagome thinks to herself as she crosses her arms indignantly. Knowing herself as she did, she didn't know if she could really make it through this night without showing a bit of ‘attitude’. She was supposed to get all dolled up to see her brother who really just seemed like some extended family member that no one really knew or cared about.

Kagome walks out the door stumbling slightly, catching herself on the doorway. She curses under her breath. Taking a moment to steady herself she makes it to the stairs. ‘Maybe I should just take these damn shoes off until I get to the bottom’ She thinks as she looks apprehensively down the stairs. Her mothers face appears at the bottom with an impatient scowl. Clutching to the railing of the stairs as if it's a life line she cautiously makes her way down taking hesitant steps down the stairs. As she gets closer to the floor, she can hear warm laughter coming from the living room.

As soon as she reaches the bottom of the stairs her breath hitches in her throat. The man she sees sitting on the couch looks nothing like that young man who came to visit on rare occasions. He was dressed in a black suit with a red tie that stood out in a stark contrast against the silver of his hair that was inherited from their father. She thought it was odd that her parents were okay with his hair being at such a long length when they would nitpick at her and judge her appearance and choices as harshly as they did.

She’d never seen a man with hair that length in the countryside they grew up in. What stood out most of all and completely took her breath away was his eyes. In her earliest memories of him she remembered them being a hazel color bordering on yellow but now as she looked at them she could see that the yellow they bordered on was now a bright golden color.

Those golden eyes blinked as he caught sight of her standing in the living room. She couldn’t read his eyes, but they made her forget about her nerves .She felt herself become enslaved by those eyes and for some reason, she couldn’t look away. She didn’t notice how the reason she was able to see those golden eyes so clearly was because he was also gazing at her with just as much intent.

She’d lost track of how long she stood there staring at her brother until her father cleared his throat and their mother coughed, dragging her away from the trance that held them both captive.

“Kagome! What are you doing just standing there! Come, greet your brother!” Her dad scolds from where he is sitting on the couch next to her mother.

Kagome jolts into action feeling her face heat up a bit in her embarrassment. She carefully makes her way over to where her brother is. She felt like she was walking on ice and at any moment she would lose her balance and come crashing down on the floor. Standing in front of him she finds herself feeling nervous now being in close and direct sight to the brother she hadn't seen properly in so long. Her heart beats erratically against her chest.

Finally standing in front of him she can’t help but notice how he towers above her. Now, she hadn't remembered him being that tall.Through the tightness of the white shirt under his suit jacket she can see that it accents the muscles hidden there. She definitely didn’t remember those being there!

Her thoughts are whirling around and her mind can’t seem to catch up with the present and as a result she stutters “ Ses-Sesshomaru.” which is completely unlike her.

‘What’s going on with you?’ She wonders to herself. She wasn’t one to cower like this, to display weaknesses so openly.

‘This guy is nothing to you besides someone you share blood with.’ Kagome scolds herself.

“Kagome, it's a pleasure to finally see you again.” He says.

Those golden eyes seem to brighten, holding her prisoner once more in place as he gently takes her hand in his and raises it to his lips placing a soft and fleeting kiss there. It feels like an out of body experience she has no control over the moment once his lips meet her skin she feels her blood run hot and she can feel the blush rising from her neck to her face.

She wonders what he is thinking at that moment as those eyes seem to smile at her but she can't read him, she can't tell what’s going on in his mind. His face remains a stoic mask as he regards her. She feels like he is laughing at her but she can’t be sure as unnamed emotions flash through those intense eyes of his.

“I love how we’re finally together as a family again. Let's head over to the kitchen. The food is ready, we have important things to talk about” Her mother beams, not noticing the strange interaction between the two.

“After you” Sesshoumaru gestures in front of her with a flourish of his hands.

Kagome nods with a tight smile, her footsteps heavy and awkward as she walks ahead of him. She didn't know what would await her tonight, and she wasn’t entirely sure she was ready for it. Not knowing what was so important that her family would get together like this made her wonder if it was good or bad.

It made her feel like a bird trapped in a cage ready and vulnerable to an attack. It made her think of that nursery rhyme she had been teased with all her life. ‘Kagome, Kagome bird in a cage.’ She flinched internally as it popped into her mind.

‘Fuck that’ she thought.

She tries to distract herself from her anxiety of what was to come from this dinner by thinking about her brother. She didn't know what to make of him, he seemed polite and well-mannered. That was good right? There was still something about him that made her feel like maybe he was a predator waiting outside of her cage tonight. She tried to shake those thoughts away, maybe she was being paranoid about the whole thing. Maybe this really was going to be a nice, warm family dinner after all.

Her parents sat across from each other in their usual spots, Kagome took her seat beside her father, leaving the chair directly in front of her for Sesshomaru. Her parents happily chatted, recounting old memories that were almost lost to Kagome. Sometimes people needed other people to remember for them so the memory wouldn’t be lost forever.

“I remember how Kagome would get bullied by the neighborhood kids for being such a tom-boy, and for the boyish way she dressed.” Her mother recounted her memory of the day when she sent Kagome out of the house to school in an adorable and girly outfit that she deemed ‘appropriate’ only for Kagome to sneak out of the house with a pair of her brother's old pants and a tee shirt that she had changed into. On the way home one of the neighborhood boys had pushed her to the ground while telling her that she was a girl and that she would never be allowed to play with him and the other boys.

“Sesshoumaru would have none of it. He would step in front of Kagome and just glare at them and that was enough to have them running for the hills,” Her mother looked across the table over to Kagome sighing in defeat. “Ever since she was little our Kagome was always a little strange.” She finished her memory shaking her head and chuckling.

That comment had Kagome’s mood sour as her face pinched in annoyance. She didn't like her parents making such comments right in front of her as if she wasn’t there. She knew she was a little different than other girls her age, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t sting being called strange by her own parents.

Yes, she was unconventional to say the least. She started to wear the boys uniform when she reached middle school. She didn't like the way the girl's uniform looked on her; it made her feel awkward. It exposed her legs to the point it made her uncomfortable. She preferred the boys uniform, it didn’t show anywhere near as much skin and made her feel more comfortable.

“ What’s your point?” Kagome snapped as her mood darkened. Leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms. She gave her mother a taunting smile silently daring her to continue making her feel as if she wasn’t there.

“ Nothing, nothing honey we’re simply making conversation, anyway speaking of that we have an announcement-” her mother tries to continue on.

“No, No let’s keep having that conversation” Kagome leans back to the table steeling herself ready to fight. She knew how this conversation went. They went through this all the damn time. If her mother didn’t want her to have an attitude she certainly was not picking peaceful conversations for dinner. It was like she was provoking her instead.

“Am I strange because I wear jeans instead of skirts? Because I wear hoodies? Because I like sports? Because I listen to Lady Gaga? Or is it because I kiss girls”

The room goes silent. Kagome knows she has done exactly what her mother told her not to do. She had an attitude. Well more than that, she’s probably ruined the whole dinner. She really needed to do something about that mouth of hers, it got her in trouble far too much.

“It seems that she’s learned to fend herself just fine without me” Sesshoumaru speaks up after what feels like a long time. Kagome is not sure if her eyes are playing tricks on her but she sees his eyes glimmer .

“Kagome, honey, speaking of that we have something to announce” Her mother clears her throat.

Kagome raises an eyebrow, curious at what the announcement was. It had to be something important or else why else had they invited her brother and made it a family affairThere had to be a reason why her parents decided to host this dinner and invite this “brother” of hers and play the role of the happy family for once. Her mind is temporarily distracted from the argument her mother had provoked. She’s curious to hear what the big announcement is supposed to be.

Suddenly that feeling of apprehension and unpleasantness returns to her like an uncomfortable chill creeping up her body.

Kagome begins to understand what this night is really about when the doublespeak begins as soon as her mother begins talking.

As Kagome listens to the excuses being told,she begins to translate the doublespeak in her head.

"We were talking to Sesshomaru a few days ago about how you’ve struggled with your teachers and school and you haven’t made the best choices”

Translation: She has failed to meet demands, she’s insubordinate, a failure, and her choice of friends suck.

“So because of this we think it might be best for you to move in with your brother for some time. It might help put things into perspective for you on how one should behave while also giving you the time and space you need to learn who you are, as well as what it expected of you."

Translation: We think dumping you off to your brother who’s practically a stranger to you might teach you to grow up. Learning from the successful sibling will help you become less of a failure.

“We’re afraid you have irrational tendencies, you don’t consider how your actions make others feel and you need to know what’s expected of you”

Translation: She’s showed some bisexual tendencies, which we find deeply shameful and she needs to be straightened out.

“Living in the city will be better for you than the countryside. We don’t think you’ll flourish here, moving to the city could be a better option for you.”

Translation: We’re sick of having you here, we’re kicking you out

“ We want the best for you, and this means we can't put this off any longer,” her mother continues and Kagome can feel the air getting thinner as she breathed.

Translation: Get the fuck out of here!

Kagome feels as if she has been kicked in the stomach. The air leaves her, brain momentarily shutting down, and she feels dizzy. Eyes darting back from her father to her mother looking for confirmation of what was just said. As silence drags on, she becomes more angry at the affirmation of the reality she doesn’t want to face. Kagome stands slamming her hands on the table knocking over the chair.

The chair hits the floor with a crash.

“Are you serious?” She screams, noticing how her father and Sesshomaru flinch at the tone in her voice. She doesn’t care about their reactions, she has had it with this so-called family. This family that pushed all these decisions on her and gave her no choices of her own.

Kagome’s voice booms across the room. “So you’re telling me I have to move in with my 'brother', That's a stranger to me because I’ve failed to meet your expectations!”

“ Honey you know it's not that” Her father finally speaks up after what feels like a long time. Kagome had almost forgotten about his presence. He’s only smiled passively the whole night not saying anything of much substance besides the usual affirmation. He almost blends into the walls with his passivity and lack of presence.

“ Yes it is! What choice do I have? You just decided that once I’m 18 and you have no legal obligation to me anymore you’d ship me off to this man I don’t know! It's either go with him or go to the streets right?!” Kagome tries to laugh tauntingly to cover up for the tears of anger that were on the verge of rippling and falling down her face.

“Kagome, I know this might seem hard but-” Sesshoumaru says as he carefully stands up. He really was trying his best to keep up this proper brother act wasn’t he?!

Kagome forgets the previous nerves she felt being near her brother and she feels anger pour out of her. So she was right to be apprehensive of him. He didn’t come here without any kind motives. He came here to trick her with his fake politeness and fancy appearance to drag her out of the only home she ever knew!

“No you shut up!” Kagome turns to Sesshoumaru and scowls. She points to him angrily “ I don't want to hear anything from someone who I’ m supposed to call my brother, but who I’ve hardly seen in 10 years and who only graces me with his presence to take me away from my home!”

“Kagome” Her father tries to chime in. He moves his hands in a downward motion to try to calm the situation and Kagome.

“IT’S BEEN DAMN NEAR 10 YEARS since he has really been around and you're telling me that you have just decided yourselves that I Should just go on and get out of the only home I have known just because I don’t follow the social norms that you expect of me? Are you kidding me?!?” She interrupts.They have said enough it's time for them to hear her now. If there’s one thing she didn’t know how to do was going down without a fight.

“We just want what is best for you Kagome. It doesn’t matter anyway things have been set up and you don’t really have a choice in this.You have an awful attitude, you are ungrateful and it seems like you are going to need to learn to grow up the hard way. You can go with Sesshomaru or not either way you will not be staying here.” When their mother finishes her new rant, shock plays across Kagome’s face with intense anger.

Kagome feels the tears begin to stream down on her face.She looks at her parents faces and sees their faces full of resigned conviction. She looks at Sesshoumaru’s face and she isn't sure if it’s her eyes playing tricks on her, but she sees his eyes look deeply troubled and almost guilty. Against her will she feels herself once again drawn into those golden eyes. She feels as if there’s something more hidden under the depths of the gold in his eyes. As if there’s a mask falling off.

“Kagome” He opens his mouth to speak but it is too late Kagome has already stormed out of the room.She kicks off the heels she is wearing and dashes out of the front door. She didn’t want to look into those eyes any longer, she was afraid she’d find something she wasn’t ready to see. What she needed to do was get away and be angry.

Yes, she needed to be angry at the world, angry at him .Sesshoumaru she thinks in disdain. He probably didn’t even feel bad for being the one to drag her out of her home under the guise of a caring older brother. He probably only felt bad since now he was the one taking on this burden of a sister!

Yes he was just an Idiot brother! She ran faster as she used the adrenaline of her speed and anger to fuel her. She felt she was bordering on insanity as she smiled through the tears as she pushed her body harder.

She didn't know for how long she had been running laps around the neighborhood before she stopped in front of the large maple tree in the middle of town.

She heaves and uses the last bit of her energy to jog near the swings, She collapses on the ground and against her will begins to remember the swings that hold the one memory of her idiot brother that she remembers fondly. She stares up at the sky occasionally wiping away a tear of anger from her face. The moon is waning tonight it's crescent shape shining brightly in the night sky.

It's not long before Kagome notices that she is no longer alone as she looks to her left and spots the clean, pristine shoes of her brother, She looks up and sees the bright golden eyes of her brother almost looking like they are expecting her, “What do you want?” She hisses. Of course the one time he does come around all of her choices are being taken from her and her parents hold a celebratory dinner to kick her out of the house. Now he probably wanted to play the concerned brother. Idiot.

“Kagome,” His voice comes out smooth like velvet to her ears and she suppresses the shiver that wants to travel down her spine.She reminds herself that she should be angry at him.

Now of all times he wanted to play the role of the caring brother who wants to check up on his little sister? It was rather ironic coming from the man who only showed up to trick her and side with those who saw her as nothing more than a burden.

“No, you know what. I don’t care what you want. Save the good brother act. I know you don’t give a fuck about me or what I want.” Kagome swears venom his way.

“ All you came here to do was trick me and do what they wanted which was to drag me away from my home. Which lets be honest you probably don't even want to do since you see me as a burden like everyone else does” her voice begins to break down. Shit why was she beginning to cry again?!

At this point she feels the tears gliding down her face at an increasing speed. She feels like an idiot, turning into a sobbing mess in front of this brother she hardly knew.

“ Kagome, you must know that wasn’t my intention-”

“Oh yea then what was it then? To waltz in here, charm me, play the good brother who didn't leave and ignore me all this time then laugh at me as you kick me out of my home?”

She watches him through glassy eyes. He stands with his hands awkwardly in his pants seemingly unsure of what to do. She looks into his golden eyes and for a brief moment she thinks she sees that conflicted Sesshoumaru from before. But it was gone before she could confirm it.

“ Fine, don’t believe me, do what you want, I am simply following our parents wishes.I am leaving tomorrow morning, make up your mind by then” He waves dismissively and walks off.

Kagome watches as he began to walk away. She sits up and watches his soulette in confusion at how his mood changed so easily. Did she imagine that look of conflict earlier? It almost reminded her of that look on his face he got as children when he worried about her, back when he used to care for her.

“Hmph” Kagome grumbled, that couldn’t be the case. She saw what he did back there. Tried to charm her, make her lose her composure, appear all polite and kind, then backstab her along with their parents and kick her out of her house! Then he comes to act worried about her, then acts like he doesnt care and acts like she has any choice in the matter! He’s just messing with her!

He’s wicked! Kagome says to herself. She almost felt like she was Bell from Beauty and the Beast. Dragged out of her home, against her will, to live with what might as well be a beast!

Yes, because Sesshoumaru was like a beast! She told herself. He didn’t look like one with his poltie appearance, pristine manners, fancy clothes, and beautiful face. Beautiful face? She exclaimed?! Why was she thinking this about her brother?!?

She slaps her face with both hands in an attempt to calm herself. She was probably still high from the adrenaline rush of the run. She had a bad habit of looking for highs to ironically calm herself. Running, sex, drugs, you name it. She really needed to calm down and get a grip.

Within a night, her brother was able to do what no one else could do: trick her and humiliate her. She really didn’t want to give him any more satisfaction that he got to her more than he already had. He’s seen her cry for shit’s sake.

“Focus kagome” She sighed and took a deep breath as she looked up at the stars in an attempt to calm herself.

It seems like she was in a stalemate situation. Her parents wern’t going to budge, stupid Sesshoumaru was just in it to do their parents bidding and she was trapped in this situation. He said she had to decide what she wanted to do by morning. Was he mocking her, because she really had no choice in this!

Suddenly a realization comes to Kagome’s mind. She can’t go against the decision made by her parents, but she could act like she agreed to go with Sesshoumaru. That way she could tell people she left on her own accord and she wouldn’t have to give her parents nor Sesshoumaru the satisfaction of knowing they dragged her out of her home! She may have to live with a beast, but she wasn’t going down without a fight! She’d do what they wanted her to do, she’d go live in the city, she’d go to university there, she’d work at the firm, but she'd do it all to spite them!

“Watch out Sesshoumaru,” Kagome says to herself, smiling, full of conviction. She knew what she was going to do.

#sesskag big bang 2021 #sesskag #kagome higurashi #sesshoumaru

11 notes · View notes

fanficimagery · 4 years

Text

Someone You Loved

Summary: Imagine being in an abusive relationship that you've managed to hide from your friends. But after one fight in particular, you realize you can't keep this secret anymore.

Words: 3K Warnings: Mention of abuse. Language.

For the last two and a half years, your relationship with Adam has been a rocky one. He wasn't exactly what you were looking for in a boyfriend at the time he showed interest in you, but you grew to love him and all his flaws. You fell hard and there was nothing that could make you leave him. Not even the fights.

The fighting had started off small, the main problem being your social media. Adam would nitpick your selfies and grumble about the comments being made by guys you once went to school with. Then he'd try to control what you posted and would eventually throw a temper tantrum when you didn't take the post down. And if there was alcohol involved, you always managed to be pushed into a wall or wake up with a few new bruises from where he had grabbed you too tight.

But then you met a group of vloggers and numerous friendships blossomed. Adam was his usual charming, goofy self when the girls were around, but he was on sudden edge when the boys were there. His comments became crueler, he was a bit more aggressive, and he suddenly had need of you all the time to keep you from hanging out with others.

Hiding bruises became second nature, as did coming up with excuses on the spot if a bruise was spotted. The emotional abuse was a bit harder to mask, but you managed to paste on a smile and get through the day without making anyone suspicious.

You knew you couldn't keep this secret forever, hell you didn't really want to, but Adam was your first real love and you didn't know how to break it off. Fortunately for you, the decision would be taken out of your hands.

Adam has decided to go out with his boys, so you drive over to David's where they're having a casual kick-back. You sometimes made appearances in their videos, but you had to be careful to choose when to hang out because you couldn't risk a viewer spotting a bruise or noticing particular behavior you sometimes showcased when voices or hands were raised. But luckily for you, you and Adam have had a good couple of weeks and you were stoked to finally be with your friends again.

There are cheers and whoops of joy when you enter the house, and a drink is immediately shoved into your hand. Your friends all readily hug you in greeting and you're pulled down onto a beanbag with Matt and Carly.

"Where have you been?" Matt asks. "It feels like forever since I've last seen you."

You chuckle. "Sorry. I've been busy with work and Adam."

"Speaking of, how is Adam? We don't see him anymore," Carly muses.

"He, uh, he's not a fan of the whole filming and documenting everything on social media." You shrug and hope they're not too offended. "He actually went out with his boys tonight which is why I came over as soon as I could."

"Girl," Matt drawls, "you must be really secure in your relationship. I've seen Adam and even I can admit that boy is a looker. Did you really just let him out with his boys?"

"Yeah." Smiling shakily as thoughts of a now cheating boyfriend assault your mind, you take a sip of your drink and hope it's not actually true.

Your friends seem to drop all talk of Adam and you easily find yourself conversing with them about anything and everything. Several people are walking around with cameras, taking pictures and video of all the crazy antics going on. You pose for several of the pictures, drink in hand and making faces with the friends you've missed. The alcohol seems to be flowing and Zane's a riot in his drunken state, but you eventually switch to water because you know you have to drive home.

But soon enough, your phone starts buzzing and buzzing. Text after text after text comes through, all from Adam. He's apparently seen the photos and videos you've been tagged in on Instagram, and he's not impressed. In fact, he's livid if the insults are anything to go by.

He's calling you every derogatory name under the sun and even accusing you of cheating, screenshotting the pictures you'd taken with Jeff, David, and Todd as his so called proof.

Sighing after the umpteenth text has come through, you stand up and make your way towards a more quiet place in the house. But on your way to the bathroom, an incoming call comes through and you immediately answer it upon seeing Adam's name pop up.

The following call goes as expected, Adam accusing you of cheating and demanding you get your ass home as soon as possible. You obviously deny everything, only to end up in tears as he continues to degrade you over the phone. Eventually though you've had enough, caving and promising to be home in ten minutes.

Once your phone is tucked away in the back pocket of your jeans, you face the mirror to clean up the damage done after that argument. You turn on the water to wash your face, also using the water to cool down and pray the puffiness of your eyes go away. Then drying off, you give yourself a minute and curse the fact that you can still tell you'd been crying.

Inhaling deeply, you brace yourself for running into your friends on the way out. Unfortunately, as soon as you open the bathroom door, Erin is standing there with the guiltiest of smiles. She's heard everything.

"Hey," she calmly muses, "is everything okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Everything's good. I'm just- I'm gonna head home."

"Are you sure? That phone call sounded pretty rough."

"Yeah." Against your will, your eyes tear up and you chuckle nervously to play it off. "Adam's just had a lot to drink and he's not too fond of the boys. He's pretty insecure and you've seen our boys. They're hot and openly affectionate."

Erin laughs. "So what? He doesn't trust you? You, the girl who has stars in her eyes when her boyfriend is brought up in conversation?"

Shrugging, you say, "Like I said, he's had a lot to drink."

For the first time, you see Erin be hesitant to accept your answer. But eventually she pastes on another smile and laughs it off. "Yeah. Okay. We need to have lunch soon. I've missed hanging out with you."

"Of course." Leaning forward, you hug her. "It was good hanging out. Just text me whenever you want to hang."

Erin watches Y/N leave, her smile falling as soon as Y/N disappears around the corner. She had only been waiting for the bathroom when she saw it was occupied, but she got curious when the yelling and crying started. She had thought the voice was familiar, but she hadn't known who it was until the door opened. Then seeing Y/N standing there with puffy, red rimmed eyes made her realize something was up. Especially after hearing about an insecure Adam because as long as she's known him, he was never insecure.

But Erin lets it go and continues on with her night. She ignores her gut feeling that something is up and it isn't until nearly an entire hour later that her gut feeling proved to be right.

Only Erin, Carly, David, Natalie, Jeff, and Zane remain. Jeff and Natalie have been working to get Zane a bit sobered up so his hangover isn't as gnarly in the morning, and David and Erin are attempting to scribble on Carly's face since she was the only one to fall asleep.

Erin's phone dings with an incoming text, but she briefly ignores it. Then another comes in, followed by another.

David laughs. "Someone's popular tonight. Either that or TJ's wondering where you're at."

Erin giggles and pulls her phone up, she skimming through the text. Her smile quickly falls. "Um, guys? I think something's wrong."

David looks up from his own phone. "What? Why?"

"Because earlier, before Y/N left, I heard her arguing on the phone with Adam. She was yelling and crying, and I've never heard her like that before." By now, Jeff and Natalie have stopped messing with Zane and are listening to Erin talk. "She tried explaining it away as Adam having too much to drink, but she seemed almost scared that I wouldn't believe her. And now I get these texts from her- texts that are half finished or just random letters. But the last one that came through, all it says is help."

"Call her," Jeff says, Natalie and David agreeing with him.

Erin nods and calls Y/N, but it rings and rings until it goes to voicemail. She hangs up and tries again. Same thing.

"I don't like this," David frowns.

"Neither do I." Erin's about to call again when another text comes in. "Oh. It's a text. A voice message."

Erin hits play and the small group listen to what can only be their friend being beaten. Adam can be heard yelling, Y/N shouting back and crying, as well as glass breaking and furniture being thrown around. Y/N can clearly be heard telling Adam to stop and then nothing. There's grunting and gasping, and Adam telling Y/N that it's all her fault before cutting out.

"We're going over there." Jeff stands, hands fisted at his sides.

Erin immediately stands, followed by David who looks at a shell-shocked Natalie. "Wake up Carly and tell her what's going on. I'll call you with updates."

"Y-Yeah. Of course. I'll, uh, I'll call one of the other boys to help me with Zane."

- X - X - X - X - X -

Crawling up onto the couch in a daze, you look around at your completely trashed apartment and start to cry all over again. You and Adam fighting was nothing out of the norm, but his sudden rage was. The hitting was always in a place that could easily be covered up, but tonight it wasn't. His hands always gripped your arms or wrists, but tonight they didn't.

Tonight was completely different and even Adam knew things had gone way too far if his sudden disappearance was anything to go by.

You're still sitting in the same place when there's a frantic knock on your apartment door, you cringing when Erin, Jeff, and David can be heard shouting your name. You knew this was inevitable when you had texted Erin in a panic, but still you can't help but feel uneasy at them seeing you like this. The moment your phone starts to ring from somewhere in the wreckage though, you know you have to get up and answer your door.

And the moment your door opens, you don't dare meet any of their gazes.

"Y/N, what the fuck?" Erin says, her breath leaving her in a rush. Tears start streaming down your face once more and you don't fight Erin when she steps forward to wrap her arms around you.

Jeff and David step around the two of you, and then Erin's ushering you inside. "I'm sorry," you manage to squeak, flinching at the pain in your throat.

"Oh honey, don't be. You did the right thing in reaching out."

"Where is he?" Jeff wonders. Apparently he and David had made a quick sweep of your apartment.

You shrug. "I don't- I don't know. I woke up and he was gone."

Erin tenses. "Woke up? Y/N, what do you mean by when you woke up?"

When you don't immediately answer, it leaves your friends a moment to really take a look at you. "Are those bruises around your neck?" David then asks.

Erin immediately steps back and though you want to hide from their eyes, you don't. Not anymore. So instead you tilt your head to the side and let them see what you're guessing are bruises that look suspiciously like fingers wrapped around your neck. Jeff quietly curses. "He, uh, he was pretty angry," you tell them, expression crumpling. "But it was my fault," you're then quick to say. "I knew he wasn't fond of you guys, but yet I still took all those pictures with you."

Jeff frowns. "Don't defend him. If he's an insecure piece of shit, then that's on him. Pictures with your friends does not mean he gets to beat you and choke you out."

You continue to cry and let Erin embrace you again, she now crying with you.

"Y/N," David starts, rubbing the back of his neck, "how long has this been going on?"

You don't answer.

"Y/N, how long?" He asks again.

"Since- since the start. It started off as small things, but then he got more aggressive and controlling after I met you guys."

"Motherfucker." Jeff shakes his head, his body tense in his own rage.

"Honey, I think you should go to the hospital," Erin says. "Your throat has bruised pretty fast, there's a gash on your cheek, and you need to make sure there's no damage anywhere else."

"But-"

"No buts, Y/N. This is serious."

"It also needs to be reported," David says. "This has gone on long enough."

Your mind and your heart are at odds with one another- your mind telling you your friends are right, but your heart telling you that you love Adam and shouldn't turn him in. But while you loved him, you also know that if something isn't done then the abuse will only continue.

"I- okay," you eventually agree. "Lets go to the hospital."

Reporting the abuse and pressing charges against Adam had been the hardest thing you ever had to do, followed by opening up to your friends and admitting everything to them. They were, of course, angry and confused as to why you would stay in that relationship, but they were there for you every step of the way.

Erin, and TJ after he had been informed of what was going on, volunteered their spare bedroom to you so you wouldn't recuperate on your own. And then when you'd gone back to your apartment to pack a bag, you discovered all of Adam's belongings, including some of your own, were missing. Your friends were shocked at Adam's ballsy move, but it only secured it more in their minds that you shouldn't be on your own, especially when Adam still had access to the apartment.

It wasn't long before Adam was picked up by the Police, but you knew he wouldn't be gone for long. He was looking at months in jail, less if he found a way to post bail. Which he did.

So with Adam out and about, your friends helped you talk to your building owner to let them know what was going on. Fortunately for you, the building owner was understanding and let you out of the lease without any hassle. And afterward, David was quick to ask you to move in until you were ready to be on your own again. You agreed.

It takes a while to get healthy again, both mentally and physically. Your friends stick it out with you, encouraging you in every aspect of your life along the way. So months later, it's no surprise to find you on a hike with Jeff and Todd.

- X - X - X - X - X -

"How've you been?" Todd asks, panting.

Having just sprinted up an incline, you glare at your friend for daring to try getting you to talk so soon. Seeing your glare, Jeff laughs. "Fine," you grunt. Jeff passes you the mouth-piece to the water pack and you eagerly drink. Feeling a little better, you say, "Started looking at apartments, but David and Natalie keep making excuses for me to not move out yet."

Jeff grins. "They love you. We all love you and you seem more content when you're surrounded by your friends."

"Aw," you coo, reaching out and poking him in the cheek, "you going soft on me, Wittek?"

He rolls his eyes, chuckling, and moves out of reach. "Stop."

"Are you- are you blushing?" Todd laughs, teasing him too. "Or are you still red from the run?"

"You two are assholes. I don't know why I keep bringing you with me on these hikes."

"It's because you love us." You sidle up next to Jeff, wrapping an arm around his waist and grinning up at him. He returns the grin and then laughs when Todd joins in on the sideways hug, sandwiching you in the middle.

Then taking out his phone, Todd holds his sideways. "Lets take a selfie and post it. We all know Y/N's page is still being stalked, so it'll be fun to ruffle up some feathers."

"You really do love pressing Adam's buttons now, don't you?" You muse, shaking your head in amusement.

"Hell yes. He's a little bitch," Todd says. You, Jeff, and Todd quickly smile for the picture, you then laughing when they lean down and press a kiss to each of your cheeks in the next. "He deserves to see you flourishing without his abusive ass. Flaunt your freedom, babygirl."

"Okay one," you start, "never call me babygirl again." Todd laughs at your grimace. "And two, send me those pictures." You sigh when Todd cheers. "It's time I start posting what I want to post and stop second guessing whether or not it's going to piss off the ex."

"Atta girl."

As Todd walks ahead, Jeff keeps pace with you. "Don't worry about Adam," he says. "If he wants to get to you, he's going to have a lot of people to get through."

"Yeah. He will, won't he?" You look at the trail you need to take to get back down off the hill. Then picking up speed, you flash him a grin over your shoulder. "Last one down has to buy a round of post-hike smoothies."

You take off running then, passing up Todd and cackling at his next words. "Goddammit. Not again!"

895 notes · View notes

smylealong · 4 years

Text

I have long debated whether or not I should write this, but @rain-hat convinced me that I should. So here I am, penning this diss meta about The King: The Enternal Monarch. Starting off with the disclaimer that I love this show. This is the show that introduced me to the wonderful Woo Do Hwan and for that I can never be thankful enough. But I have issues with the show, and I will enumerate them here. Brace yourselves for a tirade.It’s long, so putting a “keep reading”.

1) Manpasikjeok: Let’s start with the basis of the series. The Manpasikjeok. The series never delves into what the Manpasikjeok is. It’s a flute, yes. But it doesn’t delve into the background of this all-powerful plot device. I understand that the Manpasikjeok is a part of the Korean folklore and thus, probably the makers did not feel the need to delve deeper. But for non-Korean viewers like me, it was very confusing. So, before I speak about the details of what exactly bothered me about the flute, I will present the story itself.

After the death of his father King Munnu, King Sinmun of the Silla Dynasty heard the rumors of an island floating toward the temple that he had built in the honor of his father. A fortuneteller told Sinmun that the late King had become a sea dragon and his loyal General, Kim Yu-shin, had become a heavenly god. The fortuneteller also said that if he were to visit the island, he would get an incredible gift. When Sinmun went in search of this floating island, it looked like it had a turtle’s head and a bamboo tree on its back. In the mornings, the bamboo looked to be split into two while at night, it would join. After braving through seven days of storm, the King reached the island. There the sea dragon told him to make a flute out of the bamboo tree. This flute was said to provide magical properties. When the flute was played, enemy forces would retreat, and diseases were cured. Also, the magic flute would bring rainfall if there was a drought and stop the rains in floods. Ever since then, the bamboo flute was called ‘Manpasikjeok,’ meaning a flute that calms down ten thousand waves and it became a national treasure. This is the folktale.

If I am to nitpick, time travel and parallel universes are not mentioned in the folktale. But that is something I am willing to let slide, because you need something to make the story work and the makers chose a mythical object from the folklore. People do it all the time, so I am not going to penalize the makers for it. What I am going to diss them for is the way they spoke about the spirit of the flute. Was it a demon? A spirit? A god? What? Why did it not allow Lee Lim to age? If time passes differently for the owner of the flute as Lee Lim claims, why did Gon’s time seem normal for the most part? The only difference in time seemed to be when the portal was opened and time stopped. So, before Gon opened the portal, time did not stop for Lee Lim. Why then did he not age?

2) Post series events (part I): Which brings me to the second problem I have with the series. Post-series events. I understand Ta Eul retaining her memories of the alternate timeline because, she was in the portal and thus, remained untouched by the effects of the changed timeline. Fair. I get Gon retaining memories, because he was the owner of the flute. Granted. Why did Jo Yeong retain the memories when everyone else forgot about it? The only explanation I have is that it was because he was in the past timeline when the timeline changed? But the show never bothers to give an explanation for it. Also, if the events in altered timeline happened almost exactly as they did in the original timeline, then Yeong came to Republic of Korea. If Yeong came to Republic of Korea, then he met Jo Eun Sup. As did Gon. Why then did Eun Sup not recognize Gon at the end? Why does Yeong say that Eun Sup will not remember him? Is it because Yeong retained memories from the altered timeline and hence believed Gon when he said that he was going to the other world? Then, it stands to reason that Yeong did not go to Republic of Korea. Then things changed! They did not go exactly the way it happened in the series. Ah! My head hurts.

3) Corea and Korea: They are parallel worlds. I get it. But at times, they were nigh indistinguishable. This is @rain-hat’s input and I agree with it completely. Why are the people in Corea dressed like Westerners and why are we not seeing more Hanboks? Why are court ladies the only ones dressed in traditional garb? Also, what is the official religion of Corea?

4) The characters: This is going to be a long one, so brace yourselves. I have issues with the characters. I’m going for bullet points, because I have LOT TO SAY.

· Kang Shin-jae: Other than messing with him in all possible ways, what was the purpose of this character. As my editor once said, you must ask yourself what purpose does a character serve to the overall story? The litmus test of it being, if the said character is removed from the equation, does it impact the overarching plot of the story in any significant way? And much as I love this character, I’m sorry to say, his removal would not have impacted the story in any way. Yes, I’m aware that even Meyong Seung-ah does not pass this litmus test, but she does not occupy nearly as much screen time as Shin-jae. I wish they had utilized the character more than just use him as a material to evoke emotions.

· Koo Seo Ryeong: She is portrayed as a villain/b*tch. Why? Because she has political ambitions and is a woman who is not above playing the ruthless game that the men around her seem to be playing? She is a woman who has clawed her way to the top in a man’s world. Can we please stop demonizing women like this?

· Jo Yeong: Yes. Surprise, I know. He is the reason I (and many others) kept watching the show. The man who stole the show, the one who carried the show. A startlingly pretty face backed by a phenomenal performance, Jo Yeong is a treat. BUT, for a character as spectacular as Yeong, he was not utilized enough. I wish the show had actually given him something to do when he was in Korea. They wasted a talent like Woo Do Hwan.

· Jeong Ta-eul: I loved Ta-eul when she first came on screen. Badass, no nonsense, tough as nails cop in her thirties as out leading lady? HELL YEAH! But then she meets Lee Gon and all the things that I loved about her seemed to evaporate. She became a cry baby and I just could not handle that. K-dramas, can you please stop turning the badass female leads into a prop for the leading man’s “bravery and heroism”. (Fervently hoping Nine Tails doesn’t do that, because I love Jo Bo ah’s character there).

· Lee Gon: Oh, I hate this character with a passion. TKEM gave me SLS like no other drama before or since. I sincerely want to ask Lee Min Ho; just how many versions of Gu Jun Pyo are we going to see from him? Rich, powerful, privileged man who does whatever he wants? I’m getting really tired of it. I like Lee Min Ho, but really, you need to branch out, dude.

5) Post series events (part II): Speaking of Lee Gon, my man, you posses the all powerful tool to travel through parallel universes and time, and you use it to go on dates? WHAT THE F***? AAAHHGHHKSJJGFHVJHMDSYFHJVHKJNSKLJHG. Lee Lim was right. You’re WASTING it. Ugh. Personally, I felt as though the entire romance plot could have been done away with.

6) JoGon: The series teased heavily about this relationship and the fandom lapped it up. Beautiful fanart and fanfics emerged. But, I have issues and no, it’s not because they’re a same sex couple. My issue comes from the power dynamics of the couple. It is skewed beyond belief. The dynamic works perfectly when it is a king-bodyguard relationship. But the second it becomes a romance, there’s problem. All the power in the relationship is with Gon and Yeong has almost no agency in the relationship. And I love Jo Yeong too much to subject him to a relationship like that.

7) Product Placement: Yes, it was tough, but there was a series somewhere between all those product placements.

In closing, this series had the potential to be so much more. Yet, it failed. Spectacularly. I liked and enjoyed this series, but I have so many issues. SO MANY. Do you have any issues you would like to add? Please feel free.

#tkem meta #tkem

30 notes · View notes

queensdivas · 3 years

Text

Turntables (Roger x O/C)

The first one of the gif board fics! This one was given to me by @freddie-moments and was super excited to make this the first one on my list of things to write. For those waiting for theirs don’t worry it’s coming! I have to get a good understanding of them, (And I have like four other fics, and school) But I got this okay!

Also sorry that it’s short. I promise the other ones are going to be much longer!

FOR YOU GUYS!

HUZZAH!!!

Warning: There is a lot of vulgar language in this short fic. You’ll see why because I get the feeling y’all will enjoy it in the context.

Alright here we go!

Masterlist

Kensington

Janurary 2nd 1974

Let’s see the archies go right here and..and..The Amboy Dukes go right here! Finally got a good supply of The Amboy Dukes and I know they’re going to sell out quickly. Walking around the stand to then open up the curtains for the front window.

Moving my way back over behind the counter to make sure the registrar was ready for the day. After the registar I began going through the records of the day stack to see Aurora Borealis by Jigsaw next in line. Not my favorite album in the world but it’s decent for an opening time slot. Sliding the record out of the sleeve to then place it on the turntable for the needle to gently place it down.

The delivery truck should be here any second since we’ve got a new shipment of magazines coming in today. There’s an issue that people have been asking about that feature The Who and apparently more secrets will be unlocked about them. It’s mostly the same information just told in different forms.

Last step is to unlock the front door! Grabbing my keys that I left on the counter. Walking to the door to unlock it. After unlocking it I flipped the open side then plugged in the christmas lights that were hung around the window of the shop. With it being only noon I won’t really see anybody till four.

One hour…

Had some grumpy old man come in to yell at me for not having Doris Day in stock when in fact we did..just not what he wanted exactly. You’d be surprised how often that happens here and each time it’s just nitpicking for solo vinyls from people that aren’t even printed at the moment. If this is how today is going then I’m ruined for the day!

Two hours later...

It took almost two hours for a group of tourists to come in and mess up half of my cleaning from this morning! Stupid Americans. They thought it would be fun to rummage through The Beatles trying to find anything exclusive since it’s England. (It’s not the first time it’s happened but it gets extremely annoying after a while.)

The record ended for it was time to change the record. Hmm let’s see what else we got here today. Peggy Lee is perfect! Pulling the vinyl from the sleeve to gently place it on the turntable. The snapping began as I began swinging my hips back and forth a little.

Never know how much I love you

Never know how much I care

When you put your arms around me

I get a fever that's so hard to bear

You give me fever,

When you kiss me

Fever when you hold me tight

Fever

In the mornin', a fever all through the night

Sliding from behind the counter to slowly dance throughout the store as I began checking the stock of everything on the floor. Sashaying over to the blues section of the shelf to start going through them.

Sun lights up the day time

Moon lights up the night

I light up when you call my name

And you know I'm gonna treat you right

You give me fever,

When you kiss me

Fever when you hold me tight

Fever

In the mornin'

A fever all through the night

Everybody's got the fever

That is somethin' you all know

Fever isn't such a new thing

Fever started a long ago

Ah the key change. One of my favorite moments in this song. My hips swayed back and forth as I slowly worked my way through the aisle till the door opened. Immediately stopping as the small group came into the shop. Turning around from the shelf to see that they were circling around the shelves nicely.

“Welcome to Itty Bitty Records.” Greeting with a smile as I began going down Ike Turner's collection as they began looking around.

“Um excuse me?” The man stood next to me as he had really curly hair and stood tall like a giant before me goodness.

“What can I help you with?” Smiling as I turned to face him.

“Do you have any Mungo Jerry?” He asked as I had to think for a second.

“We do actually.” Motioning him to follow as we made it to the “M'' section for me to try to find them. Ma..Me...Mo...Mungo Jerry!

“Right there. Now I am expecting a shipment to be delivered in the next week if you’re looking for something specific of his?” He looked at the few records that were there and smiled at me.

“This is good. Thank you.” He smiled as I walked back over to the Blues section to finish where I left out. Definitely need a lot more Aretha Franklin in this shop or I might go mad.

“Excuse me?” Looking up to see another customer who wore a huge fur coat with his hair about shoulder length. It was pretty blonde but sort of odd to see a man in such a big fur coat to come into my store. Normally if they’re looking into records they head into more of the London London area.

“Do you have The Surfaris?” Not a lot of people listen to them. Mostly because they were really popular in California and I think that’s literally it for popularity. I find them interesting with a fun old sound that people still enjoy.

“We do. Didn’t think anyone listened to them on our side of the woods.” Commenting as we walked over the “S” section.

“Sort of a sucker for the classics.” He commented as we rounded the corner into the “S” Shelf.

“Most people our age would call you an old chap. Right here.” Pointing at them with my pencil.

“Fantastic you have Hit City. Is it 65’?”

“Yes. We have a first edition in the back if you’re interested.” He formed a huge smile on his face as that was my cue to go and get it.

“Give me a few minutes.” Smiling as he went back to looking at the records. I walked back into the back to begin looking for the box I usually keep them in.

IT should be around here somewhere. Making it into the back as I was skimming up and down on the shelf looking for one of the original boxes. Is it more back than I thought it would be and I can’t exactly leave the front alone this long.

C’mon...you sneaky little devil where are you hiding?

FOUND IT!

Reaching up to grab the box labeled 10 y/o originals. Should definitely be in here since it only arrived the past two three years. And again no one is going after The Surfaris. If it was anything major mainstream then I would be worried for him.

Walking back out onto the floor to see him waiting patiently at the counter for the record. I went around the counter to open the box and start going through all the records that are in there. It’s a little more dusty than I enjoy it but it’s a good reminder when my workers come in to take over that I can stay later and go through everything.

“Let’s see..we’ve got an original Yardbirds, Velvet Underground, Juicy Lucy who I will make sure plays next. Ummm..” I kept going through them till I saw the yellow truck and red lettering of the album.

“So why The Surfaris? Some small band from California?” Asking him as I handed him the record.

“Nothing was more fascinating than surfing rock. It sort of helps with the gray winters of home.” This is true. England does get rather gloomy and very bright music can always make those gray clouds fly away.

“To think the Americans went from surfing music to heavy rock in a matter of ten years.” We laughed as I noticed that his eyes were...were these beautiful blue pools. Almost like beautiful sapphires.

“If you’re interested I’ve got plenty of more originals in the back. More than just American surfing music.” Smiling at him as I offered him to look into the box.

“I would definitely be interested. Can I put my coat somewhere?” He asked as I pointed over to the coat rack.

“Roger by the way.” He smiled as he took off his coat with a long striped scarf.

“Anya.” Smiling as his group of friends he came in with approached him by the coat rack.

“I’ll be a little bit. Meet you there at the studio around six.” His group left as I began pulling out the rest of the records from the box.

“You seem like a trustworthy chap. Do you mind if I leave you in charge of the front. Just don’t let anyone steal anything please while I get a few more boxes.” Asking him as I am hoping he doesn’t rob me either.

“Of course.” Nodding as I walked from behind the counter to then hurry into the back.

Grabbing the small step ladder for me to start grabbing boxes from the shelf and placing them on the ground. I really need to take a few days and go through all this junk, maybe save me some money on orders if I have almost originals in here. I wouldn’t even sell them for that much more than the ones I already have, just a few more extra pounds maybe.

Lightly kicked the door open to carry two cases of records to then towards the counter. He was already looking through the ones I laid out for him to look at. I’m taking a wild guess that he’s some musician and a very dedicated one to that fact. Or he’s a conicor kind of person who wants to get his hands on this stuff before it comes obsolete.

“These should be good for now. Thank you Anya.” He smiled as I opened the lid of the boxes. He was smiling the entire time as I began going through them to see the amount of records that I had so far in the back. His smile is really cute and it brings a nice warmth into the store.

“The Chocolate Watchband? Holy hell it’s been a few since I listened to them.” I completely forgot about them. I love psychedelic rock but there were so many these past five years that it’s hard to remember each and every one of them.

“There’s something that I’ve noticed with a lot of these types of bands Roger. Their band name has some sort of food in it, guess when the acid is gone you get the serious taste of the munchies.” He chuckled a little to then go through half of the bands.

“The Chocolate Watchband, The Lemon Pipers, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Chicken Shack, and Apple Pie Motherhood?” I don’t think I’ve listened to them before actually.

“Let’s hear it.” He handed me the record as I took off Peggy Lee who to then replace it with their 1968 record. That’s also called Apple Pie Motherhood. The first song that was played was Born Under a Bad Sign. It definitely reminds me of watching Woodstock on the television.

“Let us not forget Vanilla Fudge.” Roger showed me as he did a little jazz hand underneath the record. I just noticed..he has beautiful hands. Not a lot of men have just hands..but they look so rough around the edges. They look stunning.

“Good god this was my first record I think I bought for the store. I’m not surprised that it’s still here. They were a little too hard and felt like they we’re trying too hard. After working in this store for two three years now I can definitely tell when a band is trying too hard or not.

“Do you think this decade will be any better than the previous one?” I asked Roger for him to perk up at my question.

“Well think about it. The movement in California changed music. Little Richard and Elvis Presley brought blues back into light, Lucille Bogan showed that you can write literally whatever you want.”

“Lucille Bogan?” Oh my god Lucille Bogan!

“Lucille Bogan! The raunchy blues singer?” He drew a blank as I practically ran around the counter and towards the Blues section. Bogan bogan bogan AH HA! Snatching it from the shelf to then back to the turntable. Practically tossing off the record from the turntable to replace it with Lucille Bogan.

“Now just listen to the lyrics, let the lyrics flow through you Roger.” Placing the needle down to then watch the show before me. I know Roger is going to be shocked when he hears this song.

I got a man I love

I got a man I like

Everytime I fuck them means

I give ‘em the doggone clap! Oh baby!

His eyes widened for him to take a look at the album cover.

Give ‘em the doggone clap

But that’s the kind of pussy that they really like!

“Jesus Christ Anya!” He laughed. But we couldn’t stop listening to it because it’s just so fantastic!

I told him I gotta have a good cock!

And it’s got four damn good names!

Rough top

Rough cock

Tough cock

Cock with a bone!

“Dear God Anya! How much?” Looking at the front of the album then back at him.

“Fifteen pounds?” Roger immediately pulled out his wallet to hand me the money. Opening the register to give him back his change, with the music still playing around in the background. Till I took the needle off the record to pack it up for him.

“Listen. What time are you out of here?” Roger asked which made me gulp a little.

“Four. Why?” I could feel the rush of blood going through my body at an alarming rate.

“Come by Trident Studios around six if you would like to.” He offered as he placed a small card on the counter.

“Okay. I will definitely be there.” Smiling as he walked over to the coat rack to put on his fur coat then scarf.

“See you later Anya.”

“Bye Roger!” Smiling and waving to him as he left the store.

What just happened?

#roger taylor #Roger Meddows Taylor #Roger and Freddie #roger taylor one shot #roger taylor x reader #roger taylor fluff #Roger Taylor x o/c #Queen #Queen band #Brian May #freddie mercury #John Deacon #fan fiction #Roger Taylor Fan Ficiton #70s Roger Taylor #record #record stores

18 notes · View notes

furrycowboypeach · 3 years

Text

car insurance : 10 questions with answers

Dear reader, we are honored to visit

our site

and hope to find everything you need in this article.

1.How does classic car insurance differ from conventional car insurance ?Classic car insurance will give you what the car is actually worth and or what you feel the car is worth. Conventional insurance will not. Let’s say you have a beautiful 1965 split window corvette. Maybe it’s worth a $100,000. Collection insurance will want photos of the car and maybe an inspection of the vehicle. Once they agree on the value your good to go. However there are rules, like limited miles you can drive, garage kept, they can be very picky. Regular insurance last I heard will give you blue book value. Do the research. There are some very good collection companies around.

Insurance companies and having fun with this.

The UK MOT test now has public information data about current and historical mileage.

Thus now we can see/prove/audit that there are many tens of thousands of old cherished cars - that literally do not move for years on end. (Less than 500 miles every 5 years).

Big data analysis will show clearly to insurance companies which classic cars are massively profitable to insure.

A mainstream loved semi-classic car has a market value of £4,000 or less. (eg. 18 year old Mercedes convertible) driven by a busy,, employed, 50 year old with 2+ cars

On fully comprehensive insurance - the risk held by the insurance company is £3.5K for total write off of the car and any 3rd party claims (on a vehicle that hardly moves). The risk to the policy owner is loss of 4 years no claims bonus and a 10+ year claim free profile.

Big data will show to the insurance companies that these are very profitable policies

2.Does the wrong address invalidate car insurance ?

That depends on why it is wrong. If you move, while you should notify your insurance company, but don’t you are more likely to get cancelled because you didn’t pay your mailed bill (assuming that is the option that you selected).

But if say that you live in Miami, Florida (the most expensive place in the state to get auto insurance, and you claim that you live just outside of DeFuniak Springs, Florida and then have an accident in Miami, Florida, the insurance company could say FRAUD and VOID your policy as if it never existed. Because you had an uninsured accident, you would probably lose your driver’s license until you made the other driver whole again! Short of that, it usually wouldn’t be considered Material, and they would back bill you for premium OR give you a refund.

3.Is rental car insurance a rip-off ?

yes and no.

if you are using your insurance and crash the rental car, you can be liable for the complete cost of repairs AND lost revenue while it is being repaired. this can be full price of the rental all the time it is being repaired. this can be a ton of cash. also if you chip the windshield the rental co can charge you for a complete new windshield or repair the that one. your insurance may or may not cover any or all of this. needless to say you will have to deal with it one way or another.

if you buy the EXPENSIVE rental car insurance you are covered for all damages including all the “little scratches”

i was 21 and rented a car to go to a job interview 2 day rental. well i put almost 1600 miles on the car. when i returned the rental agent was mad i had put that many miles on an unlimited rental. so she went out and nitpicked everything …. i just watched as she pointed bugs out as dents and everything else. when we went in she disappeared a returned with a 2400.00 repair dollar bill. and demanded how i was going to pay. i just said i paid the 15.00 for the full insurance and that would cover it , she grabbed the rental agreement and read it, her face turned red. and i left….

4.Is it okay to not have car insurance for a few months ?

Probably expecting a bit of heat for this one but here goes.. lol.

I live in Spain and about 14 years ago or so I was forced under pressure to get rid of the Suzuki jeep… which looked a fair bit like this I suppose. No power steering and the uncanny ability to just spin right around on itself in slightly greasy roads….

which had the widest back tyres I think I have ever seen on a car.., anyway, it had to go, saw an ad for a Mitsubishi Shogun , a lot like this

UK plates and only came with an export certificate from UK. Seems the guy who brought it over was intending to change it over to Spanish plates but never got round to it. Swapped the Suzuki plus 3 grand and off we went. First time I had driven an automatic, was a joy and no mistake…proper built like a tank too.. awesome car.

Drove that car for almost 8 years on that export certificate, no MOT and insurance papers I made my self on the computer by copying a mates documents and changing the pertinent details. Spanish cops had at that time.. and possibly still now, no way of actually checking the veracity of insurance papers, if they looked legit, they were accepted.

I understand that in the last few years DVLA having softened a little and offer a yes or no answer to Spanish enquiries as to whether a UK registered car has a valid MOT or not… no other info is given. I assume thats data protection at work or some such. Its that yes or no that has gotten rid of a load of UK plated cars from Spanish roads, now you actually have to have one, so either you know someone who has an MOT garage and can produce one for you or you drive back to get it done, which isnt usually viable.

So ye, its ok to not have insurance for a few months or even a few years, as long as you can get away with it.

5.Can realtors write off car insurance ?

It depends on the method they choose to use to write off their car expenses. If their car is used less than 50% for business, they must use the mileage method which includes all operating expenses including insurance. If they use it more than 50% they may choose to use the actual expense method or the mileage method. If they use the actual expense method they can deduct the business % of gas, repairs, interest, insurance, depreciation, etc. Either method requires them to keep a mileage log.

6.Does my car insurance cover my friend when they borrow my car for a day?

In the UK read your certifcate of motor insurance.

If it says

“Any person driving on the policyholder’s behalf or with their permission” or WTTE then they will be covered. (There may be age limits in the schedule of insurance but these cannot appear on the certificate). (Also cover will be for pleasure use only unless the wording on the certificate specifically includes business use by your friend).

If it does not say that then, unless your friend is named on the certificate of insurance, they are not covered under your policy.

This does not necessarily mean that they are uninsured when they drive your car, since they may have an insurance policy covereing their own car with the “driving other cars” extension. “The policyholder may drive, with the owner’s permission a car not belonging to the policyholder nor hired to him under a hire-purchase agreement”. If this clause is in effect it only covers their Road Traffic Act Liability and does not cover loss or damage to the car whilst in their control. Note that it is your duty to check this. If your friend doesn’t have such cover then you are ‘aiding and abetting’ a motor offence of driving without insurance - offence code IN12 - which will substantially increase your car insurance premium - despite the FCA announcements today.

7.Can a 19-year-old afford car insurance ?

Driving a car is a privilige, not a right.

Unless you are in gainful employment and living at home, I suspect you will have to rely on the bank of mum and dad. But if you think getting insurance at 19 is hard - imagine trying to get it at 17 and 18.

Many teenagers go with a company that assesses the premium based on information sent to them by a ‘black box’ added to the car. People who drive sensibly and only durting the day pay a lot less than those who drive recklessley and at night - even if the latter have no accidents.

The first year is by far the worst. If you go claim free for a year then no only will you be 20 rather than 19 - but you will have one years no claims discount - which will knock about a third off your premium.

(Oh and don’t try and pretend the car you drive is owned and registered with your parents and that your mother is the main user. Insurance companies are not stupid. People who own a vehicle one or two years old don’t normally decide to buy a second vehcile that is 10 years old for their own use.)

8.What are the worst car insurance companies in America ?

As others have alluded to, the whole insurance cabal and racket is on par with a level or two less integrity than the drug cartels run in Mexico and South America.

Still, some insurance companies make an effort to comply with law and regulation, while others just have a standard operating procedure to act like bad-faith criminals.

One company stands out as the worst of the worst:

Bristol West

If you bought insurance from these scoundrel's, do yourself a favor, and immediately change. But don’t change early, or you’ll pay outrageous cancellation.

If you get hit by someone with this insurance, put in your claim with your own insurance, or you’ll just be wasting your own time.

9.How much do I need to pay for car insurance ?

Without knowing where in the world that you live, nor your age, sex marital status, other drivers in your household, driving records, and car or cars you trying to insure.

You can't save time or money by asking an ambiguous non informational question here. You will have to do it the old fashioned way, calling around to agents or companies. You can also go online to the companies and agents but NOT TO THOSE SITES THAT PROMISE TO TELL YOU THAT THEY'LL TELL YOU EVERY COMPANY'S RATES. That is a LIE plus you are putting yourself at risk for identity theft, and here are the reasons:

None of these sites has ALL of the companies. They only show those companies paying them to be there.

Even if they show an Allstate, a Progressive and/or Geico, these companies all have multiple rating levels for different types of drivers from preferred for the very best risks down to theworst risks out there. Those kinds companies might only have one or two of their rating levels on each of these sites, so if you don't qualify for those that rating tiers you won't be given a rate from those companies. Likewise if the company that truly is cheapest for you didn't pay for that website to show their rates, you won't see them.

They will sell your personal information to multiple agents and/or companies. This means that you will be bombarded by people trying to sell you auto insurance.

And since they don't check that the person indeed buying the leads are insurance agents all of your personal information could end up in the hands of identity thieves.

NOTE: IDENTITY THEFT DOES NOT HAPPEN FROM INSURANCE COMPANY OR AGENT'S WEBSITES!

10.What do

sports

car

lovers need to know about car insurance ?

Find out how buying a sports car impacts on your car insurance, from cost to cover. There’s nothing specific you need to look for in an insurance policy on a sports car, per se, but it’s always a good idea to read the policy wording in advance if you have anything specific you want covered.

Some of us love football. Some of us love cricket. And some of us love motorsport. The sports we like are part of our identity, and if you’re a motorsport fan you might want to express that through your choice of car.

We’ve put together this short guide to help you better understand the implications of owning a sports car from an insurance point of view.

Find out how buying a sports car impacts on your car insurance, from cost to cover.

What to look for in an insurance policy on a sports car

There’s nothing specific you need to look for in an insurance policy on a sports car, per se, but it’s always a good idea to read the policy wording in advance if you have anything specific you want covered.

For instance, you might want to be sure you’re covered against vandalism or other such malicious damage to the tyres, paintwork or (on a cabriolet) the fabric roof.

Even if you’ve found a policy that covers every scenario you can imagine, you must fully disclose all details of the car to avoid having an insurance claim refused. This includes any optional extras or other modifications that have been made by you or a previous owner.

What qualifies as a sports car ?

For the purposes of insurance underwriting, Admiral defines sports cars as cars designed as performance vehicles ‘from the get-go’: things like coupes, roadsters and GTs.

Having said that, your car may be considered a sports car even if it doesn’t fall into one of these categories.

Car manufacturers recognised years ago the demand for high-performance cars which were practical and spacious enough for the real world – cars for people with children and hobbies, essentially.

Traditional sports cars are designed to be lightweight, compact and aerodynamic, but this usually means a cramped interior and little or no luggage space.

So, over the years, and with changing attitudes towards what ‘sporty’ means, we’ve seen the arrival of the hot hatchback (as defined by the iconic VW Golf GTI), the sports saloon (think BMW M5) and, more recently, the performance SUV (such as the Porsche Cayenne).

Why is insurance on sports cars more expensive ?

Every new car is placed into an insurance group based on the risk associated with it, and risk is calculated using statistics about past claims on similar cars. Risk takes into account both how likely you are to make a claim, and how much it could cost to put right if you do.

When it comes to sports cars, the first (and perhaps most obvious) thing insurers look at is their performance. Many sports cars are fitted with engines that provide rapid acceleration and high top speeds.

And they’re engineered to mimic the driving characteristics of racing cars, with responsive handling and potent brakes – all designed to help you carry as much speed into, through, and out of corners as possible. All of which increases your likelihood of being involved in an accident.

They are also, often, more expensive to repair or replace, because of their high sale prices or because parts are more specialised. And they may present a more irresistible temptation to thieves, making a theft claim more likely.

What are the cheapest sports cars to insure ?

We've compiled a list of the 10 sports cars with the cheapest average premium between January and March 2021.

Of course, the car itself is only one of the factors used in calculating premiums, so the characteristics of the average owner of these cars (including age, driving history and No Claims Bonus) could explain why the premiums are so affordable.

The models listed combine cars of all ages and values, including both hard-top and roadster equivalents sharing the same name.

Porsche Boxster - £404.04

BMW Z4 - £437.52

Polestar 2 - £446.07

Mazda MX-5 - £451.80

Porsche Cayman - £488.42

Porsche 911 - £509.19

Porsche Macan - £518.03

Nissan GT-R - £582.02

Toyota MR2 - £586.39

Ford Mustang - £586.77

After you've finished reading, we hope you've benefited. And we invite you to comment in your opinion. And we're happy with that, and we love reading it.

#home #car #book blog #insurance

1 note · View note

queenlokibeth · 4 years

Text

Shall we talk about the songs on louis’ “28 songs” playlist?

(Massive observation of all 28 songs ahead. Yes it took me 2 hours to make this. Skip to the end after the keep reading if you want the TL;DR)

You’re not the only one - Sam Fender

“The song is in fact about his best mate and himself “coming out on the other end of a bad place” and going out to party. He told Virgin Radio that “It’s a celebratory song about loving your mate, really”. “ - Genius lyrics

“ The fabricated smiles so wide, they're of hope Your composure is so brittle, and you hold yourself so well Inside, you cling to pieces of a broken carousel “ well yes i am crying

“We'll have this place on lockdown, it's here for you to taste“

Call me out - Sea Girls (Nautical theme, anyone?)

“And I've changed a lot since then, ask my friends The crying stopped, on top of that, my eyes forgot An old flame who got her hips on a bucket list And times missed every night since we first kissed”

“ And I've changed a lot since then, ask my friends My clothes, my frame, I've spent enough but feel the same”

“And I'll be waiting when you come and call”

“ I can burn that bridge when we get to it “

The Runner - Foals

“... The narrator is done lamenting his fate now and Part 2 sees him picking himself up, dusting himself off, and moving forward... [A] call to find a sense of purpose and perseverance despite the odds and despite the troubles we may find inside or outside ourselves.” - Genius lyrics

Nightmares - Easy Life

“...topics of insomnia, anxiety, and peer pressure.... The major chords acting to cover up the emotions professed in the lyrics, turning the song itself into a perfect metaphor...” - About the song, Genius lyrics.

“ It's all a bit of fun until somebody gets hurt I’ll take it with a pinch of salt, another bridge is burned” Burning bridges, again, you say?

“ It's all a bit of fun until somebody gets hurt I'll take it with a pinch of salt, another lesson learned But I don't need to know what's real or not no more I don't need to know what's real or not no more “

My honest face - Inhaler (pretty self explanatory title there)

“ [The vocalist] fears being met with nitpicking or criticism of the lesser parts of his performance. He thinks of himself as skilled, but not perfect. “ - About the song, Genius lyrics.

“And honey, I could play the Joker My made up smile broke your heart last night No, no, no, I didn't want to hurt ya But there's just a certain culture when you're young When you're young “

“ And honey, I could play the hater Acting like I hated her last night No, no no, I didn't want to hurt you “

“ I'll take you to an honest place Darling, I just can't find my honest face It's all over the place, it's all over the place “ So he wants to show his audience who he really is, but he can’t.

Your girlfriend - Blossoms (oh? oH?)

This one is interesting. There are many pronoun changes through the song. It’s hard to figure out at which point the girl goes from being “a friend who is a girl” to “girlfriend” and who is the speaker, who is the friend, and who is the girl.

“ I'm a boy And she's a girl With more charm than most movie stars So we met Through a friend We rent a place and she comes round to stay “ The first ‘we’ is the speaker and the girl, the second we is the speaker and his friend. This is when the song starts sounding like a dialogue to me: one person sings everything until before the last line, and the last line is a reply from the friend.

“ And now your girlfriend is ringing in my ears again “ There is a change here from “we met through a friend” (telling the story to someone else) vs this line, where the speaker is talking TO said friend, or perhaps following up on the dialogue theory, this is the friend replying to the speaker.

“ What am I supposed to do? I can tell, they get along so well” Is this the speaker talking about his friend and the girl, no longer talking TO the friend? I feel like this is the (mutual)friend wondering about his girl friend and the speaker.

“Is it possible, she likes me too?

I'm not sure if I should read between those lines “ This could be the speaker wondering.

“I should be moving out but can't 'cause we've just signed a lease “ (Again with the renting? Princess park? Hmm?)

“Thought maybe we'd go out for a movie And we can forget friends who'll be fuming Then I could walk you home in the evening And that's just being friendly “ This can be analysed in so many different ways depending on who’s speakig and to whom.

“And now your girlfriend is ringing in my ears again And when she smiles, I can't hide my jealousy Oh I can't take it, boy I hope she's faking it I heard he bought a ring today

I heard they got engaged today “ This one is interesting, because she might have ended up together with either the friend or the speaker, and whichever one she did not end up with is referring FIRST to their buddy and then moving on to address someone else, telling the story. Also, it almost sounds as if whoever is saying this is jealous OF THE GIRL, not of the guy who is with her.

Overall there is a lot to unpack with this song, mainly because of the change in pronouns and who the singer has as their audience for each line.

Empty hands - Tors

“Too late to call I've been away left you alone”

“I didn't notice you're feeling hopeless So blue-ou-ou again”

“And I'm nothing more than just a man And it breaks my heart When I break your heart”

“And I promised more than I could give And it's not the life you thought you'd live”

“Saturday nights up on the roof Sundays in bed Coffee and sleep Head for a walk Down by the sea with you-ou-ou” (Again nautical theme? Eroda anyone? Lou’s MV? Harry’s MV?)

“When I come back home I see the lights That you left on for me every night When I see you standing at the door Everything i want for evermore “ (Lights up? met you at your doorstep?)

Restrospect - Vistas

“See you find comfort in small things Which she considers the wrong things And you find comfort in hellos Not goodbyes, not goodbye And you try not to have issues With the hate you, love you, and miss yous That all come out when she kissed you Goodbye, goodbye” This is basically saying “hey i know about the stuff you like and don’t, she doesn’t! also you were feeling great until she ruined it!”

“Singing Sweet Caroline with diamonds in her eyes” (diamonds will make sense with the next song)

“Throw my arms to the skies”

“ Let me go and I'll forget Happiness in retrospect” Letting go has been a big theme y’all.

“See you find comfort in tall things Which he considers the wrong things And you find comfort in things he can't Recognise, recognise” OH HO HO HO WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT PRONOUN CHANGE? Now there’s a MAN who isn’t right for this person according to the singer.

“ And you want nothing but all this While he's stuck trying to solve it Nevertheless acquiesce till you feel those Butterflies, butterflies “

Lucy - Ten Tonnes (aHA! Lucy as in Lucy in the sky with diamonds, aka ANOTHER Beatles reference up in this bitch.)

“ Where you left your face “

“ Come away, from the window Haven't you learnt? That in dreams you can't get burned And I will meet you there Under purest skies It's where I'll be When they're finished with me” This gives me some SOTT vibes.

My Cheating Heart - Love Fame Tragedy (Pretty self explanatory song title, pretty self explanatory band name)

“Money, women, cars Leave my head among the stars 'Cause I want it all, yeah, yeah I want it all Puppet on a string is it such an evil thing”

“ So do I sink or do I float now?” The water scenes in the MVs????

Tears dry on their own - Amy Winehouse (ouch)

About the song: “She describes how a tarnished relationship has made her feel, and how she cries often. [Song] Samples Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” Interesting sampling there, since ANMHE literally goes “ain’t no mountain high enough... to keep me from getting to you babe. Remember the day I set you free...” and just great song overall i cannot copy the whole thing here but YO.

“Once it was so right When we were at our height Waiting for you in the hotel at night I knew I hadn't met my match But every moment we could snatch I don't know why I got so attached It's my responsibility And you don't owe nothing to me But to walk away I have no capacity “ Well i am crying this isn’t it THIS AINT IT

“He walks away The sun goes down He takes the day but I'm grown And in your way, in this blue shade My tears dry on their own” Letting go, your partner leaving you for someone else... there’s a lot to unpack here.

“We could a never had it all We had to hit a wall So this is inevitable withdrawal Even if I stop wanting you A perspective pushes through I'll be some next man's other woman soon” So, Walls? Hardship in the relationship? Not being the formal girlfriend/partner but the side-chick?

“ I wish I could say no regrets And no emotional debts Cause as we kiss goodbye the sun sets So we are history”

2all - Catfish and the Bottlemen

“Life got led By people who Just wanna flood your head

... But it fits you at the time To fall for every line “ As stated by Genius: “...life is often “led” or heavily influenced by those who can rally people to follow their thoughts and ideas, e.g. friends, employers... The “fall for every line” is referring to the ones who let the people that try to influence their lives into their head and let them take over. “

Also, About: “ The song has a heavy emphasis on how you should hold the best people closest to your heart – the ones who are always there for you when you need them and the people you can count on all the time.”

“ Oh, they convinced me every time That I needed fooling So that I'd go and get it right Yeah, somewhere, they convinced me down the line When I needed fooling So that I'd go and get it right”

Reptilia - The Strokes

About the first lines: “ A shot at journalists; The Strokes, especially Julian, have never been open with the press and want their music to do their talking.”

“"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me" From Genius: “Julian’s girl is talking to him, telling him that he looks “sleepy” but he probably is bored... his girl gets frustrated with him and eggs him on to ditch her.”

Honestly the whole analysis on Genius is pretty on point:

“He’s using sarcasm, the girl is trying as hard as she can to keep the relationship together, she’s thirsty as fuck and the night is barely over.... At this point Casablancas just wants to get out of the relationship. he sees this desperate need to leave, but she remains behind.... He’s waited long enough and it’s finally over between whom ever the girl is. She’s not having fun anymore and her happiness becomes sorrow, he just wants this night to be over....[About the title] Reptiles are cold blooded creatures (and the girl in the song just doesn’t care about the guy.)”

Harmony Hall - Vampire Weekend

This song sort of refers to hate groups, keep that in mind.

“ We took a vow in summertime Now we find ourselves in late December”

“ I thought that I was free from all that questionin'”

“ I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die “

Runaway - KAWALA

“ Run away from the words unspoken Coast to coast going through the motions of Who'll be a better man, who'll do it better”

“ And I'll help you follow the line “

“ We're miles apart, closing up the distance I'm reaching out if you need assistance Who'll be a better man, who'll do it better”

“Today is the day I'll get on Awaiting the storm to move on I lie naked in wait to reform Let's try make it right this time now” I’m-- Bitch i’m---

“ Oh, it's all so emotional Oh, I hope that you're coping Oh, I won't let you lose it all “

Mr. Brightside - The Killers (Ah well we all know this one who are we even kidding)

Honestly this is where shit starts aligning.

About the song: “the song deals with issues of infidelity, paranoia, and jealousy”

“ Coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine Gotta gotta be down because I want it all It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?” Iconic, we all know it, wild.

More About: “ The song is about the THOUGHT that one’s significant other is cheating”

And anyway, more paranoia and jealousy and fear of getting cheated on.

For now - DMA’S

“ All I need to know, she's dead to me” Well that is... harsh.

“ Quite like what I need to be, I'll send your bones to the sea “ You know the drill.

“ No, I won't be anymore, no, we won't be anymore “

“ Lately, we've lost control of everything you're biddin' for You keep me down, you set the score I've been impossible, only words are drowning out Take your head out of the clouds” There’s like 80 different meanings here.

Belter - Gerry Cinnamon

About the title: “ “belter” which is Scottish slang for an exceptional or outstanding example of something”

“ Diamonds oan' her finger and she always looks her best “ Diamonds again. Also allusion to rings ehem.

“ No happy endings, unless fairy-tales come true But she looks like a princess and there’s not much else to do I think I love her “ :(

“Is happiness an option, or has love just turned me blind?” Double :(

Dry your eyes - The Streets

The whole thing is about a breakup.

“In one single moment your whole life can turn around“

“ Please let me show you how we could only just be for us I can change and I can grow, or we could adjust The wicked thing about us is we always have trust”

“We can even have an open relationship if you must”

“Dry your eyes, mate I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up There's plenty more fish in the sea Dry your eyes, mate I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts But you've got to walk away now, it's over” It’s like he’s talking to his buddy who just went through a painful breakup telling him to n o t l e t i t b r e a k h i s h e a r t.

“ 'Cause I can't imagine my life without you and me There's things I can't imagine doing, things I can't imagine seeing “

“ 'Cause you said it'd be forever and that was your vow And you're gonna let our things simply crash and fall down? “ I didn’t include it before, but a few other songs also mention vows.

“ I know in the past I've found it hard to say Telling you things but not telling straight But the more I pull on your hand and say The more you pull away”

Confidence - Ocean Alley

(Random fact: I just noticed that this song is from an album called Chiarobscuro, and i didn’t include it but one of the previous songs also used that word)

“ Well, I should've said this, and I should've said that All that I know now”

Modern Love - Courteeners (quite the title)

“We got style and we got grace, we run wild and never dance alone In this town, she’s fucking famous But this town will never be her home” LA anyone?

“ But I don’t need this modern love This modern love Oh, it always lets me down”

“The popularity trap strikes again You don’t need these fools cause you’re incroyable“ Yeah not to be that larrie but the TPWK website has been telling people that they’re “incroyable” (incredible)

“ We found solace at The Star and Garter “ Oh, what is The Star and Garter? Oh you know, just “... a cult club located in their home town of, Manchester.” Anyways moving on

I am slowly losing my shit here:

“ A bare mattress, a lockless door Two Withington hearts on a pique assiette floor Give me back those awkward exchanges The fumbles In bathtubs When we were just strangers We talk about your graduation And the realisation that we might not be together forever and ever “ Withington is an area of south Manchester.

“ Wide-eyed and up all night This could be good” ANYWAYS...

Laurel Wreath - Bear’s Den

About the title: “refers to the Ancient Greek tradition of awarding Olympic victors laurel wreaths. The laurel wreath is also used in academia and as an architectural accent, for good luck.In this song the wreath is withering, and Andrew Davie uses this idea of athletic defeat as a symbol for his failures and relationship issues.”

“ Or the collapsing of a history “

“ But you found me in the morning, December in my eyes” December was mentioned in other songs, too.

“ Got your call, I needed it more than I could let on to you” WELL

Riot Van - Arctic Monkeys

About the song: “[The people in the song] As long as they had some good laughs, they don’t care if they are rich or have a job or are poor or anything. They just want to exist. “

“ Got a chase last night From men with truncheons dressed in hats We didn't do that much wrong Still ran away though, for the laugh Just for the laugh“

“ Well, they won't catch me and you”

“ Is there a certain age you're supposed to be? 'Cause nobody told me"

“ They get their address and their names took But they couldn't care less” Genius says: “ This is the police’s main deterrent for underage offenders, but the parents of these boys have obviously had so many calls from them that the boys don’t care anymore.”

Ahhh but the fun comes with painful consequences:

“Thrown in the riot van And all the coppers kicked him in And there was no way he could win Just had to take it on the chin” Also from Genius: “ Throughout society, whatever he does is never good or acceptable enough. He always gets pushed further down and down, to the point where he’s given up. He’s never going to win, there are too many people with much more power going against him. He just has to ‘take it on the chin’, ie. he has to accept that this is his life, there’s not point fighting against it because nothing will ever change.”

Please, please, please let me get what I want - The Smiths (it doesn’t get more literal that this tbh)

About the song: “ This song is about the desperation to fulfill personal desires... He has lived a life full of disappointment and maybe despair... For once he is having a good time, which is a wonderful surprise...” Also, sidenote, in live shows the title lyric apparently gets changed to “let me get who i want”.

The Less I Know the Better - Tame Impala (buddy let me tell you, the amount of gay fics i’ve seen from different fandoms using part of this song as a title...)

About the song: “...describes the pain of a man feeling left out in a love triangle”

“ She was holding hands with Trevor Not the greatest feeling ever” Y’all remember the Trevor concert incident with Harry? also the singer’s name is Kevin... who’s feuding with Trevor in the song... maybe that doesn’t mean shit.

“ Then I heard they slept together Oh, the less I know the better The less I know the better” Oh perhaps you broke up with your love and now he’s with someone else and it hurts?

“ Oh my love, can't you see that you're on my mind”

“ She said, "It's not now or never Wait ten years, we'll be together" I said, "Better late than never Just don't make me wait forever" Don't make me wait forever Don't make me wait forever” Oh shit bruuuuuh oh SHIT.

“I was doing fine without ya Till I saw your face, now I can't erase Giving in to all his bullshit Is this what you want? Is this who you are?” BULLSHIT? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

“Oh, sweet darling, where he wants you Said, "Come on Superman, say your stupid line" “

Tomorrow never knows - The Beatles (AHHH WE LOVE A BEATLES REFERENCE)

Song is from the Revolver album (gunshot anyone?)

“Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream It is not dying, it is not dying “

“Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void It is shining, it is shining”

Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) - Bombay Bicycle Club

“ Eat, sleep, wake Nothing but you” Habit? I don’t know if I could ever go without?

“ I can see where you are, dream where you are Will the song never end? Us on the bed half a meter apart”

“ I may not say it outwardly So all I have are memories Those looks at the start, the words in the dark But never a flame, we just wanted the spark”

ANYWAYS CONCLUSION TIME, or TL;DR: There is A LOT to unpack here. All of these songs vaguely follow the same theme. There’s a lot of breaking up going on, as well as moving on and third parties being involved. There’s stuff about being controlled, not being enough, wanting to be yourself, There’s references to Louis’ songs, to Harry’s songs, to 1D tracks, to Larry, to Elounor, you name it. This playlist is definitely giving us a taste of what Walls will deal with and boy is it A LOT.

#louis tomlinson #larry stylinson #larry #harry styles #mine

46 notes · View notes

chyrstis · 4 years

Text

I won’t ask for much (but just this once, I’d like you) 2/10

Updates for this’ll probably come every couple of days or so, and I’m already bracing myself for a third wave of edits to come. But here’s the next part, and Sharky, I’m sorry about the skunk, but you were the one to mention it to begin with. ...And the resulting idea was too entertaining to pass up.

Pairing: Sharky Boshaw x John Seed Rating: E (but only for Ch. 10, the rest are a solid T) Word Count: 4.3K

Link to AO3!

Ch. 1 / Ch. 2 / Ch. 3 / Ch. 4 / Ch. 5 / Ch. 6 / Ch. 7 / Ch. 8 / Ch. 9 / Ch. 10

—

Sharky steals a boat. It just happens to be John’s boat, and when it’s damaged along with his boathouse, John proceeds to lay out a means of having Sharky pay him back. [No Cult AU]

———–

It took two and a half days to tear the old boathouse down.

John hadn’t lied when he mentioned wanting him to get in there and take it apart piece by piece, and hovered over him the entire time.

The whole monitoring bit was easily the part that annoyed him the most. Like he was waiting for him to screw up. To somehow find a way to take the already burnt building and set it on fire again through force of will alone. Which, while badass, was well out of his means, all the wishing and praying he’d sometimes do to monkey Jesus aside.

But that didn’t stop John from acting like he had the ability. Riding him further during smoke breaks, or barking order after order at him from the sidelines.

Every other word out of his mouth was a correction. To tell him to go back to read the blueprints again. To check his measurements. To put out that cigarette, pry out that misplaced nail, and to use some of that delicacy he kept on going back to, making Sharky’s eyes want to roll back into his head.

And music? The one time he’d tried to bring any levity to the situation with the soothing sounds of disco, John put an end to it immediately. Really just made it clear how much of a drag he wanted to be, and only wanted to push the point home.

Seeing as John was some big-shot lawyer, he really expected him to have more to do than nitpick and lord this whole thing over him. Like he’d stick around for a few weeks, use the time to get off on whatever power trip he was having over this, and then go back to bugging the department, the local businesses, Nick, shit, anyone.

But John Seed was also petty as fuck.

Local gossip hadn’t painted the guy as a kind or forgiving figure, and while the Seeds as a whole were alright at best and fucking weird at worst, over the past couple of years John had picked up a rep as a colossal asshole all on his own.

Tickets? Contested. Special orders down at the store or for parts? Made with specific instructions that needed to be followed to the letter. If not, he’d demand and get his money back, damning everyone with the fine print others would skim over.

Hell, Sid, one of the guys that worked down at the cattle ranch, had traded paint with him once. He’d done so while stopping at the general store, and hadn’t paid much mind to the fancy car parked in the lot, getting just close enough to leave a small scuff on the rear bumper.

In those cases, a person would trade numbers, or see what they could buff off before moving on, 'cause insurance claims were a pain in the ass, and half of the cars in the county were a little late on renewing registrations anyway. Shit, he was coming up on a year, and hoping to see how much longer he could go before any of the Deps cottoned on to it.

But no, the minute John caught on, Sid recalled the glint he got in his eye. Then told him he’d slap him with the largest fine possible for both the damage and the late reg. All over trading paint. Not major damage, not even a busted tire.

Just paint.

Sid was still spitting mad about it, months after the fact.

He’d even pulled a fast one when it came to setting up big bro Joe’s compound. Digging up some obscure property laws all but guaranteeing the land could be sold to them.

No, no one earned the title of mega-dick by being sweet and accommodating. His bro had smoothed over a lot of ruffled feathers by being pretty okay after that, even with all of the converts chilling the fuck out on his property, but John was still John.

And now he personally had that shit to deal with. Today, two days from now, and who knew how many weeks or months after that.

So much for those chicks wanting and keeping his number too. Hurk told him he’d snagged at least one number on the way back to their drop off, but when he’d tried to call them back the other day he got no answer. Ghosted him like it was nothing, and he guessed he deserved that.

What with getting himself caught and left to doing whatever the hell John wanted for as long as John wanted.

“As per our agreement,” John would remind him, whenever he felt the point needed pushing.

And he pushed.

Whenever Sharky would drop something, whenever he let his feet drag, whenever he cut something and John was ready to whip out his tape measure.

He pushed, and Sharky shot another prayer up to monkey Jesus, hoping that maybe this would be the day to go Human Torch on the situation. Or at the very least a little Cyclops.

Not today, but he’d try again tomorrow.

But on the days when Sharky was working, it wasn’t always just the two of them. He’d full on expected this whole thing to go on in its own little pocket, with Hurk eventually crashing the party due to a need to bust him out or worse.

The day that Joseph first showed up stood out, for one.

Joseph Seed was kind of like Pastor Jerome. Not his first pick to hang out with, considering they were both on opposite sides here. Of the whole preaching and managing earthly temptations, while not super indulging in the kind of shit that he knew he wanted in his life, period.

It came with the territory, being religious leaders and all that, but when Joseph first rolled in to the county, he’d brought his people with him.

And they were an interesting bunch. The People of Eden’s Gate were some kind of holistic commune where it was pretty hunky-dory roughly ninety percent of the time. The other ten percent was wondering just what to do about the men and women that wanted the simple life. Living humbly while offering help wherever needed.

While their hearts were in the right place, it was pretty boring stuff otherwise, Sharky decided. He’d even considered joining up for the hell of it only until Hurk reminded him that there wasn’t much fucking to be found there. Pretty women, sure, but the kind more focused on spirituality, and less on how many ways they could Clutch Nixon-ify their daily lives.

But Joseph on his own was a different story.

Watching John go from calmly sipping his drink, doubling-down on just how refreshing it was when Sharky happened to push the wheelbarrow past him, to spitting half of it out when Joseph materialized next to him was fucking priceless.

Greeting him warmly, Joseph pulled a sputtering John into a kind-of half-hug gesture, but John’s cool had already been lost, and in front of his entourage too.

Joe’s wife was with him, plus kiddo number one of a baker’s dozen, carrying them up and on her hip as they talked. With them was also a woman dressed in the modest clothes the Peggies stuck to. She wasn’t trying to stand out, but he didn’t need sharp eyes to see how damn pretty she was.

It had to have been a brother thing, Sharky gathered. Embarrassing the shit out of younger siblings seemed almost natural to Joseph, and it might’ve been petty of him too, but watching John try to get his shit back in line in front of all of them was like hitting the jackpot.

So, Sharky kept on working, sneaking looks over at the group every now and then, and at one point gave an awkward wave back whenever they tried acknowledging him. But whenever John glanced his way, Sharky didn’t hide his shit-eating grin. No, it stayed put for the rest of the day.

The next time Joseph came over, however, he didn’t stop by just to say hi. He approached Sharky, ignoring John’s loud protests, and insisted on helping.

He’d get water, and help with any items that needed anchoring, stepping in whenever it looked like Sharky needed another hand. It was the most contact he’d had with the guy outside of the times he’d tried preaching at the Eagle, and outside of that? He was actually pretty okay to be around.

Well, he personally didn’t have a problem with Joe, at least. John’s irritation skyrocketed with every suggestion, especially when Joseph did the impossible. Told him that with a three-person job, you needed three people, and John? John was capable.

“You sure are,” Sharky added, giving him a wicked grin, and John looked mad enough to spit.

But he didn’t say no. Didn’t even try, or attempt it.

Did more than his fair share under the loving supervision of his older bro, and come nightfall, Sharky realized he’d had a damn good day. It was the lightest he’d felt in weeks, and wasn’t about to turn that down. Not when it helped him jump back into things with some extra pep, and the progress was a boost too.

With the actual frame up and the panels and exterior being added piece by piece, Sharky was starting to feel pretty accomplished. Proud even, because he built this. Yeah, he was being needled at every step of the way, but he used his own two hands to get this set up, no one else’s, and at the end of the day could actually see more of this coming together.

If he kept this up, he’d also have some extra skills to add to his repertoire. Might even get a chance to twist Hurk’s arm into trying out that whole ‘building and flipping’ thing that seemed to be hot at the moment, provided he wasn’t here for the next ten years.

But goals. He had goals to work towards and something to show for it, and it was pretty damn nice in the grand scheme of things.

Today, however, John had a guest again. The same Peggie woman as before, holding a basket, flanked by a few other converts.

Full on expecting to see Joe with her, Sharky wondered if he was waiting out in the woods again. Hell, even John was checking the path back up towards his house, looking past her every now and then to see if he’d catch him.

But as the minutes ticked by, and Sharky kept on working, nothing happened. And long after the other Eden’s Gate members had left, the two kept on talking, having what seemed to be a hell of a time going off of the signals they were giving off.

Smiling, laughing. Facing each other directly as they spoke, Sharky had John’s back to him almost completely, which had his eyebrows climbing up.

And judging by the way she was reacting to John in turn, he had to have been turning on the charm. Smiling shyly, twirling her hair around her finger, hell, he’d put money on her being a two-word question away from dropping everything to get a piece of that.

It was annoying as fuck, really. Dry spell or not, watching John pull it off with minimal effort sucked.

Sure, he had a lot of things working for him. The guy was loaded, for one. Had more than enough money to net himself a fancy car, his large-ass ranch, and a plane. He’d also had a boat up until Sharky had wrecked it, but that was beside the point. Man had more money than sense, and worked the slick lawyer angle for all it was worth. He’d listened in on enough convos to know just how many women in the county dug it. Shit, men too.

Plus the whole property on the water was a real panty dropper. At least going off of what his Auntie had said shortly after John had first bought it, gossiping with Sharky about the costs and expenses that came with it.

Then she promptly turned the talk on its head by launching into talking about John’s ass instead.

His drink hadn’t stayed in his mouth for long, and she’d dropped her forlorn sighing long enough to tell him not to stain the carpet. That he had to hear and think about John’s ass at all wasn’t fucking fair, especially since he was pretty damn sure it wasn’t that much of a draw to begin with. He’d checked.

Whenever John’s back was turned towards him, he’d sneak a look to see what the deal was only to be disappointed. Better asses were walking around Hope County right this moment, his included, but good luck trying to argue that with her. Or even get three words in edgewise before wanting to slap some sense into himself.

Besides, John’s eyes were better. Hands down, Sharky knew they’d been his ticket to pound town on more than one occasion, needing only to show them off and say a few fancy words to seal any kind of deal.

Dropping the wood onto the ground, he crouched down low. Stared at the wood grain of the plank to clear his mind a little before shifting his attention back towards John.

Shit, were they still talking?

He rolled his eyes. Whatever John was saying couldn’t have been that good, and any joke? Nowhere near funny enough to get a giggle like that.

At that time, John turned, giving him a look over his shoulder as Sharky became well aware of two sets of eyes on him. The woman for one, and the pretty boy lawyer that had been eating up every last shred of her attention until now.

A cross between smug and expectant, John gestured towards him.

Well?

Sharky knew three ways to tell someone to get fucked, but picked the least subtle one just in case.

Shocked for a second, John closed his mouth. But soon after, he pressed a hand to his chest, looking hurt. It was pretty convincing, making Sharky feel for a moment that he’d done something shitty like kicked a puppy.

Shame it didn’t reach his eyes. Or match the sharp smile that crept in.

“Smug-ass, smirking fuckface,” Sharky muttered, throwing the wooden plank to the side.

But not even that stuck around either. No, John flashed his pearly whites at the woman with him too, making her melt right in front of them.

Salt in the motherfucking wound. That’s what it all was, but lucky for him he only had a few more hours left to go. Then he could go home, get in a kickass shower and see what Hurk was doing.

Standing up, he wiped his face down with his handkerchief. If this had been anytime during the summer he would’ve been dying, but at least the weather was working in his favor. The breeze took the edge off just enough, and he closed his eyes for a few seconds to soak it all in.

“Oh, Charlemagne?”

Grating right on his ears, the pitch John used never failed to make him want to grind his teeth together. That, and saying his name. Kept on doing that well after being told he could call him Sharky. Shit, even his grandma used it sparingly.

“What?”

“Shouldn’t you be focusing over there-“ John froze, and all smugness vanished.

That put him on edge. “Yo, you wanna expand on that, amigo?”

Slowly turning around, Sharky caught the small creature on the ground and felt every hair on him stand on end. Black and white, and assuming the posture any pissed off animal would, it stood tall for its small size with its tail up, ready and aiming right at him.

Skunks, though, had never liked him. Guess he’d earned that after the whole kissing one bit. So, staring down what he was sure had to be some distant relative out for revenge, he did what came naturally.

Yelled. Loudly, and might’ve sealed his fate right then and there.

Hit, but not in the eyes – thank Hurk’s monkey Jesus for that – he sprinted down towards the river and dove right in.

Grabbing his cap, he kept it in hand as he bobbed back up to the surface. The smell hit as he gulped down air, and he furiously paddled away from the shore when he realized he’d been followed.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

This was fucking bonkers, and it was only getting worse.

Could skunks swim? Did they have a sense for it, or was he getting played by the only one able to? Was this the moment some poor guy was going to have to act out in the movie about his life? Swimming out, smelling to high heaven as a rich asshole laughed it up from the shore?

Fuck, he hoped to hell not, 'cause he’d lived an okay life up ‘til now. And having that be the moment he’d be known for immortalized up on the silver screen was just lousy at best.

Looking back, he watched as the skunk gave him the evil eye for a minute, pacing back and forth as it thought about shooting at him again. Little fucker wasn’t done yet, but couldn’t fire another round off from where it was.

John on the other hand, was watching the whole thing develop from a distance. He hadn’t taken off, but wasn’t laughing like he thought he would either. If anything, his gaze was sharp as he aimed it over at the skunk camping him out, and kept it set in place as he approached the boathouse.

Whatever the hell he had in mind, Sharky hoped he’d do it, and do it fast.

Shit, if he ended up zapped too, that’d also make his week, but for now he needed to keep swimming, and tried to see if he could make his way back towards land. His arms and legs weren’t tired, but the water wasn’t getting any warmer, and this was more of a workout than he’d planned for.

The skunk did not let up, following his drift.

“Seriously? Don’t you got something better to get up to?”

No, it didn’t, and he paddled harder hoping to get some kind of a lead on it. Kicked enough with the intent of making a break for it as soon as he hit land.

Maybe he could shimmy up a tree? Nah, he’d be a sitting duck, worse off there than here. Get back to his car on the way? His keys were swimming in his pocket right now, along with-

Aw, dammit. There went that phone. Sputtering into the water, he coughed around the word that would’ve come out otherwise, then gave it up to keep on swimming.

On the edge of the shore, he dragged himself up and out and booked it. Didn’t see anything waiting for him, but didn’t waste time either. Just hit the nearest patch of tall bushes and stayed low.

Waiting was the worst part. Waiting, listening, and trying not to make too much noise on his end. Every branch, twig, and leaf was the enemy now, and he wasn’t about to let that skunk get the drop on him again.

Five minutes passed. Then ten.

Loud squeaking sounded off in the distance, and he poked his head out from the bush.

Scanning left and right, Sharky checked for black and white. That and movement. When neither seemed to be present, he pushed his way forward and stepped out into the open.

Letting out a slow breath, he shook his hat out and slipped it back on. Then took in a tentative sniff as he raised his arm. The smell hung around him like a cloud, and getting a bigger whiff of it only made him want to gag.

Peeling the shirt off, he wrung it out, and gave it a smell as well. Now that made his eyes water. With his luck his jeans were just as bad, and he didn’t bother checking. Just pulled them off to get some of the water out of them too, and resigned himself to drip-drying the rest of the day outdoors.

“Charlemagne? You can come out now!”

John. Guess he’d found a way to deal with it after all.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

“Ugh, fucker. Took him long enough.” Groaning to himself, he slung his wet clothes over his shoulder and started heading towards the clearing.

“Well, there you…are?” John gave him a quick once over as he walked past, and pursed his lips. “Hmm.”

The woman with him didn’t even try to make eye contact. Just kept her attention directed elsewhere, her cheeks tinted red.

Great. Not that he was trying, but his odds of getting even a pity look in passing had all but tanked.

“Yo, I don’t wanna know what you did, but after that? My bullshit meter’s maxed, so fuck off.”

Prying his keys out of his pocket, Sharky unlocked the trunk of his car and threw the clothes into the back of it. Between the gas cans and propane tanks he’d thrown back there often enough, skunk wasn’t going to add much to the smell in there.

“Fuck off? That’s not very kind, all things considering.”

The trunk dropped, and he might’ve used more force than necessary. “Kind?”

“Not even a thank you?” John eyed him from a distance, smug, but only for a second. “After chasing off your little tormentor? Such a shame, really.”

“That I ain’t feeling, what? Warm gratitude towards you right now? Like happy and fuzzy shit?”

John scoffed. “Hardly.”

“'Cause you’re making a whole lot of noise for nothing, and I wouldn’t be out here busting my ass at all without you to begin with.”

“Oh, my dear Charlemagne,” he watched as John withdrew a blue handkerchief from his jean pocket, and held it up to his face to cover his nose, “I’m hardly the one at fault here.”

His patience snapped like a brittle twig. Rattling off words as fast as they came to him, Sharky scraped for the bottom, tried actively to come up with the most out of bounds targeted insults he could conjure up just to see if he could wipe what he was sure was a smirk right off of John’s face.

Then nearly crashed into the woman who had stepped into his path. Making full-on eye contact now, she gave him a hesitant, but soft smile. “I think this might help.”

In her hands was a towel. A nice, fluffy one, and she held it out towards him.

The anger drained out of him as he stared at her. Almost as if someone took an ice bucket and dumped it right over his shoulders.

Gingerly taking it, Sharky let it dangle in the air between them. “Uh, thanks?”

“Of course. For anyone in need, and you certainly seemed to be. Considering your lack of…clothing in general right now.”

Still had the underwear on, at least. Blushing five different shades of red, he quickly wrapped the towel around himself. “Yeah, um, thank you again, miss.”

She nodded, and headed back towards John. “We’ll be heading out, but can we expect you at mass later tonight?”

John lowered the handkerchief just enough for Sharky to catch the frown. “If work allows it. There’s still a lot left to do here, but you can let Joseph know I’ll try.”

Sharky pulled up a corner of the towel to wipe his face, no longer able to hear much of what was traded between them. Lady hadn’t even flinched at the smell up close, and the towel was a nice one. Nicer than any of the kind he had at home, and must’ve been in the basket she had with her.

Yeah, got that pity look after all. Great.

Staring down at his feet, he removed his cap to run a hand through his hair. The hushed voices behind him eventually stopped, and by the time John walked over he’d switched to looking out over the water.

“That was interesting.”

“Sure,” Sharky said, tired of arguing with him.

“And there went our progress for the afternoon. At least the morning wasn’t a complete waste, but our guest derailed us thoroughly. And I don’t believe you have a change of clothes, do you?”

Sharky rubbed his shoulder, and felt it twinge in response as he moved it. He badly needed a cigarette, and was desperate enough to see how many times it’d take for a wet one to actually light.

“Do you?”

“Look, I get what you’re asking. And no, I’d have-“ John raised the handkerchief again, and the words died in his mouth. “You know what? Forget it. And if you’re looking to avoid this shit, don’t stand downwind of it. Basic Scouting 101 right there.”

Sharky whipped the towel off and threw it at him.

John snatched it out of the air, keeping it from smacking him in the face. “Leaving?”

Not bothering to check behind him as he approached his car, Sharky flashed him the finger.

“You can take this with you, you know.”

That John didn’t take the bait, or fight him on it, only irritated him further. He also seemed to be following him, and Sharky scowled at him. “Don’t need it.”

John sighed, and put away the cloth. “Charlemagne, it’s a towel, and you’re still soaking wet.”

“And maybe I want the draft to help dry the swamp ass brewing here, okay?” he shot, climbing in behind the wheel. “And if you wanna give me shit for cutting out early, tack on more hours as a penalty, whatever, I’ll deal with that next time. Or, hell, the time after, as long as it doesn’t mean I’m still standing here talking any of this shit with you. That work?”

The thin line John had pressed his lips into told him otherwise, but he said nothing. Just crossed his arms before holding out the towel to him one last time.

Sharky hit the gas and didn’t look back.

#far cry 5 #sharky boshaw #john seed #john seed/sharky boshaw #the skunk bit was actually going to be later in the fic in the original planning #but the outline was thankfully a flexible thing #b/c it fit so much better here #FC5 fanfiction #fanfiction #fic: I won't ask for much #fic series: we could make a home out of this

7 notes · View notes

celticheartedfangirl · 4 years

Text

My OUAT Rewatch -- S6E10 -- Wish You Were Here

Link to Rewatch Review and Ranking archive

This episode was glorious. GLORIOUS. I mean yeah, there are nits to pick at and I’ll certainly do that, but this was basically a Swan Queen fanfic come to life with Princess Emma and her “Prince” -- er -- Queen -- and the CS fans went totally apeshit and it was BEAUTIFUL.

BEAUTIFUL.

No game show today -- Emma’s supposed to look like that, and she even slams herself for it. Like I said . . . . . GLORIOUS. And Emma wants Regina to have the “key to her kingdom.” ACTUAL LINE on the show. Bless.

It took them TEN episodes this season to get to an episode that didn’t make me bored or stabby or just say “well this isn’t THAT bad” -- I mean the ratings are below 1.0 at this point due to 9 episodes of utter bullshit, but at least we see the light at the end of the tunnel? Sort of?

Also this guy. Come on in, the only thing being dragged in here are the writers, the CS fans, and the utter stupidity of the logic of the Wish Realm . . . . . which we will have MORE fun with in S7!

Okay, first of all -- let’s link this BEAUTIFUL post paralleling Sleeping Beauty and her prince to Emma and Regina . . . .

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/180498595422/frankie-blue-sq-sleeping-beauty-prince-phillip

So before the nitpicking starts, lets discuss the things I enjoyed:

1. Swan Queen OBVIOUSLY

2. Rumbelle FINAL-FUCKING-LY having a conversation and not being a pile of OOC bullshit. I still have nits to pick at that -- but they’re tiny nits and being starved for content after being fucked over by the writers for THREE YEARS now I’ll take what I can get. Which is sad but it is what it is. So the content wins over the nits to pick. For now.

3. Okay, I enjoyed much of the Wish Realm. I mean -- I have nits there too and those I WILL pick at, but most of that will be in S7. But at THIS POINT -- it was about 85% fun, 15% bullshit. See below for bullshit.

So that I enjoyed. It was truly the first episode of this season that I consider to be, overall, actually GOOD. Good writers should not have their first quality episode in their SIXTH SEASON to be halfway into said season, but these are not good writers so is anyone really surprised? Also, I pointed out after EPISODE FOUR that the writers had already switched gears by killing off one of their touted S6 villains so I’m presuming, aside from Aladdin and Jasmine, that the rest of the Land of Untold Stories will REAMAIN untold because the writers have the attention span of a gnat and suck at follow through. Am I correct?

(Oh lord I’m SO GLAD A&E never got their hack hands on THAT. Can you even imagine?)

So aside from Agrabah stuff, say bye to the Untold Stories. Perhaps you will be found on A&E’s AMAZING STORIES that is currently hiding on Apple+TV with zero accolades or attention. Which is really what they deserve.

One more nit to pick at the writers -- can you please -- PLEASE stop with the rape stuff? Look . . . . we all know that you have some sort of fetish for female rapists, you already have two of them in canon and you’ll be adding a third in S7. STOP. Its gross. Its never addressed the way it should be. So the Evil Queen making rape suggestions to Aladdin, and the only response from him is “ew” and its played at FUNNY?

I mean if this were the first time the show had ever done anything like this, MAYBE it could have come off as a comedic moment. MAYBE. But in S6, after a long history of rapey shit? Nope.

Okay . . . . . onto the CS fan stuff . . . . now this IS funny, and it may take a while . . . . .

I think by now, anyone reading these reviews, present or future, if you’ve gotten this far, you GET that I’m not a Hook fan or a CS fan. But I’m not really sure if you understand just HOW BAD it was while this show was originally airing. And since we’ve now hit THE episode where the CS fandom lost their collective shit in the most ridiculous way possible, I think this is a good point to explain -- especially for those who weren’t there during the original run -- what was up with this.

See, the CS fans, once S4 started, got collectively more annoying with every episode. And it wasn’t just the general fans -- although they WERE bad -- they had a handful of ringleaders that were just flat out AWFUL people that would hijack the posts of fans of Rumbelle or Swan Queen or Swanfire and just tear into them for no reason. And if they couldn’t hijack because they were blocked, they’d screen cap and proceed to harass on their own blogs. This was a DAILY occurrence. DAILY. For THREE YEARS. Also, many of us are very certain that the IMDB boards got shut down -- ALL OF THEM -- because of an especially rabid CS fan that went there for no purpose other than trolling, and there was no option to block on IMDB like on Tumblr.

Also, the CS fans had the support of the media. Every media outlet was up CS’s ass by S4, deserved or not. It was VERY difficult to find any outlet that said positive things about Rumbelle or Swan Queen, and when we did it was cause for a tear-filled celebration of joy and relief. And this RARELY happened.

Also, there was one particular reporter for Entertainment Tonight, Leanne Aguilera, who was so far up CS and A&E’s ass that she probably qualified as a legitimate hemorrhoid. She liberally blocked Rumbelle and Swan Queen fans on Twitter and wanted NOTHING to do with us. So when she’d “ask for questions” on Twitter for interviews, of fucking COURSE they were all going to be CS questions, because EVERYONE ELSE was blocked by her!

Lastly, ABC’s official social media everything was CS this and CS that. They promoted the shit out of them, non-stop, and did so without apology. And Adam, one of the head show runners, mostly ignored fans of Rumbelle and Swan Queen on Twitter, but he’d HAPPILY engage with the CS fans. DAILY.

Also, we non-CS fans were told -- repeatedly -- to shut up or stop watching if we didn’t like what we were seeing. They heaped praise upon praise to Adam and the writers and thought that we were the most horrible people on the planet for even DARING to challenge their brilliant skills.

So knowing all of THAT . . . . after this episode . . . . which was basically a Swan Queen love letter . . . . . the CS fans LOST THEIR SHIT. Here are some of the glorious results of that . . . . . . .

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/154091883637/omg-that-episode-swan-queen-af-tribute-to

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/154061253177/c-fans-being-obtuse-as-fuck-on-twitter-this

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/154088222312/and-the-hits-just-keep-on-coming

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/154075793467/honest-question-are-the-disgruntled-c-fans

Please make it a point to check out the replies in that last one because some of them are BEAUTIFUL, and also there is a flat out HIJACK of that post that pefectly illustrates all of the bullshit that I just laid out for you here. Eh, I’ll make it easy for you -- here’s the hijack -- with comments:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/154118960442/honest-question-are-the-disgruntled-c-fans

Okay . . . . the wish realm . . . . here are the 15% of things that I call bullshit on:

So Neal/Baelfire is dead in EVERY REALM. Whee. We get it. But also . . . . if he was IN this realm, then why would Rumple need to be searching for him via dark curse? Makes no sense.

Speaking of Rumple -- in S2 he said he was NOT trapped and could have escaped any time he wanted to, he just didn’t want to. So WTF?

Why is Henry still named HENRY?

Why is the Wish Robin Hood YOUNG -- he should be the same age as Snow and Charming.

Now I know that A&E had some bullshit explanation, which some people bought, but going into S7 -- it’s just stupid. STUPID.

Finally, I made a post after this episode -- which TANKED in the ratings, BTW -- that I’d like to share:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/154082059462/so-the-ratings-tanked-last-night-for-ouat

I stand by that post. And frankly, I think I was RIGHT about the rest of S6. And everything else.

Points tally:

40 points to start

5 points for Swan Queen

3 points for the implied Swanfire

1 point for in character Belle -- I personally don’t feel she’s THERE yet, but A for effort

5 points for in character Rumple

5 points deducted for Hook

Despite the nits to pick, I can’t deduct anything more and I’ll give this one the 25 bonus because it’s really pulled the show out of its slump.

Total points: 74

Follow #celtichearted OUAT ranking tag for more to come!

#celtichearted ouat ranking #wish you were here #anti hook #anti cs #anti cs fans #anti ouat writers

6 notes · View notes

fanforthefics · 5 years

Note

For the AU game. Bodyguard AU or Teacher AU for Tyson/Gabe??

1) Everyone knows of the Great Rivalry.

At least, everyone at Avalanche High does. It’s one of the first things Freshmen are filled in on. These are the edible meals from the cafeteria, these are the bathrooms not to go into if you don’t want a contact high, and also, if you ever want to stop Mr. Barrie’s Chem class for ten minutes, ask him about the time Mr. Landeskog stole all his pens. That will get you at least ten minutes of ranting about humanities teachers who think they’re too good for logic and rationality and like to nitpick other people’s grammar and the time it takes to grade and fashion choices and who definitely think they’re better than everyone else just because they happen to be good at everything. He might go a bit into his perfect hair, but take takes a particularly windswept day.

Of course, if you want to delay Mr. Landeskog’s class, you can ask about the time Mr. Barrie put a stink bomb in his classroom so he had to have class outside all day. He can’t prove it was Mr. Barrie and his homeroom, but that won’t stop him snapping about it and ridiculous science teachers who don’t understand nuance and purposefully misinterpret everything and never take things seriously. If you catch him at the right moment, and ask about Mr. Barrie’s habit of bringing in cookies for his classes, Mr. Landeskog might skip a beat, but it usually won’t get you a longer rant, so it’s not useful.

This is the Great Rivalry. This is Avalanche High’s favorite drama. (This is Nathan Mackinnon’s, long-suffering Phys Ed teacher, greatest bane).

2) Tyson definitely really does hate Gabe. He tells Nate that, over and over again. Partly because he doesn’t trust that anyone can actually be that hot and smart and good a teacher and so loved by the kids and look so good in the shorts he wears when he’s coaching field hockey. He has to be faking all of that. Tyson is sure he is, in fact, because the polite, charming face he puts on around literally everyone else somehow always falls with Tyson.

“Maybe because you’re mean to him too?” Nate suggests, as they sit in the teacher’s lounge eating the brownies Tyson brought in because it was easier to bake than to grade.

Tyson glances over to the table wear Gabe is sitting with some of the other humanities teachers, laughing loudly. “I’m not mean.” Nate raises an eyebrow. “I’m not meaner to him than anyone else,” Tyson amends, because fine, he can be sarcastic, what the fuck ever. Nate’s eyebrow stays up.

Because Tyson doesn’t want to see that judgy eyebrow (Nate really shouldn’t through stones if he’s living in the mean house too), he looks around again, somehow settles on where Gabe is. Gabe’s not laughing anymore, and somehow he looks over at the same time, catches Tyson’s eye. He raises his eyebrows, all dripping condescension. Tyson makes a face back.

“You only prank him.”

“I do not—”

“So, Tyson. I hear your kids are going to Science Olympiad this year.” Tyson doesn’t need to know who’s standing there, because he recognizes the voice, the tone, and also the trim torso, but he looks up anyway. Gabe’s standing there, looking down his aristocratic nose at Tyson. “First time?”

Tyson flushes. He’s proud of his kids for that, it’s a pretty new program and they’ve all been working their asses off. Gabe doesn’t need to say it like that, like he let them down because they didn’t get qualify before. “Yes,” he retorts, trying and probably failing to let that show on his face. “How’s the field hockey team doing?”

It’s a low blow because they all know that it was a pretty devastating loss last week, and one of Tyson’s Olympiad team is on the field hockey team and she’d been in literal tears when they lost, and Tyson had just been getting ready to go over to the bench to maybe say something when Gabe had found her and talked to her until she sniffled and smiled a little. But still. Gabe shouldn’t insult Tyson’s team if he’s not ready to be insulted.

Gabe clearly isn’t ready to be insulted, because he flushes a dull red. “We’re rallying,” he replies, cooly, and reaches down for one of the brownies on the table. Tyson grabs the brownies away.

“These are for people who don’t give my team shit,” he tells Gabe. “No cookies until you can recite the quadratic formula.”

“Then why does Nate get them?” Gabe asks, and Nate makes an offended noise but doesn’t disagree. Gabe grins at Nate, easy and handsome in a way he never is with Tyson.

“That’s the Dogg exception,” Tyson says, and Gabe turns back to Tyson, that smile freezing on his face. It’s fine. Tyson doesn’t care that Gabe never looks at Tyson like that. “It’s a narrow one.”

“Sure it is,” Gabe agrees. He knocks on the table, which should be lame except he somehow manages to pull it off, then heads out of the teacher’s lounge with a wave to Nate. Nate turns to Tyson.

Tyson gestures wildly. “See!”

Nate’s eye roll is probably a risk to his health. “Oh, I see.”

3) (The first time Tyson talks to Gabe, Tyson really was trying to be friendly. They were both new, or so Tyson guessed given that everyone was giving him the ‘hi new kid’ handshake, and Tyson was excited and nervous and wanted to make friends, especially with the hottest guy he’d ever seen. They’d been milling around before the first teacher’s meeting, and Tyson had gone over to Gabe, and held out the Tupperware of chocolate chip cookies he’d made to bribe everyone into liking him. “Cookie?” He’d said.

Gabe had turned around, and he’d given Tyson a look like—it was the look he still gave Tyson, like he wasn’t sure what he was doing there. “I don’t eat cookies,” he’d replied, all snooty, and Tyson had still been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Seriously, bud?” He’d asked, still smiling so it was clear it was a joke. “How do you survive without a sugar fix? It’s like, my drug. Well, and caffeine, but that doesn’t count.” Gabe still didn’t say anything, so of course Tyson was going to keep talking. “I mean, I can see you don’t eat much sugar, or you’d have to be working out like, an insane amount to look like that, which you clearly do, but not like, as much as you would if you ate as much chocolate as me.”

“Is the sugar why you talk so much?” Gabe had replied, and like, Tyson got it, okay? He knew he talked too much, especially when he was nervous, and said stupid shit and he was trying. Gabe didn’t need to jump down his throat for it.

Tyson had swallowed, and then, “Fine, I’ll go give the sugars to someone who deserves it,” he’d retorted, trying to save face. He left before Gabe could say anything else. But he’d seen Gabe eat a cookie later, in the teacher’s lounge, so. He got the message. And it was on.).

4) Gabe really does hate Tyson. He tells EJ that, and sometimes Nate, and sometimes Mikko. Often his sister. Generally, anyone who will listen.

“Okay, yeah, but you don’t,” EJ informs him. EJ, Gabe thinks, probably has a class to teach, but is instead sitting on Gabe’s desk as Gabe tries to prep for his next class.

“He planted a stink—“

“Have you ever tried being nice to him? Then he might be nice to you.” EJ waggles his eyebrows obnoxiously on the word nice. Gabe is an adult and thus doesn’t blush.

“I’ve tried,” he says, very dignified. “He takes everything I say the wrong way. It’s like he’s willfully misunderstanding me. Yes,” He goes on, before EJ can say what Gabe knows he was going to say, “I heard it, I know, but this is not Pride and Prejudice.”

“But you’d make such a good Darcy,” EJ retorts. “And you want it to be. You can carry him off to your manor and have sex on every surface and to the lake swim thing so he can gape at you as you get out and—“

“I don’t want any of that,” Gabe snaps. He’s only like. 25% lying. “He’s so annoying and so touchy and I don’t—“

“Wow, say what you really feel,” comes a voice from the doorway, and Gabe resists hitting his head to the desk by the skin of his teeth. Every time. Every single time. He just can’t seem to say anything right around Tyson.

“What are you doing here?” He asks. This is the humanities wing of the building, Tyson usually sticks to his lab. Except this time Tyson is standing in his doorway, his arms crossed over his chest in that way that Gabe can’t quite look away from, and scowling. As he usually is, looking at Gabe.

“I was going to find Colin to see if he was coming to drinks tonight. But I guess I’m not wanted around here.” He snorts. “Good. Too many books here anyway.” He smiles, but it’s not the one he gives everyone else, that bright, open thing. “I think I’m allergic.”

“You can’t be allergic to books,” Gabe points out.

“Because you’re the expert on allergies? Did you go out and get an MD along the way?” Tyson asks, snorting.

“And you are the expert?” Gabe retorts. Tyson always does this, pokes at him until it gets Gabe’s back up and he has to snipe back, even if he hadn’t meant to at the beginning. Even though he never means too, at the beginning. At least when he’s irritated he actually knows what he’s saying, though.

“I’m closer than you, I took some bio classes,” Tyson informs him, and looks ready to say more, but then the bell rings, and he glances over his shoulder at the hallways that will be filled with students soon. “I’ll see you later,” he tells EJ. He doesn’t look at Gabe when he leaves.

“See?” Gabe demands of EJ.

EJ smirks. “Oh, I see,” he says, and then yelps as Gabe smacks his arm.

5) (The first time Gabe talked to Tyson, Gabe meant to be friendly. He had been so, so nervous, and trying not to show it—waiting for the questions about why a non-native speaker was teaching English, wanting to impress everyone, wanting to be liked—and then he’d heard “Cookie?” And turned around, and—

Gabe’s smooth, usually. Often. But there was something about his nerves already, and that bug smile and the glint in those brown eyes and the way his shirt hugged the muscles of his arms and Gabe had not been expecting it, the sudden hit of attraction. And…he wasn’t always good, with things he didn’t expect. So he’d stammered something about not eating cookies, because it was the first words his brain put together, and, well. It all went downhill from there.

But if Tyson wanted to bring it. Gabe was going to bring it back.)

6) So everything’s good and they’re only minorly driving Nate crazy and entertaining EJ to no end, and then it’s someone’s brilliant idea to assign them to spearhead the baking sale. (EJ. Tyson is definitely blaming EJ. On principle, and also because he’d utterly failed at keeping it together when Bednar announced it at the staff meeting).

(“But it’s perfect!” Nate says, looking very innocent. “You love to bake and he’s good at the organizational shit.” So maybe Tyson blames Nate too.)

So they have to work together, it seems like, because Tyson’s definitely not going to let their bake sale raise less money than Calgary High, because fuck that shit. So once Gabe stops sneering at him long enough to actually set up a time to meet after school, Tyson really does do his homework. He’s not going to let Gabe show him up either.

Gabe does not show him up, but he does show up to their meeting—at the coffee shop down the street from the school because it’s after school hours and also Tyson’s classroom smelled a little suspicious from a mix up and he wanted to let it air out before he spent a significant amount of time there again—with a to do list. And a chart.

“Wow,” Tyson drawls, when Gabe lays the to do list on the table. “Really leaning into the whole teachers are just nerds who grew up thing, eh?”

“No one says that,” Gabe retorts, rolling his eyes. “And you’re a teacher too.”

Tyson waves a hand. He doesn’t see how either of those things matter. “Yeah, but I’m a cool teacher.” Gabe snorts. “You think you’re cooler than me?”

Gabe raises an eyebrow. He looks, fine, very cool doing it. But that’s just because anyone with that jawline and that hair and those eyes would look cool. It’s not like, inherent to him. Tyson is cool despite genetics that gave him unruly hair and barely average height and a predilection for babbling. Gabe’s only cool because of genetics.

“Okay, let’s get down to business, defeat the huns and all that,” Tyson says, grabbing the paper. He ignores Gabe’s snort, and glances at it. It’s, fine, a lot of useful things, like figuring out the budget and getting volunteers and coordinating parents. Tyson would have thought of all of it. Definitely. “Okay, but where’s the baking?”

“We’re organizing, we don’t have to contribute,” Gabe replies, like that’s obvious and Tyson should have known it. Which, thanks. Tyson does actually get the distinction. But,

“Yeah, we’re not going to get any teacher to contribute if we don’t,” Tyson informs him. Maybe Gabe should know that. “Like, there’s no way to passive aggressively guilt them into it if we don’t do it too.”

“Maybe they’ll contribute without the guilt,” Gabe says, but Tyson doesn’t both to pretend he doesn’t crack up at that, and Gabe waits a beat, then he starts chuckling too. “Okay, fine, yeah. But I don’t really bake.”

“I’m not doing the baking for both of us,” Tyson warns. He’s not going to be that person in the group project, because fuck that shit.

“You like to bake.”

“Yeah, but not to do other people’s work,” Tyson shoots back. Gabe shakes his head.

“I didn’t—I just…probably shouldn’t bake,” he admits, looking a little shame-faced and a little irritated he has to admit it. Tyson’s not not into the look. “It doesn’t end well or edibly for anyone.”

“You aren’t getting out of it for something like that,” Tyson decides. He is not caving on this.

“So you’d rather poison our students?”

“It can’t be—“

“Ask EJ,” Gabe interrupts, with a dire look on his face. It’s the look of a man who’s Seen Things. Tyson thinks a lot of things about Gabe, but he doens’t think Gabe could fake that.

But he can’t just give in. That would be, well. Giving in. So, “Fine, we’ll bake together. But I’m still not doing everything, you’re going to contribute,” he warns, and Gabe opens his mouth, then closes it again, then opens it. “I know, it’ll be tough to handle each other for that long, but it’s for the kids, Gabriel. Think of the children.”

“Um. Yeah.” Gabe swallows. He must really be dreading it. “If it means you’ll actually pull your organizational weight—”

“Sorry some of us don’t need to color code our flashcards,” Tyson rolls his eyes. He’s not going to let Gabe mess this up. He reads the first article off the to do list. “Okay, budget. All of it too chocolate. Next.” Gabe snorts, like that’s stupid, which, duh. “That was a joke, I didn’t actually mean—“

“I know,” Gabe snaps back. “That’s why I laughed.”

Tyson’s mouth snaps around his next retort. “Oh,” is all he can come up with. Which Gabe takes as a cue to start talking about his budget ideas, which definitely lean too hard into Principal Bednar’s admonition to try to keep it under cost. Tyson can definitely fix that.

7) Gabe is not saying that maybe EJ was right and if he’d just powered through earlier, everything would have been better. He’s definitely not saying that, on principle if nothing else. But—well. It does get easier, the more time he and Tyson are forced to spend together for the bake sale. It’s hard to mess up everything you say to someone when you actually have to have real conversations. He’s definitely made real jokes, not just said something sharp to make up for the fact that he doesn’t know what to say.

And he thinks—well, Tyson actually smiled at things he said a few times. Maybe it’s hard to misinterpret everything Gabe says when you have a real conversation too.

Or maybe Gabe just looks ridiculous, with flour in his hair and probably some dough on his face and definitely looking like he has no idea what he’s doing. Probably because he doesn’t.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” Tyson says, and mercifully takes the whisk away from Gabe. “You really suck at this.”

“No, I just joke about murdering children for fun,” Gabe retorts. He’s maybe pouting a little. He hates looking stupid, and he knows he does now. It’s especially bad in front of Tyson, who will definitely make fun of him for it.

“Look, we don’t yuck anyone’s yums in this house unless I need to report you to the police,” Tyson says, and Gabe chuckles, despite himself. Tyson’s smile flashes, sudden and surprised, and then he ducks his head to go back to whisking. This is the Tyson Gabe’s seen before with other people, quick with a joke and a smile, cutting but not mean-spirited. And, somehow, looking cute with the flour on his nose. And very competent. “Now get back, I think you might set off some electronics if you stay here.”

“I’m not radioactive,” Gabe retorts, but he scoots back to the island so he can watch Tyson bake. It’s safer for all concerned, probably.

“How are you so good at this?” Gabe asks. He’s had Tyson’s baked goods before, generally when Tyson’s not looking so he can’t snatch them away.

“It’s a better addiction than booze or weed,” Tyson says, half-laughing. Gabe rolls his eyes at Tyson’s back, but doesn’t say anything. “Nah, I just—I don’t know, as a kid, whenever I was bummed or whatever, my mom would have me help her bake. It made me feel like I was good at something, you know? And bonus, sweets at the end.” He sets down the bowl, then reaches over to pour what looks like a arbitrary amount of chocolate chips in.

“Then why didn’t you open a bakery or something?”

Tyosn snorts. “Come on, me, run a business? That’s not for me. I’d have to be able to find my head to do that.” The way he says it, it sounds like he’s quoting someone. It also sounds like he believes it.

Gabe must make a sound, because Tyson turns around, looking at him. “What? You know it’s true,” he says, and his lips twist, just a little. “You say it enough.”

“That’s not—“ he hadn’t known it had hit a nerve, Gabe doesn’t know how to say. He hadn’t known that Tyson actually believed it.

“It’s okay, I’ve got other skills. Like making sick baked goods. And, you know, teaching kids. Chem’s just advanced baking you can’t eat. Well, shouldn’t eat.” Tyson reaches for some Saran Wrap in a cabinet. Gabe takes the opportunity to reach in and grab some dough.

“Hey! No touching.” Tyson spins, glares. “If you’re going to eat cookie dough, use a spoon. And wait till I add the Nutella, that’s when it gets really good.”

Gabe shrugs. “It’s really good now.” He tries to put his words together, make sure they can’t be misunderstood. That he’s not accidentally poking sore spots. “I’d buy it, if you had decided to go that route.”

Tyson glances away, his cheeks stained red. “I thought you didn’t like my baking,” Tyson says, all in a rush.

“What?”

Tyson looks back up at Gabe, rolls his eyes. “You don’t eat cookies, remember?”

“What are you talking about, Tyson?”

Tyson covers the bowl carefully. “Never mind. Nothing.”

“Tyson—“

“So I think I have a task you can manage,” Tyson interrupts, loudly. “Can you put this in the fridge? I cleared a space and everything. I know it’ll really be taxing you, but I have faith.”

“Wow, thanks,” Gabe drawls, and lets it go.

8) Tyson’s just finishing up his junior lab when he hears the door open. He’d generally ignore it—these aren’t the kids he’s worried about sneaking out or whatever, these are his AP kids—but then the whispers start, spreading from the door closer to the front. He is, in the end, unsurprised to see Gabe standing near the door, looking a little sheepish and of course, unnecessarily attractive.

“Hold on a sec, then we’ll get to the good stuff,” he tells everyone, then goes over to Gabe. The whispers definitely follow him. It’s not like he doesn’t know what the kids say about him and Gabe; they’re definitely all waiting for something to blow up. Well, something other than the experiment he’d been setting up. “What’s up?”

“Sorry, I thought you’d be done with class.”

Tyson glances at the clock, and, yep, oh shit. He hadn’t heard the bell. “Shit,” he mutters, too quietly for anyone other than Gabe to hear, then turns to the class. “Okay, looks like we went long. You guys can go, or you can wait a couple minutes and see what I’ve got for you. No harm no foul either way.”

A few of the kids start to pack up, but most of them stay, Tyson notes with no little bit of pride. He glances at Gabe, to see if he noticed. The kids can like him, too.

Gabe doesn’t look particularly impressed, but he doesn’t look surprised, either. He’s also just looking at Tyson.

“So is it urgent, or can it wait?” Tyson asks. Gabe blinks, like now he is surprised.

“No, I just wanted to go over some last minute things before tomorrow. It can wait.”

“Okay, cool. Stick around if you want, we’re going to blow shit up.” Gabe barks out a laugh, which gets another line of whispers down the tables.

“Sounds like fun,” Gabe says. It’s--careful? Nice? Tyson’s not sure. He thinks Gabe might be plotting something, it’s the only explanation for why Gabe’s been…easier, lately. Like, sure, they can’t fight constantly if they have to work together, Gabe has to let him do some things, but it’s…Tyson doesn’t know. Less condescending. Gabe smiles more. Laughs with him, not at him.

It makes it harder for Tyson to be on his guard, which is what makes him sure it’s a trick. Tyson knows how to be ready against Gabe’s barbs and patronizing sneers. He hadn’t been ready for his smiles. But Tyson’s strong, he’s not going to be taken in.

And right now, he needs to blow something up, so. “Okay, let’s get to it,” He says, and they do. Gabe hovers in the back as Tyson explains what he’s doing, the science behind it, then vamps a bit because he likes the drama. Everyone is appropriately impressed by the bang and multicolored smoke that comes out of the beaker, because Tyson knows how to impress an audience if nothing else, then the rest of the kids start to pack up and Gabe comes up to the front table, leans against the counter.

Tyson pushes up his safety glasses onto his forehead. Gabe snorts.

“What?” Tyson demands. “You thought that was cool, don’t front.”

“You look like a mad scientist,” Gabe informs him.

“Okay, stereotype of every hipster Lit teacher ever,” Tyson retorts, reaching up to try to smooth out his hair. “I am responsible enough to teach good lab safety.”

“I know,” Gabe says, which isn’t on script. Tyson blinks. “It’s cute.” He reaches out to tap the glasses.

Tyson can feel himself go red. So what, a hot guy is complimenting him. It’s definitely part of a nefarious plan, but he’s only human. He has to take his ‘being complimented by guys who look like Gabe’ where he can find them.

“Whatever,” Tyson mutters, then rallies. “What do you want, anyway? This is a long way from home for you.”

“I told you, I wanted to go over some last minutes changes facilities wants.” He pulls out another one of his ridiculous printed lists.

“Okay, Landesnerd,” he says, and smirks at Gabe’s rolled eyes at the nickname. “Hit me.”

9) The bake sale is going great, if Gabe does say so himself. They managed to get plenty of teachers to participate as well as parents (not guilting, thank you Tyson, Gabe is sure), and there’s plenty of buyers. They’re going to raise a lot of money, and Bednar is definitely happy with them, given his expression as he and his wife browse the offerings.

“So you survived it?” EJ asks, sidling up to Gabe. He has a brownie in one hand and a cookie in the other. He’d been one of the people Tyson had not-guilted into contributing, so Gabe’s not sure who’s watching his booth, but that’s not Gabe’s problem anymore. “Working with Tys?”

“Somehow.” Gabe looks over to where Tyson is manning their booth. He’s laughing with one of the moms, clearly on some sort of selling spiel. He’s managed to get chocolate on his shirt. Of course.

“And you still hate him?” EJ asks. He doesn’t manage to sound very innocent. Or anything but smug.

Gabe’s not an idiot, thank you very much. And Tyson looks over, sees him watching, and grins, that big open grin like he’d had the first day they met, and it’s still just as cute as it was then.

“Shut up,” he tells EJ, and goes to sell some baked goods.

10) “So we rocked that,” Tyson informs Gabe, when everything’s all done and packed up. “Definitely beat Calgary.”

“Yeah,” Gabe agrees. He sounds a little distracted, though, which is unusual for him—he was definitely on the ‘crush Calgary’ team. Tyson wipes at his mouth, because whatever’s distracting Gabe seems to be in his general face region.

“Um, earth to Gabriel? We kicked ass? Our cookies were the star of the show? Or they’re really mine, but. You can have some credit,” He allows. He’s ready to keep talking, but then Gabe blinks.

“Come with me.”

“What?”

“Come on,” Gabe says, decisively, and he starts towing Tyson down the hall with a hand on Tyson’s wrist. Tyson sort of has to follow.

“Gabe, what are you doing? Is this part of your plot? Where you take me away and murder me?” They get to Gabe’s classroom, and he tugs Tyson in, then shuts the door. “Nate has find my friends with me, he’ll be able to find me, and he totally knows it’d be you, I—”

Then Gabe takes a step forward, so Tyson’s back is to the door, and Tyson’s mouth snaps shut. “Gabe?” He asks. He doesn’t—this is off script too. Gabe’s too close to him, all—stupidly handsome and big and his lips are like, right there, Tyson doesn’t know—

“Fuck, Tys,” Gabe mutters, then he is definitely kissing Tyson. That is a thing. That is happening. He has a hand on Tyson’s neck and the other one on the door behind Tyson and he’s an irritatingly good kisser and Tyson can’t just let that stand, so clearly he has to kiss back, show Gabe that he’s not the only one with game around here.

He doesn’t concede defeat, but he definitely does end up sagged against the wall—not because his knees give out or anything, just because the wall is conveniently there. “Oh,” he says vaguely, as Gabe continues to press kisses to his jaw, “So this is your plan?”

“What plan?” Gabe asks, and kisses Tyson again, deep and maybe a little knee-melting.

“I don’t know,” Tyson comes up with, “It’s you plan. Whatever—plan you’re doing by being nice and friendly for a change. And kissing me.”

Gabe’s head drops onto Tyson’s shoulder for a second, which is a shame because it means he’s not kissing Tyson. That should change.

Then Gabe lifts his head. “It’s not an evil plan,” he says, sounding a little exasperated. “I just want to kiss you. Is that so hard to believe?”

“Um, yeah? You don’t like me.”

“You don’t like me,” Gabe corrects, and Tyson manages to roll his eyes even now.

“No, you definitely don’t like me. You were a dick to me when we met, and—“

“I was—when we met I was already nervous and then a cute guy started talking to me about his cookies and I blanked and said something that he misinterpreted,” Gabe retorts, definitely sounding exasperated now, but also—incredulous, maybe? “For the first but not the last time.”

“I—what?” That is very very off script. That isn’t—they hate each other. Right? “You didn’t eat my cookie.”

“I honestly don’t remember what I said,” Gabe laughs, a little, but doesn’t meet Tyson’s eyes. “I was—it was a lot.”

“You thought I was cute?” Tyson’s only just now hearing this. “You said—you said I talk too much.” He mutters that last part. It was a shitty thing to say, but maybe Tyson’s too sensitive, maybe—

“No, I kiss people I find really unattractive,” Gabe says, and then he does look up, meets Tyson’s gaze with those big determined baby blues. “And you do talk a lot of shit, Tys.” He keeps going before Tyson can reply to that. “It’s cute too.”

“I—what?” No one’s said that before, for sure. Even Nate like, just puts up with his babble.

Gabe groans. “Can I kiss you again?” He asks. “And then take you to dinner and work on convincing you not to hate me?”

Well. Put that way. “I suppose I can allow that,” Tyson says. He doesn’t say how he’s pretty sure that’s not going to be much of a job, any more. Instead, he tugs Gabe in to kiss him again.

11) The Great Rivalry ends, as all things must.

However, tales of the Great Romance is spread in whispers around the school. Apparently, it’s just as easy to distract Mr. Barrie by asking him about Mr. Landeskog’s dog, and to distract Mr. Landeskog by talking about Mr. Barrie’s latest antics. You can’t really get more details out of them, though sometimes if you’re around after school, you can see them working together in one of their classrooms, arguing about something with their feet hooked together under the table.

(You can still get Mr. Landeskog going about the stink bomb, though. That one’s always going to be a classic).

(They are still just as annoying to Coach Mac. But he guesses he can be happy for his friends too).

#avs tumblr fic #avs fic #my fic #tyson barrie/gabe landeskog #i had this whole bodyguard thing written out but then my browser crashed #so you get enemies to lovers teachers fic instead!#and the bodyguard thing is relegated to my 'maybe to be written someday' pile #enjoy!#Anonymous #izzy answers

51 notes · View notes

theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin · 5 years

Text

And Now a Rant Brought to You by Whining Reviewers

I normally try to keep complaints about this sort of thing to myself, as I usually find it kind of petty when authors complain about responses to fanfiction, but I have finally been pushed to far and must rant.

An Analogy and Fanfiction Writing from a Broader Perspective

First, let’s think about a good metaphor for writing fanfiction. A friend once related it to me as being something like working in a fast food restaurant. Your customers want their meal fast, cheap, and exactly what they came for.

If their hamburger doesn’t come with the pickles of Tom/Harry high school romance with miniature death eaters that they were expecting when they walked in the door they will let you and all of their friends know about it.

I’m going to take it a bit further. The fast food analogy implies that I have customers and can expect them. Not necessarily in this fanfiction world of ours. Instead, it’s more like sitting on the side walk and you’ve made yourself a sandwich stand. You’re about as legitimate as the ten-year-old’s lemonade stand across the street, but you’ve got more materials to work with.

The first thing you do, after having checked out other sandwich stands in the area, is start making sandwiches that you want to eat. Maybe they look like other sandwiches that you really enjoyed, maybe they add the secret sauce that all other sandwiches were lacking, who knows but you make them on your own time and eat them at your tiny dilapidated shack.

This goes on for a while until one day, out of the blue, you make a sandwich that people really like. Suddenly people are hanging around your sandwich shop, asking for more of one sandwich or else praising the deliciousness of your sandwiches even in comparison to actual restaurants.

This, eventually, is where the rant will come in.

Some Typical Complaints

Reviewers don’t always like my work and I fully accept that. There can be very legitimate reasons for not liking my particular brand of fanfiction, or anyone’ s for that matter. It might not be your genre, it might be too damn weird, you might not accept some of the assumptions made within the story, or who knows maybe the story is just a pile of garbage.

That said, aside from those legitimate sort of complaints, I do get ones I frequently raise my eyebrows at.

First there’s the, “I clearly haven’t read your story but goddammit this thing that didn’t even happen in your fic pisses me off!” These are the people itching for a fight, they’re usually so hasty and so enraged, that they have frequent misspellings in their reviews and will frequently cite events that honest-to-god did not happen in the story. I’m never quite sure what to do with these other than shrug and wonder how these people are getting on thinking they’ve read stories they very clearly haven’t read at all.

Then there’s the similar but not quite the same, “I’ve got a bone to pick with you, relatively well known internet author, and I’m going to slander your whole work with all the tropes I’ve read from the internet that you’re breaking to look cool”. The last part doesn’t always come in, there’s also just the “I’ve got a bone to pick with you” but these are the people who seem drawn in by the relative popularity of the story and in a review will cite well known tropes or else fandom assumptions that the story is breaking and will write it in such a way as to make the author feel very stupid. A note, if you’re thinking of leaving a review like this, I warn you now that it will make you look like a pretentious asshole and ten times dumber than you are. Chances are the author has already heard this twelve times over and if not, they’ve already certainly considered it. These people are a little more obnoxious than the prior but there’s not much to say to them either. They’re not in it to read the story, after all, but instead to prove a point about themselves. Why they need fan ficition to do this, I don’t know, but I suppose whatever floats people’s boats.

Third there are the ones I do feel quite awful about. These are the ones in which a story starts in one direction for all intents and purposes and then veers entirely into left field leaving readers behind. Sometimes it’s intended, sometimes the story evolves to such a point, but often these loyal readers feel quite betrayed and will note as much in reviews. These ones are hard, and very often quite justified, but the story is what the story is and there is always the option of simply not reading.

The Complaints Where I am Baffled

The complaints I’ve been getting recently, where I’m entirely baffled, are not any of the above or anything I consider reasonable. These, instead, are all along the lines of, “Hey, author, I notice you’re not writing this thing that I specifically want you to write. You write too much of <blank>. That pisses me off and if you don’t change you’re ways I’m gonna leave.”

To get back to the sandwich analogy, this isn’t a vehement rant over the customer’s desire for pickles on a free sandwich they found at a shack, it’s instead a customer who eats a few sandwiches, looks down at it in consternation, looks at the sandwich shack, and says, “Jesus Christ, author, do you have anything besides these fucking sandwiches?”

Me, lowly sandwich maker that I am, can only stare flabbergasted. For one, there is a tin of homemade baklava that nobody wants over there at the side that this customer has conveniently overlooked for the far more popular sandwiches. Second, it is a sandwich shop in which the customer has picked up, not even an ordered, a sandwich free of charge. A sandwich shack in a neighborhood filled with hundreds of sandwich shacks where one undoubtedly sells exactly what the customer is looking for.

However, instead it implies that you, as in you author and no one else, should be fulfilling their specific sandwich order that everyone else already supplies (and no, they didn’t see the baklava, but it looks like garbage anyway so can you make the fucking special sandwich, are you just incapable of doing anything besides the weird ass sandwiches you’ve already been making?) despite the fact that they are not paying you to do so with the laughable threat that they’ll walk out or else think you’re an idiot if you don’t comply.

Bitch, Please

So far we’ve had a lot of ranting but I do actually have a few solutions for you disheartened souls out there who really really really want The Carnivorous Muffin to stop writing “Lily and the Art of Being Sisyphus” and start writing “Harry/Draco Mpreg Romance” (no one has actually asked for this, I’m not actually sure what these reviewers want from me, just that it’s not what I’m giving).

Start Looking in Other Places

There's a lot of fanfiction out there, and I mean a lot. Yes, most of it is not high quality, no that is not the author’s problem (you picked a sandwich up from a shack on the side of the road, remember, anybody can sell a sandwich, you don’t have to eat it).

That said, if you’re looking for something chances are that someone, somewhere, has written it.

More, if you’re looking for a specific trope, like WBWL there are undoubtedly fifty different versions floating about with several different archives all tailored for exactly what you’re looking for.

Write it Yourself

The reason I write what I do, in part, is because I knew there was a snowball’s chance in hell it would already be out there. Not, at least, with all of the pickles, lettuce, ketchup on the side, or what have you that my dream sandwich required.

You have something specific in mind? The author not living up to your expectations? Sit down at a computer or even a piece of paper and write what it is you're looking for. I guarantee you, you’ll be much less frustrated and happier for it. Who knows, other people have probably been looking for that too and you’ll go and make their day.

Prompt Existing Authors

Some fanfiction authors take prompts, I am actually among them, if you want something written the way you want it then go and prompt them. They may turn you down, that’s their right, but the fact is that there are people you can go and politely ask for this sort of thing.

Do Not Whine to the Author Like a Smarmy Asshole Because You Couldn’t Read Mayonnaise in the List of Ingredients

Often, also with this sort of review, it becomes clear that they a) don’t read summaries, b) don’t read author’s notes and then are upset that they didn’t read the information contained in the summaries or author’s notes.

Regardless, even if you are fully informed and chose to complain to the author that they’re not writing what you want, stop and think before you push that button.

First, is what you’re asking for in any way unreasonable? Does the author have any motivation at all to comply with your individual needs? Has anyone else brought this up in a review or is it you alone who has an issue? Can you solve this problem by leaving to read something else?

If you answered yes to any of the above then it’s best you don’t leave that review. If you do, trust me, the author will engrave your username in their memory and will always remember you as “ack, it’s that smarmy asshole who can’t read authors notes”

My Ode to Reviewers

That said, the vast majority of you are encouraging, wonderful and when you nitpick or bring up criticism you do so with grace and style. My blessings unto you all.

End Rant

#writing #fan fiction #rant #handling flames #flames

48 notes · View notes

queer-cosette · 4 years

Text

The (Mis)adventures of a Deli Employee - Bad Luck edition

got to work. It’s just me and Megan. We’re the least experienced people to operate the Hot Deli.

we manage to get everything on in time. No problem until the Food To Go cook comes out.

Problem: label machines are not working. Not on the Hot Deli, not on the Pizza Counter, not on the Cold Deli, not on the Meat Counter, not on the Fish Counter, not at the Bakery. Cannot sell pies without labels.

Eventually Gazza (the bakery manager from the Jeremiah The Bird incident) manages to get one printer at meat and one at cold deli working. Neither have scanners so all barcodes must be typed in by hand if anyone wants to reduce anything. Gazza takes over meat for the bakery, we use cold deli for hot deli.

Thankfully, we get the Food To Go cook down only five minutes late.

Problem: three pizzas need reduced and five need labels. None of the other scales can be changed to print pizza labels as the pizza counter is newer than the others. Looks like we may have to waste them - tomorrow, because none of the other scales can waste pizza either.

Problem: loads of cheese waste because no one reduced the soft cheeses yesterday and they’re now all out of date. Luckily I can use PLU numbers instead of barcodes to waste.

Problem: the temperatures on the combi oven cook aren’t hitting above 75 when they need to hit 85 or more to be safe to eat. We have boosted the cook by 5 minutes about ten times. They still won’t hit.

The sausages finally hit. We get them out.

The first tray of chicken thighs finally hit. We get them out.

Problem: the tray of drumsticks will not hit. We check them. The meat is pink. It should be white. We do not know how to make them cook properly.

Megan texts a more experienced coworker who tells us to boost it two more times without opening the door between boosts. We do this and the drumsticks and last two trays of chicken thighs finally hit. We get them out. We can now go our first break!

Problem: because of the trouble with the combi, we are late getting our break. We may end up as a result being late with the second Food To Go cook for the school weans coming in for their lunch. Said school weans are mostly underage psychos and we are both terrified of what they will do if we’re late.

Oh, also, it’s raining when we go outside for a smoke. (Well. Megan smokes. I stand with her and hold the brolly while eating a tootsie roll.)

Luckily, we manage to get all the cooks done for the school weans with time to spare. Once it’s down at Food To Go, we can wash everything up.

Bad Luck: I drop the rubber gloves into the soapy water. Luckily everything is already washed and drying, but I am allergic to some soaps, including this one, and have to stick my hands in the soapy water to retrieve them. Hands are now very itchy, but calm down when I run them under cold, soap-free water.

Bad Luck: the draining sink has not been draining and is full of water. As a result, all the trays etc. that were supposed to be drying are half dry, half soaking. I have to dry them all by hand.

Bad Luck: I take a brief breather and casually fold my arms and lean them against the serve-over. Since all the food is bagged in the self-serve, I don’t expect the serve-over heater to be on. It is. I now have two spectacularly large burns on my arms that are rapidly blistering even with cold water. The irony? I WAS THE ONE WHO TURNED IT ON THIS MORNING.

Bad Luck: Megan moves to empty the fat-trays from the rotisserie into the fat bucket. A large piece of cold chicken fat misses the bucket, hits the floor, and splashes all over her trousers.

We go for lunch. Megan sprays her trousers liberally with perfume. I am still tired, in spite of having a coffee before I came in and another one on my first break. I buy a Mountain Dew. Megan has had two coffees and is on her second Redbull. Neither of us know how she has not yet had a heart attack.

We return from lunch to discover that all the printers are working again. We go to the Hot Deli printer to reduce the whole rotisserie chickens.

Problem: although the computer is working, the actual label printer on the Hot Deli is not. We change the labels twice to make sure they’re in the right position. This does not change anything. The actual machinery is jammed.

We have nothing else to cook, so we start cutting up cheese for the display. I break a piece of Dolcelatte in half by mistake. This would be fine, except Dolcelatte is the smelliest, stickiest, squishiest cheese ever. We have to reduce it.

Minor Annoyance: the Mountain Dew has not made me less tired. It has, however, sent my heartbeat into overdrive. I’m now overheating. I remove my whites and my fleece and hope for the best.

We finish the cheese and I am now freezing. I put my fleece back on. Megan goes to prepare the trays for tomorrow’s cook. A lady gets annoyed that the fish counter is closed. I go to get a cage for our rubbish and a tray for our waste.

Minor Annoyance: I pick out a cage and a tray. The tray is supposed to fit into the cage like a shelf. Either the cage is bent, or the tray is squint, because the tray does not fit. I pretend everything is fine.

Minor Annoyance: our manager nitpicks me about the large amount of cheese waste. I have to explain the rules about cheese reductions because she has not bothered to learn them herself.

Finally we are free to go. The weather cannot decide if it wants to rain or not. I need to sleep for a week but I have exactly zero holidays coming up.

#coco speaks #the (mis)adventures of a deli employee #bad luck

1 note · View note

comingupforblair · 5 years

Text

I get really fucking annoyed any time I see some MCU fan talk about the DCEU and say how Marvel succeeded because “they had a plan and they were patient” and that’s what made them successful.

That’s absolutely true. However, there are some other elements that never get brought up.

Marvel were able to launch their franchise with smaller films (something they are keen on saying the DCEU should have done) because they did so in a time when comic book films, especially part of a major franchise, could be small and relatively low budget and no one cared. That isn’t the case anymore.

Look at the box office and you’ll see that small films in general don’t have much of a presence anymore, unless they’re designed as potential Oscar films. Even attachment to a major franchise isn’t enough anymore as Solo proved. You need to show why audiences should come and see your film and a film designed to be a glorified homework assignment, that exists along side six other films to set up the film you actually want to see three years from now, isn’t going to get people to turn out.

This is why I find it frustrating when they take the general idea Marvel films had and stretch it to ridiculous levels (”Trilogies for each member of the Suicide Squad, solo films for all the Birds of Prey, a dozen films before Justice League and four Batgirl origin films”). They’re all willfully ignorant of how much the box office has changed and what the expectation for these films are now.

They also didn’t have the competition that films now have, both from comic book films and in general. The trend towards every film needing to be a billion dollar blockbuster is that everyone else has to compete against that. Disney control the box office now and everyone else is just trying to compete and they need equally big films to do it.

The performance and reception of Shazam arguably demonstrates both of these points. It had a wide level of appeal with a lighter tone and being marketed directly to young audiences, it got rave reviews, it had good hype leading up to it, it was a stand alone and it came just after the enormous success of Aquaman.

And while it did as well as a phase one MCU film like Captain America: The First Avenger, it is still occasionally spoken of a disappointment or a film that could have or should have done better than it did. Shazam has likely laid the groundwork for a more successful sequel a few years from now same as Marvel’s phase one did but the fact that it wasn’t as big as Spider-man: Homecoming or Guardians of the Galaxy right from the start means it’s seen as underperforming.

Shazam was in a unique situation of going up against two major MCU films but that’s what these films are dealing with now. There isn’t really a time anymore when they aren’t going up against those big films. People are big on saying how the DCEU “should have laid the groundwork” in theory but don’t like that in practice as it means lower box office results and we are now in a situation where films make obscene amounts of cash right from the start or they are deemed failures.

There’s also the enormous pressure on studios to get their films out there first lest they exist in the shadow of another or get accused of “copying”. It’s now a well-known fact that shallow idiots are keen to see any similarities between two films and accuse DC/WB of copying at the slightest provocation. The MCU has been on the receiving end of this too with Captain Marvel. It was a hugely successful film but the glass ceiling on superhero films had already been broken by Wonder Woman which made CM look like it was late to the party and doomed it to exist in WW’s shadow as the second successful female led superhero film.

They also did it all in an era when every aspect of these productions wasn’t scrutinized. When you could do something like start filming Iron Man without an official script and no one would notice or have an actor act the way Ed Norton did with The Incredible Hulk or have a film do not so well without the doomsday prophecies. They also didn’t have a hundred million bloggers and YT channels full of nitpicking dickheads pouring over every mistake or making snide lists of “ten things wrong with the MCU that fans just ignore”.

That’s not even getting into how big a factor luck plays in this. The MCU could have been undermined at any moment by a box office failure, a poorly received film, bad productions, or any of the many factors that damage other films and franchises. Planning and patience matters but luck is still a huge factor. They were lucky enough to launch at the right time and in the right environment and without any major issues affecting their films or the endless cries for them to change everything that DC films have had to face.

Contrary to popular belief, Zack Snyder did have a vision for these films. It was just one that the same Marvel fans were so adamant about rejecting and demanding be abandoned. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t demand that studios abandon their creative vision and then complain about the consequences or that something isn’t immediately there to replace it.

This is a major reason why I and other DCEU fans find MCU fans offering their analysis on the DCEU and why the MCU has done better so fucking insufferable. It’s the fandom equivalent of the stereotypical baby boomers eager to lecture milennials about work ethic and putting away their phones and ignoring the advantages they had or the difficulties young people face or a rich person eager to cast judgement on a poor person and saying how they worked hard for what they have while ignoring all of their advantages and how lucky they were.

If you’re an MCU fan who is eager to offer up their analysis and say what DC/WB should have done, know that DC fans see you as being like such people and they’re about as likely to take you seriously or see what you’re saying as having any value.

#dceu #mcu

9 notes · View notes

totaldramafan-lauri · 5 years

Text

Eurovision 2019 Opinions, Predictions, and Rankings

Whew! Got it done in time to relax for a few days until the show starts!

These posts are always really time-consuming to make, but at the end of the day, I like making them. I honestly don’t care if people read them or not, I just like talking about Eurovision, and that’s all there is to it.

If you do decide to read this: this is another year where a lot of my opinions aren’t exactly popular...I do agree with a lot of the possible winners (so it’s not as bad as two years ago), sure, but a lot of MY favorite songs this year are major underdogs. Yeah, I can’t exactly help it if my taste is weird, but I love my favorites and will defend them as long as I can. And hey, I’m American, so I can’t even vote. =P

I do like how there are no songs I dislike this year. That’s a good thing. There are only a few that I’m indifferent to, and everything else, I either like or love. That’s the sign of a good Eurovision.

Now, with further ado, on to the rambling!

(In alphabetical order by country)

Song: Ktheju tokës Country: Albania Thoughts: So, as I expected, Albania wasn't able to reach the same level of awesomeness they did last year. Instead, we...still get a pretty interesting song! I enjoy this song quite a bit, even though it's not one of the huge standout songs to me. It's a bit more "standard Albanian entry", but that's not a totally bad thing. I like the beat here. Nothing wrong with heavy drums. I like drums. Prediction: I don't think this'll qualify, sadly. The second semifinal, which it's in, is super strong, and I don't think this song is good enough to stand out amongst the competition.

Song: Walking Out Country: Armenia Thoughts: I'm really starting to get to the point where I should never underestimate Armenia, since I've adored so many of their recent entries - including them being among my favorites in 2014 and 2016 and among my borderline favorites in 2017 - and now we have this song being one of my favorites this year. I normally love happy songs in Eurovision, but what we don't get as often is a good angry song. A song to listen to when you wanna tell someone off but don't have the courage to! That's what this song is. This lady has a really really strong voice, which is the best part, and she sells the emotion this song is going for super well. Overall a great song that doesn't sound like anything else this year, and...yeah, I love it! Prediction: I'm worried about most of my favorites this year...The betters aren't kind to a lot of them, and it's scaring me. This might be my unluckiest year since 2015, but I could also be worrying too much. I think Armenia do have a chance to qualify, having a very strong song and a good record, so I'll predict that this song'll creep up on people and qualify! If it doesn't, however...I won't be super surprised. There are also a few other songs in the second semifinal that I love even MORE than this one, so if one or more of those make it, I'll be fine if this doesn't.

Song: Zero Gravity Country: Australia Thoughts: Australia are still here, and they clearly give no craps! Well, um...this is a thing. That's what it is, all right! A thing! ...And I like it! Yeah, it took a bit for this song to grow on me, but it eventually did. It's still on the lower end for me, but considering that I don't normally gravitate (heehee) towards opera singing, to the point where I was indifferent to even "La Forza", I'm surprised that I ended up liking this one. Especially with how ridiculous it is! Let's be honest, this is a silly silly song! And that's why I like it! It has lyrics that COULD be taken seriously, sure...I actually kinda like the lyrics. They're clever. But...I'm unable to take the whole thing seriously. This is good "turn your brain off and listen" music for me. Yeah, there are many songs I'd rather listen to, but I'm happy this one exists. It wouldn't be Eurovision without stuff like this...Also, the "Nothing holding me down" part toward the end is extremely hard to shake. That too. Prediction: I'm beginning to think that Australia will always qualify. Their last two entries did not do well in the televoting and were carried by the juries. This one seems to be a BIT more popular, so it'll qualify without much problem. Honestly, I'm all for this! More silliness in the final, I say! ...As long as it doesn't place toward the top. It's not THAT good a song, guys...XD

Song: Limits Country: Austria Thoughts: I didn't like this song when I first heard it, not gonna lie. I didn't like the lady's "Love Injected"-esque voice, and I didn't like how it started building only to slow down again immediately afterward. But sure enough, a few more listens later, aaaaand...it grew on me. Not that I don't think it's one of the weakest songs - I'm still not overly crazy about it - but I just like it now. I got used to it, and I like it for what it is. It's harmless. Prediction: I'm really hoping this doesn't qualify due to it being my least-favorite song in the second semifinal. If it somehow qualifies, it'll be at the cost of a song I enjoy more, so it goes without saying, right? And so far, it's looking like it's not gonna happen, so that's good. I don't think I'll need to worry.

Song: Truth Country: Azerbaijan Thoughts: And we come to the first of my "borderline favorites", which are songs I really like and could become favorites in the final after actual favorites fail to qualify. I have a tendency to like Azerbaijan's entries, and this one is no exception! What's interesting about this song for me is that I kinda like the verses more than the chorus....if that makes sense? It's still got a good chorus, but the thing that sticks out to me the most about this song is the lyrics. I find them relatable in some ways, or at the very least, were relatable in the past. It can be HARD to resist a crush, especially when it grows, and when the person you have feelings for is dangerous in one way or another, you gotta tell yourself over and over to stay away, stay away, it's not worth it. Keep cool under pressure. They want to break you. Easier said than done, right? Also, this song gets points from me for being energetic and not angsty and whiny about it. Pretty much my only nitpick with it is that I'm still not 100% sure what the chorus is saying...I've come up with "Shut up and ride it", "Shut up and ride in", and "Shut up, I'm right here", before finally settling on the last one. XD (Last minute edit: Apparently it’s “Shut up about it”? I don’t hear that at all. O.o) Prediction: Should qualify without much problem. I know, I know, I said that last year too and that didn't happen, but this one's more popular! It's gonna qualify, and Azerbaijan will be back in the final! As for how well it'll place, errr...on the left side of the board, at least. Maybe JUST outside the top ten, since that's how their last few entries (before last year) have done.

Song: Like It Country: Belarus Thoughts: Something I'm gonna be doing a lot of in this post is talking about lyrics. It's true that good and/or relatable lyrics can make a song better for me, plus in Eurovision, stuff like that is completely optional, so it's a treat when we get it. Songs that tell a story are especially likely to win points from me...and then there's stuff like this that has none of that, and yet I absolutely love it anyway. Yeah...as this song shows, the most important part of music is the music. You can have a song that's basically about nothing and I'll be unable to get enough of it if it has a good beat to it, like this does! This song is sooooooo catchy!! I can't understate that! I felt like it had ingrained itself in my mind after only three or four listens! I feel like I'm almost addicted to this song! So, while lyrics I like can help my opinion of a song, what REALLY makes or breaks a song for me is how it sounds, and this one right here is one of my favorites this year just because I have SO much fun listening to it. That's all there is to it, really! Prediction: Barely any of my favorite songs are especially popular, as I've learned...but at least with this one, I can kiiiiiinda understand why it won't be everyone's cup of tea? I'm still obviously rooting for it, and I'll likely freak out if it manages to qualify, but I won't be holding my breath for it. I just wanna have my happy catchy song in the final, OK? XD I don't predict it'll have much of a chance, though...

Song: Wake Up Country: Belgium Thoughts: I didn't have a big reaction to this song when I first heard it, but I had the sneaking suspicion that it'd end up growing on me...and I was right! It's still not a standout, but I enjoy listening to it whenever it comes on. It has a good chorus, nice lyrics, and uh, yeah! Not much to say here, I just like it! Prediction: I'm not sure about this one...I guess I'll say it'll qualify? It's in the weaker semifinal, in my opinion, so it has a chance! It just needs to stand out a bit more...Maybe the staging will help it?

Song: The Dream Country: Croatia Thoughts: ...I wanna make fun of this song so much, but I know I'd just be lying to myself...Yes, this song is incredibly cheesy. A song about how you "dream of love" is way up there on the cheese meter, and this song is taking itself way too seriously....but GOSHDANG IT I like this flipping song! I can't help it! This is Eurovision, I've heard MUCH worse than this (looking at you, "Our Choice")! And the man can sing, OK? Those high notes, just...so good! He's giving it everything he has, to the point where he seems 100% sincere. Like this IS his dream, and he's gonna belt it out to the world to hear! I can't be annoyed at a song that sounds this good, no matter the subject matter... This might not be one of my favorites, but it's definitely my number one guilty pleasure this year. Prediction: Pffffttt, like this song has any chance in such a strong semifinal. XD

Song: Replay Country: Cyprus Thoughts: If I could sum up this song in one sentence it'd be this: Its title fits it. Why? Because it's just "Fuego" again. I'm not kidding, it's literally just "Fuego" with a different melody and a worse instrumental. Now, I don't think it was intentional - I'm not outright accusing Tamta of ripping off Eleni, that'd be dumb. But it still SOUNDS like a ripoff, is my point. It's not a good look. I really loved "Fuego", so having this the very next year, I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed...not that I dislike this song, I don't! I like it just fine! It's fun and upbeat, and I find myself getting into it sometimes! But the point still stands. I would like this song a LOT more if I had just heard it on its own and had never heard "Fuego" before. That's how it is, sorry...It's still a fun song, I'm not gonna deny that! Prediction: This song is currently pretty popular despite those things about it, so yeah, this is gonna qualify. I kinda don't want it to do THAT well in the final, but I can easily see this cracking the top ten.

Song: Friend Of A Friend Country: Czech Republic Thoughts: Eh, there's not really a lot to say about this one. It's...it's fine. I don't really find it that memorable, though. In fact, I might call this the most forgettable song this year, even though it’s still kinda fun. Because at least the songs I like less than it stand out to me by being the worst songs in my opinon. This one's just kinda there, like a song that exists just to fill time. If you like this song, that's fine! It's not bad! It's just...not that good, either. But maybe that's just me. I don't relate to the lyrics at all, so...eh. XD Prediction: I really hope this doesn't qualify...there are so many better songs that deserve it more, even in the weaker semifinal...But as for an actual prediction, I honestly have no idea. A lot more people are paying attention to it than I thought, so maybe I'm just an idiot! Umm...I'll say that...it'll qualify, just by virtue of nothing else really sounding like it (See, I can be nice to songs I'm indifferent to!) Maybe it'll stand out more than I give it credit for. It won't be a big favorite, though, and especially won't be as big a hit as last year's Czech entry was.

Song: Love Is Forever Country: Denmark Thoughts: This is a cute song! Sometimes, that's all I need to like a song, but my favorite thing about this song is that there's MORE to it than just being cute. It also pushes a positive message! So, I could call it preachy for that, but I just can't. You can if you want, but I've heard a LOT worse than this. All this song is saying is that love is for everyone, and that's all! Don't think too hard about it! The lyric that makes this song for me is actually "Don't get too political" - it's quick, but it gets everything across perfectly. Because of that line, I know that this isn't a song trying to push some sort of agenda on you, and is actually discouraging getting up in arms over politics about something as simple as love. And then there's the last bit, where she switches between four different languages to get the point across, and it sounds really seamless! Overall, this is a really sweet song, but it didn't get as big a reaction outta me as the last few Danish entries have gotten. That's a really high standard, though. Oh no, Denmark aren't in my top 7 for the fourth year in a row? What a travesty! XD Prediction: Hmmm...I'm thinking this'll qualify. It isn't a front-runner by any means, but I think people will resonate with it. Sadly, this'll probably be at the cost of another song I like, but so be it. In the final, I don't think it'll stand out as much, probably placing around the middle of the board.

Song: Storm Country: Estonia Thoughts: Ooh, this is a really good one! Part of me wishes I could rank this song higher, but I can't due to how much I love all my favorites and borderline favorites. Still, this is a solid hit from Estonia. Great Aviici-like vibe, nice uplifting lyrics, and a great, energetic chorus...what's not to like? This is the type of song I listen to when I'm in a rut and need something to assure me that I'll be safe and sound. Oddly enough, there was a song called "Storm" last year that was about kinda the same thing...I liked that one, but this one is way better. Prediction: Obviously, I want this to qualify. And I do think it has a chance to! I won't be GUTTED if it doesn't, since it's not an absolute favorite of mine (and it's in the same semifinal as my number one favorite, so that's gonna be my priority mostly XD), but I'd appreciate if it did. More people need to hear this song. And Estonia have a good track record (when they're not being outright robbed *cough*2017*cough), so I'll be optimistic and say this'll qualify. I don't think they'll top how good they did last year, though. But speaking of my number one favorite...

Song: Look Away Country: Finland Thoughts: There's something you should know...and it's YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHH FINLAND!! WooooooOOOOOO!! I can't believe they topped last year, but they DID!! This song is so good it amazes me! ...Yeah, if it wasn't obvious, this is my favorite song of the bunch. This song is just.....WOW. It brings on an emotion that no other song this years brings, and it does it SO well. Darude makes dance music, and you even get some of that here. Never before has fear and desperation sounded so fun, without sounding happy! Lemme say that again: It's not a happy song at all, but it's FUN to listen to! It's like a grander version of the standard "morbid party song", and to get that from a guy who's mainly known as a meme nowadays!? This almost makes me feel bad for that...If he can make music like this, he deserves to be known for more. Actually, the fact that this song has been overshadowed by the Darude memes kinda bums me out...This is a song that SHOULD NOT be slept on. It's amazing in every way...even more once you listen to the studio version, which is even better. I say that because the official video is a live performance. Listen to the studio version. It's a lot clearer. Finland seriously knocked it outta the park with this one, I stand by that! Prediction: Ugh....once again, my favorite song isn't getting nearly enough attention...It happened last year with "Stones", another awesome song that I felt deserved more, but ended up not qualifying. That better not happen to this song! PLEASE NO! It's even in the weaker semifinal! It can do it! I believe! I belieeeeeve!! Just.....sound good live then as it does in the music video...or even better! I swear, if this song doesn't qualify, I'm gonna chalk it up to "lol it's Finland" and "lol it's Darude" and nothing else. Put Finland in the final, I'm BEGGING, Europe...even if they don't do well in the final, which they DESERVE to, but even if they don't....at least they'll be there. ...Oh yeah, prediction. Well, obviously, I'm biased! Screw it, I'm predicting it'll qualify! The betters have gotten a lot wrong! They underestimated Eugent Bushpepa, and they're underestimating this!

Song: Roi Country: France Thoughts: Ooooh boy, this song. This was, hands down, the biggest grower for me this year. When I first heard it, my reaction was "It sounds fine, but it doesn't stand out all that much"...well, that opinion lasted a couple days at BEST. Because, while reading YouTube comments, I found out exactly what this song was about, and I was won over. For those who don't know, the singer is gay, and the song is about how he loves this about himself, and how he doesn't care what people think. Because he's a king. "Roi" means "king" in French. Once I learned this, my opinion of this song skyrocketed, as I realized how much this song's message will mean to so many people who watch Eurovision, and how many will relate to it. "You put me in a box, want me to be like you"...It's arguably the most meaningful song this year, so..."Doesn't stand out all the much" my hind end, am I right? XD After that, the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. I like how seamlessly it switches between French and English, and overall, it just sounds good. That's true even disregarding the lyrics and the message. This song may not be one of my favorites, but it's in my top ten, and is my favorite entry from France for a long long time. Prediction: Unsurprisingly, this song has become quite popular, and I'm glad it has! I wouldn't be surprised if France places high! Top ten, maybe? I think the televoters will adore this song. Not sure about the juries, though.

Song: Keep On Going Country: Georgia Thoughts: What's the opposite of "growing on you"? Would that be, uh..."shrinking"? This song right here shrunk on me, as stupid as that sounds. I kinda liked it at first - good voice, could tell it was emotional - but it wore thin on me suuuuper quickly...I'm sorry to the people who like it, but I could care less about it now. Normally, I like a good emotional ballad as long as it's interesting, but this one...it just stagnated. It feels longer than it does. AND there are better ballads this year. The vocals are the only thing keeping this from being my least-favorite. And again, I don't dislike this song, I'm just indifferent to it. Prediction: At least I don't have to worry about this somehow making it to the final! Hahahaha no. It won't. XD

Song: Sister Country: Germany Thoughts: Yet another song that's carried by its lyrics! Yeah, music-wise, this isn't anything special. The harmonies are great, but other than that, yeah. But the lyrics...the story this song tells is really heartwarming. Two sisters (or possibly just friends) admitting to each other that they're tired of fighting and wanna make peace...it hits me pretty hard. Not to say I'm brought to tears over it - that was LAST year's German entry - but it still touches me, as someone who grew up constantly at odds with my own sister. We're very...VERY different people, but we care about each other...that's what I get from this song. And there are some very good lyrics in here. "You were walking right beside me,but I left no room for you", "Calling you my enemy, when my enemy's right here", stuff like that. Even if there are a lot of better songs, I like this song because it feels REAL. And it's not boring, either, so that's good! Prediction: Oof...I don't think Germany are gonna do that well this time. If you don't relate to this song like I do, it doesn't stand out very well...I'm thinking this'll place towards the bottom. Sorry...I wanted them to keep doing well after last year! But I got a bad feeling about this one.

Song: Better Love Country: Greece Thoughts: Greece stepped up their game this year! This is a darn good song. It grew on me in a big way. I love how unique the voice is here, it really helps it stand out. I like her voice a lot! And you gotta love a good bridge! That's probably the best part of the song! This isn't one of my favorites, but I can easily hear the appeal here, and I'm happy that it's popular. Prediction: I wanna say this'll qualify, but that's what I said about "Oniro Mou" too, which seemed to be a shoo-in as well, but...eh, I'm gonna count on that not happening two years in a row. I think this is a better song than that was, anyway. So...gonna expect Greece back in the final this year! Heck, maybe this song will end up doing better than we think it will...

Song: Az én apám Country: Hungary Thoughts: ...Why have there been so many dad songs in Eurovision lately? ...OK, so two last year and one this year doesn't really count as "so many", I know. It's just an interesting trend I've noticed. XD Nothing wrong with wanting to appreciate your dads, though! I'm here for the music! But anyway, Joci, Hungary's representative from 2017, is back! I didn't even realize this at first, but now I can pretty safely say that I like the guy. I liked "Origo", thought it was a really cool and unique song. This one, while I don't think it's as good, is also really nice to listen to. His voice makes this song for me, I like it a LOT. And I like how different it is from his last entry. It proves that he can do different things and he's not trying to make "Origo Part 2". I remember saying something similar about Alexander Rybak last year. Instead of a song that's half rap, we got a slower, more acoustic song that still has a beat to it. I love the last bit especially. It's a great "clap along" moment. Of course, I've listened to it with English subtitles now, and I think the lyrics are pretty touching, so that's a bonus. Prediction: I think this'll qualify. Hungary have been pretty consistent the past few years, and this song isn't nearly forgettable enough to stop that momentum. I don't think it's a front-runner by any means, but it'll at least make it to the final.

Song: Hatrið mun sigra Country: Iceland Thoughts: Well, this is certainly something different for Eurovision! Gotta say, I think I respect this song more than I LIKE it. Screaming has never been my thing, ever. I can tolerate it in small doses, but when a song is MOSTLY screaming, I usually won't like it. So, I thought that'd be the case here. But luckily it did grow on me a bit! It started when I noticed how good the instrumentation was, and started getting used to the screaming instead of cringing at it. It's FAR from my favorite, but that's all genre preference stuff and nothing against it. And c'mon, it's INTERESTING! If you ask me, one of the best things about it is how NOT Eurovision it is! Not just in a musical sense, but even the subject matter - I looked up the translation and hoo boy, did I never expect a song about hatred prevailing and destroying Europe to be in this cheery song contest. And I can't call it a downer because it's sooooo over-the-top with it! I feel like there's so much to dislike about this song, but I can't find it in me to do so! Like I said, it's interesting. (And it's certainly miles above Iceland's entry last year, which I didn't like at all) Prediction: And apparently Europe thinks it's interesting too, because this screamo song is currently in the top 10 picks for the winner in the betting odds. That completely baffles me...But at least I can safely say that it'll qualify for the final due to all the attention it's getting? Not sure if all of it's positive, though...However, songs with vocals like this often sound WORSE live, so either this song'll crash and burn badly, or it'll give Iceland their best showing since 2013, either or!

Song: 22 Country: Ireland Thoughts: This is yet another grower that I've taken to so much that I wish I could rank it higher! It's a really solid song that not only tells a story about trying to move on, but has an upbeat tone that contrasts with that in JUST the right way! It's decently catchy, too! I'm happy that I can enjoy an Irish entry this much, since I haven't in a couple years. Prediction: When I first heard this song, my first thought was "Wow, Ireland are actually trying this year! I think this might actually qualify! They did last year with a boring song that was carried by its staging, so qualifying with this should be easy!" ...buuuuut then I heard the rest of the songs and...yeah, I WISH this had a chance, but the competition is SO strong, especially in its semifinal. It'll be only the second song performed, too...I'd love to hear this in the final, but I won't be hurting too bad if it doesn't make the cut. It's not one of my favorites, I just like it a lot.

Song: Home Country: Israel Thoughts: I find that ballads tend to be growers for me when they don't leave a big first impression. If a ballad has good vocals, and it builds, it can win me over. Like this song! This song is not one of the more notable growers this year, but it's still a grower nonetheless. It's one of the slowest songs of the bunch, but it manages to not be boring, which is something I always like saying. Slow songs ARE NOT always boring. I love this man's voice a LOT. The second verse in particular is where it picks up for me. It sounds like something out of a musical...um, not that I'm normally a musical fan, it's just an observation. It's understandable that Israel wouldn't wanna win two years in a row, so sending a nice ballad like this was a good move. Something good, but not crazy unique...yeah, that probably wasn't intentional, whatever. XD Prediction: I have no idea how this song will do...I can see it being seen as forgettable, but since there aren't many songs like this this year, will that mean it'll technically stand out MORE...? Hmmm...Whatever the case, I can't see this on the top half of the scoreboard, especially with its competition.

Song: Soldi Country: Italy Thoughts: If there's one thing I've learned from the last few years, it's that Italy REALLY wanna win this dang contest. Their entries have been consistently awesome (well, ALMOST consistently, I remember one misstep), and they STILL haven't done it! Makes me feel kinda bad, especially considering they really should've had it two years ago...but eh, I've complained about that one enough. The point is, the Italians keep on trying, and here they are at it again with this song right here! This isn't one of my favorites, but I can definitely hear the appeal here, although I'm not quite sure what it's about, even after looking up the translation...I think it's about people who pretend to care about you, but only want your money, which...yeah, I could see people relating to that. Still, it's fun and catchy, and I could totally try to sing along to this if I knew Italian. I think there are more fun songs this year, but I still like it! Prediction: Once again, the Italian entry is one of the betters' favorites, and I can see this doing pretty well in the final. I don't think this'll be the winner, but that might just be me comparing it to past Italian entries I liked more, hmmm...I wouldn't be opposed to it, though...? It'll at least be in the top ten, I feel.

Song: That Night Country: Latvia Thoughts: This is one of those songs that isn't even close to being a favorite, but still gets lodged in my head despite that! Last year, that happened with "Light me up, light me up, now baby", and this year, we got this song. This downbeat, simple song still manages to have a catchy chorus! It's weird, but true! I would NOT call this the catchiest song in the contest, not when the Belarusian, Polish, and Swiss entries exist, and really, it's only that one part in the chorus. But dang, I've caught myself singing "Lo-o-o-o-ove, where are you? Lo-o-o-o-ove, I need you" many times over the past month. XD But as a whole, this song's pretty sweet and kinda relaxing in a way, but nothing spectacular. Prediction: *ahem* No-o-o-o-o~! ...Sorry, I had to. Um, yeah, this song's not qualifying. Latvia's last entry was a lot better, and that one didn't do it, so this one's not gonna do it, either.

Song: Run With The Lions Country: Lithuania Thoughts: This song's pretty decent, but nothing special. I'm all for happy songs, but I feel like this one doesn't have as much energy as it should...Eh, maybe that's just me. I still like the lyrics, and the beat is fine. I like the little drumrolls during the chorus. It's just not too much of a standout for me....In that regard, it's a typical Lithuanian entry that I like, but don't love. Prediction: I wouldn't really count on this qualifying...It's in the (in my opinion) stronger semifinal, and could easily end up forgotten. But Lithuania have surprised me before, so maybe that'll happen again...? If they do end up qualifying, they will NOT do as well as they did last year, though. Not even close.

Song: Chameleon Country: Malta Thoughts: The pre-chorus of this song is sooooooo good! When life briiiiings you trouble, this I know~ We'll never walk away,nana~ Walk away, nana~ We are TEEEECHNICOLOR, watch us go~ Seriously, if the entire song was as good as that part, this could've been one of my favorites! And as it is, I still really like it. I love the concept of comparing "I can adapt to whatever you throw at me" to chameleons, I think that's really clever! I love stuff like that. It's true that I wish it had a stronger chorus than just "Chama-chameleon" a few times (which I can't help but mishear as "Karma Chameleon", shut up I like my 80s music), but that's only a nitpick. It's a strong entry, and good to see Malta still sending their best after getting robbed last year. Prediction: OK, THIS time, Malta will qualify! This has been rising in the betting odds a bit recently, and I'm happy it's gaining momentum! It's not one of MY favorites, but I still like it, and will look forward to it being in the final! As for how it'll do once it's there...I think it'll probably do pretty well?

Song: Stay Country: Moldova Thoughts: When you say something is your "second-favorite", it's sometimes not taken as a compliment, because it comes off as "Good, but not AS good as this other thing"! Well, here, it's completely the opposite. I LOVE this song so so so so so SOOOOO much, to the point where part of me wishes I COULD call it my favorite. Whenever it comes on, it FEELS like my favorite! This song leaves such an impression on me, and I can't really put into words why...It's just...everything works! I feel a lot of the same emotions from this as from my second-favorite last year, "Mall", in that there's so much raw emotion in the way it's sung, and that just elevates it to a whole new level to me...It sounds weird, but its true: The vocals are incredible here. But my favorite thing about this song is that it BUILDS. HOLY CRAAAAAP DOES IT BUILD. It gets bigger and bigger with each part, and it's soooo effective! And it all caps off with this SUPER AMAZING part with the drums, before the key change kicks in, just, MMMMMMMM, good flipping stuff!! Again, putting my love of this song into words is really difficult, just like it was with "Mall", so I guess the short version is: It gives me feels. And if a song gives me good feels, I'll love it. Prediction: As much as I wanna say the same thing as I did with Finland's entry here, I really can't. I COULD call this song underrated, but this might also be a case of knowing that it's...just me. Moldova are known for sending over-the-top, silly stuff, which this song is far from. And emotional powerbombs like this song aren't as popular, though they CAN be....I dunno, I WANNA be optimistic here, and say it'll qualify, but looking at how overlooked it is, I just can't do it....The second semifinal is chalk full of strong songs, so the chances of this one making it...I'll just have to pray that it's staged beautifully, or else...As it is, it's not looking so good. How I react depends on how Finland does in the first semifinal. But right now, I've mostly accepted the fact that my opinion of this song is in the minority, and that it...p-probably...won't...qualify...But at least I'll keep loving it.

Song: Heaven Country: Montenegro Thoughts: Guess what? Yet another unpopular opinion! I personally really like this song, and don't understand why a lot of people don't care for it. I have no problem with it! I like happy songs, and this one's got a unique sound to it that makes it stand out. Not to mention, I adore the vocals here! Especially the female vocals, I think those voices are gorgeous. I mean, I GUESS it's a little repetitive? But the repetition doesn't bother me one bit, especially compared to stuff like "Do It For Your Lover". Like I said waaaaayyy up there about Belarus' entry, lyrics aren't everything in a song. Sometimes all it takes is sounding good, and that's true here. I dare say this is one of my favorite songs from Montenegro for quite a few years! Prediction: Dead last in the betting odds, a country that doesn't have a good record with qualifying...Yeah, this song's probably doomed. I'd be pleasantly surprised if it qualified, though!

Song: Arcade Country: The Netherlands Thoughts: Well, I wasn't as surprised at this year's pre-contest favorite as much as last year's, that's for sure! This is a good darn song. My favorite thing about it is definitely its lyrics. Comparing a hopeless love to an arcade of all things? That's something I've never thought of before, and it flipping WORKS! It's crazy! Maybe it just works for ME since I'm a gamer with a crush, but still! "Loving you is a losing game" is one of the best lyrics in the contest this year, I stand by that. XD Sure, the song starts off slow, but the chorus is worth the buildup. Especially the final chorus! It took a few listens for me to take notice of the brilliance here, and I still wouldn't call it one of the standout songs for me personally, but I totally understand this song's popularity. Prediction: I could very well see this being our winner, unless some other song ends up usurping it live. Since it's not one of my favorites, I can't really say I'm rooting for it (of the top-ranked songs, I'm definitely team Sweden, and even prefer Switzerland too), but I certainly wouldn't mind it! The Netherlands haven't won in a suuuuuuuper long time! I still wouldn't put all my coins in this slot though (heehee), since things could always change...for now, all I'm predicting is that this song will qualify for the final, and place in the top ten.

Song: Proud Country: North Macedonia Thoughts: This is a pretty good ballad. I like it. It's not outstanding, but I don't think it's trying to be. It's going for the "simple yet effective" approach. Like any good ballad, it has strong vocals, and its message is pretty good too, letting you know that being proud and standing up for yourself is a-OK! Despite those praises however, I can't say it stands out all the much...I mean, I GUESS it's one of only a few ballads this year, but still...It kinda gets lost in the shuffle to me, which has sadly been a trend with the Macedonian entries the past few years... Prediction: This song is more popular than I thought it'd be, but Macedonia have suuuuuch bad luck at Eurovision that I STILL can't be positive this'll qualify. Especially since it's in the second semifinal - in my opinion, the stronger one. If it does qualify, good for them, but...I kiiiiinda hope it won't? I mean, I like it, but the second semifinal has such good stuff in there that this qualifying could come at the price of a song I like more....but eh, it's still a good enough song. If it does make it to the final, I don't see it placing that highly, though. This won't be another "Crno I Belo", is what I'm getting at.

Song: Spirit In The Sky Country: Norway Thoughts: One of my favorites! This is a song that I thought was cool the first listen, and amazingly awesome now. The best way I can describe it is...it's to this year what "Higher Ground" was last year - it has that atmosphere to it that just gives you chills, and I LOVE songs that can do that! Granted, I don't think this song is QUITE as effective as "Higher Ground" was, and there are definitely differences in that this song is more poppy than that was, but it's still an achievement! A song that has a magical quality to it while also having a boppin' beat! Oh, and the vocals on this are excellent, too. And the "joiking" is super cool, and...everything here comes together perfectly! This is one of the best songs this year, and I will go down defending it! Prediction: This is thankfully one of my two favorites I won't have to worry about in the semis (the other being Sweden). This song's getting a lot of attention, for good reason, and even though it's fallen a BIT in the betting odds when I last checked it, I'm still not worried about it in the slightest. Norway's good to go this year! I'll even predict a top ten finish here because I'm just that optimistic!

Song: Fire Of Love (Pali się) Country: Poland Thoughts: So, you know how I feel about scream-singing.....how about yell-singing? That's a unique thing that we don't get often, although it's tradition in a lot of places I understand...This is the kind of thing that not everyone's gonna like, but...I really like this song. It's one of my borderline favorites. It just sounds so goshdang happy, and that beat is infectious! This is one of the catchiest songs this year, right up there with Belarus' song. The unique vocals really add to it, too - I feel that if it was sung normally, I wouldn't like it as much. Stuff like this can be hit or miss with me, so I'm happy this one's a hit. Poland's taking a risk this year, and I hope it works out for them! Prediction: Hoo boy, this song's gonna be devisive...It's currently pretty low in the betting odds, so I'm honestly not expecting it to qualify. It all hinges on how it sounds live, I guess...as a fan, I really hope I'm proved wrong, but I wouldn't mind losing this one if my two favorites in the first semifinal make it through and it doesn't.

Song: Telemóveis Country: Portugal Thoughts: Like the Australian entry, this song confused me when I first heard it...even moreso since I didn't understand the lyrics. XD But it interested me, with its unique instrumentation, and after looking up the translation, I like it more now! I like the story it tells! Even beyond that, I think it sounds pretty good. I normally don't gravitate towards this kind of music, so coming across something like this and enjoying it was something I didn't expect at all. The downside of this song is that it wears on me if I listen to it too much, however, so it's not toward the top of my list...But still, good work Portugal, this is yet another entry from you I like! Keep it up! Prediction: I'm predicting that Portugal will qualify this year. Like I said before, nothing else sounds like it, and not in a bad way, so I can see it leaving a reasonable impact. The betting odds agree with me on this one. Not sure how well it'll do once it's in the final, though...

Song: On A Sunday Country: Romania Thoughts: This is a song that I know by heart, despite it not being a favorite. It's got a mesmerizing beat that makes me wanna sway along every single time, what can I say? I like how it slowly builds, but I also like how it sounded at the beginning with the guitar. The lyrics are great, too. It's about being unable to move on from a past love. This song won't be for everyone, but I think it's a good one. Prediction: Now that we know that it IS in fact possible for Romania to not qualify, I'm....honestly not sure about their chances. I believe that their last entry was a better song, and that just BARELY didn't make it...plus, it's in a very solid semifinal. Hmmm...I'll say that...it sadly won't qualify. Going off the betting odds for this one, since I have no idea otherwise. I can see people thinking it's a bit too plain of a song...Maybe Moldova will help, maybe it won't be enough...If it does qualify, I'll be pretty happy, though!

Song: Scream Country: Russia Thoughts: Last year, Russia failed to qualify for the final for the first time ever. THIS year, they're not playing around. They brought back the guy who won the televote in 2016, Sergey Lazarev! Naturally, I was excited about this, since at this point, I think I can safely call "You Are The Only One" one of my favorite Eurovision entries EVER. It's up there, at least! This song, however, isn't as good, but only due to the bar being set too high. XD This is a great song! It's very hard-hitting and emotional, with great lyrics about fighting inner demons...I mean, c'mon, after loving the heck outta "Monsters" last year, it should be obvious right now that I like songs about that, right? However, even with all the praise I can sing about this song, it's not one of my favorites. Only due to competition, though! Prediction: This is easy! This is one of the favorites to win! It's currently up there with the Netherlands! I have a hard time deciding which of those two I like more...I think this one? But I'd be fine with either or. But the point is, it's gonna qualify and do really well in the final. This is a top ten song! ...I say top ten to be safe. I've been doing that after what happened two years ago. XD I could very well see this winning if it's performed well, though! And I'd be fine with it!

Song: Say Na Na Na Country: San Marino Thoughts: This song is SOOOO much fun, oh my god! It's amazing just how much better this is than the last time Serhat was in Eurovision! "I Didn't Know" was a song I could only like ironically, and now he gives the world THIS! You can still easily tell it's him - his voice is distinct - it's just that now he's not trying to be smooth, he's trying to have fun. And oh boy does it work! What's funny is that this is yet another "Let's cut loose and have a good time" song, and I like it SO much more than Lithuania's entry in that regard. It's more upbeat, and it's got so much more going for it! Yes, it's goofy, and yes, it's not deep at all, but it's not trying to be. Just listen to Serhat's ridiculous voice and have a good time. If this were a weaker year, this could've been a borderline favorite for me, but since there are quite a few songs I happen to like more, I can't rank it any higher. Prediction: Yeeeeaaaahhh....no. From what I've seen, the people who like this song REALLY love it, but it won't be enough to get San Marino in the final. I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong, but I don't think that's gonna happen unless something really crazy happens. I'll be perfectly fine with seeing it once live, but it's not final material for sure.

Song: Kruna Country: Serbia Thoughts: Oh my god, the pipes on this lady! What a voice! What an amazing voice! And the way the song builds after the first chorus, mmmm, good stuff! Yeah, this is another song that I wish I could rank higher. I'm always so focused on my favorites, and whenever this song comes on I think "Oh yeah, this song exists and is really really good!" I get that reaction from a few songs, but this is definitely one of the bigger examples of that. I really do adore this one. I love the lyrics, too. It's just a declaration of love and devotion, simple as that, and daaaaang does she sell it! Prediction: This is pretty low in the betting odds, but I honestly still think it has a fair chance of qualifying. Serbia have a pretty good track record, and this is a solid entry from them. This song could end up creeping up on people and winning them over like it did me!

Song: Sebi Country: Slovenia Thoughts: And we come to my least-favorite song this year...Gotta put the mandatory "sorry if you like it" comment here before saying that...this just isn't my thing. I obviously do have the ability to like downbeat stuff, but this just doesn't do it for me. The singer sounds half-asleep, and if the singer doesn't sound interested in what she's singing, why should I be? I know there are people out there who like that type of vocal (my dad does, off the top of my head), but I'm not one of those people. This gets absolutely no reaction out of me whatsoever. Maybe I'd like it more if I could understand the lyrics? ...But on the other hand, the fact that it's in Slovene is arguably the most interesting thing here, so I dunno about that. And y'know what? I'll say this: If this is the worst Eurovision 2019 has to offer, than that's a pretty good thing! Because this is FAR from the most boring song to come out of this contest. Heck, this isn't even the worst Slovenian entry I've ever heard, either. There ARE times where it feels like I could almost come close to liking it, mainly due to the instrumentation, and that's more that I could say about my least-favorites from previous years. The last three years there's been one That One Song that I can't stand, and this doesn't even come close to that. I'll take indifference to that any day. Prediction: I wish I could say this has no chance of qualifying, but I think it does...Seeing it getting more attention from the betters than the songs from the first semifinal that I actually love is mildly upsetting. But since I don't feel anything either way for it, I guess it being in the final would be...fine. As long as I get stuff I like alongside it.

Song: La Venda Country: Spain Thoughts: FUN! I like fun songs! And I like how many fun songs there are this year! Dang, this is a good one...just a solid burst of energy, the kind of music you listen to for a good pick-me-up. When I hear this song, I don't hear someone trying to win a competition, I hear someone just wanting to party! There's not really much else to say, because I think that about sums it up. It's a lot of fun and makes me smile! Eurovision in a nutshell, really. Spain's entry last year didn't leave much of an impression on me (to the point where it took me a couple moments to remember what it was), but I have a feeling that won't be the case this year. Prediction: Like I said, this is just a happy feel-good song, not winner material, but I really do think Spain could got outta their bad streak with this. It's been getting a fair amount of attention, and it definitely stands out! This is the most solid Spanish entry for quite a while, and I think many people agree with me on that.

Song: Too Late For Love Country: Sweden Thoughts: Feels great to have Sweden back in my top 5, since the last time that happened was with "Heroes"! Their entries can be flipping incredible, and this song is just THAT! HOOOOOLY CRAP this song is SOOOO GOOD! Like with Moldova above, I can't even articulate everything I like about this song! I'll try though...*ahem* Good singer! Great lyrics! The way the song comes alive at the chorus JUST as the lyrics get the most uplifting! Not to mention those two simple words, "HEAR ME!" carrying so much weight...And the flipping CHOIR, my god, it fits in perfectly and adds so much! It's SUCH a big song, such a grand declaration of love, and I'm a sucker for everything in it! What's more to say? I love this song! It's very solidly my third favorite in the contest, and, no joke, my favorite Swedish entry since the famous "Euphoria". Not sure how many people will agree with me on that. XD Prediction: It should come as no surprise that out of the betters' favorites, this one is my favorite, though being ranked fifth doesn't mean it's an absolute front-runner once the contest starts...Still, I'm team Sweden all the way! I'm not expecting this to be the winner, but anything less than the top five doesn't do this song justice. And, well, at least I won't have to worry about this one not qualifying, unlike my top two!

Song: She Got Me Country: Switzerland Thoughts: And we come to the last of the big favorites! The one that nearly EVERYONE on YouTube has in their top five, and honestly...I can see why! This song is a ton of fun, simply put. It's catchy and has great instrumentals that make you wanna dance along! But, uh...I can't be the only one who liked Switzerland's last entry better, right...? They actually sent my favorite song last year...So there was no way this song was gonna live up to that for me. XD I loved "Stones", and it didn't make it to the final. The fact that this one is getting so much attention COULD bother me for that reason, but it doesn't. I can recognize a really fun song when I hear one, and this is just that. Not only that, but with how Switzerland's record is, ANY entry of theirs getting this popular is a treat! It could've been overlooked, but it hasn't, because it's just that good! Prediction: This song would have to sound REALLY bad live in order to not qualify. XD And I'm not counting on that to happen! Welcome back to the final, Switzerland! In fact...I hope I don't eat my words for this, but...This might end up being their most successful showing of the 2010s...There's not much competition for that, mind you, so I'm pretty much just saying "They'll do better than they did in 2014". Yeah. XD

Song: Bigger Than Us Country: United Kingdom Thoughts: And we finally come to the last song...and daaaaang is it a good one! Yeah, believe it or not, the UK's entry is one of my favorites this year! I LOVE this song! It takes the sincere cheesiness of Croatia's entry and pumps it full of everything I love about Sweden's entry, if that makes sense - the vocals on this are incredible, and the buildup is one of the best! This song gets bigger and bigger as it goes, until it reaches the point where it doesn't JUST feel like love is the thing that's bigger than us, but also this song. Whenever I listen to this song, I feel nothing but joy. Complete and utter joy. Maybe this song isn't as technically impressive as, say, "Never Give Up On You", but for me, this is the absolute biggest reaction I've gotten out of one of the UK's entries since 2014. Good. Flipping. Stuff. Prediction: Sadly, I feel like this song's not gonna do as well as it deserves...The UK have struck out with the televoters the past couple years and it's really brought them down. I hope this'll be the year that trend is broken, but given how strong the competition is....eeeehhh...Maybe they'll do better than last year? But any more than that, I dunno...It's sad, since this is one of my favorites, but at least I won't be surprised....unless it does unexpectedly well! In that case, sure, I wouldn't mind being surprised! ^^

And that's all of 'em! Are you still here? Did you read all of that? If you did, good work, I applaud you. XD I'm definitely a rambler. But here's the part that really matters: my ranking!

Favorites:

1. Finland 2. Moldova 3. Sweden 4. Norway 5. UK 6. Belarus 7. Armenia

Borderline Favorites:

8. Poland 9. Azerbaijan 10. France 11. Estonia

Like:

12. Switzerland 13. Serbia 14. San Marino 15. Croatia 16. Ireland 17. Russia 18. Malta 19. Spain 20. Netherlands 21. Montenegro 22. Romania 23. Hungary 24. Italy 25. Belgium 26. Greece 27. Cyprus 28. Denmark 29. Albania 30. Germany 31. Israel 32. Iceland 33. Lithuania 34. Latvia 35. Portugal 36. North Macedonia 37. Australia 38. Austria

Indifferent:

39. Czech Republic 40. Georgia 41. Slovenia

#eurovision #opinions

3 notes · View notes