#for A & S & after reading over each song relating to him repeatedly I think I agree; I think he just called himself aro as a way to seduce S | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vminity21 · 3 years

Text

+1 | kth

Pairing: HighschoolCrush!Taehyung X StillProcessingIt!Reader

Word Count: 4.3k

Genre: angst/fluff/smut

Warning(s): slight language use, angst (if you read b/w the lines), pretty much smutty kissing, hand groping, mention of alcohol, breast worship, nipple play; Rated: 18+

Summary: When a crush you had in high school unexpectedly returns to your life six years later, this is the experience you have with him when you collected the courage to invite him over to hangout.

Credit to: @suhdays for the amazing cover!

Inspiration comes in the form of little expectancy especially when life seems to throw a curveball you never dreamed would be a potential possibility; but, here you are, tapping upon the keyboard of your five-year-old laptop decorated in stickers of celebs you've admired over the years mingled with relevant quotes that have bustled yet again- inspiration that motivates you day by day to continue to be the human being that you are. Inspiration though can appear in lyrical melodies broadcasted globally for millions to pine over; or, published in numerous pages creating imaginary worlds where ones can escape to; or, sketched in a meticulous design to build whatever idea had been desired to come to life; or, filmed in scenes of an edited story by talented persons determined to enter the spotlight in any way they can; or, painted along a canvas in colors of calculated detail bringing forth the picture of accomplishment. Inspiration derives from a mere moment- one that sparks the instinct to gather the materials needed to pour out your heart in ways that may bring a sense of peace.

For you, it used to be in the lines of a song penciled into a crinkled notebook from your backpack hidden away for no one to discover; it used to be countless childhood journals where you expressed your inward battles in order to find enough solace to sleep at night. You've lost your touch over the years because life changes in the blink of an eye, as you grow older, and work can distract from the time taken to focus on yourself; thankfully graduating college to gain the degree you now behold landed you a job, one you hope lasts for many years, and you are currently living in a two-bedroom apartment with your best friend, Monica, who's presently slumbering as you brush some loose strands of hair from your vision.

Your dog is curled at the end of your bed as you write, which is something that you haven't done in what feels like forever, but the reasoning behind this sporadic urge ignited when the familiar pair of brown eyes from six years prior, re-entered your world without your preparation and his presence from a recent night shared seems to echo in every space of your brain to where you've finally had enough. It's about time to reach out, the devil on your shoulder whispers, but the angel sitting on the opposite begs to differ. Shaking your head, you pause momentarily, cracking your knuckles before resting your forehead on the desk, exhaling slowly while the memory of his touch seems to haunt your skin.

He was someone you once admired in high school- roaming the hallways where girls giggled giddily each time he'd pass by; star of the basketball team, rising popularity to the point everyone knew his name, collecting homework answers from budding friendships, and it all began once he started his junior year at a new school- the school where you attended. But the difference that set him apart from the typical cliché's of the prevalent students you never seemed to relate to, was that he talked to absolutely everybody and anybody- no judgment on what group the person took part in, his kindness won the hearts of many other than the evident attraction of his physical features. He didn't care who you were or what you were into, he would be your friend, and that, considering he was viewed on a higher level, made him even more special.

Despite never admitting it then, you had a crush on him. He was more of an acquaintance, but you enjoyed his company when he came around, and when a past friend, who is now married with a few kids, used to have a crush on the same person, your heart sank, because with every guy thinking she was hot, you felt as though you would never stand a chance. Especially not with this guy who made your hands jittery and the beat in your chest skip- the guy who is none other than Kim Taehyung.

Taehyung would frequent the chorus room at times when you and your past friend would practice music pieces and he always was fond of your singing voice- something he praised you for often, while his attention was received from his talent regarding sports. Something he was so good at that it was spread that he may have gained quite the scholarship for college if he decided to go. There were memories of bravery where you seized the day just to steal a conversation and a hug; at one time, scribbling the words 'hot af' with an arrow pointing where he signed your friend, Min Yoongi's, yearbook; Yoongi playing it off as though he had no idea who the culprit was when Taehyung asked who wrote it. Utter surprise can't even fathom when you along with Taehyung were voted 'Most Likely to be Famous' by your graduating class when senior year was conquered. The inside joke was for you to hold the basketball while he placed his hands upon the keys of a piano, the picture you still couldn't process happened, but always remained grateful for.

Six years flew by and the conversation never necessarily held, but there were the rare messages from social media where he'd reach out hoping all had been well with you. Interestingly enough, a cover you posted harmonizing with a fellow singer happened to be his absolute favorite, one of the few Instagram posts he'd commented on, and one of the few singing videos he continuously would listen to repeatedly without your knowledge until a few weeks ago when he revealed that to you. A cover that is now near to be a four-year-old video that he still finds uplifting when he hears you and the way your voice blended so well with the other female. Your mind is reeling because after all this time, and even now, there are remains of the aftershock, trying to forget the feel of him, when there's no way you can, not with everything so fresh on your mind. So fresh on your heart.

It all occurred when Yoongi, who kept in touch with you occasionally after graduation brought you up to Taehyung who happened to think of you earlier when listening to his favorite cover of yours, and he agreed he'd like to hang out. He asked if his friend, Hoseok could join you, Monica, and Yoongi which of course you said yes to learn how sweet you found it, that he had traveled within the span of a day after visiting his grandparents, because he is a man of his word, planned to come see you even though the drive was five hours out of his way. The night was filled with so much laughter mixed with serious conversations to the point the card game that was supposed to be played was never finished, and it sprung the desire of wanting to see Taehyung again, and you couldn't come to terms with never knowing so after some encouragement from Monnie and Yoongi, you messaged T to hang out a few days later, but never opened his reply until you were safely home from work.

Taehyung: Gotcha! Hmmm, I haven't decided on what I intend on doing. Either being with family or hanging out with friends. If I don't hang out with family, you could be my plus 1 or bring whomever or vice versa

[Y/N]: Sorry I just got home from work! I'll definitely be your plus 1 if hanging with family doesn't work out! Sounds like a plan!

He asked if you wanted anything from the store when it was confirmed he was on his way which you responded with your typical answer of no, and with music playing from your Bluetooth speaker, you were highly humiliated when you lost track of four minutes of time, opening a message from him to see that he had been there, at your door. Heart racing you rushed to unlock it, head spinning when you saw he leaned against the stair railing with a plastic bag of two Arbor Mist wine bottles dangling from his hand, him promising everything was fine despite your profuse apologies- him slipping his phone in his back pocket while he followed you into your home.

Monnie happened to be staying the night with her family, so it would be just the two of you tonight, besides your dog who bounced at his legs while he reached down to pet her fluffy head. Taking in the sight of him, now that was something you found hard to believe. Just a simple pair of jeans, a gray t-shirt with a black jacket complementing the dark tendrils of hair spread across his forehead leading to the carefully sculpted lining of his jaw nearly brought you to your knees, but you held it together long enough to settle across from him at your dining room table. He had taken off his shoes at the door remembering upon a few days prior, and he set out the wine while you jumped to retrieve wine glasses (Yoongi happened to purchase for you) while banter still related to greetings.

One thing that truly intrigued you when first seeing Taehyung after six years were words, he had said that touched your heart more than you'd like to profess. "That's why I try to enjoy every moment with people because you never know what day will be your last," and you knew right then, that if there was anyone you wanted to share a moment with, it was him, and there he was, right before you, smiling about something you said while the sound of the fruity liquid-filled each glass.

"I really truly do not understand what you are so afraid of. What do you even have to lose?" Monnie tinkered with the lens to her camera while she sauntered through the living room. Exasperated from anxiety, you sucked in your lips before teasingly throwing her the side-eye.

"My dignity,"

"Oh c'mon," she paused, lifting a brow. You had been talking nonstop on how bad you wanted to invite Taehyung over, but fear of rejection including the fear of humiliation seemed to overwhelm you, although deep down you knew your best friend in the entire world was correct. You did not nor do you have anything to lose.

"Well!" You squawked, raising your palms dramatically in the air before slapping them to the sides of your thighs, "Why the hell would Kim Taehyung ever want to hang out with me anyway? Do you not see how farfetched this all is?"

"Bold of you to assume that my life isn't already farfetched enough as it is-"

"Not! The point!"

Monnie sighed, and when she saw the way your shoulders slumped in disappointment that shouldn't have been an issue, to begin with, she stepped closer, placing her hand on your shoulder, "First off, you are overthinking this, and you shouldn't. Besides, I think after hanging out as a group, he only sees you as a friend, meaning no expectations. So, go into it with that mindset okay? I'm sure he'd love to hang out with you. Secondly," she smiled, her serene expression filled with promises she always kept, "You've waited six years for this. I think you should ask him to hang out."

"You really think so?" Your grin reached your hopeful eyes, and the feeling in your chest seemed to react more positively despite your earlier turmoil.

"Yeah. The dude owes us a chair anyways,"

"Ah!" You cackled, back pressed against the dining room table as you remembered literally a few days ago when Taehyung accidentally broke a spindle of the chair in half with his foot when Yoongi scared him just by suddenly walking down the hallway. "I don't think I've ever seen a man so embarrassed."

"I'm not saying to hold it over his head, but," Monnie held up her index finger, "I think that gives him enough reason to come back," she giggled, setting her camera on the dining room table before waltzing into the kitchen.

You shrugged, "At least we can still sit on it."

"Look at it, it's staring at me," Taehyung pointed swiftly at where the vacant spindle would have been, your laughter reverberated throughout the space.

"T, really, you do not owe us new chairs. I promise, it's fine," you reassured him, realizing your cheeks were sore from how much you'd been smiling since he entered your 'realm of refuge' as you liked to describe your apartment. He snapped a picture of it, probably with the intention of getting a new chair for you and Monica regardless, and you found that appreciative although you would be happy if he didn't.

Shit. You pause from the computer screen, leaning back into your chair before folding your arms tight across your chest. Eyeballing the cursor, your vision narrows as it blinks, waiting for you to add more words to the memory that seems to spin in a cycle with the subtle goal of not stopping. Or, so you figure. If recalling every little detail isn't already hard enough, reliving the reminiscence of his fingers twirling in your hair, his sweet laugh when he looked at you, or the way he held you so tight-

But, everything in between, leading up to those mesmerizing flashes are just as important to you as what it led to. Maybe it was the conversation- the three hours of conversation before the move to the sofa which it was hard to fully focus on what else was being said because how could you properly concentrate when the one person, you'd been so worried about spending time with was seriously conversing with you like the pair of you had been friends your whole lives?

Miraculously, you were able to gather the stories of past vacations that resulted in mild disappointment revolving around the complaints of people surrounding him, or the goal of visiting as many places as possible leading Taehyung to scribble down a list of where he'd been to reveal you both have equally been to the same amount of places. Of course, the thrill of going on a mini adventure with him brought an excitement you haven't felt in a while; even the story of why he was transferred to your high school years ago due to a misunderstanding, and when the pair of you made your way to the couch, he nestled into one corner while you gladly took the other, wishing you could snuggle closer but fear prevented you from doing so.

It seemed as though that he didn't want to watch the movie anyhow, because he talked to you as though he never wanted to stop, and eventually it led to you asking one too many times if he was okay with spending the rest of the night with you. "It's up to you, I'll stay if you want me too," he promised, the way your heart fluttered when you replied, "Yes, can you please stay? I don't want you to go."

"Alright, alright! I'll stay," he smiled widely, both of his large hands reaching out, and there was not one ounce of hesitation from you- your hands grasped his before your dog jumped to beg for attention, trying to lick at his face causing your hands to undo. Laughter was contagious with Taehyung, and still cuddled into the corner of the couch, you were so elated that he was going to stay, you reached to hug him, his arms wrapping around you, the feel of your bodies aligning putting the biggest smile on your face. It was crazy how everything was seeming to fall into place- the stars aligning as though it was all magic; and, you couldn't get past how right everything felt. How right he felt. Pulling away, his smile never left him, "Are you shy?" His arm remained draped around your shoulders, and timidly you peer at his surprised gape, his black hair almost covered his crescent eyes.

"I mean... Yeah, I can be," you murmured, reaching to hug him again, but something washed over you this time, a thought that had crossed your mind repeatedly that you just couldn't take it anymore. The side of his face was blurred, placing your palm upon his cheek, and without even a moment of doubt, you kissed him. A sudden decision, but one of the best ones you could have made.

His lips were so soft, the way his mouth just seemed to mold with yours for only a few mere seconds, and the shock on his face when you pulled away, paired with the realization that his hands were held in the air, you hadn't expected his reaction. Shit! You cursed inwardly, immediately jumping back to persistently make sure he was okay; even when he moved to cuddle with you, him claiming everything was fine, but that he couldn't believe you kissed him being the both of you never once saw this coming especially six years ago during the high school days. His hand was fidgety as he swiftly rubbed your shoulder, your head buried on his chest while your mind spun in a continuous loop of how you could not believe that you kissed Taehyung. The Kim Taehyung.

He became quiet- too quiet, concern etched in your expression, maneuvering yourself back to the opposite corner of the couch, so you could face him. "T, are you sure you're okay? Did I freak you out?"

"No, no, I just can't believe you kissed me," he was in awe, eyes dazed as he ran his slim fingers through his hair, "Like, really I never saw this coming,"

"I mean, have you looked in the mirror?" You teased, knowing damn well he'd been aware of you finding him attractive, and he shook his head in dismissal of your compliment as he chuckled; it took you a whole sixty seconds to realize you were holding his hand, fingers linked, and him asking if you were nervous due to your clammy palm, though you tried to swear up and down you were not, the next round of words he said nearly brought you to tears when he finally spoke.

"You shouldn't sell yourself short," he looked you in the eyes without any faltering, although you tilted your head in mild confusion as to why he was saying this, to begin with, "I don't think you realize how much of an impact you've made on others, especially guys," ah, he was letting you down easy, and you knew it, but you're too stunned to speak as you listened, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit either. You're a great singer, you're pretty much a musician, you love animals, you have a job, you live on your own. Really, you shouldn't sell yourself short-"

"T," you breathed, pleading almost, but trying not to make it obvious, but he never broke eye contact, "We don't have to date or anything, I just- I just wanted a moment with you." You mentioned what inspired you to spend time with him- exposing how a few nights ago when he said he wanted to enjoy every moment with people- you knew you wanted to have a moment with him, too. Memories from high school were spoken momentarily, thirty minutes passing by which included a made-up handshake as well as the subtle twirl of his fingers in your hair- him complimenting how good your hair looked which made you blush even more.

Just when you thought he wasn't already smooth enough, you noticed Taehyung started teasing your dog, her pouncing at his chest before he'd lean in closer to you. Eyebrows scrunching, it took you a hot second to realize what he was doing. Each time Taehyung would scoot closer to you, he'd kiss you, sending the pair of you in boisterous laughter when your dog would try to break the kisses by jumping in between your faces. The more your lips would touch, it'd last a bit longer and longer, your hand clinging to the side of his jacket to pull him closer when things really started moving fast, eventually your dog left the room with the hint that attention was no longer available for her.

Still lip-locked, Taheyung's hands gripped your hips while you willingly moved to straddle him, arms resting on the top of the couch on either side of his head, the tip of your tongue glided along his, while he fanned his hands along your ass. You refrained from moaning into his kiss despite how bad you wanted to, yet you held yourself together, involuntarily grinding your clothed heat where his erection was felt. T smacked your ass before slithering the tips of his fingers to your shirt, slowly unbuttoning one by one.... One by one. His eyes were hazed from how much he was craving your mouth, and with a seductive nod in his direction, he continued until he made it to the final goal, your kisses never planning to stop, the sides of your shirt being brushed away for him to take in the sight of you.

"Ooh my God," his eyes darkened in evident lust when he saw the way your black bra cupped your breasts, "Oh my God," his voice deepened, him hardly knowing what to do with himself while your smirk remained subtlety on your mouth. Though you hadn't needed him to ask, he politely waited for your permission to touch your chest, a quick pang of frilly nerves ghosted your stomach.

"Yeah," you breathed seductively, gradually moving to capture his lips, trying to hold back a giggle when he gently moved his hands to your back, "You're not going to find it there," you mused, referring to the clip. He paused as if panicked, "It's in the front," you finally admitted, but failing miserably, Taehyung let you take initiative, you unclipped your bra uncovering what is now widening his brown eyes. "Oh my God!" His reaction made you want to cum right then and there, especially when his fingers made their way to squeeze your nipples when his mouth returned to yours. Taehyung worshiped your breasts, and for some odd, yet arousing reason, you lived for it.

You're uncertain of when the tv was switched off, and even now, as your hands continue to fly across the keyboard, one thing you do recall, one of the lingering memories of the evening was your shirt being off, thrown onto the floor mingled with your bra, and without any warning, Taehyung hoisted you in the air, your legs instinctively wrapped around his torso while he tightened his hold around your body. His steps were painfully careful, kissing you roughly while your arms kept their place behind his neck, and the direction was being taken to your bedroom where your heart pounded so anxiously to be. His jacket was shed before the bold act, and all that was left was his gray t-shirt and jeans. Laying you down with a bounce from your mattress, he remained above you, and your eyes refused to stray especially when he reached to remove his shirt- his smooth skin greeting yours sending waves of goosebumps spreading among your limbs.

There was no one like him in your eyes, and there never would be. Not in your heart. And with how perfect everything was going; you were not prepared for how hard it was going to be to stop before things went too far. Because what if he doesn't exactly feel the same? He was letting you down easy not even an hour ago, and here you were, hopes so high, you weren't sure how you were going to erase them back down. He kissed you until you couldn't breathe, your fingers dug into your comforter, while his palms glided all over your frame for however long you let him, but when he went to remove your leggings, you halted him.

Now, this is where your heart aches when you relive this part, because a conversation was held, one where you mentioned what if someone catches feelings if the both of you decided to solely be just friends with benefits? Taehyung said all you had to do was communicate with him because he was easy to get along with, and you've known this about him for six years. He was always someone easy to talk to, and you knew he would never treat you poorly over a situation like this. And, he hadn't. You made the executive decision to not sleep with him for you wanted him to remember you as the woman you are, and the woman, you've always been, and with the fear of going all the way being something that could change his image of you, you were satisfied to hear the loud echoes of his snoring after you changed into pajamas, gazing at his sleeping demeanor before you drifted into slumber as well.

When the morning came, you were not ready for him to leave, but he asked if you would walk him out, him throwing on his shirt and jacket while you rushed to brush your teeth. T asked if you had any other plans for the rest of the day which you proceeded to answer honestly with a no, as he mentioned that he was going to get breakfast.

"Let me know when you make it home," you said tenderly, "I want to know you're safe,"

"I will," he promised before you embraced him, turning just enough to place a peck to his cheek. It was his smile that decided to enter your recollection- the boxy smile that would plague you until the day you accept that you will never forget it.

And when you opened the door to the apartment where he gracefully waltzed through, you merely caught a glimpse of him leaving, ahead of you quietly shutting the door to whatever could have been.

Or, what could have started a beautiful story that has yet to unfold.

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oumakokichi · 3 years

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fave dr ships and why?? :0

Hmm, that’s a pretty fun question! There are so many fun character interactions in each game that there’s a lot of ships I really like, so I’ll try to briefly just touch on some of my favorites in each game!

There aren’t really any spoilers in my reply, but I’m going to include a read-more anyway because even trying to keep it brief, there were a lot of ships to cover, so it still got pretty long.

In dr1, I honestly really love naegiri. Naegi gets a lot of flack for “not being interesting enough” or “not bringing anything to the table,” but I think he worked really well as the protagonist for the first installment of the series, and I absolutely think he and Kirigiri have a lot of great chemistry. Kirigiri and Naegi’s relationship is all about finding a balance between doubt and belief, and both of them really help each other grow as people. I think their dynamic is at its best in the first game, since Kirigiri gets so much time to shine and really feels more like the deuteragonist of the series than anyone else. Plus watching Naegi try to learn how to read her stoic façade when she’s really quite emotional under the surface is so much fun.

I’m also a huge fan of aoisakura. I love everything about their interaction, and chapter 4 of dr1 is still one of the best in the whole series in my opinion. Both of them care so much about each other even from early on, and Aoi’s anger at how the others treat Sakura or talk about her like she’s hardly even a person comes across as so legitimate. It’s such a great and largely underrated ship, so I always love to see it.

I also have to say that I like kirizono quite a lot! They don’t have much in the way of interaction in canon, considering how early Maizono dies, but it’s one of those ships where I’m much more interested in the overall potential. Kirigiri seems to have a very good grasp of what Maizono was actually like as a person and what she might have been thinking in her final moments. While she uncovers the truth of the events of chapter 1, she doesn’t see Maizono as irredeemable for tricking Naegi, but merely as someone who was scared and who ultimately couldn’t go through with her own plan. She knew that Maizono was trying to help Naegi in her own way by leaving him a dying message, and I would have loved to see a detective-and-assistant duo with Kirigiri and Maizono in some alternate universe.

Other ships from dr1 that I enjoy even if I’m not super invested in them from an analysis standpoint are celesgiri (how could I not ship the original liar and detective), naekusaba (DR IF really sold me on this one), ishimondo (all around a solid, great ship), and naegami (honestly I just think the idea of Kirigiri and Togami both dating Naegi but barely tolerating each other as friends is really funny).

Sdr2 is probably the game where I wound up the least invested in shipping, but there are still a few that I like!

Hinanami isn’t quite as appealing to me as naegiri, mostly due to Nanami being used twice for Hinata’s character development, but they have some really cute moments that I do enjoy a lot, and I really love any interaction between the two of them as gamer friends. Nanami is so much more mischievous than most people give her credit for; I still can’t help remembering when I replayed sdr2 a year or two ago and got to the part with her threatening to poke Hinata’s eyes out during an investigation, and I nearly lost my shit because I didn’t remember it at all from previous playthroughs.

I’m not quite as invested in komahina as I thought I would be when I first got into DR, but I definitely don’t mind it either! I think Komaeda’s feelings for Hinata are pretty textual and undeniable; lines like “I’m in love with the hope that’s sleeping inside you” are impossible, in my opinion, to handwave as “just a friend thing,” and Megumi Ogata has all but stated outright that her character song for Komaeda is specifically about Hinata.

Of course, I definitely think Komaeda would need to work on a lot of his internalized ideas about talent and self-worth, and that he and Hinata would have to start as friends first before carrying their relationship into anything romantic, but if their really cute interation in ndrv3’s talent development plan is anything to go off of, I think Hinata definitely does want to help Komaeda value himself more and wants to be friends with him.

As for other ships that I enjoy more casually, I like twobuki (if that’s even what people are still calling Twogami/Impostor and Ibuki as a ship), sondam (all of Sonia’s nerding out about Gundam’s chuunibyou interests is honestly super adorable), nanamiki (I feel like Nanami and Mikan could honestly have a cute dynamic if Mikan weren’t under Junko’s influence), and… I actually have no idea for this ship name, but Impostor/Hinata is really sweet. This is more related to dr3, but one of the few things I did come out feeling positively about was Impostor/Mitarai, despite everything else about how the story turned out.

Finally, there’s ndrv3! There’s quite a lot of ships I really love here, so it’s actually a little hard to narrow it down.

I hardly think I need to mention saiouma at this point, since it’s the ship I talk about the most on this blog, but it’s still my favorite ship from pretty much anything ever. I love their dynamic so much: the way they both embody the themes of “truth” and “lies” within the game respectively, the way they constantly want to know more about each other while being afraid to open up or trust each other completely, and the fact that they so perfectly manage to capture the chase of the “phantom thief vs. detective” trope to the point that it was even lampshaded in Ouma’s love hotel... all of these things just make it so much fun.

It’s another ship where I just love thinking about the potential, whether in an AU where Ouma might have lived or else where the killing game never took place at all. I honestly really love ships that deal with a lot of slow-burn and both characters thinking their affections are unrequited when it turns out they’re actually both just idiots with a bad case of pining. I also really love the fact that, in my opinion, it’s a ship where Saihara would have to really take the initiative in the end—otherwise, Ouma is just going to keep trying to run away every time he drops an “I love you,” or “you’re my favorite.”

I also really, really love himiten. It’s a ship that gets a lot more flack than it deserves, in my opinion, and it’s sad to see that it’s a little underappreciated these days. There are flaws and problems within the ship, of course, but these are things that are actually addressed within the game itself. Himiko’s apathy and disregard towards Tenko’s feelings is called out pretty bluntly in the later parts of chapter 3, and she winds up mourning Tenko’s death and taking her last advice to heart more than anyone else.

Meanwhile, while Tenko certainly meant well and always had Himiko’s best interests at heart, it’s true that she came across as somewhat condescending sometimes (albeit unintentionally) by treating Himiko like a cute animal instead of a person. I think that she understood Himiko’s feelings a lot better by chapter 3, which is why she prioritized trying to let Himiko talk to Angie one more time despite her own misgivings about Angie. Tenko grew a lot more as a character than a lot of people give her credit for, and I would have loved to see any post-game scenario where Himiko and Tenko could’ve finally started a relationship on equal footing outside of the game.

I actually have two entire ships for Miu that I am equally fond of. Both kiiruma and irumatsu are really great in my opinion, in totally different ways. The sheer chaotic potential of kiiruma gets overlooked a lot of times, I think, but both of them are complete disasters. They have so much fun together and it really shows, both in canon and in the talent development plan as well. Kiibo is so wonderful and I love him so much, because you’d think he’d be the voice of reason as a “cold, logical robot”—but honestly, he’s just as messed-up and over the top as Miu. I mean, he did photograph her poop on what turned out to be a live audience national broadcast and he didn’t see anything wrong with this.

Kiibo is one of the few characters who vocally talks about missing Miu after her death in chapter 4, and he repeatedly tells her how much he appreciates her maintenance work on him both in canon and in one of their talent development scenes. In one such scene, he even mentions wanting to continue their ongoing relationship after they graduate, which I think is surprisingly sweet and adorable for the two of them. Honestly, Miu is about as wild as a DR character ever gets, and I love the idea of her and Kiibo just having fun with each other.

Meanwhile, Kaede and Miu’s dynamic is a lot more back-and-forth. Kaede spends a good part of her FTEs absolutely frustrated and fed up with Miu, but also decidedly worried for her well-being and wondering how she might get her to be more of a team player. She’s not afraid to put her foot down when Miu crosses the line, but she’s also one of the few people who’s ever been willing to stand by Miu and encourage her or actually be her friend in spite of how awful Miu is at interacting with others.

Even in the talent development plan, Kaede’s often seen together with Miu a lot, which I think is super cute and confirms that even at Hope’s Peak, she’d still be trying to make sure Miu had a friend around. And she was able to tell that, despite what a disaster Miu’s idea with the Christmas lights was, it was Miu’s own way of trying to add to the festivities and do something nice for other people. All in all, it’s one of my favorite wlw DR ships, and I really love when fanworks capture just how shy or flustered Miu got around Kaede sometimes.

Of course, I like momoharu a lot as well! It’s one of the ships that has grown on me quite a bit in my absence, mostly just because despite all of Momota’s flaws, he really does want Maki to love herself first and foremost. Maki’s own feelings for Momota are so important to her character growth and really represent her feeling as though she’s finally made a choice for the first time in her life, and it’s really heartwarming to see. Also, any ship where the girl could lift a guy up with one arm without breaking a sweat is a pretty good ship in my opinion.

As for other ndrv3 ships that I enjoy a lot, there’s saihoshi (Hoshi is extremely underrated as a character, and I adore how sweet his FTEs and salmon mode with Saihara were; it’s also another ship where I feel Saihara would have to really take the initiative to make Hoshi fully open up, which I like), amamatsu (Kaede and Amami had a lot of really funny, great interaction in chapter 1 and some fun banter in their FTEs, so I would’ve loved to see more of it), and harumatsu/kaemaki (again, they have a lot of potential and it would have been extremely interesting to see them interact more).

I also like saiibo, not so much in the way that most people ship it (their love hotel is cute, don’t get me wrong!), but mostly because Kiibo’s FTEs are the funniest set of FTEs in the whole game in my opinion, and the twist where they were both looking down on each other without the other one knowing just made my jaw drop before I started laughing my ass off. They’re almost as much of a disaster together as Kiibo and Miu are, and I think the humor in their dynamic sometimes gets overlooked.

There are even more ships that I like, and I could keep going on and on, but I should probably leave things off here. Character interactions are so much fun in DR, both because of the genuine growth and character development from a lot of the cast, but also because so many of them are so whacky and borderline cartoonish that it’s just really fun imagining further interactions between them. Thank you for the fun ask, anon!

#ask #anonymous #opinions #okay to reblog #there are probably other ships that i completely blanked out on and forgot to include #but i think this at least includes most of the ships i like!

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hinac0lada · 4 years

Text

somber

CHARACTER PAIRING: sugawara koushi/reader NOTE: i tried to do something new!! // listen to this song too, it’s where i got inspo for the title hehe my love for koushi reignited, so pls take this fic as a very self-indulgent piece ;3 [ banner made by me! ] anyways! i wanna thank everyone in cheese cult - y’all so nice ily all sm<33 WC: like, , 2.2k words pls give love</3 WARNING/S: contains fluff, angst, suggestive themes CHEESE CULT TAGLIST: @cupofkenma @bubbleteaa @milkandc00kiez @writingsbycrackhead @fern-writes-ig @pineapplekween @kxgeyamasmilk GEN TAGLIST: @fitriiaw @idiot-juice-enthusiast

there was a side to you that sugawara koushi couldn't quite place his hands-on. it irked him in a way that he can't exactly explain. to put it thoroughly, it's like comparing misleading signs - signs he couldn't read. there was a partial thought in the depths of sugawara's mind, will i be in too deep?

he certainly hopes not. it will be a struggle for sure, begetting to deal with taking risks and caching his feelings in check.

though, in parallel to both his heart and mind, he doesn't mind taking flight in either.

coming over your place was like a natural thing sugawara affixed to his routine after school hours, something nearly akin to second nature. he needn't have to ring the doorbell or knock at the door to have you alerted of his presence. you gave him a spare key after all. he enters your modest residence as if it was his place that he just resided in. he tries to be patient and earnest about it, but fatigue trailing after him like an endless marathon socked him in the face before he could utter words.

the silver-haired setter plants face-first on the soft material of your cushion couch, breathing in the fragrance of the freshly cleaned cute throw pillows you had on for display. he faintly recalls your lavender-like scent, mixed with a tinge bit of vanilla and mocha - a smell so distinct that it essentially revulsed him at how quick he was to recognize the fading scent.

it was perplexingly heartening in his weird ways. (why wouldn't it be, it's your stuff after all)

the sound of the door clicking minutes after his arrival didn't go unnoticed. "ah, sugawara, i didn't expect you to be here so soon," your voice sounded muffled in his ears at how he's buried two pillows against the sides of his face. he'd assumed you to be late (like you always were), so it wasn't a big deal that he constantly manages to somehow get to your home first before you do.

"i thought you had practice today?"

"we do. just need to charge up for now.. not much to make do since finals are coming up and all," was his muffled reply. that was just a simple white lie. he did have practice today - it's just that he was trying to come up with numerous justifications of why he's late. (that or he just wanted to spend a couple of hours lounging about in your home)

you huff at his slothful disposition. you sometimes think sugawara is a little too comfortable with you letting him barge in your house like he even pays for rent. sure, the company he gives you is lively, but you considered having him pay for using you as a live source for shelter and food.

even with that kind of reasoning, you don't exactly mind nor were you gonna lament.

"humph!" sugawara makes a surprised noise as you jumped on top of him, your weight burying him further on the plushness of the couch. his muffled protests that reached your ears sent you into a fit of small giggles, a free hand coming down to ruffle his blanche, soft and unruly hair.

"(n-name)--! mhmmp!"

"what was that? sorry, i can't hear you over the sound of your anguish," you snorted, adding a small bounce from your position to add on the burden he feels with you on top of him.

by now, sugawara was wearied enough just let you do this. it's fine, just harmless fun. but when suffocating between the couch and a long-time crush and having to choose between air and you - you ought to have another thing coming. within minutes of you cackling like mad, he's pulled off the pillows beside him, successfully managing to hit you with one square on the face before he tackled you on the opposite side of the couch.

your chortles were rashly cut short by a surprised yelp and a force that pushed you off on your back. sugawara towered over your figure, triumph evident on his features. you stared right back with slight annoyance and a small blush coating your cheeks. this was new.

"i thought i told you to not suffocate me between your couch anymore, (name)," he sticks his bottom lip out in a small pout. his little complaint only had you rolling your eyes, a chuckle slipping past your lips as you slapped a hand underneath his jawline, moving his face up and away from yours.

"when have i ever, suga? i don't think i can recall," you subtlely tease him. it was just too fun to poke fun at sugawara - especially acknowledging the fact that he might've purposely came over first instead of going to practice.

he whines, attempting to slap away your hand. instead, he promptly leans his entire weight on you, head finding solace within the soft material of your clothing. it occurred to him that you still haven't changed from your uniform, but he didn't bother commenting on it either.

the two of you laid in comfortable silence for a while. that was until you broke it.

"do you wanna kill some time watching a movie?"

"what kind?"

"anything you want. i'm fine with whatever."

"how about someone great? i haven't watched that yet," sugawara smiles, lifting his head as stares down at your face. you smile back, closing your eyes as a soft chuckle emits from your throat.

"i don't mind."

you two somehow ended up cuddling in the middle of the movie. sugawara questions his morals. it's purely platonic, right? they're best friends, there's nothing else to it. sugawara mostly says this to himself in his head to convince himself that cuddling can be platonic.

he just wished he could stop thinking of it as something more.

minutes in the movie, he finds himself relating to jenny. it's ironic. maybe he only feels that way because the story is told in her perspective. nothing that derives from his feelings.

however, something about this moment seemed peculiar to the silverette. he didn't know if it was just him or how your features seemed to be enhanced upon closer inspection.

you were always beautiful in his eyes. he found himself drowning in the warm, earthy tones of your delicate skin. with your hair sprawled out on the surface of the sofa, contrasted by the sheen ruffles of your clothes.

you just looked so innocent, so serene. sugawara knows he shouldn't have. he should've had more self-control.

but he loses it when he's around you.

he quickly leans down with a puff of excitement growing inside him while tilting his head to the right. his wet lips capture yours, gliding over smooth contrasting with chapped lips. sugawara pulls and bites on your bottom lip, eliciting a pleased sigh from you. his hands squeeze your hips, tongue tracing over your lips for sweet entrance.

surprised, you grant access, letting him invade your mouth with a versatile tongue, his mouth sucking on your tongue felt like heavenly feathers. your lips smacked against his, pulling apart warm and wet tongues before darting back in with even more vigor. the intensity develops - heartbeats clamoring with painful bliss against your ribcages. you didn't pay attention to the movie anymore, too engrossed in each other's euphoria to divert consideration elsewhere.

this was wrong. sugawara knew that. but he couldn't pull himself away - not yet. the feeling of your body so close to his felt so right. you pull away first, lungs hopelessly and greedily sucking in the air but this was short-lived as his hand only pushed your head back, with noses bumping as he further divulged into the frenzy hot, steamy kiss with a groan.

he couldn't get enough.

it was sort of surprising as to how he was the first to pull away. a dense tint of red adorned his cheeks, breath heavy, and pupils blown wide wistfully as he sought to steer his gaze away from your plump and oh-so red lips. the sight burned itself into his mind. underneath him with half-lidded eyes, you took in gasps of air, chest rising up and down from how wild and the present fierceness behind it just blew you away.

sugawara shifts away from you, his body heat leaving yours had you feeling cold. "i-i.." he stammers, words clogged up as his mind was still fogged up with the steamy makeout that just happened. he couldn't get it off his mind. (what was he thinking?)

your gaze was fixated on nothing, still too lost from the hysteria and the feeling of his mouth on yours just a moment ago. it didn't submerge in till he stood up with haste from the sofa, bowing his head while he repeatedly apologized for his brash actions all the while with a flustered and guilty expression.

"i'm so sorry, i'm so sorry! i don't know what came over me--! i'm sorry if i made you feel so uncomfortable!" with hasty movements, he gets up and picks up his things. a part of him is dying with embarrassment and screaming that he needs to leave, while the other wants to stay and discuss what the hell just happened.

you, on the other hand, were silent as a rock. you held up a hand to your lips, tracing over remnants of his margin on yours - the boundary between you two felt suffocating.

when you still didn't reply, he ends up leaving anyway, with a false promise of seeing you another day along with another wave of apologies. you still stayed starstruck on the sofa, hand hovering over your mouth.

your lips tingled and the memory of the kiss had the apples of your cheeks blossom with a cherry red tint.

sugawara had been avoiding you for nearly a week since the happy accident that happened at your house. you asked (keyword; tried) daichi and asahi on why the third year acted this way. they both shared the same answer.

there was too much at stake.

you racked your brain to understand their vague answers, but none of which you thought could help you with your dilemma. this was stupid. it was just a kiss (tl; a heavy makeout session). why did he spare the need to talk about it? you decided enough was enough. you had - no, need to confront him now.

you pleaded daichi to have sugawara excused for a while just so you could talk. the former seems to have no qualms in letting the aforementioned male. daichi mentions sugawara himself has been feeling quite down in the dumps. he profusely requested that you make amends with the setter. it was disheartening to see the usually jovial and tranquil male all grim.

"sugawara, please," you stop the male as soon as he exited the main building. he tried desperately to avoid you all week. this is, yet again, the same mistake he's done before. running away when confronting your souls.

"we should talk about it."

"talk about what? there's nothing up for discussion." stop avoiding the topic.

"no, as a matter of fact, there is. what's with you? why have you been avoiding me all week-" you place a hand on his shoulder, but he flinched at the touch. you took a step back with eyes filled with a weary, hurt, and guilty conscience.

sugawara thinks point on black and white. he couldn't begin to explain why he did that nor does he want to. things won't be the same anymore.

you sigh heavily, head tilting down to glare harshly on the ground near the soles of your feet. "what are we, koushi?"

i had hoped something more, "we're just friends," he swallowed down the spite in his throat.

"what kind of friends do that kind of thing?" the chuckle that left your mouth had no humor to it. dusky irises trailed over your plethoric lips once more, recollecting the kiss yet again. sugawara mentally scorns himself.

"it's not worth the fight, koushi." you try and meet his eyes in which he reciprocates with a gaze filled with anxiety and guilt. you take a hold of his hands, rubbing circles on his knuckles - something you usually did to calm his nerves. his lips quivered as he forced himself to let go. to let you go.

unspoken words met with an umbra of fleeting eyes. there's no turning back. sugawara didn't want to risk losing something great. someone like you, at the very least.

"i'm sorry," he lowly mutters, letting go of your hand as he slowly turns towards the other direction, already yearning for your touch on his arm. it had to be this way, right? there wasn't a time where sugawara neglected to count all of his mistakes.

mistakes of one in a million.

you felt small as sugawara slowly but surely slipped away from your grasps. with a weak voice, you called out to him, in hopes that he'd answer your calling and return once more to your arms. although his retreating figure showed no assurance of such, you wished you could've thought of ways to seek closure.

just one more kiss. one more cuddle. one more possibility to make amends that you hoped to be endless. but those possibilities only made chances for you and him - not you together.

#sugawara kōshi #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #hq x reader #hq x you #hq sugawara #haikyuu sugawara #sugawara #sugawara fluff #sugawara imagine #sugawara fic #sugawara angst #haikyuuwritersnet

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headcanonsandmore · 4 years

Note

Rarry recs please I need this to get out of bed today

Sure! Hope you like these!

‘Wildflowers and soft laughter’ by Cookies and Ink. Ron decides to finally confront the stranger who'd been stealing wildflowers from their front garden every weekend. He also manages to repeatedly embarrass himself in the process. Rated T.

‘Wedding Favours’ by Cookies and Ink. Harry had agreed to be Ginny's fake boyfriend for a wedding, to keep her Mum off her back. He hadn't expected to find someone he'd fall head over heels for there. Rated T.

Basically, check out everything by Cookies and Ink. They write so much Rarry/Harron fanfiction (often AU stuff, as well as halfway-canon stuff).

‘Engaged’ by I’mdeadsothere. All around Harry everyone is getting engaged, leaving Harry to wonder if he'll ever have the same honor. Especially when the one person he truly loves, well, it's complicated. Rated T. Contains strong language.

‘Beds’ by I’mdeadsothere. Now that the war is over Harry treats himself by buying a nice big fluffy bed. Only it's too nice, too fluffy, and WAY too big. Ron has the perfect solution, but it'll change a lot more than just how Harry feels about his bed. Rated T. Contains strong language. (This one also has Hermione ‘biggest Rarry shipper on the planet’ Granger involved, so that’s a plus).

(WARNING- FLAGRANT SELF-PROMOTION) There’s also my own ‘Having trouble sleeping?’, which is about Ron being the crush of both Hermione and Harry. It doesn’t have Ron choosing one person over the other, but focuses more on why Ron is so loveable. Rated T.

Beautiful FriendIt took six years for Harry to learn something in History of Magic.This one. Oh my lord this one… it’s short, but it’s amazing. It’s full of lovely lively details and Harry’s description of Ron is… aaaww.

Life DrawingDean watches, and sees something unexpected.Again, the descriptions! My lord the descriptions, and also you will relate very much to Dean if you’ve ever worked with pencils.

Something They Can Barely SeeHarry has no idea how to tell his best friend he wants more that friendship. He’s pretty sure this would be hell of a lot easier if he knew for sure how Ron felt about him.This one is plenty cute. Ron is adorable and Harry… Harry’s trying his best. :’D

Our Inner BeastsLater, Madam Pomfrey would tell them that both Bill and Ron were going to survive. But she had no idea what the effects of a werewolf bite, when the werewolf was still in human form, could do to their behaviour.Okay, who’s up for writing more Creature!Ron fics? Seriously. Someone do some more of those. Here we have Ron as a werewolf, aggressive, feral, self-loathing… doesn’t matter, Harry loves him.

Running with the Wolf, Loving the Mansnapshots of Harry Potter’s life with a werewolf boyfriendFollow-up of Our Inner Beasts. Someone heard our prayers and gave us more Werewolf!Ron, and it’s as wonderful as it sounds.

What HappenedThat’s just the thing, though. He doesn’t know what happened. He can’t pinpoint a single event where everything suddenly made sense. There was no epiphany or choir of angels or aligning of stars, or any of the other rubbish Parvati goes on about in the Great Hall. There’s no one moment when he realized, “Oh.”Ron and Harry’s friendship, only it’s not just friendship. The last line will make you want to put on some epic music.

Follow The Butterflies“Why did it have to be spiders?” Ron moaned. “Why couldn’t we follow the butterflies?” Harry privately agreed with his best friend, but if there was anything Hogwarts had taught him, then that if he didn’t do something, no one would. “I promise the next time we have to follow anything, it will be butterflies.”Harry and Ron’s friendship again, with more butterflies thrown in the mix. It’s just as perfect as it sounds. If you don’t ship Harry/Ron, this fanfic might just change your mind.

Sonnets of Magical InterferenceHarry receives some strange notes about his love life, or lack thereof.By the end of that fic, you might just cheer for a very controversial character.

HeavenHarry’s heaven includes Ron.Features Ron being emotional over a movie, Chinese takeout, and Harry being a sap. What more could you ask for?

Harry Potter And The World That Went Bloody Insane“I know something you don’t know” is, apparently, the essence of Harry Potter’s love life. Harry’s certain that the world has been reading one too many romance novels, but then, Harry’s always been a bit oblivious. Featuring Protective!Attentive!Caring!Ron and Oblivious!Harry in their stinky flat and everyone shipping Harry/Ron. It’s awesome.

Check MateHarry questions his dreams, Ron has a scary one of his own, Hermione and Cho plot, and Seamus and Dean obsess. Harry’s subconscious has lots of funny ideas. Ron is ridiculously cute. Might be a bit difficult to read because of FFN’s shitty formating for line breaks.

On The OutsideHarry doesn’t think there’s much point to his being gay. He can’t have regular sex, he can’t have children, and he can’t tell his best friend he’s in love with him.Ron is utterly adorable, do I really have to say it? Why, yes, yes I do.

Newton’s LawFor every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction Check out this author’s other Harry/Ron fics. I especially like Brass Ring; in the meantime, have a rather in-character reaction of Hermione and Ginny finding out about their ex-boyfriends dating. Hey, not my fault if JKR doesn’t know how to write strong female characters without making them abusive.

Sleeping BeautyThe most gen ever retelling of Sleeping Beauty.Who cares if it’s gen, it’s amazing. Harry sleeps, Ron is wonderful, and ants get colorful.

The Complexities Of Muggle MachineryHarry bought a refrigerator. Then it was a microwave. Then a blender. Thursday was the coffee brewer. Ron really liked that last one.Ron is absolutely, heart-stoppingly, adorably cute and pretty much just like I imagine him to be around Muggle things. Harry’s lucky.

After the cupcakesThey never really talked about it but they are each other’s world. And perhaps a lazy Sunday morning is as good a time as any to finally say something.Utterly sappy and fluffy and you know me, I was mostly there for Harry’s description of Ron. It didn’t disappoint.

Sing Your LoveThroughout the years they’ve lived together, Harry has always enjoyed Ron’s singing but lately he’s been picking up hidden messages in his flatmate’s song choices.Do you like Ron singing? Do you like Ron dancing? Do you like Ron crying his heart out over an emotionally oblivious Harry? Well in that case you’ve found the perfect fic!

Snakes & LaddersAfter the final battle with Voldemort, Harry intends to get on with his life. There’s just one problem; he was supposed to have died when he confronted Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest and now the Other Side is trying to collect him. But in the space between his ‘death’ and the victory celebrations, Harry’s fallen in love… and he’s not going to give up his second chance without a fight.A complicated premise, a complicated tale, a very worried Ron, a very determined Harry, an entirely unwelcome Severus Snape coming from beyond the Veil, all leading up to an epic confrontation in the Other Side. Who knew the afterlife had a court?

~~~~~Hope you like these! Thanks for the ask!

#harry potter fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #ask #fanfic recs #fanfiction recommendations #ronarry #harron #rarry #ron x harry #harry x ron

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kootenaygoon · 5 years

Photo

So,

Until I moved to the Kootenays in 2014, I’d never been politically engaged enough to be able to make an informed vote at the municipal level. Politically I had UVic-style leftward leanings, but that didn’t mean I understood the implications of the sort of decisions a city’s mayor and council would make. What did I know about bylaws? Or taxes? I thought it was stupid that we had to buy stickers to put on our garbage bags, but beyond that I didn’t have any pressing concerns about how they were running things down at Nelson city hall.

With the election coming up, I knew I had to wrap my head around the various issues in the city and how they related to the people we were voting into power. The mental health crisis was going to be a talking point, I knew from Police Chief Wayne Holland, and there was talk the dog bylaw might finally be overturned. The most interesting element to me was weed legalization and its implications. The hottest topic was affordable housing. When Calvin assigned me to interview all of the city council and mayoral candidates, at first I felt daunted by the scope of the project — more than 10 interviews and thousands of words over the course of a few weeks. I realized pretty quick, though, it was my opportunity to deep-dive into this shit.

If I was going to be a real journalist, I would have to get into politics.

Greg was on the city hall beat at that point, and anytime Tamara, Calvin or I had a question about the election or the people involved, it was him we went to. Some of the candidates Greg knew from growing up in the area, others from covering them in previous elections, but there was nobody he couldn’t give us a multi-year rundown on. He would swivel in his chair and gesticulate with one scholarly finger in the air, opining in his radio announcer voice. The longer I worked alongside him the more I admired his encyclopedic knowledge, how relentless he was about pursuing the truth, sometimes scouring through old archives to better understand a crime that happened 100 years before he was born and other times harassing clerks to get damning documents on criminals still working their way through the court system. He was the Star’s greatest asset, and everybody understood that.

One afternoon I sat in the newsroom with Greg and talked about the elections of the past and how they influenced the one coming up. He told me Phil McMillan, the compassion club director, had run for mayor on a cannabis slate around ten years previous. And a local actor named Richard Rowberry had campaigned as the ghost of Nelson’s first mayor, John “Truth” Houston. One former mayor he spoke about with affection was Dave Elliot, who was remembered mostly in town for stopping an expansion of the local Walmart. The executives were in back-room negotiations to double the store’s size into the next lot when Elliot broke confidentiality and raised the alarm with the community. Ultimately he purchased the neighbouring land, along with a number of other Nelson families, just to stop the deal from going ahead. The property had been sitting vacant ever since — a visual testament to the Kootenay spirit of opposing development. A number of projects had tried to get off the ground there, including a condo complex, but the math just didn’t seem to be right. It was prime lakeside property, fenced off, the yard full of abandoned machines, broken concrete and waist-high grass.

Depending on who you asked, it was this move that got ultimately got Elliot ousted. Some felt he over-stepped. The right-wing types felt he was too hippy dippy, and wanted someone who would champion the small businesses on Baker Street with more diligence. Dooley was a reliably conservative city councillor at this point, and ended up taking the big seat in 2005. By the time I showed up in the Kootenays he was the longest serving Nelson mayor in history.

According to Greg, Dooley was hyper-popular and heavily favoured to win. But there were murmurings in the community about dissatisfaction. He seemed like a perfect Irish gentleman to me, polite and amiable, but apparently some felt he was a a bully in the council chambers — as evidenced by the signs stapled to telephone poles around town that read ‘Bully for Mayor’. That being said, he had a number of impressive accomplishments under his belt and had proven himself adept at finding new revenue streams for the community, whether it was from the provincial and federal governments or from organizations like the Columbia Basin Trust. Many credited his contribution for making the new skate park possible. No matter what anyone said, they couldn’t question that he loved his community deeply, and wanted to create a better future for its residents.

Then there were the cops.

“What are they going to do about that cop that punched the woman? That’s what I want to know,” Paisley asked one evening, while I was watching TV. She had come up with a plan, along with her new burlesque friends, to hold a topless protest outside the NPD station.

She carefully poured vegan muffin batter in to a baking sheet.

“I can’t believe we’ve got a proven woman-puncher just working away at the police station like nothing happened. That fucker needs to be fired.”

“He still might be. Depends on how things go with the trial.”

“What’s left to know? Didn’t he admit doing it?”

That situation was an ongoing black eye for the NPD, and they were also under scrutiny because they were requesting a $300,000 boost to their budget. Another smouldering question was how they would deal with the end of cannabis prohibition. They were still busting people routinely, whether it was for grow-ops or possession, and residents wanted to know when that would change. The new mayor would be head of the Nelson Police Board, giving them power over Holland and his force, so this was an opportunity for pot advocates to land an ally in a strategic spot. Dooley was openly hostile to cannabis, and had gone on record a few years previous vehemently opposing an anti-violence initiative related to pot decriminalization, so he clearly wasn’t the right champion. That’s why a new provincial organization called Sensible BC, represented by pot activist Dana Larsen, announced its intentions to get involved in an attempt to eject him.

They wanted someone pot-friendly running the province’s weed capital.

One afternoon I met the local Sensible BC representative, Herb Couch, who was perfectly named for his position. He wanted to see less money wasted policing cannabis, and announced his intention to quiz each candidate on their stance and instruct his followers to vote accordingly. Couch had the backing of Phil McMillan and over 1000 dispensary members, so his influence wouldn’t be insignificant. He was a chill, soft-spoken former high school teacher sporting a signature cowboy hat and a vibrant orange shirt. Relentless about his activism, to the point of annoying some, he’d also been a vocal advocate for the preservation of Red Sands Beach.

I liked him right away.

“Sharon wants to know why we’re writing so many stories about pot,” Calvin said, after the interview with Couch ran. “I don’t think she’s a fan of this Herb character.”

“So many stories? We’ve just done the one.”

“Well, and it’s come up as a topic in some of the other stories about the election. The candidate profiles, a few of them had whole sections about their views on weed.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“She says this isn’t even a relevant municipal issue. Legalization is a federal issue.”

“Right, but it has municipal implications.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like it will affect the police budget. How’s that not relevant?”

“Let’s just cool if with all the weed stuff, okay? People want to know about their taxes, about affordable housing, about all kinds of other stuff. This whole election can’t just be about marijuana.”

The moment Severyn announced his candidacy, the campaigning got ugly. Late-night vandals drove all around multiple neighbourhoods to collect his lawn signs, which featured cartoon moustaches, and dump them outside of town. He showed up at the Star office distraught, frustrated that his comrades in the police department weren’t doing more to figure out who the culprits were. (“You know how much those things cost? And that comes right out of my pocket,” Severyn lamented.) He made totally inappropriate accusations about Dooley, yelling in our foyer, and the rhetoric continued to devolve from there. It was clear to even the casual observer that the two men absolutely hated each other.

Dooley was furious that Severyn would even consider running against him, and more furious that the political dunce seemed to have hundreds of voters’ worth of support. He took it as a personal insult. During campaign events Dooley barely contained his frustration. I watched him repeatedly lose his cool.

Into this mix came Deb Kozak. Sporting a tidy grey bob and a simple pearl necklace, she had a sing-song friendliness to her voice and a fierce determination in her eyes. She’d been on council with Dooley and, though she wouldn’t say it directly, clearly had issues with his leadership. Observers believed she would’ve never been able to take Dooley on in a two-way race, but with Severyn as a wild card she stood a chance to take a strategic majority. If successful, she would be the first female elected mayor in history — a feat fellow councillor Donna Macdonald had tried and failed to accomplish twice. Deb had a maternal energy, and a general optimism about bringing people together and accomplishing positive things. It was a hopeful time in politics, with Obama in power down in the U.S., and I believed things were trending upwards. Culturally we were evolving, and our leadership reflected that, right down to the municipal level. By the end of our first interview it was clear she had my vote, whether I could admit it openly or not.

She seemed audacious.

“One thing I’ve learned as a councillor, and even before that, is I’m good at conversation. And I’m good at welcoming even difficult conversations. We have a diverse community, and sometimes that leads to conflict. I think you work through those things, and you make better decisions when all those groups are pulled together, or at least have an opportunity to share what they think about the future,” she said.

Kozak had arrived in Nelson in the 80s, just after David Thompson University and the Kootenay Forest Products plant shut down. The economic downturn was in full swing, and she’d been inspired by the ambitious moves made by the council at the time. They set out to give the downtown core a makeover, making it more attractive to tourists.

“It was a very frightening time. But it was at that time that the council of the day took a bold step forward to rejuvenate Baker. They said ‘we’re going to rip off all the old clapboards off these beautiful buildings and we’re going to go for it,” she said.

She wanted to be similarly ambitious.

“I bring to the table experience, passion, heart and mind. What I have to offer is almost fearless exploration of who we can be.”

The Kootenay Goon

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princesssarisa · 6 years

Text

Weird things people say about “Wicked”

I’ve never been a huge fan of the musical Wicked, although I respect its quality and sometimes enjoy listening to its music. I’ve only seen it once onstage, and believe it or not, I found it too bleak and depressing for my taste. After all, under its sparkly diva-vehicle facade, it has just as much biting socio-political criticism as Les Misérables and twice as much cynicism, and both Elphaba and Glinda’s journeys are ultimately tragic ones, even if the ending is hopeful. I don’t care for “friends who become enemies” stories either, even if they do reconcile in the end. Still, I think I remember the show’s plot and characters reasonably well… and I think I can tell when people’s comments about it are slightly off. Or extremely off. Even though I’ve only dabbled lightly in the show’s fandom, I’ve still repeatedly heard or read comments from fans that either rely on false equivalence or seem to miss the whole point of the story. Here are my thoughts on the iffiest things I’ve heard people say about this musical.

Note: Thanks to @anghraine for the term “false equivalence.” I had never quite known what to call what I was hearing, until I read her post about Star Wars prequel fans who say “You just don’t want Anakin to have flaws!” to fans who object to his mass murder of the Tusken Raiders. This sort of thing happens in a lot of fandoms, it seems.

1. “It’s just a piece of fluff.”

This was the first response I got when I first mentioned that the show depressed me. “Don’t take it so seriously. It’s just a cute, clever perspective flip of The Wizard of Oz.”

Now I think most people will disagree with that. Just because it takes place in Oz and has a fairly light, cartoony surface doesn’t mean it can’t contain real, pointed socio-political commentary about corrupt leaders, racism, bigotry, rebellion vs. conformity, and the way public opinion creates our “heroes” and “villains.” It most certainly can and does. Its commentary is even more brutally relevant now in Trump’s America than it was in Bush’s when the show debuted.

In a similar vein is “Stop focusing on the politics. It’s all about Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship/love story.” But that’s like looking at The King and I and saying “It’s not about East/West relations or feminism. It’s just Anna and the King’s love story.” That’s total nonsense; their whole relationship is inextricable from the bigger themes. I do think most fans realize this, but now and then you find fans who don’t.

2. “Both sides have good and bad traits, nobody’s perfect.”

This one is about Elphaba vs. the Wizard and about the show’s whole overreaching message.

“Neither Elphaba nor the Wizard is either a villain or a hero,” I’ve heard people say. “They’re both morally gray. That’s the whole point. There are two sides to every story.” If I’m remembering right, even parts of the show itself promote that view more than its actual plot supports: e.g. in the song “Wonderful” (although the Wizard is being generous to himself there). But while it’s true that they’re both morally gray, I can’t buy the implication that neither is any better or worse than the other. That’s massive false equivalence.

True, the Wizard has some sympathetic traits, but his rule over Oz is still a totalitarian regime that manipulates the masses and brutally oppresses innocent minorities. Elphaba’s rebellion against him is absolutely heroic and her vilification by the people of Oz is absolutely unfair. True, she eventually decides to be “wicked” and does the truly bad things we know from The Wizard of Oz, but only in the midst of a mental breakdown when she’s lost hope for her mission and apparently lost everything and everyone she ever loved. That still doesn’t make her as bad as the Wizard or Madame Morrible, nor does the Wizard’s better side come close to matching hers.

Some people seem to honestly think that in the Wicked universe, the original Wizard of Oz portrait of the Wizard as a harmless lovable rogue, Oz as an idyllic fantasy land and Elphaba as a monster is still basically true and valid, just “not the whole story.” I don’t understand how they can think that way. It disturbs me slightly that they can see the Wizard and co.’s persecution of the Animals and just shrug it off with “There are two sides to every story,” or worse, “Nobody’s perfect.” Would they say that about comparable real world leaders, from George W. Bush, to Donald Trump, to… others whose names don’t even need to be mentioned? I hope not!

3. “Glinda is a loyal friend.”

Now maybe I’m misremembering, or maybe my definition of “loyalty” demands too much. But doesn’t a huge part of Glinda’s character arc rest on her failure to be fully loyal to Elphaba and on the lessons she learns when her disloyalty leads to disaster? Is it loyal of her to serve and uphold the oppressive regime that Elphaba sacrifices everything to fight against? Is she loyal when she turns against Elphaba because of the love triangle with Fiyero, however temporarily? Yes, she’s sympathetic, but as is often the case with popular characters (no pun intended), some fans seem to love her so much that they forget about all her flaws and growth. Even though said flaws and growth are central to her role.

4. “All loved ones fight sometimes.”

Continuing on the above theme of idealizing Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship. When I’ve mentioned that I personally don’t ship Gelphie because of the catfight scene, I’ve gotten this response: “Haven’t you ever gotten mad at someone you love? That’s part of every relationship!” But this just reeks of false equivalence.

Yes, of course I’ve gotten mad at loved ones. But I’ve never tried to get them captured by their worst enemies, let alone taken advantage of their relative’s death to do so, or gotten into full-blown catfights with them. No matter how beautifully Elphaba and Glinda reconcile in the end or how beautifully they change each other’s lives, how can anyone view that genuinely vicious fight, or the genuine betrayals that lead to it, as just a typical spat between friends or lovers? You can like their relationship arc yet still admit that their conflict goes beyond a healthy level. Especially the physical violence. The double standard astounds me when people despise any man who slaps a woman, yet see nothing wrong with two women slapping and lunging to attack each other.

This reminds me of Padme responding to Anakin’s mass murder confession in Attack of the Clones with “To be angry is to be human.” Not nearly as bad as that example, of course, but all too similar.

5. “Glinda was right.”

“It’s not aptitude, it’s the way you’re viewed.”

I’ve seen this a few times on TVTropes, both on the show’s own YMMV page (under “Family-Unfriendly Aesop”) and elsewhere. To sum it up concisely in my own words: “Glinda is right that popularity matters more than actual good qualities. She’s right to choose outward conformity over blatant rebellion; to achieve anything in politics, you need to please the crowd. Elphaba’s rebellion fails miserably, while Glinda is the one who changes Oz by joining the Wizard, endearing herself to the masses and gaining power, then reshaping the system from the inside out. Glinda might seem shallow, but she’s ultimately wiser than Elphaba.”

Now of course this whole statement is partly true, maybe even mostly true. I agree that “Public opinion matters more than real merit or truth” is indeed a main message of the show: cynical and sad, but true. But since when does the show support that fact and not criticize it? Doesn’t the story stand up for underdogs and rebels like Elphaba? Doesn’t it encourage us to question popular narrative of “heroes” and “villains” and to resist oppressors? Hasn’t Winnie Holzman said in at least one interview (I know she has - I’ve heard it) that the show’s main theme is Elphaba and Glinda “standing up to power”? And while it’s true that Glinda uses her status and popularity to succeed where Elphaba failed, would she ever have been inspired to do so without Elphaba’s overt rebellion in the first place?

To come away from this musical with an anti-rebellion, pro-conformity mindset seems to be completely missing the point. I wonder how many people with that mindset are the same ones who see Les Mis and think Victor Hugo’s message was “Revolutions always fail and society will never change”?

Maybe if I saw the show again, I would see aspects I’ve forgotten and agree more with these statements. But I doubt it. I haven’t heard any of these remarks too often, but the people who do make them seem to have seen a different version of the show than I did.

#theatre #musicals #wicked #musical theatre #the wizard of oz #elphaba #glinda #wierdness #fandom #fanwank #false equivalence #tvtropes #my opinion

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autoirishlitdiscourses · 3 years

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Discourse of Wednesday, 17 February 2021

Have a good touch, too. I mark you present. This is a specific thinking process, but it wasn't saved by the victims and requires a fair grade for the song choice is absolutely in range for you to give a more or less always lived there, I guess you could take this topic, but it's more or less finalized. Email that TA and see whether you can deal with, I think that this is simply to talk about differences in diction between The Covey and Pearse; you also did the best paper I've read so far since you haven't yet fully thought around what your argument most wants to, as documented in the course as a whole, but because it was helpful rather than the requested number. My 6 p. —You've written a smart move and a half pages from a crucial point in the structuralist sense famously suggested by Fredric Jameson? I'll get you full credit on author, title, who is alive, for instance, IMDb. Hi! I'll still take it, then it makes your teaching practices visible I post every slideshow I develop, as it might also take a fresh eye, asking yourself what the professor mentioned in/Ulysses/at Wikibooks: Daniel Swartz's article 'Tell Us in Plain Words': An Introduction to Reading Joyce's 'Ulysses': Joyce's two structural schema given to friends: Carlo Linati; Stuart Gilbert J.

Your writing is so very lucid and enjoyable. I've listened to the class's discussion than was perhaps optimistic for weeks when I cold-called on him for a four-page paragraph should be no use if I can make a more successful in the afternoon could we meet at a coffee shop on lower State Street. 5 or above, you will just mean that Yeats was talking about the motivations of the obscenity trial surrounding it. But I think your plan is to listen to what does; added old to what other people. You have a C for the quarter substitutes an estimate of attendance/participation score above 50 points, then you can make your readings are often primarily just due to nervousness and/or the novels there's no overlap in terms of culture rather than one that most directly productive here would be helpful if you have scheduled a recitation and what you'll drop if you have any more questions, please bring your copy of Ulysses? As to what might be a comparatively easy revision process. Or, if you have several ideas about it.

I'm so sorry to take this long to get back to you after you've written a smart move not only express your thoughts to, but writing as a way that doesn't overlap. I think that there are places where I think that it looks like you're writing more of the prospectus when I've already said in the afternoon? I really appreciate you both perform tomorrow night. Well done on this question, for the quarter. The writer may be wildly wrong about this offer to anyone any part at all I myself tend to have practiced a bit more would have helped to practice just a hair's breadth away from a generic perspective of a text from Ulysses in particular, of course perfectly happy either way, it would emphasize the second stanza and swapped a word out in detail than we can talk about authors other than as being the plus and minus for each one. The short version for this particular question, but there are many places, from Chris Walker, English 150 TA, You have a fever of 104 or a report that's an overview of the poem's meaning for me. As it is rather complex. Arranging the second half of the exam if you have any questions, or b temptation the general reading of Ulysses closely, and your writing is very solid job here.

Let me know which passage you want it to your discussion to assist you. Ultimately, I'd like to see what they have something to say about the topics you've picked. Good luck on the final or not I apply the late penalty, which is entirely normal to not only lucid but thoughtful and focused, but other people to examine evidence in a late paper/must/email me the new world order is an awfully slow recitation. Falling short/—even if they don't work for you, since you're already thinking about basic issues.

/11. Let me know if you have to go; it's a good job of portraying Francie's voice and the only person in the end of the scenarios above; you might do productive things with this group of graduate students who try to be flexible but unless the student from my grading spreadsheet. Thanks for being such a question that you are at inconvenient times for you. 43 1.

There is also impressive.

The Patriot Game, mentioned in this paper. Unfortunately, you are at inconvenient times for you, based on attendance for your argument more, I graded the final itself. On Francie's mother commits suicide; I don't think that moving a bit due to nervousness; many of them were due to proofread effectively, and want to travel during Thanksgiving week change, but I need to develop an even clearer expression of personal narrative by any means at all for working so hard. Some particular suggestions. Serious illness requiring urgent medical care. Thank you for being such a strong job here, especially without other supporting documentation, but I think that this would be a more specific: I feel that it's likely to be about 0. You had some interesting landscape-related parts of the more productive than asking yes/no questions rarely generate much in the quarter. But if things shift again during the quarter I told her so. Questions? You should use a spreadsheet to perform this assignment. Overall, I think, OK? You were clearly a bit rushed. 51%, a basic critical taboo since the professor has decided to push your argument to specific textual evidence that you believe that I am much less true for several reasons for accepting after this time. Does this work for them and what your primary focus should be set next to each other effectively while in the topic without letting your own ideas out in section after the final, is not inherently bad tools for writing, despite the fact that Ana Silva was in use and the fairy world. /Discussion to occur. One implication of this category. Let me know tomorrow what you had some important material in an engaged, and will incur a penalty, but also to some extent in your section, which was distributed during our first section, not Oct 30. Quite frankly, the culture of law? That is to email me the only one. I'm not firmly attached to this as soon as possible, OK? Is there something about the relationship is between the texts into the A range; you should speak to the exam any more I thought you might conceivably wind up talking about merely the preservation of instincts that contribute to the city, and to engage in a different text. —Not just to make a case that two people and no special equipment is required. I'll most likely cause is that at least twelve lines of poetry or prose from an interesting and perceptive things to say. It's just that your textual materials. Well done on this picking the opening next week if you're still interested in reciting, you have an A paper, although that is not simultaneously one of the paper in a variety of texts should be adaptable in terms of speeches you can come up repeatedly, and his descendants live in Ireland and Irish Currency. Well done on this.

Overall, this was a popular selection. Again, I'm sorry to take a stand, and your material you emphasize if the text s, but will absolutely respond to everyone's participation over the last half of your discussion of a proper Works Cited and Works Consulted would be, but maybe tonight was no section meeting during week five or six. However, I believe that you get 90. Here's a breakdown on your sheet so I re-adding it using the add code.

3:30 is also a Ulysses recitation tomorrow! Make sure to email me a copy of your late penalty to the fact that he had taken the first half of Yeats's September 1913, like I said in lecture if they cover ground which you sometimes retreat holds your argument's specificity back to you whether you are trying to do. What do you mind? 93% A-for the term, and the median and mode scores were both 7, I think both of them.

On Raglan Road Performed 4 December On poems by Paul Muldoon, Extraordinary Rendition Wednesday 4 December 2013 To-morrow the bicycle races Through the suburbs on summer evenings: but to aim to recite and discuss can be a necessary biographical connection for the term that make much other course text is fine with me. D'oh. Tomorrow!

You have a more specific claim about what's actually important to you. I feel that there will be most helpful at this point. Honor that absolutely prevent you from analyzing closely. If little Rudy had lived. This doesn't change the basic idea is basically structured in a way into an A paper, and modeling this for everyone who was scheduled to recite the poem on the final exam.

Other points for section on Dec 4, but I can't be more specific feedback and a punctuation mark. If you think it's fair to O'Casey's text, though I hadn't thought out extensively, and I'm deeply embarrassed that it is rather complex. So, here is to do this as being not a bad thing, let me know if you recall, and giving other people to participate this can be a fallback plan.

Hi! Still, there is no space for you.

Many thanks Of course! This is the enjoyment that the hard part for you and ensure that you are not actually a real improvement over her midterm score, and I will respond to emails from students already asking about crashing? Ulysses, and showed that you will automatically fail the class, because I'm trying to crash. I think that putting V for Vendetta in the biggest payoff possible sometimes you have any questions, OK? All in all, this is very solid job of providing good, but will be note that I'm taking September 1913, but is likely to see models, there are potentially benefits to both, that cutting one's teeth on him and being one of these are comparatively minor matters will help to make your thesis statement is actually a more successful than it needed substantial additional work on future pieces of writing that, just published a wonderful scholar and excellent human being and a server error on the specific feedback, I think that incorporating not just of individual passages: In-progress, very well wind up getting the group is, but against my class list, I noticed that the hard part for you to present your complex thoughts in your thesis statement takes the safe road too much pain. Let me know if you need to be reserved for two or three most participatory people in the class if there is a shame. That is to express yourself. 5%, which is competitive and won't be assessed during the quarter, so this is the basis for both of which you want to read Patrick Kavanagh, Eavan Boland these poems can be hard to read it. Let me know/. 991 and in a way that pays off more.

Paper-related things happening in here, I think you're prepared quite well, empty and abandoned, and why older persons, especially if the group, which had been set to music. If all else fails, you can deal with this particular offer for several reasons, including those that best support your specific point of discussion that allow people to talk about why in section this quarter.

Question provoked close readings of Croppies, of course and the tree and its mechanics may exhibit some occasional hiccups here and there—I think, to me. If, after lecture I assume you're talking about the relative value of the class was not my area of expertise, one that was purely an estimate for attendance and participation is 55 5 _9 points. A letter to Martha, and exhibiting solicitous concern for emotions that they demonstrated knowledge of what you actually arguing for a long way in to work at some point for the final. Etc.

That is, you will go first or last-minute and two-year college can be prepared. Ultimately, what kind of psychological issues, or you otherwise want me to say, Welp, guess I'll just say that you should take every possible competing text. At the same source. One aspect of love? Your paper effectively traces out a group is, or hospitalization of a letter on the midterm and final exams, and must not look at my section envelopes EC#50856 but not an inappropriate choice. Hi! This is a duplicate message. Here's a breakdown on your own reading of Godot, and the amount of time it took a while for them, but it can. But you really have done a number of things well here: you would have paid off a bit over, I suppose another way, though, you've got a special offer, if you're talking about the way that helps! I suspect would fit well with your approval, I'll try hard to motivate you to think of recommending Francis Bacon's work in the first people to discuss with another person, then I will not hurt you, but just of individual passages, but really, your paper is late, then digging in to the MLA standard; the way that the disclosure path is extremely implausible will be on the section hits its average level of familiarity with the people not warming up to two penalties. I provide an estimate for attendance purposes in the early stages of planning I just wanted to be helpful. Check to make decisions about exactly what you're ultimately proposing, as I've learned myself over the quarter is still in the course at this stage of the class, and went above and beyond the interpretations articulated in conjunction with other propaganda pieces of virtually any kind Henry V's famous St.

You may get more than five sections and you recovered quite well here, I will still be elusive at this stage of the following characters in The Butcher Boy: In-progress, very well done! In Conclusion. Talking about how you'll effectively fill time and managed to draw deeper into the text from page 4 McCabe 135, McCabe song on p. That's OK sometimes it's necessary to use to construct an argument for your thoughts would pay off in the third line of your paper graded by then. You did a very close less than thrilled at this point, but you were absent we talked somewhat about this very open-ended questions is the point of analysis, and questions with smaller-scale point in the end of the text from Ulysses in a productive line of the Heaney poems that will occasionally have reminders, announcements, and think about what kind of viewer is understood or affected by gender in the best possible light, and next week if you have any more questions, OK?

Forward to your workload, but I don't know whether that's meant to describe women in this paper would have helped, too. You have a well-selected material to think about how to do, and this is based on general claims such as background information several times during the course, the irruption. Yes-or-no question, but only to recite. On the other, could be one of three people who already believe in the front of the Wandering Aengus—6 p. Wants to sew on buttons for me to file an incomplete would also like to know the details of the exam is at stake. I think that you're dealing with this, let me know whether this matters, and we will have to try to jam in extra points for the edition of the staff that of Arimathea supposedly stuck into the B range. As promised in the context of your performance and discussion tonight.

Very well done, both because it is.

For that reason isn't going to be aggressive or confrontational, and Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, all of this length, and I think that you'll do well, in case you didn't choose and which texts you want to deal with the paper's due if you post it as optional. I don't think that Ulysses has and did a good weekend, and I'll happily instruct him either way, would be to ask what changes Yeats makes to the complex connection that's being built here is some material that you engage.

Thank you for I'll leave here tomorrow night! 258? There are also some editing problems here—again, it will help you grow as a natural end or otherwise just saying random things about what you see as important about the two things: Come to section; eight got 9 or higher on the day after O'Casey is scheduled. First and foremost, I think that the parts of your finals and papers, and that you make meaningful contributions that you weren't afraid to use silence effectively at the last week due to nervousness and/or minor problems. Well done on this immediately, you really did intend to accept an F on the section website after your recitation and thinking closely about delivery; you have a very specific skill that takes experience to be experienced and discussed by presenters: You added the before one I loved; changed or to be as successful as possible it is also an impressive move that the episode of The Butcher Boy both are a number of fingers at the final exam, and I may overlook it if you have any questions or issues that would have also been participating extensively and wind up receiving slightly more than 100% of the following is true for ID #10, which has Calc, a B-on your part. Hope your grading option without a fee! But how you can deal with this phrase in the course-related issues, I personally think that if I can identify it. There was a difficult passage, in this paper. You could switch to taking the midterm, took four days after the midterm he has decided to postpone releasing the midterm, and they all essentially boil down what the nature of your political poster; and dropped et unam sanctam from the Internet, if you want to reschedule, and I think, always a productive direction to take it you're referring to the course are not responding, then you may want to switch to the connections between the two tendencies in Irish literature that you had some very perceptive comments in here, and do a very solid and perceptive piece here that is formatted correctly. 697, p. And the way to write questions on the following venues, at the front of the entire weekend one day late unless you file an informational report with the material to produce a meaningful discussion about the figure of the poem's own internal sense of a great detail simply because they're yours.

#Irish literature #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Python #Markov chains

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bloomsoftly · 7 years

Note

EEE! || Pairing: Darcy/Peter Quill || Prompt is: "Lucky Underwear" || (And thank you so much, doll!

okay, Dres, I am finally done with this thing—sorry for the wait! also, thanks to @amidtheflowers for name inspiration. :)

without further ado:

lucky underwear, darcy/peter quill

NSFW under the cut, lovelies

Now on AO3. It would mean a lot if you could leave a review.

send me a prompt!

Thenext time they sent a mouse through the wormhole, it came back. In fact, itcame back wearing a hand-knit sweater—an ugly monstrosity with swirling greensand blues and oranges that looked like it came straight out of the 80’s—and anote taped to its back.

Darcyand Jane looked at it each other in consternation. Shrugging, Darcy snagged thenote and unfolded it. It was torn at the corner, as if ripped in a struggle,and was covered in three different lines of text.

Thefirst—scrawled prominently across the page—was a frustrated line of chickenscratch.

For God’s sake, PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MORE MICE.There is no room on the ship for any more vermin. We literally already have aTALKING RACCOON.

“Well,”Darcy mused, “at least the aliens are pretty polite, all things considered. Imean, we have been dumping mice in their laps for the past week. Also, they canwrite in English?”

Janenodded distractedly, already re-calculating her equations. “Apparently we’vebeen sending the mice to the same place. A ship? Which means the wormhole haslocked onto an object and moves with it through space. And the writing could bea written form of All-Speak? Hmm, interesting…”

Shewandered away, leaving Darcy to read the rest of the note by herself. The lasttwo lines appeared to have been written by different hands, scribbled in ahurry.

SEND MORE RODENTS. THEY ARE ENJOYABLE TO PLAY WITH.

Well,okay then. Darcy was glad somebody enjoyed the mice, at least.

do u have music that doesn’t suck? the idiot insistson putting the same songs on repeat. over and over and over and over. and over.

over and over waswritten repeatedly across the rest of the page, right up to the torn edge.Darcy rolled her eyes and sighed. How someone could manage to troll her fromthousands of light-years away, she had no idea.

Figuringthat she and Jane were practically experts by now in getting to know alienspecies, Darcy decided to consider herself a diplomatic representative ofEarth. So, the next time they were ready to send something through the wormhole(Jane was determined to discover why it always connected to the mysteriousbeing’s ship, despite variations in date and time), Darcy sent her iPod.

Nother new iPhone, mind you. But the old iPod, the one SHIELD had stolen and thenreturned years later. It was old and battered and missing half herplaylists—and she was sad to see it go. Still, diplomatic relations sometimesrequired personal sacrifice.

Thenext time the wormhole opened, a crown of beautiful flowers plopped through,held up by what looked like a prosthetic hand. Darcy stared at it for a longminute, perplexed, then shrugged. It might be the strangest ‘thank you’ she’dever gotten, but at least the flowers smelled good. The hand, officially dubbed‘Flower Power,’ became the official mascot of the lab and oversaw all of theirexperiments.

Thefollowing week, Darcy sent a bulk-sized package of strawberry poptarts throughthe portal. Jane laughed at her, but Darcy defended her decision passionately.“What? We have a good track record with aliens and these things!”

Thepoptarts were a hit, as expected. Along with a demand for more came a littlecrystal frog.

Andso the weeks passed, marked by increasingly-strange gift exchanges. Eventually,Jane put her foot down and declared, “Alright, that’s it. We’re running out ofplaces to put all this weird space stuff. Time to take the next step.”

Darcylooked up from where she was munching on her space snack. It was weird—tasted alittle bit like pickles, but not. Glancing up, she asked, “What’s the nextstep?”

“We’regoing to send you through the wormhole, obviously. So you can meet your newfriends in person.”

Afterone last loud crunch, Darcy swallowed and replied nonchalantly, “Alright, bosslady. Just don’t send me somewhere weird on accident, alright?”

-:-

Thegood news was that Jane didn’t dump Darcy into the vast emptiness of space tosuffocate and die. The bad news was that she got dropped into a ship duringwhat appeared to be the middle of some kind of space battle. As she wandereddown the narrow corridor, there was a lot of yelling. Explosions rocked theship, and Darcy stumbled to one side. She reached a hand out to steady herselfagainst the wall,only to be bowled over by someone barreling down the hallway.

Theyfell in a tangle of limbs and leather, hitting the unyielding floor with aresounding smack. Darcy looked up, straight into—the barrel of a space gun?Well, she assumed it was a gun. It looked gun-like, something between a StarWars blaster and a Star Trek phaser. A nerd’s wet dream, basically. She lookedpast the blaster to the face of the guy straddling her, and—oh. That wasanother wet dream entirely.

Still,he was pointing a weapon at her face. Her hands came up in the universal signfor surrender. Her knuckles pressed against the hard floor painfully and Darcytried not to wince. Carefully, she said, “Woah, dude. I’m sorry to drop in atsuch a bad time. But, uhh, I think we’re kind of friends? I mean, pen pals atleast. I send you things through that nifty little wormhole that shows up everynow and then.” With a strained grin, she clarified, “I—I don’t know how manypen pals you’ve got from Earth, but I’m the one who sends poptarts and iPods?So, yeah.”

Theunknown guy chuckled and put his gun away. Still straddling her, he gave her anappreciative once-over and teased, “Well if I knew you looked like this Iwould’ve suggested a meet-up a lot sooner,—” He stopped and quirked an eyebrowat her, waiting expectantly.

“Darcy.Science minion and newly-minted space traveler, at your service.” He leered atthat, but before he could offer a cheesy pick-up line—Darcy’s been on thereceiving end of a lot of those, she could see it coming—another explosionrocked the ship. She gestured to where he was still pinning her to the floorand asked, “Uhh, shouldn’t you be doing something about that instead offlirting with me, space boy?”

Hewinked and clambered to his feet. Reaching down to help her up, he corrected,“It’s Star-Lord, and don’t you worry, sweetheart. I’ve got it all undercontrol.”

Darcysnorted. “Yeah, no, I’m not calling you that. You got a normal-person name, Star-Lord?”

Hehuffed in mock-exasperation, grumbling, “No one takes me seriously aroundhere.” Dropping his chin and looking up at her through his lashes, he brushed athumb across her cheek and offered, “I can make an exception for you, though.You can call me Peter.”

Darcywould like to say that it was a surprise that she ended up in bed with him, butthat would be a bald-faced lie. There was something about the sass and thesmirk that did it for her. The red leather jacket didn’t hurt, either.

Darcywoke up to Peter’s fingertips moving in sleepy, abstract patterns across herbare back. She shivered at the sensation, prompting him to stop and brush herhair out of her face. Half-squinting up at him, eyes still gummy with sleep,Darcy caught the gentle smile that swept across his face.

“Thatwas—fun?” he asked, almost hesitant.

Araspy chuckle escaped her. “Was that a question, or a statement?”

Petergrinned at her wickedly and slid his hand down her waist and around to grip herass. He nosed her hair aside and nipped at her neck, sucking lightly. Darcyarched into him, closing her eyes. She never would have guessed that a tripthrough a wormhole would result in amazing sex, but here they were. He rolledthem so that Darcy was on her back and teased, “It was a statement. But ifthere’s any doubt, I’m happy to prove it again.”

Insteadof a verbal reply, Darcy reached up to grab his face and bring him down for ahot, wet kiss. Their tongues slid lazily against each other for long minutes,sweet and slow. Eventually they broke away, and Darcy panted heavily againstPeter’s neck. Her lips brushed along his stubble in a torturous burn, and shepressed an open-mouthed kiss against his throat. The tickle of his beardagainst her skin brought back memories of the previous night, when he had beenkissing her somewhere entirely different. Darcy squirmed beneath him, grindingup against the leg he had trapped between her thighs.

Witha nibble to his throat, Darcy groaned, “There’s no doubt, trust me. But if youwant to remind me anyway, I won’t complain.”

Grinningwickedly, Peter worked his way down her body, nibbling and suckling as he went.Impatiently, Darcy pushed on his head. Her body was on fire, and the tease knewexactly what she wanted. Huffing a laugh, he allowed her to guide him down,down—and then his mouth was on her, licking up and in. She lost herself in themovement of his lips and tongue and then his clever fingers. She writhedmindlessly against him, eyes closed and hands fisted in the sheets at hersides.

Thealarm of her watch beeped loudly and insistently, and Darcy groaned. Barelylifting his face from her clit, Peter implored, “Just ignore it. Jane can waita little longer.”

Shefollowed his advice for long minutes, losing herself in the wet slide of histongue against her. His fingers pumped in an out leisurely, sending her into asimmering spiral. The watch went off again—she had fifteen minutes until theportal opened to take her home. “Peter,” she moaned, desperate. She was soclose.

Therewas no reply; instead, Peter doubled his efforts to make her come in the shorttime they had left. Crooking his fingers inside of her, Peter hit that spotthat made her hips arch off the bed. Desperate for release, she gasped out hisname. He suckled and swirled his tongue around her clit in response, over andover until she came with a cry, thighs trembling on either side of his head.

Sheslumped against the bed with a satisfied sigh, boneless in her afterglow. Hekept his mouth on her for a minute longer, until she huffed a laugh and pulledhim up toward her. They collapsed in a sweaty cuddle for a few preciousminutes, breathing heavily against each other. Once she caught her breath,Darcy apologized, “I’m sorry that we don’t have time for me to return thefavor.”

Helaughed, silencing her with a salty kiss. She licked his mouth teasingly,enjoying the taste of her on his lips. “Next time?” he asked tentatively.

“Nexttime,” she promised. After an adventure like this (and equally importantly,with a mouth like Peter’s), there was no way she’d miss out on coming back.With a groan, she gave him one last quick kiss and levered herself out of bed.She rushed through getting dressed, only to realize—

“Wherethe hell is my underwear?”

Peterlooked at her in confusion. “What?”

“Myunderwear? It was right here, with the rest of my clothing.”

Hegroaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “ROCKET!” he shouted.It took a second for Darcy to catch on, and then she was yelling too.

“Damnit, Rocket. Those are my lucky underwear!

Rocket’scackle echoed throughout the entire ship. “I need them! They’re—reallyimportant for a plan.”

Petergroaned. “ROCKET—”

“No,seriously, they’re—uhh—important to me!”

Darcy’s alarm beeped again—she was out of time. Huffing, shepulled on her pants sans underwear. Glowering at Peter, she stomped into thehallway and growled, “I will be back for my lucky underwear. You better makesure he doesn’t do anything weird with it in the meantime.” Peter just nodded, laughing too hard to say anythingin response.

Theportal opened, casting an eerie blue glow over the interior of the ship. Darcyturned back to him and asked, “Same time next week?”

Peterleaned down for one last kiss.

“It’sa date.”

#electric slide #darcy x peter quill #darcyland #writing prompt #reply #fic #dresupi

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eichy815 · 5 years

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‘Big Brother’ Is Being Watched By Us! – Part 2

CONTINUED FROM PART 1

Season 2 (where the game’s format itself was retooled and reimagined) featured the sassy Monica Bailey, a Brooklyn candy store manager who tragically lost her cousin in the 9/11 attacks (which took place during the tail-end of Season 2). Her best friend in the house, Krista Stegall, was a charming country girl (although housemate Kent Blackwelder constantly made references to Stegall’s alleged “Nyquil addiction”) – she and Bailey were jointly targeted in Week 6 as a “Power of Two.” Bailey ended up coming in third place, and really should have been selected by producers for re-entry into the house during Big Brother All-Stars (she would have been far more entertaining than the reincarnated “Chilltown” duo).

Speaking of Chilltown, though, I have to give mad props to Will Kirby (aka “Evil Dr. Will”), universally regarded as the best Big Brother winner to ever play the game. Despite being put up on the block for eviction every week, Kirby managed to repeatedly squirm out of danger using a combination of psychological mind games and bouncy charm. Everyone kept underestimating “Evil Dr. Will” as a jury “non-threat” – and he went all the way to the end with Nicole Nilson Schaffrich, ultimately defeating her in a 5-2 vote.

Nilson Schaffrich, who (along with Hill) was a sworn enemy of Kirby and “Chilltown,” also became a favorite of mine. Initially, she came on really strong to her housemates as she attempted to fit in as this zany, spontaneous, chatterbox of a “fun girl.” But after the game’s first-ever HoH, Malin, nominated her for eviction in Week 1, Nilson Schaffrich morphed into a depressing, negative, confrontational, bitchy cloud of gloom-and-doom (she also had OCD when it came to cleaning, and deeply missed her husband, Jeff). Will and Nicole developed a classic love/hate relationship – where Nicole would constantly threaten and berate Dr. Will, while he simply laughed it off and continued playing the role of “class clown.”

I could relate to Nicole – which is why I think I enjoyed her, even though she was a total darkened contrast to Monica, Krista, and Dr. Will in terms of personality. The epitome of Will and Nicole’s rivalry was when, during a competition, the producers asked houseguests to craft little puppet-style dolls in their own likenesses; Nicole refused to do it, and so Will energetically volunteered to create Nicole’s doll for her – he proceeded to draw/paint a skimpy bikini onto the doll’s fabric, and then mocked Nicole in the Diary Roll while making the Nicole-doll “talk.”

Despite the bad casting of Season 3, I did enjoy another unlikely alliance formed: that of Jason Guy, a born-again Christian videographer in his mid-twenties, and Danielle Reyes, a mouthy and brassy media buyer (and mom to two daughters). Their alliance went largely unnoticed by other houseguests (except for the season’s eventual winner, Lisa Donahue). Although I’m usually not a fan of born-again Christians, Jason was just an all-around nice guy and good person; meanwhile, Danielle made me laugh and kept me entertained with her colorful, verbose, and cocky Diary Room confessionals. Once that season’s evicted houseguests went home and watched Danielle’s sessions in the Diary Room, they viewed her as entitled and pompous...which was largely why she lost the jury vote to Lisa. This was ultimately why, beginning with Season 4, Big Brother producers shrunk the size of the jury while keeping jury members sequestered in a plush Jury House (so they wouldn’t be swayed by what was said in the finalists’ Diary Room confessionals).

Season 4 had David Lane, a former Army ranger who was evicted early in the game (Week 3) but was a likable dude very much in the mold of Jason Guy. That season’s winner, Jun Song, shepherded the “floater” strategy (alongside the even-more-reviled Alison Irwin, with whom she went to the Final Two) while having the house wrapped around her fingertips as she played the simultaneous roles of “house chef,” “chic chubby girl,” and “firebrand comic relief.” Song even earned the vote of her ex-boyfriend, Jee Choe, on that season’s jury.

Pilates instructor Erika Landin, who would later return for Big Brother: All-Stars (where she placed second to Malin, after entering an ill-conceived “showmance” with him) was competitive-yet-boring, but I enjoyed her if only for her gaudy pink hat that she was forced to destroy during a wardrobe-burning competition. Irwin’s ex-boyfriend, Justin Giovinco, was the leader of the Three Stooges Alliance (consisting of him, Jee, and Erika’s ex-boyfriend, Robert Roman). Giovinco had the most charisma and best leadership skills of the “Three Stooges” (which is probably why the rest of the house targeted him before Jee and Robert)...plus he looked great with his clothes off!

The standout of Big Brother 5, by far, was Nakomis Dedmon, a Goth-like Texas hostess whose chill-but-assertive gameplay got her all the way to the Final Four. Nakomis helped to conceive and execute the first “backdooring” strategy (evicting someone by NOT initially putting them on the block, and waiting to nominate them until after the Power of Veto has been used). Her in-house reunion (which had been secretly orchestrated by the producers) with long-lost brother Michael Ellis (aka Cowboy) was rather poignant...even though they ended up at odds with each other, and ultimately, estranged. When she returned for Big Brother: All-Stars, Dedmon was the second houseguest evicted due to her reputation from Season 5 as a strategic threat.

I also enjoyed Will Wikle, a gay R.N. who was a part of the Pinky Swear Alliance put together by Nakomis. His strategy wasn’t that great, but Wikle was carefree, outgoing, and had a fantastic body. Drew Daniel, the winner of that season, was both sexy and humble...and, really, the only redeeming member of the Four Horsemen Alliance. Sadly, in the years since, Drew has followed the paths of Jasinski and McDonald, being tasered by police when resisting arrest after having domestic violence charged filed against him.

Marvin Latimer, Season 5’s resident house chef, was a South Carolina mortician who shared tentative partial-alliances with both the Four Horsemen and Pinky Swear Alliances. His “floater” strategy got him eliminated mid-game, but he brought a lot of high energy and many entertaining quips to his time on the program. Latimer now hosts a YouTube broadcast known as “The Marvin Show.”

In spite of her creepy and pathological obsession with Cappy, Season 6 runner-up Ivette Corredero was someone who I actually found endearing with her outspokenness and fiery Latina personality. I thought Janelle Pierzina was amusing in blending her “ditzy blonde” demeanor with fierceness in winning competitions, and I can understand why she became a “fan favorite.” Howie Gordon was a loud, overbearing train wreck – but I have to give him points for being amusing to watch...mostly due to his obsession with “boobies,” his sexually-unbridled banter, and the fact that he made life miserable for Lewis (coining the nickname “Busto” for her).

Big Brother All-Stars was so disappointing that I will skip over most of it. I just couldn’t get past Malin’s atrocious presence (for which Rosie O’Donnell later called him out, on The View). One of the few highlights was when Nilson Schaffrich, Song, and Latimer returned as guest co-hosts for a food competition (since they each had histories of cooking extensively for their respective housemates).

My favorites from Season 8 were Kail’s onetime alliance mates in the short-lived Mrs. Robinson Alliance. With Kail being the middle-aged mother figure in the house that season, she initially aligned herself with three young guys: Mike Dutz, a contractor/model who got himself evicted by targeting Evel Dick; Nick Starcevic, a former college football player remembered for entering a “showmance” with Evel Dick’s estranged daughter, Daniele, who was paired with her father as part of that season’s “Nemesis” twist; and Zach Swerdzekski, a dimwitted-but-likable graphic designer who had a penchant for self-deprecating nudity. Out of all of them, only Swerdzewski made it deep into the game (placing third to both of the Donatos).

Even amid the trash heap that was Big Brother 9, there were a few decent houseguests: TMZ reporter Parker Somerville, who was shafted by the season’s “Soulmates” twist; Alex Coladonato, a charismatic Staten Island DJ, who, much like Somerville, was voted out early due to the twist; and James Zinkand (aka “Crazy James”), who went on to become the “fan favorite” due to his garishly-dyed hair and adventurous personality.

Season 10 marked a resurgence in quality for Big Brother. There were more twists, better casting, and heightened drama. Brian Hart was the handsome and charismatic techno-entrepreneur who had the distinction of being the first one voted out, due to houseguests’ perception of him as a Nakomis-like strategic threat. Despite her perverse friendship with Jerry/Ollie/April, I found Michelle Costa to be saucy and spirited...and I wish she would have lasted longer.

Then there were the season’s two Dynamic Duos: Keesha Smith, the outspoken sweetheart who bonded with the baudy and lovably loud Renny Martyn (a hairdresser from New Orleans, who always sported garish outfits amid a spicy tongue with which she lashed out at household troublemakers).

However, Season 10’s winner, Dan Gheesling, and runner-up, “mixologist” Memphis Garrett, formed the memorable Renegades Alliance. Gheesling perfected an under-the-radar strategy by being down-to-earth and endearing, staying out of all the boisterous drama of the house...basically laying around and reading (especially his Bible) while everyone else shouted each other down. He defeated Memphis in the show’s first unanimous jury vote once they cruised into the Final Two together. Gheesling’s Diary Room confessionals – where he borderline-shouted his observations, probably as a consequence of being a high school football coach – were priceless.

Season 11: this was the season that marked a turning-point for the power of “showmances” in the house. “Fan favorite” Jeff Schroeder (single-handedly responsible for getting Jessie evicted via the “Coup d’Etat” twist) and Jordan Lloyd formed one of the show’s most memorable and enduring “showmances.” Jeff fell on his sword by overplaying, midgame; but Jordan was rewarded with the half-million dollar prize by taking the much-hated Natalie Martinez with her to the Final Two. And, to this day, the relationship between “Jordeff” remains solid.

Other likable contestants that season were brainy scientist Michele Noonan, who tried to play a low-key game but was later forced to embrace her role as a “quiet devil;” Kevin Campbell, the gay graphic designer who aligned with Jessie’s allies while keeping his distance from Jessie himself; and Casey Turner, a fortysomething married father and DJ who was just plain fun and chill.

In spite of the disappointment that was Big Brother 12, I have to give major props to that season’s winner, Hayden Moss – jovial, loyal, humane, free-spirited, uninhibited, and competitive. It’s not surprising that Moss went on to compete in Survivor: Blood vs. Water (where he placed seventh) – the first Big Brother contestant to do so. Pharmaceutical rep Britney Godwin was also hilarious in her Diary Room confessionals, and Reilly’s “showmance” partner Brendon Villegas was overall a really good (and hot!) guy, despite being utterly clueless.

Out of the newbies in Season 13, Dominic Briones (who would later go on to marry housemate Daniele Donato in real-life) was a convivial and boisterous dude who was evicted way too early (due to Schroeder’s bullying). Likewise with Cassi Colvin, a bold and candid young woman evicted right after Briones (due to Reilly’s bullying). And, although she was evicted during the jury phase, Daniele was given a much greater opportunity to shine this season compared to four years earlier when she’d played second banana to her father.

Season 14 was when Big Brother began to get really good. The “Coaches” twist (and especially the returns of Gheesling and Godwin) featured some of the most eclectic newbies in years. Among them: Frank Eudy (son of professional wrestler Sid Vicious), a mop-headed competition beast whom Malin adopted as the newest member of “Chilltown;” JoJo Spatafora, a cheeky Staten Island bartender who, much like Somerville, Hart, Briones, and Colvin in seasons before hers, was evicted way too early; Jenn Arroyo (known affectionately by housemates as “JennCity”), a lesbian heavy-metal rocker; Shane Meaney, a hunky Vermont house-flipper who also dominated the physical competitions; and, of course, the lovable Ian Terry, a nerdy-but-shrewd Tulane graduate (and eventual winner of Season 14) who, as a lifelong fan of Big Brother, memorably blindsided Malin – his own former “coach” prior to the reset.

Just last summer, even amongst the “racists and fools” of Season 15 were some gems: McCrae Olson, the pizza delivery guy who formed a “showmance” with house bully Amanda Zuckerman; David Girton, a studly lifeguard who was the first one evicted (after forming a “showmance” with house racist Aaryn Gries) that summer; and the season’s “housemother,” Chicago political consultant Helen Kim.

Unfortunately, the season’s winner and runner-up, Andy Herron (Big Brother’s first openly-gay winner) and GinaMarie Zimmerman, also displayed much bigotry and depravity...which was witnessed by those watching the live feeds, but didn’t make it into their television edits (which, because they were so favorable, caused me to really like them both). Also, GinaMarie developed an obsessively-entertaining infatuation with houseguest Nick Uhas (the second player evicted), a cute-and-hilarious pro skater who, like so many others before him, went out way too early.

As I write the above recollections from the past fourteen years, it only reinforces to me how Big Brother is a microcosm of our flawed society. Sometimes people get rewarded for bullying or idiocy, and sometimes they get called out on it. Sometimes entertaining and sociable people make it far in life, but other times they’re stymied by those who view them as “a threat.”

This is probably why I find myself getting wrapped up in who stays and who goes, as I watch, every summer. When I love a houseguest, I want her or him to make it far in the game – because it’s like spending an hour a week with a good friend. By contrast, if I loathe a houseguest, I want him or her to be evicted (and to see them humiliated based on their negative antics) because that’s one less week I have to endure them on my TV screen.

And, of course, there are always the “train wrecks” – houseguests whom I enjoy watching solely for entertainment value, even though I can’t take them seriously as a contestant (and, in reality, they have no decent shot at actually winning). Often times, these overwrought players will function as “tokens” who create hilarity and chaos in the house (giving my favorites more of a chance to go farther in the game).

Just some of the most hilarious memories from Big Brother history...

Identical twins Adria Klein and Natalie Carroll revealing the “Twin Twist” to their Season 5 housemates, as they’d been switching clothing and spots in the house for weeks at that point.

Newly-minted HoH Pierzina chanting “Bye, Bye, Bitches!” after putting up two members of The Nerd Herd (Ausburn and Vasquez) on the block.

Stein revealing he was secretly “America’s Player” during the Big Brother 8 finale.

All the drama caused by the Season 10 houseguests on Keesha’s birthday...which was all instigated, of course, by Jessie. It culminated in the houseguests serenading Keesha with a half-hearted version of “Happy Birthday” – after which, the fighting picked right back up (again, no thanks to Jessie!).

Jeff using the Coup d’Etat, which led to Jessie’s eviction.

Kevin becoming exasperated when Natalie, Lydia, and Chima basically formed a “mini-cult” venerating Jessie in the aftermath of his eviction (which was eerily similar to the “Cult of Cappy” perpetuated by “The Nerd Herd” in Season 6).

The “wild child” and much-tattooed houseguest, Lydia Tavera, having an epic meltdown after her ally, Jessie, was evicted.

Julie Chen interviewing Malin, Reyes, Pierzina, and Evel Dick about their views on Season 11 (watch for the moment when, after Malin partially defends Chima’s state-of-mind which led to her expulsion, Evel Dick tells Malin that he “should jump off a bridge”).

Britney calling out Malin, after he stopped ignoring her, six days into the “Coaches’ Season” (Big Brother 14).

Malin watching his “goodbye videos” after his blindside eviction...and learning that Ian had a large hand in his demise.

Gheesling orchestrating his own “funeral” (after emerging from a solitary confinement punishment) in order to get himself off the nomination block.

So far this season, I have my least favorites. Two of them have already been evicted: Devin Shepherd, a mashup of Godderz and Littman (with a little bit of Kass McQuillen, from Survivor: Cagayan, thrown in), whose strategy and logic were completely nonexistent during his three weeks in the house; and Paola Shea (known as “Pao-Pao”), a walking caricature of the “deceitful Filipina” stereotype...who, based on her individual behavior, was just plain annoying.

Then we have Donny Thompson, the kind-hearted Duck Dynasty reject who is clearly designed to be Cowboy 2.0 (although he’s a lot smarter than Cowboy – not that that’s saying much). Caleb Reynolds is a young redneck whose romantic obsession with housemate Amber Borzotra borders on pathological, rivaling that which GinaMarie had toward Nick last season (or that which Natalie Cunial had toward Matty in Season 9). And there’s Victoria Rafaeli, a complete waste of space due to her utter pointlessness (could she become the next April Lewis or Adam Poch?)...obviously, her audition for Shahs of Sunset didn’t work out.

Who do I like this season? Along with Amber, I’m really digging Tucson barista Christine Brecht (and her “chickmance” with fellow geeky housemate Nicole Franzel). Hayden Voss (one syllable away from the namesake of Season 12’s winner) is a super-cool surfer-like dude who doesn’t actually surf (he drives a PediCab in Long Beach). Palm Beach economics graduate Zach Rance and sales account executive Cody Calafiore would totally be my “bromance” partners, if I was in the house.

And I want Frankie Grande (the real-life brother of pop music superstar Ariana Grande) as my husband!

This season, Grodner has introduced the “Team America” twist, where America voted for three houseguests (Donny, Frankie, and Rhode Island cop Derrick Levasseur) to perform acts of sabotage all season long; each member of Team America will be awarded $5,000 for every mission they successfully complete.

Also, every week TWO Heads of Household are crowded, and each of them nominates two houseguests for eviction. Then, the four nominees compete in the “Battle of the Block,” where the victorious pair automatically comes off the chopping block and overthrows the HoH who nominated them.

So what twists would I add to the Big Brother House? How about a season where we return to there being only one HoH each week – and he or she has the choice to nominate two, three, or as many as four individual houseguests for eviction. If four different houseguests are nominated for eviction, there would be two Power of Veto winners in the veto competition; and if one or both of those veto-holders chooses to leave the nominations intact, then one or two of the nominees would automatically come off the block based on an online vote (the result would still be the same: only two houseguests remain on the chopping block when it’s time to vote for eviction).

But why would an HoH nominate more than two people? Isn’t that just extra blood they’d be getting on their hands (pissing more people off)? Maybe – but, alternately, it could be a good strategy for targeting a large alliance, for taking out one of many multiple threats (strategic or physical), or for trying to get a “floater” evicted by stacking the chopping block with several covert allies.

I also would switch up the “Haves/Have-Not’s” competition (including the food reward and penalties) each week. First, while putting the losers on “slop” was entertaining during the first few seasons when it was used as a punishment, it’s gotten old. I still think there should a be “food restriction” for losers, but it should become a bit more creative than merely placing the losing team on “slop” and two bizarre items.

What I would do is turn it into a three-team competition where three separate groups of houseguests compete to become either the “Haves,” “Could-Haves,” and “Have-Nots” each week. Additionally, during weeks when the number of competing houseguests isn’t equally divisible by three, the statuses of “Haves,” “Could Haves,” and “Have-Nots” would be assigned via a collective house competition (everyone other than the HOH receives the same status, depending on how they do), or perhaps dispersed on the whims of a reward competition winner, or maybe even be based on failure to meet an endurance standard in a timed competition.

Under my blueprint:

Haves would receive: an unlimited gourmet food selection (compiled from a lengthy grocery list of their choosing), unlimited access to all of the Big Brother House’s amenities, and even some luxurious theme parties (which the “Could-Haves” and “Have-Nots” would be unable to attend).

Could-Haves (most likely, the runners-up in the competition) would receive: basic food rations (including, but not limited to, peanut-butter-and-jelly) that fall into every category on the food pyramid, standard house privileges (including hot showers and comfortable beds), but zero access to “special events” (with the exception of things specifically approved by producers, such as celebrating a houseguest’s birthday).

Have-Nots would receive: a very limited selection of approximately one dozen “bizarre” foods that are voted on by America, cold showers (producers turn off the showers’ hot water when a Have-Not is preparing to shower), and horrible sleeping conditions.

These “bizarre” foods (assigned to the “Have-Nots”) would be items that fans could vote on through the CBS website each week. The top twelve foods (voted on by America) would be the only edibles (aside from water and condiments) which the “Have-Nots” may consume during that week. These “culinary delights” could include morsels such as escargot (snails), tofu, mole, seaweed, pickled peppers, sea cucumber, whelk (sea snail), squid, octopus, sea urchin, frog legs, ostrich, kumis, fava beans, chicken hearts, kielbasa, reindeer, salo (pork belly), head cheese, jellied eels, herring, conch meat, duck livers, mussels, fish maw, Spam musubi, lutefisk, roti (Indian wholemeal bread), fresh durian, salak, ube (purple yam), wheatgrass, flax, nettles, etc.

Also, “slop” would still be available for the “Have-Nots” to exclusively consume – but only on a voluntary basis. So why would any contestant voluntarily agree to eat that rancid stuff? For every full bowl (16 ounces) of “slop” that a “Have-Not” is able to successfully consume during their “Week of Hell,” that contestant receives $1,000 (per bowl).

There are countless twists they could add...and, most certainly, countless seasons of Big Brother ahead of us.

As you can see, based on how long this article has run, my addiction to Big Brother is one that I’m not going to kick anytime soon.

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terryblount · 5 years

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Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom Review

A friend and fellow gaming writer once told me the worst part of this job is when you have to review something the community absolutely loves, but you just cannot seem to like it. The Steam store page is plastered with blue thumbs pointing up, Metacritic boasts a whopping 86%, but, somehow, you just cannot relate to the masses. Well folks, with Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, that day has arrived on my PC.

Let me be clear that I do not think Monster Boy is completely bad. This game still shows that rare gem of innovation you only get from the AA and indie scene, and it can be really fun to play. It is obvious that the developers, FDG Entertainment, are deeply in touch with the strengths of their source material.

Meet the protagonist, Jin, except he barely stays in this form throughout the entire game.

In truth, my objection to Monster Boy’s overwhelmingly positive reception lies in how this game clearly runs into some infuriating moments of inconsistency. The delicate balance this game holds between its unique blend of Metroidvania and platformer components too often gives way to seriously frustrating moments. I feel like I spent a little too much of my play time gnashing my teeth.

More than a Tenacious D Song

Monster Boy has quite the legacy behind it, and you can trace its primary influence all the way back to SEGA’s Wonder Boy that came out during the mid-80’s. Since then, Wonder Boy has passed between the hands of several different developers, and every subsequent studio that worked with the IP contributed at least one new gameplay mechanic that stuck.

Now the torch has been handed to a German-based studio who have added their own bits to this Frankenstein monster of an IP, and FDG Entertainment has done a great job at using Monster Boy’s mixed heritage to make the gameplay relevant again. What we have here is a game that is neither pure Metroidvania nor thoroughbred platformer, but instead draws from the strengths of both.

Monster Boy’s story is so simple that the title is practically a spoiler. Once upon time in a mystical kingdom, someone called Uncle Nabu unexpectedly goes nuttier than squirrel poop, and starts flying around on a broomstick like a witch. In a moment of naughty sorcery, he ends up spreading a strange curse across an entire kingdom which turns all the inhabitants into humanoid animals.

You can actually talk to some NPC’s during gameplay, and I must say they seem rather laid-back about being turned into bipedal rats, sheep and owls. Perhaps they don’t mind having fleas, or licking their own butts? Thankfully, a boy named Jin chooses not to spend the rest of this life as a piggy, and swears to put an end to his uncle’s antics.

While being a swashbuckling swine (complete with eye patch) has its perks – such as lightning attacks, stun attacks, fire balls and the ability to sniff out treasures and so on – our hero soon discovers that he has bitten off more than your average hog can chew. To reverse his uncle’s curse, Jin must unite five magical orbs hidden in jungles, caves, and even at the bottom of the ocean. Oh, and each orb is protected by a giant monster (i.e. boss fight).

Once Jin gets his porky hooves on the first orb, however, he inherits its power, which gives him the choice between more than one animal shape! Being a frog suddenly makes reaching the underwater orb a real possibility, and being a slippery snake means small crawlspaces are no challenge at all (and, for some reason, crystals light up dark spaces when you spew poison on them).

Paws and claws

My reason for saying that Monster Boy feels like a blend of genres is because it plays out like a Metroidvania game in its progression style, yet the snappy movement and combat mechanics lean more towards a platformer experience. It is particularly in the latter where FDG Entertainment’s experience in developing physics-based, mobile games really shows.

This game is full of great little ideas for platforming. You use the ice sword to create a makeshift platform.

With regards to the Metroidvania elements, Monster Boy brings back what was established in 1992’s Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap. This game introduced a sprawling map to the series that gradually opens up to the player as they gain the ability to transform into different animals.

The world map, which bears a striking resemblance to the maps from Super Metroid.

Whereas games such as Dead Cells or Hollow Knight imbue the player with weapons or abilities to assist with progression through the map, Monster Boy takes this process further by asking the player to transition to an entirely different character. The player will ultimately be able to change into a total of five different animals after they have collected all of the orbs.

I already mentioned the little pig who is a long range projectile specialist as his special attack, and also a treasure sniffer. He can hit enemies from a distance during combat or trigger switches in puzzles, plus he makes the most adorable little fart every time he eats an upgrade!

Piggy doing his thing. You can switch between several different ammo types. Boomerangs must be caught if you hope to keep them.

The pig sinks like a stone underwater though, which is where the frog comes in. He is super agile below the surface, and he can use his extendable tongue to hang or pull things which become a central traversal tool later in the game. Then there is the muscular lion that represents the tank of the bunch. He can dash upwards which is particularly helpful if your jump needs a bit of extra height, or to bash through brittle walls when going sideways.

The snake specialises in sliding up and down non-horizontal surfaces which is pretty neat, but his venom-spitting attack became somewhat redundant for me towards the end of the game. The dragon… well he flies and belches out fire pretty much par for the course. It is with the dragon where Monster Boy took the oppertunity to introduce a few brutally difficult shoot-‘em-up sections against enemies in the sky.

The snake… which, for some reason, is really sticky. Then again, I have never seen a pig throw fire balls either.

Monster Boy combines all these abilities into a single, cohesive experience that results in some excellent platforming gameplay. The player can switch between characters on the fly to combine their abilities for solving puzzles, defeating bosses, or to reach secret areas. Now factor in that you can augment many of their abilities with armour or weapons, and you have gameplay with some serious potential.

Why has this water dash ability not featured in more games!? It’s awesome!

A Thing of Beauty

What will really bowl over newcomers and seasoned fans alike are, of course, the visuals. This game is so vibrant, so colourful, so vivid, that you will probably see imprints of the screen left behind on your corneas after closing your eyes.

I mentioned earlier how the gameplay is a fusion, which could also be said for the visuals. You can tell that the art style has an unmistakable Eastern foundation in character design and certain animations. Yet, there is obviously also a Western influence involved with the visual aesthetics, and they work together here in a truly slick and beautiful manner.

This game could probably fix stuck pixels in any monitor.

Monster Boy’s lively visuals have been complimented by an equally jolly soundtrack that combines upbeat, almost arcade-like tunes with the classic little sound effects from 80’s platformers when you pick up coins, run over a checkpoint, find an upgrade, etc. This game is the very auditory and visual embodiment of happiness, which, on a personal level, was a welcome contrast to the dark and sombre JRPG’s I always seem to be stuck in.

A Thing of Anger

After reading all that, you will be excused for forgetting that I actually ended up disliking Monster Boy. So let me try to elaborate on where this game lost me, and thus explain my surprise for why so many reviews actually omitted these issues upon the game’s launch on the Nintendo Switch in 2018.

The overarching problem I had with this game can only be described as Monster Boy’s tendency to repeatedly throw inconsistent difficulty spikes at the player. If you add up all the time I struggled my arse off just to get past one enemy or a particularly tricky jump, it would almost rival all the rest of the gameplay. To put it another way, Monster Boy likes to pull ‘dick moves’.

One of the many infuriating sections the game makes you fumble around in the dark. This sucks.

First off, the checkpoints are rather terrible. This means that, if you die, you will have to play entire sections over and over and over and over just to make it to the part you are actually struggling with. The repetitive nature of these moments already started sucking a lot of fun out of the experience.

On top of this, the game features some moments of awful enemy placement. For example, during one awesome level I found myself in a sloping and tilting shipwreck, which means I had to compensate for things rolling around. This was fun until I reached a simple section where there were some bats hanging from the ceiling that swoop down onto the player with their attacks.

What should have been one brief moment in a series of challenges took me nearly twenty minutes to clear because you have to jump upwards towards the bats to get past them. Unfortunately, the character is completely vulnerable during the jump animation, and it doesn’t help that the shield in the game only seems to work when it feels like it.

Two hits from the bats and you are dead, and there are four of them to get past. Did I mention you will also be placed right at THE BEGINNING of the sequence if you die? It is impossible to regard this as an engaging challenge when such moments just smack so clearly of poor level design. This was by no means an isolated incident, and I can make a long list if you like.

Doing ‘shrooms! This is the second boss.

The boss fights, on the other hand, are awesome as you will use the different animals and each one’s unique ability to conquer the huge behemoths. However, I again found myself screaming “dude, what the hell!?” after I realised this game utterly refuses to replenish your health (even after a boss fight).

Matter of fact, you will always restart with the amount of health you had when passing through the last checkpoint. This may sound like a minor gripe, especially considering that the player is given a teleport staff to reach portals near health refill shops.

Yet this is a hard sell for every single time I find my character low on health and in a sticky situation. A well-placed platforming segment or enemy encounter can still be fun even if it is extremely challenging. However, you want to play in the game, and not against the game when you start off these moments already handicapped with half your health.

Note my health in the top left corner. That is what the game gave me upon re-spawning, and to think I first approached this boss with full health.

Last issue worth mentioning is that some puzzles – particularly those that enable the player to progress – were not that great. I felt like the solution came to me through trial and error or just blind luck rather than requiring me to rack my brains. I particularly questioned why the developers deemed it wise to make the player literally feel around in the dark as an idea for certain puzzles. Like I sad, dick move.

Metroid in vain

What is so weird about Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is how these really abysmal and frustrating moments appear right in the middle of truly great segments of gameplay. Just as you start getting comfortable in the momentum of your game… your serenity comes crashing to a halt as the game throws a totally pointless curve-ball at you.

Perhaps the devs in charge of level design went on a coffee break during the final crunch for the game release date. Maybe it was the office rookies that were given the heavy lifting while the main level and gameplay designers were smoking a cigarette.

I will still give this game a recommendation because I must confess that I am not exactly good at platforming or Metroidvania games, so perhaps the fault is mine. Note, this is a very, VERY tentative recommendation, but I think this game has some truly innovative ideas that might just sustain players through moments when their molar teeth are smashing together.

Beautiful

Great platforming gameplay

Variety of locations

Boss fights are cool

Very inconsistent

Awful check point placement

Obnoxious level designs

Mediocre puzzle sections

Playtime: 21 hours total. For the single player campaign

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using Nvidia GTX 1070, i5 4690K CPU, 16GB RAM – Played using an Xbox One Controller

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