#his interactions with anna are everything that i have always loved about daniel | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

heartbreakgrill · 3 years

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Love Song; Corbyn Besson

description: yeah just some good ol’ friends to lovers 😋

Your face clenched up as the nurse swabbed your nose. The urge to sneeze came over when she tugged it out, and you quickly pulled up your mask. After a round of watery eyes and the oddest facial expression, the sneeze subsided.

“Thank you,” you told her, a laugh dancing at the edge of you tone.

Her eyes crinkled, showing the smile beneath her mask. “You’re welcome. It’ll just be a minute.”

You stood from the chair, plopping down beside Zach on the couch. He was playing on his phone, but looked up when he noticed your presence.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” He watched your hand rub at your nose over the mask.

“Uh, yeah,” you chuckled.

Zach went back to his phone and you unlocked your own, crossing a leg over the other. Soon, his name was called and he snapped off his mask. Negative.

Daniel replaced Zach in the seat beside you. You bid him hello and he said, “Hey. How are you today?”

“Was doing fine before I had to have a stick in my nose,” you giggled.

Daniel laughed as well. “Yeah, but whatever we have to do to get to celebrate.”

“New normal,” you nodded.

“Y/N!” The other nurse called out from her clipboard.

You flashed your eyebrows at Daniel and stood from the couch. Slipping your phone into your butt pocket, you walked over to the table.

“You are negative, my dear. We’re having everyone who has already been tested to stay in the kitchen.”

You took the packet of your information from the nurse, thanked them again, and joined Zach, Corbyn, and Christian in the kitchen. You slipped the pink mask in your jean jacket pocket as you took the empty bar stool next to Christian.

“Hey, guys,” you greeted.

Corbyn perked up at the sound of your voice, peaking up from his phone. He was directly across from you, leaning his chin against the ball of his palm. You glanced around at the boys, meeting his eyes over the top of his phone.

“Hey, Y/N, when did you get here?” Christian spoke, drawing your eyes away from Corbyn.

You cleared your throat and folded your hands in your lap. They were clammy now, budding heat throughout your face. His eyes.

“Like ten minutes ago. I said I was here in the group chat,” you reminded Christian.

He shrugged, “I don’t really pay attention.”

“Rip,” you laughed.

Zach and Christian went back to their conversation about the album, the only valid topic of interest for the night ahead.

You glanced back over at Corbyn, who had shifted so he could pretend like he hadn’t blushed at your presence. You sat there for a moment, contemplating saying anything at all. Ultimately you settled on tugging out your phone again.

You leaned on the counter, scrolling through people’s Instagram stories. You swiped past Why Don’t We’s shared page and fell on Corbyn’s. It was a selfie, one he took mere moments before you sat down. You flushed red, eyes gently lifting to take in how he looked right now.

His eyes.

You forced an awkward smile at the awkward eye contact, feeling...awkward.

You looked back down at your phone. It seems everyone of the boy’s friends and family members had posted about the album. Except you. You felt slightly guilty, voicing your concerns to the boys before you. Jonah and Daniel had since joined you guys in the kitchen, talking with Christian and Zach.

“No worries, Y/N. I mean, you’re here,” Jonah shrugged it off.

Zach added, “Yeah, but if you wanna post something go ahead.

“Why don’t we just take a selfie or something?” Daniel suggested, tipping his water bottle towards the phone in your hand.

“Oh, yeah. That’s good. I know it doesn’t matter, but I really want you guys to get number 1 on the charts,” you grinned sheepishly.

Jack appeared beside you, slinging on arm around your shoulder. You noticed Corbyn shift again, gulping and eyeing Jack’s arm.

“Oh, we will, Y/N, we will,” he winked at you.

You laughed loudly at his expression. “I believe in you, Jack Avery.”

He squeezed your shoulder. Everybody moved to stand around you, Corbyn ending up too far away. You tried to see where it was he was standing, just because you felt comfortable being able to see him, seeing you. But you couldn’t.

You were attempting to hold the phone out far enough to get everyone in frame, but your arm wasn’t long enough. Everybody laughed at your struggle. Jonah took the phone from you and angled it at the group. He snapped the photo and everyone dispersed.

Jonah ended up in the seat across from you, Zach next to him where he had been. Daniel, Jack, and Christian decided to start pouring drinks, since it was nearing 11 pm. Corbyn stood there for a minute, contemplating running off the edge of the world.

He settled in the seat beside you which drew your attention from your phone. You had been captioning the Instagram post, struggling to come up with something interesting.

“Hey, Corbyn,” you weakly smiled.

He smiled. “Hey.” His voice made your knees weak.

You flashed the screen at him, pushing down the red blush willing itself to paint your face. “What do you think I should caption it?”

“I don’t know,” he let out a breathy laugh, “uh, maybe a joke. Like, track 4 was written about me.”

You shared a laugh with him, happy nothing felt stuffed of weird energy for even a mere few minutes of conversation.

“That would be really funny, but probably cause some drama. How about, like, ‘dibs on Love Song?’ Because I genuinely feel like that ones gonna be so good.”

Corbyn gulped, “I wrote that one with Daniel.”

“Oh,” you breathed. “Then, I call it.”

Red cheeks all around.

You quickly posted it. Soon, the room was engulfed with music, the 3 singles the boys had released filling the air. There was a single camera on the band, standing around the kitchen island you had once been sitting at.

You stood to the side with Anna and Kay, a glass of champagne in your hand. You had since abandoned your Jean jacket, revealing the flowery, thin strapped corset that left your midrif out in the open. You felt really hot, be it because of the outfit, your sparse interactions with Corbyn, or the alcohol beginning to take hold of your bones.

See, there was something there with Corbyn, something nobody really even knew about. In fact, you didn’t even know if Corbyn himself remembered.

You had been good friends with the entire band since they moved to LA, attending concerts when you weren’t in school and hanging out constantly. Of course, as any pathetic pining story went, you’d been in love with Corbyn since you’d met him, but his heart had always belonged to Christina.

When you discovered they broke up, you felt elated for half a second. Then, he called you in tears.

“I know we’re not expectionally close, but I need somebody. The guys, they just don’t understand.l

Since that moment, you guys had been attached at the hip. Quarantine had been boring at first, terrifying, even. But, then you’d begun to spend every waking moment with Corbyn. You were the one who suggested he dye his hair black, had helped him do it. you’d gone with him when the tattoo shops opened again and helped him pick which one looked best. You’d helped them move into their new house, helped Corbyn decorate his new space. Hell, you’d even suggested a song lyric or two when laying on Corbyn’s bed, listening to him across the room on his guitar.

And then, on your birthday a few months ago, you had gotten exceptionally drunk to drown the sorrows of lusting after your best friend. When the clock struck midnight, Corbyn had already hauled down a taxi from the bar, slung your arm around his neck, cradling your waist as he tried to get you inside.

Out of nowhere, the sky began pouring buckets of rain. You fell against his chest, laughing hysterically at the ironically cliche moment. Corbyn somehow nuzzled his nose into your neck, giggling along with your drunken haze.

You pulled back gently, the closeness emitting a fierce confidence in your gut which enabled you to lean up and kiss him. He kissed you back, but when he remembered how drunk you were, he tugged away.

“I can’t do this,” he urged, but you mistook his respect for consent as rejection.

You mumbled, “But I’m in love with you.”

You didn’t remember for a few days after, what had happened that night. All you knew was you had woken up in Corbyn’s bed, his clothes on you, a headache in your head, and your dress soaking wet over the bathtub.

Then, a few days later, when you were perched on Corbyn’s bed, watching an episode of Big Mouth, he made a joke about how, “in love you are with,” him. Your eyes widened, breath hitched, and a memory pulled itself from your brain. You suddenly stood up, his arm dropping to the comforter since it had been around your shoulders.

You made some excuse about homework, though you both knew you had finished your finals the night prior. Since then, neither of you had really spoken at all.

You clenched the champagne glass between your fingers, turning them white from frustration. You felt a hand on your shoulder, turning towards Anna.

“Everything okay?” She glanced between your eyes, noticing the tears welled up there.

You sniffled and blinked the tears away. One dribbled down your cheek. You quickly wiped it away. Anna’s bottom lip jutted out in a pitiful expression and she pulled you into a hug. You wanted to collapse into her, sobbing your way through the album’s release. But, you squeezed your face shut and grabbed the composure that was running away from you.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” you tugged back and set your glass on the table beside you. You quickly strode to the bathroom, shutting it behind you.

You wiped under your eyes with a wet cloth, salvaging your eye makeup. Your eyes were still red, though, red and pupils blown up in a sad countenance.

There was a knock on the door and you tensed up. Daniel’s voice came from the other side of the door, soft and sweet.

“Y/N? Can I come in?”

You already knew he had seen you crying on Anna, and probably watched you storm away as quietly as one could when they were this upset. You were taking him away from his night and that made you feel just horrible.

“Yeah,” your voice was weak.

Daniel gently opened the door. He didn’t try to hug you or tell it was going to be okay. Instead, he cradled your face in his head, pushing the hair back from your cheeks.

“I know. You don’t have to explain or try to push me away. I just know. All I can give is the fact that we wrote these songs about our lives. These songs are personal.”

You met his eyes, swimming in the undemanding answers he was laying in front of you. “What do you mean?”

He gave a warm smile, “Corbyn got really good at songwriting. Just listen.”

You hugged Daniel quickly before shutting off the light. He slung his arm around your shoulders, guiding you back to the kitchen. Everyone counted down for midnight and soon enough, the new songs were blasting through the kitchen.

You anticipated Love Song through the entirety of Be Myself, barely paying any attention to the song that you knew Daniel wrote exclusively by himself. Soon, Daniel’s voice was dancing through the speakers in an upbeat rhythm, singing the literal love song.

Right after, Corbyn’s voice came again.

“You came out of nowhere like a hurricane.”

You perked up, holding yourself together with your arms. Daniel caught your eyes and nodded firmly. Your eyes flickered across the room and met Corbyn‘s. He’d been watching you for a while, you settled. Though his band mates and friends were dancing around the kitchen, he was solemnly drinking his own champagne. His hair was damp from the bottle Jonah had cracked open at midnight.

“Pulled me in and kissed me in the rain. And I fell for you.”

Your breath caught in your throat. You found his eyes again, your face bright red. An overwhelming grin came over you. Corbyn smiled in response, a dry chuckle shaking his shoulders. He shook his head, finally relieved.

You set down your glass again, tapping Anna on the shoulder. “I’ll be back, k?”

She squeezed your shoulder again, still feeling sympathetic. You looked to Corbyn and nodded towards the back door.

You slipped outside, taking a seat on one of the pool chairs. It was dark outside, only the light from the kitchen washing through the glass sliding doors.

You heard the doors open and close again, looking up from your shoes. You stood up, breathing in deeply. Corbyn stopped in front of you, fingers squeezing each other.

You nervously smiled up at him. “So...” you ached, “so, um, I guess I really did call track 4.”

Corbyn laughed, his hands coming around to your back. He pushed you into his chest, yours going up around his neck.

“Yeah,” his face drew back, “and it was about you.”

You grinned, pursing your lips to try and push it down. But, you were tired of pushing it all down, so you let your lips widen before landing themselves on Corbyn’s.

“You could be the one, girl you’re driving me crazy.”

#corbyn besson #corbyn besson x reader #corbyn besson imagine #Corbyn besson x y/n #Corbyn Besson imagines #why don’t we fluff #why don’t we x reader #why don’t we imagine #why don’t we #why don’t we x y/n

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taehyungs-perm · 4 years

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strawberry girl pt 4

taehyung x reader; college au; childhood best friends to lovers au; jock!fratboy taehyung

genre: fluff; major angst lol

word count: 11k

summary: i can pretend i don’t miss you. i can pretend i dont care. all i want to do is kiss you. what a shame you’re not here.

Part 1 here ; Part 2 here; part 3 here; part 5

playlist vibes

i like me better | lauv

get you | daniel caesar

japanese denim | daniel caesar

lovers | anna of the north

comfort crowd | conan gray

idontwannabeyouanymore | billie eilish

It was probably not ideal to start your morning by sobbing in the lap of your best friend, but it be like that sometimes.

Hana was softly combing the little strands of hair out of your face, “_________, it’s okay. Why are you so upset about this?”

You rolled over so you could see Hana, brushing the hair out of your face, “Because Hana, I told you what happened last time. I fell for him and it hurt me so much. I was trying so hard to avoid this.”

She looked at you with a serious look in her eyes, “__________ you can't choose what feelings you feel. But you can choose how you act. You have to tell people how you feel when you feel it. You missed that chance two years ago but you have it again now. This is a good thing. Tell Taehyung how you feel.”

You sat upright, looking at her seriously, “Hana, it’s not that simple. He probably doesn’t like me back. And if I confess and he says he doesn’t like me like that, then what? I’ve ruined our friendship over something that doesn’t even matter.”

“It does matter! Your feelings do matter. And that won’t happen. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you aren’t paying attention. He definitely likes you. Stop over thinking.”

“I’m not overthinking. If anything, I’m not thinking enough. I just should keep my mouth shut and hope this goes away.”

Hana shook her head, “What the fuck will that do? You’ll just sadly pine over him from a distance while he continues to fuck the rest of campus. Will that make you happy? Seeing him do that?”

“Hana, if Taehyung and I were meant to be, we would have been by now. But we aren’t. We are two different people and he just doesn’t see me like that.”

“And I’m telling you that he does! Even Jungkook has noticed the way Taehyung acts around you. It’s obvious to everyone but you.”

“It was just like this last time too, Hana. I thought he was so into me, but he wasn’t. He was into some other girl the whole time. It made me feel like a piece of shit. Like I was worthless and that I created this romance all in my head. I’m sick of waiting for love and I realized my life isn't anything special.”

She put her hands on your shoulders, “You have to start romanticizing your life. You have to start taking risks and do things for yourself. If you keep being afraid of what could happen, life will continue to pass you by and all the little things that make it so beautiful will continue to go unnoticed. You can’t keep wallowing in self pity. You need to do something about your life and for once not let it fuck you over. This isn’t just about Taehyung. This about how you live your life. I know you better than you think __________.You have to start thinking of yourself as the main character. You need to change your mentality of thinking you’re worthless and not enough.”

You sighed deeply, knowing everything she’s saying is so true, “I know it okay. I know it’s the fucking capitalist misogynistic society that cultivates these ideas of insecurity and women and profits off of it to create an endless cycle of ‘I don’t feel enough’. And I want to get to that point where I can feel like I’m enough on my own. But it’s hard.”

Hana pulled you into a hug, “________ I know it’s hard. I just don’t want all of your fears and insecurities to stop you from achieving your dreams and going after things you want.”

You pulled away from her, “Do you really think I should tell him?”

She nodded excitedly, “I really, really do. Tonight is the perfect chance.”

You let out a deep sigh, releasing all the pent up tension in your body, “Okay. Tonight.”

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You and Hana made your way through the somehow already crowded lodge.

“God, Jungkook is such an idiot. I told him not to invite too many people because he only has one house, but guess what?” Hana said huffing as she firmly gripped her duffle.

“What?” You were following closely behind her so as to not get stuck in the crowd.

“He somehow got permission to use his neighbor’s lodge too. As long as everything is exactly how it was. Which there’s no fucking way that’ll happen.”

You nodded in agreement. There were already too many fucking people here. But to be fair, you and Hana did arrive late. Most people arrived in the early afternoon to go skiing and tubing. You and Hana decided to catch up on homework and studying and arrived in the early evening instead. Hana ensured that both of you dressed in cute outfits because she really wanted to take photos for her Instagram.

Hana was wearing an emerald green satin tank top with black skinny jeans with black strappy heels.

You rarely wore dresses because the lack of practicality with no pockets infuriated you but Hana somehow convinced you to buy the maxi length black floral dress you were wearing. It had thin straps so you paired the dress with a black long sleeve shirt and white sneakers.

She dragged you upstairs. “Jungkook gave us this room,” Hana said, taking you down the hall.

“Us?” You asked snarkily.

“Okay, in theory I’m supposed to stay in this room with you.”

“But?”

“But...I’ll stay with Jungkook and Jungkook’s roommate will stay here.”

You already knew where this was going and you felt your anxiety growing. You rubbed your temples, “Don’t tell me..”

“Taehyung said he’s perfectly okay with it so...”, she said through a large grin.

“Hana, I told you. I just-”

“And I told you! He likes you too! This is your chance. Your opportunity!! You two are so cute together. You just need to talk to him about your feelings,” she said pushing you into the room. Thankfully, there were two beds. You felt like you couldn’t handle another night next to Taehyung. You might literally have a heart attack, feeling his body that close to yours again.

“I don’t know Hana. I don’t know if tonight is the right time,” you said, setting your duffle bag on your bed.

You were about to continue before you heard a knock on the door. At the doorway was Taehyung and Jungkook, the causes of your incoming migraine.

Jungkook walked over to Hana and enveloped her in a big hug. “I missed you, love,” he said as he kissed her forehead.

“Miss you too,” Hana mumbled from his embrace.

Your heart yearned with longing at this interaction. How you so badly you wanted someone to love you. How so badly you wanted Taehyung to love you back. You then remembered that he was in fact standing right in front of you.

You smiled awkwardly at him. His fluffy curly hair was covering his eyes a bit. He was dressed in a somewhat sheer black floral shirt tucked into black skinny jeans. He looked like a model. He waved recognizing that you were a bit uncomfortable.

Jungkook, still with Hana in his embrace, left the room, saying something about how she needed to see the beer pong table in the basement.

“Hey,” Taehyung said casually, leaning against the door entrance.

You felt your heart beating fast. God, did he always make you this uneasy?

“Hi,” you squeaked. Oh my god. Why are you acting like this? Can't you just be chill?

He laughed, “Are you okay?”

Be chill. Act normal. “I’m fine. Just tired. I was at the library since you left this morning.” You were trying to distract yourself as you started unpacking some things from your duffle. He walked over and sat on your bed next to your duffle.

“Hmm. Seems like we’ll be spending another night together,” he said, grinning wickedly.

Your cheeks reddened at his words. You cleared your throat, ”Well, you’ll be sleeping in your own bed. So not really.” You continued to take out items from your bag, so you didn’t have to make eye contact with him.

He angled his face in front of your bag so you had to look at his doe eyes, “Oh really. It’s just that after last night, I don’t know if I can sleep without you next to me again. By the way, I usually sleep shirtless.”

You immediately felt your face flush and the textbook that you were holding (you brought it just in case you got bored) slipped from your hands, thudding loudly on the wooden floor.

He gave you an infuriating smile as he leaned down and picked up your textbook.

“Sure everything is fine?” He said handing you the book.

“I’m perfectly fine! We should go downstairs,” you said hastily as you set the book on the bed.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said standing up.

“Wait lemme fix my hair,” you said glancing in a mirror. It looked like you just woke up. Which to be fair, you kinda did sleep the entire way to the lodge.

You undid your braid and pulled it into a ponytail. You turned to him and he frowned.

“What?” You said, feeling self conscious.

He walked over to you and pulled the hair tie out of your hair, “I like it when your hair is down.” He secured your dark pink scrunchie around his wrist.

Your heart fluttered. Wait, did that mean he didn’t like when your hair was styled in other ways?

He pulled your hand and gave you that contagious smile, “I know what you’re thinking. I do think you look good in different hair styles. I like it when you wear braids or ponytails. But you rarely wear your hair down. I want you to know that I like that too.”

You looked down at the wooden flooring, trying to hide your smile, “Fuck off. I could care less what you think.”

“Ayy, there’s my girl. Now c’mon you look pretty let’s go!” Taehyung said, leading you down the stairs.

It seemed like time had no concept here as everyone was drinking and dancing as if it were midnight. Taehyung led you to the basement where there were somehow even more people. The colored lights were flashing and the music was blaring.

You found your friends sitting on the couches towards the back. Hana was sitting on Jungkook's lap next to Yoongi and Hobi. Even though you technically came with him, Taehyung’s presence was making you overly jittery so you opted to sit in the free seat next to Jimin. He gave you a cheerful smile and you tried not to look at Taehyung as he sat opposite of you two. Hana glared at you in frustration when she saw your seat choice. You responded by flipping her off and turned to talk to Jimin.

Your conversation with Jimin was cut off by Jungkook exclaiming, “Okay, let’s play truth or dare.”

Hana scoffed, “Are you kidding Jungkook? That game is for children.”

“Not the way we play it,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

You immediately shook your head, “I’ll sit this out.”

Jimin whined at you, “Cmon ________ you have to play.”

You shook your head, laughing, “In your fucking dreams.”

Jimin stroked his chin with his hand, thinking hard, “You have to play otherwise...”

Hana chimed in, “Otherwise I’ll hide your textbooks.”

You narrowed your eyes at her, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me bitch” Hana said with a smirk.

You sighed, giving up because you knew she actually would do it, “Fine but if it starts getting fucking weird I’m leaving.”

The dares got weird pretty fast.

Jin was dared to lick whipped cream off of Yoongi's leg. Hobi and Namjoon were dared to go skinny dipping in the pool. Taehyung had to sit on Namjoon’s lap for the rest of the round. Jungkook revealed almost too many truths about himself, talking about his fantasy threesomes and his kinks. Hana was dared to do body shots off of Jungkook (she seemed a little too excited for that). Jimin was dared to remove his shirt for the rest of the game.

Luckily you had only been asked two times and chosen truth both times. Namjoon and Hobi were nice enough to ask questions that weren’t too exposing. However, things started going downhill once it was Hana’s turn again. You swore you saw her eyes glitter with mischievousness.

“_________, You already used up your two truths, right?”

Fuck, you forgot about the two truths only rule.

Jimin piped up, “Yep! She did.”

God, fuck Park Jimin for being such a boy scout. You nodded weakly. Your heart started to pound. You knew she was going to say something stupid. You uneasily glanced over at Taehyung. He had been suspiciously quiet to you all night, but you also were actively avoiding him.

Hana cleared her throat, making sure to get everyone’s attention, “Okay so _________ I dare you,” she smiled widely and you knew you were fucked, “I dare you to make out with Taehyung.”

Your mouth gaped open. She didn’t. You looked at Taehyung and his face was almost as shocked as yours.

You chuckled nervously, side eyeing Taehyung, “No, no.”

Taehyung spoke softly, “Nah she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.”

Jungkook laughed loudly, clearly having a great time at the expense of your misery, “It’s the rules. She has to. Other people had to do way worse tonight.”

You felt your face heating up and your heart was beating faster with anxiety.

Jimin was trying to help the situation, “How about they go in the guest room so it won’t be as awkward.”

Hana pondered this for a moment, “You have to send a picture then. We need evidence that you guys actually kissed.”

You tried protesting but Jimin physically pulled you off the couch while Hobi did the same to Taehyung.

“Guys, guys, how about you give me another dare? I promise I’ll do that one. Just give me a pass,” you pleaded as Jimin dragged you to the guest room.

Your pleas went unheard as Jimin and Hobi pushed you and Taehyung into the guest room with the rest of your friends following behind. Once Jungkook slammed the door close, you tried pressing against the door but it wouldn’t budge. You sighed and dropped to the ground.

“C'mon guys just let us out,” Ttaehyung tried to say in a serious voice, leaning against the door.

“Kiss and then we will let you out,” Jungkook shouted through the door.

Taehyung ran his hands through his hair and sat next to you, “We can just wait it out. They’ll let us out eventually.”

You nodded and buried your face in your hands. Then you heard chanting outside the room “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Oh my god, I’m going to literally murder Hana. I am not going to do this right now.

He leaned next to you and whispered quietly, “I know you don’t wanna do this so let’s just sit here and wait. It’s okay, don’t let what they are saying get to you.”

You looked at him and felt your heart swell. God, you were so in love with him.

The best you could hope for was that they get tired and give up. However, It had been like 10 minutes and the chants were still going strong

You looked at him, desperate, “What the fuck do we do?”

He chuckled nervously, “Um...we could kiss?”

You looked at him. You could but this isn’t what you wanted. You wanted him to want you because he liked you, not because of some game.

You felt your anxiety come to a point where it was overwhelming and you weren’t thinking properly so you said rather forcefully, “No!”

His puppy dog eyes lost its spark. He dropped his head, “Oh.. ok. I know you think I’m really annoying or whatever but I didn’t think you hated me.” He sounded hurt.

You groaned, shutting your eyes in frustration, “Ugh it’s not like that.” God, he was totally misinterpreting the whole situation.

Taehyung looked at you, clearly confused, “Then what is it like? Cause it seems like you’re so repulsed by the idea of kissing me.”

Then without thinking, you frustratingly yelled, “Oh my god, I just don’t want it to happen like this!”

Your eyes widened in realization of what you said.

You began to stumble out your words, “I mean like I just think it’s weird because we are so platonic and like it’s weird and I think we can forget everything I just said.”

Your words were becoming a train wreck and you couldn’t watch the disastrous scene unfolding in front of you.

He stared at you, wide eyed. He leaned his head against the wall, completely silent.

Oh my god, I need to fucking get out. You looked around the room and saw a small window at the top of the opposite wall, next to the bed. Bingo.

You glanced over at Taehyung. He was on his phone, texting. He probably thinks I’m a fucking psycho.

You tightened the laces on your shoes and walked over to the dresser next to the bed. You climbed on top of the dresser and then you pushed on the window hard. It creaked open

You heard Taehyung's voice behind you, “_________, what the fuck are you doing?”

“I just need some fresh air you know. I just need to do this really fast.” You pushed the window fully open and you felt the cool air of the night press against your face

You were able to reach your arms through the window and once you got a good grip on the grass, you began to hoist yourself up.

“_________! What are you doing?” You couldn’t look back at Taehyung, but he sounded very confused and shocked.

“Um I just really need to go. I'm feeling so claustrophobic,” you struggled the words out as you pushed yourself through the window. Once one of your legs made it through, you began crawling out the window, “Ow! Why are there so many fucking rocks?”

You hadn’t realized that while you were struggling to crawl out the window, Taehyung had shouted to your friends on the other side of the door about your antics.

You heard voices fill up the room and Hana’s voice yell, “_________ get the fuck down here! You could get hurt! What are you doing?”

Great, this is exactly how I wanted the night to go. But it was too late, you were already more than halfway out.

“It’s fine.” You shouted back, “I’m okay!”

You exclaimed a cheer of victory once you were able to make it through the fucking window. You stood up and looked down at your clothes. Your dress was caked in mud. This is so great. Your life was a fucking mess.

You looked around and realized you were by the pool. You desperately hoped none of your friends would come up looking for you. You dusted off the dirt from your dress and walked around the pool. You walked into the kitchen and breathed out a sigh of relief when you didn’t recognize anyone there. Then you heard Taehyung’s familiar voice and immediately ducked behind the kitchen island.

You glanced up and sighed when you saw him with Jennie. She was smiling and had her arm wrapped around his neck. He was keeping his distance with him trying to pull her arm away from her. You didn’t wanna stick around any longer because you were worried you would see something that would upset you. You made your way back to your room upstairs.

Obviously seeing Taehyung with Jennie hurt you, but what could you do? They had history, real history and you were simply Taehyung's friend. How could someone like you ever complete with someone like Jennie? You loved Taehyung but how could that even compare what Jennie could offer him. He said to you that he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, just sex and Jennie was giving him exactly that. It was so fucking stupid of you to think you could confess to him.

Once you got to your room, you changed into black sweatpants and a simple gray tee shirt. You grabbed a towel and headed to the empty hot tub in the back of the house.

Finally a spot where there’s no one and where no one will find me.

You rolled up your pants and soaked your legs in the hot water. You pulled out your phone and started reading the new book you started this week, Malcom X’s autobiography.

It felt really relaxing and peaceful to simply be by yourself for a while. Being social situations always drained you out a lot. You became so absorbed in your reading that you didn’t notice Taehyung walking up to the hot tub.

“Hey strawberry girl,” he said right into your ear.

You got startled by his closeness, almost dropping your phone, “Oh my god, you’re so annoying.”

“So...what happened? Why the fuck did you crawl out of a window?” He asked, concerned

The million fucking dollar question. Time to play it off chill. “I dunno. It just got kinda overwhelming. I told you I was getting claustrophobic.”

You obviously couldn’t tell him you were so fucking afraid of your feelings toward him and how you couldn’t possibly kiss him (game or not) because he most likely doesn’t like you back.

Luckily, he didn’t press further “Yea, it’s actually really nice and quiet out here. Can I sit with you here?”

You nodded and he sat next to you, not dipping his feet in the water.

“I’m so fucking sore from all the practices and games this week,” Taehyung said, stretching his shoulder.

“You should get in the hot tub. It'll relax and soothe your muscles,” you said still reading on your phone, not looking up at him.

He stood up, “That’s a good idea.”

You assumed he would agree and then go and grab his swim trunks. Except Taehyung didn’t do that.

You heard a light clanking noise and looked up at him. He was taking off his belt and unzipping his pants right in front of you. You felt your entire face redden, mortified at what he was doing, “Taehyung. what are you doing?” You said averting your gaze.

“I’m getting in the hot tub?”

“Go and get your swim shorts!”

“Nah, fuck that. Don’t worry _________, I’m not going in nude.”

Thank god. You don’t know what you would’ve done if he decided to do that.

You peeked at him from the corner of your eyes. He was wearing blue boxers and he was unbuttoning his floral shirt. He luckily was wearing a black short sleeve shirt underneath. He had really nice calves, tanned and well defined.

Taehyung stepped into the hot tub and let out a deep moan. Your face reddened at the sound.

Then, your eyes met. Then, all while giving you a deep stare, Taehyung reached behind his neck to pull his shirt off. You felt your face flush even further. He has to know what he’s doing to me. He has to know that he’s riling me up with all of these moves.

You gulped at the sight of his prominent collar bones and honey colored skin. You tore your eyes away from him and tried to concentrate on your book.

It didn’t work because Taehyung's suspiciously quiet presence unnerved you.

You set your phone done and raised your eyebrows at him, “What?”

“What? I haven’t said anything”

“Exactly. You’re being quiet. Which is weird.”

“You said you liked how peaceful it was out here. So I wanted to let you enjoy it.”

“Whatever. It’s weird when you're quiet,” you sloshed your legs in the water.

“_________?” Taehyung wasn’t looking at you anymore, he was staring at the water.

“Yea,”

“Why haven’t you had a boyfriend?”

Ouch.

“Why are you asking me that?” you said a bit hurt.

“I didn’t mean it to come off as mean. I’m just curious. Because, I don’t know, you say you want love. But did you go after it?”

“Why are you thinking of that?”

“Well, cause I dunno. I never thought about love. Or getting a girlfriend. But on the way here Namjoon hyung and Jungkook were just talking about how great it is. Being in love and having someone to love. And someone loving you back. And Jin hyung said he has met someone as well but he’s keeping it lowkey. And then you talked about how you want love too. That’s why you’ve waited. I know you've had crushes. But I don’t know why you haven’t gone for it yet. Or why you haven’t had a boyfriend yet.”

You stared at your feet in the water. He wasn’t trying to be mean. He just wanted to know about your life. You felt like you should be more honest with taehyung. He was always so genuine with you.

“I don’t know Taehyung. There’s so many reasons.”

“What are they?”

You gave a cold laugh, “No one has ever liked me like that. So there’s that. Then I’m scared. I’m scared of opening up to someone and they leave me. I talk a lot of shit I guess for someone who has never been in a relationship. I want love but I guess I realized love doesn’t come without heartbreak. So that’s what scares me. But I guess it’s fun to romanticize something that’ll never happen for me.”

“What are you talking about? Are you saying you’ll never fall in love?”

“I’m saying no one will ever love me like that. So I can say whatever I want about wanting love and a boyfriend. Because that won’t happen.”

He looked at you, astonished, “________ what the fuck? Are you being for real?”

You exhaled deeply. You knew he wouldn’t get it. Taehyung has never been in your situation. He’s always been wanted, adored, loved. You’ve never experienced anything like that.

“Yes Tae. I’m being serious. I’m not really looking for sympathy or anything because I’ve accepted it but I know guys don’t really like me. I know why, but I’m not going to change myself for a guy. It’s just the facts are there, Taehyung. I’m almost twenty and no guy has ever been interested in me. So it’s just whatever now. It’s kinda blessing though. I can just focus on school and not get distracted or sidetracked by any guy.”

He scooched over time where your legs were dangling. He held your hand that was planted firmly against the concrete.

“________ please don’t think like that. You deserve love. Stop saying that you don’t. And you will find it. I promise you. I don’t know why you think guys don’t like you but I swear, you are literally perfect the way you are and I’m so glad you didn’t change for anyone. Your strawberry boy is out there. And he’s probably the most perfect guy to exist.”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes. Your strawberry boy did exist. And he was the one holding your hand. You didn’t want anyone else. You wanted him. You wanted Kim Taehyung.

You reflexively made a joke, just to move away from the fact that you were about to cry over his words, “I guess. You’ll have to beat his ass if he doesn’t like strawberries tho”

Taehyung laughed, “Don’t worry. I’m always here to beat anyone’s ass for you.”

He rested his back against the edge and looked up into the night sky.

“So... are you into Jennie? Is that why you’re thinking about love and girlfriends?” you asked cautiously. You honestly had no idea why you asked this question. You didn’t even want to know the answer.

“Haha no. It’s just...I dunno I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I’ve always said I didn’t want a girlfriend but I don’t even know why I’ve had that mentality. But now.. I think I want that.”

“Want what?”

“That closeness, that dependability, that love”

“Then what’s stopping you?”

“The right girl I guess.”

You winced at those words. Were you not the right girl?

Trying to distract yourself, you pressed further, “I mean you dated Yeji did that not count?”

“No, it counted. But our relationship was definitely highschool. It wasn’t....deep I guess. The way Jungkook talks about Hana...I know I never felt that in my relationship with Yeji.”

“I’m sure you can find a girl who makes you feel like that.” You hadn’t meant for that to come out as sneakily as it did.

He chuckled, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well...you’re literally the most adored boy on campus. And Jennie really wants to date you. So it’s not like you don’t have options,” you said truthfully.

“Yea, but none of that matters,” he said, sighing.

You gave him a quizzical look.

He continued, “If I’m going to date a girl, I want to be friends with her first. I want to fall for her. And then I want to date her. I don’t want to be unsure of my feelings for her.”

Friends first? We’re friends. Could this...no. Taehyung and I have been friends for so long. If he had caught feelings, he would’ve said so by now.

You kicked your legs in the water, sad because it just seemed this talk with Taehyung just showed you to your face that he didn’t like you.

You spoke softly, “That’s a good idea. No point in wasting anyone’s time.”

“Exactly.” He stretched his arms out, “Aren’t you going to get in the water?”

You shook your head no

“C’mon, get in. It feels so good.”

You continued to shake your head, “I didn’t bring swim clothes.”

“I’m not in wwim clothes,” he said, looking down at himself.

“If you think that I’m going to go in the hot tub in my underwear, you’re fucking insane,” you said cackling. There was actually no fucking way in hell you would ever do that even if it was your own hot tub, much less with Kim Taehyung right in front of you.

“Okay, just come in with your clothes on.”

“Tae I literally didn’t bring clothes for this. These are the only pajamas I have.”

He pulled your arm and your legs slipped into the water, your pants getting soaked.

“Taehyung!” You exclaimed, shocked at what he just did.

“I have clothes here, you can wear mine. Now please, relax for a goddamn second” he said, laughing.

You narrowed your eyes at him and flipped him off, “I can’t believe you did that.”

He was still laughing and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

You eased your back against the wall of the hot tub, your shoulder touching Taehyung. You didn’t know if your body was heating up because of the water or because of how close Taehyung was.

He perked up, his eyes dancing with excitement, “Guess what?”

“What?” You couldn’t help but feel endeared at his cuteness.

“I finished the second season of Avatar!”

“For real? Oh my god. Wasn’t the ending insane?”

“Bro it was fucking insane. I can’t believe Zuko sided with Azula. And I can’t believe she shot lightning at Aang! That was crazy,” He ranted ecstatically.

You and Taehyung had given each other anime recommendations since you both were looking for new ones to watch.

He rambled on, “I don’t get why you’re in love with Zuko. Like he literally betrayed his uncle, the one dude who was on his side. Maybe for a minute when they were in Ba Sing Se when he was a cute tea shop boy, I understood, but now?”

“Patience Taehyung. You’ll understand soon enough. He’s just lost and confused okay? He just needs someone on his team.”

“Ugh whatever I guess. I’m still not convinced.”

You shook your head, he would understand once he finished the show.

Then you remembered his recommendation, “I’m almost done with the first season of My Hero Academia.”

“Bet. Isn’t it good? Who’s your favorite character?”

“It is good. I like seeing Class 1A interact with each other. They are all so angsty teens, it’s so funny. Umm it would be a tie between Todoroki and Bakugou.”

He looked shocked, “Bakugou? You like him?”

“Yes okay! I believe in him. He just is confused. I'm rooting for him. I think he’s a sweet boy.”

Taehyung shook his head disappointed, “Do you just like all the broken boy characters?”

You opened your mouth to retort something back but couldn’t come up with anything. He was right, you really did love the broken boy arc. It was just the fact that you desperately wanted to help them and show them the love they deserved. Your eyes caught Taehyung and you couldn’t help but feel the same way. You wanted to be the girl that gave him those feelings of real love, to be a real girlfriend to him.

You and Taehyung continued to talk for a while until you realized you two were probably in the hot tub for way too long.

Wrapped in your towels, you and Taehyung trudged upstairs, shivering from the cold.

Taehyung dropped you off to your room and mentioned that he would be back with clothes. You sat on your bed, buzzing with a warm feeling. Even though the voice at the back of your head was doubting every moment, telling you that Taehyung doesn’t like you like that, you couldn’t help but hold a feeling of hopefulness. He was here, with you right? Didn’t that count for something?

He came back, dressed in shorts and a black t-shirt, clutching clothes for you.

You took it from his hand and went to the bathroom to change. You smiled when you saw he brought your favorite sweater of his, the soft gray one, for you to wear. His pants were obviously way too large but you managed to fold up the pant legs so you weren’t drowning in his clothing.

Taehyung was laying on your bed, stretched out scrolling through his phone. He sat up when he heard the bathroom door open and grinned, “You look so cute wearing my clothes.”

“Shut up,” you said trying to hide your smile.

You walked around the room and noticed the glass double doors between the beds opened. You pushed open the doors and the coldness of the night sent shivers up your spine. You walked over to the edge and rested your elbows on the railing.

The back of your mind was still spinning with Hana’s voice, “Just tell him how you feel!” But you couldn’t do that. There was just too much you were risking: your friendship with Taehyung, your heart.

You tried to calm your waves of nausea and anxiety by taking deep breaths. Was this even worth it? You looked up at the night sky and saw the moon above your head. You sighed, your gaze fixating on a dim star by the bright moon. It actually was quite a beautiful night. It was quiet, a comfortable temperature warm with a light breeze, and the stars amplified the moon's beauty.

You heard Taehyung's voice behind you, “Damn jungkook really gave us the best room.”

You turned your head and saw Taehyung's boxy smile leaning against the railing right next to you. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw him. You immediately turned your head back to the star.

“Maybe he felt bad for making Hana ditch me,” you smirked.

He gave you a teasing smile, “C’mon ________ you didn’t want another night with the most handsome guy on campus?”

“And you wonder why I don’t shower you in compliments like everyone else on this fucking planet,” you said shaking your head.

“It’s ok. I don’t need the verbal confirmation from you. I know what you think of me.”

You glanced over at him, “And what’s that?”

“Even though you find me annoying, you also undeniably find me endearing. And you also think I’m hot.”

Your jaw dropped in shock at his words, “You’re so fucking full of it.”

He leaned in and brushed away the strand of hair covering your eyes, “Deny all you want but I know it. I can see it in your eyes.”

“My eyes?” you said, scoffing at his ridiculousness.

“Yep, your eyes give away everything.”

“Oh really? What else do they give away?” You said playing along with his game.

“They give away that you definitely don’t know how beautiful you look right now.”

You rolled your eyes. He exclaimed, “See! Right there. You don’t know that. I got that fr-“

You interrupted, chuckling lightly, “From my eyes, right? You’re so full of shit. I bet you use that line on all of the other girls.”

“What other girls?” he said innocently.

Taehyung was definitely something, creating his own understanding of you, pinpointing things you didn’t even notice about yourself. He looked at you, his big puppy dog eyes glittering in the moonlight, his fluffy curly hair ruffled by the soft breeze of the night. Everything about him made your heart ache with want.

He cleared his throat, grabbing your attention, “_________ why did you climb out the window? You weren’t getting claustrophobic in a bedroom.”

Oh, so he didn’t believe your answer. You tried to answer as calmly as possible, trying to not let your nerves show, “Um..I just didn’t wanna play the game anymore.”

“What did you mean by when you said ‘I don’t want it to happen like this?’ ”

Oh fuck he didn’t forget you said that. You dropped your head, desperately not wanting to make eye contact with him, “Huh? I don’t remember saying that.”

“Well, when I asked why you didn’t want to kiss me you said that.”

“I think you misheard. I said ‘nope not this’ ”

He said in complete disbelief, “I misheard? With you standing right in front of me?”

“Yep. It’s okay. You should go see a doctor about it though.” You quickly tried to divert his attention, “The stars are really beautiful tonight.”

Luckily, he seemed to understand that you were obviously not answering his questions.

“Guess which star is my favorite?” his head tilting in the direction of the night sky.

You laughed, “I don’t know. There’s so many out there.”

“Just guess. I have one that’s my favorite.”

“I don’t know. I guess that one” you said pointing to the brightest star in the sky. It was quite far from the moon.

“Nope. Try again”

“Taehyung, I’m never going to guess it. I give up, just tell me.”

“That one.” He said pointing in an area near the moon.

You tried pointing it out with your own finger, “That one?”

He leaned over and placed his hand over yours and guided it in the right direction. He looked at the star for a second and then looked at you “That one.”

You were fixated on the star and when he pulled your hand in the right direction, you realized he was talking about the star you had been staring at the whole night. You turned your head to exclaim to him the coincidence and you found his head only inches away from yours.

The words got stuck in your throat. His jet black eyes were staring into your soul.

“That star is my favorite because it’s the most beautiful. It might not be the flashiest star out there and it’s trying to be hidden in the brightness of the moonlight but I see it. And I think it’s the most beautiful star in the entire night sky. “

You realized you had been staring into his eyes for too long. He took both your hands that you hadn’t realized were trembling and enveloped them in his.

You were panicking. Your heart was beating insanely fast . Your palms felt sweaty. You tried to back away from Taehyung, pulling your hands away. You took a couple small steps back.

He doesn’t like me. He doesn’t want me. Why would he ever kiss me? I’m not even half as pretty as Jennie. You needed to get yourself out of this situation before you get your hopes up and it fucked you over completely.

Your thoughts were interrupted by your arm being tugged back in his direction. You spun into Taehyung's arms and he caught you in his embrace.

His hands were placed firmly on your waist and your arms were wrapped around his neck. You never realized how tall he was. You were on your tippy toes and you still had to crane your neck slightly to clearly see his face. Tilting downwards, his face was centimeters from yours. His eyes were sparkling with a mischievous glint and he was smiling.

It felt like your whole heart was going to explode.

What the fuck? Why did he do that? Is he not completely revolted by me?

You were attempting to speak the thoughts running through your mind but your brain had completely stopped functioning the second you got a whiff of his cologne. Your mouth was just slightly open trying to breathe because you truly were so confused as to what was happening.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

The only thing you could manage was a small, shy nod.

Then his soft lips molded against yours. You closed your eyes as you felt your brain short circuit. The way his lips pressed against yours for the first time didn’t feel like electricity struck you. Instead, it felt comforting. It felt like home: his embrace, his lips, his hands on you. Like this was always meant to be. He tasted like strawberry chapstick and spearmint His right hand crept up to the side of your face

and cupped your cheek. Your breath hitched. Taehyung tilted his head at an angle to open your mouth further.

You took this opportunity to push away for a second and breathe. “Taehyung,” you breathed out.

“Shut the fuck up,” he pulled you back into a needy kiss. His plushy lips sucked on your bottom lip and you moaned for a second. Your cheeks reddened at the sound you made.

“That was so fucking hot,” he said in a shaky whisper. Your hands shift from his neck into his curls, balancing on your toes. You tugged on his curls, pulling his head closer to yours, something you’ve daydreamed about. He cupped your face and brought you even closer to him. the kisses became deeper, more fervent. As if he couldn’t get enough of you.

Your mouth opened in response. He took this opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. His tongue gilded against yours. It was better than you ever imagined, better than you hoped, the feel of him; it was making you lose your fucking mind.

One of Taehyung's hands remained at your waist and the other moved to the small of your back, pushing the front of your chest onto his.

It seemed like time had stopped. Once you realized you were completely breathless, you pulled away. You were breathing very hard, your heart hammering, and your mind completely numb. He placed two more soft, sweet kisses on your lips. His pupils were completely blown out and his hair was a fluffy mess.

He breathed out, shakily “This is what you meant right?”

Before you could say anything, you heard a knock on the glass door.

“Hey, Taehyung, we need you downstairs.” Jungkook’s head poked out the door.

Tae’s eyes looked apologetic when he looked at you.

“I’ll be there in a sec,” he called to Jungkook

You were still kinda breathless. His hands were pressing into your hips as if he didn’t want to let go.

He leaned in and kissed your cheek softly. He whispered in your ear, and you felt a shiver trace down your spine, “I’ll see you soon.”

You nodded and he nuzzled your neck for a second, his lips barely grazing the mole on your neck.

He slowly let go of your hips, his hands skimming your elbows and then your hands.

You watched him leave as your legs wobbled beneath you. You stood there, in complete shock as to what happened. Your whole body was buzzing, your arms covered in goosebumps, chills from what just happened.

A cold burst of wind finally snapped you out of whatever trance Taehyung put you in. You softly closed the glass doors behind you as you re-entered your room. You laid down in your bed with a stupid grin that you couldn’t get rid of. You curled up into a ball and relaxed against the pillows. For the first time in a long time, you fell asleep with no thoughts of insecurity or worry plaguing your mind.

You slowly opened your eyes and felt a familiar weight on you. You carefully looked behind you and saw once again Taehyung completely enveloping you in his embrace. His body heat felt so inviting and comfortable. Your face heated up when you saw he was indeed true to his word and was in fact sleeping shirtless with you. You grabbed your phone and saw a text from Hana.

Hana: leave by 10:30?

You: yep

It was almost 10:30 so you shifted in the bed to get up. Almost immediately, Taehyung pulled you back and whined sleepily, “Where are you going? Sleep with me.”

You giggled at his cuteness, “I have to go. Hana is waiting for me. And I have to get shit done today.”

He nuzzled himself in the crook of your neck, “Okayy. My smarty pants girl has to study.”

My girl? Does that mean...? No, he used to say stuff like that before. God, you and Taehyung really did need to talk about whatever this was. But for once in your life, you didn’t feel insecure. He must like you somewhat, right? He kissed you. That has to have meant something. You slid your hands against his broad chest, tracing his well defined muscles, “Yea, I do. But you can text me once you get back to campus. You should sleep in for now.”

He nodded and lifted his head from your shoulder. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on your cheek. You couldn’t hide the smile that was blooming on your face from him.

You packed up your stuff, got ready, headed downstairs after saying bye to Taehyung.

You texted Hana to let her know that you were ready to go. You sat on the empty couch in the living room, patiently waiting for her to join you. You were scrolling through Instagram when you heard a petite “ahem” in front of you. You looked up and saw an overly cheerful Jennie in front of you.

“Hi _________!” She said planting herself in the seat next to you.

“Hey Jennie,” Why the fuck is she talking to me?

“So, Taehyung was with you last night?”

“Uh ya,”

“So how was it?”

You wrinkled your eyes in confusion, not understanding her question, “How was what?”

She squealed, “The sex silly! How was it? It was your first time right? That’s such a big deal. Can’t believe you let taehyung be your first! You know he doesn’t get feelings for the girls he fucks right?”

You opened your mouth to say something but she kept going, not stopping once to take a breath, “Oh my god, wasn’t it so good though? I mean actually it might not have been that good since it was your first time but Taehyung is so caring, especially when it comes to sex. And oh my god, isn’t his dick so big? I know I shouldn’t really talk about that but since you guys hooked up I can talk to you about it. But his dick is so huge like you don’t even know since you haven’t been with other people. I’m honestly so surprised you guys fucked though. Like Taehyung usually likes girls with experience. And I guess girls who are...more into the party scene. Like it’s totally cool that you are into school but you're just like not really his type. But it’s okay because you guys fucked so his type might have changed, but I seriously doubt it. Anyways, I’m rambling. So tell me how it was!”`

You blinked a couple times to fully process every word she said. Every single feeling of insecurity that you thought had disappeared came rushing back into your mind.

What the fuck. What the fuck was I thinking. I never even told him I liked him. And he never told me. Taehyung is a fuckboi; he doesn’t catch feelings. He could have just kissed me because he was bored or some shit. Why would he trade a relationship with an average looking girl like me for fucking hot girls every weekend. I’m so stupid, what was I thinking!

You took a deep breathe and gave her a smile, “We didn’t fuck. We aren’t together. “

“Oh. Well. Then like girl to girl, I just wanted to let you know that Taehyung and I will probably be together officially very soon.”

You raised your eyebrows at this comment, trying to stifle a laugh, “Does he know this?”

Jennie looked offended but before she could ramble on again Hana texted you that she was outside. You immediately got up and headed to her car.

She squealed, “Soo what happened last night?”

You tried to act nonchalant, “uh, nothing much. We kissed.”

She almost crashed the car when you said that.

Hana berated you with questions and you gave her the sparknotes of what happened, including Jennie’s weird little monologue in the living room. Hana was almost in tears when you recapped the embarrassing moment of you crawling out a window so you didn’t have to kiss Taehyung. She apologized for her stupidity in suggesting that dare but she insisted you needed the push.

You told Hana how you were feeling, especially how unsure and insecure you felt about the situation with Taehyung. She agreed that it was definitely unclear because neither one of you actually said the words “I like you” to each other.

You and Hana came up with the plan thay the next time you were to hang out with Taehyung alone, you were going to confess.

You only piped up the courage to do so because Hana made the convincing argument that Taehyung must like you back.

However, once you returned to campus, the entire week, you were absorbed with finals and studying. Because of this, you and Taehyung were unable to find time to peacefully spend with each other. Also, your finals were finished a day earlier than Taehyung’s, so you went home early.

This proved to be working against you as with all the free time at home was only more time for you to worry and overthink about Taehyung. Then, once again you were back to avoiding Taehyung and his messages because you were too scared to actually tell him how you felt.

Tae: hey. just got home last night. wanna hang out?

Tae: ???

Tae: ur so annoying u don’t even have school what could u be doing

Tae: im literally going to come over i live in ur neighborhood in case u forgot

You didn’t think he would actually follow through but Taehyung did indeed ring your doorbell that evening. You pressed your ear against your bedroom door to hear the conversation between Taehyung and your mom.

You heard his deep voice, “Hello Mrs._________. How are you doing?”

You rolled your eyes at your mother's overly cheery voice, “I’m doing good, Taehyung. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. You’ve grown up so much!”

“Yes it has been awhile. I’m glad that _________ and I are good friends again. Speaking of __________, is she home? I tried texting her but she didn’t respond. Is she alright?”

“Oh, you’re so sweet! She is feeling a bit under the weather. She’s barely left her room since she’s come home. I’ll let her know that you stopped by.”

“That would be great. It was nice seeing you again Mrs. _________.”

“You too Taehyung. You should come over more often! I know _________ missed you a lot.”

Ugh god, your mom was embarrassing you.

“Of course I’ll try to stop by once _________ gets back to me. Bye!”

You heard the door close and you groaned. You had to face Taehyung soon.

Your mom ended up coming to your room and went on and on about how Taehyung was such a nice boy. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. That’s what he needs, more praise.

You laid on your bed, trying to fall asleep but of course it didn’t come easily. As you were trying to focus on the white noise, you realized you kept on getting distracted by a loud pitter patter sound. You got up and heard the sound coming from your window. You walked over and peered out your window.

“You have got to be fucking with me right now” you said, rubbing your temples.

There was Taehyung, standing outside, throwing pebbles at your window.

You opened your window, the cool air immediately giving you goosebumps.

You yelled in a hushed tone, “What are you fucking doing?”

His body smile immediately lit up, “Hey strawberry girl.”

“Taehyung, are you stupid? What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I’m here to see why the fuck you’re ignoring me.”

“I’m uh sick,” you gave two fake coughs, hoping he would be convinced. He was not.

“Cmon _________ I know when you’re lying.”

You heard some clatter coming from downstairs. Fuck. Your parents would be pissed if they saw taehyung outside your window. They obviously thought he was a good guy but your parents had a strict no guys rule. Taehyung was the only exception since you two grew up together but even he wasn’t allowed to come up to your room.

“Taehyung, I have to go. My parents will see you and we will both get in trouble. We can talk later.” You were about to shut the window but he called your name again.

“__________! That’s such bullshit. You keep avoiding me. Can’t we talk now?”

“Tae, I can’t keep shouting from my window. I’ll call you. Just go home.”

He stood firmly planted out your window, “Nope. You won’t do that. I’ll stand here all night throwing pebbles at your window. I don’t care if I get in trouble with your parents.”

Fuck. fuck. What should I do? Then you remembered. You went to your closet and found it stored on the highest shelf. Taehyung had actually bought you a rope ladder a long time ago for this very reason of sneaking you out. But you never ended up using it because you were always afraid of getting caught. You threw down the ladder and climbed out of your window quietly.

Once you landed on the ground, you walked over to Taehyung, arms crossed, pissed that he made you do this. Before you could start yelling at him for being so fucking annoying, he pulled you into a giant hug.

“Missed you. Don’t ever ignore me again,” he whispered into your ear.

And with that hug, you realized how much you missed Taehyung. His warmth, his embrace, his cute smile, his fluffy hair.

You mumbled, “Missed you too,” softly, hoping he would hear.

You pushed away from him and tried to hide your smile, “My parents are literally going to kill me. I hope you know that.”

“__________ you’re in college. You’re legally an adult. You don’t need to be afraid of getting in trouble with your parents.” Taehyung said, chuckling. He shoved his hands in his hoodie and pulled up his hood, shivering in the cold.

“Okay but you know my parents. They don’t give a shit.”

“Actually, that is very much true. I don’t think they like me very much.” He tugged your arm, leading you down a familiar dirt path.

“Nah, they like you. For some reason they think you’re like a good kid.”

His mouth opened in shock, “What do you mean for some reason? I’m a great influence on you.”

“Oh really? Like sneaking me out or taking me to frat parties or..” you were trying to think of more dumb shit Taehyung had fully encouraged you to do.

“Or sleeping with you?” He said with a wink.

“Shut up. But for real. They can never know. They would bury us both alive.”

“Man, we’ve known each other since forever and they still don’t trust me around you.”

“Don’t take it personally. You’re a guy. They are just strict about boys in general.” You began to recognize whereTaehyung was leading you to.

“Is that another reason why you haven’t dated anyone?”

“Yea I guess. My parents think dating is a distraction. Unless it’s for the intent of marriage then what’s the point. Which I understand. “

Taehyung gripped your hand as he led you down a rocky path, “That sounds lonely.”

“It is. But like I said, it’s not really something I chose. It just kinda happened to me and it’s whatever.”

“I guess I understand in my own way. Dating does take up a lot of time. And I guess I’m afraid it’ll end the same.”

“Same as what?”

“Same as Yeji. We broke up and I was so upset over it. It hurt a lot because we realized we had no future together. It was just sad that we made all those memories together and now we barely speak.”

“Fuck, that sucks.”

He nodded, fully agreeing.

Suddenly the path opened up to a clearing, a grassy field with a large tree planted by a shimmering lake.

He still held onto your hand as you made your way to the tree. You sat down, leaning your back against the tree and Taehyung laid his head on your lap. You started to ruffle his curly hair, playing with the strands.

“Remember how we used to come here?” Taehyung said, softly smiling.

You nodded, recalling how you and taehyung would come here on the weekends, having picnics, reading stories, playing cards. This tree by the lake was filled with precious memories for you and Taehyung. You kept coming even when Taehyung and you weren’t friends.

“Why were you ignoring me _________?” He asked looking up at you with his big brown eyes filled with worry.

“We were both so busy with finals I just wanted us to focus on our studies,” You said, only being partially honest.

“Sure, it’s not cause of anything else right?”

“What else could it be?”

“Maybe the fact that I kissed you and we haven’t spoken about it all.”

You closed your eyes, regretting opening your mouth. Fuck, you really didn’t want to talk about your feelings. You felt the familiar anxious feeling creep up into your heart. You took a deep breath and tried to remember Hana’s words, “___________, this boy likes you. A lot. He kissed you. He spends time with you. He texts you.. He cares about you. He treats you like a girlfriend and he wants to do boyfriend things with you. He likes you, there is no doubt about it.”

You snapped back to reality, “Yeah that has to do with it.”

“Okay so let’s talk,” He said sitting upright, leaning again against the tree, his shoulder brushing yours.

“Um. Why don’t you go first?” You said as you felt your heart race in your chest. You were going to do it. You were going to finally tell him how you felt.

He gave you a cute little smile, “Well it was a really nice kiss. How did you like it? It was your first kiss.”

“Um uh yea it was really nice. Really sweet,” You babbled out.

“Okay cool. Well then that’s that. We don’t need to be awkward around each other right?”

You nodded. It was now or never. He seemed to have such a chill response to the kiss. He didn’t freak out so he must have enjoyed it. So that means he likes me, right?

Your voice got quiet, “Taehyung.”

His eyes met yours. You whispered out, heart pounding, “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” He asked, earnestly.

“I um...” you were racking your brain trying to find the right words to say. You were fiddling with your hands, hoping it would calm you down.

Taehyung looked at you, wide eyed, and took your hands into his.

He leaned in close, his breath tickling your ears, “Hey. You can tell me anything. I'm listening.”

Your brain shut off the second He held your hands. “It's you. It’s fucking you. I like you. I like you a whole fucking lot Kim Taehyung. I think I might love you at this point. And I just really needed to tell you.”

It went dead silent. All you could hear was Taehyung's soft breathing, the rustle of the wind, and the quiet ripples from the lake.

Then he smiled and let out a light laugh.

Your heart immediately lifted. He’s smiling. That’s a good sign. He’s going to tell you that he likes you too and then you could be a couple. You were freaking out over nothing.

“Are you being for real?” He said shakily.

You narrowed your eyes brows, confused at his response.

He laughed nervously. Your confidence was going down rapidly.

“__________ you aren’t being serious right?”

“What do you mean? Of course I’m being serious. I meant what I said.”

“Cmon ________ why would you do this to me?”

Your heart dropped. Oh my god. It was slowly becoming clear to you. He doesn’t like me. He’s mad that I told him how I felt. This was literally your biggest fear. He doesn’t want you. He never did.

You couldn’t look at Taehyung anymore. You tore your gaze away from him, “What are you saying? You don’t have feelings for me?”

“__________ I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. But you literally do know that I’m not interested in dating anyone. I’ve told you this.”

Your voice was faltering as you tried to maintain a calm demeanor, “But...you said that...you were thinking about it.”

“Yea I was thinking about it. That doesn’t mean I want to involve myself with someone right away. I’m honestly not ready for a relationship again.” He sighed, clearly frustrated, running his hand through his curly hair. You were frozen, you felt hot tears well up in your eyes but you were determined to not let him see you cry.

He continued, sounding somewhat angry, “I just told you how much my break up with Yeji hurt me.”

You closed your eyes, letting yourself absorb all of his hurt words. It was too late now. You couldn’t take it back. You let it all out, all your thoughts and feelings and it turned out to be exactly how you feared. You were an idiot. You let your guard down again and you let him in again. And he broke your heart. Again.

You voiced another nagging thought, “But you kissed me...”

His words were sharp and cold, “It was just a kiss __________. It’s not that deep or that big of a deal.”

This is exactly what you were afraid of. Losing these meaningful moments with someone who not only doesn’t care about you but also someone who finds them unimportant. The kiss meant everything to you and absolutely nothing to him.

Taehyung's voice softened, “I’m sorry ________ but I don’t know how I feel okay? I’m confused. I do like you but I’m just not sure if it’s the way you want me to.”

You felt his hand cup your cheek and he tiled your face towards him, finally making eye contact. He saw your teary, red eyes that you tried so hard to hide. “I’m sorry,” he whispered out. The way your heart was thudding against your chest made you realize no matter what he did, no matter how he hurt you, no matter how many times he would take your heart and crush it into tiny bits, you would still love him. God you were so fucked.

You whispered back hoarsely, staring deep into his dark eyes, feeling brave enough to speak your mind to him one more time, “Don’t be. I just...always had this hope in my head, I guess. Maybe that with time...you could love me the way I wanted you to. But if we were meant to be, we would have been by now. Someone like me doesn’t end up with someone like you.”

You couldn’t take it anymore. You got up abruptly and left. You heard him distantly calling your name but you couldn’t turn back. Every muscle in your body wanted you to turn around and just say “forget it” to Taehyung and have things return back to normal. But for once, you listened to your head, it was over, you told him how you felt and he didn’t give a shit.

You walked home, alone, feeling comforted by the coldness of the night. You climbed back in your room and threw the ladder deep into your closet, knowing you would never need it again. You laid in your bed, processing what just happened. You believed in something that wasn’t even real. You glanced at your tear stained face in the standing mirror across from your bed. You couldn’t help but wonder what it was about you that wasn’t enough for him. The truth was you couldn’t be mad at Taehyung. You didn’t even love yourself. And that’s how you understood why Taehyung didn’t either. You closed your eyes, finally letting the exhaustion set in and breathing slowly, as if all of the pressure of stress and anxiety were dissipating from your body.

The reality settled in your brain and your heart: being lonely fits you.

author’s note: part 5 will definitely be the last part. i was writing this and i realized it was getting very lengthy and there are some plot parts im still working out lol. anyways i was very inspired by some tv shows and movies i rewatched recently for this part (new girl, princess diaries 2, & ofc to all the boys). lmk what you think and if you would like to be added to the taglist!

tags: @fleurmoon @tangledsparkles @chocolatebelievercrusade @brokenobserver @ncitydreamies @soulstaes @bonnyskies @thelilbutifulthings @busansgloss @imluckybitches @xlectrahearts @embrace-themagic @bts-dreamybaby @belshka @trinbin039 @xxlostinseoul @sheislikearock @madjammil @guksflavor @yn-the-reader @kingjvngins @ggukkieland @waves-and-woods @aa-ronpa

#strawberry girl #bts #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bangtan sonyeondan #kim taehyung #taehyung #taehyung hot #bts x reader #taehyung x reader #taehyung fluff #taehyung angst #bts scenarios #taehyung scenarios #bts imagines #taehyung fanfic #taehyung x y/n #taehyung fanfiction

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affceafesa · 3 years

Text

It is essential that the next FBI director understand the details

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chilling-seavey · 4 years

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Love the previous blurb so here's another one for ABM - Florence meeting the Seaveys + Christian interacting with Clementine and Penelope ~ T

I had written this one a while back...before I really knew Christian so I took the time to write a little more to the ending just for you (and me lol) Here ya go!

December 23, 2021

“Are we sure we’re going to be okay?” Florence mumbled, bouncing Penelope on her hip.

“Yes, sweetheart.” Daniel chuckled, handing Clementine another M&M from the chair next to her in their terminal. “We’re going to do great.”

Florence paced in front of them with the baby, never having flown with a young child before yet alone two. Penelope was already antsy that morning, refusing any sort of breakfast and crying when she was put in her winter clothes, and Florence really wasn’t looking forward to being that mom that all the other plane passengers glared at while their child screamed the entire flight. Once through security and at the gate, Penelope seemed fine, rosy cheeks from crying all morning but happily munching on a cookie regardless.

“I haven’t been in a plane since I was pregnant with Clementine. What if I forgot how to do it?” Florence mumbled.

“Forgot how to sit?” Daniel raised an eyebrow at her.

“I don’t know. I’m nervous. I’m meeting your whole entire family in a few hours.” Florence frowned.

“They’re not scary.” Daniel chuckled, passing Clementine another M&M into her outstretched hand. “My mum already loves you and you’ve talked to her on the phone plenty of times.”

“I know.” Florence sighed. “This is different through.”

Daniel sent her a soft smile that she didn’t notice since she was too busy pacing.

“We’re gonna be okay, mama!” Clementine assured her through a mouthful of chocolate.

“Once you get down from this sugar high we’re not going to be.” Florence laughed lightly at her daughter’s messy face.

“Yeah...maybe you’ve had enough of these.” Daniel looked in the bag that was almost empty.

“One more, daddy.” Clementine ordered, holding out her hand palm up again.

“Two more.” Daniel whispered, passing them to her. He pressed a kiss to her head before folding up the package and putting them in the front pouch of the carry-on.

“You’re dealing with her sugar crash. You know she’s vicious after.” Florence said through a teasing smirk.

“Nuh uh.” Clementine stuck her tongue out at her.

The lady at the desk announced boarding for their flight and they started to gather their things. Clementine had her own little suitcase that she pulled along excitedly behind her, holding onto Daniel’s hand with her other, almost pulling him towards the gate. He struggled to get his backpack on and keep the suitcase steady as well as keeping the almost three-year-old within arms reach. Florence led their little group with Penelope in her arms, the diaper bag over her shoulder, and all four tickets in hand.

Once on the plane, they found their row and Clementine crawled into the window seat, peering out towards the runway as Daniel got their bags packed away above them. Florence waited for him to finish, noticing all the lingering glances from strangers at the baby in her arms. Daniel simply ushered her into their row before taking the aisle seat.

“You’re going to be a good girl, aren’t you, Penny?” Florence whispered to the 17-month-old on her lap.

Penelope nodded through a small smile, meeting her older sister’s cheeky grin from beside her. Clementine leaned in and pressed a messy kiss to her cheek, making the baby giggle loudly.

“Are you all buckled, Clem?” Florence asked, brushing her hand through her eldest’s hair.

Clementine sat herself properly in the seat and picked up the two pieces of the seatbelt in her tiny hands. Florence leaned over to buckle them for her, instructing her to pull the ribbon to make it tighter. Of course, the toddler tugged as hard as she could to cut off any circulation to her legs, thinking that was the funniest thing ever.

“You are so crazy.” Florence couldn’t help but laugh, wigging her hand between her laughing daughter and the seatbelt to loosen it a little while still keeping one hand on the baby.

When they were all buckled in and Penelope was leaning back tiredly against her mother’s chest, it was about time for takeoff.

As they were headed for the runway, Daniel handed Clementine a little mint to hopefully keep her little ears in check as the pressure changed. He then let his hand fall into Florence’s, intertwining their fingers and pulling it up to kiss the back of her hand softly.

“I’m nervous.” Florence whispered.

“I know.” Daniel replied quietly, giving her hand a small squeeze. “You don’t need to be. I’m right here.”

They shared gentle smiles just as the wheels left the ground.

Clementine was too busy looking out the window to even notice any pressure changes and Penelope got away with a few quiet whimpers and her tiny hands over her ears instead of the major meltdown Florence was expecting. Once they were in the sky, Florence felt more at ease; Clementine busied herself with a colouring book and Penelope was starting to fall asleep. She held out her arms to Daniel, her eyes almost closed as sleep was starting to come, and he scooped her up from Florence’s lap, glad to give her a break. Penelope curled into him, one arm around his neck and her chubby cheek pressed against his shoulder as he drew soft patterns over her back to help her relax. Soon enough, she was fast asleep.

The flight went surprisingly well, Penelope sleeping for most of it which would make the jet lag easier on her and Clementine quietly colouring or watching something on the TV in front of her. Once the mountains came into view, the three year old didn’t care about the TV show, pressing her nose to the window to see the snowy peaks that poked out above the clouds as she talked excitedly about all the made up things that probably lived in the mountains.

The plane taxied to their gate and Clementine was almost literally bouncing in her seat to go exploring. Daniel kept the baby asleep on his shoulder as they got up to disembark, Florence now in charge of the carry on and the toddler.

The Vancouver airport was just as busy as the Toronto one but Daniel navigated them through the maze of hallways and gates like it was the back of his hand. Baggage claim was downstairs and Florence waited for the suitcases while he went to the oversized area for the stroller and his guitar case.

“I’m surprised she’s still sleeping.” Daniel said, pushing the sleeping baby in the stroller towards where Florence and Clementine stood.

“Me too but I’m glad she is.” Florence said. She stopped to pull their suitcase off the conveyor belt as it came around.

“Ready to go?” Daniel asked.

“Yep!” Clementine beamed. She held onto Daniel’s jacket to keep close as both parents had their hands full. Her own personal suitcase full of her pyjamas, favourite stuffed animals, and a few books was pulled along behind her messily, being more dragged across the tile rather than wheeled.

The double doors slid open into the ‘arrivals’ gate where family members and friends waited to greet the travellers.

Clementine gaped at the crowd, “Are all these people here for us?”

“No, angel.” Daniel laughed. “We’re just looking for my mum and my sister, remember?”

Clementine gripped his coat tighter as they navigated their way through the crowd to someone she didn’t know. Florence was in the same boat as her daughter, shying behind Daniel a little to let him go first. She was worried what his family would think of her, always being raised to such a high standard; suddenly their son is bringing home a girlfriend with two kids, one of whom is from a failed relationship; it didn’t look the best to outsiders and Florence knew that well.

Daniel was welcomed into a tight embrace by his mother, a shorter woman with his same brown hair and friendly eyes that scrunched closed when she had her son in her arms.

“My sweet Daniel, I missed you so much.” she whispered, taking his face in her hands and kissed his cheek.

“I missed you too, Ma.” Daniel chuckled.

He turned to hug who Florence guessed was his sister, her straight dyed blonde hair swept over her shoulder and a soft squeal leaving her lips as he lifted her off the ground a little.

“You must be Florence.” his mother smiled at her, pulling her into a friendly hug. It had been a while since she had a proper motherly hug and she felt herself instantly melt into her touch.

“Nice to finally meet you, Keri.” Florence chuckled, moving back as little arms wrapped around her legs.

“And little Clementine!” Keri bent down in front of the toddler who was hiding behind her mother a bit. “I’ve heard so much about you!”

Clementine’s small smile was hidden into the side of Florence’s jeans.

“Hi, Clementine.” his sister was bent down next to her now too. “I brought you a little present.”

Clementine eyed the small stuffed moose in the girl’s hands and smiled shyly, glancing up at Florence and then to Daniel.

“That’s your Auntie Anna, Clem. You can say hi.” Daniel spoke softly.

Clementine took a few steps forward and gently took the stuffed animal from Anna’s outstretched hands.

“What do you say, angel?” Daniel said.

“Thank you.” Clementine whispered through a smile, admiring the little moose she held. She turned to Anna and hugged her quickly, taking everyone - especially her parents - by surprise.

“You’re so welcome!” Anna beamed, glancing up at her brother.

“And this must be Penelope.” Keri whispered, looking over to the sleeping baby in the stroller.

“That’s my baby sister.” Clementine said proudly.

“I know!” Keri smiled at her. “Do you love her?”

Clementine nodded, peering over the side of the stroller with pride. Florence waited with bated breath for some sort of remark about having two kids so young but none came. Even throughout the walk to the car, everything was more than fine as Clementine seemed to take a liking to Anna and walked hand in hand with her and Keri offered to push the stroller.

Daniel, now needing to carry the tiny pink suitcase that had been ditched by the three-year-old, snuck a glance at Florence who was walking beside him.

“Feeling better yet?” he whispered.

“Yeah.” Florence said. “A little.”

“Told you they’d love you.” Daniel smirked.

“We still have to face your father and brothers.” Florence reminded quietly.

“The easiest three. Trust me, Dad’s just glad I finally found someone and the second you say one word I’ll be fighting my brothers off you.” Daniel teased.

Florence glanced over at his small smile and pink cheeks and frazzled hair that was tucked under a lavender beanie and she couldn’t help but literally fall a little more in love with him at his excitement to bring her home to his family.

She stopped walking, moving her hand from the handle of the suitcase to the sleeve of his jacket and led him back towards her, pulling him in by the back of his neck to press a lingering kiss to his lips. Daniel sighed softly as she pulled back, her hand falling to the front of his open coat and he smiled at her, leaning in for one more quick kiss before they had to rush to catch up with the rest of their small group.

Daniel’s childhood home was on the outskirts of the city, right near the coast and it was situated high enough that you could see the mountain peaks and lush green forests across the bay. It was absolutely picturesque and being able to grow up there was a privilege Florence wished she could have had.

Pulling into the driveway revealed the modern house from behind the fence and Daniel smiled widely at simply just being at home. Keri parked the van and they all started to climb out and gather the bags from the trunk. Daniel unbuckled waking Penelope from her car seat and she rubbed her eye with her fist after such a long lap.

“Good afternoon, bug.” Daniel chuckled, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he set her on his hip. Penelope leaned into him, holding onto his jacket in her tiny fist.

They all headed for the front door, Daniel swiping his guitar from his sister.

“I’m perfectly capable of carrying your things.” she protested.

“I know.” Daniel shrugged.

She scoffed at him.

The volume increased as they stepped inside, Daniel’s two older brothers and his father joining them excitedly in the foyer after not seeing him for almost a year. Florence stayed back against the door; Clementine wrapped around her legs. The family swooned over the shy and still sleepy baby in Daniel’s arms, making her curl into his neck for protection from the strangers.

“She’s definitely a Seavey.” his father spoke gently but proudly. “Looks so much like you did when you were small.”

Florence looked down to Clementine and ran a hand over her soft blonde hair, waiting for any sort of animosity to come. She was all too used to it from her own parents.

But it never came.

Keri and Jeff Seavey were one of the nicest couples Florence had ever met, both taking her in for hugs the second they were introduced and treating her like one of their own.

Even Clementine was treated just the same as Penelope, despite not biologically being related to the family. It was apparent where Daniel got his kind heart from.

Anna helped them take their things upstairs into Daniel’s old bedroom. It was very much him, the records posted on the wall over a full keyboard, mixing set, and a few various instruments that couldn’t fit in a suitcase to Toronto that crowded most of one side of the room. His white bedsheets were tucked perfectly straight over the double bed which was honestly no surprise. The window overlooked the bay and Stanley Park in the distance to the right.

“Mum said Clementine can have the boys’ old room or we can bring up the air mattress from the basement in here if you’d prefer.” Anna said, setting their suitcase in the corner.

“I think she’d like her own room, won’t you, Clemmy girl?” Daniel said, setting his guitar down on the floor.

The three-year-old simply giggled and climbed up onto the double bed, starting to jump, “Yeah!”

“Not this room.” Florence tisked, scooping her back onto the floor.

“I wanna stay with Auntie Anna.” Clementine said matter-of-factly, throwing her arms around the nineteen-year-old’s legs.

“You do?” Florence raised an eyebrow.

“I think we can do that.” Anna smiled widely.

“You now have a leech, sis.” Daniel smirked.

“I couldn’t be prouder of it.” Anna said, ushering Clementine out of the room so they could set up her bed.

Daniel pulled out his guitar after dinner, the family sitting around the living room as he played a few songs for them. Clementine was sat with Anna on the couch, playing quietly with a few stuffed animals on her lap. Christian had swiped Penelope, the one-and-a-half-year-old sitting in his lap on the floor, giggling loudly with her hands holding onto his fingers as he danced her around a little to the music. Even when the guitar was put away and Daniel joined Florence on the couch, Penelope kept her grip on Christian’s fingers, trying to wiggle them herself to make him continue his little dancing actions, the rest of the room picking up conversation.

“’gain!” Penelope tilted her head back to look up at him, falling backwards against his body.

“Again?” Christian laughed, tickling her sides to make her shriek with laughter. He stopped suddenly and leaned back against the side of the couch, closing his eyes. “No, I’m too tired. Bedtime.”

Penelope blinked at him, turning herself around on his lap. He peeked open an eye at her as she stood up, holding onto his sweater, and leaned her head on his chest.

“Night-night.” She whispered.

Christian laughed lightly, scooping her up in his arms, “It’s not bedtime yet!”

He rocked her back and forth dramatically before pretending to dump her backwards over his arm, making her shriek before erupting into a fit of giggles. He did it again, careful not to hit her head off the ground, her tiny hands clinging onto his sweater.

“Chris, don’t…just…be careful with her.” Daniel spoke softly.

“We are being very careful.” Christian replied, looking down to the breathless baby in his arms, “Aren’t we?”

Penelope nodded excitedly.

“Dad is trying to ruin the fun.” Christian whispered down to her, making the clueless child giggle.

“I’m trying to not have you break my daughter’s head off the wood floors.” Daniel retorted.

“Bro, relax.” Christian glared playfully at him.

“Relaaaax.” Clementine repeated, making the room laugh.

“Is that what I sound like?” Christian glanced behind him to the almost three-year-old, resting his head back against the couch.

“Yeah.” Clementine giggled.

“She’s right.” Anna nodded.

“I’m right.” Clementine smacked her toy moose on his head.

“Hey! Be gentle.” Daniel went to reach for his eldest but Christian had already snatched the stuffed animal from her and smacked her back with it (much gentler of course).

“Ouch!” Clementine shrieked, taking the moose from him again and pressed it against his face, smacking her hand down on it a few times.

“Clementine!” Florence gaped, both the parents now trying to grab their slightly hyperactive daughter from being a tad too vicious with her play fighting. Penelope was shrieking with laughter from Christian’s lap, always entertained by her older sister’s antics.

“You are gonna get it.” Christian easily moved onto his knees and turned around, holding the baby on his hip as he grabbed the toddler around the waist with his other arm and carefully dragged her to the floor. Clementine was already shrieking with laughter before he could even tickle her, kicking her legs against his chest to keep him away the best she could. He still managed to blow a raspberry against her neck, making her scream and try to squirm away from him through her fits of giggles.

“Why don’t you go play somewhere else to let the adults talk?” Anna suggested.

“That is a great idea.” Christian stood up, scooping one girl up in each arm and carried them off to another part of the house.

The family let Christian entertain the children, busying themselves with conversation for at least a good hour or so. Soon it got quiet and late and Daniel and Florence started to find their children to put them to bed. They found them in Christian and Tyler’s old bedroom, most of the toys they had brought from home spilled out all over the carpet until there was barely any room to even sit. Christian was passed out asleep on his side on the floor, Penelope sleeping curled up against his chest with his arm around her, and Clementine knocked out with her head on his legs. The three of them slept soundly admits the mess of building blocks and dolls.

#anything but mine #daniel seavey #daniel seavey imagines #why dont we

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mdwatchestv · 4 years

Text

Everything I’m Going to Watch In May: AKA Time To Put On A New Shirt

Here we are again. Hope everyone is well. Are we making good food choices? Washing our clothes? Staying active? Watching our quick bites? Lol I’m jk, you don’t need to be doing any of that. All you have to do is get through each day, in whatever way you see fit. Perhaps for you this includes binge-watching television. If so, welcome, you are among friends.

Even though it may appear to you all that I am perfect, I sadly must admit I am not. Two shows that I missed telling you about and have been hyped up to me:

Unorthodox (Netflix) - An ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman runs away from her arranged marriage, complications arise. Only four episodes! My mom is really pushing this one hard.

Normal People (Hulu) - Based on the Sally Rooney books that I guess I didn’t read. Secret romance! Only 30 minute eps! Don’t watch it with your mom!

Also PSA HBO MAX is launching this month! Here’s the run down:

- It’s all Warner Brothers properties (HBO, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, WB produced CW shows, etc)

-Lord of the Rings, Friends, original content, etc

-If you already have HBO Now, you will be migrated over.

- No, this is not necessary, but yes, it is happening.

Now here are some premieres:

Friday, May 1st

Hollywood (Netflix)

Ryan Murphy’s first miniseries for Netflix after his bajillion dollar deal with them about...you guessed it...the Golden Age of Hollywood. Yes this feels like a classic Ryan Murphy Trap, but who amongst us isn’t desperate for a distraction. What happens to be diverting for me personally is Darren Criss in that trim little vest. We are all just trying to cope.

Into the Night (Netflix)

What if THE SUN started killing people?!? A timely reminder that it could always be worse: you could have to fly ceaselessly into the night on an airplane to escape a Death Sun. The Belgians made it so its only 6 episodes!

Friday, May 8th

Dead to Me Season 2 (Netflix)

A lot of people recommended this to me, did I watch it? No. But I trust them enough to pass that recommendation along. The circle of life.

Tuesday, May 12th

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs The Reverend (Netflix)

Bringing back Kimmy Schmidt for an ~*~*~ interactive ~*~*~ special ala Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. If you interacted with that show then you will know it was totally fine! But it did take up a nice solid block of time! Also you can choose to make out with Daniel Radcliffe in this one soooo (still, just trying to cope).

Friday, May 15th

The Great (Hulu)

Another show in the ‘quirky history’ trend, this time starring Elle Fanning as baby Catherine the Great (before she was Great). A satirical period piece with vague girl power themes? That sounds like maybe I’m making fun of it, but seriously sign me up. This is genuinely all things I want.

White Lines (Netflix)

The new show from the Money Heist creator, except instead of robbing a bank we are doing my other favorite activity: solving a cold case murder! If it even has half the flash (the victim is a DJ) and twists and turns of Money Heist (there is a group of likely suspects) it will still be time well spent.

Sunday, May 17th

Snowpiercer (9pm on TNT)

Y’all, I truly never thought we’d see the day. To say the Snowpiercer TV series (based on the Bong Joon-ho movie) has been ‘embattled’ is the understatement of the frozen television landscape. This show was announced five years ago, has had two different showrunners, a total pilot redo, and was supposed to be on TNT, then TBS, now TNT again. No idea if this will be good, or even anything at all, but it’s become such an object of curiosity how could you not want to take a peek. Also it’s already been picked up for a season 2! Absolutely wild. Thrilled to be on the journey.

Wednesday, May 27th- HBO Max Day!

Along with that library of WB content, HBO has some original series dropping today that I will now briefly preview for you:

Craftopia - Pre-teen crafting competition.

Legendary - The voguing competition that began the great Jameela Jamil Battle of Twitter.

Looney Tunes - Self explanatory!

Love Life- A rom com anthology from Paul Feig. Spend a season watching Anna Kendrick search for love- or don’t! Whatever you’re into.

The Not Too Late Show With Elmo - Elmo hosts a talk show!

I will say this for HBO Max: their offerings are clear and concise.

Friday, May 29th

Space Force (Netflix)

Remember like two years ago when it was announced we would have a Space Force? Well this Greg Daniel’s workplace comedy series (wonder if he’s any good at those) starring Steve Carrell will commemorate those simpler times.

Central Park (Apple +)

An animated musical comedy from the makers of Bob’s Burgers about the battle for the soul of Central Park. Looks fun, zany, etc. Boy, I would really like to go to a park...

Okay out of an energy now. Feel free to tell me what I missed and if it’s something turns out to be good I’ll humble myself with a correction next month (pending continuation of civilization). Now get out of here, scram, back to the couch with ya.

(JK love you)

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llewellynwatts · 4 years

Note

Give me your brutal ship opinions on ALL the MM canon couples of the moment.

AHHH this is great! okay here we go:

george/effie: already answered!

william/julia: okay this is probably our least popular never before disclosed opinion but here we go… when I was growing up watching the show for the first time I was absolutely obsessed with them but during my rewatch I honestly think they’re better as friends. They have such severe communication issues and the writers absolutely milk it but to the point where I just can’t be bothered to root for them romantically. I love the early seasons when they get really excited about cases and science together but that always worked just as well or better when they weren’t trying to make a romance work. I just really think they could be happier with other people (for example if they were both allowed to live their gay truths and got a marriage of convenience where they were bffs. murdoch x pendrick and julia x anna fulford 4 life)

thomas/margaret: straight rights! they are both so stubborn, but so kind to each other. i love that they have a really mature and loving relationship…. william/julia couldn’t do it

llewellyn/jack: oh goddddddd cannot believe they gave watts the perfect man they are the best couple on the show! full credit to daniel for being “off to the races” and giving his all with his nuanced performance and to jesse for taking a character with essentially no development or lines and making him the sweetest most likeable guy and fully committing to giving watts heart eyes at all times :) the alone in our secret version of them is canon in my heart and makes me so so happy for them kfgkdjfhjkdhg

henry/ruth: i really thought henry was repressed gay up until seeing him with ruth, but they are so funny and sweet and perfect together that i’m like okay straights u win this round. the way she doesn’t care that he’s just a working class man and the way he does everything he can to help support her lifestyle… they really both made sacrifices to be with each other but u can see that they are still so happy together! not to sound like the old ppl on the fb group but i wonder when they’ll start a family

rebecca/nate: i know they were written off the show but just wanted to say i LOVE them, their teasing is too adorable and there is so much respect and care in their interactions, STRAIGHT RIGHTS!

#Anonymous #thoughts #answered

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pajamaplants · 5 years

Note

Michael: 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19. // Ian: 2, 16, 19. // Charley: 4, 5. // Dahlia: 10, 11. // Rosie: 1, 8. // Bia: 9 (specifically her interactions with Ian before vs. after their breakup). // This is a lot so you don't have to do long descriptions but yeah! Love you lots

sorry for the long post to everyone who isn’t anna, the only one who will know or care about any of these characters......... lol but anyway anna none of these are in the actual book 1 story, it’s all either prequel/flash backs or book 2 stuff (and also i skipped some prompts bc this is already a lot and i want your input, i craaaaave it, love you so much thank you for sending me these and kickstarting a writing mood <3)

Michael

1. Them as a child:

He’d had trouble falling asleep, and now the forest was on fire. Michael had only wanted to go back to the lake shore for a bit, and sit by the waves to settle his racing thoughts, but he’d gotten lost on his way there and wandered down a too dark trail. Narrow flashlight beam the only light a head of him, he prayed he was going the right direction back to his family’s campsite. It was dark and freezing and Michael’s eight year old limbs were getting sore, when suddenly he smelled the thick smoke of burning wood in the breeze. A campfire, he thought. Good, he must be getting close. But as Michael traveled closer a hazy fog surrounded him and the nearby trees, his flashlight beam illuminating the smoke. He saw light ahead, fire glowing through the trees, but no wait, this was much too much flame to be a campfire. Michael stopped walking and watched bright clumps of fire crackling in the underbrush. This is really bad, his tired mind registered. Nervously he tried to move down wind away from the fire, coughing as he went, but the fire grew faster than Michael could walk. He hurried through he underbrush now, chest feeling heavy and head dizzy from inhaling smoke. Suddenly Michael had run himself into a rocky cliff face, the fire sparkling dangerously at his back. What do I do? he panicked. I don’t want to die, please. Michael moved around the rocks until he saw a natural crevice traveling back into the earth. Was that a cave? Fire could burn wood, he reasoned. But probably not stone. He crawled in between the rocks, shining his flashlight as he entered to check it was uninhabited, and saw it went back a few feet. The air in here was clear of smoke and much easier to breathe. Crouching in a small cave wasn’t ideal, but it was better than burning to death. Outside Michael saw the wildfire grow in intensity slowly. As it crawled along bark and dry leaves, a soothing crackling noise came from the charred forest. Tucked safely in his cave, Michael watched, cinders in the air reflecting on spellbound eyes. The blaze passed him by and devoured entire trees, cracking apart branches. Somehow now Michael felt less afraid; the air was warm, the fire’s glow bathing the opening of the cave in a lulling orange gleam. Eventually, Michael fell asleep lying curled in place on the rocks, the wildfire’s presence helping him find sleep better in a cave than back in a sleeping bag in a dark tent. In the morning he awoke, crawled out into the ashy remains damp with smoke, and traveled by the morning light through the destroyed forest until he found a path back to his family.

3. Their parent(s) (ok listen, this post is long enough, i going to just split all the ones i didn’t do here in another part 2 post later okay? so i’ll do this one later)

4. Their laugh: (and i’ll do this one later )

7. Their interactions with their pets, if they have them:

Every night his cat played a game with Josh, a one in which Josh always ended up losing as yet again Cannelle settled innocently on Josh’s chest or kneaded her way to resting on his legs and he felt too bad to disturb her. “Well, once she’s comfortable, what am I supposed to do?” Josh told him once. Now in bed trying to fall asleep, Michael rolled over, and with a lurch his heart beat rose sharply in distress, realizing there was his cat, lying in the same space as his space. The left side of the bed, that had once been Josh’s. The left side that Michael still some how always managed to sleep to the right of, despite the bed being his alone now. Michael pulled his blankets up. “Cannelle, c’mere, c’mon girl.” he called. He’s not there, I’m so sorry, and you can’t understand why, I’m sorry. He apologized silently to the cat. She blinked her brown eyes, then rose, tail in the air, and settled down under the tent of the comforter Michael kept open for her. He stoked her fur for something, anything, to latch on to other than the buzzing ache that settled into his muscles. The first week is the hardest, he’d been told. That’s a lie, he thought. It doesn’t really get easier. Michael counted her exhales, inhales, exhale, inhale, exhales; until his eyes finally closed and he slept.

11. Their interactions with a stranger (feel free to say who the stranger might be! wink wink):

Michael stepped casually from the elevator, fidgeting hand needing to readjust the fake access badge clipped to his chest. Bia gave it to him, had it forged for him to blend in better, and Michael appreciated the way eyes never stayed on him long. Down the hospital’s long corridor of drywall-white patient rooms he stopped when he found the one he sought, slipping inside. Michael had read this man’s profile. Daniel Keaton, 25, paralyzed from the waist down, the loss of total lower motor control result of a nasty accident. Bia gave him information on a couple of her patients that were in conditions no amount of surgery would help. Understand me, she had said, when she handed him the ID. I’m not letting you do my job for me, since I am more than capable. But not everything has a cure. The man in the bed looked away from a bland television program, saw the hospital staff badge, brown leather jacket, and the lack of any hospital scrubs and asked, “Hi, are you my new counselor? I don’t feel like talking, sorry.” “No, I’m a... physical therapist.” “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re kinda useless at this point. Maybe you’re in the wrong room but I’m past the point of ever using my legs again, the doctors already told me.” ”I know. There’s a method that might bring you some relief, at least. Will you let me try?” “Knock yourself out.” Daniel sighed, closing his downbeat eyes in resignation. Michael carefully helped Daniel into a seated position in the hospital bed and proceeded to gently knead over the dead spinal nerves of his lower back. The accustomed electric warmth pulsed through Michael’s core, seeping up from his bones into the tissue, a faint glow emanating from the flat pressed palms on Daniel’s back. “Wait,” Daniel said suddenly, registering the strange sensation. “What are you doing?” “Don’t worry,” Michael assured. “It’s safe. This will help.” Daniel looked over his shoulder at Michael, slack jawed. “But... I shouldn’t be able to... why can I feel my legs?” Michael sensed his repair work was finished. He backed up a few steps. “Stand up.” “I can’t.” Daniel helplessly shook his head. “Can’t you?” Michael raised an eyebrow. Hesitantly, Daniel pulled his knees up and then gasped. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood up, devolving into startled tears as he did so. “I-I don’t understand. How? What are you?” “Just a man trying to help.” “What’s your name?” Michael held a finger to his lips. “Lie back in bed, Daniel. When asked, say it was a miracle recovery. You never saw me. Take care.” Before speechless Daniel could utter a question or thank you, Michael left the hospital room.

12. Them in their favorite outfit (i’ll do this one later)

14. Them in an uncomfortable outfit (i’ll do this one later)

16. Them sleepy (i’ll do this one later)

19. Them drunk:

One moment Michael was hiking side by side with Josh on the edge of a hilly forest trail, drunkenly laughing at something, but what he couldn’t remember, Josh had said something funny— when a pile of trail rocks under his feet slid loose and the world hitched violently sideways and down. As if his coordination wasn’t impaired enough by his boozy afternoon at their secluded campsite, all he saw as he tumbled down the leafy slope was green and browns, no sense of up or down. He yelped rolling on his back until he landed face first on something sharp in the creek bed that scorched his lips and face with pain. His hands clamped to his face in shock. Josh shouted something indistinguishably after him, clambering down the side of the ravine a lot more gracefully to the stony creek shore below. Michael covered his left cheek with a large hand, palm pressed to his mouth, and when Josh reached him and moved his hand to see, it came away red. “Tabernac, tabernac, tabernac, Josh cursed under his breath, quickly shedding his coat, stripping away his own t-shirt, and folding it over as a makeshift bandage to the jagged diagonal cut on Michael’s face. Tears welled in Michael’s eyes but Josh was quicker, wiping away the wetness and applying pressure to his stinging split lip. “Look, it was this broken glass right here you fell on. What the fuck is that, someone’s beer bottle?” “Fuckin’ bottle, why’s that there? ‘S not the brand you drink.” “Don’t speak Michel, god you’re sure bleeding a lot,” He paused. “I think we need to go to a hospital.” Michael was preoccupied with the trail of blonde hair traveling up Josh’s naval. He reached out and smoothed his thumb and forefinger down Josh’s naked chest. “You look... good like this.” “Ce n'est pas le moment pour ça!” his boyfriend chided. “Tabernac, you’re lucky that wasn’t your eyes!” “But...” It wasn’t supposed to go like this, they were supposed to be at camp tonight, where Josh would eat those cheap grocery store cherry danishes he liked while Michael would build a good fire for their dinner. Josh gently stood up. “No buts. I know you’re hammered but get up please, you gotta get stitches, there’s no way you couldn’t with a cut that deep,” Michael held Josh’s shirt in place over his copper-tasting mouth and Josh helped him to his feet. “Might even have a scar.” he continued. “Would you, y’still love me if I did?” “Obviously, now c’mon cher, we’ll go back and pack our things and take my bike into Fredericton.”

Ian

2. Them several years past their main adventure: (not gonna do years later, just making this book 2 Ian lmao)

Ian traced wandering lines in his sketchbook, taking his restless energy and channeling it into activity, distraction; one of the little tricks gained in the rehab center. Sobriety had been a bitch to learn, and often Ian flexed a muscle of self control he’s carefully crafted to hold him steady. Temptation tickled the back of his neck in his most stressful moments, and the times Michael left him alone for too long. And Michael, the man who took him to rehab, who brought art supplies to his room at the clinic For something nice to do, he had said. Ian had never loved a set of pencils so dearly. Michael had visited daily, talked with him about his therapy as he sat still in his chair and let Ian draw him. Ian never took Michael’s presence for granted, it was familiar and warm, a stark contrast to the first night they met. Time does strange things to people, Ian decided. But... Ian had to appreciate the change. Michael managed his medicines for him, took care of him with every meal he made for the two of them, and he made Ian laugh even in a dark moment of handling some sticky Orion business. Gradually he’d become his foothold in sobriety, his anchor point. His Michael. Ian shook the idea away. No, Michael’s not mine to have, Ian thought. Michael surely didn’t get the pesky flashes of impossible possibilities like the kind that plagued Ian’s headspace lately, of... more. He disdainfully flipped to a new page in his sketchbook, landed on a page of Michael sketches he’d drawn secretly and quickly ignored them by flipping to a fresh sheet. Ian settled back in his chair, and argued back and forth silently until he’d convinced himself Michael was his friend, his partner in literal crime, and that was enough. That had to be enough.

16. Them sleepy:

Michael returned home in the early morning, only to discover his bed was occupied. Ian was in boxers and nothing else, sound asleep. His partner’s limbs were bent up among his blankets, mouth puffing open slightly whenever he breathed out. Used to seeing Ian sleep in odd positions on the couch, Michael knew the way he tucked his arms under himself in his sleep. But it was strange to see him in here. How often did he come in here, even when Michael was awake? Michael stood silent by the bedside and watched Ian snooze peacefully, not wanting to wake him just yet. Did he miss me? This time, instead of dismissing it immediately, Michael let this thought settle. Michael imagined the way Ian must’ve been up waiting for him, maybe even worrying about him, before coming to open his bedroom door. Michael How Ian must have settled his head, nose against the pillow, and arranged the comforter Michael slept with over himself. And then his hand slipped, drifted downward, sinking down into Ian’s hair. Soft and thicker than he imagined, he combed through the wisps of black lightly enough to not disturb him. Missed you, came a hushed sentiment in his mind. Michael swept the bangs that fell messily over Ian’s forehead when his hand grazed across Ian’s temple. There had been times Michael touched Ian before; when injured pieces were in play and Michael stitched up the wounds. The burst of warmth when fingertips brushed Ian’s skin took him by surprise. Ian stirred from this touch however, and Michael’s hand flew to his side. Extending his arms, green swatches fluttered open; Ian stretched his legs and flopped his head on the pillow. “Hi, you’re back,” he mumbled, words languid like the hand that rubbed at his eye, then curled loosely on the sheets. “Hi,” Michael replied, the way Ian looked up at him striking some tender feeling in his throat. “What are you doing in here?” Starting to understand his indications, Michael saw the light flush of embarrassment rise as Ian rolled into sitting. “Did I fall asleep in here? Sorry man, my mistake. Been pretty tired lately,” he explained, kicking away the sheets and getting clumsily out of Michael’s bed. “I had all the lights off and must’ve walked in here instead of my room. Didn’t think twice, my head just hit a pillow.” “S’alright. You looked comfortable.” Michael smoothed his hand over the blanket and Ian’s eyes followed it. “... I was.” Ian shrugged before sheepishly fleeing the room for his own bed.

19. Them drunk:

“Hey, buddy.” A firm hand nudged Ian's shoulder. “Buddy.” The faint sounds of a bar swam to his ears; the clink of glasses against wood, quiet voices agreeing to go home, chairs scraping and the drone of a late night talk show host floating somewhere above him. “C’mon Ian, you need to get out of here.” With a soft sigh that left his chest slowly, he knew where he was. He sat on a stool in his favorite local dive, his body glued to the counter in his usual spot. Graham the bartender, to his credit, waited a full minute before poking Ian in the shoulder. “Mm, can I get one to go?” Ian’s voice came muffled from the crook of his arm. The sticky countertop was a comfortable place to lay his head and he liked the support it gave his loose limbs which currently felt curled up on each other. “No,” the barkeep responded firmly. “And you’re not staying the night… I’ll call you a cab.” Ian’s head popped off the counter, fingers clinging to the glass in his hand. “Don’t have to.” Ian stood, waiting for the lightheaded rush that made his knees wobble to pass before knocking back the dregs of his screwdriver and slipping a few crumpled bills under his glass. “Someone’s coming to get you?” Graham asked. Ian basked in the heat lingering in his throat, he swallowed. “H’yeah, sure.” He waved off the question with a flip of his hand and ambled outside.

Charley

4. Their laugh:

Samuel pulled through the discount rack, casting coat hanger after coat hanger aside flippantly and frowning. “Why’s this all ugly?” she lamented. Charley shrugged, back against the wall, eyes trained on the crummy mall clothes outlet across the way from the display window of theirs. They did this as part of their job sometimes, building profiles. It helped understand daily routines a target had and was the best way to learn potential vulnerabilities. “Oh, now this is good,” Samuel piped up. “I should get these Dahlia for her next birthday.” Charley turned and saw her considering a set of women’s pajamas, with blue penguins printed on the pants and another pudgy penguin on the shirt with a speech bubble saying ‘Out Cold’. Charley took one look at the pajamas and burst out laughing. “Are you fuckin’ kidding?” he snickered, gesturing. “These? With these cute little bastards on them? Are we thinking of the same woman?” He deemed Dahlia maybe a little too serious and brooding. “She could use these, I hate seeing her going to sleep in just whatever outfit she’s got on. She actually would like something goofy like this, she just doesn’t say so.” Samuel held the shirt and flipped flopped the long fleecey sleeve, before then using it to wave to Charley. He chuckled and checked his watch. “You’d know better than anybody, I suppose.” “There’s a lot of things about Dahlia you don’t know.” “Really?” Charley asked interested, hands busy tying long black dreads into a bun at his neck. “Care to share with the class?” Samuel shook her head. “I don’t betray her trust like I promised I wouldn’t betray yours.” Aside from the very first time, he thought. Samuel hadn’t broken her promise to him since. “I respect that,” Charley rolled his shoulders and glanced over into the clothing store opposite the one they stood in. An unassuming young man with green sneakers had just entered it.“Spotted him. Do your thing.” he said to his partner. The two watched him moving around the counter of the neighboring store. “He’s late for work,” Samuel said. “That’s why he’s rushing. He’s nervous his manager might be annoyed with him... here she comes. And he’s very attracted to his boss, he’s thinking about her...” her nose crinkled. “I’m not relaying that.” Samuel watched the manager cross her arms as the man blabbered on. “She thinks he’s nothing but a tiny-dicked idiot. Got him.” she concluded and Charley laughed again.

5. Their crying:

Charley sat across from his partner Samuel at a cafe table in Ireland. His panic had brought them far across the ocean, further than he meant to travel but Charley chalked it up to stress and a need to just run. Their mission to hunt a certain target ended successfully with the target’s death, but included the death of an innocent bystander. Just thinking about it made Charley’s guts coil. He fucked up bad this time, he lost control and a man lost his life because of the mishap. “You’re still learning control over your power, you did not abuse it, the reins slipped from your hands. An accident, Charley. That’s all it was.” He wiped a stubborn tear from the crease of his eye. Samuel’s brow furrowed. “You don’t need to be brave in front of me,” she murmured, reading the shame and denial of his emotions from his mind. “I’m not like him.” Charley blinked his chestnut eyes, the sour rise that made his nose tingle bringing more tears as he thought of the man who had turned him this way. His partner saw through him like tissue paper, and she saw the replaying memories; the way his face had looked, the reason he hated to let anyone see him cry, and the way that the innocent man had been knocked below to his death. He reached for her ivory hand and she took it supportively, politely looking to the far end of the cafe while Charley mopped his brow with a cloth napkin, the older man’s torso shaking with low rumbles and sniffs. A couple other lunch goers nearby looked in their direction a few times, but left them undisturbed. “... We need to see Meissa.” Samuel said finally. Charley wiped his eyes once more looked morosely at his untouched scone. “What do I tell her?” “The truth.” she suggested, wrapping her coat a little closer to her. “I’ll vouch for you, I saw them both die. The other man was not supposed to be there. It’s unfortunate, yes, but we live in the present and must go on.” Charley thought that seemed a bit harsh. “It’s survival,” Samuel added gently. “You had to change to survive and here you sit. I survived the bear trap of my childhood and here I sit. This doesn’t end here,” She retrieved her wallet and left some money on the table. “Ready? We’ll make it through this too.” Charley nodded, took a deep slow breath to collect himself. Then Samuel placed her hands in his on the table and the two vanished from their seats.

Dahlia

10. Their interactions with an enemy/rival

Dahlia kept certain rooms in her house well furnished and comfortable, and others purposefully devoid of distractions. She was leaning against her desk in such a room now, desk and a single bookshelf holding some of her dream journals the only objects beside bare floor and walls, with of course, the projection system. Projected on the walls all around her was a calming cloudy ocean scene with the horizon stretched before her. She lit a cigarette, smoke curling bright in the projection light. She glanced at her watch. The chair and the man tied to it materialized a half second later. Dahlia didn’t bat an eye. Charley stood behind the chair, palms flat on the grizzled older man’s shoulders. “I appreciate the trouble,” said Dahlia. “I know you could’ve handled him alone.” “No trouble, and thank Sammy, she lured his greasy ass into the motel room. In fact, thank her yourself.” He disappeared and within five seconds he reappeared, this time hand in hand with Samuel. Her peacock blue heels clicked on the hardwood as she moved concentric circles around the man in the chair. “Still out cold, I’m impressed Charley-boy.” “Pleasure, I’ve been practicing my right hook. It’s nice to test it out on this freak. A five year old kid, that’s sick.” he shook his head. ”Good work both of you,” Dahlia hummed approvingly. “Now we wait.” “Mind if I bounce?” Charley asked. “Gotta teach my class in an hour.” “Go right ahead. Just be back here after for disposal.” Charley nodded and vanished. Dahlia coolly regarded the unconscious man, puffing on her cigarette, lost in thought. Samuel silently watched Dahlia thinking. Samuel became a usual presence to Dahlia in this way, like a friend sitting beside her on a windowsill, simultaneously looking out the same window as herself, seeing the same vivid world outside. At last, the large man stirred, opened his bleary eyes. “The hell?” he groaned, then his eyes fell on Dahlia, then Samuel. “Who are you people? Where the fuck did you take me, you pasty bitch?” Dahlia didn’t waste time. “Mr. Clark, you don’t know me and I certainly don’t care to know you, but I do know what you did to the five year old son of your next door neighbors.” The man tried to wiggle out of his restraints. “You’re crazy, I don’t know what you’re talking about, let me fucking go!” “Take a look around Mr. Clark, this is the last room you’ll ever see.” “What?” he froze mid struggle and stared at Dahlia, who tapped her cigarette calmly in a porcelain teacup on the table. He looked to Samuel whose pallid eyes pierced daggers in his direction. “You’re not serious... I’m not scared of some dumb bitches.” “He’s lying.” Samuel contributed. “Choosing to pursue that particular disgusting fantasy of yours was the wrong choice.” Dahlia said, then extended her arm into the blue projection light and Samuel handed her a bottle of liquor from a shelf. Dahlia uncapped it and poured amber liquid into a large glass. “What are you doing?” Mr. Clark clamored as Dahlia approached him with the glass. “I swear I didn’t do it! I never touched the boy!” “It’s tacky to lie,” Samuel commented, watching as the man squirmed in place. Dahlia grabbed him by the hair, yanked his jaw up in the air, and poured the cup down his throat. The liquid spilled over the mans chin and down his shirt as he spluttered and fought, but Dahlia made sure some went down his throat. “How does it feel to be robbed of your agency?” Dahlia asked, stepping back. “I want you to meditate on that while the darkness comes. To feel like– what was his name?” she asked the man. “Evan Watson.” Samuel supplied when the man kept quiet. “Yes, like Evan when you raped him.” The man coughed out a sting of curses at Samuel and Dahlia, but the words quickly subsided until both the room and the man were still. Dahlia shuddered and turned away. “You know I like to stay distant and trust you and Charley and the others to handle this part,” she said to Samuel. “But I hated the dreams I saw. The ones with kids are the worst.” “You don’t need to explain to me, I’ve seen the way it hurts.” “Right.” Her friend’s view into her mind let Samuel understand best, but that didn’t stop Dahlia from wanting to explain things to her anyway. I appreciate you Sam, she thought. In all the ways you help me stop these people. I’d be lost without you. Samuel smiled her pearly teeth at Dahlia and Dahlia wished then that she could also see into Samuel’s innermost thoughts.

11. Their interactions with a stranger (feel free to say who the stranger might be! wink wink)

Dahlia was an early riser, and like clockwork every morning she went to her chair on the front porch and smoked under the morning sun. But this spring morning she waited to receive her brother visiting for Passover, and this morning’s cigarette was interrupted by the arrival of Michael and his boyfriend Josh with suitcases in tow. She ran down the steps to hug her brother, and then shook Josh’s hand, thinking he somehow wasn’t what she was expecting. Not that she had any big expectations but she wanted only the best for her brother. She thought he was ordinary but handsome, with a wide friendly smile, crooked at the edges. He looked eager but nervous as Dahlia introduced herself. “So you’re the mysterious Canadian man my brother’s been dating huh? Good to finally meet you. I hope you’ve been keeping him out of trouble.” Josh laughed, a bright pleasant sound. “I’m studying criminal justice actually, if anyone will be keeping him on the straight and narrow it’s me.” His accent was noticeable and musical, and Dahlia saw Michael’s eyes shining as he glanced over at Josh. Her brother looked proud and happy she realized, happier and younger looking than when she’d last seen him. “Good, well we have some lovely matzo brei mom made on the stove, you’re welcome to it for breakfast.” “Thank god, I’m starving,” said Josh. “We left too early to have breakfast and nothing at the airport sounded good.” Josh left to go bring their luggage inside, and Michael stayed out on the porch with his sister. “I’ve got a good feeling about this one.” Dahlia remarked. “What makes you say that?” Michael wondered. Dahlia offered him her cigarette and he took it. “You’ve got a love glow about you.” “I do not have a ‘love glow’,” he grumbled, blowing smoke through his nose. She laughed and took the cigarette back. “No, but seriously, you look really happy with him, not like with anyone else before. Seems like the real deal.” “Maybe. I hope so. I want mom and dad to like him.” He’s serious with this guy, Dahlia mused. Her brother caring about his parents opinions? That was a first. “I’m happy you’re home, Mike. And I wouldn’t worry about what mom thinks at least,” she said, peering into the doorway. “Look at her, she’s already fussing over him in there getting him enough on his plate.” Michael chuckled. “Better get in there and rescue him before he’s overfed.”

Rosie

1. Them as a child (i’ll do this one later)

8. Their interactions with their significant other(s), if they have them (the significant other is outta the picture, so you get Rosie and her daughter instead)

Bia clinked her raspberry gin lemonade against her mother’s glass. They sat in a private VIP room at the King’s Throne, celebrating Bia’s acceptance into one of the top medical schools in the country. Rosanne frequented this particular night club for abundance of potential customers and good relations with the owner. They were on their second round of drinks. “To the start of your career! This is all for you sweetie, enjoy yourself.” Rosanne toasted her glass and took a long sip. Bia followed suit. “Honey, I want you to know I’m proud of you.” “Thanks mom.” “I’ve been proud since the first time I held you crying in my arms.” Maybe it was the alcohol, but Bia felt a lump rise in her throat. "Even if... I turned out differently than you expected?” Rosanne set down her amaretto sour. “You’ve surprised me a lot as you’ve grown,” she started. “But never negatively. Never wanted you to work in my trade, and you surprised me by never wanting to follow in my footsteps, by picking medical school and gettin’ accepted. I’ve watched a little boy grow into a wonderful, resourceful, fucking intelligent, brave and beautiful woman. Nothing could make me prouder.” Happy tears dripped down over Bia’s expensive make up but she didn’t care. Her mother pulled her into a hug and Bia let her mascara disintegrate.

Bia

9. Their interactions with their best friend

“Your quiet magical friend told me you were here in rehab. I’m really proud of you for being here Ian.” Bia sat beside him on the edge of his bed in his room at the inpatient rehab center. She looked much healthier now, but a different version of the woman he’d known once, before Phil Lancaster had ever touched her. “Thank you Bia, and you haven’t told anyone else about what Michael can do, have you?” “No, you made me swear.” “Okay, cool.” “But listen I... I’m not the reason you’re in here now, am I?” “What do you mean?” Bia shifted her shoes on the carpet and smoothed her hair. “Well, you and me were trying different shit a lot when we were together and I’d feel terrible if I–” “No,” Ian interrupted. “Trust me, you’re not the reason I’m here. I was an addict before I met you.” Bia sighed, still looking concerned. “Okay, just wanted to apologize for ever turning you onto it.” His time dating her had been comfortable and some brief, needed stability. They spent it trying drugs and having sex, but Ian’s favorite memories had been the late hours of the night when they lay beside each other and she shared stories; these including tales of her life as a surgeon and her wild experience of growing up with a drug mogul mother like Rosanne Madaki. “I’m the one couldn’t stop Bia, and you never forced me. You were one of the few things keeping my head above the water. Taking Xanax was my own choice and so is quitting it.” She smiled meekly. “That’s the spirit.” “So, how have you been recently?” “In constant therapy for... y’know, what he did. There’s no better relief than waking up in my mother’s house and remembering he’s dead and will never be anything but dead. Mom’s barely let me out of her sight, and when she does she has one of her bodyguards tail me around, she thinks I don’t notice.” “She loves you.” “I know, she just blames herself for everything still.” “We’ve all got our struggles,” Ian said patting her arm. “We’ll try and get better together, okay?” Bia nodded and smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

sorry for the long post to everyone who isn’t anna, the only one who will know or care about any of these characters……… lol but anyway anna none of these are in the actual book 1 story, it’s all either prequel/flash backs or book 2 stuff (and also i skipped some prompts bc this is already a lot and i want your input, i craaaaave it, love you so much thank you for sending me these and kickstarting a writing mood <3)

Michael

1. Them as a child:

3. Their parent(s) (ok listen, this post is long enough, i going to just split all the ones i didn’t do here in another part 2 post later okay? so i’ll do this one later)

4. Their laugh: (and i’ll do this one later )

7. Their interactions with their pets, if they have them:

11. Their interactions with a stranger (feel free to say who the stranger might be! wink wink):

Michael stepped casually from the elevator, fidgeting hand needing to readjust the fake access badge clipped to his chest. Bia gave it to him, had it forged for him to blend in better, and Michael appreciated the way eyes never stayed on him long. Down the hospital’s long corridor of drywall-white patient rooms he stopped when he found the one he sought, slipping inside. Michael had read this man’s profile. Daniel Keaton, 25, paralyzed from the waist down, the loss of total lower motor control result of a nasty accident. Bia gave him information on a couple of her patients that were in conditions no amount of surgery would help. Understand me, she had said, when she handed him the ID. I’m not letting you do my job for me, since I am more than capable. But not everything has a cure. The man in the bed looked away from a bland television program, saw the hospital staff badge, brown leather jacket, and the lack of any hospital scrubs and asked, “Hi, are you my new counselor? I don’t feel like talking, sorry.” “No, I’m a… physical therapist.” “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re kinda useless at this point. Maybe you’re in the wrong room but I’m past the point of ever using my legs again, the doctors already told me.” ”I know. There’s a method that might bring you some relief, at least. Will you let me try?” “Knock yourself out.” Daniel sighed, closing his downbeat eyes in resignation. Michael carefully helped Daniel into a seated position in the hospital bed and proceeded to gently knead over the dead spinal nerves of his lower back. The accustomed electric warmth pulsed through Michael’s core, seeping up from his bones into the tissue, a faint glow emanating from the flat pressed palms on Daniel’s back. “Wait,” Daniel said suddenly, registering the strange sensation. “What are you doing?” “Don’t worry,” Michael assured. “It’s safe. This will help.” Daniel looked over his shoulder at Michael, slack jawed. “But… I shouldn’t be able to… why can I feel my legs?” Michael sensed his repair work was finished. He backed up a few steps. “Stand up.” “I can’t.” Daniel helplessly shook his head. “Can’t you?” Michael raised an eyebrow. Hesitantly, Daniel pulled his knees up and then gasped. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood up, devolving into startled tears as he did so. “I-I don’t understand. How? What are you?” “Just a man trying to help.” “What’s your name?” Michael held a finger to his lips. “Lie back in bed, Daniel. When asked, say it was a miracle recovery. You never saw me. Take care.” Before speechless Daniel could utter a question or thank you, Michael left the hospital room.

12. Them in their favorite outfit (i’ll do this one later)

14. Them in an uncomfortable outfit (i’ll do this one later)

16. Them sleepy (i’ll do this one later)

19. Them drunk:

One moment Michael was hiking side by side with Josh on the edge of a hilly forest trail, drunkenly laughing at something, but what he couldn’t remember, Josh had said something funny— when a pile of trail rocks under his feet slid loose and the world hitched violently sideways and down. As if his coordination wasn’t impaired enough by his boozy afternoon at their secluded campsite, all he saw as he tumbled down the leafy slope was green and browns, no sense of up or down. He yelped rolling on his back until he landed face first on something sharp in the creek bed that scorched his lips and face with pain. His hands clamped to his face in shock. Josh shouted something indistinguishably after him, clambering down the side of the ravine a lot more gracefully to the stony creek shore below. Michael covered his left cheek with a large hand, palm pressed to his mouth, and when Josh reached him and moved his hand to see, it came away red. “Tabernac, tabernac, tabernac,” Josh cursed under his breath, quickly shedding his coat, stripping away his own t-shirt, and folding it over as a makeshift bandage to the jagged diagonal cut on Michael’s face. Tears welled in Michael’s eyes but Josh was quicker, wiping away the wetness and applying pressure to his stinging split lip. “Look, it was this broken glass right here you fell on. What the fuck is that, someone’s beer bottle?” “Fuckin’ bottle, why’s that there? ‘S not the brand you drink.” “Don’t speak Michel, god you’re sure bleeding a lot,” He paused. “I think we need to go to a hospital.” Michael was preoccupied with the trail of blonde hair traveling up Josh’s naval. He reached out and smoothed his thumb and forefinger down Josh’s naked chest. “You look… good like this.” “Ce n'est pas le moment pour ça!” his boyfriend chided. “Tabernac, you’re lucky that wasn’t your eyes!” “But…” It wasn’t supposed to go like this, they were supposed to be at camp tonight, where Josh would eat those cheap grocery store cherry danishes he liked while Michael would build a good fire for their dinner. Josh gently stood up. “No buts. I know you’re hammered but get up please, you gotta get stitches, there’s no way you couldn’t with a cut that deep,” Michael held Josh’s shirt in place over his copper-tasting mouth and Josh helped him to his feet. “Might even have a scar.” he continued. “Would you, y’still love me if I did?” “Obviously, now c’mon cher, we’ll go back and pack our things and take my bike into Fredericton.”

Ian

2. Them several years past their main adventure: (not gonna do years later, just making this book 2 Ian lmao)

Ian traced wandering lines in his sketchbook, taking his restless energy and channeling it into activity, distraction; one of the little tricks gained in the rehab center. Sobriety had been a bitch to learn, and often Ian flexed a muscle of self control he’s carefully crafted to hold him steady. Temptation tickled the back of his neck in his most stressful moments, and the times Michael left him alone for too long. And Michael, the man who took him to rehab, who brought art supplies to his room at the clinic For something nice to do, he had said. Ian had never loved a set of pencils so dearly. Michael had visited daily, talked with him about his therapy as he sat still in his chair and let Ian draw him. Ian never took Michael’s presence for granted, it was familiar and warm, a stark contrast to the first night they met. Time does strange things to people, Ian decided. But… Ian had to appreciate the change. Michael managed his medicines for him, took care of him with every meal he made for the two of them, and he made Ian laugh even in a dark moment of handling some sticky Orion business. Gradually he’d become his foothold in sobriety, his anchor point. His Michael. Ian shook the idea away. No, Michael’s not mine to have, Ian thought. Michael surely didn’t get the pesky flashes of impossible possibilities like the kind that plagued Ian’s headspace lately, of… more. He disdainfully flipped to a new page in his sketchbook, landed on a page of Michael sketches he’d drawn secretly and quickly ignored them by flipping to a fresh sheet. Ian settled back in his chair, and argued back and forth silently until he’d convinced himself Michael was his friend, his partner in literal crime, and that was enough. That had to be enough.

16. Them sleepy:

Michael returned home in the early morning, only to discover his bed was occupied. Ian was in boxers and nothing else, sound asleep. His partner’s limbs were bent up among his blankets, mouth puffing open slightly whenever he breathed out. Used to seeing Ian sleep in odd positions on the couch, Michael knew the way he tucked his arms under himself in his sleep. But it was strange to see him in here. How often did he come in here, even when Michael was awake? Michael stood silent by the bedside and watched Ian snooze peacefully, not wanting to wake him just yet. Did he miss me? This time, instead of dismissing it immediately, Michael let this thought settle. Michael imagined the way Ian must’ve been up waiting for him, maybe even worrying about him, before coming to open his bedroom door. Michael How Ian must have settled his head, nose against the pillow, and arranged the comforter Michael slept with over himself. And then his hand slipped, drifted downward, sinking down into Ian’s hair. Soft and thicker than he imagined, he combed through the wisps of black lightly enough to not disturb him. Missed you, came a hushed sentiment in his mind. Michael swept the bangs that fell messily over Ian’s forehead when his hand grazed across Ian’s temple. There had been times Michael touched Ian before; when injured pieces were in play and Michael stitched up the wounds. The burst of warmth when fingertips brushed Ian’s skin took him by surprise. Ian stirred from this touch however, and Michael’s hand flew to his side. Extending his arms, green swatches fluttered open; Ian stretched his legs and flopped his head on the pillow. “Hi, you’re back,” he mumbled, words languid like the hand that rubbed at his eye, then curled loosely on the sheets. “Hi,” Michael replied, the way Ian looked up at him striking some tender feeling in his throat. “What are you doing in here?” Starting to understand his indications, Michael saw the light flush of embarrassment rise as Ian rolled into sitting. “Did I fall asleep in here? Sorry man, my mistake. Been pretty tired lately,” he explained, kicking away the sheets and getting clumsily out of Michael’s bed. “I had all the lights off and must’ve walked in here instead of my room. Didn’t think twice, my head just hit a pillow.” “S’alright. You looked comfortable.” Michael smoothed his hand over the blanket and Ian’s eyes followed it. “… I was.” Ian shrugged before sheepishly fleeing the room for his own bed.

19. Them drunk:

“Hey, buddy.” A firm hand nudged Ian’s shoulder. “Buddy.” The faint sounds of a bar swam to his ears; the clink of glasses against wood, quiet voices agreeing to go home, chairs scraping and the drone of a late night talk show host floating somewhere above him. “C’mon Ian, you need to get out of here.” With a soft sigh that left his chest slowly, he knew where he was. He sat on a stool in his favorite local dive, his body glued to the counter in his usual spot. Graham the bartender, to his credit, waited a full minute before poking Ian in the shoulder. “Mm, can I get one to go?” Ian’s voice came muffled from the crook of his arm. The sticky countertop was a comfortable place to lay his head and he liked the support it gave his loose limbs which currently felt curled up on each other. “No,” the barkeep responded firmly. “And you’re not staying the night… I’ll call you a cab.” Ian’s head popped off the counter, fingers clinging to the glass in his hand. “Don’t have to.” Ian stood, waiting for the lightheaded rush that made his knees wobble to pass before knocking back the dregs of his screwdriver and slipping a few crumpled bills under his glass. “Someone’s coming to get you?” Graham asked. Ian basked in the heat lingering in his throat, he swallowed. “H’yeah, sure.” He waved off the question with a flip of his hand and ambled outside.

Charley

4. Their laugh:

Samuel pulled through the discount rack, casting coat hanger after coat hanger aside flippantly and frowning. “Why’s this all ugly?” she lamented. Charley shrugged, back against the wall, eyes trained on the crummy mall clothes outlet across the way from the display window of theirs. They did this as part of their job sometimes, building profiles. It helped understand daily routines a target had and was the best way to learn potential vulnerabilities. “Oh, now this is good,” Samuel piped up. “I should get these Dahlia for her next birthday.” Charley turned and saw her considering a set of women’s pajamas, with blue penguins printed on the pants and another pudgy penguin on the shirt with a speech bubble saying ‘Out Cold’. Charley took one look at the pajamas and burst out laughing. “Are you fuckin’ kidding?” he snickered, gesturing. “These? With these cute little bastards on them? Are we thinking of the same woman?” He deemed Dahlia maybe a little too serious and brooding. “She could use these, I hate seeing her going to sleep in just whatever outfit she’s got on. She actually would like something goofy like this, she just doesn’t say so.” Samuel held the shirt and flipped flopped the long fleecey sleeve, before then using it to wave to Charley. He chuckled and checked his watch. “You’d know better than anybody, I suppose.” “There’s a lot of things about Dahlia you don’t know.” “Really?” Charley asked interested, hands busy tying long black dreads into a bun at his neck. “Care to share with the class?” Samuel shook her head. “I don’t betray her trust like I promised I wouldn’t betray yours.” Aside from the very first time, he thought. Samuel hadn’t broken her promise to him since. “I respect that,” Charley rolled his shoulders and glanced over into the clothing store opposite the one they stood in. An unassuming young man with green sneakers had just entered it.“Spotted him. Do your thing.” he said to his partner. The two watched him moving around the counter of the neighboring store. “He’s late for work,” Samuel said. “That’s why he’s rushing. He’s nervous his manager might be annoyed with him… here she comes. And he’s very attracted to his boss, he’s thinking about her…” her nose crinkled. “I’m not relaying that.” Samuel watched the manager cross her arms as the man blabbered on. “She thinks he’s nothing but a tiny-dicked idiot. Got him.” she concluded and Charley laughed again.

5. Their crying:

Charley sat across from his partner Samuel at a cafe table in Ireland. His panic had brought them far across the ocean, further than he meant to travel but Charley chalked it up to stress and a need to just run. Their mission to hunt a certain target ended successfully with the target’s death, but included the death of an innocent bystander. Just thinking about it made Charley’s guts coil. He fucked up bad this time, he lost control and a man lost his life because of the mishap. “You’re still learning control over your power, you did not abuse it, the reins slipped from your hands. An accident, Charley. That’s all it was.” He wiped a stubborn tear from the crease of his eye. Samuel’s brow furrowed. “You don’t need to be brave in front of me,” she murmured, reading the shame and denial of his emotions from his mind. “I’m not like him.” Charley blinked his chestnut eyes, the sour rise that made his nose tingle bringing more tears as he thought of the man who had turned him this way. His partner saw through him like tissue paper, and she saw the replaying memories; the way his face had looked, the reason he hated to let anyone see him cry, and the way that the innocent man had been knocked below to his death. He reached for her ivory hand and she took it supportively, politely looking to the far end of the cafe while Charley mopped his brow with a cloth napkin, the older man’s torso shaking with low rumbles and sniffs. A couple other lunch goers nearby looked in their direction a few times, but left them undisturbed. “… We need to see Meissa.” Samuel said finally. Charley wiped his eyes once more looked morosely at his untouched scone. “What do I tell her?” “The truth.” she suggested, wrapping her coat a little closer to her. “I’ll vouch for you, I saw them both die. The other man was not supposed to be there. It’s unfortunate, yes, but we live in the present and must go on.” Charley thought that seemed a bit harsh. “It’s survival,” Samuel added gently. “You had to change to survive and here you sit. I survived the bear trap of my childhood and here I sit. This doesn’t end here,” She retrieved her wallet and left some money on the table. “Ready? We’ll make it through this too.” Charley nodded, took a deep slow breath to collect himself. Then Samuel placed her hands in his on the table and the two vanished from their seats.

Dahlia

10. Their interactions with an enemy/rival

Dahlia kept certain rooms in her house well furnished and comfortable, and others purposefully devoid of distractions. She was leaning against her desk in such a room now, desk and a single bookshelf holding some of her dream journals the only objects beside bare floor and walls, with of course, the projection system. Projected on the walls all around her was a calming cloudy ocean scene with the horizon stretched before her. She lit a cigarette, smoke curling bright in the projection light. She glanced at her watch. The chair and the man tied to it materialized a half second later. Dahlia didn’t bat an eye. Charley stood behind the chair, palms flat on the grizzled older man’s shoulders. “I appreciate the trouble,” said Dahlia. “I know you could’ve handled him alone.” “No trouble, and thank Sammy, she lured his greasy ass into the motel room. In fact, thank her yourself.” He disappeared and within five seconds he reappeared, this time hand in hand with Samuel. Her peacock blue heels clicked on the hardwood as she moved concentric circles around the man in the chair. “Still out cold, I’m impressed Charley-boy.” “Pleasure, I’ve been practicing my right hook. It’s nice to test it out on this freak. A five year old kid, that’s sick.” he shook his head. ”Good work both of you,” Dahlia hummed approvingly. “Now we wait.” “Mind if I bounce?” Charley asked. “Gotta teach my class in an hour.” “Go right ahead. Just be back here after for disposal.” Charley nodded and vanished. Dahlia coolly regarded the unconscious man, puffing on her cigarette, lost in thought. Samuel silently watched Dahlia thinking. Samuel became a usual presence to Dahlia in this way, like a friend sitting beside her on a windowsill, simultaneously looking out the same window as herself, seeing the same vivid world outside. At last, the large man stirred, opened his bleary eyes. “The hell?” he groaned, then his eyes fell on Dahlia, then Samuel. “Who are you people? Where the fuck did you take me, you pasty bitch?” Dahlia didn’t waste time. “Mr. Clark, you don’t know me and I certainly don’t care to know you, but I do know what you did to the five year old son of your next door neighbors.” The man tried to wiggle out of his restraints. “You’re crazy, I don’t know what you’re talking about, let me fucking go!” “Take a look around Mr. Clark, this is the last room you’ll ever see.” “What?” he froze mid struggle and stared at Dahlia, who tapped her cigarette calmly in a porcelain teacup on the table. He looked to Samuel whose pallid eyes pierced daggers in his direction. “You’re not serious… I’m not scared of some dumb bitches.” “He’s lying.” Samuel contributed. “Choosing to pursue that particular disgusting fantasy of yours was the wrong choice.” Dahlia said, then extended her arm into the blue projection light and Samuel handed her a bottle of liquor from a shelf. Dahlia uncapped it and poured amber liquid into a large glass. “What are you doing?” Mr. Clark clamored as Dahlia approached him with the glass. “I swear I didn’t do it! I never touched the boy!” “It’s tacky to lie,” Samuel commented, watching as the man squirmed in place. Dahlia grabbed him by the hair, yanked his jaw up in the air, and poured the cup down his throat. The liquid spilled over the mans chin and down his shirt as he spluttered and fought, but Dahlia made sure some went down his throat. “How does it feel to be robbed of your agency?” Dahlia asked, stepping back. “I want you to meditate on that while the darkness comes. To feel like– what was his name?” she asked the man. “Evan Watson.” Samuel supplied when the man kept quiet. “Yes, like Evan when you raped him.” The man coughed out a sting of curses at Samuel and Dahlia, but the words quickly subsided until both the room and the man were still. Dahlia shuddered and turned away. “You know I like to stay distant and trust you and Charley and the others to handle this part,” she said to Samuel. “But I hated the dreams I saw. The ones with kids are the worst.” “You don’t need to explain to me, I’ve seen the way it hurts.” “Right.” Her friend’s view into her mind let Samuel understand best, but that didn’t stop Dahlia from wanting to explain things to her anyway. I appreciate you Sam, she thought. In all the ways you help me stop these people. I’d be lost without you. Samuel smiled her pearly teeth at Dahlia and Dahlia wished then that she could also see into Samuel’s innermost thoughts.

11. Their interactions with a stranger (feel free to say who the stranger might be! wink wink)

Rosie

1. Them as a child (i’ll do this one later)

8. Their interactions with their significant other(s), if they have them (the significant other is outta the picture, so you get Rosie and her daughter instead)

Bia clinked her raspberry gin lemonade against her mother’s glass. They sat in a private VIP room at the King’s Throne, celebrating Bia’s acceptance into one of the top medical schools in the country. Rosanne frequented this particular night club for abundance of potential customers and good relations with the owner. They were on their second round of drinks. “To the start of your career! This is all for you sweetie, enjoy yourself.” Rosanne toasted her glass and took a long sip. Bia followed suit. “Honey, I want you to know I’m proud of you.” “Thanks mom.” “I’ve been proud since the first time I held you crying in my arms.” Maybe it was the alcohol, but Bia felt a lump rise in her throat. “Even if… I turned out differently than you expected?” Rosanne set down her amaretto sour. “You’ve surprised me a lot as you’ve grown,” she started. “But never negatively. Never wanted you to work in my trade, and you surprised me by never wanting to follow in my footsteps, by picking medical school and gettin’ accepted. I’ve watched a little boy grow into a wonderful, resourceful, fucking intelligent, brave and beautiful woman. Nothing could make me prouder.” Happy tears dripped down over Bia’s expensive make up but she didn’t care. Her mother pulled her into a hug and Bia let her mascara disintegrate.

Bia

9. Their interactions with their best friend

“Your quiet magical friend told me you were here in rehab. I’m really proud of you for being here Ian.” Bia sat beside him on the edge of his bed in his room at the inpatient rehab center. She looked much healthier now, but a different version of the woman he’d known once, before Phil Lancaster had ever touched her. “Thank you Bia, and you haven’t told anyone else about what Michael can do, have you?” “No, you made me swear.” “Okay, cool.” “But listen I… I’m not the reason you’re in here now, am I?” “What do you mean?” Bia shifted her shoes on the carpet and smoothed her hair. “Well, you and me were trying different shit a lot when we were together and I’d feel terrible if I–” “No,” Ian interrupted. “Trust me, you’re not the reason I’m here. I was an addict before I met you.” Bia sighed, still looking concerned. “Okay, just wanted to apologize for ever turning you onto it.” His time dating her had been comfortable and some brief, needed stability. They spent it trying drugs and having sex, but Ian’s favorite memories had been the late hours of the night when they lay beside each other and she shared stories; these including tales of her life as a surgeon and her wild experience of growing up with a drug mogul mother like Rosanne Madaki. “I’m the one couldn’t stop Bia, and you never forced me. You were one of the few things keeping my head above the water. Taking Xanax was my own choice and so is quitting it.” She smiled meekly. “That’s the spirit.” “So, how have you been recently?” “In constant therapy for… y’know, what he did. There’s no better relief than waking up in my mother’s house and remembering he’s dead and will never be anything but dead. Mom’s barely let me out of her sight, and when she does she has one of her bodyguards tail me around, she thinks I don’t notice.” “She loves you.” “I know, she just blames herself for everything still.” “We’ve all got our struggles,” Ian said patting her arm. “We’ll try and get better together, okay?” Bia nodded and smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

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jatamansi-arc · 6 years

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so, the second time i watched annihilation, i have a lot of feelings about it. like a lot lot. and i’m not sure if anyone else will agree with me, but i’m gonna fucking dump all my notes here so i can come back to them here and see how i feel about them in subsequent viewings.

i really love the movie, though. i liked it the first time, but i loved it this time. so much. definitely one of my favorite movies ever. maybe actually up there with everything is illuminated with being my actual favorite.

spoilers, y’all.

the first time you watch this movie, you walk away blown away, going AAAAaaaaAAaaAHGFJ about it. the second time you watch it? they aren’t kidding when they say everything has double meanings. literally everything does. i think that’s half the reason that makes it so much fun to slowly dissect.

annihilation isn’t a story about depression, though i can see how it’d be read that way very easily. there are tons of elements that would lead you to that conclusion. rather, i’ve come to the conclusion that it’s one about the competition between our tendency for self-destruction and our capacity to forgive. it’s a love story.

the most important thing that annihilation repeatedly touches on, is really playing with philosophical and allegorical extremes and dismantling them. the question of whether something is a scientific proof or a sign of faith is posed to lena several times in the film, and the question is never answered but carefully balanced. and it’s shown time and time and time again, in sweeping scale and in minute details. for example: ventress, the pinnacle of the rational and higher thought, has a name that draws its source from a term meant to show someone’s ability to take brazen risks. she takes her notes when talking to lena with artist grade sketching pencils. ventress’ mask is good, but she is desperate dreamer who wants to see what lies beyond the shimmer before her body takes the chance from her.

all of the main characters’ names, however, were picked very specifically.

lena: short for helena, which can be taken to mean ‘torch.’ there’s the whole thing about helen of troy eloping and causing the trojan war to bring her home, too. but more importantly, i firmly believe it’s also a play on the hela cell line.

anya: ties to anna, a prophetess of the bible, who preached of redemption and experienced deep loss early in her life.

cass: short for cassandra, another prophetess, but one who was cursed so that her words wouldn’t be heeded until it was too late. she was also connected to troy.

josie: josephine is the feminine form of joseph, and the father of jesus is the patron saint of contentful death, and is almost always displayed surrounded in his field by flowers meant to represent purity and resurrection.

kane: from o catháin, which means war like or battle.

everyone in kane’s group had a surname that has been shared among three kinds of famous people in every instance: a scientist, a religious scholar, and an author. it was weird enough to note.

area x is in an area that’s remote and has alligators, but the thing that makes it interesting, is that bears and alligators don’t have much overlapping territory. this means if it wasn’t already a giant red fucking flag to begin with, our furry friend is a composite from the shimmer.

the shimmer may be alien or it may be biblical; the reality of it doesn’t much matter. what it does, is take the cells of the dead and dying and recycle them. when ventress talks about how a shark and alligator are clearly intermingling genetically and lena dismisses it, lena isn’t wrong, but lena’s error is that she’s not thinking broadly enough.

cass is the first one to drop the hint, right after we get lena talking about the bruise that she gets with the fight with the alligator. it’s where the tattoo would eventually be later on -- except there is a hitch. cass is also clearly skeptical of this, and it reads easily on her face, before she talks about her daughter dying of leukemia and how she died, emotionally, with her. it’s a hint that lena’s cells immediately begin to mutate once this happened. whatever the shimmer is, it takes hox genes, which are what hold the entirety of our genomes, and is trying to manipulate and recode what it can with what’s available. this isn’t evolution, but a sort of intelligent design with very limited resources and a finite understanding of what it’s doing. it’s creating immortal cell lines, though, and the hints are dropped about five thousand times over.

the man that kane and his crew kill likely had cancer. look at how prolifically his cells were mutating before he died, and his complete lack of reaction while being otherwise vivisected. what’s even more interesting is that ventress, who otherwise never gives a fucking shit about anyone, is visibly shaken for the only time in the movie. she was the one who was in charge of area x. she knew about everyone going in there. it’s much more likely she’d have an investment in knowing what happened to someone else who was ‘self-destructing’ for a similar reason to her.

once she has her answer, it’s straight back to business.

the reason the bear is tragic -- and ultimately horrific -- is because it was spliced together from bits and pieces of dna by a being that has never seen a fucking bear besides the hyperstylized one that was on kane’s chest. it wanted to build what it saw. it was curious. it looks like his tattoo; look at it closer when you get a chance.

it’s furthermore meant to represent kane’s fear. absorbing cass’ voice as its call is only meant to really drive the metaphor home, and to make josie’s decision in the next arc all the more poignant.

the symbolism behind the bear, by the by, is a lot of things. most important is the duality of the male and female. it’s one of the rare animals that represents both sexes. bears also represent a desire for answers and, again, resurrection.

and when looking for cass, lena sees two deer, who are again another rare animal who represent both sexes and are oftentimes portents of death and a hope for a return to life after that death.

anya’s role in these scenes is important because they’re allegorical. the implication that lena’s and kane’s addiction to their careers is what kept them apart is certainly clear, and it’s not just casual happenstance that anya self-destructs in a house that’s a carbon copy of kane’s and lena’s home. anya’s death is meant to represent breaking the cycle of addiction (even if you’re terrified) and the beginning of the resurrection of kane and lena’s relationship. she was the paramedic, after all.

she’s also meant to stand in for kane here, because her words are meant to be accusatory towards lena, as if it were kane saying them about her cheating.

“ you don’t get to ask that question, you lying bitch! you get to answer it!”

“what we know now -- what we know, is that lena is a liar.”

^ that one is really fucking important okay

who delivers the death blows against the bear is important. it’s josie. young, doe-eyed and fresh faced josie who is full of life and has dedicated her life to studying the science understanding the interactions between matter. who eventually gives her life over to the entire process, but not before saying something really important to lena:

‘imagine dying in fear. i wouldn’t like that at all.”

THAT’S GONNA BE RELEVANT HERE SHORTLY HANG ON.

by the by: lena finds out her humanity is slowly leaving her at the same table where we see kane time and time again. kane’s self-destruction is external while lena’s is internal, at least at the time.

josie, anya and lena are not impacted in the same way that kane, vertress and other clearly sick people who have gone into the shimmer are. or, at least, not at the same pace. it makes me have the theory that lena thought kane learned that she was cheating, but kane was perhaps hiding something much worse. there could be a lot said about what guilt does to people, on both sides. they may have both been hiding things. it really twists the whole plot to an interesting angle if the reason kane was sitting, so melancholic and distant, was not because he knew about lena and daniel, but because he was angry and upset at himself for not being able to tell his wife that he may have been seriously ill. it may also be why the clone of him suddenly crashed once it’d been outside, in the real world, as well?

it further tells an interesting tale if you read that dying in the shimmer causes a far faster progression of mutation and, in a sense, almost a sort of dementia. kane may have lost himself entirely over the course of what felt like 10-12 days, knowing very little in the end other than he truly loved lena.

regardless of my theories on it, the shimmer is still literally kane’s feelings of adoration towards lena on display. if you debate me on this point i will fucking fight you.

coming back to allegory: kane’s self-immolation was meant to represent genesis and the big bang. lena’s fight with clone!lena is a battle with what’s meant to be the perils of knowledge (and forgiveness/grief, I think, honestly) and her eventual departure from what’s clearly meant to be a garden of eden metaphor. the phosphorus grenade, the second time around, is meant to be the fruit of knowledge.

it was clone!lena that survived imho, because original!lena didn’t have the tattoo by that point. clone!lena did the instant she was made. and the instant whatever lena did survive made it outside, she pulled down her sleeves.

when she’s being asked questions at the end, she literally mimics clone!kane to perfection. she even drinks the water, with the hint in the glass that two become one via the pooling on the side of the glass. it’s, furthermore, a throwback and lead-in to the next scene, serving as a reminder to the very beginning of the movie when lena talks about how cells reproduce. one becoming two, two becoming four, etc. but as one of my friends said, sometimes two need to become one first. GOOD POINT IT WAS A GOOD POINT.

in the end, it really didn’t matter which lena survived, because lena’s an unreliable narrator and ultimately lying to get exactly what she wants. if they knew the reality, they’d never let them be in a room together. the book talks about biological imperatives a lot and the movie deviates pretty strongly from it, but this was an instance where you definitely get exactly that vibe. this is adam and eve on a whole new, cosmic scale.

when she asks kane if he’s himself and he says no, he returns the favor. lena doesn’t answer the question. kane’s facial expressions are very telling, but i’m not going to tell you what they are if you didn’t see them. then we get the shimmer eyes and it makes me very happy okay.

the amount of fucking times the immortal life of henrietta lacks is referenced in this movie DRIVES ME BATTY but in a good way??

#ooc #annihilation #i'm going to regret tagging this #but i just wrote this for like two hours so fuck it

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seanpatricklittlewriter · 3 years

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The Final Blog Post of 2020

Greetings, friends. It has been a while.

I think, as it has been for so many of us, 2020 is going down as a year where I accomplished pretty much nothing.I had big things planned for 2020, as I am sure a lot of you did, and they just… did not happen. Most of the downhill slide started in March, when I accepted a third-shift job. My body did not respond well to working third shift, and it sapped me of just about any will do to anything. I spent my days asleep, and my nights hovering through a weird twilight state where I was awake and doing things, but I was not happy about it. On my days off, I could barely function, and I started getting little fits of narcolepsy. After a doctor’s appointment, I mentioned these issues, and the doctor told me that someone who has the sort of thyroid and metabolic conditions that I have should not work third shift because it throws my whole system into whack.

So, I’m looking for a new job, a better job (hopefully), and something that I actually look forward to doing. If nothing else, I’ve learned that money isn’t as important as actually enjoying your work.But, with this job, and the pandemic, of course, all my routines were knocked out and I have been struggling to figure out a new routine. I used to be able to write at home back when I lived in rented apartments. Since I bought a home, I’ve found it difficult. There is always something around the house that needs doing. I found a refuge at my local Culver’s restaurant. I’d go in, get a diet Mt. Dew to drink, and kick over 3-5 hours in my favorite booth grinding out pages. Now, with that not exactly being a favorable option, my writing output has decreased to almost nothing. A sentence here. Maybe a page or two, if I was lucky. The inability to generate a solid routine has made the story harder to solidify in my mind. So, it’s been a rough year is what I’m saying.

I’m still kicking, though.

As is traditional, I like to list a few things that I found that brought me some joy this year and share them with you, as maybe you might like them, too.

Movies:

--I have not watched a ton of movies this year. The last movie I saw in a theater was “1917,” which I enjoyed greatly. It was an excellent WWI film, and the fact that they made it look like it was done in a single take was a masterstroke. It was beautifully filmed, and almost every frame could be a painting. Well worth the time.

I also just watched “Soul” on Disney+. There was a lot reminiscent of “Inside Out” in “Soul,” but “Soul” was a much quieter, more existential film. I liked it a lot, but it wasn’t one of Pixar’s best outings.

I watched George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky” the other day. It was a long, dreadfully slow, and ultimately pointless film. I did not care for it. Most of the other films I’ve watched this year were fairly forgettable.

They were titles on streaming services that have been out a few years, but never generated a lot of noise.

Television:

I watched a ton of television this year. What the hell else was I going to do, right? I’m sure most of you are in the same boat. Anyhow, I have long believed that TV has become superior to films in the last few years. Better characters, better stories, and the time to tell those stories. I prefer episodic television to just about anything film has given us in the past few years, so here’s what I was watching this year.

--“19-2” (purchase four season on Amazon Prime): If you’ve watched “Letterkenny” on Hulu, then you must be familiar with Jared Keeso, who plays the central character Wayne. Keeso won some awards for a Canadian cop drama called “19-2” before he made “Letterkenny,” and I can understand why. This is a fairly dark, but realistic cop drama about the 19th Precinct in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and deals with the new guy (Keeso) transferring into the precinct from a small town and dealing with his new partner (Adrian Holmes) and the rest of the flawed members of the station in addition to dealing with policing duties around the city. One thing I liked about the series is that it never got away from the day-to-day grind of policing in a big city. The characters’ story arcs had to be worked in around the calls and patrols. The first episode of the second season of “19-2” deals with the precinct responding to a school shooting. It is, by far, one of the finest hours of television I’ve ever seen. Chaotic and hurried, brutal and bloody. It’s everything that keeps your eyes glued to the set. There were only 38 episodes of “19-2,” but I could have watched another four seasons of it. It supplanted “The Shield” as my favorite cop drama. Well worth the time.

--“The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix): I’m not going to add anything original to this that hasn’t already been written by other people. This highly lauded limited series was well-written and acted, and it actually made competitive chess interesting. Anna Taylor-Joy was excellent in the lead role, and the costumes and sets were fantastic.

--“The Uncanny Counter” (Netflix): My mother watches an insane amount of South Korean TV shows. I don’t know why. She is the butt of many jokes because of this. However, “The Uncanny Counter” is a pretty cool series that feels like an indie comic book. The premise is a group of Grim Reapers run a noodle shop and fight demons. However, the show is much more complex than that. The characters’ stories are all intertwined in odd ways, and it’s very watchable.

--“Hospital Playlist” (Netflix): Another show my mother suggested was the sappy, and almost twee hospital show “Hospital Playlist.” This show is a fairly soft, airy, and cute little hospital drama about five doctors who have been friends since medical school. They’re all heads of their respective departments now, and they work at the Yulje Medical Center. While the show centers around the five main characters, there’s a whole slate of other doctors and interns who add to the story. Inevitably, the show is about life, love, and death—like any other hospital drama. However, the core group of friends also get together once a week and play music to relax, so there is a cutesy pop song at the end of the episodes that plays into a montage of that week’s story wrapping up. The characters in the show are very likeable, and that’s about the best thing this show has going for it. Each episode is like 90 minutes, and there are 12 episodes in the first season, but I watched them all, and I hate to admit it, but I’m interested in seeing what season 2 will bring.

--“Upload” (Amazon Prime): Greg Daniels of “The Office” fame created and produced this series about the Singularity, a hypothetical point in the future when we will be able to merge our consciousness with a computer, and thus physical death will mean we have a chance to live a digital afterlife where we can still interact with our loved ones on the earthly plane through VR. The show is funny and extremely intelligent. It’s satire and commentary wrapped up in a solid existential premise.

--“Star Trek: Discovery” season 3 (CBS All Access): I’m not going to write a ton about ST:Disco, but I will say that season 3 is the first season that felt like “Star Trek” to me. It’s one of the few shows that I have actually looked forward to week-to-week.

--“The Mandalorian” season 2 (Disney+): Like ST:Disco, this is one of the few shows I actually looked forward to. The first couple of episodes felt like the series was in a bit of a rut, but the last three episodes made it all worthwhile. Total fanboy moments abounded.

--“Ted Lasso” (Apple+TV): Strangely enough, a sitcom based on a single-premise joke from a series of Superbowl ads from a couple years ago is, hands-down, my favorite new show of 2020. Jason Sudeikis of SNL fame plays Ted Lasso, the former head coach of the Wichita Shockers college football team who is hired to be the head coach of FC Richmond, a Premier League Football team in England. Initially Ted is hired by the new owner of Richmond, who happened to have won the team from her ex-husband in a messy divorce. Her initial goal is to have Ted unknowingly destroy the team, but Ted’s boundless optimism and true concern and care for his players flips the script. This is the show that 2020 needed. It is funny and joyous, and it’s another feather in Bill Lawrence’s (Scrubs, Spin City, etc…) cap. I watched this show out of a sense of loyalty to Bill Lawrence, but I ended up LOVING it. The fact that Apple renewed “Ted Lasso” for two more seasons immediately is very telling about how good this show was. Highly, highly recommend.

Music:

I barely listened to anything new this year. Not many bands I liked came out with a new record, and I was usually listening to podcasts or watching TV instead. However, there were two albums that came out year that I would note.

--Kyle Kinane, “Trampoline in a Ditch”: Kinane’s newest stand-up album, recorded in Madison, Wis., is a fun jaunt through Kinane’s weird sense of humor and excellent writing style. This record had me and my daughter laughing out loud on the day it came out, and I’ve listened to it several times since. Kinane’s writing is so good, I pick up subtle jokes on additional listenings.

--Brett Newski, “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down”: Milwaukee Dork Rocker Newski put out another solid album this year. Check out the video for “Wha’d Ya Got to Lose?”

Podcasts:

Spent a ton of time listening to podcasts at my third shift job. I’m not going to write a ton about them individually, but here’s the list of the podcasts that got the most listens from me:

--Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing, Colossal Podcast --Fake Doctors, Real Friends --Timesuck --Scared to Death --Office Ladies --Unexplained --Lore --Cabinet of Curiosities --Haunted Locations

Books:

I probably read the fewest books I’ve read in ages this year. I’m usually good for 20-40 books a year, and this year—I just did not get there. I maybe read 12 books this year, and that bothers me. I just could not focus on reading. However, much of what I did read, I enjoyed. The best of those are as follows: --Craig Johnson, “Next to Last Stand” --CJ Box, “Winterkill” --Joe Ide, “IQ” --Sebastien de Castell, “Crownbreaker” --Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, “Crooked River” Anyhow, I hope some of those media suggestions will bring you some joy. We sure could all use some in 2021, no doubt. In the meantime, do continue to stay safe and healthy. Take precautions. Don’t throw caution to the wind. My plans for 2021: --Lose weight (as usual) --Finish the second Abe & Duff novel --Maybe finish another of the several novels on my desktop --Get a job I don’t hate --Make it to 2022 Here’s to hoping I have some good news about Abe & Duff in 2021. Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year. --Sean

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disneyelite · 4 years

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14 Romantic Photo Ops at Disney World

With engagement season coming to a close, many couples are heading to the Happiest Place on Earth to experience the magic of their favorite movies. It’s the perfect place to capture romantic photo ops in front of the castle, revisit classic stories from your childhood, and let the world know you are ready to spend the rest of your life with that special someone. With stunning backdrops and the ever-present feeling of nostalgia, it’s no wonder Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is one of the most popular locations for proposals in the United States. Even more, a trip to Disney with your significant other is about being yourself and building your unique fairytale romance. Part of that experience is deciding on the most memorable photo spots to showcase your relationship. Whether it’s about revealing common interests, immortalizing where you first met, or creating your very own love story, the perfect venue comes from finding something that represents you as a couple. Below are 14 dreamy picture opportunities for couples to enjoy throughout Disney World Parks and Resorts all year long. Table of Contents 1. Port Orleans Magical Photo Spots One of my favorite resorts to stay at is Disney’s Port Orleans. Staying here, no matter which side you choose, is like getting two fantastic locations for the price of one. The food alone at Port Orleans French Quarter is enough to make the mouth water, especially with menu items like Mickey-shaped beignets, Jambalaya, and Crawfish Étouffée. Toss in the wrought-iron balconies and gates lined with gas lamps, along with all the excitement of Mardi Gras, and it's your very own dream come true.

Photo by Victoria Smith Add to the magic by dressing up as your favorite Princess and the Frog characters, like Victoria Smith and her very own Prince Naveen. While they are on their way to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in this photo, dressing up at Disney is always a great way to start a photoshoot. See more of Victoria's photos here!

Lindsay and Cody at Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

Engagement Photos taken by Nathan Root Photography What really sells the magic is the quaint splendor of Riverside. With a stunning backdrop of the Sassagoula River, lush greenery, and architecture set in the style of stately Southern mansions, this side of the resort has plenty to offer in terms of picturesque beauty. To see more of Lindsay and Cody’s lovely engagement photos taken by Nathan Root at Riverside, visit her Instagram. 2. Epcot: Spaceship Earth Photo Op for Couples The most recognizable part of Disney’s Epcot, the Spaceship Earth globe, is not something many think of as romantic right away. However, the origins of the park, and what the icon stands for, are undeniably similar to aspirations as a couple. The park itself initially aimed at being a fully functioning community where innovation and progress thrived.

Samanta and Barry Eldridge at Entrance to Disney's Epcot

Stephen and Emily Mildner: Photo Taken by Randy Chapman Today, Epcot still stands as a beacon of creativity, forward-thinking, and inspires a love for the earth and all those who inhabit it. An engineering marvel, the Spaceship Earth ride and the globe many affectionally call a “golf ball” are a striking example of all that Epcot embodies. Imagination meeting compassion and striving toward a better tomorrow, who doesn’t want that?

Ellen and Joshua Smock at Disney's Epcot 3. Animal Kingdom: Tree of Life Legend has it that the Tree of Life grew from a seed planted by an ant. This tiny insect wanted nothing more than to bring shelter to all the animals in a barren land. His wish for the tree to grow came true, and the images of every animal the baobab tree harbored soon materialized on its trunk. The legend is just a glimpse of the magic and natural wonder we feel when faced with a marvel like the Tree of Life. While we know this tale to be the work of some of the best storytellers in the industry, its theme of wishes, growth, and life are all very real images. And what better scenery is there for couples than a symbol of unity and family?

Devan Spinner and Richard Gonzalez at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Danielle Kendrick and Randy Scudder at Disney's Animal Kingdom The great thing about the Tree of Life is that there are plenty of different places to pose for the ideal snapshot. Below are some of the best places to start. In Front of the Tree: This is the obvious choice. Though whether you take the photo right at the base of the tree or far enough to catch the bustling mercantile shops in the shot is up to you. Walking Trails: There are numerous walking trails winding around the tree, all of which offer an up-close view of the intricate details on the tree’s trunk. You won’t get the full view, but it’s a unique perspective on a beautiful architectural piece.

Stefanie and Daniel Gutierrez III in front of the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom Pathway Between Africa and Asia: When passing between the two continents, a fantastic view of the tree emerges across the river. Not only does this viewpoint come with a PhotoPass photographer willing to take your photo, but you get to see a whole new set of animals carved into the trunk, as well. Nighttime “Awakenings” Show: If you stay at Animal Kingdom long enough, then the opportunity to see the “Awakenings” light show on the tree is one you can’t pass up. Gorgeous streams of color illuminate the park icon, bringing to life the spirits of playful animals who inhabit the tree and enact fun, little stories for guests to enjoy.

Photo Submitted by Crystal Lukacz 4. Magic Kingdom: Fantasyland Princess Locations The expansion of Fantasyland back in 2012 brought a whole new assortment of magical photo spots with the addition of beloved Disney princess scenes. Among these enchanting locales is Prince Eric’s Castle from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, as well as Gaston’s Tavern and Beast’s Castle from Beauty and the Beast. All are a great way to dive into the story of some of Disney’s most celebrated classics with your very own princess or Prince Charming. You can also spice things up with adorable “His & Her” t-shirts or costumes.

Cody Simmons and Sarah Newman in front of Prince Eric's Castle in Fantasyland

Jessica and Michael Ghilardi outside Gaston's Tavern in Fantasyland If the scenery alone isn’t enough to entice you, then try a character meet-and-greet with the Disney princesses. Especially if you are celebrating an engagement, these characters are more than happy to make your experience a magical one. Depending on the crowds, the princesses are a fun way to interact with storybook characters, take fun engagement poses, and receive personalized signatures to commemorate the occasion.

Photo Submitted by Sheri McManigle Bova

Photo Submitted by Sheri McManigle Bova 5. Hollywood Studios: Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened in Florida last year and has been a frequent location for tourists and locals alike. There are numerous photo locations for couples that allow them to step into one of their favorite movie franchises, including the famous shot with the Millennium Falcon outside of Smuggler’s Run.

Source: Jordan Pickett

Cody Simmons and Sarah Newman outside Smuggler's Run at Hollywood Studios One of the best things about finding that special someone to share your life with is having someone who also shares your interests. If you’ve found someone who loves Baby Yoda as much as you do, they’re a keeper. When you tell them, “I love you,” do they respond with “I know?” You’ve found the one! So feel free to geek out as much as you want in a location that represents something you both love. And even if your significant other doesn’t quite understand why everyone keeps saying “Bright Suns,” then this is still the perfect opportunity to share something you love with them. Until then, may the spires keep you.

Danielle Kendrick and Randy Scudder outside Smuggler's Run at Hollywood Studios 6. Yacht & Beach Club Romantic Photo Ops An often overlooked venue is Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts. While many newlyweds immediately think of places like the Grand Floridian or Disney’s Polynesian, the Yacht & Beach Club provides just as many lovely picture opportunities for couples who love the appeal of the seaside. Modeled after New England retreats like Martha’s Vineyard and Cape May, the resort is a romantic getaway complete with elegant lighthouses, a stunning pier, and a view of the beach. While barricades and ropes now line the rim of the lagoon, it’s still an excellent backdrop for those wanting a taste of coastal charm.

Joshua and Ellen Smock at Yacht & Beach Club 7. Disney Duo Character Photos for Couples While we already talked about posing with the Disney princesses for a fun photo excursion, another great way to bring character to your social media posts is by posing with popular duos. Characters like Anastasia and Drizella, Cinderella’s stepsisters, capitalize on magical moments with their hilarious take on…well, everything! Other character meet-and-greets like Mickey and Minnie are a great way to illustrate the sweet side of your relationship.

Cody Simmons and Sarah Newman at Adventurer's Outpost While Toy Story characters Woody and Buzz no longer do meet-and-greets together, Woody now greets guests with his love interest, Bo Peep. Some other fun character duos to meet throughout the parks are listed below. Character Duo Meet-and-Greet Locations: Aladdin and Jasmine: Agrabah Marketplace, Adventureland at Magic Kingdom Anastasia and Drizella: Castle Wall, Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom Anna and Elsa: Royal Sommerhus, Norway at Epcot Bo Peep and Woody: Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios Chip and Dale: DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Boulevard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Mickey and Minnie: Adventurer’s Outpost at Animal Kingdom Mike and Sulley: Animation Courtyard at Hollywood Studios

Kristin and Eric Trusso at Disney's Hollywood Studios 8. Polynesian Resort Memorable Photo Spots Say “Aloha” to paradise with a trip to Disney’s Polynesian Resort. This island-themed getaway is brimming with romantic photo ops. Think volcano pools with cascading waterfalls, colorful and exotic landscaping, and lazy beaches with hammocks and swings galore. There’s even a spectacular view of the castle and a great location to watch fireworks at night. Plus, cast members distribute free leis to guests at check-in, as well as to those dining at Disney’s Spirit of Aloha dinner show. So slipping seamlessly into the feel of a Hawaiian vacation is a breeze.

Stuart and Pamela Kennedy at Disney's Polynesian Resort

Kevin Raymond and Yazmin Lugo at Disney's Polynesian Resort

Photo of Couple on the Beach at Polynesian Resort Even if you don’t stay on-site at the Polynesian Resort, it’s still one of the best places to get a bite to eat. Here is a glimpse of what you’ll find on your culinary journey into this tropical retreat. Capt. Cooks: Counter-service breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Kona Island: Serves pastries and coffee for breakfast, and made-to-order sushi in the afternoon. Oasis Bar & Grill: A lunch and bar service that serves fare from burgers to salads. ‘Ohana: Offers character breakfasts with Lilo and Stitch, and Hawaiian style dinners with fun, themed activities for dinner. Pineapple Lanai: A great place to get the famous Dole Whip! Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show: A dining experience complete with hula dancers and fire dancing. Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace: A great place to enjoy live music while you sit back and enjoy your tasty beverages.

Stuart and Pamela Kennedy at Disney's Polynesian Resort 9. Magic Kingdom: Rapunzel Lanterns Fairytale Photos One of the most mesmerizing moments in a Disney movie is the floating lantern ceremony in Tangled. Not only is it visually dazzling to watch all those glowing lights soar off into the night sky, but it’s a touching scene where Flynn Rider and Rapunzel realize they’ve fallen in love with one another. Right outside Rapunzel’s Tower in Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland, guests recreate this same magical experience with a lantern of their own. These fairytale photos allow couples to step into the beauty of their own love story and “see the light” in a whole new way.

Cody Simmons and Sarah Newman at Magic Kingdom

Stuart and Pamela Kennedy at Magic Kingdom

Billy Archiello and Courtney May at Disney's Magic Kingdom 10. Animal Kingdom: Africa Adventure Photos As you enter the streets of Harambe, the sights and sounds of Africa greet you with an intoxicating allure. Whether they inspire you to dance, shop, or enjoy a quick bite to eat, the surroundings instantly enchant all those who arrive. With exciting walking trails, safari rides, and the Festival of the Lion King all in one area, a visit to Harambe is one of the best ways to show off your adventurous side as a couple.

Eric and Kristin Trusso on Wild Africa Trek

Jessica and Michael Ghilardi on Wild Africa Trek Whether engaged in a challenging expedition through Wild Africa Trek or enjoying a relaxing view of the park on the Africa Bridge vantage point, there are plenty of scenes that capture the wonder and beauty of Animal Kingdom’s park.

Kevin Raymond and Yazmin Lugo at the Africa Bridge in Disney's Animal Kingdom 11. Epcot: World Showcase Imagine sharing a baguette with your favorite person in front of the fountain in France, a magnificent view of the Eiffel Tower poised behind you. Or perhaps, you're getting lost in the geometric splendor and mosaic tiles of Morocco's architecture. These captivating glimpses of culture allow couples to capture extraordinary moments without the equally incredible price tag.

Michael and Jessica Ghilardi at the Fountain in France Pavilion

Stephen and Emily Mildner at the France Pavilion; Photos by Randy Chapman Something many people don't take advantage of enough when visiting the Disney World Parks and Resorts is hiring a photographer to take professional shots of you and your significant other. Most local companies are willing to travel to the parks and encapsulate the magic that makes you two the perfect couple. In fact, some of the couples who generously submitted photos for our article appointed the best artists in the business to celebrate their union. And it shows!

Stephen and Emily Mildner at the Morocco Pavilion; Photo by Randy Chapman

Stephen and Emily Mildner at the Morocco Pavilion; Photo by Randy Chapman Disney also recently unveiled it's new "Capture Your Moment" service, which provides guests with a personalized photo session in their location of choice for a designated amount of time. Whether looking for someone for family sessions, engagement photos, or a wedding photographer, here are some options our lovely couples used in the past. Nate and Jensey Root from Root Photography Nicole Ami from Nicole Ami Photography Randy Chapman and associates from Chapman Photography

Stephen and Emily Mildner at the Germany Pavilion; Photo by Randy Chapman 12. Hollywood Studios: Grauman's Theater Hollywood Studios is a whimsical blend of animation, movies, and theater. Not only does it transport guests to the glitter and glitz of Hollywood, but it also transports them to another era. Nothing captures this timeless feeling more than the replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Many of you may recognize this architectural treasure as the home of the late Great Movie Ride. While we all anxiously await the new Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ride opening in March, the Great Movie Ride will forever hold a special place in the hearts of so many.

Joshua and Ellen Smock Ouside Theater

Renee and Jon Van Cleve; Photo by Nicole Ami

Close Up of Renee and Jon Van Cleve in Theater Courtyard; Photo by Nicole Ami There’s just something about this tribute to classic Hollywood that inspires romance and magic. In fact, many couples have even found their soulmates here. Replicating the walkway of 1920’s leading ladies and men, the courtyard of the theater is complete with authentic handprints and signatures from contemporary actors, all of which lead up to an entrance protected by two guardian lions. It’s the perfect place to capture all the age and timelessness of the golden age of movies. “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

Renee and Jon Van Cleve; Photo by Nicole Ami

Billy Archiello and Courtney May in Dapper Day Attire 13. Grand Floridian Resort Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort is undoubtedly one of the most romantic locations on site. Beyond its luxurious Victorian lobby, white sandy beaches, and a view of Cinderella’s Castle, it even has its own Wedding Pavilion. The most frequently booked wedding location at the park, the site is designed to celebrate your special day in style.

Pamela and Stuart Kennedy along Walking Trail at Grand Floridian

Pamela and Stuart Kennedy Upstairs at Grand Floridian Lobby

Couple Enjoying a Stroll Down Walkway Outside Grand Floridian Wedding Pavilion According to Disney’s website, the cost is $5,000 for the venue alone, with a $10,000 minimum for the event. All of this is nothing compared to the $30,000 wedding ceremony in front of the castle after hours. Though the total cost runs more along the lines of $75,000, minimum. The good news is you don’t have to shell out a ton of cash to enjoy the beauty and elegance that goes with the fairytale weddings at Disney’s Grand Floridian. The grounds typically remain open to the public, unless there is a wedding in progress, which means snapping that romantic photo op is well within reach. If not, there are still plenty of gorgeous locations around the rest of the resort.

Stuart and Pamela Kennedy at Disney's Wedding Pavilion 14. Magic Kingdom: Cinderella's Castle The most memorable photo spot in all of Disney World is Cinderella’s Castle. It’s the first thing people imagine when they think of romantic picture locations, and one of the primary reasons guests come from all over to celebrate their engagement there. I mean, it’s a castle! Primarily inspired by the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, the overall design incorporates styles and features from numerous time periods and architecture to construct a genuinely timeless look fit for a princess.

Photo Submitted by Melanie Shirley

Hayley Alexa Hillman and Anthony Ugas

Brandon Hackett and Kyle Raser in Front of Cinderella's Castle What's more romantic than

Proposal Between Krystal Cyr and Heather Birkland by Cinderella's Castle Proposing at Disney is such a big deal that the company even created a website dedicated to ensuring your proposal goes off without a hitch. The Disney Weddings site offers everything from intimate dining experiences to a full-scale, customizable itinerary. So whether you need a little extra help surprising your significant other with a proposal, or want to celebrate after the fact, the site consists of a wealth of resources to guide your journey. Even if you just want some inspiration, there's a helpful wedding blog and dream board offered through the site. As the centerpiece of the entire park, there are plenty of outstanding locations to make this icon the backdrop of your picturesque proposal. Here are just a few of our favorites. Castle Courtyard (Right Up Front) Main Street USA The balcony of the Main Street, USA Train Station Liberty Square Bridge East Plaza Garden Tomorrowland Bridge

Cody Simmons and Sarah Newman Proposal in Castle Courtyard Hopefully, these fantastic couples inspired a whole new burst of creativity for your next (or first) photoshoot at Disney World Parks and Resorts. Now it's time to make your own fairytale magic with that extra special someone who makes your story complete. Did you have a favorite photo location from the article? Is there another one you love that we didn't cover? Let us know about it in the comments!

A Special Thank You...

...to everyone kind enough to send in these beautiful moments in time. You truly made this article extraordinary. Read the full article

#AnimalKingdom #Disney #Disneycouples #DisneyFairytaleWeddings #Epcot #MagicKingdom #Photoops #romantic #theparks #TheResorts #WaltDisneyWorld #WDW

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theconfessionofawhitemask-blog · 7 years

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SNM Shanghai 09/02/2017 3pm(82nd visit)

Macbeth: Andrea Carrucciu Lady Macbeth: Ingrid Kapteyn Macduff: John Ross Lady Macduff: Chen Yi’an Duncan: Sam Booth Malcolm: Ben Whybrow Banquo: Ed Warner Boy Witch: Chris Jäger Bald Witch: Fania Grigoriou Sexy Witch: Maya Milet Hecate: Shen Ni Porter: Ian Garside Agnes Naismith: Xu Xinwen Danvers: Camilla Brogard Speakeasy: Olly Hornsby-Sayer Cunning man: Garth Johnson Taxi: Daniel Nicolson Bride: Tang Tingting Husband: Gao Yang Matron: Du Yanhao Nurse: Maren Fidje Bjørneseth Anna: Jiang Yuli Man in Bar (Calloway) : Liu Yu Woman in Bar (Violet) : Xu Xinwen

Yesterday I was telling my friend I think Maya Milet can be a good sexy witch and then today she is. I was so thrilled that I decided to follow her for the first loop, at least that was the plan till I found out Garth was cunning...

Maya Milet’s sexy witch is everything I imagined. Of course there was some issues in her dance but she has all the right facial expression which somehow already makes her the best sexy witch in McKinnon today. I think her favourite solo for me is the bar solo. Though I haven’t had any interactions from her, I assume they should be good considering the interactions I have with her bald witch.

I was struggling if I should follow Garth Johnson again, but then it is his cunning, so I am defenseless. I just have to follow his cunning... It was not as fun as the first time I followed his cunning since he has a pretty set routine now, yet the end of his cunning is AMAZING! He did limbo dance, and it was jaw dropping. Those that know my comments about Mckittrick knows one of my favorite characters there is nurse, and see him during that solo is just... serendipity. I must sound so creepy but the reason I respect Garth so much is that he always tries to find out ways to improvise and to enrich his character. I am not saying he is the best in every role he played, but he always works hard to provide his followers something new. I guess that’s the reason I love following him...

Of course I also watched a bit Ed’s Banquo: luggage solo and bird solo.

#sleep no more #sleep no more shanghai #the mckinnon hotel

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND November 30, 2018 - The Possession of Hannah Grace

Finally! A long-needed reprieve from the slew of fall releases with a weekend where there’s only one new wide release … and it’s the textbook definition of a “dumper,” too. At least all the Thanksgiving releases did better than I predicted, particularly Creed II, and they should continue to dominate over the next couple weeks until a bunch of new wide releases open on December 14.

THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE (Sony/Screen Gems)

I’m not even sure what to say about this horror movie, originally called “Cadaver,” except that it was directed by Dutch filmmaker Diederik Van Rooijen (no, I don’t know that name either) and that it’s been on the shelf for quite some time. Presumably, it’s a leftover from the Clint Culpepper Screen Gems that was famous for making low-budget horror films that would be bounced around the release calendar, sometimes for years. This one is about the found corpse of a young girl who may have been killed via exorcism.

This was originally supposed to open in the summer of 2017, but like so many other Screen Gems films, it was continually pushed back, so now it follows the studio’s summer horror release Slender Man, which probably should have done better than its $30.6 million domestic gross. The it wound up on the less-than-desirable weekend after Thanksgiving, a known dumping ground.

Regardless, various horror hits have proven that having bankable stars isn’t completely necessary, and one thing that Possession has going for it is exactly that, having the word “possession” in its title, because it’s something that still holds a lot of interest for horror fans. Having the word “exorcism” in the title helped Scott Derickson’s debut The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Last Exorcism, though not the latter’s unfortunate sequel. Chances are that few over the age of 20 will have any interest in the movie even with stronger horror films like Halloween and Overlord mostly vacating theaters.

Like Slender Man, this movie doesn’t really have any bankable stars, with Shay Mitchell from Pretty Little Liars being the film’s biggest name, followed by Grey Damon, Mirror Master from The Flash.

On top of that, Screen Gems is only opening Possession in less than 2,000 theaters, another pointer that it shows little faith in the movie, as does the fact it won’t be screened in advance for critics (another Screen Gems practice of olde). I’m sure that the critics forced to pay to see the movie on Thursday night to review will just be THRILLED to write raves about a movie that few will know or care about. Frankly, I’ll be shocked if The Possession of Hannah Grace gets anywhere near the top 5 this weekend, and a 7th place opening with between $5 and 6 million would be about as good as it should get.

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Ralph Breaks the Internet (Disney) - $24.5 million -56% 2. Creed II (MGM) - $18.5 million -48% 3. The Grinch (Universal) - $14 million -54% 4. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Warner Bros.) - $12.7 million -57% 5. Bohemian Rhapsody (20thCentury Fox) - $7 million -50% 6. Instant Family (Paramount) - $6.5 million -48% 7. The Possession of Hannah Grace (Sony/Screen Gems) - $5.3 million N/A 8. Widows (20thCentury Fox) – $4.4 million -47% 9. Robin Hood (Lionsgate) - $3.9 million -58% 10. Green Book (Universal) - $3.3 million* -40%

*UPDATE: Universal didn’t expand this into more theaters as I expected, so I’ve lowered my number accordingly. Maybe the studio will expand it further next week.

LIMITED RELEASES

While there’s only one new wide release, there’s plenty of limiteds, and two of the most high-profile ones are from Netflix, one that’s also streaming Friday, the other streaming in December. For those who want to go out this weekend, there’s also a musical-comedy to put horror fans into the holiday spirit that’s been running the genre fest circuit…

Those who have been waiting for this year’s big holiday musical zombie comedy are in luck, because John McPhail’s ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE (Orion Pictures) comes out Friday after playing almost every genre festival going back to Fantastic Fest 2017. Taking place in the town of Little Haven, it stars Ella Hunt as Anna, a young woman planning for her high school holiday musical whose world is turned upside-down by the zombie apocalypse, but that’s not going to stop her and her friends from breaking out into song. I saw this film a few months back, and I was mixed on it, partially because it’s such an obvious homage to Shaun of the Dead but also has very modern poppy songs that really weren’t my cup-of-tea. I know a lot of people who love the movie, though, and if you want a fun time, I think the film is quickly becoming a cult classic among those who have seen and dug it.

MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE is Andy Serkis’ second feature as a director, and as you may have guessed, it’s based on the same Rudyard Kipling novel “The Jungle Book” that inspired the Disney movies, using the performance capture CG technology Serkis perfected in the “Planet of the Apes” movies. Featuring performances and voices by Cate Blanchett (voicing the python Kaa), Christian Bale (as Bagheera), Benedict Cumberbatch (Shere Khan) and Serkis himself as Balloo, this is a much darker take on the material, probably not for very small kids, but I liked it more than the Jon Favreau Disney movie, maybe because it handles things more seriously. I also thought newcomer Rohand Chand was a much more palatable Mowgli. The film does decently when it’s just Mowgli and talking animals, but gets even better when humans are introduced into the story. Netflix will give Mowgli a limited theatrical release before streaming on the network starting Dec. 7.

The latest GKIDS animated contender to the Disney animated Oscar domination is MIRAI (GKIDS), the new film from filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) along with Japan’s Studio Chizu. It’s about a four-year-old boy named Kun, whose parents give him a baby sister named Mirai (or “future”), who he immediately is jealous of due to the attention she gets. I watched the dubbed version of the movie (not my favorite thing since dubbed Japanese films always seem somewhat dumbed down for Western audiences), featuring the voices of John Cho, Rebecca Hall and Daniel Dae Kim, and it’s a fairly sweet movie with some great life lessons for younger children. It doesn’t have as many fantasy aspects as other Japanese Anime films but it does have Kun interacting with different versions of those around him, including his dog.

Receiving a one-week qualifying release on Friday is Germany’s Oscar entry is NEVER LOOK AWAY (Sony Classics), the new film from Oscar-winning filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others). This is another historical drama, loosely based on the life of visual artist Gerhard Richter with Tom Schilling (Woman in Gold) playing a young artist who has watched East Berlin go from Nazi occupation, watching his older sister be sentenced to death due to her mental illness by a ruthless Nazi doctor (Sebastian Koch), to falling in love with a young woman (Paula Beer) who happens to be that doctor’s daughter and escaping to West Berlin during the country’s contemporary art movement. I found the movie to be overly long and a little confusing, because I wasn’t sure what the movie was supposed to be about until about 30 minutes into it. Either way, it will open for its full theatrical release in February.

Another Oscar entry out Friday is the one from Italy, which is Alice Rohrwacher’s HAPPY AS LAZARRO, exec. produced by Martin Scorsese and getting a limited theatrical release in New York and L.A. (mainly for Oscar qualification) at the same time as streaming on Netflix. It’s a fable set within the countryside estate of Inviolata, a community of hard-working tobacco farmers who are being used by the area’s greedy Marquise. Much of the film is seen through the eyes of a teenaged simpleton named Lazzaro (Adriano Tardiolo), who observes more than he speaks, creating an introspective film that jumps forward in time… and that’s about all I can say about what’s a pretty major plot twist.

Another acclaimed doc getting a limited theatrical release is Dava Whisenant’s BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY (Focus Features), which follows comedy writer Steve Young who discovered a number of vintage record albums that ended up being “internal use only” cast recordings for Broadway musicals made for some of America’s biggest companies like General Electric, Ford and more. The winner of this year’s Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director, the film features interviews with David Letterman (White wrote for Letterman’s show and Letterman is also the film’s exec. producer), Chita Rivera, Martin Short and more, and it will get a limited release Friday.

In THE MERCY (Screen Media), directed by James Marsh (The Theory of Everything, Man on Wire), Colin Firth plays Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor who participates in a 1968 round-the-world sailing race. Although he isn’t as experienced as other racers, Crowhurst’s design sense convinces him that he can be the fastest in the round-the-world race, much to the concern of his wife (played by Rachel Weisz). Crowhurst’s journey in his boat the Teignmouth Electron was the stuff of legend as he relayed stories back to the press in England, but as they say on the internet, you would not BELIEVE how his story ended…. And I won’t give it away. As a sailing aficionado myself (having received my sailing license a few short years ago), I was pretty excited for this movie when I heard about it a few years ago -- I even asked Firth about this when I interviewed him for the last Bridget Jones movie -- but it ended up being a dull and ultimately dour affair that didn’t even keep this sailing fan invested.

Opening on Wednesday at the Metrograph is Gary Hustwit’s doc Rams (Film First) about design innovator Dieter Rams, best known for his work at Braun and Vitsoe. No surprise that the theater owned by a designer and doc filmmaker in Alex Olch would show this, and Hustwit will be there in person after the 6pm screening Friday and 4:30pm screening Sunday to discuss. Also, it features an original score by Brian Eno!

A rare limited release from Warner Bros’ is Til Schweiger’s Head Full of Honey, an English remake of his own 2014 German hit of the same name. It stars Nick Nolte as Amadeus, a man who is slowly succumbing to dementia, much to the consternation of his son (Matt Dillon) and his wife (Emily Mortimer). In order to help her grandfather get back some of his memories, Amadeus’ 10-year-old granddaughter Tilda (Nolte’s actual daughter, Sophia Lane Nolte) takes her grandfather to Venice before he can be thrown into a home.

Opening in select theaters and On Demand is the John Pogue-directed crime-thriller Blood Brother (Lionsgate) starring R’n’B star Trey Songz (aka Tremaine Neverson) as a cop forced to risk his life to stop an ex-con from getting revenge on the childhood friends who let him take the fall for a crime they committed. It also has a cameo by WWE superstar R-Truth!

For one “night” only, people can see the director’s cut of Lars von Trier’s controversial serial killer thriller The House That Jack Built (IFC Films), starring Matt Dillon, which played (and disgusted many) at Cannes over the summer. I haven’t seen it yet but already got my ticket, hoping that I won’t be as nauseated as I was in the clit-snipping scene in Anti-Christ. Von Trier’s latest also stars and the “American cut” (or whatever it’s called) will be released theatrically on Dec. 14. If you’re in New York, it’s showing almost all day at the IFC Center but with many screenings already sold out.

Henry Barrial’s drama DriverX (Sundance Selects) stars Patrick Fabian (The Last Exorcism) as a middle-class L.A. father whose record store closes, so to keep his family afloat, he takes a job driving for a ride-share service called “DriverX,” forcing him to learn to deal with his young passengers. It opens at the IFC Center in New York and presumably in L.A. and On Demand.

Just in time for the holidays, the family-friendly animated Elliot: The Littlest Reinder (Screen Media) will open in select cities Friday and then be available for one-night only in other areas on Saturday night. It’s the story of a miniature horse named Elliot who travels to the North Pole to compete for a spot on Santa’s sleigh team. It features the voices of Josh Hutcherson, John Cleese, Martin Short, Samantha Bee and more.

Opening Friday at the Cinema Village isNo Shade (Artmattan Films), Clare Anyiam-Osigwe’s British romantic drama starring Adele Oni as freelance photographer Jade, who has been in love with her best friend Danny for 10 years, but what’s keeping them from going further is the shade of her skin.

Other films out this weekend include the Bollywood offering 2.0, Shankar’s follow-up to 2010’s Robot; Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s Sicilian Ghost Story (Strand) opening at the Quad; the Korean crime-thriller Unstoppable (Well GO USA) from Kim Min-Ho; and filmmaker Robert Townsend returns with his new doc Making the Five Heartbeats (about his 1991 passion project), which gets an Oscar-qualifying run at L.A.’s Laemmle Noho 7 this Friday and in New York on Dec. 7

STREAMING

Netflix will also be streaming Italy’s Oscar entry HAPPY AS LAZARRO on the streaming network starting Friday in case you can’t get to one of the cities/theaters playing it. (See above for more.) Also, the holiday movies start coming at you hot and heavy with the sequel A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, starring Rose McIver and Ben Lamb, which follows last year’s holiday rom-com. Angela’s Christmas is an animated family movie set in 1910 Ireland featuring the voices of Ruth Negga (Preacher) and Lucy O’Connell, based on Frank McCourt’s book. (I’m not sure if this is the same short that premiered in 2017 or an extension, sorry!) From France comes Romain Gavra’s crime-comedy THE WORLD IS YOURS about a small-time mobster who accepts a job in Spain that involves drugs, the Illuminati and his overbearing mother. The description describes the movie as “Cynical” which means that it was made for me! Lastly, there’s Sebastian Hoffman’s Spanish film Tiempo Compartido (translated as “Time Share”), described as “Cerebral” (maybe not so much for me?). It involves two family men trying to save their families from a tropical paradise convinced that an American time share company wants to take their loved ones away.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

A couple more days of the Midnight Cowboy restoration, plus the Darius Khondji retrospective continues for a few more days – I highly recommend seeing David Fincher’s Se7en on the big screen if you haven’t already. This weekend’s Playtime Family Matinee is one of my personal faves, Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, screening on Saturday and Sunday at 11AM – bring the kids! A bit last-minute, but Metrograph has added a Spike Lee X6 mini-retrospective, since he was already slated to intro a screening of BlacKkKlansman. They’ve added 1990′s Mo’ Better Blues, his 2006 reunion with Denzel for Inside Man, 2000′s Bamboozled, and one of my personal faves, Summer of Sam from 1999. (Not really repertory, but the Metrograph is also launching a series this weekend called Double Exposure: Portraits and Parallels Across the Diaspora, as in African and African-American filmmakers. I’m afraid I don’t know too much more than what you can read on the site.)

NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Exciting news for L.A. repertory buffs… The New Bev is back!! The festivities will kick-off Saturday with screenings of Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, a double feature of Butch and Sundance: The Early Days and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and a 25th Anniversary screening of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused! Unfortunately, these are all sold out online but there may be tickets available at the door. I look forward to the programming ahead for this beloved theater.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Rita Hayworth 100 continues through Thursday with screenings of Blood and Sand, Cover Girland The Lady from Shanghai on Wednesday, andPal Joey, Separate Tables and Gilda on Thursday. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr. selection is Elliot Silverstein’s 1965 film Cat Ballou, starring Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin and Nat King Cole. Beginning on Friday, they have a 4k restoration of Edgar G. Ulmer’s 1945 film Detour (Janus Films), starring Tom Neal and Anne Savage. On Friday, Film Forum is also launching a new 4k restoration of Alex Cox’s 1991 Mexican feature Highway Patrolman (Kino Lorber), and I’m always interested in seeing more from the director of Repo Man and Sid and Nancy.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

This weekend, the American Cinematerque’s theater has an Argentina: New Cinema 2018 series, so no repertory for now.

AERO (LA):

On the other hand, the Cinemateque’s other theater is showing a bunch of Buster Keaton movies as part of The Great Buster series (named after the recent Peter Bogdonavich doc), which will include Sherlock Jr. (1924) and Steamboat Willie Jr. (1928) on Friday as a double feature, The General (1926) on Saturday with the 1921 short The High Sign, Seven Chances (1925) on Sunday with a digital restoration of the short Cops!, followed by a screening of that aforementioned doc Sunday evening. Should be a fun weekend for Buster Keaton fans.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Ack! Totally spaced on the fact that the Quad was doing a giallo series, which began over the weekend with Perversion Stories: A Fistful of Giallo Restorationspremiering DCPs of many rarey-seen if even screened in the States films like The Case of the Scorpion’s Tale (1971), Torso (1993), The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975) and more. I’m really bummed that I forgot to mention this in last week’s column (that’s what happens when you begin a series on a Sunday, Quad) and that I wasn’t able to get to any of these, but it runs through Thursday so if you’re reading this on Weds. morning (hopefully), you still have time to catch a few of them.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Late Night Favorites shows James Cameron’s Aliens (1986), Weekend Classics continues its Coen Brothers retrospective with O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) in 35mm on Friday through Sunday, while the Shaw Brothers Spectaculars series offers The Super Inframan

(1975), which looks pretty cool.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

This weekend, the theater gets the restoration of Luchino Viscoti’s Senso (1968) which had been playing at New York’s Film Forum. Matt Donato*’s favorite film of all time, Dude Bro Party Massacre III, will play at midnight on Friday. (*Look him up on social media!)

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

German filmmaker Christian Petzold will be in town for a sneak preview of his new film Transiton Friday night, but it will kick off Christian Pentzold: The State We Are In, a two-week retrospective of the underrated German filmmaker who has delivered such modern-day classics as Barbara and Phoenix (one of my favorite movies of 2014), 2008’s Jerichow and many more, some of which have barely been seen in the United States, including his 1998 television film The Sex Thief, and 2000’s The State I Am In. Click on the title above for the full line-up, but Pentzold will do QnAs after Transit and a couple others this coming weekend.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

On Monday, BAM kicked off its Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema series, so no repertory for now.

MOMA (NYC):

The Museum of Modern Art is in the midst of it’s The Contenders 2018 series, but it also continues its Silent Comedy International series with screenings of Transatlantic Teamwork on Thursday and Sunday, Clowning Around (the World) on Thursday, another screening of Daffy in Deutschland on Friday and other repeats over the weekend. Modern Matinees: Douglas Fairbanks Jr.continues with State Secret (1950) on Thursday, Stella Dallas (1925) on Friday then A Woman of Affairs (1928) next Wednesday. Since I haven’t seen any of this, I have nothing further to add.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

The 50thAnniversary restoration of Gordon Quinn and Gerald Temaner’s Inquiring Nuns continues as well as Glenn Close: Ten Great Performances by Glenn Close with Dangerous Liaisonson Friday evening, a “Sensory Friendly Screening” of Disney’s 101 Dalmations on Saturday (as well as another matinee of this on Sunday, Reversal of Fortune and Cookie’s Fortune on Saturday afternoon/evening, as well as Albert Nobbs and Close’s latest The Wife on Sunday.

That’s it for this week. Next week, no new movies in wide release... but I’ll still have a column for those interested in other stuff.

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