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cryptids-and-muses · 1 year

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I watched return of the jedi for the first time in 4 years and here are my thoughts:

I know the line between sci-fi and fantasy is already super blurry but Star Wars truly feels like a fantasy movie. It’s in the costumes, the worldbuilding, the vibe, the odd encounters, palpatine’s entire character. And while there is futuristic tech the world of Star Wars doesn’t feel particularly Futuristic™️, if that makes sense.

There’s this one imperial officer Bacar interacts with at the start of the movie who acts his ASS off. Seriously give this man an Oscar. The fear!! The subtly!! The little gulp he does before facing Vadar!!! The palpable terror at the idea of the emperor coming there!!! This dude single handedly sets up palpatine as a threat

PRACTICAL SETS!!! All the practical sets!!! There’s so many sequences, especially in jabba’s palace but they’re throughout, where the characters casually interact with the world around them, and it’s such a small detail but it means so much to me. They really feel like they’re part of the world. My favorites were the Hall of Horrors C-3PO walks through in Jabba’s palace and Luke interacting with his x-wing on dagoba

It’s not all this great though, the green screen to the sarlack pit was awful. I found it endearing.

Also I love how there’s so much this movie doesn’t explain to you. There’s this weird robot spider thing in Jabba’s palace that we see when R2 and C-3PO walk in!!! What does it do!!! There’s a guy who’s super upset when Luke kills that monster!!! Who is he!!! And a bunch of other weird little things that just aren’t elaborated on. On top of that there’s just all these strange aliens just chilling, living their lives, some of which I don’t think we see again. It all comes together to make the world feel so much bigger than what we see.

I’d heard the analysis that Luke wears black in return of the Jedi to allude to a possible fall to the dark side, but that analysis hadn’t really clicked for me until this watch through. Like dude’s introduction was him force choking someone

Honestly like has this kind of subdued confidence this whole movie and I love it. He knows he’s good but doesn’t need to flaunt it.

Like his grin when he says “you should have bargained jabba. It’s the last mistake you’ll ever make” I love it

Luke is actually really subdued this entire movie, which tracks with all the internal conflict he’s dealing with. The biggest displays of emotion we see from him are when he’s reuniting with friends or when he goes OFF on Vadar at the end for threatening leia

Chewbacca and Han’s reunion 😭, they care so much about each other, chewy pets his head

In general everyone is so happy to see each other in this movie, every time someone shows up after being separated everyone is so excited to see them. There’s so many hugs. You can really tell they care about each other.

Due to some of the framing, I don’t think leia slaughtering Jabba was part of the plan. I think she just saw an opportunity and took it. Girlboss.

I noticed Luke’s fighting style with his lightsaber is much tougher around the edges, it’s less elegant, which tracks with him having much less official training with it. I like it

Yoda trying to use dying as a way to avoid Luke’s questions. Iconic.

Yoda’s choked out dying words of “there is another skywalker” become so much funnier when you remember he becomes a force ghost. The man could just peacefully pass then come back 10 minutes later and continue the conversation, he doesn’t need to try this hard to get the words out. Then again that would take some of the drama out of it.

Han is just so great in this movie, he’s got a reputation for being this suave sarcastic outlaw, which to be fair he kind of was in new hope, but here he’s just so sweet. He’s the one telling Luke to be more optimistic! When lando gets his promotion to general he doesn’t tell him about his own, and looks genuinely bashful when it’s brought up in front of the group! He goes to check on leia after she talks with Luke! He gives lando the falcon because he knows it’ll help him even though the ship means so much to him and is scared of it getting destroyed! When he thinks leia has feelings for Luke he offers to step aside and not get in the way! This man cares about his friends!

Speaking of that moment with leia after Luke leaves, that’s the one moment we see him being a dick, he lashes out with “but you could tell Luke? Is that who you could tell?!” But then immediately apologizes and comforts her when she asks for it. He loves leia so much and it’s so obvious the entire time

My man thought he was in this love triangle and was doing his best, and was fully prepared to step aside and let leia be happy with Luke. And the face journey he goes on when leia tells him luke is her brother. It’s gold. It’s that math meme but even better.

For the mission to endor, Luke and leia are both in these camo space ponchos and helmets but apparently Han’s outfit was to iconic to change because he just puts on a camo trench coat over his usual outfit

The first speeder chase through the woods of endor struck me as much more low key then it would have been if it was made today. This isn’t a bad thing, but I know if it was made today it would have been much more dramatic, a set piece

When leia goes missing Han, Luke, and chewy immediately peel off from the group to go find her. Good friends but you are LEADING THE MISSION

Leia meeting the ewok is a fun sequence and it’s funny how she just rolls with it. She does not question it, just accepts this little guy is here now and starts following him. It’s funny to contrast this with when Luke, Han, and chewy rescued her in a new hope and she fought every step of the way

In general the Ewoks are such a strange and whimsical inclusion. Like this is part 3 in a space opera and a huge chunk of it has these little furry dudes who live and fight like the lost boys from Peter Pan that we’ve literally never seen before. It’s weird

Luke is so delighted by the Ewoks, from his little smile when the first surround them to trying to hide his laughter at them thinking C-3PO is a god

Also we should not ignore how hilarious his idea to scare the Ewoks into listening was. And the man knew it too, you could tell from his smile. The little shit.

The storytelling sequence!!! I love it!! I love how C-3PO uses the sound effects! I love how everyone is huddled together! I love how we the audience can tell what’s being said from context clues even if we don’t understand all the words!!

Luke peacing out like “it’s time to angst😔”

I do think the bridge scene between luke and leia could have been done a bit better but it wasn’t bad, just a bit flat for the gravity of what was being revealed. Leia and Han are great though

I love luke and vadar’s back and forths even if they can get repetitive

The writers really used “search your feelings” or “your feelings betray you” as shortcuts to avoid hard writing huh

The emperor was such a little gremlin, he did nothing but talk about how luke was going to fall to him, how he knew everything was gonna happen and it’s all according to his plan, he really didn’t do anything but talk shit until the very end with the force lightning

To be fair, Vadar didn’t do anything until the force lightning either

Neither of these points are complaints, palpatine is supposed to be a shadowy scheming villain that others do the dirty work for and the really pull it off. And vadar’s passivity in this movie I think demonstrates the conflict he’s feeling. Despite his words about how he must do his emperor’s will, he’s not really doing that right now, is he? He’s not really defying orders either but something is different

Something I noticed!!! When Han’s team first make it in to the back door, off in the corner as they go inside we see a storm trooper adjusting his armor and taking his position again. One of the rebels stole the storm troopers armor and took their place. This doesn’t lead up to anything but it’s SUCH a cool detail

The true hero’s of this movie are the Ewoks, palpatine had Han’s team captured and the air fleet on the ropes before the Ewoks stepped in and saved Han and co. Palpatine would probably have won if it weren’t for them. It’s great.

I really love luke so much, he’s just so compassionate. For his friends, for his father, for everyone. This is the trait that makes him a hero. It’s literally what palpatine tried to use to turn him, the anger he’d feel at watching his friends die because he loves them so much

“No, you’re wrong. I am a Jedi, like my father before me” not gonna lie, this was kinda hot. It’s that quiet confidence I was talking about earlier. Also the way he nods towards vadar when he mentions his father

“….so be it, Jedi” THIS!!!! THIS!!!! I love this so much!! Because the entire movie palpatine has been talking about how Luke is going to fall to him, how it’s inevitable, how Luke is foolish to think otherwise. But this moment right here, is him acknowledging he’s wrong. He won’t be able to turn Luke, he failed. Luke truly is a Jedi and even palpatine cannot away him. It’s so fucking good

When vadar lifts up palpatine to stop him, we get a reaction shot for Luke who just looks so confused. Appropriate reaction.

As luke is dragging vadar to his ship we see imperial officers and storm troopers running around to try and escape and I just want to know what the fuck was going through their heads when they saw Luke and vadar

I know the falcon surviving doesn’t make sense but it makes me happy

Something important I realized towards the end: AT NO POINT IN THIS MOVIE DID ANYONE TELL HAN VADAR WAS LUKE’S DAD

CHEWY AND LANDO WEREN’T TOLD EITHER FOR THAT MATTER

THEY DON’T KNOW

Presumably they were told later but holy fuck why is no one talking about this.

Again….those reunions, hugs all around, everyone is so happy and relieved and I love it

I know it doesn’t end here, which makes be kinda sad, because this is such a beautiful and hopeful ending

All in all, with all the Star Wars fatigue and what Disney has been doing, this really reminded me what I love about Star Wars. I felt like I could appreciate the movie a lot more on this watch through and had a wonderful time

#star wars #the return of the jedi #may 4th #may the fourth be with you #luke skywalker #leia organa #princess leia #han solo #chewbacca #darth vader #anakin skywalker #emperor palpatine

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satorugojowidow · 3 years

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Loki's series could have been a movie.

Spoilers

I was very hyped by the trailer so I have to admitted I’m a little disappointed. I won’t say that was bad, but surely could be better (even if not much to say because almost everything can be better except FMAB that is perfect lol).

So, my review is the series was good but it could be a movie. I will explain why.

Loki relationship with Sylvie and Moebius lacks of development. They went from -1 to 10 in a couple of random scenes. I can’t really tell when both relationships are built because it seems more that they get close by telling each other nice words. For Sylvie, Loki is the idiot who ruined everything and after one nice compliment she likes him. I really hope she is pretending because that was poor developed. Loki love for Sylvie is a little more developed, he just admires her and is being weirdly narcissistic, but it’s made senses. In other hand, Moebius is complaining about Loki’s betray saying that they were friends, when Loki literally betrayed him in the first mission and is being very loud about his intention to take over the TVA. This friendship is more like Moebius is just a nice guy who get close to people really quick and Loki ended liking him because he just said nice things to him. Again, for Loki’s side makes more sense, but is kind of rushed for Moebius’s side. We should see them having one more adventure where they have to support each other so we could see where the friendship is being built.

Six episodes are more than enough for the amount of event that happened in the series. Not many things happened if we compared, for example, with Black Widow. That is why I believe the series could be a movie. Not because I’m complaining about having many hours of Loki, because in six episode you can elaborate more and they didn’t. That is what annoys me the most, they have 6 episode (about 50 minutes each one) and they solve both relationships arcs with compliments.

TVA is three people with sticks. Ok, no. But kind of. If this is an agency that controls the time line of the universe, why everyone are humans? (ok, they are saving CGI, not going to insist in this). If TVA is an office with a bureaucratic scheme, why there is no more hierarchy? Where are the special forces? Don’t tell me that these people with a stick defeated Thanos variant (for example). The stick is strong, I know, but is not that hard to take off to the officers. Sylvie could do it when she was a child. Is hard to believe that they could get rid of variants from strong creatures.

Why Loki is suddenly so weak? This is the weakest version of all Loki we have seen. He was beat up for some random guy in the supermarket. He fought the avengers, he has super-strength (obviously weaker than Thor, but surely stronger than a human).

Where are the plans? Loki keeps saying that plans are Loki’s thing, but where are they? He never brings up any clever plan or trick, he just goes around talking about what he wants to take over the TVA at the point where he looks ridiculous. Sylvie plan is so weak too. She was literally going to kill the three guys who took over the multiverse and control time with… a sword. I mean, they are Lokies, I wanted to see clever plans, a smart script. But we have a Loki weaker and stupid than before, with some teenager moments. The scene with Sylvie in ep 5 is so uncomfortable to watch. They are adult, why the are so shy? They aren’t 13 years old. I get that Loki is opening and all that, but he is a grown-up man, make a dignify opening for a grown-up man.

Disney can’t make everything approachable for 12 years old people. We aren’t even talking about rate +18, we are talking to not make an iconic villain to look like a teenager and make a more elaborate script. I’m sure 12 years old people can deal with it (like they are being doing until now).

Kang the conqueror is lame. Why all the plot twist has to be “this villain you though were super strong and amazing is just a strong idiot”. It’s kind of wasted. Agatha still being the superior villain. Agatha all along.

Do I’m going to watch season 2? Of, course my dear. Is Loki.

Thank you for reading this irrelevant opinion.

#loki #loki series #lokie series spoilers #marvel

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orangepanic · 3 years

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I saw this “100 OTP questions” by @the-moon-dust-writings and figured I'd procrastinate:

1. Who loves flower crowns more?

Neither of them really, but Asami might make Iroh wear one just to laugh at him.

2. Who is the one who likes to cuddle?

Iroh. Asami likes it, too, but he usually initiates.

3. Who has awful taste in music?

Honestly, both of them. Asami likes terrible dance music and Iroh likes obscure combinations of horns and bells and stuff from different cultures.

4. Who is the meme lover?

Asami thinks they’re funny. Iroh doesn’t quite understand.

5. How did their second date go?

Iroh tried to take Asami somewhere very fancy, but the wait was too long. They ended up making out in a shadowy doorway down the street and missing their reservation entirely. Iroh was mortified, but Asami dragged him around the corner to a low-key noodle shop that has since become their favorite restaurant.

6. How many children do they want/have?

Asami thinks about three. Iroh, as many as Asami will agree to.

7. Who hides the weapons?

Iroh hides weapons for Asami around the house so she’ll always have something on hand. In a drawer in the kitchen, on her nightstand, etc. He knows she can take care of herself… and he stashes weapons for her anyway. Asami rolls her eyes but secretly thinks it’s sweet.

8. Who is the better dancer?

Asami. She likes dancing, and learned formal dancing in school. Iroh can’t dance at all, having skipped out on all his lessons as a child after bribing his instructor. He thought dancing is boring, but likes dancing with Asami and lets her lead.

9. Do/Did they have a theme wedding?

No. They quite deliberately have a very normal wedding, including cutting out a lot of the more stuffy Fire Nation customs because Iroh doesn’t want Asami to feel out of place not having any family present.

10. What do their parents think of them dating?

Hiroshi Sato is livid, and actually tried to have Iroh assassinated from prison. His little girl, marry a firebender? A prince of the firebenders? Iroh’s parents are more accepting. Izumi initially thinks Asami is too young and gives Iroh a hard time about how quickly he got serious, but quickly comes around when it’s clear Asami is very mature for her age. Within a year Iroh’s parents are both hounding him on when he’ll make it official.

11. Are they a super sappy couple?

They are that couple everybody hates.

12. How did they get together?

They meet during the Equalist revolution, but don’t get together until long after. Iroh has a crush on Asami almost immediately, but spends forever sitting on it thinking it wasn’t the right time and trying to be friends until one day he just kind of slips up and kisses her. She kisses him back. It turns out Asami liked him, too, but she isn’t great at reading people and had no idea he was interested.

13. Who asked the other to get married?

Iroh just kind of blurts it out one day.

14. Who stays up too late and makes stupid jokes?

Asami is the night owl. Iroh makes the bad jokes.

15. Who is the nerd?

Oh my god, both of them. Asami is more of the classic nerd. Iroh is more of a dork.

16. Who knows the most obscure facts?

Iroh.

17. Who makes the other a flower crown?

Two questions about flower crowns out of 100?? Changing this to who is more dominant in bed. Asami.

18. Who likes to read?

Iroh. They both do, but he’s much more into it.

19. Who bothers the other person while the other person reads?

Asami. She has the shorter attention span.

20. Who tutors the other?

They both would in different subjects. Asami is better at math, physics, etc. Iroh is better at philosophy and languages.

21. Do they have similar taste in movies?

No. Asami likes gory slasher films and lots of action. Iroh scoffs and thinks they’re dumb. Asami, in turn, thinks his period dramas can be kind of boring, and refuses to count documentaries as movies. But there’s a healthy overlap in things like Vikings and Game of Thrones.

22. How do their personalities complement each other?

Asami helps Iroh lighten up a bit, drawing him out of his shell, and gives him an anchor and a sense of home. She’s more social than he is, and a lot of her friends eventually become his. But she’s also quiet enough and serious enough that she doesn’t tire him out and can feed his need for downtime. Iroh, in turn, loves seldom but deeply, and gives Asami the kind of fierce, unconditional love and stability she needs. He’s also genuinely interested in her projects, is smart enough to follow most of it, and is one of the only people who can occasionally beat her in Pai Sho. They have a lot of fun together just being nerds.

23. How do they tell everyone that they are going to be having a kid/adopting a child soon?

They don’t have to tell anybody. It’s all over Iroh’s face like a big neon sign.

24. Who has better fashion sense?

Asami, but not by much. She’s more up to date with trends, while Iroh’s style is clean and classic.

25. Who will punch someone out if they are rude to their partner?

Hoo boy, both of them. Do not go there.

26. What songs do they sing together in the vehicle?

Neither of them sing in the satomobile. Iroh has a decent voice, but he’s a bit private about it. Asami mostly hums.

27. What other couple would your otp get along with?

Iroh quickly becomes BFFs with Bolin. Asami and Opal aren’t quite as close, but they like each other’s company and have fun as a foursome. They also get along quite well with Pema and Tenzin.

28. Who likes to prank the other?

Iroh tries more often. Asami’s pranks are more successful.

29. Who is the one who loves to take pictures?

Iroh, though generally Korra is the picture taker in the group.

30. How would they react if they found out they were soul mates?

Iroh raises an eyebrow. “Hmm.” Asami only shrugs. They both already knew that.

31. Where would they live?

They like Republic City and decide to stay downtown, first in an apartment and eventually a larger townhouse.

32. What type of dragon would they own, if they could have one?

Whichever one Iroh made friends with. Asami is a bit wary of animals and would need him to convince her it was safe.

33. If they were both vampires, what type of vampires would they be?

The kind that live in a beautiful house with perfect collections that took hundreds of years to make. Iroh has first editions of everything in a giant library, arranged in a complex system only he understands. He’s working on his 14th language. Asami has invented artificial blood and doesn’t miss sunburns. Occasionally she’ll throw one of those big fancy vampire balls just so they can both get dressed up. They’re pretty happy.

34. What would they dress up as, for Halloween?

They once went as Lady Tienhai and the last king of Mo Ce because picking something obscure and historical was the only way to get Iroh into a costume.

35. Can they name each other’s favourite food?

Kind of. They are both really into food, so picking a favorite is hard. But if the question is can they order for one another, absolutely.

36. Do they have pet names for one another?

Asami sometimes calls Iroh “General Hotstuff” when she’s teasing. Iroh sometimes calls Asami “sex pretzel” when he’s 1000% sure they are alone.

37. How do they cheer each other up?

Asami is more of a gift giver. She’ll show up with Iroh’s favorite take-out or make him something in her workshop—anything to make him feel special and valued. Iroh is all about quality time, and will swing by Asami’s office to haul her out on surprise dates. He also gives great hugs.

38. Do they show a lot of PDA?

No. Iroh is very uncomfortable with PDA, especially when he’s in uniform. Asami follows his lead.

39. How old were they when they got together?

Asami was 19-20, Iroh 24-25.

40. Who is the one that would bring the puppy home?

Iroh, 100%. He’s such a sucker.

41. Can they do yoga couple’s poses?

Yes, though Asami is the only one who really tries.

42. What is their song?

They don’t really have one.

43. What does their room look like?

Asami moved in with Iroh, so it’s very basic. White walls, perfectly made bed, a neatly organized desk in the far corner by the window. He’s a total minimalist, having spent most of his adult life on a ship. Asami added a very fluffy comforter in *gasp* a color and lots of pillows.

44. Who would be the one to kill zombies while the other keeps them grounded?

They’d take turns, and at some point Asami would turn it into a contest.

45. Who makes the other breakfast in bed?

Iroh. Asami is a terrible cook.

46. Who loves kids more?

Iroh.

47. Do either of them have a crazy ex?

Not crazy, but Iroh and his ex are not on good terms. He doesn’t like to talk about it.

48. What are their favourite colours?

Asami, purple. Iroh, black. He gets annoyed when people get him so much red stuff.

49. Who likes to cook?

Iroh. He fired Asami from the kitchen, something they are both grateful for.

50. Who is the forgetful one?

Asami.

51. Does either of them know how to fight?

Have you met these people?

52. What do they do for Valentines Day?

Iroh would probably plan something elaborate for them to go out. Asami would plan something sexy for when they got home.

53. Who swears more?

Asami, at least out loud. Iroh mostly swears under his breath.

54. Who has the better comebacks?

Asami. It’s not even close.

55. Who would start a fight with another parent at a bake sale?

Probably Asami, unless it was about the kids. If anyone comes for Iroh’s kids, they’d better hide.

56. Who reads buzzfeed?

Asami.

57. Who is the hopeless romantic?

Iroh, hands down.

58. Do either of them know how to do a handstand?

Asami can manage it.

59. Who can rap better?

Asami, though Iroh is the only one who actually listens to rap.

60. Do either of them want to go sky diving?

Asami would love to. Iroh laughs. “Been there.”

61. What do they usually text about?

Some version of “I miss you” or random pictures of stuff. They generally only text when Iroh is away as they’re both busy during the day.

62. Who is the dramatic one?

Asami has a shorter fuse. Iroh is more ridiculous when he loses his shit.

63. Is either one confrontational?

Not really.

64. What is their favourite cuddle position?

Asami will lay on top of Iroh on the couch like a sandwich. It’s the only position she seems to be able to nap in.

65. Who are their favourite musical artist(s)?”

See above about terrible taste in music.

66. What are their parenting styles?

Iroh covers a lot of the basics. He sets a schedule, makes lunches, tells bedtime stories, is more likely to help with the homework. Asami is the one who gets them around and does most of the interacting with teachers, other parents, etc. They share things fairly equally.

67. Who would be the more laid back one?

Iroh.

68. Who listens to more vulgar music?

Asami.

69. Do either of them have secrets even the other doesn’t know?

Yes. Asami can be secretive about some of her projects, both out of an abundance of caution but also because she likes a big reveal. Iroh keeps some past relationship stuff close, and will occasionally read a steamy romance novel for “tips.”

70. Who is their go to couple for a double date?

Bolin and Opal

71. Do they tip the waiter/waitress on their date?

Iroh tips very well.

72. How do they work out a fight?

Asami yells. Iroh yells back. One of them storms off. The other one waits about half an hour then goes to find them, usually with an offering of food. There are hugs. Somebody cries. Then they finally talk it out before falling asleep together.

73. Who brings home an illegal pet?

Asami. She is less likely to have a pet, but if she does, it’s going to be a weird one.

74. What side of the bed do each of them sleep on?

Iroh is on the side by the window because he likes to get up with the sun.

75. What is their favorite photo of them two together?

There’s a photo Korra took at the beach where Iroh has Asami thrown over his shoulder right before dunking her in the water. This is the picture he takes with him when he’s deployed.

76. Who takes longer in the bathroom?

Asami.

77. Who has more songs on their ipod?

Iroh. If you can call them songs.

78. What movie did they first see together?

Iroh took her to Last Days of the Sun Warriors. She fell asleep. He said the book was better.

79. What do they like to see each other in?

Asami thinks Iroh’s butt looks great in jeans. Iroh got Asami a red silk robe from the Fire Nation and likes to see it fall off.

80. Who makes jokes during inappropriate times?

Iroh.

81. At what age do they discuss the possibility of children?

Mid-20s, though they don’t have them until a little later.

82. What do they love about each other the most?

Iroh likes that Asami is tough and smart and a problem-solver. Asami likes that Iroh is kind and brave and has a strong moral compass.

83. Who is the one that sees the big picture, while the other focus’s on the small details?

They are both big picture people, which is sometimes a problem. Of the two, Asami is probably better at details, but she’s also forgetful.

84. What would they write on their partner’s social media’s for their anniversary?

Asami would probably put up a picture of them and say something brief but sweet. Iroh doesn’t really understand social media and would just paste a heart-eyes emoji.

85. Who is bad at math?

Iroh. He’s not bad, per se, but Asami is very, very good.

86. Who googles everything?

Asami.

87. Who does stuff on impulse?

Both of them in different ways. Asami is generally more flexible. Iroh usually has a plan but makes big decisions completely off the cuff.

88. How do they comfort each other when they are helpless to do anything about the situation?

Lots of physical touch. Iroh will kind of just wrap himself around her in one giant, whole body hug. Asami will spend some time cursing out whomever is causing the issue, then let him lay his head in her lap and give Iroh a good head scratch or massage.

89. What is an inside joke they have?

There was one time they had sex in Asami’s office at Future Industries, so occasionally she’ll drop things like, “feel like coming by the office?” with a suggestive eyebrow waggle. Iroh is, predictably, very embarrassed. Also interested.

90. Who makes the other smile with almost no effort at all?

Asami: *exists* Iroh: *smiles*

91. What is their favourite holiday?

New Years is a big deal in the Fire Nation. Iroh loves his family and likes going home, and Asami has grown to love it almost as much.

92. Who is the one that is calm and collected while the other is angry and destructive?

They take turns. Both of them can have quite a temper when pushed too hard.

93. What is their favourite board game to play?

They’re both big Pai Sho fans, but can get into any kind of strategy game. Nobody really likes to play them though, they're too good.

94. Who accidentally sets something on fire?

Asami. Iroh hasn’t had a fire accident since he was four.

95. Who has the car ready while the other is robbing the store?

Asami. She’d rob the store, too, but no way is she letting Iroh drive.

96. What artist/group did they go to for their first concert?

Iroh booked a private box at the Republic City Opera, thinking that was an impressive thing he should do on a date. It turns out neither of them like opera, and by the end they were both making fun of it.

97. Who sleep talks?

Asami. Iroh thinks it’s funny.

98. Who is the more social one?

Asami, by a long shot.

99. What are their karaoke songs?

Neither of them would really sing karaoke, but Iroh cannot hold his liquor like at all so if he ever got really plastered Asami might be able to drag him up there. By which point he’d be too far gone to have an opinion on the song and would sing just about anything.

100. Who would get up on stage and make a fool of themselves just to make the other laugh?

Asami.

#irosami #this is all canon now #kidding

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godsofmonster · 4 years

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Bangtan MC ≽ III.

Reader x Bangtan- Motorcycle Club

Word Count- 8.2k

Warnings- sexual content, death, murder, guns, drugs, violence, betrayal, mentions of suicide, mentions of rape, etc.

For as long as I can remember back, I always wanted to be in a motorcycle club. Since I was six years old, the only thing on my mind was getting my hands on a Harley and a cut. I was a wolf, a wild cur, cut from the pack with bloodstained on my fur. Every wrong has marked a debt because a beaten dog never forgets.

The remainder of my night was spent in a dirty, cheap motel across town. I couldn’t really afford anything better. I even dared to return to my father’s home to pick up some of my old clothes. There wasn’t much leftover either.

I was both, mentally and materially exhausted. Despite this, sleep hadn't seemed like a reasonable option for me. Instead, I laid on the stiff mattress and dreaded the morning light.

Morning came all the same, through the broken blinds of the room.

The moments between having my eyes closed, and opening them, were lost time. I had no sense of how long I had been laying there. Hours must have gone by.

That was until my phone rang at 10 am exactly. My limbs felt heavy at the first movement toward the phone. It was the phone call that I was waiting for. The one that would determine my next move.

"Agent (Y/L/N), did you rest well?"

I placed my cell on speakerphone and tossed it on the crummy bed.

"As good as could be expected," I answered, swinging my legs over the bed edge.

"I'm sorry to hear that," He didn't have to be so polite, I thought. I tested the strength of my legs and stood on them. "Do you need me to fill you in on the Camilo Cartel?"

"I'm familiar, I helped the administration track their movements into California," I explained my prior knowledge while walking toward the bag I packed. I scavenged through the outdated clothing I wore in my youth. "I had no idea his men moved so far North already."

"Miguel Camilo is an ambitious man." I settled on an old t-shirt. "He's been flooding his heroin and cocaine into almost all of the California prisons."

"Except for Pelican Bay which is still controlled by the PB." The Pure Brotherhood was the largest gang of Neo-Nazis on the West coast. They controlled the drug trade until the Camilo Cartel began to expand out of Northern Mexico. "Three of them came to shoot up my father's house. They killed a boy and injured four other people."

"That was just a warning. They aren't happy that Bangtan is dealing guns to both them and the cartel."

My father started running guns for his Russian connections early on in the club's life. It was just supposed to be a short favor but the money spoke too loudly. At the time, the PB was heavily trafficking drugs through Blackburn from Pelican Bay. However, they made an agreement, that why would stop dealing in Blackburn, in exchange for Bangtan selling them guns.

"I'm sure you are aware, that since the settlement in 2018, Pelican Bay has become the service network for the drug distribution from California to its surrounding states."

That was a sick understatement.

"The Pacific Northwest is drowning in methamphetamine because of the PB's connection at Pelican Bay," I responded, rather sorely. It was a combination of anger, knowing that the club had gotten themselves directly involved. Also, a rage drove from personal experience.

I tossed the clothes I had collected on the bed, alongside my phone. Agent Romero was silent for a time, following the tone of my tongue.

"I was informed you took part in the one-year investigation that saw the raid of 10 drug dens in Seattle last year." His voice became finer. It was almost as if he was being cautious with his information. "You made the connection between the dealers and the PB."

I took a seat on the foot of the bed and remained soundless. I didn't want to take the credit for that.

"Everyone already suspected it led back to them..." I refused to.

"But you knew that the firearms that were confiscated, during the raid, had come from Bangtan."

I didn't expect him to understand why I wasn't proud of this. How could I be? When I had to see the consequences of the club's activities outside of Blackburn. The DEA confiscated 37 pounds of meth and 27 pounds of heroin that day. We really did only care for our own. The rest of the world could burn.

"Agent (Y/L/N)?" He called.

I hummed as a reply.

"You are our best hope. I need to know that you can go through with this," He said sternly. But I understood, there could be no room for hesitation in an operation like this. "Not only because of your personal involvement with the club but because of your history of drug addiction."

My life had taken many unexpected turns after I moved to Seattle. I fought against everything I knew and had an extreme appetite for destruction. If you had the money, then Seattle had your disease. Slipping into darkness had never been so easy.

"I've been clean for five years, agent," I reminded him.

I had a regularly scheduled drug test every 90 days through a hair sample. It was a rare exception to the DEA, but my personal experience was beneficial to them. "I also haven't been in contact with the club in over seven years."

I stood back on my feet, taking a hold of the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head.

"I understand. For now, I need you to stay close to the club." I took the phone in one hand and my clothes in the other. "I'll be flying in from Virginia tomorrow, we will discuss further details, in person."

"Yes, sir."

He hung up the phone after that. I was left to unwind, once again.

This time I stepped toward the bathroom, leaving the stuff in my hands on the countersink. The bathroom was, at the very least, clean compared to the rest of the room.

I turned on the water to the shower and gave it time to heat up. I continued to undress myself, anticipating the sweet relief of the hot water. With the remainder of my clothing scattered on the floor, I heard my phone vibrate behind me.

I imagined that it was agent Romero. However, when I looked at the screen I found the message coming from an unsaved number. The same unsaved number that Namjoon called me from two days ago.

I didn't expect to be starting work this soon.

The second I turned off the engine on my bike, Namjoon was already waiting for me at the doorway of his home. I didn't see any other bikes in the driveway, except for Jaeeun's car.

I was honestly hoping that she wouldn't be home.

"You're late." Was the first thing out of his mouth.

"I came from across town- there was traffic," I explained, even though it couldn't have been more than ten minutes past three.

He moved aside and let me step first into his house. The front door opened to his living room. There I was met with an unfortunate appearance by Jaeeun. There was only an everlasting smirk or frown on this woman's face. When it came to me, a frown was her default.

"You said this was important?" I turned around to see Namjoon closing the door.

"Yeah," Namjoon quietly remained, his fingers brushed their way through his hair. There was a stillness in the room that no one seemed to want to face.

All I could do was stand there and watch as he calmly stepped further into the room. Before I could ask him to elaborate, there was another set of footsteps that came in from the hallway.

"Ms.(Y/n),"

I came face to face with my father's attorney. He received me with a friendly smile, extending his hand out to me in the process.

"Richard," I was startled by his visit.

"I'm sorry to meet again under these circumstances." His presence was eerily similar to when my mother passed away. Then his appearance began to make sense.

"My father's will?"

Richard gently nodded his head, the look of sympathy easily displayed on his features. He slowly gestured both Namjoon and me to join Jaeeun on the couch.

Namjoon offered himself the seat between his mother and I. While Richard took the single armchair facing our direction. A round coffee table stood between us. Richard drew a leather briefcase from the floor and placed it on the glass surface.

There was a feeling of dread emitting from my chest, making it feel heavy and stiff. My palms ran over the fabric of my jeans at the sound of the briefcase latches opened.

He slipped out a single piece of paper, the delicate material folded like a letter. Richard cleared his throat,

"The purpose of our meeting here today is the reading of the final testament of the deceased. Including, the distributions of assets and beneficiary claims." He took a moment to look at each of us. "With all of your permission, I will begin,"

We all gave our approval for him to begin.

I didn't know what to expect.

I, resident of the state of California, county of Blackburn, and being sound of mind and memory; do hereby make, publish, and declare this to be my last will and testament.

At the time of executing this will, I have widowed and have remarried to Jaeeun Kim. Also at the time of this will, I recognize only two legitimate children.

(Y/F/N). My biological daughter from my first marriage, now deceased.

Namjoon Kim. My legal son from my current marriage to Jaeeun Kim.

For my wife, I leave you with the remaining balance of our joint bank account, as well, as our matrimonial home. All titles and deeds will be changed under your name as the sole owner of the property.

For my son, after being a long time employee and business partner, I leave you as the owner of The House Of Cards.

Finally, for my daughter, I leave you with the remaining balance of my separate savings account, as well, as my 2003 Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide Sport and my 1990 Harley-Davidson Fatboy.

When I turned 18, there was nothing more that I wanted than that old Fatboy. I never thought that finally getting it would feel so meaningless.

I didn't plan to be out for long after being at Namjoon's house. We didn't say much to each other after Richard had left, I even left the house without any insults from Jaeeun. However, before leaving, Namjoon asked me to meet him at the bar to take a look at my father's bikes.

When I arrived in the parking lot of the bar, Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook were in mid-conversation around their bikes. I parked my Harley right beside Jimin's.

"Hey," I called out to them. My fingers clicked off the straps of my helmet and let it hang around the handlebar.

When I stepped off my bike, I was instantly greeted by Jimin, who unexpectedly pulled me into a hug. I was somewhat taken back, his arm was hooked tightly around my waist. Of course, I returned the embrace, but at the same time, made awkward eye contact with Taehyung.

"What's going on?" I asked a bit flustered as Jimin began to pull away.

"Namjoon called us in," Jungkook replied. There was a smirk in his words as if he knew something that I didn't. I glanced at Taehyung, who remained silent by his side. I never did understand Jungkook's sense of humor. I brushed it off nevertheless.

"He told us to bring your old man's Harley," Jimin also stated. He stepped with me, as I came closer into the semicircle that they were gathered in. I turned my head and looked at him rather confused.

"Bring it from where? The shop?" I questioned.

I watched Jimin lean against his bike. "I thought it would be at the pound,"

He pushed strands of his hair away from his forehead, taking a moment to look away from me and waited to speak. I could see the gears begin to turn in his head and he glanced at the other boys for guidance.

No one said anything.

"His Dyna got roughed up a few weeks ago- he left it in the shop for Taehyung and me to fix," He carefully explained. "He was riding his Fatboy the day of the accident."

My life seemed to be a never-ending joke of irony. The sudden feeling of gloom overcame me prompting me to switch my gaze to the pavement. The bike that I had wanted was the bike that he had left me, but it was also the bike he had died in. I didn't say much after that.

We stood in silence together for a few more minutes. That was until Taehyung's phone rang and notified us that Namjoon was waiting for us in the garage.

When we got there, the garage was opened, to a truck parked in reverse. The white truck was branded with the name of Jimin's old man’s auto shop. The sound of the passenger door slamming was followed by Yoenjun coming around the corner. The young prospect moved quickly to unlatch the backdoors of the trailer.

I advanced toward the truck, somewhat, anticipating to get a look at my father's Dyna.

Jungkook came up to lend Yoenjun a hand with the ramp. The loud piece of metal came crashing down on the asphalt. If this had been anyone else's bike, Yoenjun would have just ridden it from the shop. But they were being extra cautious out of respect.

Yoenjun came out of the dingy trailer with his hands guiding the bike down the ramp. The black beauty reflected shapes of the fluorescent lights. I stared at the beautiful wide front of the Dyna that reminded me why I got my Softail.

"What do you think?" Yeonjun asked while he pushed down the kickstand, allowing the bike to stand on its own.

"It looks brand new," I said, running my hand over the cold black metal of the fuel tank. "What was wrong with it?"

I asked, peering over to Jimin and Taehyung.

"The headlight was broken," Jimin revealed. "There were also some scratches and dents."

I nodded my head. I couldn't see any evidence of scratches, much less dents, that were difficult to get rid of without the right tools.

"Prospect," Namjoon called from behind me. Yoenjun's eyes shot up in question. "Did you get the Fatboy out of the pound?"

"Yes, pres," He said, quickly moving his feet back up the ramp.

My eyes wandered into the darkness of the back of the trailer. I couldn’t see anything but I heard the hunk of metal rattling against the wall. I could see why Namjoon called Jungkook here, he ran up to help the prospect with the weight of the bike.

I wasn't prepared for what I was about to witness.

My heart dropped into my stomach at the sight. The front of the bike was completely smashed inward. Jungkook was supporting it from the front, while Yoenjun steered it from the back. The entire fork and front wheel were crushed to the left. So far deep, that it even rammed into the gas tank.

"Oh god..." My hands tried to mask the cry that fell from my mouth. The tears fell faster from my eyes than I could acknowledge them.

"Hey," Jimin came to my aid. He rested his hand on my back and tried to comfort me.

"I'm honestly not sure how salvageable it is, (Y/n)." Namjoon also walked toward me. I felt him linger over my shoulder, all I could do was merely glance his way as I tried to control my composure. "Maybe Jimin and Taehyung could try to-"

"No," I managed to take in a shaky breath, running my fingers along the wet stains of my cheeks. "I can fix it."

I said mostly to myself. I had this irrepressible urge in the back of my mind to repair the bike myself. My father had taught me everything I needed to know about motorcycles. This was my chance to prove myself.

"I might need some help though."

I was well aware that this would at least be a two-person job, the poor thing couldn't even stand on its own. There were also tools that I didn't have at my current disposal.

"Whatever you need, love," Jimin whispered, his hand slowly slipping off my back.

I suddenly realized how close Namjoon and Jimin were standing to me. I was feeling a little enclosed between the two of them. So I took a moment to excuse myself from the group.

My back rested into the warm redbrick of the building. A deep breath of late summer air filled my lungs. I could almost view the sun starting to head toward the horizon. Its surrounding sky was beginning to orange with heat.

I was standing just outside of the garage. Everyone had gone back into the bar to get a drink. Except, for Yoenjun who the boys had sent back to the auto shop.

It seemed every day that I spent here was just another miserable recognition of my castaway. I hated feeling this way. I hated feeling like all I could do was complain about my father's abandonment. But goddamn it, he was all that I had.

I thought I was all he had too.

I imagined maybe one day he would tell me that he regretted sending me away. But, even in his will, he left me with nothing to stay here for; not his bar, not my mother's house, just some money, and a motorcycle to run away on.

"You alright?"

Jimin always seemed to catch me in the middle of a crying session.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, pushing myself off the wall. I forced him a smile and decided to prompt another subject. "I hope you're as good as a mechanic as you say you are."

He returned my smile, a more genuine one, and followed me with his eyes as I moved back into the garage.

"Me?" He challenged, as we both stepped back toward the damaged bike, circling it. "I've been working in a shop for five years, what have you been doing?"

I shot him a glare and chuckled at his tease.

"Who do you think has been taking care of my bike all this time? The mechanics in Seattle are a joke." He laughed at my words, not doubting them for a moment.

I watched him watch me. His round lips held in an endearing smile as his eyes stared into me. I felt, at that moment, the same as he did. It was nice to spend moments like this, after all this time.

"Besides," I said, feeling bashful in his gaze. "I've worked on this bike a million times."

We had the Fatboy mounted on a hydraulic stand to get a better look below. Some of the pipes underneath were also severely damaged. But as long as the frame was still intact, I was pretty sure we could pull it off.

"We should start by removing the fork and wheel," Jimin said, his eyes wandering over the details of the bike. "I think that way we'll have more room to make sure that the frame isn't too damaged."

I agreed.

This model of Fatboy had a completely different frame than its modern counterpart. Trying to buy a new frame would easily cost over a grand.

"You know," Jimin sounded unsure. "this might cost more to fix than it's worth, (Y/n)."

I was well aware that it was reasonably true. However, my mind was already made up.

"I don't care what it costs."

Because I had nothing else. Repairing this bike was going to be my only sense of peace for the next couple of weeks.

Jimin stayed and helped me get started. Removing the front of this bike turned out to take a lot longer than expected. Jimin was a great help, and I had to admit, he probably knew a little more than I did. We ran into a lot of difficulties due to the metal that was bent together. We had to remove it without causing more damage to the parts that it was pushed into. Jimin was pleasant company, nonetheless.

"I can't believe you dated her," I laughed under my breath, trying to keep my hands steady.

"Okay, 'date' is a strong word," He attempted to justify himself but it was too late in my head. "I was intoxicated 80% of the time I was with her."

The Allen head screwdriver I was using to loosen the lower triple fasteners almost slipped from my hands. Jimin's hand gripped around the bottom of the right fork, ready for it to come undone.

"That doesn't matter!" I was laughing so hard that my eyes watered. "The damage is done, Jimin. Who knows what kind of crotch-eating virus she gave you."

"Hey, I'll have you know that she got regular check-ups."

I hummed and rolled my eyes. I proceeded to also loosen the fastener on the top of the fork. I looked down at Jimin, to make sure his grip was still tight before freeing the fork. It should have slid right out the moment the screw came out but it didn't.

"Damn," He said, carefully, removing his hand.

"It must be jammed." I groaned, stepping back and wiping my forehead of any sweat. Jimin straightened himself out too.

"We can just find a way to remove it tomorrow," I sighed. I was honestly already worn out, and ready to call it quits for the night. However, determined, Jimin took a closer look at the fork.

I watched as he, without a word, kneeled to dig around the toolbox. He was attentive as he picked out a flat-bladed screwdriver and came back to the bike. Jimin pushed the screwdriver in between the gap of the lower triple.

"Try to pull on it." He muttered, to me as he was using all of his strength to loosen the bent metal.

I wrapped my hand around the metal rod and tried to tug on it. It made a rasping sound as it was starting to move. Then the entire weight came undone, it almost slipped out of my hand, but Jimin was fast too, also holding on to it.

"Wow~ Jimin~" I was pleasantly surprised.

"I know what I'm doing, love," Jimin smirked, proud of himself, he took the heavy rod from my hand.

A relieved sigh left his nose as he placed the fork next to the previous one we removed. Along with other parts of the bike, like the wheel, that was close to unrecognizable.

I reached into my pocket and checked the time.

The effects of not sleeping the night before were starting to come through. It was barely 8 o'clock and I was exhausted.

"I hope you're hungry because I just ordered some food," Jimin called to me. I looked up from my phone to see him showing me his food delivery app.

"Oh, Jimin," I grumbled, putting my phone back in my pocket. "I was just about to head out."

He raised his brow at me in questionable doubt.

"You already ate?" He maintained his eyes on me while cleaning his greasy hand on the hem of his white t-shirt.

"No," My eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of his abdomen, which was shockingly healthy underneath. "But I'm not very hungry."

Worried that I was staring, I switched my attention to another part of the room. Jimin appeared to move close as a result.

"Come on, it's Chinese food from that place you like." He insisted.

I would have continued to refuse him, although my stomach appeared to respond to the contrary. It rumbled at the memory of the Chinese food, causing Jimin to laugh at the sound.

"I guess I can eat," I admitted in defeat.

Jimin nodded his head and pushed the sleeves of his t-shirt over his shoulder. It appeared that he was making advances toward the door but I called him. "Do you mind if we eat here though? I don't really want to be around other people."

I wasn't sure if Namjoon had left with the others, or if he was just on the other side of the door. I was just enjoying Jimin's company without worrying about anything else.

"Sure, I don't mind." I was comforted to hear him say so.

Underneath a table, I found a couple of crate boxes. I carefully kicked two of them into the middle of the room. My aching legs relieved to finally sit down after three long hours. Jimin had his back turned to me as he washed his hands in the sink along the wall.

"Are you staying at Namjoon's house?" He suddenly asked, trying to make more conversation.

"No, thank god." A short chuckle came from my lips. Taking notice of the dirt on my hands, I ran my palms over the fabric of my jeans. "I don't need Jaeeun’s cold glare watching me every minute."

I could hear Jimin smirk.

"Yeah, she's intimidating as all hell." He stated. Turning back to face my direction, he shook the water off his hands, droplets falling to the cement floor. "You guys still aren't getting along?"

"You know we've never had," I said a little bitterly. Recalling back to all the time I spent in high school complaining about her to him.

"I know, but I thought that was just like a teenage thing." Jimin eyed the counter to his right, where he had previously left his cut to remain.

"Definitely not after the conversation we had yesterday." I jeered.

"She threatened you?" Jimin sounded surprised as he was slipping the leather around his shoulders.

"Let's just say, it was a passionate discussion," I hummed, deciding it wasn’t even worth mentioning and that it was time for me to wash my hands as well.

The plastic sink in the back used to be white, now it was grayed and falling apart. I tried my best not to touch it as I turned on the faucet and rubbed some dish soap in my hand.

"Is that why you left last night?"

My hands slowed down at his question. I didn't like the idea of having to lie to Jimin. He was the only person who made me feel like I could depend on him. That meant a great deal to me however, I didn't really have any other alternative.

"I didn't feel very welcomed once you left," I muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. I continued scrubbing underneath my fingernails. "I also didn't feel like celebrating Namjoon's coronation."

It was a joke but I knew Jimin could hear the slight sourness in my tone. I tried to shake off as much of the water from my hands before turning back to Jimin. "Did Hoseok give you a rough night with his new VP patch?"

I joked while reaching for a roll of paper towels under the sink.

"No," He said calmly, "But Taehyung sure did."

I wasn't quite sure if I had heard him correctly. Looking at his facial expression was meaningless as he remained unbothered.

"Taehyung?" I asked for clarification.

"That's right," He sang as I walked back in his direction, taking the same seat as before. "Namjoon wanted someone different than him, Taehyung is as different as you can get."

I had never thought to compare the two. I doubt if I even knew enough about Taehyung to relate him to Namjoon.

"Does it bother you?" I was curious.

"Taehyung being VP? Nah." Jimin answered. "I'm actually pretty relieved,"

Jimin stopped to lick his lip, thinking about what he was about to say. "There is no doubt in my mind that Namjoon will be a good leader. He's smart as hell, but sometimes- I think he can lose sight of things."

I was deeply intrigued by what Jimin thought. His opinion was unbiased, and he only spoke for what was best for the club. "Taehyung has never been afraid to call him out on it. Taehyung and your old man, that is."

The Vice President of a club was the middle ground between the President and the members of the charter. Any questions, comments or concerns from the other members are brought to the VP's attention. It was hard for me to imagine my father ever disagreeing with Namjoon. He never did so in my presence, anyway. I wondered when that all began to change. I wondered if it had anything to do with the drugs.

Jimin noticed that mentioning my father brought me down easily, he saw me lost in my own head, so he changed the subject.

"You know," Jimin pushed himself off the box seat. "I know why Jaeeun doesn't like you."

"Oh?" I smiled gently. This ought to be good. "Enlighten me, please."

Even though I could name a few reasons myself, Jimin always had an interesting perspective.

He returned my smile and decided to let the anticipation linger in the air. I watched him slowly walk toward the refrigerator that sat in the corner of the room. He pulled the door opened and leaned in to retrieve two bottles of beer that rested at the very bottom shelf. He turned around to face me and shut the door with his foot.

"You two are exactly the same,"

I looked at him unimpressed, with such a simple answer. Also, a little offended by his assumption.

"Hear me out," He requested while holding the bottles between his fingers, using his free hand to dig into his pocket. "Jaeeun is intimidated by your character. She's constantly trying to put you down because she knows you don't let things go- just like she doesn't. "

"Who says I don't let things go?" Jimin laughed at my question.

"(Y/n), just yesterday you said you've waited seven years to come back home."

Ouch.

Jimin pulled a lighter from his jeans. He used the end of it as leverage to snap open one of the bottles. "You only threaten someone that you feel threatened by."

Jimin offered me the beer, and I took it thankfully. His words sunk in.

"Well, you know what they say," I pushed my lips against the glass, taking a large gulp.

"What?" He asked while sitting back beside me.

"A beaten dog never forgets," I said earnestly.

Jimin stared at me for what seemed like an entire minute, but ultimately, he tipped his bottle toward me.

"That, we don't."

He said as I met him halfway. Our bottles clanged together before we took another drink.

"There is actually something I've been wanting to ask you," He suddenly said after clearing his throat.

"What is it?"

"Yesterday... You make it sound as if you've wanted to come back this entire time," I was dreading this question. "Why didn't you?"

How could I even begin to explain to him such a story? "I know you had problems with your family and maybe that's why you left, "

He sounded hurt. "But I thought we were close enough for you to have told me. It just seemed so unlike you."

He knew me better than I gave him credit for.

"I would have told you." I wanted to make that clear to him first. "I didn't want to leave but my father sent me away."

"How come?"

I stared into his eyes and knew that he did not recognize the man I spoke of. But this was the reality.

"Because," I sighed and felt unworthy of holding his gaze. "I couldn't let things go..."

My entrance to the bar was met by a pleasant absence of people. It was well past 10 o'clock and yet the room was entirely empty. Not only that, but the entire place looked as if a tornado had spit it out. The chairs and tables were knocked down and spread all over the floor. The back doors of the club's conference room were broken in and barely hanging on. Though I couldn't even see down the hall, I could imagine it was a similar story.

The only soul that remained stood tall behind the bar, wiping down the counters against the wall.

"What the hell happened here?" Namjoon hadn't heard me come in. He looked over his shoulder and found me walking toward him.

"Pigs had a day off," He said, setting down the damp rag and turning his body to speak with me.

He sounded unimpressed, and so was I. Blackburn police were always trying to find dirt on the club. It wasn't the first time they had come in with their warrants; it wouldn't be the last time either. However, the only thing that they left with was their tails tucked between their legs. It's just the way things were.

"Where is he?" I asked, knowing he knew who I meant.

I took the leather stool right in front of him. Resting an elbow on the surface of the bar, I reached for an ashtray with my closest hand.

"My mom's Cadillac broke down again," I hummed, barely surprised.

I drew a pack of almost empty smoke from my back pocket. Bringing the carton to my mouth, I wrapped my lips around one of the cigarettes which was left exposed by the missing cover.

"She needs to take that piece of shit to a mechanic," I muttered, fumbling with my jeans, trying to find a lighter.

"He's going to take a look at it in the garage," He replied, reaching behind him and then placing a cheap lighter in front of me.

"I mean a real mechanic," I said, taking the dark blue lighter in my hands and using the light to light my addiction. "Once the machine surpasses three wheels, he has no idea what he's doing."

"It's not that much of a difference,"

I scoffed at him.

"How would you know?" I urged, taking a sharp drag of my square, the end of it lighting up like Roudoff's nose. "You don't even know what's wrong with your bike half of the time."

"That's not true," He continued to gather glasses up and down the bar space.

"My old man and I are the only ones who have ever touched your bike," I told him bitterly, hoping he would recall me having to repair his bike a few weeks ago after he had left the gas sitting in the tank for too long.

Namjoon chose to ignore my comment.

"Why don't you pour me a drink instead?" I said after not getting a word from him. "You're good at that."

"You're 18," He replied as if that meant anything.

"And you're 19 working as a bartender but, here we are."

Namjoon shot me an annoyed look, and I found it satisfying. A smirk grew on my lips as he placed his current glass in front of me. The impact of crystal glass against the wood seemed to ring on. His eyes never left mine as he reached under the bar for a bottle of Jack.

"Pour it yourself." He spoke dangerously. My sadistic mind, only finding humor in his tough-guy act.

"Well then," I grabbed the bottle by its neck and did the work myself. The brown liquor coming smoothly out of the metal pour spout, into the bottom of my glass. "Just because my old man lets you hang around the club, you're too good to pour me a drink now?"

I said only casually. It was a snide comment to myself, but of course, in the dead of silence, Namjoon caught an ear.

"What did you say?"

Based on his expression, I was sure that he heard me clearly. I nonchalantly blew a puff of smoke in his direction, his hard stare threatening to curse me. "You've got a fucking mouth on you,"

He fiercely set everything in his hands down on the counters behind him. I watched him come around the bar and walk past me. I seized my glass in the opposite hand from where my cigarette rested between my digits. Turning in my seat to keep my eyes on him, I had a feeling he had more to get off his chest.

"If anyone has to check their ego at the door, it's you, sweetheart." I took a sip of my drink as the bitter words left his lips. He began to pick up the chairs of the closest table to the bar. "Your biker princess entitlement is seriously getting under everyone's skin."

"Oh? Who is everyone, Namjoon?" I ridiculed him. Even though, in the tones of my voice, I was stung by his comment. "Your mother? Who has never needed a reason to not like me?"

I took in a breath of nicotine, realizing my voice was beginning to crack under my sentiment. "Or my father? Who's discarded everything I've done since you came in the picture?"

He appeared to be trying very hard to keep his composure from reaching a violent point.

"Your daddy issues aren't my problem," Namjoon slammed a chair down, the loud noise echoing off the ceiling of the bar. "I am not your goddamn problem!"

This has been one of the few times I had ever seen Namjoon be fueled by his anger. But I couldn't find it in me to care. In that instance, I felt completely lethargic about it all. "You aren't a member of this club. You don't know your place and that-!"

He stopped to breathe, to lower his voice before he did something bad. "That is your fucking problem."

It was strange that the moment his voice softened, I lost my temper.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered before rising to my feet. I clutched the drink tightly in my fist, using all of my force to hurl the glass at him.

Namjoon barely stepped out of the way on time. The shattering glass missed his face by mere inches, the alcohol trailed along the six feet of floor between us. I could feel my body tremble with wrath.

"I'm always wrong, aren't I?" I said, speaking more aggressively than before. "I don't ever listen, right?"

The pit of rage that coursed through me left me feeling lightheaded and with shortness of breath.

"Well guess what, sweetheart," I mocked, regaining dominance over my emotions. "It's in my nature. Just like the rest of you, I have a problem with authority."

I was acting exactly the way that my father raised me. I was a spitting image of everything he believed in. "And I am sick to death- of being crushed under the weight of selfish men who don't believe in anything."

Namjoon hadn't said a single word, he hadn't moved an inch of his cold face. I didn't know what he was thinking. I didn't care if he thought I was crazy or the saddest thing to walk the face of the earth.

It seemed that the more I tried to be who I was, the more I was denied. So, I began to question; why should I be the one to be discarded?

I dropped my cigarette on the floor, stepping on it as I walked in his direction. The room between us smelled of the cigarette I just put out, and the whiskey I didn't drink. I came to stand so close to him, the closest I had ever been.

He was significantly taller than I was, he towered over me like a mountain. I looked into his obscure eyes and questioned what made him so much better than me?

"My father thinks you're the greatest," My voice was barely a whisper full of venom. Namjoon was stiff in place as my fingers danced their way to the button of his jeans. His strong brows cut into his eyes that began to blacken. "Show me what makes you so goddamn special..."

He was on me in less than a second.

His lips pressed against my own with great intensity. His hands stroking their way down to my hips, where he urged them against him.

I couldn't even find a taunt on my lips as he stuck his tongue between them. It was warm and soft against mine. The taste of him sent shivers across my body. The rage he brought out of me went directly from my chest to the place between my legs.

My hands felt their way up to his rising torso. I cursed the thin fabric that kept me from scratching his skin. I settled for wrapping my arms around his neck, my hands sinking straight into the locks of his platinum hair.

He paused for the second I pulled at his roots, letting out a grunt of frustration before moving down to attack my vulnerable neck. His teeth drew moans from my mouth, my eyes fluttering closed at the mixture of kisses and bites.

He grew irritated by the clothes between us. His hands struggled to push me back, I lightly stumbled on my feet, Namjoon used his black eyes to search my trembling figure. He grabbed the collar of my blouse, ripping open most of the buttons in one yank. The lack of clothes underneath drove him wild.

His hands were on me again after that. He couldn't wait any longer and picked me up by my thighs. My hands impatiently began to push up his black shirt. Namjoon managed to locate the only standing table in the bar and dropped me upon it. His shirt came off the instant I hit the wood, I kept it beside me on the table.

"You're such a pretty girl," he hissed as I arched my chest toward him. His fingers handled the buckle of my belt before pulling my button undone. "But you’re so very, tough to please,"

I hated how much I loved to hear him talk to me. I pulled back into a heated kiss. My hands finally began to feel his creamlike skin under my fingernails. The feeling sends his skin to tremble under my touch as I kick off my shoes.

They tumbled to the ground and Namjoon found the waistband of my pants. His lips still pressing bruises against mine, I didn't want him to pull away. He did so to pull my pants down my legs, panties and all, leaving me almost completely bare on the table.

He leaned his damp forehead against mine. His eyes had a stronghold on my own as his hands rubbed the supple skin of my thighs.

"Is this what you wanted?" He asked, pulling me closer to the edge of the table. I gulped and took my breath all the same.

All I could give him was a panting whimper and nodding gesture.

But that was enough.

Namjoon palmed my heat, leaving my body wanting more, making it long for him. I gripped his broad shoulders, leveraging my hips closer to him. He took the suggestion and pushed his pants down his thighs. I didn't even get a glance at what he had to offer until he was pressing at my opening.

He left me breathless. I was a whining mess under the force of his hips.

"Shit," Namjoon's voice strained under the pleasure.

His fingers pressed into the skin of my hips, holding them in place as he pounded into me. I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Oh god..." I wished my voice hadn't trembled.

I was almost embarrassed at the noise that left my mouth, I begged him to shut me up. His mouth was addicting, each stroke of his tongue was like silk. My bare legs caressed along his, as I held back every urge to lock them around his waist.

The marks I was leaving along his back must have gotten painful because Namjoon grabbed a hold of my wrists. He pinned my hands flat on either side of me. This gave me enough room to lean back on them, offering him some room to explore. His lips were so full and smooth, I couldn't help but to want them all over me.

In this position, he leaned forward, making his thrust start to move at an angle. My eyes threatened to roll back at the new depth. His eyes relished in the display of my body. My breast stuck to the thin material of my blouse and moved at the pace of his hips.

"Oh! Namjoon..." Now that my hips were free from his hold, I began to roll them against him, almost uncontrollably.

He drifted forward to capture my lips, pressing a more delicate kiss into them. His hand slipped off my wrists and found their way to caress the skin of my cheek. Suddenly the lustful moans that had been leaving my mouth were replaced by sweeter ones. His touch was gentle, and I couldn't help but admit that his intimacy made me uncomfortable.

I took his bottom lip into my mouth and grazed it with my teeth. I saw his eyes open as he let out a low growl from the back of his throat. I pried my hand around his neck, my claws digging at the surface of his nape.

He immediately understood what I wanted and was not afraid to give it to me.

Namjoon hooked his arms around my legs, spreading my legs wider and pushing me further onto the table. I didn't think he could go any faster, but for once, I was happy he proved me wrong.

"Ah! Yes!" I cried.

That place deep inside of me he hit so flawlessly it made my eyes tear with joy. The sounds coming from my mouth were like evidence of that. I wanted to just shut my eyes and let the feeling consume me. However, he was an extraordinary sight before me.

Namjoon's head was slightly tossed back, eyes shut in concentration and bliss. His jaw clenched every time he tried to suppress one of his moans.

I tighten my walls around him, just to watch how his mouth opens with a groan.

"Fuck! You're so good." He was living a high life.

Our rapid breathing and ecstatic moaning filled the room. At his pace, he could have easily taken me to the top.

It was such a shame our time had to be cut short by a voice that was not our own.

"What the fuck is this!?" That was rage only his mother could spit.

Namjoon pulled out of me immediately as he heard his mother came in from the garage. I made sure to moan loud for her as he left me feeling empty inside.

Namjoon's body covered enough of me as I caught Jaeeun's murderous expression in my line of sight. My mind was still clouded by ecstasy but that wasn't the reason my lips wore a smile.

My father walked in moments later at the sound of Jaeeun's startle. He was just on time to catch Namjoon pulling up his pants, and my lower half covered by his black shirt.

Their expressions were priceless.

Namjoon could do no wrong in my father's eyes. He was the son he always wanted. I was hoping this would put a little strain on their relationship.

Masterlist ≽

#Bangtan MC #bts x reader #ot7 #bts #bts fanfic #bangtan scenarios #kim namjoon #kim taehyung #kim seokjin #park jimin #jeon jungkook #Jung HoSeok #min yoongi #bts angst #bts smut #bts fluff #namjoon smut #namjoon x reader

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wouldadepressedpersonmakethis · 6 years

Text

phone wars

STORE 1: “Mobicity”

IDRIS ELBA (45, reserved by kate aa) - store manager: super intense!!!!! runs his store like he’s running an army!!!! treats every sale like a life or death situation!!! has some raymond holt vibes too??? like this, this, this, and this are all him! expects peRFECTION from his employees!!!! the interview process is inSANE!!!!!! definitely treats the other stores and their employees like mortal enemies!!!!! his office is conveniently located so that he can spy on the store two stores. also has some john mulaney’s dad vibes. “you have the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair” “god can’t hear you” “how are you better than a nazi?” “let’s change the subject” “1 black coffee”

MICHEAL B. JORDAN (31 , reserved by kate aa) - didn’t believe that IDRIS ELBA was a real person but heard stories from his sister. forged an impressive resume and got a job as his assistant manager. got the job just so he could mess w/ idris for fun???? super talented at pretending like he’s got his shit together when in reality he’s super lazy (except when it comes to playing elaborate pranks). secretly dating melissa benoist

RICHARD AYOADE (41) - salesperson, always nervous!!! brilliant but no social skills, terrified of idris, talks fast, throws up when he gets nervous, “i’m okay as long as i don’t think about it!” you could spill soup on him and he’d probably apologize to you

KATIE MCGRATH (35) - idris’s assistant; once dated chris pine; may or may not have gotten this job just to desTROY him; super ambitious/intelligent; could be doing any number of things w/ her life but she’s also kind of petty; has a lot of meryl streep in the devil wears prada vibes, does have a lot of respect for idris but also has plans to over-throw him; can be intense?????? only cares about 1 person (her sister/cousin/bff???) still attracted to chris pine but u won’t hear her say that

ZOEY DEUTCH (23) - katie’s assistant; STRESS LEVEL IS CONSTANTLY A 11/10; def has anne hathaway’s job in tdwp; got this job by mistake; is the furthest thing from organized; applied for a janitor position b/c that’s all she’s qualified to do here but somehow her resume got mixed up??? *** she thinks it was a mistake but it was actually just a prank that MBJ played*** faking it until she makes it??? or rather until she gets fired heh. pretending to be an uptight harvard grad but instead hardly graduated hs and doesn’t know how to adult; may or may not have spent her entire first pay check on fuzzy socks and mozzarella sticks.

??? another lady

STORE 2: “What’s App”

CHARLIE DAY (42) -- an idiot, super chill and laid back, somehow always accidentally thwarts the others’ plans to destroy him! a human disaster but somehow everything just works out for him. his store is a mess tbh??? very unorganized but somehow the most successful of the three??

DYLAN O’BRIEN (26) -- wanted to work for store #1 with a deep passion and intensity!! looks @ idris elba as his idol??? potentially calls him dad accidentally a lot??? idk its weird and IDRIS ELBA got super annoyed with him constantly applying to work for him so instead he sent him to work at store 2 as a “spy”. he takes this role suPER seriously and basically thinks he’s james bond. never gets anything at all helpful for idris elba. has a weird and elaborate fake back story for going undercover. most people can tell he is a “spy”?

ZENDAYA (21) (reserved by lizzy) - younger sister to MBJ and GMR. college student. this is 100% the best summer job she’s ever had. super unmotivated to do well most of the time and just tricks #2 to do all of her work for her. loves just to sit back and watch the chaos unfold.

KRYSTEN RITTER (36 , reserved by kate aa) - IT, monotone voice, always wears black, likes to pretend that she’s a satanist to fuck with people, surrounded by idiots, hates everyone, do not engage her in psychological warfare b/cs she will deSTROY you

BLAKE LIVELY (30 , reserved by kate aa) - heavy beatrice/eugenie vibes~ under skills she listed: i know how to do makeup and have an iphone, only got and has kept this job b/c her manager is as clueless as she is???? does try to be helpful but honestly makes things worse, doesn’t understand you have to put in a full eight hours a day??? often leaves for several hours at at time for lunch??? sometimes just doesn’t come back??? grew up super wealthy and was recently disinherited by her parents after she got into a huge fight w/ them over something stupid?? too proud to go crawling back but tbh she is def drowning in the real world.

MAX GREENFIELD (37) LOUD, yells a LOT, hired as the new brand manager. is grossed out 24/7 by the state of the store; sUPER dramatic; always saying how he’s going to have a heart attack working here (probably will tbh), also says he’s going to die of a rare disease working w/ charlie day (also probably true), has goals to rebrand this as a luxury phone store (closer in style to Oasis vs. a garbage). has his work cut out for him

STORE 3: “Oasis”

CHRIS PINE (37, reserved by lizzy) -- super wealthy!!!, spoiled!!!! a huge ass!!!!! his father is the CEO but he wanted his son to work his way up the ranks on his own vs. just handing the business over to him. has become manager here but that’s as far as he’s gotten. will do whatever it takes to make his branch the most successful!!!! soooo dramatic!!!!! the level of bitchiness in him is absurd!!! definitely considers IDRIS ELBA to his his (1) true enemy!!!!!! def considers manager #2 to be worthless and beneath his notice (don’t mention that he’s actually his biggest competition)!!! has probably won the shithead of the year award. hits on his assistant 24/7 has anger management issues

GUGU MBATHA-RAW (35) - michael b. jordan’s older sister. chris pine’s secretary. the sweetest person in the world!!!!!!! does NOT deserve to work for someone like chris pine. doesn’t realize how much of an awful person he is just because she can’t believe anyone could be that awful???? would come home and tell her siblings about work and the rivalry and neither of them could believe it but then they all got jobs at the other two stores just to see if it was what gugu had said ... turns out its even better.

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT (50, reserved by lizzy) - hired by chris pine’s dad to keep him in line and make sure that he doesn’t do anything to harm the family’s or the company’s reputation. it is a fulltime job!!!! constantly stressed!!!! constantly like: idk what i expected!?!?!? keeps trying to talk sense to chris pine but that’s like talking to a brick wall??? sometimes tries to tell him not to do something in the hopes that he will actually do it ... but that never works either ... will probably die from a heart attack soon. spends his days apologizing to everyone

MELISSA BENOIST (29, reserved by lizzy) - secretly dating michael b. jordan, her job is basically to keep everyone she knows alive???? helP, loves MBJ a lot but he does stress her out sometimes, kind of OCD, works too hard, super driven, just needs to relax, honestly hates this job but just holding it while she finishes up med school, bffs w/ zoey, somehow emily thinks they are bffs??? but melissa doesn’t have the heart to tell her that they aren’t

EMILY BLUNT (35, taken by kate aa) mary eileen vibes~ An Author™ (but not really) trolls her amazon reviews and obsesses over every bad one, hardly does any work? is “in love” with TIMOTHY and is convinced that he is in love with her too even though he’s blatantly told her that he is not, thinks they can’t be together b/c they are co-workers and that they are involved in some kind of forbidden romance???? is the office manager and has def put a lot of personal expenses on it w/ shaky, at best, justifications for why they needed to be charged to the company

JERMAINE CLEMENT (?) method actor. currently is trying to get a role as a vampire. never breaks character. it gets weird.

STORE 4: a fro-yo shop that’s stuck in the middle of the war zone “Sprinkles on Top”

DREAMA WALKER (32) - believes all you need is a hug and some frozen yogurt to have a good day!!!! but the arrival of the three competing phone stores is testing everything she thinks she knows!!!!! her shop has now become hostile territory b/c all of her customers are mostly just the workers on break and they all just stare each other down!!!!!!! has become super aggressive in her attempts to try to get everyone to just get along and be happy!!!

CHRIS O’DOWD? JAKE JOHNSON (38-40 reserved by lizzy) - watched too many nature documentaries on netflix, feels like he morally needs to be a vegetarian now but can’t stop eating meat, so instead he justifies himself by making up elaborate stories about how the chicken he’s eating has unforgivable character flaws, talks at length about this to the customers? doesn’t have great social skills,has conversations with his cat more than w/ actual people; calls himself the alchemist b/c he once managed to burn his laundry, “i didn’t even know you could do that!”

NICK ROBINSON (23 , reserved by kate aa) - has a mild peanut allergy but took this job anyway. “i live life on the edge” ~ nick “you don’t” ~everyone else, has had a crush on ZENDAYA, got this job to be close to her after they went to different colleges? loves bad jokes, a Nerd, writes fanfiction, has won employee of the month every month since he was hired but tbh his competition isn’t that hard to beat, both proud and embarrassed to see his picture up on (the wall) so many times,

JON BERNTHAL? BEN BARNES? (reserved by kate aa)- actually a hitman and this job is just a cover, honestly a terrible liar and everyone can tell what he actually does but pretend they don’t??? inSANELY good at his hitman job ... not so good at serving frozen yogurt? doesn’t have any customer service skills tbh, honestly comes off as pretty terrifying? looks @ everyone like he might just kill you, tbh dreama is a little afraid to fire him?? doesn’t look like he works here???

ANNA KENDRICK (33, reserved by lizzy) - always come to work hungover, the queen of TMI, hits on everything and anything that moves, tbh a sexual harassment situation just waiting to happen, dreama’s younger sister/cousin and was only given this job as a favor, tbh is not working out as well as dreama had hoped.

AWKWAFINA (29) has killed every plant she has ever owned (doesn’t stop her from getting more!), dumps all the toppings on her fro yo. constantly is eating ~free~ frozen yogurt and doesn’t realize that after her 1 cup a day limit, the rest comes out of her paycheck. still lives with her parents. lOUD. ZERO FILTER. will say whatever is on her mind at any time. is TERRIBLE with secrets and is pretty sure she’s gonna drop to someone that melissa and michael are dating and get them both fired! yay! bffs w/ melissa benoist,

#not sure who i am taking #def not all six but those are the ones i'm considering #let me know if you'd like to reserve anyone!#phone wars #anyway here's the list of characters

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quellines-stories · 7 years

Note

I've probably sent you five messages now and I'm being super annoying but I'm having valeyne withdraws

You’re not annoying at all don’t worry anon! Your messages are v sweet and mean a lot to me so thank you for taking the time to send them!

I’m sorry you’re having Valeyne withdrawals asdfgkh–

I haven’t finished the next chapter yet but here have some imagines if that helps lmfao 😃

[14 yr. old Wayne and 17 yr. old Jerome] 1) The Gotham origins era. Essentially the show era where Wayne and Jerome are just a pair of kiddos. To the GCPD, Wayne’s just a rich kid and Jerome’s a criminal that went into hiding. The unrequited era where Wayne has a thing for Jerome, but Jerome doesn’t return the notion due to how he’s about to be an adult, and Wayne’s just started high school.

2) Everyone including Jerome knows Wayne has a crush on Jerome and Wayne even admitted it at that, yet for the one time he admitted it the one hundred times he’s denied it. It’s become a game- a bet- to see who can get Wayne to admit it again first. Jerome isn’t fond of the game and tells the kids to bug off.

3) Jerome is a natural flirt. A jokester flirt. A flirt who accidentally says something flirty to Wayne that wasn’t meant to be flirty and results in Wayne either being awkward and avoiding him with a blush for a week or ballsy and smirking at him smugly for a week. There’s no in between and Wayne never comments on it– only provides expressions.

4) Wayne very rarely laughs, but when he does it’s generally thanks to Jerome. Jerome is rarely serious, but when he is it’s generally because of something involving Wayne. They balance each other out.

5) They both help each other’s impulse controls. Wayne eases Jerome’s urges to lunge at Gordon and Jerome eases Wayne’s urges to challenge five high school bullies to a fight. Wayne keeps Jerome’s ballsy behavior in check, Jerome keeps Wayne’s pride in check.

6) The only other friend they feel as comfortable as they feel with each other is Selina. Jerome views her as a little sister, Wayne views her as Crush Number Two.

7) Despite Jerome being careful to not be too touchy feely after finding out about Wayne’s attraction towards him, he still comforts Wayne with long hugs and rubs on the back whenever the boy has a nightmare about the alleyway, or when he’s freaking out about how Selina has been gone for way too long. Additionally, while Wayne respects Jerome’s boundaries, he does the same whenever Jerome is feeling upset, and while it occurs A LOT more rarely and A LOT less severely than Wayne’s panic attacks, they still occur every once in a while.

8) Despite being closer to one another than anyone else, they can pick up each other’s social cues, and know when to let the other have some time to themselves.

9) While Wayne’s bummed out Jerome doesn’t return his attraction, he gradually grows thankful when realizing Jerome could have very well taken advantage of him, and is even relieved Jerome was clear about why he needs to look out for older men who would welcome his affection.

10) Jerome is terrified of clowns, Wayne’s terrified of bats. Selina is the only other one who is aware of this. Selina resists the urge to dress up as a clown bat, because Selina is not a mean person, and that costume would probably look silly in any case. Jen encourages it jokingly.

11) Jerome definitely has a bond that’s stronger than a close friendship with Wayne, and it’s not a brotherly one, however it’s certainly not romantic.

12) Jerome and Wayne are just two traumatized kids that found each other, and aren’t sure what it would be like if they hadn’t, and aren’t sure they want to be. This is also why they view their other friends (Selina, Ivy, Jen, Jonathan, and Harley) as family as well– even if Jerome isn’t as close to them, to an extent, he cares about them.

[19 yr. old Wayne and 21 yr. old Jerome]1) The training era. The era where Wayne trains to become Batman, and something pushes Jerome to train with the Redhood gang. To the GCPD, they’re not worth noting yet, because Wayne’s on the other side of the world and the Redhood gang hasn’t committed big enough crimes to get noticed since the cops have bigger things to worry about than a few stealthy robberies. The lenient era where Jerome doesn’t frown down upon Wayne’s occasional flirts, but doesn’t encourage them either, but since he smirks at the advances rather than give Wayne a look, the occasional flirts have become a bit more common.

2) One of Ra’s Al Ghul’s first questions is whether Wayne is close to anyone who isn’t family since he needs to separate himself from all loved ones regardless of relation. Ra’s Al Ghul elaborates by asking Wayne if there’s a woman, for example. Wayne says no, and technically he isn’t lying, because Jerome isn’t a woman.

3) Jerome never mentions Wayne to the Redhood gang, because he’s aware that if he ever messed up, they’d go after anyone he cared about. So Jerome lies and insists he doesn’t have any loved ones.

4) Wayne writes a lot of letters to all of his friends– particularly Jerome, Selina, and Alfred. Alfred’s the only one who receives the letters, because the others get ‘lost.’

5) Jerome gets his ass kicked by a Redhood member he directs a sarcastic comment to. This is the first time Jerome has to patch himself up without Wayne’s help.

6) Wayne allows Ra’s Al Ghul to mess with his mind the same way the older guy that mind controlled him in Gotham did. Wayne tries to keep Jerome and Selina secrets since Ra’s already knows about Alfred. Wayne fails, and as punishment for not being honest Ra locks away his emotions towards them. It takes Wayne a month to break free of such and finally feel something other than disdain towards his old friends.

7) Jerome visits Selina sometimes. She can tell he’s not doing well, but he won’t listen when she begs him to leave the Redhood gang. Selina hopes Wayne will come back soon to talk some sense into Jerome. Wayne doesn’t come back for a long time. Jerome gradually starts visiting Selina less frequently.

8) Wayne has trouble recalling what Jerome looks and sounds like after a while. He’s also lost the picture he took of him with his friends the day before he left for training. He’s pretty sure Ra’s magic is the cause of this.

9) Jerome promised Wayne he’d stay on the right track when Wayne left. He doesn’t.

10) Wayne finally realized Ra’s was trying to shape him into a killer. Wayne escapes the league of shadows, but it’s a long way down the snowy mountain. It’s cold, but it’s fine, because he’ll see Jerome and the others tomorrow, and that’s what keeps the injured male going.

11) Jerome doesn’t miss Wayne anymore. He’s pissed at him for not coming back.

12) When Wayne finally does come back, he finds all his friends have moved, and only Alfred is there. He’s not sure where any of them are, and not even the best resources manage to tell him.

[21 yr. old Wayne and 24 yr. old Jerome] 1) The vigilante and Redhood era. The era where Wayne doesn’t really have a name for himself, and Jerome’s not solo nor Joker yet due to being in the Redhood gang. To the GCPD, they’re both menaces. The mutual era where the pair haven’t seen each other for a while, and neither is aware of the others’ secret identity, although this time Jerome returns Wayne’s advances because he has to admit– Mr. Wayne has become quite the catch.

2) Jerome sees Wayne just passing by when they finally reunite, and he has to do a double take because that’s definitely not the scrawny kid he befriended a while back, is it?

3) Wayne isn’t that different because when Wayne realizes Jerome’s staring at him in disbelief from the sidewalk he stutters like four times before regaining himself and ‘smoothly’ greeting the other with that charming Mr. Wayne charisma

4) Jerome can’t tell if he wants to hug his best friend, flirt with the new and improved billionaire, or strangle the jackass that went away for two and a half years longer than he said he’d be gone. Jerome goes with just flashing a smile to cover up his pissed off expression.

5) Wayne is too excited to realize Jerome’s a bit sore. He’s so excited in fact that he blurts out an invitation to dinner. He somehow does it casually, however.

6) Jerome accepts the dinner invitation because he likes free food. He’s not sure whether or not he wants to kill Wayne after dinner’s been paid for or get a few more free meals out of him. Jerome is nice and doesn’t kill the bastard acting like he hadn’t just left him high and dry for almost three years.

7) Wayne takes Jerome on a lot of dates. He’s still surprised that Jerome actually agreed to go with him on each date.

8) Jerome starts flirting with Wayne for fun. Jerome does not expect to have as much fun as he does.

9) Wayne flirts back, of course. Wayne is rather suave on the outside, and he’s pretty sure Jerome’s the only one who can tell he’s actually fairly anxious.

10) Jerome starts to fall for Wayne and Wayne’s an ass for making Jerome fall for him because Jerome’s SUPPOSED to be upset at Wayne but he’s gradually becoming anything but.

11) Jerome realizes they’re running out of date plans. He’s not sure why that’s resulting in him becoming so panicky until Wayne invites him to his house to just hang out, and Jerome feels relief at that. Jerome’s relieved that Wayne still likes just spending time with him, and they don’t always have to do fancy things to have fun. Jerome’s relieved that hasn’t changed.

12) Jerome is used to getting into others’ guy’s pants. He’s never really liked the guys he’s been with for the last few years, but at least the fun in the sheets wasn’t as boring as the guys were. Wayne hasn’t been with a lot of people despite his title of playboy, so when he goes tense when things get a little too heated, Jerome catches it, and Jerome backs off. Wayne isn’t used to not being chastised for being a 'prude’, and he feels rather safe around Jerome. They watch movies instead, and Jerome’s fine with that. Eventually, they do have a bit of fun, and it’s the first time Wayne hasn’t been teased into it. Wayne finds he’s pretty sure he loves Jerome, and while the feelings are mutual, Jerome can’t really find the words to say it back, and Wayne’s fine with waiting until he does.

[26 yr. old Wayne and 24 yr. old Jerome] 1) The Batman and Joker era. To the GCPD, Joker’s the only menace– unless you’re a bad cop. The complicated era where Joker has this obvious thing for Batsy that neither of them comment on, and where Wayne has a thing for Jerome– who he hasn’t seen in five years.

2) Jerome had a fight with Wayne a while back. He acts like he doesn’t even recall what it was about, but he does– it helps to just distract his mind from it, and insanity certainly helps with that.

3) Wayne blames himself for the argument. He should have handled it better. He shouldn’t have acted rashly. Jerome had every reason to be upset with him. He hadn’t realized it was going to result in Jerome leaving and never showing back up. The best resources couldn’t find Jerome, and Wayne’s not sure if he’s even in Gotham anymore, much less alive at that. Wayne likes to believe he is.

4) Jerome hasn’t been called Jerome for a while now. He’s not sure how many times he’s dyed his hair a lovely shade of emerald, or how many layers of war paint he has on his face that he never removes, or how many makeup kits he had to go through until the scar designs stopped rubbing off and ended up settling in like a permanent smudge.

5) Wayne became Batman to protect people like his friends. To be sure no one else ever had to go through what they did. To be sure they never had to go through what they each faced again. Nowadays, that Wayne seems like a mask, and he keeps his distance from it by occupying himself with capturing his friends he swore to protect and throwing them back in Arkham, because he’s gone and convinced himself that there’s a chance they could get better in there, and he’s doing the right thing.

6) Joker knows who all of the rogues are, but he doesn’t know who the vigilante is.

7) Batman is aware of who all the rogues are except for Joker– he’s believes he knows, but he doesn’t. He believes it’s a copycat from Jerome’s following– believes it’s Jack Napier. It’s not.

8) Joker manages to convince himself he feels nothing but hate for that jackass Mr. Wayne by directing the affection he’d had for him towards Batman. In reality, his affection has become obsession. In reality, he does feel a lot of hate for Wayne– but that’s not all he feels. It hurts to accept that, so Joker doesn’t.

9) Batman hates Joker because this piece of shit copycat just keeps coming back around and reminding him of Jerome. Nonetheless, considering he’s the closest thing he has to Jerome he can’t help but also somehow have this thing that he doesn’t have with the other rogues, and he’s not really sure if there’s a word for it, and he’s not sure how to describe it, but it’s screwed up and it pisses him off since it’s like this piece of Jerome is both helping him cope with what happened while also forcing him to not let it go.

10) Joker doesn’t expect their fights to ever turn out very different, however one does when Batman says those words, and even the voice changing device can’t cover up a phrase, because Wayne used that exact same phrase when they were pillow fighting and Jerome pinned him down, and how. funny. is. that.

11) Batman realizes who Joker is when Joker replies to that phrase the exact same way Jerome did.

12) Joker can’t help but contemplate on whether he wants to stab or kiss the jackass that he’d tried to leave five years ago yet had been seeing weekly this whole time in their little fights the same way five years ago Jerome couldn’t tell whether to strangle or flirt with the bastard that just showed up out of nowhere after disappearing for two and a half years.

#valeyne #jerome x bruce #bruce x jerome #anon #ask

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zehamstercage · 7 years

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Whoa Tess you have a million characters how am I supposed to know any of them?

Some shitty summaries of some of my OCs below the cut. By no means a comprehensive list - I’ll probably keep adding them in the future ‘cause boy howdy there are a bunch of them.

Nija

Tiefling warlock. Current character in @mypotheses‘ Fus Ro Yeah campaign, so while I’ve worked out the bare bones of her story, most of it has yet to come to light. Self-assured but mostly keeps to herself. On a mission, which currently seems to be to Do Angry Magic to anyone who threatens (her) kids or people who can’t defend themselves. Surprised when people look out for her. Team mom and actual mom. Laughs a lot but cynical af re: the world and everyone in it. A huge liar but at least most of her lies so far have synched up with the group’s intentions so it’s all gonna work out until her patron starts asking her to do real shit. She also hasn’t had the chance to use her mask of many faces yet and that’s a crying shame.

Demi

Originally a human mercenary, but most recently reskinned as a goliath monk as a backup D&D character. His story varies a bit depending on the world he’s tossed into, but the constants include a life of crime cut short by a bullet that should have killed him, and the ensuing shift in perspective that leads him to pursue a better life for him and his younger brother, Oleander. Spiritual af but has grievances with organized religion. The kind of person who can stay serene in the face of an apocalypse, which can be somewhat unsettling because he’s also capable of extreme violence without blinking an eye. Powerfully-built, the better to give good hugs and great piggyback rides.

Ollie

Also originally a human, but reskinned as a goliath with his bro. His story also varies depending on the world, but the constants include his struggle growing up with epilepsy and a family that refuses to give him the medical or physical/emotional support he needs. He struggles with his self-esteem and needs a lot of support, but he’s doing his best and with Demi looking out for him he’s gonna do great. Grade A sweetheart, does his best to make everyone around him smile and make sure no one feels excluded or lonely - he knows those feelings well and would do anything to spare someone else from feeling them. 11/10 doing his best.

Mal

Human engineer. Also, murderer. Just wants to be left alone with his wife, but life has other plans for him. Nicknames literally everyone. Can figure out how pretty much anything works by taking a little time with it. Loves to tinker, loves to build things. Works himself to the bone so he doesn’t have to sit alone with his guilty conscience. Makes really good coffee but can’t cook for shit, except for a few meals which include insects. A good chameleon dad. A good dad in general. Liable to adopt ALL the children. Refuses to work for free, but has been known to construct elaborate projects at the whim of an at-risk child for the price of ‘a smile’. Struggles with mental illness but copes... mostly.

Audrey

Human in most iterations, still working on adapting her to a high-fantasy setting but she and Ains will probably both be half-elves. Journalist, doesn’t pull her punches, could accurately be described as “three ounces of whoopass” and doesn’t care who knows it. She came from a physically abusive household, which really only served as a whetstone to her spirit and has left her with a complete intolerance for sitting idly by while vulnerable people are taken advantage of. Although she’s a few years younger than Ainsley, she is fiercely protective of her big sister and took a lot of the brunt of her dad’s anger because she knew that what was happening was wrong and was too stubborn and too angry to let Ainsley get hurt. (I can guarantee you 100% she’s going to be a paladin when she’s adapted like there really are no other options she’s gonna s m i t e those assholes)

Ainsley

Also human in most iterations, but Ains has been through the wringer in terms of genre because I love her a lot. Like Demi and Ollie, the specifics of her story do change depending on the verse, but the constants are her upbringing in a physically abusive household. Ainsley’s always been a lot quieter and more sensitive than her sister, and struggled with the lasting traumas she endured. She studied journalism with her sister, but leaned more toward magazine design, and after school went on to start her own mag with her boyfriend and former classmate. She managed to convince herself that it was the beginnings of the white picket dream for a long time, but the longer she stayed the more it paralleled her life with her father and the more it scared her. I’ve mostly played her from the moment that she discovered she was strong enough to leave the relationship and explored her learning how to exist as someone she never really thought she could be. She’s tough as nails in that she’s allowed herself to stay soft in the face of a lot of reasons to become jaded, and though her path of self-discovery is rough, she’s doing a good job. She loves storytelling, and it’s important to her to help people tell their stories in whatever way she can.

Mouse

SMASHY GNOME BARBARIAN. A tiny ray of sunshine and murder! She was a one-shot character, so her background is only a basic outline, but in summary she has a close connection with the natural world in her tribe’s territory and learned to channel her rage in the defence of her family and her animal friends. She’s besties with Aator, an eagle, and his spirit lends her unnatural strength when she rages. She is illiterate and resents people who lord their bookishness over her, but she’s a fierce friend and defender of her home and the natural world. She is nature’s wrath, and she’ll kick your ass with a brilliant smile the whole time.

Rat

So, fun story, I’ve had two characters named Rat and boy howdy they’re both Adventures but in super duper different ways. Rat in his current iteration is a Fun Time if you enjoy sewers and people who look a little bit like really tall pale skinny zombies. And music. To say that Rat’s grip on reality is tenuous would be an overstatement. He’s completely comfortable in the dark corners of the world, with only the rats and spiders for company. When he does emerge from the shadows, it is only to engage an unsuspecting guest in search of song. Rat lives and breathes for music in all its forms; he hears it in the trickle of water and the squeaks of rats, the whistle of wind and the thudding of heartbeats. He hears it in conventional song as well, and he searches tirelessly for the perfect melody - that miraculous chord that might inspire his Maya to sing again.

Frank

Human coroner. Doing his best. The kind of guy who got bullied a lot because he’s about an inch thick with giant glasses and exactly zero temper. Living with depression for a really long time, but he’s doing better now and he’s got his life kind of under control, he’s content with his job, and he has a wife and he adopted her daughter and! things are good! He loves his family a lot, and he is happy working quietly on the sidelines doing his part to make the world better. Even if it’s only tending to dead bodies and making sure they’re treated respectfully and that their families find as much peace as possible. I may or may not have him rolled up as a necromancer too sshhhh he’s doing his best.

#ocs #I should actually set up that writing sideblog but #until then have some ocs save a life #I really should commission some art so I can have some visual references for the newer folks #but that will come in time

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todaynewsstories · 6 years

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I’d do it all over again, says founder of failed start-up Fastbee

SINGAPORE: Starting his own business has been such a stressful process that Khoo Kar Kiat lost 10kg over the past two years.

It has also set him back by almost S$200,000.

But Mr Khoo does not regret taking the entrepreneurial plunge, even as his start-up ended last week and he did not get to prove his naysayers wrong.

Back then, he was told by some that he had made the wrong move to leave the civil service.

He was already 33, they said, and should not be taking risks given that he had a “good, stable job” at the Economic Development Board (EDB).

Some did not mince their words: “Can (your idea) make money? Why do something stupid like that?”

The idea that he had was a food delivery service called Fastbee, which allowed people to order hawker delights via an app and collect their food from nearby vending machines.

Mr Khoo believed that this would incur lower costs than a conventional point-to-point delivery model and in turn, be more sustainable and scalable.

At the end of last year, Fastbee expanded to 10 vending machines across various industrial and business parks in the West. More than 800 deliveries were made per week from a team of just seven people.

Unfortunately, it could not withstand a double whammy of competition from new players and fundraising difficulties that soon came along. The start-up had its last day on Aug 14.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained, said Mr Khoo.

“Maybe I should be happy that I lasted for about two years,” he quipped. “After all, statistics out there say about 90 per cent of start-ups fail in a year.”

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ITCH

A former student of the Anglo-Chinese Junior College and Nanyang Technological University, Mr Khoo described himself as someone who rarely veered off the beaten path.

Taking a risk, such as entrepreneurship, never crossed his mind until he was introduced to the Lean Start-up methodology at work.

Coined by Silicon Valley entrepreneurial guru Eric Ries, the methodology emphasised experimentation, like quickly launching a product then change it based on market feedback, instead of elaborate planning.

He was tasked to adopt this innovation philosophy to build a new industry for Singapore but felt “something missing” and that he needed more than just reading materials to fully grasp the concept.

“Innovation, the Lean Start-up methodology – these were often discussed but how do you get answers about starting something from scratch and making it work? Do I ask my boss or do I read more books?”

Disruption becoming the new normal and technology changing jobs also got him thinking if he had become too comfortable in his work.

“I was somehow semi-cruising and contented with life,” said Mr Khoo. “But the world is changing and there’s actually so much to do and learn.”

He considered applying for an MBA but eventually concluded that the answer lies in getting his hands dirty. So in October 2016, he left his eight-year career at the EDB.

A steep learning curve awaited him in the initial months as he took the dive into entrepreneurship.

From lacklustre demand for his “primitive version” of Fastbee (a breakfast delivery service in the Central Business District), new guidelines for vending machines to manpower and logistics issues, Mr Khoo recalled having “a reason to close down almost every month”.

“There was once when I was going to launch a new machine at a new location but the third-party logistics provider I was partnering couldn’t deliver. I suddenly find myself with no drivers to fulfil orders,” he said.

“It was such a stressful day that I nearly felt like throwing in the towel.”

Each time, he tweaked his model and soldiered on.

With its focus on the underserved market of delivering humbler local fare to non-CBD areas, business grew and Mr Khoo felt confident enough to add new vending machines by end-2017.

“After surviving the initial months, I thought nothing else can kill me,” he recalled. “But I was wrong.”

READ: From hawker centre to home: Is delivering cheap, local food a recipe for business success?

At its core, Fastbee relied on aggregating orders and eliminating point-to-point deliveries to stay lean and keep costs down. Unlike other food delivery services, it does not take a cut or have a minimum order requirement. Its main income is a S$1.50 delivery fee.

While it does have lower manpower costs, it required economies of scale to turn profitable. At its peak, Fastbee only had a footprint of 10 vending machines.

By early 2018, its capital of S$200,000, consisting of S$100,000 from Mr Khoo and the rest put in by an angel investor, was fast running out. Months of fundraising, however, yielded little results.

“Eventually, I realised that we were simply not growing fast enough,” said Mr Khoo. “We may be growing 10 to 20 per cent in our customer base but venture capitalists are looking at super-normal growth of 100 to 200 per cent.”

Investors also questioned the exportability of the start-up. “We are a solution for Singapore where manpower is expensive, but that’s not the case for the rest of Southeast Asia. So they were sceptical.”

At the same time, new entrants with deeper pockets have begun targeting its stronghold of industrial and business parks in the West. With its coffers running dry, Mr Khoo said Fastbee could not match the extensive marketing efforts, such as dishing out promo codes, that some of its rivals have done.

Fastbee’s vending machine at Mediapolis. (Photo: Tang See Kit)

To hold on, it began reducing its vending machines while tweaking operations to have one delivery man for four locations.

“We always needed about 30 packets for breakeven but with that, it took just eight to 10 packets.”

That kept the start-up going for four more months until talks with an investor fell through on Aug 9. By then, Mr Khoo knew the time was up.

“I sat in front of my laptop and wept a bit. Even though I had been preparing myself, it wasn’t easy when the realisation hit.”

When asked if he had been too confident on Fastbee’s lean model, Mr Khoo’s face turned pensive.

“I still believe in the concept of using a vending machine because right till the end, we were breaking even operationally. But we needed investments to keep going.

“With the consolidation going on in the market, interest was low. Nobody wants to invest in a small start-up and hope you can survive against the big guys.”

READ: Promo codes, lower minimum orders: Is a price war brewing among food delivery apps?

NO REGRETS

Without a salary and having to dig deep into his savings for his daily expenses, Mr Khoo estimated that he has spent about S$200,000 on his entrepreneurial pursuits.

But there are no regrets, he said, as he’s gained valuable lessons in return.

For instance, he should have kept a tighter lid on spending in the initial stages of the business.

“Everyone told me that I needed to bootstrap. You will try but you won’t do it until you are desperate,” said Mr Khoo.

“We were not overspending compared to many start-ups but we were not stingy enough. Only when we ran out did we realise that we could have slashed a lot of spending by becoming even more efficient.”

This will involve walking the talk on embracing innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, added Mr Khoo. For this, he credited his young team for constantly reminding him of the value of taking a chance on something new.

“Towards the end, I told my team that we needed to radically change our operations. They took it and we started brainstorming together. That’s how we pivoted our model when we needed to.”

Having family support would be crucial for any entrepreneur though Mr Khoo admitted that his mother disapproved of his career switch.

“My brother had a business failure in his 30s and lost a similar amount of money. My mum went through that with him and she obviously didn’t want me to end up the same.”

He added: “Plus, I was doing quite well in EDB so she could not understand why I wanted to quit.”

His business has been a taboo topic at home for the past two years. But there was once after an argument, Mr Khoo received a text message from his mum reminding him to take regular meals and rest when he can.

“I remembered being on my way back to the office. When I saw the message, I stopped and cried uncontrollably for 10 minutes.

“I know she’s been very worried about us failing and having a tough life as a result of that.”

Bringing up the deep-seated fear of failure in Singapore, he added: “The older generation still views entrepreneurship and the risks involved very differently and I know from here, there will be certain pressure that my family and I will have to face.”

“So when the realisation hit, I did think about what I should do for the next Chinese New Year. Should I still go for visiting?”

Mr Khoo also candidly let on that he initially thought it would be rather “paiseh”, which means embarrassed in Hokkien, to do an interview but he now hopes to help dispel that fear of failure.

“I’ve previously given a few talks on entrepreneurship. Obviously now, I can’t tell a success story but perhaps I can tell the other side of becoming an entrepreneur given that so few people talk about failures and what we learn from them.”

On his next step, Mr Khoo admits to feeling some trepidation though he was quick to add that there is no time to wallow in failure.

“After spending S$200,000, I need to build up my nest again,” he said with a laugh.

But more importantly, he has come to realise that life is not a race and that one failure does not mean losing out forever.

“Bouts of ‘I’m single, turning 35, don’t have a career and probably can’t afford a HDB’ definitely went through my mind but I really don’t think I’m in the worst place.

“If I compare myself with my peers, I may be a few years behind but this is not a race. I still have many years ahead of me to make the best out of my life.”

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chefbstrikesagain · 7 years

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Mid Year Break

The past couple of weeks have been a blast. No routine, accompanied by my closest friends, made for countless memories and little sleep. My holiday technically started on May 24 and lasted until June 11- felt like 3 months but was definitely a busy 2.5 weeks. The trip began on the morning of May 24 where Me, Martin, Joey, and the rest of the Sabah Gang headed to Kota Kinabalu to an early 4th of July party at the U.S. Embassy. We were extremely undressed for the event as we didn't want to pack super formal clothes. I sound ridiculous but dressing nicely would have meant backpacking around with dress shoes and a suit for the remainder of our travels. This resulted in sweaty me changing in a parking 20 minutes before the event into khakis in a button down. Sweaty and wrinkled I began shaking hands with people dressed in tuxes and needed a drink stat. Upon arrival, trusty old Janna had already scoped out the salmon sandwiches and wrangled down a waiter to get us all glasses of red wine from the open bar. After about 8 glasses, a passenger van arrived to take us to the airport for the start of our mid year programming. We landed in KL around 1am and it took another hour to get back to the beloved Dorsett Hotel. The Dorsett is where we spent our 2 weeks when we first got to Malaysia for orientation and holds a special place in everyone's hearts. Other than being extremely hungover everyday of programming, this was my favorite meet up yet. Fulbright let us do most of the talking and voice our specific problems. Mid year felt like a 'choose your own adventure book' which really helped people cope with specific problems they were having. After many icebreakers and a sleepless few nights I shared a grab car to the airport with Eleanor, Lissy, and Katie to make my 6am flight to Hanoi. Arriving in Hanoi meant that I was just 24 hours away from seeing my roommmates from COLLEGE. It has been so long since seeing them, or pretty much anyone from the U.S.. I spent the first day in Hanoi alone sightseeing. However, about an hour into my solo expedition I met a girl on a motorbike named Ming. Ming is from Hanoi, Vietnam and is a University student (or so she told me) in Pharmacology. Because it is her summer, she was looking for work taking around tourists on the back of her bike. She pulls up, offers me a helmet and an unbeatable price (10USD) for 3 hours of bopping around the city. She took me to local places to eat, explained the history of so many temples, and was a good pal to take selfies with. She dropped me back off at my hostel around 4pm and I spent the rest of the evening chit chatting and watching Netflix on the blazing fast wifi. The next morning I woke early, excited and anxious for Jackson, Rob, and Ang to arrive. I grabbed an uber moto to the airbnb which must have been a site. A 6'2 male with a 25 pound hiking backpack jumping on the back of this small Vietnamese man's motorbike. All in all I made it to the airbnb unscathed and had a few hours to kill. I was still pretty tired from all of our going out during mid year but a nap was not in the cards- I was just too excited. I laced up my running shoes and went for a short jog on the treadmill and then laid by the pool for a few hours. In what seemed like an eternity, I finally heard a knock at the door and APT. 6 was finally reunited. They looked, and smelled like hell but I was still so excited to see them. We chatted about the flight and the fact they were across the world for an hour before we decided to grab some local food and settle in for the night. Don't ask Rob about getting some of the local food. He was convinced we were all going to get Hep B the entire time. The next few days in Vietnam were a blur but included Vietnamese massages, local coffee, a trip to the famous Ha Long Bay, and loads of walking/sightseeing. We set off for Siem Reap on the 31st with our luggage in tow and arrived around 8pm. After Ang getting stuck in customs we found ourselves in 2 tuk tuks hauling down the road towards our villa. Tuk Tuks are such a fun way of transportation! We took them everywhere our entire stay in Cambodia mainly because of the price but also because they were everywhere. Our resort was beautiful and full of warm orange and yellow colors, fresh flowers, and statues of Buddha. We were welcomed with a cold cloth compress and fresh squeezed juice at reception. The owner asked us about where we came from and gave some suggestions (a full 4 day itinerary) on what we should do. We agreed that we wanted to do sunrise and before we knew it our alarms were blaring at 4:45am to go meet the tuk tuk driver. The first few hours of the morning were hazy. Our driver spoke almost no english and would just drop us off places and we would cross our fingers we would be able to find him later on. The sunrise was beautiful but a little disappointing to be honest. A lot of online blogs said it was a really spiritual experience, maybe if I had done it again it would have been better but between the photo shoots and the sweat dripping down my legs and forehead, all I wanted was the pool. We were 'templed out' by 2pm and finally made our way back to our villa where we enjoyed drinks and more food by the pool while we rested until going out that night. The night can be summed up in two words by my 3 pals 'puke city' and I'll leave it at that for their sake ;) It was an interesting time to be in Cambodia. They were undergoing elections and parades of people were campaigning in the street blasting music from cars and tuk tuks hoping their candidate would be chosen. Small business owners hoped for the opposition to take power as they promised more distribtion of wealth, while the reigning party kept their pockets lined. According to Uncle Google, Cambodia's government is extremely corrupt.. However, because of these elections, many bars and activities were closed due to people leaving to return to their villages to vote. There was also a city wide alcohol ban on the bars one night which led to us turning in early and catching up on some well deserved sleep. The next day was busy but involved ATVing through the countryside and rice paddies. Jackson found the tour and for 30 USD we spent hours driving through giant puddles and essentially causing havoc. Rob's chain fell off about halfway through his ATV which was unfixable out in the fields so he had to ride on the back of mine until a new ATV could be dropped off about 15 minutes down the path. ATVing might have been the highlight of my time in Cambodia- such an adrenaline rush. Later that night we were able to meet up with some of my Fulbright friends at a restaurant in Cambodia where fortunately, Claire snuck in a bottle of whiskey in her bag big enough for all of us. We spent hours polishing off the bottle between the 8 of us and made our way down the street to some of the clubs. Cambodia was where we spent most of our time but seemed like a blur, before we knew it we were up early (once again) and at the airport where our heavy bags caused some major problems. At the check-in counter Ang and I both got flagged because our bags looked overweight. I was able to talk the guy down from $40 to only a $10 charge by explaining I was a teacher in Malaysia and i've never had a problem traveling with my bag before. Ang, on the other hand, ended up getting a little confrontational with the guy who wouldn't budge. The ole American way of dealing with confrontations seemed to make bad worse. I don't think the AirAsia employee appreciated Ang taking photos of the man and threatening to call his manager. Honestly thought he was going to be kicked out of the airport- but our bags were checked and against all odds we made it through security. This was a low point of the trip for sure. We were all still feeling the night before and tried to remedy our hangovers with some coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Ang got a burger which I think ended up working out well in his favor. An hour later we boarded the most turbulent flight of my life. Jackson, Rob, and I respectively filled row 22 on our AirAsia flight to Phuket. Andrew, was moved up towards the front of the plane by himself which he smugly smiled back at us thinking he was first class- smh. About 45 minutes into the flight the seat belt sign turned on and the plane became turbulent. Before I knew what was happening it felt like we were dropping out of the sky. Jackson, Rob, and I were fighting back vomit as our greasy breakfast sandwiches and hangovers mixed violently in our stomachs. This turbulence was intermittent and just when you though it was over we felt our stomachs move up to our throats as the plane dropped 100 feet. We finally landed safely on the ground but when we got outside the airport we understood how bad the conditions were. As we were waiting for a taxi 4 Thai men and woman were holding a taxi stand down to prevent it from being taken by the monsoon that was only gathering strength. We arrived at our Hostel, Lub D, and made our way up to our room and we all posted up in our beds for a good amount of time still trying to recover from the flight. We grabbed food as the rain finally subsided at a small restaurant just a few blocks away where I enjoyed my first authentic pad thai! With our spirits lifted we made our way back to the hostel and formed a game plan for our short time in Phuket. Over the 3 days 2 night we were there we were able to go to a tiger sanctuary, have a beach day, explore the nightlife, and go to an all day event at an Elephant sanctuary. These were all unique and incredible experiences within themselves and I'll elaborate later but definitely some of my favourite parts of the trip. After what seemed like a week, but was only 2 nights, we made our way back to yes you guessed it, another airport, where we boarded our quick flight to Bangkok. Somehow Angus made it on the flight with 2 bags to our surprise! We checked into our hostel around 12:30am and had a solid sleep until we woke up to explore Bangkok. Claire and Kelsey, two other ETA's, were staying at the same hostel as us so we spent the morning at a coffee shop getting to know each other, and then set off into the city. We were able to see the Royal palace, the Emerald Buddha, the reclining Buddha, a canal tour, and even go out that night. It was such a busy day but the night seemed to last forever. After downing buckets of red bull and rum while listening to an incredible live band, we left for the 2nd best bar, according to trip adviser in Bangkok. Set 64 floors up, SkyBar Bangkok, was insane. Insane because of the views but also because of the 690 Baht drinks, which we seemed to have no problem spending.... Ang ordered a cuban cigar and we were actually living the high life. Our last day was sad and was mostly spent talking about our trip, prepping for their flight home, and we also got measured in case we ever wanted to order custom suits from a tailor in the city. We spent our last few hours in the bean bag lounge in our hostel awaiting the inevitable. After a long 2 weeks it was finally time to say goodbye. With the song yellow by coldplay in the background and the rain pounding the windows we hugged goodbye as the Uber arrived. It was a bittersweet moment but makes me really appreciate how good I have it in terms of friends. These guys flew across the world not only once but twice, to come visit and get a taste of what life was like for me. By the end of the trip I had a feeling that they were ready to go as the sleep deprivation and 2 week bender had finally started to set in for everyone. With runny noses and giant backpacks they set off for the final leg of the trip- the ride home. Having these 3 visit was a huge mental relief for me. Being gone from home for 5 really begins to take a toll on you and don't realize how caught up in life you get while over here. They reminded me of what is important and that I need to finish strong as life is pretty much the same back home - despite my fomo.

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