#tons of people took pictures of us while we were playing

[skenpiel]

btw while me and my sister were playing tridimensional chess some guy walked up to us and asked “do you watch the big bang theory!!!” and we were like. no. we dont. n he was like oh because they play this in big bang theory all the time and i was like yeah because theyre. referencing star trek. cause its the Big Bang Theory

#tons of people took pictures of us while we were playing #and the guy hosting the thig gave us both two medals and went ‘just because you have the best costumes ever’ #hes gonna put a picture of us up on the official website!!! ^_^ #and one guy who filmed us asked afterwards ‘are you here to promote the game or somethinf’ #which was so absurd. as if we were HIRED by STAR TREK OFFICIAL to promote a game thats been around since like. the 90s. djvsodjdkdksjs #anyways it was fun ^_^

[luvyeni]

❛THE WEEKEND❜ ( j. sungchan )

p. bestfriendsbrother!sungchan x fem!reader w. 3.6k+

— 𖦹 warnings. sungchan is lowkey obsessed with reader even tho he just met her, oral (f. receiving), unprotected sex, size kink, breeding kink

— 𖦹 (you didn't intend on meeting your best friends brother, let alone fucking him, but hey it's the weekend ) !

“Hey how about we have a sleepover this weekend?”

You turned to your new friend who sat next to you; it had only been a few months since you started at your new school — not many people were welcoming to you because it was in the middle of the school year; everyone had made their respective friend groups and your shy nature made it hard for you to even make friends.

Then came jung soojin; your saving grace— she was a relatively popular girl who approached you first offering a seat to you; then sitting next to you at lunch, and then as the days went by your friendship blossomed. she’d been over your house multiple times, but you’d never been to her house. “th-this weekend?”

She shrugged, the teachers voice playing in the background. “yeah, it’ll be fun, we can watch a bunch of movies and eat a ton of snacks.” She smiled, you thought about it for a second. “okay sure.” She nodded. “great, we can head over to your house after school and get your clothes, and then head over to mines.” She explained. “okay.” You both turned back to the board, excited for the weekend to come.

After the bell rang; she dragged you to her car, driving over to your house — your parents were always happy to see her, chatting her up while you grabbed the things you need for the next three days, running back down the stairs before they could embarrass you. “that’s enough mom.” You grabbed soojins hand. “we have to go.”

“okay, well you girls have fun, i’ll see you sunday.” You waved, dragging her back out. “I love your mother.” Soojin started the car, you rolled your eyes. “yeah because she’s not spreading your business too people.” She laughed, driving off in the direction of her house.

“Shit.” She cursed pulling into the driveway. “he wasn’t supposed to be here.” She whispered. “who?” you questioned. “my brother, he's home from college, he wasn’t supposed to be here until next weekend.” She frowned. “im sorry.” You’ve heard of her brother once or twice; but this was the first time you’d be meeting him. “it’s okay.” You smiled. “we can still have fun right?” she nodded. “of course, he probably won’t even bother us.”

You both got out of the car, making your way up to her door, opening it and walking in, taking your shoes off at the front. “lets go to the kitchen first and the head up to my room.” You nodded, following behind her, looking at all the pictures they had hanging up. “you have a nice house.”

“thank you.” She held a bunch of snacks in her hand, handing them you so she could grab some more. “you think we’ll be enough to last until dinner?” you chuckled. “im almost certain it will.” She sheepishly smile. “Jesus, other people live here you know.” A deep voice shocked you, making you jump a little. “you’re taking all the good snacks.”

“you’re not even supposed to be here today.” You friend said. “I came home early to surprise our parents.” You turned to face the attractive voice — being met with an equally attractive face. “they aren’t here, they went to a wedding for the weekend, yn is gonna spend the night.”

He shifted focus to you, he was probably the most gorgeous man you’ve even seen, perfectly good symmetrical face, his hair fitting for his face— and he was tall, making you feel small; he made you feel nervous and you didn’t even know his name. “this sungchan.” Your friend said. “my annoying older brother.” You smiled. “h-hi.”

Sungchan took a look at you, eyes scanning you up and down — you hands full of snacks, looking up at him with doe eyes; you nervously rocked on your feet; you were cute. “hello yn.” You liked the way he said your name, it gave you butterflies. “we’re going to my room, so we won’t bother you.” Soojin said. “so don’t bother us.” She warned.

“Why would I do that?” he scoffed. “shotaro is coming over later to play basketball, we’re gonna order pizza if you want to eat.” You watched your friend’s eyes light up. “He is?” You just knew you had to ask her about it. “I’ve told you he doesn’t like you.” She scoffed. “how do you know?” she said. “he has a girlfriend.” He pushed past her, you watched them bickering as he filled up a cup filled with water. “okay , im done, you’re boring.” He said. “great didn’t want to talk to you anymore either.”

“Good.” He approached you, his body towering over yours. “leave her alone.” Soojin said. “can I have those?” he pointed to the bag of chips in your hand. “h-huh?” you were too lost in his eyes, he smirked; you were so cute. “these are the last bag and they’re my favorite, can I have them?” you held the chips out, handing it to him. “h-here.” He smiled taking the chips. “now go.” Soojin said. “nice meeting you yn.” He walked back up the stairs. “my gosh he’s so annoying.” She rolled her eyes.

“He’s okay.” You said. “please, you don’t know him, get to know him more, and you’ll be tired of him.” She guided you up the steps to her room — looking down the hall, seeing a quick glance of his back as he walked into his room, soojin pulling you into her.

“He’s so cute isn’t he?” soojin looked out her bedroom window; where sungchan and his friend played basketball in the front of their house. “and look at his abs.” you got up, looking out the window— both of them were out there, shirtless; but you only paid attention to sungchan, his toned six back, dripping in sweat as they played. “him and my brother have been friends since forever.” You nodded, not really paying attention, unable to keep your eyes off the older boy.

You were so focused on him, you didn’t even realize he was also staring back at you until you heard soojins voice, pulling you back to reality. “He’s looking up here, oh my god he’s so fucking fine.” You laughed at your friend, silently thanking god that she was too busy lusting over her brothers friend; to notice you lusting over her brother.

You heard the door shut, your friend jumping up. “let go downstairs so I can see him.” She pulled you up, dragging you down the stairs. “be calm he’s not here.” Your breath got caught in your throat, he was glistening with sweat. “he went to go pick up the pizza.” Your friends smile dropped. “ah! so annoying.” He heard your little giggle, turning to you — you were no longer wearing the sweater, giving him a full view of your white blouse that was unbuttoned, a sliver of pink from your bra peeking through the shirt, making him want to unbutton your shirt and get a full view. “when will he be back?”

The boy shrugged. “I don’t know, I also told him to stop by the market and get some beers and chips.” He said. “but i think he’ll be around an hour, might want to go fix that ugly face and outfit if you want his attention, im gonna shower. She slapped his chest as he walked upstairs. “asshole.”

“I have to go shower, yn make yourself a home.” She chirped. “we’re gonna eat out here with them.” She winked , running back up the stairs, leaving you in the kitchen. “she’s never ran that fast as long as I’ve known her.” You laughed to yourself, making your way into the living room.

15 minutes later; you saw sungchan walking back down the steps, shirt cut so you could see his rib cage — and a peek of his abs if you looked hard enough, and a pair of basketball shorts. “she’s still in the shower?” he asked, you nodded. He didn’t say anything, walking into the kitchen you turned to your hand, picking at your nails. “here.”

You looked up, he was now standing in front of you, a soda in his hands. “oh thank you.” He watched you open it, taking a sip, the red liquid falling past your lip, dripping down your chin. He chuckled to himself, sitting down right next to you. “so messy.” He said to himself.

“h-huh?” you asked, eyes wide open at how close he was. “you made a mess.” He said, your face was hot, you wipe your chin, sitting the soda down — he stared down at your thighs, watching you nervously picking at your skirt. “sorry.” He laughed, opening his water bottle. “no need to apologize.” You stared at his neck, watching his adams apple move as he drank the water, letting out a sigh, that sent your body off.

“So you must be new.” He said. “I know all my sister’s friends.” You nodded. “I-I moved here a few months ago.” God you were so cute; back at his university he was popular amongst the girls, going back to his shared apartment with shotaro, but none of them were like you — cute and nervous, so small and ready for him to ravish. “your sister was the only one to talk to me on my first day.” He listened to you talk. “she’s been a good friend to me.”

“I’m glad; if she hadn’t the I would’ve never gotten to meet you.” He said, you eyes jump to him, back to your knees. “so cute.” He said, you felt his hand come to your chin, lifting your head up to face him. “So shy cant even look me in the eye.” He chuckled. “I make you that nervous baby?”

You wanted to speak, but you were still stuck on the nickname that you couldn’t even focus, until you felt his hand caressing your cheek. “it’s okay baby I don’t bite.” He smirked. “I saw you looking at me earlier, you almost started drooling.” He teased. “I was looking at you too.” His thumb ran across your bottom lip, you let out a low whimper. “you sound so pretty just now.” He hummed. “I wonder what other noises I can get out of you.”

He was so close you could smell the scent of his shampoo and body wash flooding your nostrils; his arms trapping you, your eyes quickly flickering to his lips. “you want a kiss pretty girl?” you bit your lip, shyly nodding. “well then come get it.” He whispered. “wh-what?” he chuckled. “you want to kiss me right? So kiss me.” He watched your face get closer and closer to his, until he could feel your lips on his.

It was a quick peck, he almost laughed. “not like that.” He cradled your cheek, pulling you into a deeper kiss; you let him take charge, pulling you closer. His hand moved from your face, to your thigh, his hand inching up your skirt, you whimpered against his lips, he smirked pulling away. “keep making those noises pretty baby and your friend is gonna walk in on me doing something to your pretty body.” You could feel his lips on your neck, you let out a small moan. “su-sungchan.”

Fuck you sound so pretty moaning his name into his ear, his shirt balled up in your shaking hands; his cock begging to be freed — he knew he didn’t have more time, hearing the bathroom door open, the front door rattling open. “shit.” He pulled always, pulling your skirt down. “I got pizza!” shotaro entered the house, looking at the both of you. “am i — shotaro!”

You thanked the man above as your friend ran down the steps; distracting the man. “soojin , hey.” He smiled at the girl, you watched them interact. ‘he definitely likes her’ sungchan was too busy looking at you, your shirt was unbuttoned more, you’re a little ruffled; his hard cock jumping; you looked so ready to be fucked. “lets eat!” shotaro called out. “I’ll go get some plates.” Your friend said. “I’ll come too.” Shotaro following behind. “he definitely likes her.”

Sungchan quickly moved next to you, his hands on your chest, buttoning up your shirt. “you look so obvious baby.” He smiled, patting your hair down. “so cute.” He pulled away, leaving you breathless once again as soojin shotaro returned. “shotaro this is yn, my friend who just moved here.” You waved. “it’s nice to meet you.” Shotaro looked at the scene in front of him; shaking his head. “it’s nice to meet you yn.” You friend jumped. “oh yn, let’s go get some drinks from the kitchen.” You nodded, following behind her.

“She’s cute.” Sungchan turned to his friend. “nothing like your sister other friends, is that what you find attractive?” sungchan scoffed throwing a pillow at him. “please don’t act like I don’t see you flirting with my little sister.” He shrugged. “touché.”

You all sat around eating the pizza and talking; you watched your friend and shotaro flirt back and forth; occasionally turning back to sungchan who was already looking at you like he was ready to pounce on his, his presence making heat boil up in your stomach— your hands were so shaky, spilling some of your soda on your legs. “oh! yn you okay?” you nodded, sungchan reached over, grabbing a napkin. “here.” He patted your skirt, cleaning your legs, his hands lingering a little too long for your poor heart.

“look at you , trying to be a gentleman.” Soojin said. “too bad you’re actually a ogre under that.” You giggle, taking the tissue from his hand. “thank you.” He nodded, moving his hands from your legs. “I actually have to go soon, I have to help my mother out tomorrow.” shotaro said. “and it’s getting late and she’s a early bird.”

“I’ll come back soon.” He stood up. “let me walk you to your car.” Your friend said, he nodded. “nice to meet you yn.” You wave. “could you help put the trash away?” you could see your friend begging with her eyes. “yeah, i’ll help.” He picked up the empty pizza boxes, you grabbed the cans following behind him as your friend left out the door.

You threw the trash away, ready to walk back upstairs to wait for your friend so you could get ready for bed — but you were stopped by sungchan pulling back against him, you could feel his hard on against your ass. “you feel that?” he sighed. “you feel how much I want you pretty baby?” you pushed back against him, he groaned stopping you by grabbing your hips. “not right here fuck.” He was truly loosing the war. “when she goes to bed.” He pulled away, ready to feel your warmth again — what were you doing to him?

You could still feel him on you; smell his scent on your skin, even after you were showered and in your pajama — you could hear him groaning how much he wanted you as you listening to your friend go on and on about the kiss she shared outside with shotaro. “I felt butterflies.” You smiled watching her dopey smile. “he was so soft and sweet, it was perfect.”

“I knew he liked you, the moment you came down the steps.” You said watching her giggle, looking down at her phone. “he just text me good night, look!” you nodded. “has he asked you on a date yet?” she hummed. “next weekend.” She squealed, her face getting serious. “but enough of that, this is our weekend, time for us to have some girl time, I have face masks, nail polish and gems.” She said. “and a few movie and of course snacks.”

Many movies and snacks later; face masks washed off and your freshly painted pink nails, soojin was knocked out cold beside you; phone in her hand, you could still see the messages against her and shotaro. You pulled the blanket over her body, slowly making your way out the room, and down the hall to the bathroom.

You reached for the handle, but it was already open, you stepped back, revealing the boy who you longed for — his chest fully exposed, your eyes traveling down to his abs. “h-hi.”

He looked down at you outfit; his cock hardening once again in his basketball shorts, a big shirt eating your small frame straight up, coming down to your knees — it wasn’t his but he fucking wish it was, wanting to see you in his clothes as he fucked you. “nice pajamas pretty girl.” He smirked. “i’ll let you do what you need to do.” He moved to the side, letting you into the bathroom, closing the door.

You did what you needed to do; brushing your teeth, spitting into the sink, before making your way out of the bathroom. “where you goin?” you felt him coming up behind you. “she sleep?” you nodded, breathing heavily as you felt him feeling up your body. “good, cause im not going any longer without your pretty little body on mines.”

He took you by the hand, guiding you to his room, letting you in, closing the door behind him; turning to you, the lamp from his bedside giving you a good look at his darkening eyes. “been hard ever since earlier.” His hands came up to your face. “you’re so fucking cute baby.” He pulled you into a messy kiss; grabbing at your shirt, pulling away from you. “lift your arms up.” He breathed.

You slowly put your arms up, letting him pull the shirt over your head, throwing it to the floor, the cold air on your nipples, making them pebble up. “so cute.” He back you against the wall. “su-sungchan.” You moaned as he pinched your nipples. “keep making those noises for me.” He placed a kiss on your chest. “I wanna hear them all.”

Kissing down your stomach, he stopped at your pajama shorts, pulling them and your panties down in one go, also dropping down to his knees, your back arching off the wall. “such a tiny pussy baby.” He pushed your legs apart. “need to taste you.” You gasped out as you felt his breath on your heat. “su-su— oh my god.” You moaned out as licked a fat strip on your clit. “so good pretty.” You bawled your fist up, desperate to grab a hold of something.

He grabbed your hands without stopping his assault with his tongue, putting it in his hair, giving you leverage. “sh-shit sungchan.” You tugged at his hair, whining. “gonna cum.” His nosed brushed against your clit, humming against your cunt setting your orgasm off, grinding against his face as you came, legs shaking. “good girl.” He pulled away, kissing your cunt. “came so much for me.”

He stood up; now towering over you, making you feel small. “you want my cock pretty baby?” you nodded. “words baby, I want to hear you say it.” you whined. “ne-need you sungchan.” He that’s all he needed, to lift your body up like it was nothing holding you . “fuck you’re so adorable.” He pushed his shorts down to the ground. “need to feel you on my cock.” He grabbed the base of his length, his read leaky tip kissing your entrance. “gonna stretch this tiny cunt.”

You winced feeling his cock protruding your hole, both of your moan as he mounted you down on his cock. “fuck you’re so tight.” He groaned. “your tiny pussy barely taking my cock.” You moaned out. “so-so full.”

He moved his hips up, fucking you. “I knew I needed to fuck you the moment you walked through those doors.” He moaned. “so tiny, so cute.” He kissed your chest. “needed to see you struggling to my cock.”

He felt so addicted to you already, he knew this wouldn’t be the only time; shit the way you felt around his cock he probably would be able to have sex with another girl without thinking of you. “sh-shit pretty girl im gonna cum.” He groaned. “wanna feel my cum filling you up.” He flicked your nipples. “need to breed this pussy.”

“pl-please.” You whimpered into his ear, tears streaming down your face. “please come inside me.” He kissed your tear stained cheeks, his cock twitching inside you. “cum with me.” He sped up his movements, you came for the second time, feeling his cum entering you cunt. “fu-fuck take it all for me.”

His lips pressed against yours, as he held you in his arms, moving to his bed, laying you on your back — slowly pulling out, watching the cum leak from your puffy cunt. “so pretty, tiny pussy can’t keep all my cum inside.”

He wiped you down, cleaning you up, whispered sweet nothing as he got you dressed. “so, so pretty baby.” he kissed your lips softly— giving that this was your first day meeting him, you felt more loved by him than you did with your ex who you gave your virginity to.

“i don’t think this can be a one time thing.” Sungchan said, laying in bed next to you. “I don’t want this to be a one time thing.” You sat up, he followed sitting up on his elbows. “well you have to go back to university.” You said. “I know.” He frowned. “but we can still talk all the time, and it’s not like I won’t be here for the summer.” You said. “but summer is a while away.”

You nodded. “yeah, but we can still talk.” You smiled. “and we still have the weekend left.” You said. “let’s just have the weekend” He grabbed your hand, kissing it.

He'd figure it out before he went back to college cause he knew he couldn’t just have the weekend.

©️LUVYENI

#kpop x reader #kpop smut #riize smut #riize x reader #riize imagines #riize hard hours #riize hard thoughts #riize x imagine #riize fanfic #sungchan hard thoughts #sungchan hard hours #sungchan x reader #sungchan smut #sungchan fanfic

[pablitogavii]

ik your probably swamped with requests but could you do a little thing where the reader doesn’t like her birthday or doesn’t really celebrate it but gavi makes it a big deal and gives her tons of gifts and surprises!! take your time bby ❤️💙❤️💙❤️

Birthday Girl

"What do you mean you don't want to do anything after the game? But baby it's your birthday!" Pablo said while packing to go to Camp Nou with you for his first game in the new season against Madrid.

"It's the first El Classico of the season amor, and I just want to wear my man's jersey and watch him win" you walk up to him snaking arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug.

You really wanted to just watch Pablo play, but you were also not a big "birthday girl" person mostly because when you were a child your parents were never around much due to their corporate jobs at the family business which was always a priority.

"I won't only win..but I'll score for you princesa" Pablo whispered and you blushed nodding your head and looking up so he can kiss your lips lovingly.

When you arrived at the camp, cameras flashing in your face and numerous fans cheering and calling Pablo's name you smiled letting him greet his fans before you both walked inside.

"This one is for my birthday girl!" Pablo said kissing your lips before leaving to the dressing rooms and you went to find your seats.

"Hey girl! Happy Birthday!" Mikky greeted me first hugging me tightly and I wondered how the hell did she know about my birthday.

"Many more gorgeous years for you beautiful!" Ana was next and I thanked them both asking how they knew about my birthday seeing them chuckle and show me Pablo's recent story.

pablogavi: My Birthday Girl <33

"Awe he is so sweet isn't he!??" Mikky saw me blushing really never having anybody make such a big deal about my birthday before Pablo. It was strange but it felt nice to feel special today.

"Yeah..um..the game is starting!" you said and all of you took your phones out to film the boys coming out on the pitch. For the rest of the game, your phone buzzed with notifications of people sending you beautiful birthday messages.

It was an intense game with many goals on both sides, but just as the second half was coming to an end Madrid made a foul and Barça got their penalty shot.

"Hermano espera!" Pedri called Raphina who turned to see what was going on while carrying the ball always being the one to take the penalty shots.

"Gavi can do it..for his girl's birthday" pedri explained and older man smiled remembering the time he dedicated his shot to his wife's birthday. He came to Gavi giving him the ball seeing his surprised face.

"Que haces!? Gavi doesn't shoot penalties!?" Xavi was freaking out but every player on the pitch believed in Gavi in that moment. They still had one point ahead of Madrid but it's never smart to not use the free penalty when given against such a strong team.

"Dios! He's shooting a penalty!" you said holding your hands together like you were praying feeling anxious but excited at the same time. You believed in Pablo and sent him all your inner strength in this moment just like everyone else on the Barça side.

Pablo put the ball down calmly shooting his shot and of course making it without a sweat. He cheered celebrating with his teammates before taking off his jersey and sliding right where you sat and on his long sleeve muscle top was written "para ti birthday girl <3" and everyone looked at your making you blush and send him a kiss.

"Gracias hermano!" he whispered to Raphina who smiled at you and nodded his head before kissing Pablo's head.

You walked down the hallway to meet with Pablo hearing from every side "happy birthday" smiling into numerous phone cameras of the fans and thanking them kindly.

"Amor!" you heard Pablo's voice running and jumping into his arms as he spun you around.

"We won El Classico!" he said and you nodded kissing him back when he kissed you not caring that picture would be plastered all over the internet in matter of seconds.

"And you made the whole world wish me a happy birthday!" you said giggling while he nodded putting you down and kissing your lips once more before you two left in a more private area.

"Pablo, where are we going??" you said noticing that he was pulling you towards the pitch which was very confusing since you were not allowed to be here at all.

"Just trust me birthday girl.." he said and you knew he had another surprise in mind when he called you that. When you entered the pitch, there were all of his teammates singling "Happy Birthday to you.." joined by fans from the stands.

"You did not.." you said shocked blushing hard at the sudden attention you received from everyone around you holding Pablo's arm that was around your waist.

"Happy Birthday mi amor..you're my special girl and I wanted you to know that" Pablo whispered and you smiled nodding your head really wishing he knew that this was the first time she felt like "someone's special girl" on her birthday.

"And here is the cake..if you missed that penalty I would have hit you with it chico!" Xavi said chuckling with you before kissing the top of your head wishing you the bestest birthday.

"Um..thank you..all..this is so special for me" you were fighting back tears not wanting to cry on your birthday like all the other years until you met Pablo.

"Blow candles and make a wish amor" Pablo said and you smile nodding your head closing your eyes and blowing all the candles. Everyone clapped while you turned around and kissed Pablo's lips.

"Thank you Pablo..for this" you said and he noticed your saddened eyes but decided to talk about it when you were alone now only nodding his head and kissing your lips lovingly before putting some whip-cream on your face.

"Oh no!" you said when all the boys did the same giggling and celebrating for awhile before you were ready to go home.

"My goodness! My face is still sticky!" you said while Pablo drove home and you used wet wipes to clean your face.

"Maybe they took it too far.." Pablo giggled together with you but you shook your head once again having that same sadness in your eyes.

"No..it was perfect" you said and Pablo smiled stealing a glance from you taking your hand and kissing it.

"Look amor! The sunset!" you said and he parked suddenly right at the edge of the beach so you both can look at it together. Although not planned, this was the most perfect moment of the whole day.

"Can I ask you something princesa??" Pablo said while holding you in his arms as you watched through the window at the beautiful golden sky.

"Mhm.." you say

"You looked sad in the moment you thanked me for a surprise..why?" he said and you gulped taking your phone out to check once again but there was still no message form your parents.

aurorapaezg: happy birthday hermanita! i love you<33

mikkykiemeney: birthday girl is precious <33

analewandowska: best wishes to you pretty girl!

pedri: happy birthday amiga!!

alehandrobalde: best friend's birthday today!!

ansufati: amazing girl!! happy birthday!!

Strangers all over the world texted you today..half the stadium sang you happy birthday..and they forgot..again. You told Pablo who sighed kissing the top of your head.

"I'm sorry amor.." Pablo said holding you tighter as a tear finally escaped your eye but it was alright because it was only the two of you now and you felt comfortable with him.

"It's okay..I'm used to it" you said clearly not thinking that but what else can you do about it.

"It's not okay..you don't deserve that.. you deserve to feel like the most special girl today..and every other day..I want you to know that from now on every birthday will be celebrated properly!" Pablo spoke and yo turned in his arms kissing his lips lovingly.

"I'd really like that." you said and he nodded kissing you more before pulling away and giving you the box with the beautiful pink bow on it.

"What's this??" you said blushing and taking it

"A present..for a birthday girl" he said and you opened it gasping when you saw the beautiful necklace that was also a locket. When you opened it was the picture of the two of you and you couldn't help but kiss Pablo strongly in response.

"I love you!" you said and he smiled nodding his head proudly.

"And I love you princesa" he said as you both smiled into the kiss.

You two of you went back home finishing the night cuddled up with your favorite movie and food.

You yawned slowly being lulled to sleep by Pablo's even heart beats and soft sounds of the movie in the background.

"Happy Birthday mi amor.." he whispered right before you fall asleep in his arms. It was the most special birthday of your life.

#pablo gavi x you #fc barca #fc barça #fc barcelona #gavi #gavigif #pablo gavi x y/n #pablo gavi x reader #pablo gavi icons #pablo gavi #pablo martín páez gavira #pablo gavira #gavira #pablogavixreadersmut #pablogavixreaderfluff #gavi x vini #gavi x yn #gavi x you #gavi x reader

[loosesodamarble]

Hii Soda, Here I'm sending my best wishes for your well-being 🩷🩷 I might made some mistakes in my text, I hope that you don't mind them. I'm not a native speaker.

I wanted to make a one-shot request for Nacht Faust where the reader (who is also a Black Bull) despises his all-knowing personality, and how he scorns at the members. And she always talks back at him about his remarks about the members. But things escalate, I don't know how I didn't think this far 😭 I'd love to know what you can come up with this, I just want to read some fluff and see him happy 🥹🩷✨️

Hello there Anon~! First off, thank you for the well wishes, I do kinda need them at this moment. And don't worry about writing in your second language. I make tons of mistakes still land English is my first language. 😅

This oneshot turned into something a little on the long side. I couldn't think of how to make a romance between a critical reader and Nacht work without it feeling weird so I did something longer to show how the two grow closer (not quite a slow burn but the fluff isn't immediate either). It's part of why it took a bit to finish your request. It's probably not exactly what you were picturing but hopefully you still like it.

Summary: The progression of your relationship with Nacht is gradual and not very standard. But it still brings you two ever so close together. Genre: romance Word count: ~1800 A/N: This is a female reader, though female pronouns only come up, like, twice.

..........

“Tch, what a mess…” Nacht groaned after he walked into the base.

The scene he came across was the common area having turned into a war zone. It was a mess of broken furniture and spells being thrown across the room. The usual suspects of Magna, Luck, and Gauche were at play along with Vanessa, Zora, and Noelle. It appeared that there had been an especially nasty disagreement.

“These people really are no better, even after becoming the kingdom’s second ranked squad.”

“Quit giving commentary like anyone here cares about your opinion, vice bastard.”

Nacht turned his head in the direction of the voice. His eyes landed on you, leaning against the wall and glaring at him. Your presence made him tense the slightest bit.

The rest of the squad hesitated to interact with him. But not you. Even if you weren’t friendly with him, the fact that you approached him at all was something he appreciated. But because of your aggression, he was at a loss for how to reply.

Every time. Even now.

“If you really don’t want to bother with us, just quit the squad already,” you remarked before you walked past him and through the chaos, completely unaffected by it.

“Master Nacht… You’re staring at her again…” Plumede whispered in the back of Nacht’s mind.

“Yes. I know,” he said. Nacht felt like an utter fool. Why did his heart race with excitement from your glare? Why did he want to be nearer to you when you clearly resented him?

…

“Thanks for getting our order,” you said while handing payment over to the shopkeeper. You received the parcel and turned to Nacht.

His arms were full with bags of goods that you two picked up for the rest of the squad so he extended one of the less filled bags for you to slip the package into.

“I never expected you to be okay with being used as a pack mule,” you remarked as the two of you walked away.

“I only agreed to accompany you on the shopping trip. I never said I was okay with this kind of treatment,” Nacht replied.

“Yet you haven’t complained about carrying everything.” You quirked a brow in Nacht’s direction but all you got back from him was the same empty smile that he usually wore. You found it a shame that a pretty face like his didn’t express much emotion. “But now that we’ve picked up everything, we can head back.”

“We came by broom, but how about I transport us back with my Shadow Magic? It’s sure to be quicker,” offered Nacht and you immediately blanched.

“Hell no. I’m not getting sucked into that creepy void of yours,” you retorted.

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Nacht or his magic. Okay, maybe it was a lack of trust. But after Nacht’s harsh behavior early on, putting your faith in his good will didn’t come easily. Plus, you considered yourself to be Nacht’s biggest critic in the squad. There was no way you were about to be buttered up.

“Alright then. I thought to ask instead of merely whisking you away without permission. And since you’ve declined…” Nacht veered from your side and into the shadows of an alleyway. “I’ll see you at the base then.”

“Huh? Where are you—?”

“Good day.” And Nacht was gone.

You blinked.

A part of you wanted to scream at his abandonment of you. Another part wanted to laugh because of the absurdity. And yet a third part wanted to stop and appreciate how he’d, somewhat clumsily, tried to be polite to you.

“He…” You placed your hands over your face, which felt warmer than usual. “He kinda sucks at being nice.”

…

Nacht put his signature at the end of a mission report then put it into a file with the rest of the paperwork that would be delivered to the Magic Knight Headquarters later that day.

The door opened and Nacht lifted his head to see who it was.

His heart skipped a beat upon seeing you enter, a tray of food in hand.

“I noticed you weren’t there for lunch,” you said by way of explanation.

“Lunch?” Nacht checked his clock and, indeed, it was long past the usual hour for lunch. “Ah…” He turned back to you. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

“We need to keep you fed and alive if we want any paperwork done around here,” you joked while placing the tray down. Due to your closeness, Nacht was able to make out a faint blush on your cheeks. Your eyes flicked in his direction. “What are you staring at, shadow stalker?”

“You’re hovering quite close,” Nacht coolly answered as he averted his eyes. “I couldn’t help it if you drew my attention.”

“Ha! Like I’d ever go out with you. I have a strict ‘no assholes’ policy when it comes to my dating pool,” you said with a wry grin.

Nacht raised a brow at your reply.

“First off, you realize that everyone has an anus so your pol—”

You smacked Nacht’s shoulder. Though it was clear from your bit back smile that you did find his remark funny.

“Since when did you know how to tell a joke?”

“I’m a man of secrets and surprises,” Nacht replied. “Secondly…” He rose from his seat and walked around his desk to you. “It’s awfully presumptuous to think I was staring at you with romantic intentions.”

“Uhp—!” You choked up and your flush darkened.

Feeling bolder than usual, Nacht placed his hand under your chin and coaxed you into looking up at him.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were the one who had an interest in me.”

Nacht’s heart fluttered at the idea of you liking him back. He wasn’t about to get his hopes up, not with the way you still threw insults and sarcasm at him on a daily basis. But he wanted to pretend.

You stayed silent for a moment, staring into Nacht’s eyes. It was cute, the wide-eyed look on your face. But Nacht also worried about what was running through your head. So he prompted you again.

“Well? Have anything to say for yourself?”

“Your cologne smells nice…”

Nacht blinked. “What?”

You blinked. “What?”

“You… pay attention to the way I smell?” Nacht felt his face heat up rapidly.

At that, your own face paled.

“What?! Shut up!” You yelled while stepping away from Nacht. “I’m not some creep! I just—! I just have a good nose! Shut up!”

You hurried out the door and your heavy footsteps were heard fleeing for a while.

Nacht blinked a few more times.

I don’t wear cologne, he thought. Then he grimaced. Oh gods, do I smell of something else? He raised his wrist to his nose. I probably can’t tell if I stink. I’d have to ask someone else.

“She was probably talking about your natural, masculine musk, Master,” Gimodelo said.

“I doubt it.”

Nacht touched a hand to his chest and tried to will his heart to calm down.

…

The Black Bulls were celebrating a day off, complete with alcohol and games once night had fallen. On Vanessa’s insistence, one of the games was 7 Minutes in Heaven with the choosing method being drawing lots.

You stared at the “1” drawn onto the stick you’d drawn. Meaning you’d be going first along with the person who’d drawn the other “1.”

“Alright, so who did I match with?” you questioned the group while showing your stick.

You scanned the group. Vanessa and Zora were already paired. Luck pumped a fist as he exclaimed how he and Magna had been paired off. Where was your partn—?

The second “1” stick was tapped against yours.

“I believe this means we’ve been paired off.”

Your heart leapt to your throat and you felt lightheaded as all blood rushed to your face.

Why him?! You were still recovering from your conversation in Nacht’s office the other day. And now you were supposed to be locked in a closet with Nacht for seven whole minutes? This is torture!

You shuffled into the closet with Nacht and plopped yourself on the floor without much care. It’s not like you had much dignity to bring into the situation.

After a few seconds, Nacht sat down beside you and you instinctively scooted to give him space.

“Don’t worry, we don’t have to kiss if you don’t want to,” Nacht whispered and you swore he sounded hurt.

The problem is that I actually do want to kiss you! You kept the thought to yourself, unable to think of a way to put it more… normally.

“Since we’re in here though, I’d like to make a confession.”

You dared to glance in Nacht’s direction but immediately looked away when you saw his bright red flush and the faint, relaxed smile on his face. It was an entirely different look to him and you feared your heart might burst because of how handsome he looked.

“I might sound ridiculous but I’ve liked you for a while now. You were critical of me and yet I was okay with it. Because you were right with how… flawed I acted at times. I like how unafraid and upfront you are without being reckless. And I’m glad we’ve grown closer so to speak and joke with each other a bit. It might sound strange but it’s true.”

At that point, you felt a firm thumping in your chest and your head getting light from the many beats your heart had skipped.

It was more than shocking to learn that Nacht had started loving you before you’d learned to go easy on him. Then again, you had started falling for him when he was still being distant and aloof.

Love worked in mysterious ways, you supposed.

You felt Nacht’s hand on your cheek so you faced him. Nacht smiled at you with a genuine grin full of warmth.

“I like you. I hope you’re okay with me saying that.”

“Nacht…” You finally found your voice. “It’s okay. I… like you too…”

The words hung in the air for the longest moment of your life.

You and Nacht… Alone in that small space…

Nacht cupped your other cheek, his hands were cold but soft against your skin, and leaned down closer to you. You fully turned your body toward him and placed your hands on his shoulders.

Then, your lips met Nacht’s.

The kiss was slow and soft. Neither of you were too eager, but neither of you were too afraid.

For a moment, you two were in sync.

And hopefully that one moment would become many more in the future.

#black clover #nacht faust #black clover fanfic #nacht faust x reader #x reader #female reader #awesome anons #i kinda cheaped out using 7 minutes in heaven as the breaking point #but aisuahsuhashrt! i didn't want to take forever contriving another reason #didn't include it but the bb are going to open the door to find read and nacht still kissing #this isn't about the other bulls okay/lh #i really do hope people like this...

[tamayakii]

Simonrileyscockring aka Maxim is a liar and claims frogchiro stole their ideas. Here's proof he lied.

@simonrileyscockring Now since you dont wanna acknowledge me or my post calling you out, i decided to make it its own post so more people can see it. I don't like liars. i don't like virtue signalers "dni proshippers" we interacted tons of times, i sent you asks, my own art, we talked in dms, i even checked on you when i worried about you and now you're worried about "proshippers" and realize the term i identify with, which means "anti-harassment, respecting peoples fictional preferences" and not whatever tiktok-brained bullshit you think it is? So convenient you say that AFTER i send you an ask asking if you were gonna acknowledge what the hell you did. edits: the only edits i did was "@/" Konigsblog cause they said they apologized and acknowledged what they did, whether or not the apology is accepted is not up to me.

original call out below: you absolute dunce. i LOVED your writing before but the drama on your page, responding to hate anons rather than just deleting their asks drove me off. I have so many words for you

EVERYONE can see your personal posts, they just don't LIKE them cause who the fuck wants to like a post that's a vent post? it feels wrong, people see it and choose not to react, people see you vagueing about someone stealing "your" concepts (which theyve written BEFORE cod fandom erupted on tumblr and aka before YOUR popularity) they'll want to know  cause stealing writing is very serious!! but oh wait!!! they didn't steal shit!!! They never wrote about a teenager, which btw when you say all this shit and show no proof it fucking sucks!! cause people are so tiktok-brained that they will believe anything!

Because you decided to pull a fuckin mean girl move with @/konigsblog you ruined someone's love for writing and this fandom. "no one got harmed" my fucking ass. You as a writer should know that motivation comes and goes, and that hyperfixtations can be the closest thing to people. So rather than acting like a fucking man, you vague and claim they wrote about a minor as well, btw heres the teenager you claim is well, a teenager

Scaramouche is a puppet made by Raiden Ei, over 500 years ago to the current time in genshin impact. When Raiden Ei's sister had passed and she wanted to make a puppet to be the archon but she left him in a slumbering state, free from her own control cause he came to life crying which puppets aren't supposed to do. He woke up and thought she abandoned him, then OVER 5 HUNDRED YEARS AND THREE BETRYALS LATER. The fandom baby-fies him admittedly, but he's not obsessed with his mother nor does he have a teenager mentality. He's a bitter and aloof character, only getting mad when his creation or betrayals are brought up,



"a teenager physqiue" Okay lets challenge that, In the game this model is called Short_Male, it been used for Cyno, Tighnari, Kazuha, Xiao, Albedo, Mika, Chongyun, Bennet, Xingqiu, Heizou, Gorou, Venti, Razor, and even the male traveller.(I'm gonna use basic terms since you obviously never played the game if you think he's child like) Cyno is basically an officer in the game for the Akademiya, aka an adult. Tighnari is basically like a forest ranger, an adult. Kazuha sails around the sea while being a poet AND a sword expert because of his family line, becoming an expert swordsman takes YEARS even in real life, he's an adult. Xiao is over 5,000 years old and a "deputy" for an Archon. Albedo is a synthetic experiment human made 500 years ago from the current timeline in the game. Heizou is also a cop, an adult. Gorou is a fucking ADMIRAL, an adult. VENTI is literally over 2k years old. an adult. The traveller is AT LEAST over a thousand years old, cause the traveller that you choose slumbers for 500 years.

The rest are hinted to be late teenagers or early twenties depending on who you ask.

I even took pictures of these models in-game compared to a Tall_Male model!

Here's scaramouche, compared to Diluc and Tighnari! who aren't children! Now let's see an actual model of CONFIRMED children, why don't we?

here we have klee, who despite being something like 50 or 75 years old, is still mentally a child!! So she has the child model since she is still physically growing up, unlike Scaramouche AND Albedo.

Scaramouche isn't a child. he doesn't have child-like features. He's not obsessed with his mother, cause he does not have one cause motherfucker is a 500-year-old puppet, he's mentally an adult, physically an adult that was prepared for archon duties.

Sorry, i droned on about this for so long but i just fuckkking hate it when people are wrong. So blindly like you are,

here's proof that you said that, incase you go on a deleting frenzy.

Now let's talk about the point system, point systems are so widespread in real life and in fiction, even i used a point system once before. So to see it, in a COMPETITION(cause they are in the pervy AU) between men isn't weird to see. If you genuinely had a problem with this, Kin would've LOVED to talk it out with you as they're lovely and understanding human being.

the stray cat au? i even remember reading about it on both of your blogs but heres the thing.... the last time they wrote about it was in October.. of last year.

i had to search your blog just in case i was wrong in thinking they wrote it before you did.

as you can see, this is march of this YEAR. checking your archive, you made your blog back in February of this year. To claim they stole your concept of stray cat is beyond fucking insane, as well as bringing up the post with scaramouche in it cause.. that was over at least 10 months ago, cause Kin had went on a hiatus when December came around and came back with a COD hyperfixtation.

Onto the stealing the hubull concept! Searching their blog I can't find any evidence of them even writing a bull-like idea, at all. So you seemed to pull that one straight out of your ass.

So let's go over this real quick! one more time for the people in the back!!!

@simonrileyscockring made a post vagueing that someone stole their concepts and ideas, @/konigsblog replies below asking, hey who is it? maxim responds saying its @frogchiro and claiming that they wrote about a teenager and stole their point system for an au. Publicly. Instead of going to Frogchiro and trying to work it out, like a 23-year-old should. You keep drilling on about it, claiming that people trying to defend them are being your entertainment now

sure some people shouldn't have come in attacking you, i won't defend people who throw cruel words at you. You can claim this to be an attack but all i'm doing is calling you out, cause as you claim "it doesn't affect the way you live your life" you let it go and ruin someone else's way of life, destroying their love for fandom and writing. As a writer yourself that ive SEEN struggle with motivation AND hate anons, you of ALL people should fucking understand that getting your love for writing ruined is a terrible thing to happen especially when its an outlet for stress.

"i wanna talk shit in peace, not have my shit gossiped about." .. that is noooot how the internet works OR how shit-talking works, as the biggest shit-talker in MY family, i understand that when i talk shit, there's another person behind me talking shit. When YOU post vagueing about someone, and then continue talking about them, people will gossip about you. End of story. You should've blocked them in the first place, you also should've messaged Kongisblog PRIVATELY if you really wanted to avoid all of them. The only screenshots that i know that kin was sent, were you confirming that they "stole" your ideas and that they wrote about a teenager. How can they refute your claims without knowing what your claims are. They had to defend themselves from people in their inbox.

So, really in the end here, you fucked up. As a previous fan of your im highly disappointed in you but seeing how you act i doubt that will affect you, i make this post-DEFENDING frogchiro from pointless claims, AND in hopes that anyone who wants to follow you. Will find this post cause you are a fucking asshole to the core. Step back and realize that while it may not affect you, your actions affect others.

#call of duty x reader #call of duty modern warfare #cod mw2 x reader #call of duty headcanons #abo 141 #141 abo #pervy 141 #cod modern warfare #cod x reader #call of duty mw2 x reader #simon riley x reader #johnny mactavish x reader #kyle garrick x reader #john price x reader #phillip graves x reader #alejandro vargas x reader #rodolfo parra x reader

[gotjacobian]

Travel journal-type posting, just describing some of the stuff I've gotten to do in Japan.

Day 1: Got off the plane, got through passport control and customs with minimum issues (I fucked up my entry date bc time zones and had to hold up the line while I fixed it whoops). Took the subway to Yokohama, also screwed that up because I was hopped up on benadryl and still only managed to sleep for 2 hours at a time max on the plane. Unscrewed it up with the help of a very patient attendant, made it to the hotel. I bought takoyaki and a highball from a place across the street from the hotel, which reminded me that I don’t actually like takoyaki. It’s too mushy. Then passed out.

Day 2: This was my full day in Yokohama before the conference. I beelined for a 7-11 to get the canned coffee I like and can only get here (and some pastries), then went to a park by the baseball stadium to eat it. Then I took off to try and at least see the (closed :( ) gundam factory exhibit. There was a triathalon in the way, so I spent awhile wandering through parks to get around it and get close enough for a picture. There were tons of beautiful gardens, and lots of people taking photos of their costumed dogs there? Like, 3 dog photoshoots for every presumed child/romantic partner photoshoot. They all seemed very happy to chill in the flowers and get fussed over.

In general Yokohama is really well suited to my kind of travel wandering - going along the harbor coast takes you through a couple different gorgeous parks and past a few museums, and also gives you a great view of the water. I ended up going into the doll museum, and immediately learned I had vastly overestimated the amount of english they’d have on the exhibits based on their website. I speak basically no Japanese, so used an image translate app a lot. That’s wasn’t an option the last time I was in Japan in 2019 - it was really useful! I drained my battery using it on basically every single plaque in the museum. The style of the exhibit captions felt different than I’d expect from a US museum. They were often more anecdotes from an artist or curator than they were descriptions. I’m curious to what extent that was cultural or was something lost in translation? The translations I got definitely weren’t perfect, and seemed to get worse the more anecdotal or conversational the material was.

The exhibit that attracted me to the doll museum was called “Why do we create objects that look like humans?”. It had exhibits of historical dolls and sculptures, as well as installations from modern artist and dollmakers. A lot of it touched on an inherent alienation in recreating the human in the nonhuman, and the ways all depictions of the human form are exaggerated in ways we sort after the fact into “beautiful” or “grotesque.” I liked it, but honestly wanted it to be more like, embodiment philosophy-y. Very much a me problem.

On the way back, I stopped by Yokohama’s Chinatown. I feel like it was much more of a tourist attraction than the equivalent in Boston or SF - lots of street food stands and people hawking specific restaurants or palm-reading services. Lots of panda-themed merch. It was VERY crowded. I bought a single pork bun for lunch, wandered through a few stores, and then ditched to try and find somewhere calmer.

A friend recommended that I check out Kaganecho, the arts district about a half an hour walk along the canal from where I was staying, so I went that way. I immediately saw a lot of signs advertising an “Art Bazaar” that was supposed to be happening in the area. There were people wandering around with tickets and brochures. It took me an hour to figure out how to get one - I was saved by stumbling on a performance piece that was part of the exhibit, a woman playing a song by hitting a series of bowls with wooden mallets, that just happened to be scheduled right then. It was right under the train line, so you got the loud rumbling drowning her out every few minutes, and also the ambient city sounds of bikes and children and wind under her playing. When she finished, I stalked some people who were watching with me and finally found the office that could sell me a ticket.

The “art bazaar” is a yearly exhibition in a series of apartments converted into studios in the few blocks around a particular train station. You’re given a ticket and a map where some of the buildings were marked. You wander around to find them, go in, and there’s Art there. I’ll probably post separately about this, honestly. It was one of the coolest gallery experiences I’ve ever had. The theme of the exhibits was “The world through no art”, and a lot of the material directly engaged with the history of the area - a neighborhood that housed a lot of bars, brothels, etc starting from the US occupation in the city post WWII, which were forcibly evicted in the 2000s, then later replaced with the studios as part of a city initiative to ‘rejuvenate’ the area. I went to every single exhibit that was open and stayed until I was about to pass out from the combination of walking and art feelings. I chickened out of going to a restaurant alone when I was already exhausted, and instead grabbed a katsu sandwich from 7-11 to eat in my hotel room.

Day 3: Start of the conference. It was raining horribly, and I have big fears about walking in the rain with my laptop, so I skipped the first couple hours until it calmed enough that I felt okay buying and using an umbrella. The conference was in this giant exhibition hall on a peninsula in the city that was all fancy hotels, shopping centers, and an amusement park. My maps app kept trying to get me to walk THROUGH the amusement park to get there, which was a kind of ominous experience when it was empty and raining. I met with some friends and labmates, we got Singaporean food for lunch (chicken and rice), and went to some of the afternoon talks. There was a welcome banquet where a guy performed with Kendamas (japanese toy/prop with a wooden ball attached to a wooden thing with cups and a spike). He did a bunch of poi tricks with them, and seemed to be having the time of his life. They also opened the expo, where I discovered they did at least have the gundam head from the gundam factory exhibit left over (still cannot believe they would close it a month before the robotics conference). Me and one of my former labmates got dinner at a katsu place that claimed to be the oldest in the city. We had to split from the group to get it, since there weren’t any vegetarian options there, but it was really good. I discovered that my hotel is like 1/10th as fancy as any of the other conference hotels, idk what happened. Very jealous of the main venue hotel people who had a room overlooking the harbor.

Day 4: Got there in the morning, did some conference stuff. We got sushi for lunch in this giant mall right next to the venue. I ditched for half an hour in the afternoon to wander through a different park by the harbor, which was also very pretty. All the greenery is very green and the water is very blue. I took another break to try and work some on my paper, since I feel bad for not doing more of that, but finding a place with decent wifi is hard. I meet back up with my labmates to get dinner, at a nearby ramen place with vegan options. I got their signature yuzu shio ramen, which was good, but I still prefer the pork-based styles.

Day 5: Is the day I’m helping present. I go to my coauthor’s presentation and then stand with him at the poster session, and get to talk to a few people. I’m surprised how fast the paper comes back to me, even though I haven’t really thought about it for at least a year at this point. I get lunch with another labmate at a milk-themed restaurant in the mall. I’m weirdly charmed that in Japan, “milk” is a flavor? And that there are prefectures proud of their local milk? The restaurant has both western-style food with cheese or cream as ingredients, and a milk and cheese bar where you can get bread, spreadable cheese, and toppings. I run back to the hotel before the conference banquet, get lost in the other hotel the banquet is in, finally arrive and realize all my labmates are either ditching or got a different banquet venue, so I sit with a very nice person from the university of edinburgh I met at the poster earlier that day. I talk about firespinning and mugs because I’m incapable of not doing so. Every one of the venues has a different style of food and performance - ours performance is actually a lion dance, which is notably… not japanese, put on by students from a school in the local chinatown. It’s still really impressive, especially given that they did it between the tables people were eating at. Like, I’ve attempted to be a base for a cheerleading toss once, and it was hard for 3 people to hold one up - these performers were jumping on each other’s shoulders the whole time, while puppeting the giant lion. They kept having it pretend to eat the heads of the people it walked past, it was a good time.

I spend an hour or two that night on my Quest, which is that I saw some kind of peach jelly drink in exactly one vending machine early in the trip and didn’t buy it. Now I want it, so I’ve been wandering through the city inspecting vending machines to try and find it again. Tonight I wander up and down this shopping center street that has a lot of them, in the rain, but no dice. I buy peach flavored ice cream at the 7-11 instead and reaffirm my mission.

Day 6: I wake up feeling bad, in both a stress and a physical way. I stay at the hotel and work on my paper, then go to a nearby cafe and try to work on my paper, but they don’t have wifi. I go back and end up sleeping, which I feel bad about, but probably needed - I can get disconnected from my own tiredness levels when I’m doing extended crunch time for a project, and I’m trying to be more aware of that. I don’t go to any of the conference stuff, but do leave at one point to get the local kind of ramen from a place I saw recommended online. The style is called ie-kei, and is an emulsified mix of pork broth and shoyu with chicken oil, served with pork, seaweed, short noodles, and spinach on top. I redeem myself by ordering and eating in the restaurant alone. It’s good in a comfort food way. I go back to the hotel and alternate working and sleeping, and end up skipping dinner with my labmates because I still feel gross.

Day 7: I feel better when I wake up, but have already committed to skipping this day of the conference because I’m going to Osaka. I find another cafe that actually has wifi, and eat there to do some work in the morning. Tangent - people really go nuts for the egg salad sandwiches here, and I don’t get it. I tried one and thought it was tasteless and had that bad cooked egg yolk texture. Super not for me.

I check out of the hotel and take the subway to Tokyo station. I get there an hour early because I forgot when my train was, so wander around the station for a while. It is SO crowded and there are SO MANY stores selling train bento, souvenirs, boxes of desserts to give as gifts, etc, and every single one has a designated salesperson shouting into the void. It is the most sensory-overloading, maze-like place I have been in my entire life. I take great pride in managing to eventually actually find the internet-recommended places to get ekibento for the train. I buy one with more traditional food, and one kids one that comes in a fake JR train freight container, because I really want the fake freight container. I also get an apple-custard pastry and a crepe with cream and melon ball topping. And then I am exhausted, and still too early for my train, so I stand by the platform and am extremely confused when someone asks me for directions (correctly assigned english-speaking person who knows where the ekibento are at the tokyo shinkansen station, I guess).

I do get on the train eventually, and eat one of the bento (I save the second because I am worried the person sitting next to me is gonna judge me for eating 2 bento, one of which is definitely meant for children, but I will eat it eventually). I said I was gonna do work but instead I’m writing this and watching out the window of the train. I feel like everyone has their travel fixation - my grandparents laugh about how when my mom and brother would go on trips as kids, they’d get disposable cameras. And when they developed the photos, all of them were of ponds, lakes, coastlines, because they grew up in the west texas desert. I grew up in the flat, flat Texas plains, and now I’m like that about mountains. This train goes straight through them, and right past Mt Fuji. It gets to me how distinctive the landscape in japan is - I’ve looked at a lot of traditional japanese art as like, a precursor to modern styles in comics, because I find it interesting. And I feel like I looked at some elements of that style - atmospheric perspective, depth through stacking flat layers of scenery, the specific abstract-seeming way Mt Fuji gets drawn - and assumed it was entirely an artistic choice. But like… Mt Fuji just looks like that. The landscape just looks like that, with the fog and the layered mountains. The green is such a specific shade of green, and the blue is a specific shade of blue, and the buildings are all such a particular faded palette in a way I feel like must make Japan instantly recognizable on geoguessr, a game I am very bad at. I love looking at the cities and buildings, too - I wish I knew the words to describe the specifics of the style and design. I feel like I'm getting increasing city architecture obsessed these days, despite not having that language. Getting to see it is the bit of travel that really makes me feel like I'm experiencing something I couldn't anywhere else. I'm gonna find my hotel in Osaka once I get there, hunt down some food, then will probably try and do some more work before bed. Then tomorrow, in theory, Osaka castle and whatever else seems compelling.

#misc: gamergirlectoplasm said merge is the way about all drinks that american tourists are about vending machine drinks in japan #and i feel called out by it every single time I walk past one. it’s me i’m the person who is too soft about being able #to get colorful cans with unfamiliar and tasty things inside out of boxes i can just find on the side of the street #complaining

[antoine-roquentin]

This is part of a series on American assassinations of foreign and possibly domestic leaders, and part of a miniseries on the American intervention in the Dominican Republic and Cuba during and prior to 1965. It has been held up to some extent by writer's block surrounding the use of violence and detail. I hope the salaciousness meets but does not exceed nor lag expectations. The previous part, part 7, is available here.

On the afternoon of March 4, 1960, a Belgian ship was offloading 76 tons of explosive munitions directly onto the docks at Havana. At 3:10, an explosion rocked the ship. It was big enough to damage the docks, and dozens were killed or wounded. The Cuban army organized a relief effort. Che Guevara, a trained doctor, drove down as fast as he could. Fidel Castro observed overhead in a helicopter. 30 minutes after the first explosion, a second, seemingly well-timed, hit the relief workers and damaged the helicopter. The total death toll may have been as high as 100. The American State Department in memos blamed the French, who they said were incensed by Cuban support for an independent Algeria. At a memorial the next day, Castro made it quite clear who he blamed. A photojournalist took the following pictures there, including perhaps the most famous image to ever be placed on a t-shirt:

A few days later the Miami Herald, whose journalists in the employ of the CIA were known as AMCARBON-1, -2, and -3 (AM being Cuba), published an interview fingering a culprit. A man had witnessed William Alexander Morgan, an American who had fought with Castro, board the ship the day before. Morgan was both a strong believer in the Cuban Revolution and a liberal who insisted that Castro had no communist leanings. He'd actually participated in the armed suppression of a Trujillo-backed invasion months before. Dominican intelligence agents had approached him and offered $1 million, raised in part from American mafia figures, with a quarter as a down payment to facilitate the landing of former Batista soldiers and arms. Morgan pocketed the money then told the Cuban government, and the invasion force was either captured or slaughtered. Trujillo placed a bounty on his head. He walked hand-in-hand with Castro and Che during the memorial service, but by June 1960 at the latest he was known to be smuggling weapons on behalf of the CIA to rebels. He claimed he was disenchanted with Cuba's increasing closeness to the Soviet Union. Ultimately, he was arrested and executed the month before the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Adam Driver will be playing him in the biopic.

On March 17 and April 14, Eisenhower once again affirmed the plans for Castro and Trujillo, albeit with hours of discussion on the former and only minutes on the latter. American staff did "not find Cuba to be under Communist control", but nevertheless felt that Castro was "the Communist type", as "his confused doctrine of Castro-humanism will take him to a position of world prominence as a radical agitator of under-developed areas". Castro, meanwhile, was still hedging his bets, buying guns from the Czechs rather than the Soviets directly, who he did not allow to reopen their embassy in Havana. While “Trujillo is a man of great pride with great love for his country, his people and his family,” he had to go because “it appears impossible to shake the belief of Latin America that the Trujillo situation is more serious than the Castro situation. Until Trujillo is eliminated, we cannot get our Latin American friends to reach a proper level of indignation in dealing with Castro.” The plan for Cuba was to flood the country with propaganda, train dissidents in peaceful and violent protest, and build a paramilitary force for an eventual invasion. The plan for Trujillo was to "make prior arrangements with an appropriate civil military leader group in a position to and willing to take over the Dominican Government with the assurance of United States support", then take out Trujillo through bribery, pressure, or violence, as well as any others who stood in the way of that group.

One reason Eisenhower's staff did not take kindly to the attempt by Castro to play one imperialist against another was because they were intensely racist and regarded any effort by post-colonial states to manage their resources in their own interest as a sign that they were being controlled by the Soviets. A typical example was the incoming administration of Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. At the end of July, Lumumba stopped in America to visit New York and then Washington D.C. He hoped to woo prominent business leaders and then meet with the president. However, in New York, he explained against the advice of his advisors to a group of bankers that Congolese uranium would now be traded under new agreements since the old ones with the Belgians were void. The next day, an advisor to Eisenhower called an advisor to Lumumba and said "I’m sorry, tell your Prime Minister that the President prefers to go and play golf than to meet Lumumba". Like with Castro, the Americans stonewalled Lumumba, and then when he looked instead to the Soviets for aid, they decided he was an open communist. On 18 August 1960, Eisenhower met with his National Security Council and made a vague comment that he wished somebody would get rid of Lumumba. During a 20 minute break in the meeting, he authorized $10 million for the coming invasion of Cuba so long as it consisted entirely of Cuban nationals. Three days later, America cut off diplomatic relations with the Dominican Republic on the urging of President Betancourt of Venezuela, who Trujillo had openly tried to assassinate in a carbombing, and downgraded its embassy to a consulate.

Around the same time, a CIA agent named Sheffield Edwards, known for doing odd jobs for director Allen Dulles, was meeting with a man named Robert Maheu. As a former FBI agent, Maheu had struck out on his own in 1947, doing wiretaps, burglary, and intimidation in the name of protecting a list of clients that included Howard Hughes and members of the Mafia. Maheu went through a mid-level mafia man named John Roselli to set up a meeting between two CIA agents, Sam Giancana, and Santo Trafficante, both of the Chicago mob, in late September. Together, they began to plot ways to kill Castro and get back the $100 million they'd lost in Cuban casinos to the revolution. Five- and six-figure cheques flowed freely. Poison was ordered, both to Cuba and the Congo. When it arrived in the former, a mafia man in charge of distributing it was told to keep it away from heat, so he stuck it in a freezer and rendered it useless. A plantation in Guatemala found where 500 men could be trained for an invasion, with 6 men a week ferried in teams to the mainland to build networks of anti-Castro Cubans. Reportedly, they were all were killed or captured. A few weeks later, an FBI agent in Miami told the CIA station chief there that he'd better plug up his leaks, since they'd picked up chatter among Castro's agents in the city as to a plan to kill Castro and invade from Guatemala. By November, the magazine Nation had reported what they'd learned from Guatemalan newspapers about the paramilitary training operation. By January it was in the NYT. For Trujillo, the plan was merely to send people who knew him, like his close friend and CIA agent William Pawley who'd helped overthrow Arbenz, to convince him to retire, as well as to supply small arms to rebels.

This period was largely overshadowed by the election, particularly due to JFK's shenanigans. It's unknown who let it slip to him that there was an invasion being planned, but Allen Dulles was one of the suspects. JFK's foreign policy experience in the senate had largely been to spout liberal bromides about economic development as a greater cure for communism than military might. One man he'd held a true admiration for was Patrice Lumumba. However, he was also someone who delegated rather than bringing his own ideas to the table. His dad Joe Kennedy had a meeting with Henry Luce, the CIA-linked boss of Time Magazine and namesake of Warren Hinckle's chimp, whose emissary to the agency was Charles Douglas Jackson, the mentor of Sacha Volman. Luce told Joe that any candidate he backed would have to be very tough on Castro. Joe told JFK, and his advisors came up with a wonderful idea: since his opponent Nixon couldn't mention the planned invasion of Cuba because it was covert, he should suggest that very action repeatedly and loudly, claiming that Nixon's failure to do the same was a sign he was easy on communism. It worked so well that Trujillo poured some money and manpower into JFK's campaign, which he felt would get him back into America's good books once he was elected. Part of this was because Trujillo often hung out in the same group of friends as the Kennedy family. For instance, Igor Cassini, a Russian aristocrat who fled the revolution, had become an American gossip columnist covering what he termed the "jet set", including the Kennedy family. He plead guilty in 1963 to using his influence as well as that of his brother, the designer of many of Jackie Kennedy's dresses, to try and convince JFK to back Trujillo. JFK also had an assist in the very close election campaign from the Chicago machine, an integrated network of Democratic politicians, mafia men like Giancana, and other power players in Illinois. Additionally, his token effort on civil rights, getting the son of a local preacher named Martin Luther King Senior released from prison in Georgia, won him a few votes. Ultimately, his margin in Illinois was less than 9,000. An interesting figure here is Judith Exner, a mistress of Kennedy's who was recorded visiting the White House a number of times (Bobby Baker quotes JFK in Seymour Hersh's book: "You know, I get a migraine headache if I don't get a strange piece of ass every day"). While her story repeatedly changed over the years, she claimed to have been introduced to both Kennedy and Giancana by Frank Sinatra, becoming a go-between on both the 1960 campaign and the attempts to kill Castro.

By Kennedy's election, any chance of a friendship between the American and Cuban governments had died. It was a typical tit-for-tat escalation. America threatened to withhold sugar rights if Cuba didn't return plantations owned by Americans but redistributed to Cuban peasants. Cuba then did a deal with the Soviets to sell sugar for oil. America banned its citizens at Cuban refineries from working on Soviet imports. Cuba nationalized American refineries. In October, America blocked all non-food exports to Cuba. In December, Cuba issued a statement saying they supported Soviet foreign policy wholeheartedly. That was the last straw. Castro had called in 1959 for a $30 billion American investment in Latin America to serve as a Marshall Plan for the region and was laughed out of the room by Eisenhower's flunkies. Kennedy announced a similar $20 billion investment two months after he was inaugurated specifically to counter Castro's popularity and was condemned by him as an imperialist. One month later, on April 15, the Bay of Pigs Invasion began. Kennedy had cut off Eisenhower's all-hands-on-board meetings with his diplomatic, military, and intelligence leadership because they bored him. He claimed he had not been told how bad the chances of success were despite being presented with documents stating a 30% chance of winning. To some degree, he was right. Dulles and Deputy Director for Plans Dick Bissell had systematically suppressed any reports that said Castro was popular. They were so sure the Cuban people hated the revolution that they immediately rewarded anybody they could find who said so. The result was a series of operational failures that doomed the invasion long before it started. Dulles called it the worst day of his life. Kennedy had slept peacefully through the election nailbiter but could not get a moment of rest on the night of the invasion. His most prominent demand had been for plausible deniability that America backed the attempt, yet the media had gotten the story out months prior. The result was the near death of America's Latin American priorities and national humiliation. It took weeks for Kennedy to get over it, after which he told his advisor McGeorge Bundy "Well, at least I've got three more years. Nobody can take that away from me."

At the very same time, the head of the American consular mission in the Dominican Republic, Henry Dearborn, was getting word of the plans for a new assassination attempt against Trujillo. When diplomatic relations had been broken off the previous August, both the ambassador and the CIA station chief had left the country immediately, and Dearborn filled in for both. He had already made contact with a group of conspirators believed to be sufficiently pro-American. They'd asked for small arms and funding. He was friendly to their cause, once comparing Trujillo to Dracula. As Dearborn told Charles Stuart Kennedy in an engaging interview, "I knew they were planning to do it, I knew how they were planning to do it, I knew, more or less, who was involved. Although I was always able to say that I personally did not know any of the assassins, I knew those who were pulling the strings. I knew everything except when. The only reason I didn't know when was because they didn't know either. There had to be a certain set of circumstances when they could put their plan into action." The reason for this was that the conspirators could only act when Trujillo was unguarded, which meant when he had gotten the urge to visit a favourite young mistress of his. He preferred she remain a secret and would only go to visit her at night in a 1957 blue Chevy Bel-Air with a chauffeur and no guards.

They counted among their number Antonio de la Maza, brother of Octavio who was killed in prison and used as the scapegoat for the silencing of an American citizen who had participated in the Galindez murder. Antonio and the entire de la Maza family had despised Trujillo since he came to power in 1930. The year after, he'd taken shots at an army patrol, a teenage idealist hoping to force an uprising. His father was friends with a general who put in a good word for him with the president. It was suggested that he join the army as penance. He rose to become a lieutenant, then retired to go into business. Most of the conspirators were like him. They'd spent time working for Trujillo in the military but had been poisoned by the various indignities they were forced to suffer. There were many in the country like this, who'd had a relative murdered, or a wife or daughter whose virginity Trujillo demanded as proof of their complete loyalty. General Juan Tomas Diaz had a nephew participate in an assassination plot, forcing him and his mother to seek asylum at the Brazilian embassy. Trujillo ordered him to get them out, and when he couldn't, he was forced into early retirement. General Antonio Imbert had a brother in prison for similar reasons and his career was on thin ice. They worked with a man named Severo Cabral, a longtime friend of de la Maza who was in contact with a local American grocer recruited as a deep cover CIA operative. The collective was named EMOTH, EM for the Dominican Republic.

The CIA wanted them to get an actually serving army officer as a patron to ensure they could take over once the deed was done. They managed to get General Pupo Roman, the nephew-in-law of Trujillo. Pupo had run up large debts due to his incompetence running his businesses and, while indecisive, was also easily flattered. The conspirators told him he would be interim president and saviour of the country from communism, and that the CIA had endorsed (in actuality, said he was acceptable) his candidacy for the office. Moreover, Pupo's incompetence had also earned him repeated scoldings over decades from Trujillo. He'd been placed in higher positions because the leader knew he would never act on his burning desire for revenge. Now, an easy way to do so had presented itself. One last figure of importance was Amado Garcia Guerrero, a member of Trujillo's personal guard who held a "rabid hatred of the man" because he prevented him from marrying his sweetheart, the sister of an anti-Trujillo rebel. He was the one who suggested the method of assassination. Together, the men plotted at Juan Tomas Diaz' house, often after watching a Hollywood film on his 16mm projector. Seeing people killed from a moving vehicle repeatedly was one reason they ultimately went with Guerrero's plan.

They imported a Chevrolet Biscayne on credit, knowing that American cops favoured it for its no-frills interior and high speed, and upgraded an old Oldsmobile. Juan Tomas had his service weapon, a .45. Together they came up with two hunting shotguns as well as a Remington and sawed off the barrels. The CIA added three .38 Smith & Wessons and six M-1 carbines with 500 rounds, a disappointment for the assassins but easily enough to get one tortured if they were caught posessing them (codename EMDEED). They staged their drive over and over, plotting out bullet trajectories and wind speeds to determine angles of fire. They almost went on May 17, but Trujillo decided to go to a brewery instead. On the 24th, they waited again in ambush in their cars on the side of the road. Trujillo had a fever. One of the men's wife asked him on the 29th how he would escape retribution for killing the dictator. "This is a man's plan, there is no need to hide," he replied. On the evening of the 30th, Trujillo visited an air force base with Pupo. There was a leaky faucet near the front door and mud had collected outside. Trujillo had gotten his boots muddy days ago and the problem had still not been fixed. He forced Pupo to stand in it and gave him a dressing down for letting the problem fester, telling him to stay at the base until it was fixed. Just before leaving, Trujillo had informed his driver that he would be going to see his mistress a day earlier than usual and that he should be prepared for when he got back. Fortunately, Guerrero had overheard and gotten the word out.

De la Maza, Guerrero, Imbert, and one more sat in the Biscayne by an on-ramp to the Sanchez highway at the edge of the capital, in a position where they could see any car coming from a long distance away. Two others were in the Oldsmobile three kilometres away, waiting for a flash of headlights from the Biscayne to block Trujillo's car if it could not be overtaken. Two kilometres further, a third car waited with only its driver for a second chance to block. All carried at least one weapon supplied by the Americans. The chauffeur was an old comrade of Trujillo's from when he was out raping and killing peasants for the Americans, who knew to turn off the police radio because the dictator did not enjoy the chatter. As it passed the Biscayne, Imbert did a u-turn and floored it. At the 3 kilometre mark, the cars were only 150 feet apart. The Biscayne, driven by a vengeful chauvinist, did not give the signal to the Oldsmobile but instead made to pass the Bel-Air, which pulled into the slow lane to facilitate. They came side by side. De la Maza opened fire with his lever action shotgun. The first shot was true. "Cunt, I've been hit," said Trujillo. The shotgun jammed and a few seconds passed before he was hit again. The Bel-Air pulled over and the Biscayne overshot it by a few hundred feet. "Get the guns, we fight," screamed Trujillo, referring to the Thompsons and pistols in the car. The chauffeur tried to turn the car around and drive back to the capital, but Trujillo pulled open his door, and he was forced to stop it lest the man spill out. Instead, he picked up the gun from the side passenger seat and opened up on the attackers, who had jumped out of the car and lay prone on the pavement. De la Maza was impatient and in the midst of a berserker rage, hoped to make the final kill. He charged forward, shotgun at the ready. Imbert ordered the other two men with the M-1s to cover him and ran too. Trujillo crawled, hands on his personal .38, firing the odd shot in the direction of his attackers. Both Imbert and de la Maza would claim they made the final shot. It ripped through the man's body and he fell to the ground, limp. The chauffeur was hit, a bullet chipping off the top of his skull, and he fell, unconscious but not yet dead. De la Maza stood over the Trujillo and took one more shot, sending his dental bridge flying into the bushes where it would be used two hours later to confirm his death. The quadrumvirate had all at least been brushed by a bullet themselves if not hit directly. When the Oldsmobile came close, the four, thinking they were being attacked by Trujillistas, fired and hit their co-conspirator. All of them were in need of medical care and made to get it. Dazed and confused, they did nothing to cover up their act save for loading the body in their trunk to bring to Pupo as proof of the act. Juan Tomas had given his .45 to de la Maza and it lay on the sidewalk, serial number in plain view for anybody who sought to look it up. It was just after 10 pm.

It was here that the conspiracy collapsed. Three groups raced independently to find Pupo, who had already been spirited away within minutes of the killing by Trujillo's henchman Arturo Espillat. As the killing took place, Espillat was with his wife parked at the highway entrance and heard the gunshots. He got close enough to the gunfight to see the muzzle flashes, then decided he would be better served getting Pupo's help. The two of them drove past the car with Trujillo's body inside of it. The latter were in search of Juan Tomas Diaz to bring to Pupo's now empty house. Under Espillat's watchful eye, at no point did Pupo ever call for his coup d'etat. Instead, everybody acted as though Trujillo was still in charge but hiding. His family, who had tried to kill him many times themselves, refused to believe the words of Espillat and his boss, intelligence head Johnny Abbes, assuming that this was a plot to see what they would do if he died. They could have easily been overruled by a stronger authority figure. The conspirators meanwhile were quick to tell their family members and the doctors they sought out for treatment what they had done, feeling a sense of pride. Wiretapped phone calls, as all in the Dominican Republic were, ensured that the man in the Oldsmobile who'd been shot had secret police in his room within 3 hours. He quickly gave up Pupo. By 7 p.m. the next day, they had another who had given up more names and the CIA connection. By June 2, 3 of the 7 were in custody or dead while the CIA station chief was on a flight to Puerto Rico. By the 5th, two more were taken and Dearborn was out too. Juan Tomas, de la Maza, and Guerrero all went down shooting. Others were tortured. The last two, one of whom was Imbert, would never be caught. Neither would Severo Cabral.

The men who ended up in charge were Joaquin Balaguer and Ramfis Trujillo. The former had been appointed puppet president by Trujillo in one of his periods of international pressure where he could not be seen taking a direct leadership role. The latter, the dictator's son, had come back from his playboy life on his French estate with Porfiro Rubirosa the day after the assassination. He ruled simply by virtue of most others in the state apparatus listening to him despite his lack of a formal role. He finally had his cousin-in-law Pupo arrested on the 5th and subjected him to such intense tortures that he tried to commit suicide by eating a lightbulb and hitting his head on the toilet repeatedly. His death came four months later when Ramfis, torturing him while holding a loaded gun for fun, accidentally shot him. By that point, Ramfis' mental state had taken a nosedive. Dominicans began to protest, acting out when the symbol of their oppression had been removed. Johnny Abbes, who was brutal enough to repress them, was forced out to a diplomatic post in Japan for fear that he might take control. Arturo Espillat, despite being a loyal supporter, was tortured for a few days and then released to flee the country. The rest of the Trujillo family had their own little fiefdoms and resented Ramfis' increasing control. Two uncles in particular, Petan and Hector, were considered even more brutal than Rafael had been. JFK nicknamed them the "wicked uncles". They used their connections in the Popular Dominican Movement, the fake communist opposition their brother had set up to convince the Americans that there was a serious threat of the country going red, to stage riots. The American regime duly responded with 40 ships off the coast.

America was threading a tight needle. It wanted recognition in Latin America that it was a force for good after the humiliation of the Bay of Pigs which committed it to at least a "facade of democracy", in the State Department's words. At the same time, its greatest fear was another Castro, and it was far more willing to support another Trujillo, referred to by both the Americans and the Dominican opposition as the "Nicaraguan option" after the Somoza family there, than a democratic election where a left wing government won. Preference would be given to whoever could suppress the riots and keep the communists down without violating human rights too blatantly. The opposition had two elements. One was the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) founded by CIA asset Juan Bosch. He had the moral support of Latin America's liberals, including the very strong government of Venezuela. The other was the nascent National Civic Union (UNC), essentially a shell for businessmen and notables opposed to Trujillo. It had some popular support because its leader was Severo Cabral, the middle man between the CIA and the conspiracy to kill Trujillo. Many other members had been close to the conspirators. In this way, the CIA defined Overton Window of the Dominican opposition.

Things were in chaos for the summer and fall. Ramfis forced out his wicked uncles only to see himself become the face of brutality, with Balaguer capitalizing. He increasingly tortured for fun and pleasure because running the country made him feel sick. By November, he'd had enough. He allowed his uncles back in for one final explosive moment. Using his connections, he staged the escape of the remaining conspirators, having a few cops killed so their bodies could be dumped by a police van supposedly carrying the prisoners. He then took the conspirators to an estate and let the extended family have a go at tormenting and shooting them. He ditched the country for Spain on his personal yacht with his father's body and hundreds of millions in savings. His uncles proclaimed themselves leaders, then woke up days later with American ships once again in harbour forcing them to step down. Balaguer thought he'd taken over, but by January 1962 he'd stepped down from his post, forced to share power with UNC and military figures, including Imbert and the 7th co-conspirator who were finally able to come out from hiding, in a council system in a desperate attempt to claim legitimacy.

The initial budget for the covert program against Cuba was $5 million, and it would ultimately grow to $50 million a year. It was named Operation Mongoose. It covered a host of actions against Cuba, mostly sabotage and bombings, but also assassinations. Bobby Kennedy was in charge since he felt personal animosity towards Castro. Unfortunately, we don't have a clear picture of it because a significant amount of the records were destroyed in 1967. Today, Cuba is still under control of the same government as under Eisenhower. Meanwhile, 6 rifles, 3 revolvers, and a few thousand dollars were enough to change the Dominican Republic and overthrow the longest ruling dictator in the history of Latin America until that point. However, it was an operation the president was far less willing to support, as Trujillo was respected in the social circles of the richest Americans and had dozens of Senators and Congressional Representatives on his side. Of course, the question of what the president was willing to support has always been a bit of a mystery, as plausible deniability has always been on the minds of those in a position to know the true history of America's system of espionage.

Dick Bissell: “If you had asked Eisenhower what he was thinking at that moment he probably would have said, ‘I sure as hell would rather get rid of Lumumba without killing him, but if that’s the only way, then it’s got to be that way’. Eisenhower was a tough man behind that smile.”

[heeheesang]

𝔂𝓪𝓷𝓰 𝓳𝓾𝓷𝓰𝔀𝓸𝓷—𝓻𝓾𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓻𝓸𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓼

𝔂𝓪𝓷𝓰 𝓳𝓾𝓷𝓰𝔀𝓸𝓷—𝓸𝓭𝓭 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓾𝓽

sypnosis : girl named kim yn, debuts under hybe with a ton of attention, making her stand out from the rest. she thought it was fine at first, until she was caught off guard and caught in a scandal with one of the groups in hybe labels.

warnings! cursing & innapropriate jokes (at certain chapters)

"yn! please come out! we're gonna help you, please!" i heard ni-ki screaming along with heavy footsteps running back and forth.

i let out silent sobs, too wrecked to even come out of where i had been hiding. i heard them yelling my name, heck i even heard the manager yelling for me. i took in a deep breath only to let out a loud sob, catching myself off guard and the people around me.

"yn unnie.." minju said as she hugged me tightly and rubbed my back as i cried on her shoulder.

"you found her, yn..." the girls soon gathered around and hugged me as they called out the rest who were also finding for me.

they led me to the dance studio before we all hugged and they comforted me, telling me that this was a phase that i should just ignore. but how could i ignore it when there were literally fans who were making fun of me, using my old pictures and drawing pictures on them.

"ynnie, look at me." haerin said as she cupped my face and let out a big smile, "yn, this is going to go away very soon. they're just jealous of all your achievements and what they could not do, you did. they don't see what we see in you, you have a ton of potential yn."

"i agree, you're all perfect one by one. yn, they're just attacking you even more because of your leadership. just like i had it, they hated me and kept saying mean things to me until they were tired because i didn't even pay attention to them." jungwon agreed to haerin's sentence and opened his arms.

i hugged him abd we wobbled from side to side as he calms me down, i was for sure going to get made fun of my ni-ki and eunchae later on for having this moment. jungwon gave really warm hugs, he really did.

after a while, i moved on from the situation, or i forced myself to, so we could have our party started before everyone left. there were tons of people, ni-ki, jungwon and sunoo from enhypen, eunchae and kazhua from le sserafim, haerin and hanni from newjeans and my own group.

we ordered food delivery that came in ten minutes and we ate it all up while getting to know one another. we played mafia in a circle and the circle went like this, me, jungwon, haerin, minju, ni-ki, haruka, isabella, eunchae, hanni, kazuha, sunoo, hanni, doyeon and back to me. doyeon was the invigilator of the game.

the mafias were unknown, i was the doctor, and the two policemen were unknown. we started off the game well until one by one, everyone around me started dieing.

"yn's mafia! i'm telling you!" ni-ki yelled out loud dramatically and i threw my plushie at him, "it's not me!"

"then what are you, ynnie?!" eunchae asked as they all laughed at how i was super defensive.

"i have a role but i'm not the mafia!"

"so what's your role then?!"

"if i say it i'm going to die..!"

"she's definitely the mafia!"

"no no, she's a civilian! i can vouch for her!" jungwon yelled amongst the crowd and they all 'oo'-ed.

"backing up for you girlfriend huh?" haerin teased as i got up my seat just to hit her shoulder.

"no no seriously! i checked her role!"

"what if they're both mafias?"

"we're not oh my god?!?!?"

"it's—"

"NISHIMURA RIKI SAY ONE WORD AND I'M UNFRIENDING YOU EVERYWHERE." i protected my role as well as jungwon's and ni-ki cried out laughing with the others.

but in the end, jungwon and i were voted out together. jungwon and i gasped at who the mafias were, unsurprisingly, it's ni-ki of course, with eunchae. wow.

prev | next

yjw masterlist

taglist : open!

@clairecottenheart

#enhypen #enhypen fluff #enhypen texts #enhypen smau #enhypen scenarios #enhypen x reader #yang jungwon texts #yang jungwon smau #yang jungwon fluff #yang jungwon #jungwon fluff #jungwon #jungwon smau #jungwon texts

[thestrangestthing89]

Will's Powers

This is purely speculation as we haven't gotten tons of evidence from the narrative about this. But I'm going to go ahead and assume that Will is going to have powers of some kind next season.

When I saw season 1 for the first time I assumed that Will survived the upside-down for a week because Brenner was taking him in and out of it (this could explain how he got food and water). I think he was being experimented on and Brenner wanted to use him for something. I'm guessing now that something has to do with Henry or the Mind Flayer. But I think Brenner was monitoring him in the upside-down and bringing him back into the lab periodically. This could be how El recognized him when she saw a picture of him in Mike's room. He could have been in the lab right before she escaped. I think it was Brenner or someone from the lab who took him, not Vecna. We haven't seen Vecna leave the upside-down since El sent him there and it's unclear if this is something he would do. Venca would have no reason to take this random kid so it makes more sense to me that Brenner did, since he did that with a lot of the other kids at the lab.

It's possible Brenner was either going to let him die in there because he fulfilled his purpose or he didn't do what he needed him to do. It could have also been because Joyce and Hopper were making a scene looking for him and his was trying to clean up his mess. He wanted them to believe that he he died, hence the fake body. This suggests that Will was important. Important enough that they put all that effort into creating a fake and realistic looking body to throw people off and get them to stop looking for him. They wanted to divert everyones attention all while keeping the real Will in the lab/upside-down. Only Joyce knew better and it didn't work. Everyone else was willing to believe it though - even Jonathan.

We know that Will was controlling the lights in a similar way that we saw the kids in the lab in season 4. So he can move the lights and when he is scared. Which fits with what Henry and Kali have said in the past - that emotions help to fuel their powers.

Based on the other kids in the lab, it seems like they can all move the lights. Kali is the only one we haven't seen doing this (at least not so far). She has different powers than the rest. She can make people hallucinate things. It was also said in season 2 that Kali was taken when she was a child, as were many of the lab kids. El was different because she was there since infancy. It also seems like Brenner maybe created her. He experimented on her mother when she was pregnant. This led to El being the favorite and also led to Kali and her being separated from the others when they were young. They were different.

So I think Will might be similar to Kali. He was taken when he was young and brought to lab to be experimented on. This would have to mean that he showed he had powers at some point and the wrong person noticed this (maybe Lonnie) and alerted the lab.

The powers that we've seen - moving the lights and moving the door out of the way might just be baseline powers. We know El can do more than this. She finds people and spies. When she's in the lab this season, Brenner tells her that she not only could get her powers back but they could be stronger or different. And we see that when she revives Max. She may be able to do other things now, too.

I think Will's powers have something to do with manipulating time. The upside-down being frozen from when he went missing could have been done by him when he was there. He was scared when he was there and could have knowingly or unknowingly gotten time to stop. We see Henry can also stop time during his flashback and is associated with clocks, so there is a precedent for this. I think time travel will come into play at some point since there are a lot of hints at this (Back To The Future is referenced many times).

I think it's also possible that he can see into the future. There are some behind the scenes shots of his drawings from earlier seasons and some of them seem to predict future storylines. This could be a cool way to tie in his artwork with the main plot. Not to mention they've done this in season 2 with him seeing the tunnels and Hopper.

We know that Will has a connection to the Mind Flayer from past seasons but this seems to be because he was infected in the upside-down (from the vine thing that was shoved down this throat). He is no longer possessed by the Mind Flayer but can still sense him so he might be able to control this a little better if he tries to. So far he's only really reacted to it.

It's unclear how much Will remembers about his time in the upside-down. I think when he gets back he says he doesn't remember but I'm not sure this is true anymore. I think he was just trying to forget it ever happened but the flashbacks he was having made that impossible. I think he does remember (at least most of it) but he hasn't discussed it with anyone.

He was basically being experimented on by Dr. Owens in season 2. So for a whole year he was taken voluntarily to the lab for Owens and the other lab people to monitor him closely. If he didn't remember his time with Brenner before, this could have reminded him. Brenner or Owens could have put the Soteria in his neck at any point during either of these times. It's possible they did this because they wanted to control him and not have him doing whatever he wanted with his powers. Especially if it involved something as complicated as manipulating time which could cause a number of problems.

But I think Will may know about what he can do (at least partly) and hasn't said anything because he doesn't want to deal with it or upset people. They also didn't really need him to use his powers in the past if they do involve time so it wouldn't have been necessary for him to mention it. He's used what is helpful - his connection to the Mind Flayer. It's also possible that the Soteria isn't working well anymore (or it just isn't containing all of his powers) and that's why he can feel the Mind Flayer. It could be the Soteria he's actually feeling in his neck and once that's removed he could be better connected to the MF and stronger in general. I don't think Henry has as much control over the upside-down as he suggests that he does. I think Will will be stronger and able to manipulate the place better.

Max needing help might be the moment when it has to come up. I think he's having a vision at the end of season 4 about what is going to happen (either from Vecna or his own powers. Vecna's powers seem to be related to everyone else's so there could be similarities, like the clouds going dark, to indicate a vision). Max was the 4th victim Henry needed in order to unleash the upside-down but El brought her back to life. She's in a coma so he didn't get his victim but if they don't save her he will. I think Will is going to be the one to save her and temporarily stop Henry from taking over. I also think he's more powerful than anyone else and that the agents who were at the Byers in Lenora were there to protect him specifically from the people who attacked them.

I can also see how his powers could be tied to his acceptance of his identity. He is starting to accept that he's gay and is at least somewhat comfortable with this internally. He was comfortable enough to do a project on Alan Turing. Jonathan accepting him makes this easier, too. He's powers manifesting as he's getting more confident about himself wouldn't be a coincidence. Him being happy and in a relationship could end up fueling his powers more than the anger that El, Kali, and Henry say is necessary. This could be a good tie in to Byler being the thing that saves everyone in the end.

#will byers #byler #mike x will #el hopper

[modgirlyreposts-revamped]

The concert has wrapped up and I’m omw home so here’s my highlights:

- Everything was vibrating so much. It was a learning curve. It made my poor little sister nauseous but at least she managed to get thru TX2’s set! She sat in the back and had a good view

- I got thrown around a bit in the mosh pit. I also was super close to the stage I swear Evan looked directly at me which is like. The most normal thing ever but it still made me so giddy

- I made some buddies kinda! Some boys were handing out necklaces and glow sticks and I got 2 noise makers. I hung out with them for a while and they enlisted me to go give them out and so I just stuck a noise maker in my mouth and would go up to ppl hold things out and blow the noise maker at them awkwardly. No one knew what to do with that interaction so they’d just take it and start laughing. It did entertain people quite a bit. Except I did wreak havoc with the noise makers. All through Teenage Joans’ set ppl would blow their noise makers instead of cheering

- I got a picture with those boys. They also had an autism creature plushie.

- TX2 was handing out the shirts ppl were buying and one kid with TX2 written on their face in eyeliner wearing a button up and tie like he used to in all his videos got their shirt from him and they were shaking and grinning so much stimming excitedly with these big shiny eyes and I felt so much joy on their behalf. I hope they can look back on this part of the night as one of the coolest things to happen to them

- Teenage Joans had a chill presence but the audience loved them. We were all so happy to be playing along and singing with them and stuff. TX2 riled everyone up a TON there was screaming jumping moshing everyone was yelling along it was INTENSE. NOAHFINNCE was super exciting and kept up the crowd’s energy but in a distinctly different way from TX2.

- The bands hyping each other up was so cute. Definitely was in part just etiquette, but it felt like they were like. So happy for each other and Noah especially kept talking about how awesome the other bands were. Probably in part bc they rlly hyped him up for being the headliner. Literally during their set Teenage Joans had everybody chanting his name.

- Someone shouted to Tahlia, the lead singer of Teenage Joans to adopt them. They said “legally I can’t do that, but in spirit I’m adopting you”

- Actual interaction between Tahlia and the audience: “how’s everyone feeling? Everyone feeling good? Everyone feeling safe? Anyone feeling unsafe?” “I’m feeling gay!” “You’re feeling gay? We love to see it! We love to hear it.”

- Noah: I recently got diagnosed with autism-

*The crowd erupts into cheering*

Noah, slightly taken aback as this obviously wasn’t the intended segue into his song about autism: “fuck yeah autism!”

- My sister and I got a picture with Evan and Cam and their drummer photobombing in the back. We also got shirts :]

- “You guys look like you wanna throw shit at me. Okay, I’m gonna get off the stage so you can throw shit at me because yesterday I got hit in the head. So I’m gonna count down from three and then on… zero… whatever comes after one…” -Noah

- Noah opened and closed with 2 of his most popular songs, GROWING UP ON THE INTERNET and Life’s a Bit

- I have awful taste I think bc I’m so attracted to Evan. When he came to handle shirt sales I just stood and watched him and took a photo of him bc I can’t ever be normal about boys I have a crush on

- My sister said that it was a little weird being right next to Evan bc she could “feel his back and it was weird.” His hair was literally dripping with sweat so I don’t blame her tho LMAO 😭

- Noah’s guitar got messed up during the beginning of one song and he had to start over

- Cam was wearing a vest that said “SERVICE DOG DO NOT PET”. At one point during an instrumental part of one of the songs Evan pointed to him and yelled “Give it up for my best friend! Make some noise!” which was adorable-

- NOAHFINNCE played two trans rage songs which is so real. They both absolutely slapped if you were curious.

- Noah, at the beginning of SCUMBAG (one such trans rage song): “This song is not about JK Rowling! Legally!”

- Compare to TX2, who I guess got legally cleared to name drop US senators in Randy McNally because he not only did that but also told us it was about them before playing the song. Which he did play btw and it was AWESOME.

- Everyone was dressed so cool this was obviously such an event for everyone and like. The joy everyone felt was palpable every set. Everyone was excited to hear from and get along with Teenage Joans, admiring them, TX2 channeled that into aggression and encouraged everyone to go fucking nuts, and you could just FEEL how much everyone loved NOAHFINNCE. I was almost overwhelmed by the happy energy in the air. I think I love live music more than I thought by a very large margin

- My mom posted our pics on Facebook with a joke about how she never expected to be in another standing-room-only mosh pit concert again. After she and my sister left she also periodically texted me to ensure I was still doing ok and every time I had just gotten done screaming my lungs out cheering.

- They were serving free cups of water (it was at a bar) and at one point I grabbed one and started drinking and then I was like “oh someone could’ve EASILY drugged this” so I started making my way toward a middle aged lady with a kid and like three teens wearing pride flag capes and studded belts and chokers cuz I figured in case someone HAD drugged it they would be the safest people to assume would care about my wellbeing and not allow me to be harmed.

- Unsurprisingly, no one had drugged the cup of water. But I did feel pretty safe around the middle aged lady and her kid and all the teens wearing pride flag capes and studded belts and chokers

- Everyone had a different way of ordering the audience. Tahlia would tell us “ok now I’m gonna sing this and you sing it back to me! Can you do that? Let’s go!” And Evan was more like “You bitches ready to FUCKIN MOSH?!” and Noah was kind of in between like “now you’re gonna jump! I want you to make the fucking floor shake!”

- I hurt my elbow somehow. That connective tissue do be disordered 😔 (<- hypermobile ehlers danlos syndrome)

- Apparently in August Teenage Joans are gonna be back in Minnesota where they were tonight with sleeping with sirens which is INSANE. Their merch guy (who has also been transporting them, and who they had us cheer for during their set) told me that they were “very excited” for it and I was like yeah no shit?? It’s sleeping with sirens?? Who WOULDN’T be excited that’s mfing HUGE (<- I did not say this. I said “yeah, I bet! I’d be excited too”)

- All around an amazing time!! I had a lot of fun and I’m very glad I got to go and now and am familiar with 2 new punk artists

BRO THIS ALL SOUNDS AWESOME, I’M SO FUCKIN’ JEALOUS I WISH I COULD’VE GONE TOO EVEN THOUGH I PROBS WOULD’VE ENDED UP DEAD OR PASSED OUT BY THE END OF THE NIGHT-

#i wish i could’ve been there especially for when they played randy mcnally- #asks #answered #valleyfthdolls

[canmom]

Animation Night 161: Barry JC Purves

Good evening everyone!! I have completed my pilgrimage to Animation City. The last Annecy posts should be dropping tomorrow, all being well.

But! Tonight can be something of a preview!

The very last thing I did at Annecy was to drop into a collection for stop motion animator Barry JC Purves, who received a lifetime achievement award this festival. He totally wasn't on my radar which is a huge oversight because he's been making gay old short films for longer than I've been alive! l became a fan immediately lmao

As it happened, Barry Purves was there at the screening and afterwards took the time to chat with a small group of us, to give advice on animation, talk about his work, and generally be very encouraging. Here I am next to him holding the puppet Toddie from his film No Ordinary Joe (apologies for the shit picture quality, I didn't realise how dirty my lens was)

And here's the puppet up close:

So who is this guy, what's his story? Well, the way he told it, he started out in acting, but felt there were a lot of talented actors around. Around that time he saw stop motion films, and started to think he could bring a lot more performance and emotion than people were doing at the time. This must have been around 1989, when he made his first film Next, a speedrun of the works of Shakespeare performed by a puppet of the Bard...

Theatre would be a recurring theme throughout just about all his personal works. Screen Play (1992) depicts a kabuki play...

while Rigoletto (1993) does opera.

I joined the screening just in time for the end of Rigoletto; the first one I got to see in full was Achilles (1995), which depicts the story of Achilles and Patroclus from the Iliad in the style of ancient Greek theatre.

I loved this one. The characters move in a fascinatingly theatrical way, holding extended poses, is a trademark of Purves, who disagrees with the doctrine of realism in animation and emphasises readability above all; the staging is excellent; there is a lot of gay sex. I have no idea how the puppets were made - they're startlingly flexible for all the muscle detail. Barry said when I mentioned about it that he hadn't set out to tell a 'gay story' as such, rather was mainly trying to be faithful to the original story. I admire a lot his confidence in getting this on TV when I was like 2, but he said people never gave him a lot of trouble for content, just funding...

Gilbert and Sullivan (1998) and Hamilton Mattress (2001) were not included in the session at Annecy. The first continues the biographical theme, the second is about showbiz. I hope I can track them down at some point!

Plume was the next one we saw, and this one was great, a wordless film in which a winged man falls to earth and finds himself confronted by weird little monster guys hungry for feathers. This one was really cool, but I can't find it online.

Tchaikovsky – an Elegy presents a puppet of Tchaikovsky moving on a small set to a voiceover of various quotes from his letters over the course of his life and a medley of his music. Apparently they only had the budget for two minutes of orchestral music, the rest solo piano, but this limitation becomes a strength as those two minutes are deployed very effectively. I'll admit, I don't know a ton about Tchaikovsky, but the chosen quotes were affecting and intriguing, and there is incredible attention to detail in the animation - when Tchaikovsky plays piano in the air, the finger movements are apparently noticeably accurate to the music if you're a piano player.

Speaking of pianos, someone asked about the puppet and apparently the puppet of Tchaikovsky now sits on his piano in the house where he composed... memory fails, one of his famous pieces, maybe Swan Lake.

The last film is about a historical figure who I knew nothing about, but completely intrigued. Joe Carstairs was... in modern terms somewhere in the zone between butch lesbian and trans guy, an aristocrat's child who became a record setting motorboat racer in the 20s and also ruled a small island for a while (bc ig you could just do a colonialism back then if you were rich enough lmao). He (I'm gonna go with 'he' pronouns) had a very specific eccentricity, going around everywhere with a doll called Lord Tod Wadley or Toddie, a gift from his girlfriend Ruth Baldwin. Apparently Carstairs regarded as his closest confidante and only person he could trust. So the film is presented as a dialogue between Carstairs (played by real human being Lindsay Duncan) and Toddy (stop motion animated and composited in), as they reminisce about their life together. It was a very cool way to learn about a fascinating historical figure - apparently the inspiration was the biography The Queen of Whale Cay by Kate Summerscale, which he encouraged me to read after the screening - I'll write about it if I do!

And he's not done. Apparently he's been looking for funding for a feature length animated film that would be a murder mystery styled after the bird masks of the commedia del'arte. It sounds sick as hell and I would really love for it to get made.

Barry was incredibly fun to talk to, really encouraging to all of us and gave fascinating answers to every question. I really hope I can meet him again at the next Annecy and chat for longer. It honestly makes me really happy to know there was such a talented independent animator in the UK making such personally expressive, mature, and also gay as hell animated films before I was around. Hope I can follow in his footsteps one day.

Apologies for the late start today - I was trying to fly to join family in Portugal but my flight got cancelled at the last minute and I'm only just back from the airport, gonna have to do it all again tomorrow ><

but in the meantime, let me share a little taste of Annecy!!! Animation Night 161 will be beginning in about 15 minutes, 23:45 UK time, at twitch.tv/canmom, and I'll start the films at midnight. Would love to see you there!!

#Youtube #animation night #barry jc purves #animation #film #stop motion

[justagalwhowrites]

OMG! Bestie! You ace it! When I saw the countdown and the comments about the previous chapter, I decided to wait and read the two chapters in a row. It's been a struggle not to read the first one. I'm so thankful now! You left us with the honey barely touching our lips!

Bambi's so strong! 😍 I know I've said it before, but it's true, and you can see it in every chapter. Surviving what she's gone through while keeping her humanity speaks of her resilience and strength. With just how she tells Joel her past, you can feel her pain and how much Joel feels for her. It's heartbreaking.

We have a Mark now! He must have been meaningful for her to keep the nickname he gave her. Eight years is a long time. Will we see more of him? Did you picture someone in particular while writing their first meeting? I just wanted to put the same face to the character.🤔 I love the glimpses of her past. Now we know how she started trading!

Bambi being able to explore herself intimately speaks of how much she's overcome, and how she throws caution to the wind and goes to Joel makes me feel so much. As soon as I saw the SCENE was coming, my smile grew so much it hurt. I was so giddy!🤭 The whole scene is perfect! The way Joel takes care of her and how he's so sweet, thoughtful, and able to keep her there with him, it's a perfect first time for them after their pasts. The tenderness and passion between them felt so meaningful. It was such a treat! I know these moments are not the bulk of the story, but please keep them coming! I find them so well-written!😍

Thanks for the updates!

PS: I haven't forgotten who or what Bambi left behind when the Raiders took her. I'm keeping an eye on you, lol!🤣

PSS: I think I'll have the mood board ready by Saturday. These last two chapters have given me tons of inspiration, lol. What do you think about black and dark red as a color theme?

PSSS: Don't mind the time you need to answer back! I have the feeling you'll have quite a few asks to answer after the chapter you posted, and I'm not helping with the length of mine, lol!

I wish you a lovely day! Lots of love!♥️♥️♥️

Ahhhh HI BESTIE!

I'm so glad you liked it and liked reading the chapters back to back!! You know me and my love for a cliffhanger lol

This might sound dumb since she's fictional and I made her but I'm so proud of Bambi. She's fought so hard to be where she is and she's finally starting to have a life and recover from everything that's happened. And she's able to trust Joel so fully and ugh. I just love her.

And yes, Mark! He's going to have a fairly integral part to play in the story, he unquestionably changed a LOT about Bambi's life and we'll probably see him again (I think, the flashbacks that I have planned are the things that are weird for me in storytelling. There have already been some left on the cutting room floor as it were - Bambi's first kiss, first bull riding competition, some cutesy shit with her brothers have all been cut because they fucked with the flow of the story and I felt like they didn't serve a big enough purpose to the development of her character to include in full.) The impact he has will be bigger than one or two more flashbacks, though. He is who got her started trading and she keeps the name in part because he gave it to her but more because, when he'd encounter people who he thought were trustworthy, he'd send them her way. "Go find Texas, she's around here. She'll get you a horse but you've gotta take care of her." And to me, Mark is a young Oscar Isaac 🫠

I, TOO, WOULD JUMP AT THE CHANCE TO FUCK THIS MAN GOOD ON YA BAMBI!

And don't worry, there will DEFINITELY be more smutty bits now that Joel and Bambi have gotten to this point. Both of them haven't gotten any in a WHILE and they're both very attracted to each other. Bambi still has a lot of hangups but she's going to be a lot more physically comfortable with Joel now that they've gotten here (and we're going to see more of how Bambi was in chapter 1, too, now that she's at that point which I'm really excited about!)

You will know what Bambi was protecting soon enough! You may not like it when you find out 🫣 I promise I won't leave you hanging! This part of the story has been planned since day one and I really can't wait until everyone is in the loop.

LOVE THIS COLOR SCHEME BESTIE!!! Love the whole thing honestly, can't wait for it!!!

I love your long asks, they always make me smile. Thank you thank you thank you for being here and taking the time to share your thoughts with me!

Love you!!!

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #kit answers #send asks #yearling

[runningfrom2am]

ANYWAYS AHHHH YOU DEFO HAVE TO FILL ME IN W ALL THE FUN STUFF YOU'RE DOING THIS WEEKEND

OKAY SO HERES THE SUMMARY:

friday: we went to the barbie movie and had a sleepover! we watched a bunch of taylor’s films on disney and netflix and just got super hype

saturday: we left ab 7:30 am, the border line was SOOO long bc so many swifties we’re going and also there was a baseball game, but while we were waiting we found other swifties and traded bracelets with them! it was so cute. then we got across by like 9, and went to target and got breakfast and then headed for seattle (enter me breaking my foot) so i couldn’t drive for a while and we had to stop (it set us back over an hour). we got dutch bros (which i’ve never had and was so good!) and then we checked in to our hotel, did our makeup and changed into our night1 outfits in the car and then went to the venue and traded bracelets with a ton of people and got merch (the line was 3 hours long) and stayed outside the stadium to hear taylor play

sunday: it was our concert day!! so we got up early early, ordered ihop while we got ready, then left at like 11 and went straight back to the venue in our fits we spent 6 months making! we took pictures and traded bracelets again and then went back to my car to get changed bc we were scared they weren’t gonna let us in, (blood soaked gown + american stadium = not the best plan in hindsight) so we changed and then went back and went inside! the concert was so so so good i cried several times

today!!: we got up, packed up all our stuff and then we went to the glossier store, then cheesecake factory for lunch (which i’ve also never had and it was delicious!) and then we started driving home again and stopped at target and ulta and american eagle (we wanted the tsitp collection but they didn’t have it :( ) and then we went home and now i’m here!!

that’s the rundown of everything we did lol and it was so amazing- best weekend of my life omg 🥹

#kez & raye’s night spam

[kaythegay2022]

Stick It to the Man Ch. 3

Good Pretender

(by AJR)

Part 1 Part 2

Read on AO3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus did not have an obsession. Janus was wrong, as he normally was. No, Remus was just… curious. Yeah, that was the right word. He was curious as to what Virgil and his new band were up to. Sure, he was constantly scrolling through their Instagram. And sure, he was doing that instead of participating in whatever conversation Remy and Janus were having. But that still didn’t mean he had a problem. 

“Remus, are you paying attention?” Remus grunted in response to Janus’s question, not moving from his spot on the couch. He was laying down, looking through posts he had already read countless times before. He was currently reading a post about where one of their performances would be and details on how to get there. Not that he would go, of course. 

“Remus, we do need your opinion on a new band member, babe. I have a friend who plays drums and Janus can switch to guitar. Is that cool?” 

“Yeah, whatever. It’s cool.” Remus moved on to the next post. It was a bunch of pictures from one of their latest shows, showing them hanging out backstage after the performance. These did not look like people Virgil would ever hang out with. How did they even meet? 

“Remus, please, we have to discuss what to do.” Remus groaned and finally looked over at Janus. The other looked concerned, which the bassist thought was stupid. He was fine, obviously. 

“Jan, I’m fine. I’m listening. If I have something to say, I’ll say it.” Before the taller man could respond, Remus grabbed his phone again. Janus started to say something, but the bassist sat up on the couch, staring at his phone even more intensely. The other band had posted a new post. Janus obviously knew what was happening. 

“Re, it’s going to make you ups-”

“Shut up Janus.” Remus hit play without a second thought. 

The video started, showing Virgil and Roman sitting on stools next to each other. Roman was holding a guitar while Virgil had a microphone in front of him. Remus’s grip on his phone tightened.

“Hey there guys! We wanted to show off a new song me and Virgil wrote together!” Remus didn’t remember Roman’s voice being that annoying, but then again he hasn’t seen his twin in years. “Virgil? Ready?” Virgil looked over at Roman with a smile and nodded. Remus tried not to think about how long it took him to get Virgil to smile at him like that. 

“I’m a good pretender,

Won’t you come see my show?”

Remus missed that voice… Virgil didn’t do soft songs very often. Or, at least, not with their band. Maybe he always wanted to and just never did… 

“I got lots of problems.

Well, good thing nobody knows.”

Remus didn’t notice as Remy and Janus moved behind him, watching over his shoulder. They don't matter right now anyways. 

“Oh, I'm insecure, I'm insecure

I think I like what I'm supposed to,

Like what I'm supposed to.

I don't even mess with drugs,

I do that 'cause you say it's dope to,

You say it's dope to.”

“Well that is bullshit. He was smoking weed before we even met him,” Janus commented. Remus even made a sound of agreement. Virgil had gotten him into smoking when they were teens, after all.

“I'm a good pretender.

I'm not really cool.

I'm a good pretender,

'Cause I'm just like you.

I do not belong here,

You all clearly do.

But I'm a good pretender,

So I'm just like-”

“Well, this new thing already has a ton of likes, babe. People are digging it.”

“I'm a good pretender,

All emotions in sync.

Don't you think I'm clever?

We laugh at all the same things.”

 “Was… was everything with us like this? Was it all fake?” Remus’s question went unanswered by the other two. No one wanted to think about it. But Remus could only think about it. Was every happy memory fake? Was every… was Virgil’s love fake? Janus took Remus’s phone from his hands, turning off the video. Remus couldn’t even notice it. His mind was swirling, a whirlpool of thoughts. Janus had been right. He shouldn’t have watched that video. 

 “Remus-”

“SO! Remy said he has a friend who can play drums?”

“Remus, we should talk about-”

 “And what about music? Who’s going to write songs now?”

 “Babes, Jan is right-”

 “Maybe I could write a song! I want to write a song. I have some ideas!” That made the other two stop trying to talk about Virgil, at least. 

 “Remus, the last time you wrote a song didn’t go well, remember?” Janus said, sitting down next to Remus now. Remus, in response, stood up. He had too much energy, there was no way he could stay sitting now!

 “That was when my thoughts were out of control Janny! I’m better now! Let me try? I want to try!” Remy and Janus shared a look. Remus could read that look like a children’s book. They were more worried than they were even letting on. Well, he would prove that he could do it and that he was fine. “Invite your friend over! We’ll give him a try! Maybe Janny can play some of his weird instruments now!”

 “They are not weird! A trumpet is a normal instrument to play!” There, now they were talking about something, anything, other than Remus’s feelings or Virgil. 

 “Eh, kind of gay,” Remus quipped, pacing in front of the couch. Remy snorted, throwing himself down next to Janus on the couch.

 “He’s got you there, Janny.”

 “You both- I swear-”

 “You love us snakey!” Janus sighed, finally letting himself smile. 

 “I do. But we have other stuff to discuss.” Remus stopped pacing and turned towards the couch, pushing a smile onto his face. He gestured for Janus to continue. “We need to talk about our old songs. That Virgil-”

 "Let's just  keep performing them!” Remus didn’t want to talk about Virgil again right now. They had just stopped talking about him. “The songs belong to the band, right? They’re ours.”

 “Yes, they are, but I worry that it might look unprofes-”

 “Janus, I love you but I don’t give a fuck. He left. Those songs are ours. Next topic.” Janus sighed, deciding to leave it for now. He understood that Remus did not want to talk about anything including Virgil for the moment. He didn't want to either, though not to the same extent as Remus.

 “We could all try to write songs? That could be a cool idea,” Remy suggested. Janus… didn’t hate that idea. That way they could all contribute. 

 “We also need to plan a show before the Battle of the Bands thing starts. We’ve had a few places reach out asking us to perform. I can handle them and find a good date,” Janus said, starting to feel the excitement again.

 “The Dark Sides are back in business!” Remus cheered. And maybe his smile was a little forced, but he felt a little bit better. For now, at least. Later, when he would be alone in his bed he would be sad again, missing the love of his life. But that was a future Remus problem. Present Remus had things to do and people to please. So what Virgil wasn’t here? They could do this without him. And maybe Remus wanted to prove they were just as good without him. He wouldn’t admit that, but he knew the others had to be thinking something similar. 

 They were ready to perform again, new and improved.

[187days]

Bonus Day

Really, this is an entry for two days because I have to start with graduation yesterday morning. It was the wildest weather we’ve ever had- sunny, rainy, hot, cold, breezy, flat, all in the span of about two hours. But I think it was rather fitting for this wild, unique class. 

And it was a terrific ceremony. The students who spoke (valedictorian, salutatorian, student body president) were all excellent. It was a special graduation for The Principal, as well, because it’s the class he came in with (his first year as principal was their freshman year) and it’s his daughter’s class. She provided the best moment of the ceremony by giving him a flying hug after getting her diploma. 

After the graduates processed out, Mrs. T, Mr. W (who joined us even though he’s no longer teaching because this was his last class), and I said goodbyes to our former students, gave lots of hugs, took pictures. And I, a West Pointers kid, told one of my APGOV graduates who is headed to the Naval Academy, “Go Navy, Beat Army” for the only time in my life, haha.

Mrs. T, Mr. W, and I all went out for lunch, split a bunch of apps at our favorite restaurant as is out tradition, and then Mr. W and I changed into casual clothes and returned to the high school to join Mr. M (Mr. N was supposed to come, too, but he got a stomach bug) and several parents as chaperons for Project Grad. 

Now, in past years, our Project Grad trips have been super-secret, multi-stop adventures. This one was still super-secret, but totally unique. We went waaaaay up in Maine to this camp with a bunch of clamping cabins. There was a huge tent set up where we all had dinner (pizza, fries, chicken fingers, salad, cake...), and there were fields to run around a play sports, but also laser tag, a few giant inflatables, a virtual rollercoaster, and a fire pit for roasting s’mores. A hilarious magic show was followed by fireworks, and a dance with a DJ.

We all went to bed sometime after midnight, then got up early to eat breakfast and go whitewater rafting on the Kennebec River (mostly category 2 and 3 rapids, one category 4). Now, I’d never been whitewater rafting before, and neither had a lot of the kids, so there was a ton of nervous excitement. And, wow, it was SO FUN. The weather was stunning, the scenery was gorgeous, and the rapids- while sometimes scary- were a blast to conquer. The last half hour was a pretty calm paddle, people could actually get out of the rafts and swim, good stuff. 

We returned to our base camp, had a delicious lunch, hung out a while and then came home! The graduates were all super happy, and gave a big cheer for the parents who’d planned the trip, the bus drivers who took us to Maine and back, and for a great adventure. 

And that’s it. The Class of 2023 is moving on!

#teaching #teacher #teachblr #edublr #educhums #education #graduation day #project grad #so much fun #so much joy #The Principal #Mr. M #Mr. N #mr. w #Mrs. T #bonus day

[youcantbesirius]

Subject 000 | E. M. x reader

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Synopsis: Dr. Brenner seemed to have 3rd child on the loose. Dustin found the lead on so called Subject Zero. What gave him hope is that Zero might just bring closure.

A/N: I got this cool idea from a dream. Might not be spot on with a timeline but it is interesting. It is also very shitty writing. Gif is not mine, credits to the owner!

Dustin nearly broke his already injured leg as he barged in the Hopper cabin. Out of breath and as Steve would put it out of his mind Dustin scrambled towards Eleven trying to form a sentence. What came out sounded more like diarrhea of words, so he planted the papers on the coffee table trying desperately to calm down.

"What is this?" El asked lookijg at Dustin.

"Yeah man, you look like you've seen Vecna on your way here" Steve looked at him concerned.

"These are Hawkins lab documents" Will mumbled as he peered over Eleven's shoulder.

"Gimmie that! You must be out of your damn mind If I let you do anything without my supervision" Steve snatched the papers looking at the girl in the picture.

"Well, ain't she a treat" he furrowed his eyebrows "I think... I've seen her before, she looks familiar"

"Do you remember her. El?" Dustin asked panicked.

"No, there was never 000. If there was, it would be way before Henry" she said knitting her eyebrows in confusion.

"These documents say that she is around 19 years old. She was admitted to Hawkins lab 1975, she would be around 11 years old, but to our surprise her residence wasn't Hawkins Lab. As for her abilities, she is known to being able to bring other subjects back to life after failed project. And after 1979 there is no documentation on Zero" he said.

"Why give her Zero?" Mike asked looking over at the documents.

"Her powers are not like ours" El spoke quietly "even if we search her, where do we begin?" She looked at Dustin who extended what looked like a photograph.

~

"Pssst!" Steve tried to keep complete quiet in the cabin full of people.

"I found her" El spoke.

Seemingly, she thought you wouldn't be able to sense her. So, you kept drumming.

"What is she doing?" Robin inquired.

"Playing drums" El spoke.

"I can sense you, you know" your sudden stop made El took a shaky step back.

"Don't worry. I am not one of those. What do I owe this visit Eleven? Didn't think, you would remember me, after all, my work resided in shadows" you set the sticks aside standing up. Drums vanished and you stood in front of a girl looking, taking her in.

Eleven was doing the same, taking in your appearance. How your h/c hair was styled like one of those rock icons. How your eyeliner was messy, not like Kali's, yours was more complimenting to your style. Black Sabbath shirt and denim vest. In the same color as your trousers.

"We need to talk" El said softly.

"But we are talking, aren't we?" You smiled.

"All of us" El looked up at you.

~

The bar seemed rather empty. Dustin and El led the way while Steve, Robin and Wheelers trailed behind.

You seemed to be in a conversation with your band mate, Dustin noticed. So they took a seat in front waiting for you to say goodbye.

Noticing the group you waved your goodbye hopping off the stage.

"Well, well... We won't talk here" you noted allowing the group to take a look around at the people that seemed to be in their corners, leading their own battles "follow me"

The trailer was enough for the gang. Everyone had a place to sit and you did your best to offer them cold drinks before you made your way to the two seated in front of you.

"I imagine you have ton of questions. But let me ask first, why and how did you even figure i exist" you took a sip of your Dr. Pepper catching a glimpse of Steve who seemed to give you calculating look.

"Harrington, if you keep squinting at me it will be bad for your eyesight" you said.

"WAIT I KNOW! You were with Eddie in a band! I've seen you couple of times with him and then you disappeared" Steve pointed at you.

"Indeed, me and Ed were best friends" you offered a small smile your glance falling on the pictures of you two.

Dustin seemed to follow your look to the picture frames his eyes going wide.

"Uh, to answer you. I got your documents um... I was with Eddie in the Upside Down-"

"What was Eddie doing in the Upside Down?" You cut him off, your face filling with worry.

"Vecna" El whispered playing with her can.

"Vecna got him!?" You shook.

"No, demobats got him..." Dustin sighed "as I was saying. I was gathering some of Eddie's belongings because I was helping out his uncle save at least something. And we started talking and he said that at one point there were you and he said how you two were best friends and you had the weird tattoo like 000 and it clicked to me. So I went to the lab and I went through the files and I found yours. Your description of your powers made me think..." Dustin trailed off.

"Let me give you better understanding first" you sighed "my powers are similar to a Grim Reaper. While I can kill, I can also bring back. Because I am the one who guides to the veil. I can only heal so much to keep you out from death. I can't patch you up like nothing happened. Like Eleven can remote travel. In my dimension, I can see dead and alive and talk to both" you sighed.

"You can cross the veil" Dustin said intrigued.

"Only because I am undead myself. I cannot die. And no I am not guiding every soul, only the ones in a close range. I was in the clean up crew when 001... when Henry did all that. I couldn't bring them back, they were far too gone for my powers. And now, I imagine you want me to contact Eddie" you turned to Dustin.

He nodded "If you could"

"Before we do that. Eleven-"

"El" she cut you off "it's El"

"El...it's Y/N. Now, when you revived your friend... your mind might not realize but, you linked me" you said softly "I once revived you. Though it is a locked memory deep down in your subconscious. When I revive, I leave traces of my power in the person I revived, so when you felt immense loss through those traces you found me like a beacon in the dark. And you pulled your friend from death" you sighed.

"Wow" Robin looked at Steve then at Nancy who also seemed to have loss for words.

"Let's start this" you smiled.

~~

You walked the dark path looking around. Nothing.

"Are you sure he is dead?" You asked still searching.

"Is something wrong?" Dustin asked.

"He is not on the other side..."

You roamed back to the veil and then as if your intuition was making you throw up, you realized. Eddie was sitting on the boat, waiting for you to bring him across.

"JESUS H. CHRIST" He almost hit you with an oar as you appeared by his side.

"SORRY! Dick move, but here I am" you smiled softly at the dumbstruck metalhead who dropped an oar.

What you did not expect was to be pulled in a bone crushing hug by him.

"Damn you, damn you Z" he choked out.

"I am here... but how did you end up here" you sat down looking at the black water surrounding you.

"Henderson left me there, I remember being bitten, I thought I was gone but..." he sighed.

"I am with Henderson" you said softly. Taking his hand in yours "you are undead too..." you sighed "I am so sorry I left you, I thought It would keep you safe, I wish I was there"

"I understand... wait, Dustin's with you?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah, we are trying to get you back..."

"Then I know just the way"

~

It took a lot. But with a lot of help and Eddie turning on Vecna, Eleven managed to get rid of the monsters once and for all. Hawkins was finally free. You brought Max closure with Billy and Nancy with Barb. Finally, you and Eddie were together. His name cleared more or less. The band was back together and you and Eddie were more than just what you were.

"God is there a time where you two don't suck each other's face off" Dustin made disgusted noises. Steve brought Eddie his vest and sat himself near you two.

"Party is not gonna get prepared by itself moveeeeee" Dustin screeched.

"The tone of this kid" Eddie mumbled

"Seriously!" Steve agreed ruffling Eddie's hair "Glad to have you back"

"Yeah, me too" the walked off to prepare the small party of just the closest friends and unsung heroes of Hawkins.

#eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson drabble #eddie munson x reader