#i think he should be stuck w travis for so so long

[werewo1f]

listen there are two Very Good things ab my until dawn au. one is the imagery of blood in the snow but more importantly: max being held captive for an entire year. the constantly building trauma, the acceptance of what’s happening, the losing track of time, the amount of transformations he goes through, how it probably takes A Lot Longer for him to work out what’s happening, the way he assumes he’ll never get out…..

[juno-box]

Hoi! anon again!! so i wanted to ask something abt Dotwd this time. i wanted to ask if you had any "what-ifs" abt twdg & Dotwd. like what if lee & clem went with lilly during episode 3?

Ooooh you don't know WHAT you just asked me o(〃＾▽＾〃)o

[None of this is canon to DoTWD, by the by]

So on a Discord call with my friend, I remember he asked me this SPECIFICALLY. Because we were watching a TWDG "What If" vids on YouTube and one vid was what if Lee went with Lilly. So he asked me, in the context of DoTWD, how would that play out if it were to happen.

Well, not-really-spoilers-anymore but Ben is written to be Rachel's brother. And personally, I can't see Ray leaving Ben permanently in any scenario, that's just not her. Not to mention Lilly doesn't trust Ben at fucking all. So how would that work out?

Lee would have to lie to her. But the minute she realizes, and Clem does, she'd be piiiised. I don't think she'd talk to him for a minute. Hard snub him. Personally, I believe Ray would abuse any opportunity to get back to him.

But the one I wrote for is Lee leaving her with Kenny, Ben, Travis and Chuck. Since Lee isn’t there, neither is Clem. She’d be crushed along with Kenny who’d rightfully feel betrayed. The train would take longer w/o him, meaning they’d put Duck down before leaving, and Katjaa would die just the same as in canon. This also means they missed Christa and Omid.

I think Ben would confide in Travis about what happened, and Travis would be the one to tell him to keep that shit quiet.

They get to Savannah. Molly tolls the bells and they get to the manor. Since there’s only 4 of them, they’d all go together down to River Street and see no boats. They find Molly (after Kenny gets his ass folded) and she helps them get back to the manor with Ray’s convincing. Meaning no Vernon.

So, they’re herd and stuck moping the boat situation. Ray wanders outside to be alone. I should to mention that Ray would be really quiet and reserved since Lee took Clem and left with Lilly. I mean, seeing your father figure literally abandon you and take your surrogate sister with him for someone who tried to kill your brother and killed another member of the group is a lot for a now 9-year-old to fully process. I think like she would feel confused and hurt more than anything. As to how she’d find the boat; she’d probably just open it for no reason, she’s naturally curious. When she finds it, she runs inside and gets the guys (Molly sticks around still).

Kenny inspects it and says all it needs is gas and a battery. Travis suggests Crawford, they go to Crawford. Minus Brie and Vernon, Molly would handle the role of where everything is but it’ll take long due to less people. Ben doesn’t do that dumb thing Telltale made him do for comedic effect but let’s say the walkers banging on the door causes the axe to slip from the handles and it’s go time. Ben, thinking it’s the end of the line, confesses, and Travis has to stop Kenny’s (big) ass from mauling Ben. Kenny says he’s not getting on that boat with them, but Ra says she’s not leaving anywhere without Ben, and Travis is more on the lines of “I know he fucked up royally but we can discuss this when we aren’t about to die”.

They get through to the armory and Kenny gets that shotgun and covers them from behind. The get to the window leading out. Molly, Chuck, Kenny go first.

***

That bell goes off next to Ben and he gets snatched by Oberson like in canon. Travis would be the one to grab him, but he’s struggling. Ben tells him to let go, but Travis won’t hear it. Ray calls for Kenny to help them. Kenny comes back, but the look he gives Ben, it’s full of contempt, malice and disregard as he looks away and descends the ladder.

Travis isn’t strong enough to hold onto him alone. And Ben eventually slips from his grasp, and lands on the bottom of the bell tower. Crack.

Travis just stares until he hears Chuck hurry them from the ladder. Having to drown out Rachel’s gut turning screaming, he grabs her and escapes the tower.

The way home was awful. The time there was worse. Travis could get the girl to calm down even for a second. Throwing every object she could pick up at the fisherman, screaming any insult she could conjure at him until Molly told Travis all the noise was going to draw attention. Travis had to drag the poor child upstairs and lock her in the office until she just stopped. She did, after and hour. When she ran out of projectiles to throw at him, and energy to throw them. After a while, she just wanted to hide, and wanted Travis to go away.

Travis obliges, and he leaves her. He sits at the top of the stairs and just… thinks. He can still feel Ben’s grip around his hand.

He keeps replaying it, over and over. The sound of him screaming as he plummeted to his death, the sickening crack as his body collided with the wood, Rachel’s mortified screeching, and Kenny. Watching. Ignoring. Complicit.

Travis sees Kenny come near the stairs.

T: “Don’t. Don’t you fucking come near us.”

The older man doesn’t argue, and returns to the bottom of the stairs.

Eventually, it was time to leave. The boat was repaired. The choice of who was coming was to be made there and now. Kenny didn’t want to in Savannah any longer.

Molly opted to go on her own. She was always better on her own anyways.

Chuck was still displeased with what happened at the bell tower, but seeing as he had no other plans. He chose to go.

Travis, on the other hand, didn’t know what the fuck to do. It hasn’t been three hours and he’s being forced to chose between staying behind in a dead city or going with the asshole who was complicit in his best friend’s death. At that point, he retreated back into the office with Ray, who’d bawled herself into a restless sleep. He had to think of them; himself and Ray. She’d have another meltdown if he chose to tag along with Kenny in that stupid, fucking boat. Hell, he’d have to make sure she didn’t murder the man or toss him overboard in his sleep. On the other hand, staying in Savannah with no chance to make it out alone was a death sentence.

Travis shook the girl awake. Tiredly, she looked at him, silent.

T: “… he fixed the boat.” R: “…” T: “He said—” R: “I don’t care.” T: “…” R: “…” T: “We can just get on. Ride until we dock somewhere, and go our own way. How’s that sound?” R: “…on our own?” T: “On out own. Anywhere you want.” R: “Anywhere?” T: “Mhm.” R: “… we can’t stay?”

Travis shook his head.

T: “This city’s tapped dry. And it’s full of walkers. I’m not gonna promise anywhere else is safer, but Savannah’s dead. I’m sorry.” R: “… Then mama’s dead, too, isn’t she?” T: “…” Rachel sat up, slumped. R: “…I don’t really care… I’ll wherever you go… just don’t leave me too, okay?”

Travis realized, he hadn't even fully processed that they'd both been abandoned at the same time. Just, discarded. Not even an after thought.

T: “Promise.”

[handsomeamoeba]

Alright, two of these polls timed out, it's go time. Stories and the correct answer under the cut

potentially psychically attacked my best friend during a fire drill TRUE

Okay bear with me here.

It was freshman year of college and I was living in the dorms. As those who have lived in a dorm are probably familiar with, the fire alarm went off at like 3 AM (I think someone burned a bag of popcorn or something). I was very disoriented so I just kind of stumbled out in my bathrobe with no shoes.

The problem with this was that it was January, and about 5 degrees outside.

I looked around for my bestie so I could complain about my self-inflicted state, but i couldn't locate her. That's about when I realized that she was probably at her then-boyfriend's house snug and warm in bed.

We were outside for about an hour, waiting for the fire department to sweep the whole building, before they thought "hey maybe we should send these guys to the other dorm building to warm up." I staggered down the freezing pavement wearing my other friend's gloves on my feet. When we got to the other dorm I grabbed my bestie's roommate and said, "I know where she is, and when I see her, I'm gonna kill her."

AT THIS VERY MOMENT, my bestie snaps wide awake from a deep sleep for reasons unknown to her. She figures as long as she's awake she might as well go use the bathroom. When she returns from the restroom, she is shaking uncontrollably. After climbing into bed, her trembling wakes her boyfriend, who rolls over and touches her and asks her "what the fuck, did you go outside?" because she is so cold to the touch.

The next day we exchanged notes and put two and two together.

---

came out as trans because of the McElroys TRUE

Look I just realized I liked referring to myself as "boy" at a certain point. And then an episode of Travis & Theresa McElroy's "Shmanners" where they talked about gender-neutral honorifics sealed the deal.

---

teacher challenged us to climb up a greased up poll for money TRUE

Okay. Okay. So when we used to do Field Days in school (for those who aren't familiar, a Field Day is a day when your school or other organization just goes out and does outdoor recreational activities for a day) there was a game we'd play where our teacher would slick the tetherball poll in vaseline and challenge us kids to try to climb it to get a $10 bill stuck to the top. It never worked but boy we'd try.

I brought this up to several people recently and apparently nobody else ever fucking did this?

I went to an unlicensed Montessori school if that makes a difference.

---

sold a classmate into slavery TRUE

Uh. So this one. Is even weirder than it sounds. And it involves a game of Monopoly.

When I was in high school I took an elective course in sociology for a semester, taught by a teacher we'll call Mr. N. He was a strange and charismatic man. Once he challenged us to spend 24 hours in isolation and write a paper about it. But by far the most memorable thing he ever did was have us play Monopoly.

The game lasted... I wanna say about a week, week and a half of in-class time. At the start of the game he laid a few ground rules:

At any time, the teams can merge following a vote.

At any time, the teams can split following a vote.

For a nominal monopoly money fee, Mr. N would pass private correspondence between teams for us.

For a starting bonus, we could pick a "company" name and bring in our own playing piece.

The winning team would receive a pizza party. The rest would not receive anything.

Our team was named Fantastic Cactus, and we had a small live cactus as our playing piece.

It did not take long for the game to go completely off the rails. We would conspire and plan outside of class time. Our opponents became enemies. Mr. N egged us on, starting to offer deals. He would offer to buy possessions off us-- little things at first, like pencils and erasers-- for more Monopoly money for our team. He would then auction them off to our classmates for real money (which went towards the scholarship fund he ran).

At one point one of our teammates suggested we were becoming too ruthless. We voted her out of the team, forcing her to become an independent company that we then immediately drove into bankruptcy.

I sold the shoes off my feet to Mr. N.

Eventually one smaller team approached us for a merger, and we voted to agree to buy them out and have them join our team.

Which is when we decided to sell one of them into slavery to Mr. N.

We almost didn't do it! Not because we had ethical qualms about it though, but because one of the stipulations was that he had to be on time to class every day, and we didn't trust him to do it.

Another classmate became so stressed about the game that it exacerbated her ulcers, and she was excused from the game and allowed pizza on the condition that she act as Mr. N's assistant.

Anyway, Fantastic Cactus won.

And as we're enjoying our pizza party and gloating at the end of the game, Mr. N stands up in front of the class and says this:

"You know, at the beginning of this game, I told you at any time, teams could merge. If at the beginning of the game you had told me, 'Mr. N, we all want to merge so we can all have pizza,' you could have done that. But you didn't, because that would be communism, and you have been trained by a capitalist society to compete."

Anyway, I'm a borderline communist now.

---

incited a flag burning as a child TRUE

So, my elementary school (you know, the one with the greased poll) used to do these parties before every Thanksgiving break where we'd make a Thanksgiving lunch from scratch in the way people from a chosen historical period would have done it. I'm talking down to churning butter and everything. There's a whole separate story about just that process, but that's not what we're here to talk about.

One year the theme was American Revolution. After lunch, as a fun little activity, our teacher (the one who greased up the poll) had us stage a mock Boston Tea Party. A few of us were sent out in a tiny boat onto the pond behind the school to throw boxes of shredded leaves into the water while all 20-something of us chanted "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION."

This managed to whip this group of 6-12 year olds into an insane patriotic frenzy. It got to the point where, in the revolutionary spirit of the afternoon, I quickly drew a union jack and brought it out and we, completely unsupervised, threw the flag onto the campfire and cheered and screamed. (It was the 90s, nobody cared about kids being unsupervised around fire I guess).

One of our teachers, who was an English emigrant, had to go home early.

Another had to sit us down and give us a talking-to about flag burnings.

It was not, incidentally, the teacher who had got us all stirred up in the first place.

---

spent a period of my life deeply threatened by the number 5 FALSE

It was the number 7, actually. I don't know what to tell you, I have psychotic depression and was convinced I was seeing omens.

Do you know how fucking often a number shows up when you're scared of it? It's a lot.

---

was interrogated for writing a satirical article about my high school TRUE

For shits and giggles as a teen, during a study period, I wrote a list "100 Ways You Know You Go to [School]". I'm not entirely proud of some of the items that were on that list, there was some kind of ableist shit in there but I was like 16 and an asshole, I had a lot of learning ahead of me in life. But other list items included such incendiary claims as accusing two of our teachers of having an affair, another that one of our chemistry teachers smoked crack in the closet between classes, yet another that a teacher had so many botox treatments she no longer experienced emotions, and that dogs were openly mating in the parking lot. A lot of these things were common memes and inside jokes among the students.

I shared the list with a few friends and classmates who unbeknownst to me made photocopies. And then they made photocopies. And suddenly the list was everywhere.

Eventually I am pulled out of Photography and brought to a private room by the dean of students and asked if I know anything about The List. Apparently I am a suspect because the list is "well written," and I am told that nobody is going to be "in trouble," they just "want to know."

On the one hand I am flattered because it was just a listicle and I didn't think it was that good. On the other, I am fucking offended because how stupid do they think I am? "Nobody's going to get in trouble?" Then why are you pulling me out of class to interrogate me alone?

So I put on my best Innocent Model Student face and tell her, "I have no idea, Mrs. K! You know I'm always out of the loop on these things. I mean, I've seen it. But I couldn't say who wrote it." We'd had a good relationship up until that point, so she believed me and sent me on my merry.

I never trusted her again. Then again, I should've stopped trusting her when I took her health class and she told us the Orange Juice LSD Urban Legend like it was something that had happened to one of her students personally.

---

hurt Rob Thomas' feelings by not believing in him enough TRUE

So in high school when other kids were listening to... what the fuck did kids listen to in 2004? Usher? Anyway, I was having a Matchbox Twenty phase.

I was active on their official forums. On the forums, you needed to register an account to post and nobody could register one of the band members' names for their account so no one could impersonate them. They would make an occasional post. Actually, former rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor would post rather frequently and we called him "Uncle Adam" which in retrospect is fucking weird. But also besides the point.

There was also an official live chatroom, but you didn't need an account to use the live chat, you could just choose a name and start chatting. I didn't use it often, I preferred the forums, but sometimes the chat was chaotic and fun. At any rate, one day a guy shows up claiming to be Rob Thomas and says he'll do a Q&A. Obviously we do not believe him. We know how the Internet works. He tries to get us to do a Q&A with him for about a half hour until we bully this troll out of the room.

Which is when actual fucking Rob Thomas himself posts on the forum with his official account to say how hurt and offended he was that nobody would listen to him in the live chatroom. And then we had to explain to this fucking Gen Xer that people tell lies online.

---

dad pulled my baby teeth w/ a paper towel hand puppet named after a Nazi scientist TRUE

Okay this is admittedly in somewhat poor taste.

I had issues getting my loose teeth out as a child, so I often recruited the assistance of my dad to dislodge them for the purposes of extorting the tooth fairy for cash.

This help came in the form of a paper towel hand puppet who was a cackling mad scientist threatening to experiment on my teeth. The goal was to get me to laugh and distract me from how scared I was that losing my teeth was gonna hurt.

Except the hand puppet's name was. Dr. Mengele.

Imagine my fucking surprise when we were watching the History Channel one day and I learned who Dr. Mengele was.

The bit persisted though until all my baby teeth were gone.

Some years later, my mother, who has never known the appropriate moment to tell a story to save her life, told the story of the Dr. Mengele puppet to my orthodontist.

Dr. Schwartz.

And do you know what, he didn't find it funny?

---

buried a toad alive because it was ugly TRUE

Oh god okay christ.

I was 8. I think.

In my childhood I held a lot of funerals for wild animals. It was the way of kids who grew up in the woods. There was a little graveyard beside the school where we buried a variety of frogs and snakes and squirrels and bugs and even a mole at one point.

Well one day me and my bestie found a toad in the pond, and this bad boy was so super warty. He had lumps and bumps everywhere. Just a lumpy, bumpy guy.

We were convinced he had cancer. And was actively dying.

Well, what was there to be done?

Obviously we had to bury the poor thing.

So we committed him to the animal graveyard, going so far as to bury him under stones and everything.

I'd like to imagine he dug his way out eventually. But probably not.

I'm gonna do 3 of these polls because I thought of a LOT of things, check my blog for the others. Each poll contains one item that is ALMOST but NOT QUITE true. Which one is it?

I can elaborate when the polls are done if people are interested.

[write-the-love-story]

11 Minutes

Title: 11 Minutes Pairing: Jung Hoseok x Reader Word Count: 2,003 Genre: pure angst (bc that’s the only thing i could write these days *sigh*) Warning: angst, death (unspoken)

A/N: This song has been stuck in my head for a while the only way to get rid of it is to write something out of it. haven’t been writing in years pls be nice :)))) it’s a bit messy but hope y’all like it. i’ve been thinking about writing again.

►► 11 Minutes - YUNGBLUD, Halsey ft Travis Barker

"Reservation for Jung Hoseok." He said to the waiter on the front with a charming smile. The waiter returned his smile as she leads him into the table. He followed in tow if there's anyone paying attention, they'll notice there are sparkles in his eyes and a little hop in his walk.

7:05

His bright smile turned into a frown when he noticed you're 5 minutes late. Weird. You're never late. He was about to text you when his phone vibrated against his hand. Your name showed on the notification bubble.

7:05 from y/n: Hobi!!! I'm sorry, I'll be late. I'm 11 minutes away. Please wait for me.

His heart jumped out at the sight of you calling him Hobi. He huffed out the breath he didn't know he was holding. You're coming. For a second, he thought you stood him up.

---

"Iced americano for Hoseok," The barista yelled out, putting the coffee on the counter for the customer to pick up.

Your body seemed to forget how to move the second that name was called, finger gripping the sachet of sugar you just poured into your hot coffee tightly. It couldn't be him, could it? You thought. What are the odds of meeting your ex years after you moved away, but still you turned around in curiosity to take a peek at the man with the same name as someone you once loved dearly. The time seemed to stop when your eyes met for a split second. It's really him and he's coming towards you.

"Y/N?" The man in the white hoodie called out your name, breaking your trance, you blinked. What are the odds? Seriously?

Your mouth gape open like a fish. How long has it been? He still looked the same, barely aging a day since that day. "Hoseok? Didn't know you're back."

He smiled, taking a sip of his iced americano. "I just got back, I'm opening my studio," He said, almost as if he specifically informed you that he's back and staying for you.

You nodded, processing the information, "That's good, I know you'd made it. Congrats on the studio."

"I was wondering-," His sentence was cut off by the ping of your phone. You glanced at your phone for a second before looking back at him, urging him to continue.

"I was wondering if you want to catch up?" thump, thump, thump. If only you could hear how loud and fast his heart is beating right now.

The split second of silence was unbearable for him as he waited for your answer, afraid that you won't want anything to do with him, but then you grinned at him, looking at him like he never left. "I would love to, but I gotta run or I'll be late for work," You told him, furrowing your brows, you dug into your bag to hand him your business card. "Here, I have to go, but text me! We'll talk!"

You said your goodbye, he waved at you, watching as your figure disappear into the street grasping the soft matte material of the card in his hand. Your name on the thick, big font, below it is your position, head of pr. He smiled. You made it too. A sense of pride blooming on his chest. All of those hard work finally paid off.

---

"No," You said, ignoring the pout the man beside you sent. You're pretty sure by 3 pm that day you have said the word no million times.

"Y/N, yes. Come on. You have to come! You gotta expand your circle, you're a communication student and yet you only know me!" The man you called your best friend argued his point on why you should come to the party his friend is throwing that night. You sent a glare at him, "Aren't you the one who latch yourself into me the second we met?" He waved you off, rolling his eyes at you ignoring your comment, and continue lecturing you about the importance of connection as a communication student and that's how Park Jimin managed to guilt-trip you into coming to one of his friend's party.

Jung Hoseok isn't a believer of love at first sight, but that night the second his eyes fall into you, he thought he might just believe in love at first sight. The pink-haired man dragging you by his side into his group of friends noticed the way Hoseok's eyes linger a second way too long. His friends seemed to notice too as they snickered behind the red cup.

"This is Y/N, my best friend," Jimin introduced you to his group of friends with a grin. The blue-haired man who then introduced himself later as Kim Taehyung glared at Jimin. "I thought I'm your best friend!" He interjects, causing the group to laugh.

"This is Hoseok, he's a dance major," Jimin said, introducing you to the last man in the group. He sent you a wave. You really thought you'll be blinded by his smile. You returned his smile, waving at him. "Hoseok," You repeated, nodding your head, remembering his name.

His cheeks blushed red at the sound of you saying his name. He decided he liked the way you said his name. For some reason, it made him feel wanted.

For the first time, Jung Hoseok stayed sober at a party, keeping you company for the rest of the night as Jimin broke his promise and disappeared on you the minute you looked away. He learned a lot about you that night; you have a sister, you owned a dog, you're a communication major, you have a knack for photography, you wanted to travel the world, you don't mind pineapple on pizza, you liked your milk tea without boba. That night, he wanted to learn more about you. He comes home with a big smile on his face, feeling giddy at the thought of seeing you again in the morning for a boba.

You didn't expand your circle at all, maybe you did if you consider Jimin's friends, but thanks to Park Jimin, you got yourself a date.

---

Two weeks ago, you didn't think it'll come to this.

"They wanted me in New York," He said, interrupting the silence as you both ate dinner that night. Your eating utensils clattered into the plate. You looked up to him. Eyes wide and mouth open, he looked happy, the happiest if you think about it. Stars swirling in his eyes as he told you all about the opportunity he's been eyeing since he graduates from university last year. Your mouth feels dry, you could feel your throat closing up, you gulped your water as you stare at him.

"Baby, slow down." You finally spoke, grasping his hand as he stopped to finally take a breath. He grinned at you, his legs bounce in excitement. "I want you to come with me. You and I are going to New York, can you believe that? Oh, there's so much-"

The world starts to spin, you barely hear the word he said after I want you to come with me. You feel your heart drop because you can't. You can't come with him even when you want to. Not when you just started your whole career.

"Baby?" He called, waving his hand in front of you. Eyes filled with concern, "Are you okay?" His smile replaced with a deep frown as his eyes carefully watched you.

"Hobi," You whispered out his name, your heart breaks at the sight of him. You feel your eyes watered as you blinked them away. "I would love to go with you, but you know I can't."

His frown deepened, "W-why?"

"I just got a raise. I can't leave with you."

Hoseok ran his fingers thru his hair, nodding his head, he continues picking his food as nothing happened. "Okay, okay. It's okay. We don't have to go to New York."

You almost gasped at him. There's no way he's not going to New York. You know how much he wanted this since he started. You shook your head at him, "No, I'm not going. You are going."

He clenched his jaw. It was his turn to shake his head. "No. I'm not going without you."

A sob breaks out from your body. "Please listen to yourself. I won't let you do that. You're going and that's final."

If there's one thing he knows from this relationship is that you're a stubborn person and there's no point arguing with you because somewhere deep down, he knows you're right. He knows he'll regret not going, but at the same time, he can't let you go. You've always been apart of his future since that night he met you.

"What about us?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper. He's defeated, his figure slumped as he wiped the tears away with the sleeve of his sweater. Your body still shook from the cry, sniffling you looked up to him, "Let's push the pause button on us."

That night you cried on each other shoulders, laughed at the memories, kissing the night away, grieving the relationship that you know could have a happy ending, grieving the one that got away, leaving promise that one day you'll meet again when the time's right.

---

Never in his six years away abroad, he didn't think about you. Often he wonders if you would answer his call, but he never tries, glaring at the bright screen showing your contact info before he turned his phone off.

Your friend often updates you about him at the beginning, until they just stopped altogether telling you about him. Maybe it's the way you looked after his name was thrown into the conversation, maybe it was a pity, but who knows? In return, you stopped asking about him.

You've been ecstatic since that morning in a coffee shop; you've thought about meeting him again, you've thought about catching up, you've thought about finding him again once everything settles down, but never in million years, you'll find him so soon. Still, your heart burst at the prospect. You never forget him nor stopped loving him.

"Shit, shit, shit." You muttered as you glanced at the clock on the wall. You're late. The second your client walked out the door, you rushed, picking up your coat and your bag. Your assistant looked at you as if you grow two heads. You don't usually look this nervous. She tilted her head in confusion, thinking if there's an appointment she forgot because if she recalls, that was the last client of the day. She opened her mouth about to ask you if there's anything wrong, but you waved her off with a grin, "I have a date!"

7:05 to Hobi: Hobi!!! I'm sorry, I'll be late. I'm 11 minutes away. Please wait for me.

You sent a text to him and jumped into an Uber. You could feel butterflies in your stomach. Your thumping, you could almost feel it about to leap out of your throat. Feeling excited and yet nervous at the same time to meet him again.

---

Hoseok glanced at his watch, time has passed since you texted him. Five minutes turned into 20 minutes.

7:25

The waiter came approaching him. She eyed the bouquet on the table, she sent him a smile. "Are you ready to order, sir?"

Hoseok forced a smile, shaking his head. "Not yet."

His heart broke all over again. Why aren't you here?

The loud sounds of blaring ambulances interrupted his thought, causing patrons and waiters around to look out of the big window of the restaurant, whispering, wondering what's going on.

Just in time, his phone vibrated. He nervously picked up.

"Yes, this is Jung Hoseok."

His heart dropped, finally breaking into a thousand pieces. He leaped up from his seat. Bouquet abandoned at the table as he runs and runs. Hoping he made it in time.

[queen-fenestra]

okay so, i wrote some solangelo fanfiction and here it is. also, @wundersimp you said you would be interested and also tagging @simping-for-solangelo and @bookingfangirl

“It isn’t the 1900’s anymore, Nico. Nobody except stuck-up, homophobic drew is gonna hate on you. Just please, come outside. Please. Just come to the dining pavilion with me. You have to eat,” Will said, pacing the Hades cabin. Drew Tanaka had seen Nico and Will holding hands. It had been the first time, after Will had spent weeks trying to convince Nico that hardly anyone at camp would at him. As Will had just said, it wasn’t the 1900’s anymore. Drew had been put on kitchen duty for the next month, and had to do all her activities supervised by the Stoll brothers. They could hand out as many even remotely fair punishments, as long as Katie approved. Katie was the only one who could make Travis do something, and, more impressively, make him not do something. Though Drew was getting a very fair punishment, her words didn’t stop hurting Nico. now he wouldn’t leave his cabin, or talk to anyone. Will had iris messaged Jason, Reyna, and Hazel, and they came immediately, but Nico wouldn’t let them into his cabin. Will came to Nico’s door today and knocked. He had heard no sound and went in, seeing Nico pointedly ignoring him.

“Yeah, alright. Sure,” said Nico dryly, “I have sooo much proof of that, considering what happened.” Nico sounded like he was heavily rolling his eyes. His voice was filled with so much sarcasm that it hurt Will to hear it.

“Nico, Drew is an asshole, but others aren’t like her. Just come outside. Doctors orders?” Will finished, sounding uncertain as to whether saying doctors orders would help.

“Why should I come outside. I have KD stocked up, and I don’t want to. And nobody wants to see me.” 

“Nico, KD isn’t good for you. And you need water.” Will pleaded. Nico pointed to the tap.

“One good reason, Will.” Nico said. 

“Because I love you Nico. That's why.” Will said. He was done with Nico’s shit. He was playing the ace up his sleeve. He looked at Nico. Nico started shaking, and Will rushed over to him. Will carried Nico to the couch.

“Did you not believe that I loved you? That I cared? I came to your cabin every goddamn day, hoping to see you. Your pretty face, your chocolaty brown eyes. I wanted to hear your voice, even if it was just you telling me to scram. I missed you.”

“Nobody likes me, I’m the loner. Everyone thinks I’m creepy. Son of Hades, raiser of the dead, now the weird gay kid. They all wish I would leave. I don’t know why I haven’t yet. No one can like me. It’s not natural,” Nico said, struggling to escape Will’s iron grasp.

“Nico, please,” Will begged, reaching out to brush a tear out of Nico’s eye, “Please. Not everyone will always like you. If you’re holding out for universal popularity, you’re going to be in here a long time.” Nico looked down into Will’s begging face.

“That sounds like it’s from something you made me read or watch,” said Nico, glaring accusingly into Will’s eyes. Will hid a grin.

“Maybe. I’ll tell you if you come outside with me,” cajoled Will, gazing hopefully up at Nico.

“No. You may like me, but everyone else wants me gone. I don’t want to go outside, just to have other people wishing I was gone.” Nico said, looking away from Will. 

“Nico, I know eight people other than me who care. Three of whom came earlier this week to get you out of this cabin. Reyna, Jason, Hazel, Frank, Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and Piper would hate a world without you. They were so concerned, Reyna, Hazel, and Jason came and sat outside your cabin for three days. Travis and Connor brought them food because they thought their cause was worthy. Travis and Connor cared. Other campers came and sat with them as you blatantly ignored all the people who cared about you because you didn’t believe people could care about you since Bianca died. But people do care. And you thinking that they don’t hurts them as much as it hurts you, because they think they aren’t being good enough to you. They think they hurt you in some way. But they didn’t and they deserve better than what you’re giving them. I understand that you’re hurting, and that Drew is a little shit and you have full permission to hate her, but we just want you back. Tell me Nico, when you say ‘other people’ hate you, do they have a face. Who are they?” Will asked. He let out all his emotions to try to get through to Nico. 

“You wanna know who other peoples faces are?” yelled Nico, “You wanna know? It’s Drew, yes, but also the kids at camp Jupiter sneering at Hazel and I as we walked past. It’s my dad as he told me I wasn’t as good as my sister and never would be, as he took Percy and locked him up, even after I asked my dad for a favour, saying it was for my crush. It’s the aphrodite kids shoving Percy and Annabeth into the lake. It’s Travis and Connor teasing me about HAVING A CRUSH ON ANNABETH when I saved them all from destruction at the battle of manhattan. It’s cupid- it’s cupid outing me in front of Jason in croatia.” Nico’s voice broke as he started sobbing. Will pulled him back onto the couch as he crumpled into tears. 

“Nico, people hurt you. I recognize that. But Hazel and Jason and Reyna and I sitting outside your cabin trying to help you aren’t those people. Your dad tried to make it up to you, he gave you a french zombie chauffeur. Travis and Connor tried to help us, bringing us meals in support of you. Cupid doesn’t matter. He’s an ocean away. All these people who mentioned aren’t going to attack you the moment you step outside your door. Come outside.”

“No.”

“Fine then,” said Will, “I’ve tried everything. Bye I guess.” He stood up and left. He wasn’t always calm and cool. He most often felt like an elastic band stretched almost to breaking point. And sometimes he snapped. He wasn’t the carefree, relaxed guy they always saw. He had his fair share of hurt. He had seen his siblings die, sometimes in his hands, as he tried desperately to save them. All the fallen campers, an inch away from death, lying around him at the end of the battle, knowing he couldn’t save them all. All the hours he worked in the infirmary after the warriors of the battle who got all the credit relaxed. All the times he needed a shoulder to cry on and having to be someone else’s shoulder. All that. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Nico left his cabin as soon as Will was out of sight. Not to go eat food or be with other people, but to be with Bianca. He shadow traveled to Zeus’s fist, where he had said goodbye to Bianca. Now he was saying goodbye to times with Will. He still shouldn’t have been shadow traveling and was almost incorporeal when he arrived. He sat there, sobbing silently into his knees. He wanted to disintegrate into the earth. He ran his dagger along his arms and legs, drawing trickles of blood. He didn’t want to leave, so he didn’t. 

____________________________________________________________________________

“Nico?” Will called tentatively, “Are you here?” the door to the Hades cabin creaked slightly as he opened it. There was not a living thing in it. Nico wasn’t there. Where was Nico. Nico. If Nico was gone… Nico. No. Where was Nico. 

Okay Will, Will thought to himself, don’t panic. Where would Nico go? I have no fucken clue. Who knew Nico the longest? Percy. Who knows Nico the best? Jason or Reyna or Hazel. Problem, they are all the way on the west coast. Guess I gotta go see Percy.

____________________________________________________________________________

Percy set his homework down and walked towards the door of his apartment. Why did people come right when he was starting his schoolwork? He got distracted and never got back on track. Percy opened the door and was met by Will. Will looked very anxious, so Percy let him in.

“Please say there isn’t another war and you’re here to recruit me for it,” sighed Percy, already resigned to his fate.

“No,” Will assured him, “It’s not that. It’s Nico. He left. I don’t know where he is. Do you have any idea where he could be hiding?”

“Yeah,” said Percy, “I’ll take you there. Follow me.” They walked down to the street, where Paul’s prius was parked, and drove to camp.

____________________________________________________________________________

Nico felt like an asshole. He had driven Will away from him, just like everybody else he cared about. He had been so annoying his sister had joined the hunt. Percy had mistrusted him so much after his father had tricked Nico, and now he always felt that Percy didn’t fully trust him. The members of the argoⅡ had been glad to get rid of him when he left with Reyna. Why did this always happen to him? He couldn’t have other people in his life. It didn’t work for him. As soon as he got attached to someone they always left. He didn’t deserve them.

____________________________________________________________________________

When Percy and Will got to camp, Percy set off at a fast pace towards the forest. They walked through the woods in a straight line, never varying in their direction. Will soon realized where they headed. They were a couple of meters away from the clearing around zeus’ fist, when Percy stopped. 

“This is my best guess,” said Percy, “He said goodbye to Bianca here. This is where he’d go if he lost someone. You might want to go alone. I’ll wait back at the big house. Annabeth told me something I should tell Chiron.” Percy turned around and walked back the way they had come. Will stepped into the clearing.

“Nico?” he called tentatively, “Are you there?” He looked and saw a crumpled from leaning against the rocks. “Nico!” Will rushed to Nico. Nico was sobbing and had blood running over his arms. He had scratched his werewolf cuts open.

“I’m sorry Will,” Nico sobbed into Will’s shirt, “You don’t deserve me. I’m sorry.”

“Shhh,” Will whispered, “Don’t be sorry. I know this is hard for you. We don’t have to go back right now. We can stay here, but we have to go back eventually. We can stay here for a while though.” He comforted Nico, letting Nico sob into his shirt. It was too much for Nico. He had just made up his mind to run away to the yukon, where he wouldn’t bother anyone again. He had no idea how long he sat there, sobbing into Will’s shirt. 

“I’m sorry that I’m difficult, Will. I’m sorry I made you snap.”

“Nico, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Let’s go back to camp. I’m hungry.” Hearing Nico say he wanted to go back to camp made Will smile. They headed out of the woods to the dining pavilion, where Nico ate healthy food, doctor’s orders. And Nico sat at the Apollo table, doctor's orders.

[ethan-bears]

Home for Christmas (Nolan Patrick x Reader)

You've resigned yourself to spending this Christmas alone. But Nolan has other plans.

Author's note: I started writing this out as a thought to send to @lindylovegang for her soft thought night tonight but I realized it needed to be a small book whole fic instead, so I decided to do this instead of editing my final paper. This is also not edited. I might edit it later. Who knows.

Warnings: light swearing, holidays, slight angst but it gets fluffy real quick, it's my first fic so it's probably not great, I'm on mobile and I can't figure out "keep reading" and I'm very sorry

Word count: absolutely no idea but good luck fam

gif credit to: bretthowden

*****

This was not how you wanted to spend your first Christmas in Philadelphia. Ideally, you wouldn't even be in Philly at all right now. You should be on a plane back home to your family and friends and the warm, familiar streets of your hometown. You should be waking up tomorrow morning in your grandma's house with the smell of warm bread surrounding you like a hug.

But no. You were trapped.

The blizzard had started to roll in earlier this morning, and you thought to yourself that it wouldn't be that bad, right? It was just some flurries. They wouldn't ground any flights, right?

Oh how wrong you wound up being.

After three hours of waiting for news in the airport terminal, followed by another hour and a half desperately trying to reschedule your flight to a time that would still work and getting nothing out of every airline representative in the building, you somehow managed to get an Uber driver crazy enough to come get you in the ocean of snow. Fighting back tears, you tried to console yourself in the backseat. At least your apartment would be warm. And you had a little tree, so it would still feel like Christmas. You'd make some soup and Skype your family, and while it wouldn't be the same as being with them, it would be better than nothing!

"Reckless optimist," you sighed as you flipped the light switch to your apartment only to be met with continued darkness. Alone in a dark, cold, apartment on Christmas Eve, snowed in with nowhere to go in a city that came nowhere close to feeling like home. Merry Christmas. Slumping against the door, you felt your hot tears break free and cascade down your face. You decided to let all the stress and frustration that had been building all day take over your body, sobbing harder than you could ever remember. Each new wave shook your body, sending you to the floor. You didn't care. It couldn't get worse, so why not act like it?

During a pause in the festivities you decided to check your phone to see if you had any messages from your dad, only to find a text you definitely didn't expect from someone who was definitely not your father.

Sir Nolan the Rosy-Faced: hey, just checking in, i know you're probably mid flight rn but just wanted to make sure you land safely when you do. Crazy storm. Text me?

Sniffing, you paused to process the message. Nolan wanted to make sure you were safe? It shouldn't really have surprised you, but the fact that he was concerned enough to text you while he thought you were still midair was...touching.

You fired a short text back explaining that the flight wasn't happening, thinking he'd respond with a simple "okay" or an "oh, sorry to hear that :(". But the next text you got (mere seconds later) surprised you again.

Sir Nolan: oh my god that sucks! Wait.....does that mean you're home alone tonight?

Me: Yeah, and the power's out, so it's suuuper cold, but idk it's fine, I'll just layer up and go to bed early I guess

Sir Nolan: are you okay?

That one hit you like a truck. No, you thought, I'm really, really not.

Me: Yeah, I'll be fine

Sir Nolan: are you sure? Cause I can come over if you want.

Any other night, you would be losing your mind at an offer like that. Ever since you had met Nolan, you'd had the biggest crush on him. All other crushes seemed like weak sauce compared to how you felt about him. But you'd cried all your energy out. The best response your heart could muster was a meek, "Sure, but don't worry if the snow's just too much."

You were met with a resounding, "Already on my way."

You decided that if you were going to be having company you should at least get up off the floor. You shuffled your way into your bedroom, habitually flicking the light switch before you remembered it was pointless. You fumbled in the dark to your desk drawer, trying to find your flashlight, and once you found it you turned it on and started changing into your warmest pajamas. Now that you weren't just a puddle of self-pity, you started to think about Nolan's sudden inviting-over of himself. You first met him during training camp when your work friend brought you along to meet up with Travis, her boyfriend. She figured that since you were new to the city and also a huge hockey fan that it couldn't hurt to introduce you to some guys on the team and help you make some friends. You weren't sure what to make of Nolan at first. He seemed so quiet and awkward that you thought your own quietness and awkwardness would make conversation impossible with such a knockout of a man. You wound up being horribly wrong, once again, but that time it was in a good way. Neither of you were really the super-outgoing party type, so whenever one or both of you started getting exhausted with the atmosphere you'd usually drift off into your own conversation in a quieter part of the room. As a result, he became a good friend incredibly fast. It seemed there was nothing you couldn't talk about with him, even though you still got nervous about certain things. Like your personal feelings for him. But that had never come up before, so you were safe. For now.

You knew he knew all about how hard the transition to Philly has been for you. How homesick you get, how you can't help but wonder if you made a mistake taking the job offer that brought you here (even though it was your dream job), and how you felt like it was hard to click with so many new people. Which was probably why he seemed so worried about you being alone tonight. He knew you felt alone most of the time anyway.

An hour and a half had gone by and you were starting to get worried about him. He only lived 20 minutes away, and even with the snow, it shouldn't take him that long unless he was stuck and just too proud to call you. It had given you time to call your mom, which you were grateful for and made you feel a lot better, but you couldn't ignore the knot in your stomach anymore. You were just about to hit "call" when you heard a knock at the door. Or more like a thump at the door.

You practically sprinted over to open it for the man-sized popsicle with his arms full of grocery bags standing on your doorstep. You paused for a second with your mouth hanging open, both amazed by the fact that he actually came over and by...him. The cold made his already pink cheeks bright red, and the snowflakes were sticking to his long eyelashes and the free locks of hair that didn't fit under his beanie. You had never seen anything more beautiful in your life.

"Can...can I come in?" Nolan's teeth chattered, snapping you back to reality.

"Oh, yeah, sorry! God, Nol, you're shivering!" you remark, ushering him through the door. Not that inside was that much warmer, but anything was better than being out there.

"It's cold," he laughs.

"Wow, AND he's meteorologist!" you quip back. "What can Nolan Patrick not do?"

Shaking his head, he made a beeline for your kitchen, looking for a place to set his bags down.

"Took me forever to find a place that was still open tonight," he muttered, pulling what looked in the dark like to-go boxes out of one of the bags. You shined your flashlight up to the ceiling to make it light the whole room as Nolan continued to pull items from his three bags. You just stood there, still dumbfounded by him.

"Pat... what's all this?" you manage to squeak out.

"This," he said, pointing to the to-go tubs, "is soup. I'm not completely sure what kind, but I figured soup would be the best thing no matter what. I didn't know if you had any crackers, so I brought some saltines. And some oranges because I knew you'd want something fruity and healthy and oranges are festive. And this," he pulled a thermos out of the second bag, "is hot chocolate. Made it myself." He grinned, sliding it towards you, obviously proud of himself. You could barely contain your own grin, feeling yourself blush. You were proud of him too.

"I saved the best for last," he continued once you took a sip of the cocoa. You frowned.

"What else could you possibly have brought?" you asked, genuinely astonished.

He looked you in the eyes and gave you a smirk. Holy hell. You were glad he probably couldn't see how pink your own cheeks were getting. The things he did to you and he didn't even know.

He carefully pulled a basket out of the last bag, and you could see it was full of a bunch of other things. You couldn't believe it.

"Nolan..." You trailed off, feeling the tears starting to well up again. Inside the basket were a bunch of little gifts with a note that read "For: y/n, From: Us". It had some of your favorite candies, one of those cheesy home-state-scented candles, a scarf with your home team's name and logo on it, and a tin of your favorite tea from a tiny local tea shop in your home town. You tried your best to fight the tears, but you weren't strong enough, rendered useless from your earlier fit.

"Nol-" You couldn't even finish your question before your own sob choked you. You set your thermos and flashlight down to bury your face in your hands.

"Hey, hey," Nolan whispered, pulling you into a hug. You wasted no time in hugging him back, squeezing him as you sobbed into his chest. "Shhhh, it's okay," he muttered to the top of your head. He slowly ran a hand up and down your back, rocking you back and forth. It only made you more emotional. He had never hugged you before, and you hadn't been hugged like this in what felt like years. You just wanted to stay there in his arms forever and ignore the world around you.

"It was a team effort," he continued. "Some of us thought you could use some things that remind you of home."

"Who...who found the tea?" you said into his chest, muffled by his sweater.

"What?" He smiled, pulling out of the hug a bit to let you speak up.

You wiped your face and took a breath. "Who found the tea?"

He pulled the rest of the way out of the hug, much to your disappointment. He leaned his head down, staring at the floor.

"That was me," he mumbled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "I remembered you mentioning it, and it was hard to work out, but they agreed to send me some." Somehow, his voice kept getting lower and lower.

You could hardly believe your ears. He remembered that? You swore you had only mentioned it once in passing after you got a really disappointing chai from a coffee place down the street. You had no idea he had been paying attention. And he went to all the trouble of getting a store with a locals-only business model to ship a product long-distance. You started to wonder if.... No, you thought, don't get your hopes up again tonight.

You stared at him for another moment, trying to soak in the situation. He seemed surprised when you went back in for another hug.

"Thank you so much!" you whisper, knowing that if you said it any louder you'd start crying again. You could feel him relax into the hug and gave him a little squeeze before you ended it.

"Soup time?"

"Soup time." Nolan nodded, practically beaming.

You sat on the couch, eating as carefully as you could in the dark, though your eyes were getting pretty adjusted. From then on, it was conversation as usual. It came so naturally with him that even when you weren't saying anything, you were still happy. You exchanged stories about your favorite Christmases, what you thought the best cookies are, and weird things your families do during the holidays for hours, barely even noticing the time or the cold.  At some point Nolan had pulled the blankets off the back of the couch and tossed them over both your laps. You didn't notice that you'd been getting closer and closer to him with every story until you laughed so hard you fell on his shoulder.

"Stop laughing!" He pouted, audibly trying to stifle his own laugh. "I almost got hypothermia. I could've died!"

"I can't...I can't!" you breathe between laughs. "You fell through the ice...but just one leg?!"

"Yeah, and I was stuck there on my side almost doing the splits between the ice and the water and my sister just stood there laughing. Just like you!" He nudged you, pretending to be annoyed. "But eventually she pulled me out and carried me back home. Couldn't move my leg for hours, it was just sticking straight out like..." He stuck his leg in the air, demonstrating, and only making you laugh harder. You could hardly breathe. You knew it probably felt funnier because of how exhausted you were, but you didn't care. Nolan had put a smile back on your face and back in your heart.

"Hey, Nolan?"

"Yeah?"

You swallowed. "I just... I'm not complaining that you're here, obviously, but... weren't you planning on spending tonight with Kevin and his family?"

"I was, but they've got each other, and someone else who's super special to me was sad and alone, which made me really sad to think about. You deserve to be happy and I wanted to help. Easiest decision I've ever made."

You really did not have it in you for another cry, so you settled for teasing him instead.

"That's really cheesy of you, softie."

"Take it while you can," he laughed.

"I know," you smiled.

Your eyes were starting to feel heavy and you let out a jaw-cracking yawn.

"Damn," Nolan remarked. You grunted in response, earning another laugh from him. "Wanna lay down?"

You nodded, leaning into his shoulder.

"You're warm," you sleepily drawl. You wanted to lay down, but you didn't want to get up to go to your bed. You wanted more snuggles, and right now you didn't care if he read into it or not.

He seemed to get the message, moving to lay down and taking you with him. He wrapped his arms around you after making sure the blankets covered you both as much as possible. You smiled contentedly, settling into your position and closing your eyes. You barely had time to contemplate how touchy he was being tonight compared to his normal reservations about hugs and touching before you were completely gone.

*****

Nolan woke up first the next morning. He was careful to move as little as possible to avoid waking you up. You looked so peaceful, curled up with your head on his chest. He felt his heart swell as you shifted to wrap your arms around his torso and fell back asleep within seconds. He smiled down at you, noticing how beautiful you were, even with your messy bedhead and your cheek squished against his chest. He wanted to stay in this moment forever. Just the two of you.

The power had come back on at some point during the night, so it was no longer freezing in the apartment, and the lights on your tiny tree had come on as well. He glanced back over to the kitchen to the basket on the counter. It had been embarrassing enough to admit to being the one who hunted down the tea like a police dog, so he left out the part about the whole gift basket being his idea in the first place. He would've bought you everything himself, but he wanted you to know that you had other friends, too, and that they wanted to show you that they were thinking of you. The scarf was Carter's idea, the candy TK's. Claude had suggested the candle, and being the local expert on how to be good to the woman he loved, Nolan took the advice and bought the candle as well. It did make him strangely jealous of your hometown in a way he couldn't quite explain. He was worried that you would be looking for any excuse to move back home, which he really didn't want. If it made you happy, then of course he'd support you, but he'd never felt for anyone the way he felt about you. The way you laugh, how passionate you get when you talk about something you care about, whether that's a person, a subject, a place, or what the best pizza topping is. He loved everything down to the way you word your sentences. He loved how much you loved.

He was awoken from his thoughts by you stirring and opening your eyes to look at him.

"Merry Christmas," you mumbled.

"Merry Christmas," he mumbled back.

You laid your head back down, enjoying the comforting rise and fall of his chest.

"You hungry? I can try and make you some breakfast. Emphasis on try," Nolan offered.

You laughed at the thought. "That'd be nice. But I don't wanna get up."

"Me neither," he sighed, tracing his thumb along your arm. He was not ready for when you suddenly shot off the couch, eyes manic and wide.

"Oh my god!" you shouted. "I didn't get you anything for Christmas! And you did all that last night!" You waved your hand at the kitchen. Nolan sat up, confused and cold, missing the weight of you on him.

"It's okay, y/n! I wasn't expecting anything."

"No, okay, I'm making you breakfast, and it's gonna be the best damn breakfast I've ever made. Lay back down," you insisted, marching off to the kitchen, wincing at the still-cold floor.

As nice as it sounded to stay under the warm blankets, Nolan didn't want to just sit there doing nothing. Suddenly he had an idea, even though it was a risky one. He decided it was a risk he needed to take eventually.

"Get out!" you playfully threatened, brandishing a spatula at him as he stepped into the kitchen. He put his hands up in mock surrender.

"I won't touch!"

"Good," you smirk, turning back to your pan.

Nolan shuffled around nervously, working up the courage to say what he wanted to. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

"I, uh...I have an idea for what you can give me. If you, uh, still want to give me something. Besides breakfast, I mean." Smooth, Patrick, he thought.

"What's that?" You met his gaze, making his stomach flip. The things you do to him and you have no idea.

"Maybe we can go out sometime? Like, just us. On purpose. To dinner or something?"

You looked like a deer caught in the headlights, making Nolan immediately second-guess himself. He bashfully broke your eye contact, focusing on the floor again. He felt the blush on his cheeks worsening.

"Are you... serious?" you ask, voice full of wonder.

"Of course I am!" he mumbled insistently. "Wouldn't ask if I wasn't."

You almost knocked him over with the force of your hug, a truly impressive feat.

"Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!!!" you laughed, not even bothering to play it cool. Nolan smiled so much it started to hurt, but he didn't care. He felt like he could take off and fly, he was so relieved. The weight of the world was replaced by the weight of you clinging to his shoulders. And he couldn't imagine a better way to spend his Christmas. Maybe, just maybe, he thought, Christmas would be like this forever from now on.

*****

You relaxed into Nolan's arms as he followed you back to the stove, hugging you from behind and resting his chin on your shoulder. Suddenly, you felt something more than the giddy high of getting asked out by your crush. You felt a sort of peace you hadn't felt since before you moved.

You were home for Christmas.

[teruthecreator]

if you're looking for something to rant about, do u have anything to say to someone who genuinely hated amnesty? i thought it was really uncreative compared to balance and it didn't scratch that Taz itch for me.

i mean, ur asking someone who now literally Cannot re-listen to amnesty bc of the trauma i retained from the ending, so like. cant blame you! i think out of all three of their arcs, it was the one with the most potential but the least amount of effort done to access that potential 

i, honestly, was never the biggest fan of balance. high fantasy bullshit has never been my cup of tea. i didn’t read h*rry p*tter or lotr when i was a kid bc it all seemed so Boring to me. i stuck to settings based in our reality, but with a fun twist! like the series of unfortunate events, which i read three times over

basically all of this to say i preferred the premise of amnesty over balance. balance was like high fantasy bullcrap that slowly merged into sci-fi bullcrap, while the premise of amnesty was like spooky and mysterious!! but still grounded in some sense of normalcy, which is an enticing premise to me! maybe it was a little cliched, small town in the middle of the woods has Something Off, but i would argue most of balance was cliches too. 

my biggest problem w amnesty now, looking back, is griffin genuinely did not give a shit. you can feel it in the effort he put into making the narrative, you can SEE IT in the end, and it’s just really evident throughout that griffin Did Not Fucking Care. which, if you don’t give a shit, don’t make a story that is going to make others give a shit bc it’s only going to end up unsatisfying for the both of us in the end. 

i think talks happened behind the scenes, and it was ultimately decided that travis would dm the next big arc. but, dust was a bust (as he said he couldnt maintain mystery for that long) and the other idea he had was barely in the works. so, to fill time before trav was ready with graduation, griffin decided to dm amnesty. i don’t think griffin wanted to do this; i think he was tired of dming and tired of making stories. griffin SOUNDS tired throughout most of the ending so like, it can be assumed this was a perpetual concept. they also literally admitted to having graduation ready to go Right When amnesty went to shit, so i think this is a really solid theory. but, even still, i think it’s a goddamn shame the amount of potential they wasted to jump to graduation asap 

but i think amnesty has better characters than balance, ill be deadass. i cared WAYYYY more for the amnesty trio than the balance. balance was just boring men, while the amnesty pc’s had like. legitimate flavor. flavor that was squandered, mind you, but flavor nonetheless. 

ned is the best character they’ll ever make for a pc, and i will live and die by that. ned had an intricate and complicated backstory that explained parts of his present personality while still leaving some mystery to him. every interaction he had with the other pcs or npcs felt both Genuine and Not, but given his character being a crook it’s literally the most accurate out of the three. my biggest problem with amnesty is ned got squandered to appeal to griffin’s inclinations towards big story tropes and sci-fi bullshit

aubrey’s Whole Shit relied on her understanding her greater power. duck’s Whole Conflict was coming to terms with his greater power even when he has a long-standing history of problems related to it. sound familiar? 

it’s magnus all over again! which, tho it was trav’s character, you can tell in balance that griffin was heavily aiding trav in fulfilling this greater fantasy

in my opinion, ned was what the show should have focused on. because ned’s story had NOTHING to do with high-fantasy themes or sci-bullshit that griffin used as a crutch in both balance AND amnesty. ned’s story was about genuine connection, re-discovery of self, and the lengths it takes to forgive and let live. ned’s story was the closest to the human experience any of the pc’s has gotten thus far (graduation tbd), and you know what they did? 

they fucked it. 

they fucked it for angst bait, and for that i literally can’t even hear ned’s voice for half a second without being filled with anger and sadness. 

and don’t even get me STARTED on the wack bullshit griffin and justin did in terms of the relationships in amnesty. SORRY, HUH??? THE FUCKING COP WHO SPENT THE ENTIRE ARC TRACKING DOWN THE CRYPTIDS HE LIVED WITH AND LITERALLY WAS AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN TORTURING MAMA GETS WITH BARCLAY??? THE GUY WHO NEVER WANTED TO INTERACT WITH HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE???? 

and to any d*ckn*vas out there just kno ur opinion is shit. i have a whole Essay as to why that relationship is a genuinely Bad Representation of a relationship and i’ll make ur broke bitchasses go find it. duck was a TEEN and minerva was a GROWN ADULT when they met; even if they got together when they were way older it still means they met and interacted at the equivalency of when you meet your high school gym teacher. and the power imbalance that existed for the entirety of their friendship bc it was mentor/student that y’all just Glance over. yeah, right. i kno yall dumb bitches had really gross teacher crushes I See It. 

but given ALL OF THAT, do i think balance is better than amnesty? 

nah. imo balance was boring and i only really started to care by stolen century. amnesty i cared from Right Off The Bat and only lost it after they ruined their own show

so yeah lmao that’s it ghrbjhrgbhjrgbhj

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 038 [Wildest Fantasies]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 3,240

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〈“If you ever need somebody, even if all your tiles fall down, If you even need somebody, even when all your hope runs out, If you ever need somebody, I believe, I believe, I believe in you.” The Score, “Believe”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Nice work,” Aizawa told us. “You have the next two days of school off to recuperate. I’m sure the pros that watched the festival will want to recruit some of you. We’ll look over the draft forms and update you when you return. Get some rest, you still have a lot of training.”

“Yes, sir!”

I glanced over at Iida’s empty desk. After the awards ceremony had ended, I caught up with Zuku and asked him about what had happened. He was hesitant to tell me, but finally revealed that Iida’s older brother, Ingenium, had been attacked. He didn’t know much more than that, but the fact that Iida left the sports festival prematurely spoke volumes.

A hand slammed down on my desk, breaking me from my thoughts. Katsuki was shaking with anger, the first place metal still clutched between his teeth. I raised a brow, “You look like a feral dog, bro. Are you up to date on your shots?”

“Shut up!” He spat the medal out onto the desk and slammed his hand down again. “Your dumbass was disqualified! You said you didn’t get in trouble, you fucking liar!”

I hummed, leaning back in my chair. “I didn’t lie, dipshit. I said I had to apologize, which I did, but I never said that was all. Which reminds me, I’m supposed to apologize again.” I stood up, throwing my shoulder bag over my head before patting his shoulder. “Grats on winning first place, Katsuki~” His body tensed up and he grumbled something under his breath, but I couldn’t make out what it was he said.

Class B was buzzing with chatter about the day’s events, but it died down as soon as they noticed me in the doorway. This school has a serious fucking staring problem. I huffed in annoyance before approaching Monoma, who sat in the same spot as Zuku. His eyes widened a bit when I stopped in front of him. To be honest, I had planned on just apologizing and leaving, but with everyone staring fucking holes into my body, I’m feeling a bit, uh… well, I don’t fucking like it one bit.

“Come with me for a minute,” I demanded, jabbing my thumb toward the door. He hesitated before standing up and grabbing his bag. I caught Ryuu’s eye on the way out and he sent me a worried smile. Guess I can’t blame him for not trusting me anymore. I brought the blonde to the stairway, waiting for two girls to finish their descent before speaking up. “I’m sorry for punching you, bro.”

His brow furrowed, eyes guarded. “You already apologized once. Huh, I guess class A really has no pride!”

I shrugged. “Midnight said I had to apologize again and I don’t wanna face the cruelty she promised if I don’t. Later.”

“Wait,” he grabbed my wrist before I could walk away, but quickly let go when I narrowed my eyes at him. He cleared his throat, meeting my eyes. “I may hate class 1-A, but I’m not a snitch. I didn’t tell anyone that you hit me, and neither did Rin or Kendo.”

My brow furrowed as he walked away. I know he’s telling the truth, but then… how the fuck did Midnight find out it was me? Was someone else there that we didn’t see? I rubbed the back of my head. What a pain.

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I stifled a yawn as I slid the chicken breast into the boiling oil, hearing the sizzle as they started to cook. Honestly, I feel so fucking exhausted, I just want to go die on the couch, but I need food first. Plus, Aizawa still can’t do anything with those arms of his and if I make him a delicious meal, maybe he won’t punish me as hard over the whole punching thing. Hell, if it’s good enough, he might forget altogether!

The front door creaked open, followed by a loud, familiar voice that made me groan. “Your students are crazy, Shota! They totally rocked the show today!”

“You’re too loud,” Aizawa grunted. “You’re gonna wake Jen up.”

Aww, he really does care!

“Hey hey, what’s that delicious smell?!” Mic stuck his head in the kitchen, his face lighting up. “Jen, my beautiful girl!” He rushed me, trying to throw his arms around me but I sidestepped and he slammed his face into the cabinet above the counter. Heh, that’s what you get for being so tall, fecker. “Ow~”

“I figured you’d be asleep…” Aizawa regarded me curiously from the doorway.

“Should be, but it is my job to take care of you until you’re all healed up, ya know.” I wagged my finger.

“Aww, she loves you!” Mic cooed, reaching out for my cheek but I slapped his hand away. Why’s this fucker gotta be so damn touchy?

“No, she doesn’t.” He responded blankly, settling down at the kitchen table. “She’s trying to butter me up so I don’t punish her.”

I winced, forcing a smile. “I would never do such a thing, Shouta~”

“Don’t pretend to be nice, it’s creepy.”

“Fucking rude, bro.”

“Let Mic finish the food. That’s the only reason I brought him here.”

“Hey! I thought you enjoyed my company!” Mic cried out.

“You thought wrong.”

I laughed when Mic cried out again, turning toward the chicken and poking it with a fork like a sad little kid. “You guys are so mean~”

“Sit down,” Aizawa ordered, staring me down. I hesitated but sat beside him. “Midnight told me why you were disqualified. You know better, Jen.”

I scowled, slouching down in my chair and crossing my arms. “It’s not my fault, Zawa. Today has been the longest, most draining day of my entire life. Even worse than that time Travis brought a fucking llama to show in tell only for the administration to ban fucking llamas. I mean, who does that? Llamas are majestic as fuck and they deserve to be treated with respect!”

“Uh, Shouta, what the heck is she talkin’ about?”

“I have no clue.”

“Anyway, if my life were a book, today alone would take up like thirteen chapters. Thirteen chapters, Aizawa! That’s insane.”

“Pretty sure you’re the insane one, darling.” Mic commented.

“Hey,” I glared at him. “Focus on the fucking chicken you damned cockatiel.”

“You gave me a nickname?! I knew you loved me!”

“Fuck off!”

Aizawa sighed, clearly done with both of us. “Did you apologize to Monoma?”

“Twice.”

“Good. The next two days are going to be pure hell for you. I hope you’re prepared, Jen.”

I swallowed hard, a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. “W-What are you talkin’ about, Zawa?”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t punish you?” He deadpanned. “As punishment, you’ll be training non-stop during your two days off from school.”

“Oh come on, that’s so not fai -” My words died in my throat at the challenging look he sent me, his eyes daring me to finish the word so he could spew the same lecture about how life is full of unfairness get over it. Instead of replying, I let my forehead drop to the table with a thud, the table shaking from the impact.

I really hate my life sometimes.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

I huffed and puffed, but I didn’t blow the house down, don’t even worry about it. I leaned over, resting my hands on my knees as my lungs burned, my side feeling like I was ripping open stitches with every deep breath I took. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, the sky lighting up with shades of orange and red. True to his fucking word, Aizawa had woken me up at three-fucking-thirty in the morning to run around the city.

“Get moving,” Zawa’s voice buzzed through the earpiece he had forced me to wear to ensure that I was, in fact, carrying out my punishment. The damn thing gave him real-time updates as to my location and if I was moving or not and if I stopped to catch my breath for too long, he’d bitch at me to get moving.

I groaned in frustration and started to run again. I wonder if I can stick this fuckin’ thing on a dog and just spend the rest of the day napping in the park. If he found out I did that, though, he’d double what he’s already making me do. Man, this sucks. What’s Katsuki doing right now? What about Zuku? Or Todo –

“Fuck!” I fell backward, clutching my forehead that had just collided with another. “Watch where the fuck you’re going, you fuck – Oh, hey Todoroki.”

His brow was furrowed, hand on his own forehead as he sat on the ground across from me. “Winchester…”

“Sorry,” I grunted, pulling myself to my feet before extending my hand to him. “Wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s okay,” he slipped his hand into mine and I pulled him up.

“What are you doing out and about so early?”

“I’m… going to go see my mom.”

“Hmm, I see.” I smiled, ruffling his hair. “Be safe on your way, Todo.”

“Please wait…” His slim fingers curled around my wrist, stopping me from leaving.

I raised a brow at him. If I don’t get moving soon, Aizawa’s gonna bitch at me again and every time he does, he adds five more minutes to the total time that I’m meant to be running. Still, what if what he wants to say is important? Ahh, fuck choices. “What’s up?”

“What was… the technicality that stopped you from fighting me?” He questioned, his heterochromatic eyes meeting mine.

“Ah, that. I punched a guy from class B.” I grinned. “Totally fucking worth it, but after seeing you fight Zuku, I was disappointed. Though I guess it doesn’t matter, you wouldn’t have used your flames against me, huh?”

He tilted his head, bangs swaying against his forehead. “You wanted to fight me?”

“Well, not at first, no. I thought it would be a pain.” I scratched my cheek. “But damn, those flames of yours are fucking beautiful.” I lifted up my hand, flames dancing across my palm as I molded them to look like a Sparrow. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my flames, they’re a part of who I am, ya know? But… I don’t know, there’s just something mesmerizing about yours.”

His cheeks dusted pink and he shifted his gaze to the side. “No one has ever said that to me before…”

I chuckled as Zawa scolded me through the earpiece, telling me to stop lazing around. “Listen, Todoroki, don’t let that flame fuck of a father determine how you live your life. Zuku was completely right when he said it’s your power. Using it doesn’t make you him, it doesn’t make you like him, and it doesn’t mean you’re giving into him. It’s a part of who you are, don’t run away from that.”

It was small, but he did smile. “Thank you, Winchester…”

I grinned, ruffling his hair. “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, okay? No need to keep that shit bottled up when you have us. Now, get going and say hi to your mum for me~” With a wave, I continued my jog.

I still have no fucking idea why my mother chose to become a hero and I probably never will, but that’s okay. It took me a while to figure it out, but I finally found my reason to fight, to go on with this new life I’ve been given. I want to get stronger and master this quirk so I can protect class A and help them reach their goals and achieve their dreams. I’ve decided that I’ll be the one on the sidelines, lifting them up every time they fall and encouraging them to keep moving forward. That will be my purpose in this life. At least for now.

It probably sounds stupid and some people might not consider it a real goal or a valid reason to become a hero, but it’s what my heart wants and no matter what you try, you just can’t deny that fucker. More than anything, I want those kids to smile and be happy as they chase after what their hearts desire.

Gramps gave his entire life to me, even though we weren’t related by blood. He could have so easily just transferred me to that new world and left me, but he didn’t. He gave up everything so I could grow up with love and support. I couldn’t do anything to repay him, to save him from his fate, so I’ve decided that I’ll pay it forward instead and show these kids the same kindness, love, and support that he showed me. And this time? This time I won’t let the life be ripped from the people I love.

I grinned as a feeling of warmth radiated against my chest, pushing my legs harder as I ran toward the sun, rising higher into the sky.

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At twelve-thirty, Aizawa gave me permission to take a break for lunch. Naturally, I headed straight for Shimatsu Tacos. The building itself is kinda small, wedged between a flower shop and a used bookstore, but the place was feckin’ crowded like an amusement park, people hanging around outside the building as they waited for people to clear out from inside. Shit, if I wait in this damn line, I’ll have to start running again before I can even make it to the counter to place my fucking order.

With a scowl, I ducked under the arm holding the door open and squeezed my way through the throng of people, feeling like I was on the fucking subway. It was loud inside, chatter mixing with the yells of the chefs as they called out completed orders. I’m not claustrophobic but hot damn, I might just fucking be after I leave this place. I squeezed my way toward the counter, eyes locking on the back of the next guy in line. He’s tall and lanky with spikey black hair. Here’s to hoping he’s a nice guy. Not like a nice guy, but a genuine one.

I tapped his shoulder to get his attention and he turned his head. Holy fucksticks, what happened to this dude? His chin, neck, ears, and the skin under his eyes were badly scarred and burnt, the skin purple and wrinkled, with metal staples connecting the marred flesh to the rest of his milky complexion. Metal rings covered the orbital of both ears and three small studs pierced his right nostril. Half-lidded turquoise eyes met my own. Quirks are fuckin’ weird, man.

“Hey, I’m kinda in a hurry, do you mind if I cut in front of you?” I asked, glancing at the wall. Fifteen minutes had already passed by.

“Why should I?” he drawled.

“I’ll pay for your fucking food,” I scowled as the cashier called the next person in line.

“Deal,” he grinned, stepping aside so I could approach the counter.

“Good afternoon!” The woman smiled. “What would you like to order?”

“Five soft shell and a large Dr. Pepper,” I pulled out my wallet, using my other hand to wave at the man behind me. “And whatever he wants.”

He stepped up behind me, his natural warmth strong enough that it seeped through his clothes and mine. “Twelve hard shell, add lettuce.”

“Lettuce, really? You’re distorting the perfection that is a meat and cheese taco, you fuck!” I scowled.

“Lettuce is good for you, doll.”

I clicked my tongue, holding up my finger. “False! The lettuce used in most tacos is shredded Iceberg, which offers zero nutritional benefits. You’re basically just eating water.”

“Why do you know what?”

“At my old school, they tried to force the students to eat an Iceberg salad with every meal. That shit’s pretty disgusting, so I did some research and told the principal off. They stopped forcing us to eat it after that.”

“Umm,” the woman sweatdropped. “I-Is that all?”

I looked at the ravenette expectantly and he rolled his eyes before addressing her. “No lettuce.”

She nodded, typing away at the register. “That comes to a total of $20.50, please.”

“Fuck you’re expensive,” I scowled at him and he grinned, giving me a half-shrug.

“Wait a minute, Cleo.” A hand rested on her shoulder, stopping her from taking my money. “It is you, kid!”

I grinned at the man standing behind her. “Yo, Ojin!”

He smiled brightly before addressing the confused cashier. “Cancel the transaction, this one is on the house!” He then waved his hand, indicating that we should follow him to the back of the shop so we didn’t hold up the line. The ravenette seemed reluctant to follow but did so while keeping his distance. “Sorry I couldn’t stick around for the end of the festival, my phone was blowing up because of you!”

“Heh?” I tilted my head in confusion.

He swung his arm out in front of him. “This crowd? It’s your doing, kid! To be completely honest with you… if things didn’t turn around soon, we’d have had to close down and sell the building, but because you wore our band during the sports festival, we’ve been slam-packed with customers!”

I grinned brightly at this information. “I’m glad to hear that, Ojin. Sorry that I didn’t make it farther.”

“Nonsense, you did great!”

“Boss! Mrs. Shiozaki is calling again!” A man stuck his head out of the kitchen.

“Be right there!” Shimatsu patted my shoulders roughly. “You have my eternal gratitude for saving my father’s business, Jen Winchester. You’re always welcome to eat here for free!”

F-F-Free tacos for life?! Oh my fucking god, I think I’m gonna pass out. Midnight was fucking right, my wildest fucking fantasy just came true. I can die in peace now.

Once Shimatsu was back in the kitchen, the ravenette shifted from his position against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. “That happy expression on your face is making me want to vomit.”

“Green ain’t a good color on you, bro.” I tsked. “Don’t hate, appreciate.”

He rolled his eyes, but I didn’t miss the subtle tug of his lips as he held back a smile. “You got me, I’m totally jealous of you, doll.”

The earpiece buzzed, “Time’s up, Jen. Get to it.”

“Goddamn it,” I muttered. Come on, just gimme a few more fucking minutes you damned mummy.

“Here you are!” A young man approached us, holding out a plastic bag with the shop’s name written on it and my large drink. I thanked him and we squeezed our way out of the shop, finally able to breathe properly. I made him hold my drink as I pulled my five from the bag, holding them gingerly between my forearm and chest, light enough that I didn’t squish them but heavy enough that they didn’t wiggle free. I handed him the bag and he returned my drink, rubbing his wet hand on his jeans.

“Later, bruh.” I lifted my drink in a sort of mock wave before turning around.

“Hey, doll.” He paused, his eyes shining. “Thanks.”

I grinned. “Always happy to share the love of a taco. Later, Patchy.” I continued on my way, doing this sort of speed walk mixed with a jog as I tried to inhale my food while balancing the drink and avoiding pedestrians that refused to get the fuck out my way.

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▸ Forward

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[roundaboutfilms]

MY TOP 12 MOVIES SEEN IN 2016

Here are my 12 favourite movies seen for the first time in 2016.

As you will see, the movies on this list are not restricted to movies made in 2015/2016. Rather, it is a list of films I watched for the first time in 2016, whether they were actually made in 2016 or 1951.

Here they are in chronological order:

1. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - Elia Kazan

IMDB: Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.

This is a true classic. A masterpiece of drama and directing. This movie showcases why Marlon Brando is considered to be one of, if not the greatest, actors of all time.

2.  Planet Of The Apes (1968) - Franklin J. Schaffner

IMDB: An astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved.

The original (and arguably the best) Planet Of The Apes movie. Even though it is now quite dated, at the time the ape prosthetics were of the best the world had seen. A great film of adventure, with a strong social commentary. As read on IMDB: “Times were rough, and the Vietnam War was growing in intensity by the time Planet of the Apes was made. Because of this, we see many references to the current dilemma. The film willy-nilly debates issues like hunting, violence, animal rights, evolution vs creationism, class structure, and nuclear war.”

3. Solaris (1972) - Andrei Tarkovsky

IMDB: A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.

This movie instantly became one of my very favourite films. It is long and slow and Russian, but there is something about it that has stuck with me since watching it. I was left in awe when the film ended. Not everyone will like this movie. Don’t expect a quick easy film to watch casually with friends. This is the type of film that you need to preferably watch alone and in silence. Give it the time and concentration that is deserves. Allow yourself to reflect while watching and it should affect you very deeply in a way that few films have the power to do. It is poetry in film form.

4. Paris, Texas (1984) - Wim Wenders

IMDB: Travis Henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family.

This is a quirky film with deep, interesting characters. A beautiful story. The chat room scene is one of the most touching scenes I have seen, with incredible performances by both actors.

5. Gerry (2002) - Gus van Sant

IMDB: A friendship between two young men is tested when they go for a hike in a desert and forget to bring any water or food with them.

A simple movie, layered with meaning. Even though there is not much happening other than two friends walking through the desert and talking, this film kept me captivated to the shocking end. The stark landscapes are beautiful. The drama is in their conversations and in the way their friendship subtly changes over the course of the film.

6. There Will Be Blood (2007) - Paul Thomas Anderson

IMDB: A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.

This is a truly epic film. I can’t believe it took me so long to finally watch it. Daniel Day-Lewis delivers an Oscar winning performance of what must be one of the most riveting, intense, unpredictable and terrifying characters on screen. He commands almost every shot. It’s an acting, directing and cinematic masterclass and a film that will keep you riveted for the entire 158 minutes.

7. The Assassin (2015) - Hsiao-Hsien Hou

IMDB: A female assassin receives a dangerous mission to kill a political leader in eighth-century China.

This film is beautifully shot. The scenes are like classic paintings, starting with stark black and white and then later very vivid colours. The story line is a bit confusing at times, but that adds to the intrigue, mood and tone of this mysterious film.  

8. Room (2015) - Lenny Abrahamson

IMDB: A young boy is raised within the confines of a small shed.

Brilliant, human and touching. We see the world from the innocent eyes of a child who has been confined in a small shed for his entire life. Jacob Tremblay, only 9 years old at the time, delivers one of the best acting performances I have seen from a young actor. He sees only goodness, even though his environment is cruel, because of his mother’s love and protection. The descriptions of his first encounters with the outside world and how it appears to work, is very fascinating. He sees things as they are or should be, without understanding the seemingly petty issues of the adults around him. A message I got from this was how adults over complicate their lives and society.

9. The Revenant (2015) - Alejandro G. Iñárritu

IMDB: A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.

This is quite an obvious one. Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar and director Iñárritu, won the Best Directing award for two years in a row (after Birdman in 2015), making him one of only three directors to win the award back to back. It is gritty and intense, with impressive long takes, alike to Birdman, that won Emmanuel Lubezki his third consecutive Oscar for Best Cinematography (Gravity in 2014, Birdman in 2015, The Revenant in 2016).

10. The Hateful Eight (2015) - Quentin Tarantino

IMDB: In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.

I have read mixed reviews about this film. Some found the slow start boring and lost interest. On the contrary, I found this captivating and suspenseful, as the story rises steadily towards its explosive climax. The opening foreboding score by Ennio Morricone sets the tone nicely and I was happy to see him win the Oscar for this. And as usual, the long conversations are highly entertaining. In the end, I think it might even be one of Tarantino’s most violent films. And that is saying a lot. Tarantino again displays his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema and its structures and styles and therefore uses this knowledge to toy with us. He incorporates old school mystery film conventions, with western, suspense, thriller, crime, drama and comedy all in one. In his eighth film, Tarantino again shows why he is the iconic director of our time and one that will live on long after he is gone.

11. Listen to Me Marlon (2015) - Stevan Riley

IMDB: A documentary that utilizes hundreds of hours of audio that Marlon Brando recorded over the course of his life to tell the screen legend's story.

As a fan of Marlon Brando, I loved this very personal documentary and the way it was put together. It is cleverly narrated by Marlon Brando himself, even after his death. This is because Marlon Brando kept an extensive audio diary, as a means of self meditation and reflection. Sometimes he speaks of things that will calm him down, often starting with the phrase “listen to me Marlon”. Other times he reflects on childhood memories, or experiences on set and in his highly public and private life. You start to see the man behind the icon and this makes it a fascinating watch, especially if you are a fan.

12. Noem My Skollie: Call Me Thief (2016) - Daryne Joshua

IMDB: A film based on the true life story of a young man who becomes a storyteller in jail.

This is South Africa’s official entry to the 2017 Oscars. When I went to go watch this film, I was not expecting much. I hadn’t heard of it yet (it was before all the Oscars hype). One of the only reasons why I watched it, was because none of the other films showing at the time really stood out, so we decided to support South African cinema. I was pleasantly surprised by a brilliant South African story, based on true events. The screenplay was written by John W. Fredericks, and it is his dramatic life story. The performances and production design are top class. It is filled with drama, real life cruelty and brutality, scandals, romance and humour. The ending left me shocked by the reality of it all, but it closes with a positive message. South Africa can be very proud of this one, whether it achieves anything at the Oscars or not.

THE END. Thank you for reading and happy movie watching in 2017!

[jrsechelon]

Injuries Mount

We’ve had a couple of nights to think about what happened Sunday and while we were all up until the wee hours of the morning finishing up week one games, I, for one, slept in as writers can often do. So I’m fresh as a daisy. Although I may be fresh as a daisy there were some teams that came out of week one not as fresh. As we head into week two there is only one question surrounding certain teams, that question, "Where do we go from here?" - For Straight Edge Society who had such high hopes for this season, it seems like a daunting question. Running back David Johnson dislocated his wrist in Sunday’s loss to The Busy Killers and will require surgery. The timetable to return is two to three months and, if you’re even at a grade school level in math, you know that’s a December return at best and a season lost at worst. I would say he could be ready for the playoffs, but I’m fairly confident that Straight Edge Society won’t even sniff a postseason run.

Johnson's Injury Spells Disaster

Especially without Johnson. Elite Fantasy Headlines literally have the scariest sports headline you’ll read today on their front page, “Straight Edge Society’ playoff hopes now hinge on Jacquizz Rodgers and Rob Kelley.” I mean, Jesus. With T.J. Logan out with the same injury, any hopes of a Kareem Hunt style breakout is gone for Rodgers, Kelley, or any other back Straight Edge Society may sign. Some rumors are going around that S.E.S management is working out a deal to bring Kerwynn Williams in as the likely starter. Williams was a star at Utah State, averaging 6.9 yards per carry and gaining 1,512 yards and scoring five touchdowns in 2013. But this is 2017 and it's been awhile since this kid has seen any extensive action. Hard to say what Straight Edge Society will do but it's obvious they're unable to protect Cousins upright after the multiple times he found himself on his back in week one. With a game against the Rainelo Hawks in week two, both teams will be looking for a rebound. Delving into Straight Edge Society's opponent this week, the Rainelo Hawks had an equal terrible start to their season. In the wake of a humbling loss to Super Bowl runner up, Thunderbuddy4Life, Brady's season statistics were ghastly. He's completing fewer than 60 percent of his throws. He's on pace for a career-worst passer rating. He ranks 33rd in the league among 34 qualified QBs in yards per attempt. Some observers suggest he's in decline, after all, he's 40 now. Others point to a substandard offensive line and a dearth of weapons at the skill positions. Let's face it, the only real weapon Tom Brady has on the offense is Doug Baldwin. Everyone else looked to be in a decline like the stock market crash of 2008, clearly free falling. In short, Brady is declining.

TB12 Declining?

We have seen evidence of it the past few seasons, but it was subtle and slow enough that it wasn't easy to identify. Last season, there were many factors outside of Brady's control that affected his play, and many observers attributed the statistical dip to those other influences. But the fact is we have seen the best of Tom Brady, and the only question remaining is how steep the drop-off will be. Scarnecchia has been able to craft impressive units year after year regardless of turnover, but this season it looks like the offensive line is beginning to crumble, abandoning Brady at the very time he needs protection the most. Brady is a quickly aging quarterback who has withstood a lot of punishment over his career, and the hits he continues to take are more impactful at age 40. He is now stuck behind a dreadful offensive line that is rotating players at an alarming rate in a desperate attempt to find a combination, any combination, which can pass block. The Rainelo Hawks have yet to find a said combination, and Brady is very uncomfortable in the pocket. Last week Thunderbuddy4Life drew up the formula to beat Brady and give these Hawks an uncomfortable season, with both teams seemingly in a heap of trouble are we already talking this year's Toilet Bowl? So while we talk about the bad, let's focus for a minute on the good. The two teams that ousted Straight Edge Society and the Rainelo Hawks.

The Busy Killers looked real strong and very stout as did Thunderbuddy4Life. If week one told any truth, 2017 could be the Year of the Rookie Running Back. After one week, three of the top five leading rushers are rookies. Cook rushed for 127 yards on 22 carries, validating The Busy Killers’ choice to take him in the second round out of Florida State. The only man who rushed for more yards in the opening week was Kareem Hunt, who erupted for Thunderbuddy4Life. The third-round pick racked up 148 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and five receptions for 98 yards and two scores in an upset in Seattle. Between Thursday and Monday, rookie running backs burst into the league, both expected and surprising.

Hunt Explodes On The Scene

The debuts reinforced the recent shift of how EFL teams value running backs. For a time, convention dictated running backs were fungible and therefore not worth wasting a high pick. Now, these same teams who believed running back as not worth a high pick and all looking for the next breakout star. If week one was any indication then Cook and Hunt will be vying for the rushing title by years end. The Busy Killers not only have young Cook in their backfield but CJ Anderson who looked like a possible Come Back Player Of The Year candidate. Extremely strong in his running on Monday, CJ Anderson helped extend the lead for The Busy Killers sealing a very important division win over a tough (or a once tough) divisional opponent. As for Thunderbuddy4Life, they blew through the Rainelo Hawks with ease and although the majority of the focus regarding Pacific teams was on American Hoyer Story and Hyrule Empire, they showed us all why they were only a few points away from being called Super Bowl X Champions. Now, these two teams will have to continue showing us they are the real deal when both face-off against Atlantic division opponents. Another impressing team which has steadily been on the decline was PURPLEHAZE. Usually, we'd talk about how to dominate Le'Veon Bell was. But that wasn't the case, again it was another rookie running back in Leonard Fournette who showed us why he is the total package. Fournette didn't burst into the EFL in spectacular fashion with one of his long-distance Touchdown runs from his college career.

Fournette Making MWW Pay

Instead, the former LSU All-American power running back incrementally pounded away at the MegaWatt Warriors Sunday as part of a larger team effort that shocked the favored home team. MegaWatt Warriors coming in with an emotional high didn't live up to the expectations. Houston needed something to cheer for and feel good about and all MegaWatt Warriors did Sunday, was laid a huge egg. It was a sad showing and looks like this team who finished last in 2016 may be at the bottom of the barrel for a while. Meanwhile, PURPLEHAZE showed that not only are they capable of running the ball even when Bell is having a down game, they are capable of throwing the ball with Diggs or Randy Moss 2.0 catching almost everything thrown his way. Of course, when you have Matt Ryan throwing you dimes you are able to perform at the highest of levels. PURPLEHAZE will now have a date against LilShupeScoresBIGPoints while MegaWatt Warriors will play host to BroncosTillDeath.

In the closest game on Sunday, LilShupeScoresBIGPoints was unable to hold Yuba City Sultans at bay. In the waning two minutes, Yuba City Sultans was able to finish the job and get the 'W'. LilShupeScoresBIGPoints has already been through a slate of injuries this season and its only week two. Julian Edelman was a huge loss. I cannot tell you how big of a loss that was to this team, but now to lose Allen Robinson too. All I can say is "you've got to be kidding me!" - The loss of wide receiver Allen Robinson for the season with a torn ACL hurts. Chris Hogan, Marquise Lee, and Golden Tate don't scream "elite wide receiver core." It's pretty lackluster and with injuries mounting so early and so often, it's hard to say if this Allen Robinson injury is the last LilShupeScoresBIGPoints will see. Though the majority of the injuries which occurred on Sunday into Monday happened to teams that eventually lost, BroncosTillDeath had happened to win even in the midst of losing tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz; who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday in the wake of suffering a pair of concussions during the past few weeks. For BroncosTillDeath who looked like they were going to lose early seamlessly bounced back and recovered from the injury.

Kelce Argues With Ref

Though when you have Travis Kelce out there playing tight end too you usually are square. Kelce is one who sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him as we saw in week one has the upside to be an elite tight end. Under the guidance of BroncosTillDeath's coach, I believe Kelce may just have his best year yet. Along with Kelce, BroncosTillDeath has a strong core of veteran presence from #BeastMode who didn't look like he missed a step to the Big Ben or Alex Smith to call the shots as well as a strong receiving core and an always stout defense. From the looks of week one, it seems like BroncosTillDeath is back on track after having a couple down years. The battle of Chicago will get underway this Sunday when Buds Bums and Vanilla Gorilla go head-to-head. Both suffered upsets in week one and when these two teams get together it's always a treat for the Chicagoans. Both teams look great on paper but neither was able to put much of that greatness on the field. Even Mr. R-E-L-A-X Aaron Rodgers struggles for the majority of last Sunday. It was out of sorts for him and Vanilla Gorilla only giving Adrian Peterson the ball 6 times for 18 yards should show us all they don't trust his knee, their offensive line, or their running game. The youngster Marcus Mariota will be relying heavily on Dez Bryant, Antonio Brown, and Kyle Rudolph. Vanilla Gorilla and Buds Bums both sit at 0-1 and will need this week two division game if they want to try to turn their season around. With the upper echelon rosters, these two teams have, you'd think they would both be 1-0 and vying for first in their division in an early week two showdown.

Buds Bums felt the injury bug as well with Kevin White sustaining a season ending injury. With their receiving core having to now rely solely on Cobb - a Rodgers/Cobb connection with being primarily what defenses will need to plan to shut down. Hyrule Empire safety Eric Berry was almost single-handedly shutting down Buds Bums entire offense when he popped his Achilles last Thursday night. He’ll be out for the season too.

Berry Done For Year

Luckily for Hyrule Empire, they’re loaded at safety. And while none of these guys are Berry, Ron Parker and Daniel Sorenson should still be solid defenders in the defensive backfield. Drew Brees will look to continue his dominant aerial attack against American Hoyer Story who possibly had one of the saddest performances on Sunday. While American Hoyer Story will have the J-Train back on Sunday (Post Hurricane Irma), they looked downright pitiful at times.

Eli Believes In Team

“We’ll bounce back,” Manning said, via Ralph Vacchiano of SNYtv. “We just need to slow down, everybody needs to take a breath.” The statistics screamed bad game: three points, 233 total yards, 35 on the ground, 53 total plays, just under 26 minutes of possession, three sacks. It was awful. There was blame to go around a couple of times, from the offensive line to the wideouts who could not get open. Manning was quick to answer when asked if he was worried about the offense. "First game," Manning said, "Guys were playing fast, got some good guys out there, some new bodies. So, we'll bounce back. We'll be fine. We just need to run the plays the way we've been running them all spring and all summer." Though Manning is optimistic about the 2017 season, American Hoyer Story has been away from the Elite Fantasy League for years and in that time the competition has increased tenfold. It is a different league and a more fierce one. If Manning and gang want to be that team that reclaims their glory after being away from the game for years, they are going to have to make a vast amount of adjustments and quick. This week is a must-win division game if there ever was a "must win" in week two this may just be it.

Another team that looked pretty terrible, in fact, looked like possibly the worst team overall was The Canadian Cripplers. With this team entering a transition period where their coach is leaving the team due to personal reasons, the interim coach looks like they will have their handsful. It's uncertain when Coach Shellhammer will be back on the sideline but when he is he'd better hope this team is in a better place than they were after week one. Scoring only 48 points, the lowest recorded points in franchise history one can only assume that they have a lot to work on. The bright spots of this team though were Cam Newton who looked like he had no issues with that shoulder, young rookie Christian McCaffery, and Von Miller and company on defense. Notably, the interim coach will have to address the issue of their kicker Mr. Reliable who looked like father time is finally getting the best of him and their receiving core which wasn't that spectacular even with Tavon Austin and Sammy Watkins. Although The Canadian Cripplers are going through a trying time, it should be noted that this team will possibly band together for their coach and make some serious noise in the weeks to come. Only time will tell but we've seen crazier things happen. Yuba City Sultans looked impressive as ever and with the latest on Zeke Elliot coming out only a few short hours ago you'd believe everyone around the league mainly Sultan fans are keeping a close eye on this developing story.

Suspension Looming?

For those wondering about confirmation for the Sultans having Ezekiel Elliott on the field for Sunday's Week 2 game against Evolution, there is some good news: he is pretty much a lock to play as of lunchtime on Wednesday, at least from a discipline perspective. On a conference call with media members, EFL spokesperson Joe Lockhart said he "would assume" that Elliott will play Sunday. Elliott was previously suspended for six games by the EFL this offseason over a 2016 domestic violence incident, but Elliott sued the EFL (as one does) and was granted a temporary restraining order allowing him to play. But things could get a little murky as the season moves along. According to Lockhart, he does not believe it is "likely" that Elliott will play the rest of the season. With that said it seems only to be a matter of time before Elliot will be serving some kind of suspension. With Yuba City Sultans biding their time until the hammer comes down on Elliot they are taking precautions with star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Beckham Jr. made a quick walk through the locker room Wednesday, moving briskly and without the trace of a limp. What comes next is crucial as the Sultans as they hope to get their star receiver on the field for Monday night’s home-opener against Evolution. Both Evolution and Yuba City Sultans won their games a sit in a place that is ever familiar. Monday Night's game should be a great one pinning these two division rivals against one another.

Last but not least, the Super Bowl Champions. HellbentKronik has easily found their quarterback of the future. In a trade that sent David Johnson to Straight Edge Society last year for Carson Wentz, many wondered what on earth was Adam Henderson thinking? But look now, with one Super Bowl win under his belt in his rookie year and growing by leaps and bounds it looks like it was the only move. “You are f***ing savage!” One player said after Sunday's performance.

SB Champs Dominate

Indeed. A few days later, it’s still hard to fully comprehend how Wentz is able to scramble and avoid pressure the way he does all while keeping his eyes down the field in order to make a big play with his arm. Needless to say, Carson is a special dude. There are certainly some things Wentz can improve upon when it comes to refining his accuracy, but there’s no denying his playmaking ability is elite. Regardless of a weaker defense this year, HellbentKronik looked like they may be able to repeat, which would be the first time since Straight Edge Society did it in 2012-13. From Wentz to Crowell, Colemen, speedster Brandin Cooks, and even Amari Cooper this team really does have it all. Week two will give them a true test and a true challenge. This right here is the Game Of The Week and with that said let's get ready for week two!

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