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For United States agents, see Federal law enforcement in the United States.

U.S. Agent (John Walker) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually those starring Captain America and the Avengers. He first appeared in Captain America #323 (November 1986) as Super-Patriot.[1] He was later redesigned as an incarnation of Captain America and, a few years later, as U.S. Agent.

U.S. Agent

U.S. Agent.

Art by Leinil Francis Yu.

Publication informationPublisherMarvel ComicsFirst appearanceAs Super-Patriot:

Captain America #323 (November 1986)

As Captain America:

Captain America #333 (September 1987)

As U.S. Agent:

Captain America #354 (June 1989)Created byMark Gruenwald

Paul NearyIn-story informationAlter egoJohn F. WalkerSpeciesHuman (empowered)Team affiliationsMighty Avengers

Omega Flight

New Invaders

S.T.A.R.S.

The Jury

Force Works

Secret Defenders

West Coast Avengers

Dark Avengers

Commission on Superhuman Activities

Bold Urban Commandos

Astonishing AvengersPartnershipsBattlestarNotable aliasesJack Daniels, Super-Patriot, Captain AmericaAbilitiesExceptional hand-to-hand combatant

Highly trained acrobat and gymnast

Superhuman strength, agility, reflexes/reactions and endurance

Peak-level speed, dexterity, coordination and balance

Use of nearly indestructible shield and firearms

Wyatt Russell portrays John Walker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe streaming television series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021).

Publication history

Fictional character biographyEdit

OriginEdit

Learn more

This section needs additional citations for verification.

John Walker was born in the fictional town of Custer's Grove, Georgia. He grew up idolizing his older brother, Mike, a helicopter pilot who died in the Vietnam War in 1974. John wanted to live up to Mike's memory, who was idolized by their parents, and so he later enlisted in the military. John served at Fort Bragg, although it was never specifically stated which unit he was attached to.[5] Unfortunately for John, he served during peacetime and so never became the hero that he perceived Mike to have been.

After John received an honorable discharge from the United States Army, he was told by a friend about the Power Broker, a mysterious individual who gave people superhuman abilities.[volume & issue needed] Walker and his friend received treatments that granted superhuman abilities.[6]

Super-PatriotEdit

John Walker as Super-Patriot. Cover of Captain America #327 (March 1987). Art by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod.

Walker, now in debt to the Power Broker, intends to join the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation but meets Ethan Thurm who becomes his manager and persuades Walker to become a hero instead. Thurm secures financial backing, helps Walker design a costume, and sets out a strategy that allows him to debut as the corporate-sponsored Super-Patriot who then travels the country promoting his image to the nation through patriotic rallies and community service.[6]

At a rally in Central Park, he holds a secretly rehearsed performance in which he publicly criticizes Captain America and is subsequently attacked by three extremist supporters called the Bold Urban Commandos or "Buckies". Walker defeats the Buckies in the staged fight as a demonstration of his combat prowess and patriotism. Steve Rogers confronts Walker privately afterwards and demands that he stop using the Buckies, since people attending the rally could have been hurt in a panic resulting from the staged attack. Walker refuses, arguing that his actions are justified by his quest to replace the outdated Captain America as the nation's symbol.[7]

When Captain America repeatedly refuses his challenges to a fight, Super-Patriot attacks Captain America. Although Captain America proves to be a more skilled fighter and lands blow after blow, the trash-talking Walker manages to absorb the attacks. With neither man falling after a lengthy brawl, Super-Patriot flings a number of throwing stars at Captain America who is too tired to dodge. One hits in the chest, embedding into Captain America's uniform but doing little to no actual physical damage. With the successful strike, the gleeful Super-Patriot claims victory and promptly departs. The weary and dejected Captain America tries to tell himself that the fight was a draw, as neither man actually went down but is nonetheless left questioning his own fighting abilities while acknowledging Super-Patriot's superior strength and stamina.[8]

Walker catches the eye of the nation though when he tackles the terrorist Warhead who threatens to detonate a nuclear weapon in Washington, D.C. atop the Washington Monument. Walker scales the monument, disarming Warhead with a throwing star, before sending Warhead plummeting to the ground below. Warhead – preferring to go out 'like a man' – kills himself before hitting the ground by detonating a hand grenade.[9]

This high-profile act makes him an instant celebrity, appearing in The Washington Post and on national television where he claims himself to be "America's future", which in turn brings him to the attention of Valerie Cooper's role as a Presidential advisor.[6]

Captain AmericaEdit

Soon after, Steve Rogers abandons Captain America's costume and identity when ordered to report directly to the Commission on Superhuman Activities, feeling that Captain America had grown beyond the name's original role as a symbol of America during the war and not wanting to be tied down to a political agenda.[9] The Commission debate who should be the new Captain America, with Nick Fury and Sam Wilson both being considered as candidates, although it was considered that the former was too old and would not want to give up the autonomy enjoyed as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, where as in the case of the latter they did not believe that the United States was ready for a black equivalent.[10]

Dr. Valerie Cooper, a member of the Commission, suggests that Walker should be made the new Captain America as a U.S. government operative. Though repulsed by the notion of giving up being Super-Patriot and taking on the Captain America identity he has criticized so much, Walker ultimately answers, "Ma'am, if Uncle Sam wanted me to be Mickey Mouse, I'd do it." As Captain America, he is forced to abandon Thrum as his manager, and can only retain Lemar Hoskins, one of the Buckies, since the other two fail to pass background checks.[6]

Walker is partnered with Hoskins as the new Bucky but Hoskins later changes the codename to "Battlestar" due to the negative racial name connotations for a black man. The two follow Adrian Sammish's orders. Walker is trained by the Freedom Force, the Guardsmen, and the Taskmaster—Taskmaster's training focusing on teaching him how to use Captain America's shield—and goes on his first mission against the Watchdogs militia group.[11]

Another of Walker's early acts as Captain America was a mission to "aid stability and democracy in South America" by teaming up with the Tarantula in order to hunt escaped political dissidents from his home country on behalf of its oppressive regime in order to silence them. Despite believing in the fight against Communism and in the principle of helping America's "Democratic allies in Latin America", Walker becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the methods used by Tarantula after he interrogates and threatens occupants of an immigration detention center for information on his targets. The two battle and wound Spider-Man, however Walker – increasingly conflicted by the fact that both the immigrants who Tarantula interrogated and Spider-Man looked upon him and the uniform he wore with fear, seeing him as an enemy – decides to walk away, convincing himself that this course of action was not something that Captain America would support. Spider-Man ultimately defeats Tarantula and Walker later learns that the individual who gave him his orders to help Tarantula was a rogue agent who did so without legal authority, beating him and telling him that the uniform he wears is supposed to inspire, not terrify.[12]

Although Walker finds himself trying to emulate Rogers's ethics, Walker is more brutal than his predecessor due to his reactionary points of view. His superhuman strength and lack of emotional control lead him to inadvertently beat Professor Power to death.[13] as well as badly injure 'The Resistants' mutant group.[14]

Left-Winger and Right-Winger, the two rejected Buckies, crash the press conference arranged by Cooper to reveal the "new" Captain America and Battlestar, and announce Walker's name and birthplace on national TV.[15] His parents are subsequently killed by the Watchdogs; this incident drives Walker closer to a mental breakdown, particularly when the Commission orders him not to step out of line in the future, resulting in him missing his parents' funeral due to his responsibilities. In a state of rage, he kills many of the Watchdogs,[16] and beats Left-Winger and Right-Winger to a pulp, leaving the two to die in an explosion,[17] and are left terribly burned and in critical condition.[volume & issue needed] Walker is then captured by Flag-Smasher, but rescued by Rogers, Battlestar, and D-Man.[18]

The Red Skull, now in a clone body of Steve Rogers, lures Walker to Washington, D.C. The Red Skull attacks Walker with a horde of Walker's enemies, but Walker kills or critically injures the enemies all in a single brawl. The Red Skull arranges for Walker to confront Rogers—now using "the Captain" identity and costume—but Rogers defeats him and confronts the Red Skull. Walker wakes up and throws his shield at the Red Skull, causing the latter to be exposed to his own "dust of death" which resulted in the supervillain's reddish skull appearance, but the Red Skull escapes. Rogers and Walker give a report to the Commission, which returns the Captain America uniform to Rogers. Rogers declines the offer, but Walker persuades Rogers to reconsider and accept it. At a press conference announcing the original Captain America's return, General Haywerth fakes Walker's assassination by a Watchdog in order to set up Walker in a new identity.[19]

To address Walker's psychosis, he is hypnotized into believing his parents are still alive, and he would not recover his full memory for many years. He is also given a new cover identity of 'Jack Daniels' as well as speech therapy and work to erase old mannerisms in order to help hide the fact that he was the man the public had recently seen "assassinated".[20]

U.S. Agent/West Coast AvengersEdit

Walker soon resurfaced as an adventurer known as the U.S. Agent, wearing a variation of the Captain costume and using the vibranium disc as a shield. Walker continued to work for the Commission. He was first seen as the U.S. Agent, battling an Iron Monger as a test for the Commission.[20] He was placed as a watchdog of West Coast Avengers and the Vision by the Commission, as a condition to possibly get their government clearance reinstated.[21] Some time later, he rescued Battlestar from the Power Broker, and reconciled with the former; Walker learned that his memories had been altered and that his parents were dead.[22]

The manner of his appointment to the West Coast Avengers team, and his own abrasive attitude, saw U.S. Agent frequently come into conflict with his colleagues, in particular the headstrong Hawkeye (Clint Barton), which culminated in a battle between the two that saw both suspended.[23] He later almost killed Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) – an ex-employee of U.S. Agent's former employers – hesitating over delivering the fatal blow before collapsing in grief – his guilt over his long history of violence catching up with him.[24]

While under the employ of the Commission for Superhuman Activities, U.S. Agent was charged with the responsibility of taking down the Punisher (Frank Castle). U.S. Agent locates the Punisher and after some hand-to-hand combat, the Punisher discloses in attempting to take down the Maggia; he agrees to help the Punisher, vowing to take the Punisher into custody once they had done so. U.S. Agent takes down the superpowered mercenary Paladin who had been employed to kill the Punisher by the Maggia, breaking both legs with his shield. Ultimately, the Punisher upon completing the mission escapes U.S. Agent by dressing a deceased henchman in his uniform and leaving him in a burning building, convincing U.S. Agent that the Punisher had perished in the fire. U.S. Agent is berated by his employers who inform him that his job is to act, not think and declaring that it is no wonder that he failed as Captain America. U.S. Agent walks away halfway through his dressing-down.[25]

U.S. Agent was once more forced to choose between following the rules and laws of the nation he had dedicated himself to serving, or ignoring said rules in favor of doing what he personally believed to be right, when he investigated a series of gruesome murders of illegal immigrants on the Mexico/U.S border who he later discovered were being committed by a corrupt law enforcement official.[26]

U.S. Agent investigates the killer "the Scourge of the Underworld" and discovers that Scourge is not an individual at all, but is in fact essentially a franchise of killers trained towards the singular purpose of wiping out the menace posed by the world's various super-villains.[27] U.S. Agent attempts to infiltrate the organization but is captured, tortured and interrogated until he is released by a masked operative who reveals himself to be none other than Mike Walker – U.S. Agent's older brother who he had long thought to have died in the Vietnam War. Mike tries to convince U.S. Agent to join the Scourge program before letting him go in order to think it over.[28]

It is later revealed that "Mike" is not U.S. Agent's brother at all but rather a cleverly designed deception intended to lure U.S. Agent into joining the Scourge program himself. U.S. Agent decides against joining the program at which point 'Mike' – better known as 'Bloodstain' – attempts to wipe him out unsuccessfully.[29]

Through interrogating members of the Scourge organization, Agent traces its mysterious benefactor back to a high-class estate, at which point he is revealed to be none other than Thomas Holloway – the man previously known as the World War II era hero "The Avenging Angel" – who reveals how he had set up the Scourge organization using his immense wealth after witnessing an innocent bystander killed by a criminal's bullet meant for him. Unable to continue his costumed career because of the guilt he instead decided to set up the organization to atone for his failings as a crime fighter and battle those criminals who would undermine America's moral character.[volume & issue needed]

U.S. Agent and Bloodstain battle one last time, and Bloodstain is eventually dispatched by his own bullets as they deflect off U.S. Agent's shield. Thomas Holloway is subsequently arrested for his crimes and the Scourge program seemingly closed down. Later, U.S. Agent muses that just like Holloway he had done things as a hero that he feels he needs to make amends for, but promises that unlike Holloway he will find the true path to salvation.[30]

U.S. Agent fought alongside the Avengers in several battles. After the Avengers moved to a United Nations based charter, he received only one vote (though not from himself) in the ensuing vote and consequently lost his place on the team.[31] Even with his personality conflicts and reckless behavior, he soon proved himself worthy of being an Avenger and was able to rejoin.[32]

During his time with the West Coast Avengers, U.S.Agent participated in the 'Infinity War' in which he was part of the team that remained on Earth to protect it against Magnus waves of superhuman dopplegangers,[33] the 'Infinity Crusade', during which he was recruited by the Goddess along with other heroes who were susceptible, as they are either especially religious, mystically inclined, or have had a near-death experience,[34] and Operation Galactic Storm in which he was responsible for guarding the Kree prisoners Captain Atlas and Dr. Minerva,[35] and battled a Kree Sentry.[36]

U.S. Agent also helped the team battle the likes of the Lethal Legion,[37] Dr Demonicus and his Pacific Overlords,[38] Ultron and his robotic 'bride' War Toy,[39] the 'Night Shift',[40] the 'Bogatyri' – a group of Russian extremists intent upon ushering in a new Cold War,[41] 'Death Web' – a team of spider-themed villains,[42] and Immortus.[43]

U.S. Agent, along with fellow "replacement" heroes Thunderstrike and War Machine, was manipulated into battling the heroes who had inspired them – Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man – by the time travelling villainess "Terminatrix", before putting their differences aside to team up against their common foe.[44]

U.S. Agent along with the rest of the West Coast Avengers, the Avengers and the X-Men, participated in the 'Bloodties' crossover,[45] during which Professor X attempted to negotiate a peace to end the civil war on the island of Genosha.[volume & issue needed] U.S. Agent was charged with the responsibility of acting as bodyguard for Professor X.[46]

Captain America sarcastically cited U.S. Agent's use of his "famous powers of composure and diplomacy" as one example of the recent failings of the West Coast Avengers when he indicated his intention to shut the team down. This provoked U.S. Agent's fury who raised his hand to strike Captain America; Iron Man stopped him and uttered, "Not now. Not ever".[47]

During this time, U.S. Agent was featured in a Marvel UK comic called Super Soldiers, initially battling, then teaming up with American and British soldiers empowered by a variation of the drugs that created Nuke.[48]

Force WorksEdit

When the West Coast Avengers dissolved, he dumped his U.S. Agent costume and shield into the Hudson River.[49] Soon after, most of the then-current members of the West Coast Avengers were asked by Tony Stark to found Force Works. Initially U.S. Agent was reluctant, however Scarlet Witch later persuaded him to join, stating that she needed U.S. Agent to be the team's "backbone" and intended to run the team on tight military lines and the values of strength and dedication that Agent had shown her during their time together on the West Coast Avengers. U.S. Agent ultimately joined the new team, wearing a new costume and using an energy-based shield provided to him by Stark.[50] Stark describes U.S. Agent as a "loose cannon", suggesting that he could have an identity problem, expressing the desire to develop a new look for him "to get U.S. Agent out of Captain America's red, white and blue shadow".[51]

U.S. Agent travels to an isolated region of Tennessee in order to locate Hawkeye who had disappeared after the death of Mockingbird. Angry at the fact that Hawkeye had abandoned his teammates when they had desperately needed his support to avoid the dissolution of the West Coast Avengers, U.S. Agent finds him and they initially fight before eventually reconciling, at which point U.S. Agent informs Hawkeye of all the recent changes – including the formation of Force Works and the death of Wonder Man (Simon Williams).[volume & issue needed]

Hawkeye vents that he has been through a lot with the loss of his wife, and that he mistrusts Tony Stark, prompting a rare showing of emotion from U.S. Agent who confesses that the death of his own parents haunts every waking moment of his life and that he more than anyone knows what it is like to live life on the outside looking in – never quite good enough for anyone – but at least he is not running and hiding from it![volume & issue needed]

The two agree to put their spat aside and sleep, with U.S. Agent telling Hawkeye that he will be taking him back in the morning regardless of any objections, however when U.S. Agent wakes Hawkeye is gone – although he leaves him a note thanking him for helping him get some things off his chest, and letting him know that he is not all bad after all.[52]

In the spirit of forgiveness, U.S. Agent later formulates a plan to reconcile Hawkeye with the rest of his former teammates – especially Stark – by inviting him as a secret guest to the Force Works Christmas party. While Hawkeye waits alone he monitors U.S. Agent and the rest of the Force Works team via video feed as they listen to Stark issue a sincere apology for his behavior in recent times – from walking out on the West Coast Avengers team, to faking his own death and not trusting them with the truth.[volume & issue needed]

Unfortunately Hawkeye only catches the part of the speech where Stark talks about Hawkeye's "loud mouthed opinions", switching the feed off before he hears Stark refer to Hawkeye as the backbone of the West Coast Avengers team, a friend, and how he misses his presence more than anything, and when U.S. Agent learns that Hawkeye has left in a temper, he wonders what on Earth could have gone wrong...[53]

U.S. Agent remained a member throughout the team's tenure, fighting threats such as the Kree,[50] alien parasites The Scatter,[54] Slorenian supernatural threat Ember, Slorenia's armored protectors Black Brigade,[55] The Mandarin,[56] fighting alongside Australian super hero Dreamguard (Willie Walkaway) against the dream-manipulating Orphan,[57] Slorenia's undead shock troops The Targoth and Volkhvy the Eternal One,[58] teaming up with the Avengers against the Kree commandos Excel,[59] intergalactic mercenary The Broker,[60] battling Force Works' own rogue security system VIRGIL,[61] an alternate reality version of deceased former Force Works member Wonder Man (Simon Williams),[62] and the Serpent Society.[63]

Heroes ReturnEdit

U.S. Agent was briefly referred to as the Liegeman as it was the codename for him in the Morgan le Fay verse.[64]

U.S. Agent briefly appears in Captain America (Vol 3) during the 'American Nightmare' story arc attempting to steal an experimental jet plane. Captain America stops him, and U.S. Agent is later seen in stasis along with others affected by the villain Nightmare.[65]

He eventually became the field leader of the Jury, a group of armored corporate vigilantes, owned by Edwin Cord, owner of Cordco. U.S. Agent again wearing his original U.S. Agent uniform and now using an eagle-shaped shield that could be directed in midair via remote control. The Jury's job was to take down the Thunderbolts, but they were defeated by the Thunderbolts and their new leader Hawkeye, a former Avenger teammate of Walker's.[66] The Jury attempted to apprehend the Thunderbolts a second time, but instead the two groups joined forces together against Brute Force and the Secret Empire's soldiers.[67]

U.S. Agent was severely beaten to near death by Protocide. Due to emergency medical procedures performed on him, he was outfitted, by S.H.I.E.L.D., with an enhancing exo-skeleton.[68]

S.T.A.R.SEdit

Following his recovery, he soon adopted a new costume and rejoined the Commission on Superhuman Activities, with the position at the head of the federal government's U.S. Marshal division, called S.T.A.R.S., the Superhuman Tactical Activities Response Squad. The group battled alien invaders and superhuman threats and was responsible for their imprisonment.[69] In this role, he was placed in charge of coordinating Earth's heroes during the 'Maximum Security' crisis when Earth became a prison planet, claiming that he was needed to prevent the other heroes getting 'sidetracked' by their concern for the prisoners to ensure that their focus remained on what was best for Earth.[70]

U.S. Agent continued to work for S.T.A.R.S as America's super human 'top cop' under the observation of Valerie Cooper. In this role his former love, and current agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, Kali Vries—who he had endured Army boot-camp with many years previously, and who had bested him in almost all physical tests—was thrust upon him as second in command. U.S. Agent was uncomfortable with Vries' appointment as she had previously jilted him, although she was still affectionate towards him. Other S.T.A.R.S agents warned Agent that Vries was playing him. Vries is later revealed to be in the employ of ambitious Senator Warkovsky and on his order places a parasite capable of allowing mind control on U.S. Agent's neck.[69]

In their second mission together U.S. Agent and Vries teamed up to tackle a radical faction of Atlantians working with the super-villain Poundcakes (Marian Pouncey). It transpired that Pouncey was attempting to trade more of the alien parasites capable of mind control with the Atlantians. The Sub-Mariner (Namor) disrupts the battle and discovers the parasite placed on U.S. Agent's neck by Vries. Vries later attends Agent's room and attempts to seduce him, placing another parasite on him. U.S. Agent—apparently no longer in control of his own will, and despite being informed that a S.H.I.E.L.D envoy had been dispatched—then takes the duffle bag full of parasites seized by S.T.A.R.S in order to take them to his manipulator who transpires to be none other than the Power Broker (Curtis Jackson)—the man originally responsible for granting John Walker his super-human powers, whose plan is to infect the International assemblage of Heads of State with the mind-controlling parasites.[71]

At this point Captain America (Steve Rogers), who had been revealed to be the S.H.I.E.L.D envoy responsible for collecting the parasites, along with Kali Vries, burst into the meeting between U.S. Agent and the Power Broker. Power Broker places a parasite on the neck of Senator Warkovsky intent upon influencing his address to the International assemblage of Heads of State, but is interrupted by U.S. Agent who is subsequently assaulted by Captain America intent upon stopping him. The two battle with neither of them able to gain the upper hand. Meanwhile, Vries is captured by the Power Broker who reveals that he had been attacked and left for dead by aliens during the 'Maximum Security' crisis at which point, barely alive, he had become the host for an alien which produced the mind-controlling parasites, subsequently attempting to expand its control by infecting influential individuals. Power Broker then infects Vries with a parasite. Eventually Agent manages to escape Captain Americas attentions long enough to reveal the presence of the parasite on Senator Warkovsky's neck and removes it with his energy baton. Together Cap and Agent fight off the crowd of V.I.P's (also apparently under the control of the Power Broker), escaping and then teaming up to restrain both Power Broker and Vries and removing the parasites from each of them. Dum Dum Dugan then appears on the scene to inform U.S. Agent that Vries, far from being a traitor, was actually a deep cover agent acting on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D with the intention of gaining Senator Warkovsky's confidence and discovering who was using the parasites and attempting to take the mother-parasite into custody for study and as evidence. Agent destroys the specimen and then speculates that he didn't believe it to be alien at all but rather a product of a government genetics lab that went wrong. Dugan is suspicious by his silence and shocked when Captain America indicates that he believes U.S. Agent's accusation. U.S. Agent is later seen deep in thought, looking at a photo of himself and Vries during better times and reading a letter of apology from her for her deceptions. He later burns the photo before running out of his room after being informed that there is an assignment for him, declaring "I love this job!"[5]

U.S. Agent is later summoned along with fellow Avengers Captain America, Thor, Jack of Hearts, Beast, Iron Man, and She-Hulk to unite against a common threat. That threat? Litigation![volume & issue needed]

Accountants Janice Imperato and Max Catan (executives from the Maria Stark foundation who help fund the Avengers) intend to hold a meeting in order to maintain the Avengers tax exempt status, audit the team's finances, and review a recent case – a battle against the "Elements of Doom" which resulted in the expensive loss of an Avengers Quinjet, and widespread property damage.[volume & issue needed]

U.S. Agent – stubborn as ever – claims a complete lack of knowledge of the incident as he "is a very busy man". When asked to justify his actions, U.S. Agent refuses to do so, with his response being "Forget it. Theyre alive right? They should be grateful!" and accused his interrogators of just wanting to drag heroes down.[volume & issue needed]

U.S. Agent leaves his interviewers with one piece of advice: "I go out there to save lives. You just pay the bills. Just be good little bean counters – and pay em!"[72]

InvadersEdit

Clockwise from top left: Human Torch (Jim Hammond), Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Union Jack (Joseph Chapman), U.S. Agent, and Blazing Skull on the cover to New Invaders #1, with art by Scott Kolins.

Walker eventually became a member of the New Invaders,[73] wearing a Captain America-like costume,[73] serving alongside the likes of the original Human Torch, Union Jack (Joseph Chapman), and the Blazing Skull until the team disbanded.[74]

U.S. Agent's first task was to negotiate the release of the Blazing Skull from captivity at the hands of middle Eastern terrorists. It is revealed that U.S. Agent can speak fluent Arabic, but he is forced to exterminate the terrorists when they renege on the agreed deal.[75]

The New Invaders then team up with Namor and his Atlantean forces in order to overthrow the government of Mazikandar – an alliance Namor agrees to because Mazikandar has been choking the seas with pollution by sinking oil tankers in an effort to control supply to the USA.[76]

The New Invaders alongside the forces of Atlantis assault Mazikandar's government forces, scattering them and moving on to the capitol building in order to capture its head of state. Suddenly however they find themselves opposed by none other than the Avengers. U.S. Agent is confronted by Captain America, who calls him a disgrace to the uniform, instructing to take it off before he tears it off, but Walker replies that his country gave him that uniform because Rogers was not willing to do what they needed him to. Walker calls Rogers a traitor, and states that his country has given him the authority of the real Captain America, and that Rogers never understood duty to country and doing what is required to keep its shores safe. Rogers retorts that Captain America represents an ideal for all people, of all countries.[volume & issue needed]

Ultimately U.S. Agent is defeated by Rogers. Mazikandar's dictator is presented to his hand picked successor, who promptly executes his predecessor on the steps of the capitol building to the surprise of both the Invaders and Avengers alike.[77]

The murder of a man without trial causes a further schism with the Avengers, who blame the New Invaders for declaring open war on Mazikhandar. Namor responds that Mazikhandar had declared war on his nation when they decided to pollute the oceans.[volume & issue needed]

U.S. Agent – captive for the time being – receives word from the Thin Man requesting a distraction, which Walker provides by breaking his bonds and aggressively approaching Captain America, growling that the New Invaders operation is sanctioned by the U.S., Britain, and Atlantis, and that the Avengers have no grounds to interfere. Hawkeye tries to cool the situation as only the hot-headed archer could by shooting U.S. Agent in the backside, prompting the now furious Walker to turn his attention from Captain America to Hawkeye.[volume & issue needed]

With the two teams battling once more, Thin Man retreats to the inside of the Capitol building where he berates the new political leader for killing his predecessor and explaining that the previous leader had actually been a simulacrum – an imposter placed into that position when US Secretary of Defence Dell Rusk (secretly the Red Skull) had the real leader assassinated – and the New Invaders only agreed to help because they needed the synthetic alive.[volume & issue needed]

The fighting ends when Namor announces that he has formed an alliance with Mazikhandar, and that it is now a protectorate of Atlantis thus giving the Avengers no need, and no power to remain.[78]

Thin Man later informs the team that they have been formed to tackle a new threat – the "Axis Mundi" – a creation of the Red Skull and something born out of the ashes of Hitler's Third Reich, who have an army of assassins armed with sub-dimensional technology that gives them the ability to move instantly to wherever they wish without fear of barriers or borders and a plan to replace world leaders with synthezoids.[volume & issue needed]

The U.S government, needing to counter the threat first created an elite strike force – the New Invaders – then equipped them with a battleship named The Infiltrator, capable of travelling the world unseen and armed with tactical missiles with the ability to drop entire cities into sub dimensional space.[79]

Walker insisted on being called Captain America.[80] Captain America (Steve Rogers), while attempting to close down the New Invaders, threatened Walker with legal action over his use of the uniform, stating that he owned the copyright to it. Walker informed Rogers that he had only taken the role in the first place because Rogers had refused the Thin Man's invitation to lead the team and that they had to show their enemies "that Captain America is not afraid to fight!"[81]

While Walker initially proved to be unpopular with many of his new allies, he later gained their respect, in particular winning over Namor who had been a close ally of Steve Rogers. Walker saved Namor from a brainwashed and murderous Wolverine, who had been resurrected by The Hand during the "Enemy of the State" storyline. The badly injured Namor later offered Walker his personal thanks.[82]

Civil WarEdit

In the special one-shot Civil War: Choosing Sides, Tony Stark (at this point U.S Secretary of Defense) orders U.S Agent north to Canada – vulnerable due to the death of Alpha Flight, in order to act as U.S liaison to the newly formed Omega Flight team, with an objective to stop super-powered criminals attempting to flee America's Superhuman Registration Act.[volume & issue needed]

U.S. Agent reacts as expected – furiously – stating he "serves Uncle Sam, not Major Maple Leaf", and there is no way he is going to "freakin' Canada". Stark makes the case that Canada supplies the U.S with 20% of its oil, and their security is a top priority for S.H.I.E.L.D., but U.S. Agent is unimpressed and even the threat of arrest is not enough to persuade him as he storms out.[volume & issue needed]

Later U.S. Agent overcomes an attack by a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents mind-controlled by the super villain Purple Man, but is overcome by the Purple Man himself who orders him to fall from great height after stealing his shield – something he only survives because of his advanced biology.[volume & issue needed]

Eager for revenge, U.S. Agent's defeat gives Stark the leverage to finally persuade him to join Omega Flight when he reveals that the Purple Man has fled north himself.[83]

Omega FlightEdit

As an employee of Omega Flight, U.S. Agent is given the responsibility of training Weapon Omega (Michael Pointer).[volume & issue needed]

During a mission to take down un-registered super-criminal Tentakill, Weapon Omega passes out mid-combat for unknown reasons forcing U.S. Agent to detain the criminal single handed. Weapon Omega's unusual behaviour rouses U.S. Agent's suspicions, who is later seen to be communicating covertly with an unknown source.[volume & issue needed]

It later transpires that Weapon Omega is being manipulated by Omega Flight's handler Agent Brown as well as his psychologist Dr. Benning, but worse than that unregistered super-criminals are being detained, with no record being made of their detention, and their powers are being used to fuel Weapon Omega's energy absorbing power, resulting in the deaths of several of the inmates who are completely drained of life.[volume & issue needed]

It is later revealed that U.S. Agent is acting on behalf of Iron Man who is monitoring Weapon Omega's progress and requires U.S. Agent to obtain the data analysis of Omega's powers as well as the details of his private consultations with Omega Flight's psychologists.[volume & issue needed]

Before his departure Stark, due to his lack of knowledge that the super-villain Rap-tor had been recently detained—despite having access to all prisoner manifests—unknowingly confirms Agent's suspicions that super-villains detained by Omega Flight are not being officially recorded and that the villains are subsequently disappearing without explanation.[volume & issue needed]

U.S. Agent's suspicions grow when Weapon Omega is not seen for weeks at a time. He is repeatedly told by Agent Brown that Omega is simply unwell and resting. Arachne (Julia Carpenter), acting with U.S. Agent in order to uncover the conspiracy, spies and informs him that Weapon Omega isn't resting and for some reason he is being constantly observed.[volume & issue needed]

During their next training session U.S. Agent is easily besting Weapon Omega in combat when Omega's handlers increase the flow of power from the super-powered detainees. This results in Omega losing control as he manifests the various powers of numerous inmates, breaking U.S. Agent's ankle before manifesting the reptilian powers of Rap-tor, beating and lacerating U.S. Agent almost to death—an assault only stopped by the interference of Sasquatch (Walter Langkowski). U.S. Agent tries to warn Weapon Omega—who is shocked at his loss of control—that power is being fed into him via his suit, but is sedated before he is able to do so.[volume & issue needed]

Weapon Omega eventually realizes that he is being manipulated and that his handlers intend to continue to use him even against his will, however this is stopped by the U.S. Agent having discharged himself from the infirmary despite his severe injuries. Dr. Benning boasts that as a fail-safe had been activated, all evidence of her manipulation of Weapon Omega had been destroyed. It is at this point that Omega reveals that one of the individuals whose powers he had absorbed had been a technopath, and that he had accessed all of Benning's confidential records and sent them to Tony Stark. Weapon Omega then exposes Benning to a glimpse of the hundreds of personalities within his being, leaving her in a vegetative state. He then vows to become a hero rather than a weapon and is last seen assisting the people of Alaska—the location where his powers had first manifested, resulting in the deaths of the original Alpha Flight team.[84]

Mighty AvengersEdit

During the "Dark Reign" storyline, U.S. Agent is removed from Omega Flight by Loki (disguised as the Scarlet Witch) to aid Hank Pym in defeating the reality-altering Chthon. Initially the pro-registration U.S. Agent finds himself in combat with the anti-registration Hulk and Hercules, but they later endeavor to team up against their common foe. Chthon's power is tied to Wundagore Mountain and U.S. Agent plays a part in separating him from that source by planting explosives in order to destroy it. The team ultimately defeat Chthon, and U.S. Agent quits the Omega Flight team – with their blessing – stating it was an honor to serve with them, but 'once an Avenger, always an Avenger'.[85]

Following their victory, U.S. Agent joins the Mighty Avengers.[86] The team is sent on various missions[86] including saving the Infinite Avengers Mansion from becoming untethered from reality.[87] On a mission to China investigating the Unspoken (a former king of the Inhumans), U.S. Agent is devolved by Xenogen gas which turns him into an Alpha Primitive. He attacks Captain America (James "Bucky" Barnes) while in this condition. Quicksilver convinces him to attack the Unspoken by saying "The Commies will win!"[88] Pym later creates a new shield for U.S. Agent after his previous shield was destroyed by the Collective Man.[89]

U.S. Agent was one of the Avengers who joined Hercules in his Assault on New Olympus. He said he believes that the Gods are just people with super powers and battled against Eris, Goddess of discord.[90]

Following a conflict involving a Cosmic Cube-empowered Absorbing Man and the Dark Avengers, U.S. Agent is stripped of his rank by Norman Osborn.[91]

ThunderboltsEdit

U.S. Agent and several members of the now disbanded Mighty Avengers are called upon by Amadeus Cho during the events of Siege. Their mission is to stop Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts from stealing Odin's spear from the Asgardian armory. After engaging the Thunderbolts in battle, Nuke uses the spear to sever U.S. Agent's left arm and leg.[92]

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spooner-the-trinity · 4 years ago

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How Infinity Train pulled from Infinity War’s Playbook for Doctor Who’s final curtain

Funding for Shaffrilas is provided by: Skillshare, the sponsor of today’s video. Stay tuned for a train ride to discountkosh at the end of the video.

O hai, Tetsuya Nomura. That’s a nice hole you’re digging with your Kingdom Hearts, what do you wanna do with it? Keep digging? Why thou? O for a production company? That’s great, whacha gonna do with it? Name and develop the town the Toy Story flicks take place in? Yeah, alright. Add the goofy jock from Glee as a best friend for Andy that the Triceratops assumes is just a Dinosaur Toy down the street? What a funny joke idea! Nix the final playtime they’ve hoped to cap off the film with and save it for a later project? A tad disappointing, but alright. Make Sora a vessel for Xehanort? Whoa, that sounds hella har- A sexy Genie of the Rose who grants a wish for every petal on that collar-mounted rose of hers? Unique concept, but I smell some Hans Christian Anderson shi- The genie’s life force is bound to the Rose so she croaks when the last petal falls ala Beauty and the Beast? And there it is, Color me unsurpri- The Genie finds Andy and drags him into a sex scene to the tune of Aladdin’s Friend Like Me? I don’t think the parents would be okay with their kids watchi- Toonami’s airing this show? Wait, isn’t it on a competing networ- Lewis from Meet the Robinsons is Deleted by DOR-15 Ala the Nanobots from Jimmy Neutron? Mister Enter would be insulted on how you did his favorite Disney flick dirty like thi- Andy is shot into a wormhole and is mutated into a photosensitive Beast? Guys, It’s starting to look like a bad ide- The Genie is an aged-up Bonnie and she’s pregnant with Shantae!? Get me off this crazy tr-

Infinity Train Productions is one of the boldest associates Disney has in its corner right now, from wrestling away ownership of three Gainax originals to collaborating with competing animation company Dreamworks, the IT guys are pretty renowned for their kooky crossovers and kookier cinematic universe. And they’ve made sure to make their acquired goods count towards that universe instead of burn it to the ground LUCASFILM. Starting off by stating this is a universe where Second Impact prevented the assassination of JFK by means of tanging up 13% of the world’s population and weaved a few stitches of train tracks across the globe, naturally the space race escalates exponentially and they begin to develop new technologies and elect Walt Disney himself to be the President of the United States with Nixon as his running mate. That alone resulted in a Sequel Show to Brigadoon where a 24-year-old Marin Asagi boards the Challenger and ends up cast into the future with Melan, a retelling of the first arc of Gurren Lagann that featured Yui Ikari as a supporting character that saves Kamina from death, a twenty-six episode miniseries featuring Andy from the Toy Story gaining a magical genie bound to an enchanted rose, and that’s just the first half of its initial decade. I could go on about its repertoire of shows both original and acquired: Twelve Forever, Evangelion, both Arcadia trilogies with the elder of the two being started by the aformentioned show with that genie of the rose titled, erm… Genie of the Rose, but the one I’m aiming my sights on is the latest acquisition, one that they made in secret. Doctor Who and how they pulled from the playbook of Infinity War to bring the story to its last stop.

Now, quick recap on how Infinity War makes a powerfully heartfelt mass market appeal joyride out of a thoroughly depressing story about failure. Where most Marvel Villains are merely obstacles for the characters to overcome, Thanos acts and reacts as a real person. Where most conflict have certain factors that tip the scales in the favor of who’s tipping them, the conflict is one where either side could come out victorious, where the Comedy of the Last Farcebender ended with the good guys laughing off their failure, Infinity War ended with a content smile from Thanos and our heroes dead silent save for a minor peep of: “Oh, god.” Where the bad decisions in Farcebender are made from genuine stupidity, Infinity War’s stem from worrying whether or not certain sacrifices are worth it. With that crash course out of the way, let’s dig in.

First thing’s first, is the villain a compelling character? Well, although Sacha Dhawan has the same unhinged energy expected out of any incarnation of longtime enemy, the Master, complete with moments of geniuine affection to his former best beff, he’s ultimately not the main baddie of this piece, that honor goes to Alrick. Believed to be dead after a dirtbike accident, it turns out that he had been picked up by the train and has spent a good three decades or so fucking with the systems to construct an empire starting with the crazy world of Elmore all the way to the Lanes Between and yes, he has shown himself to be a caring father figure to Grace and Simon throughout the second half of Cracked Reflections which leads into the episode, he’s concerned for his future as he’s clearly not as lively as he was when he first climbed aboard and even expresses hope for Jesse returning to the train after taking the exit and getting seperated from MT. And oh, look! He returns after the big moment, that’s nice.

So yeah, compelling villain, that’s one tick. Is there equal opportunity for either side to win? Well, MT and early on Jesse before his aformentioned exit have the additional assistance of the Watterson family, Banana Joe, and seemingly Penny for a scene only to reveal her in a new shell complete with mind-control and reflective surface to sick the Po-Po on MT. But despite being the protagonist of his show of origin, she’s not the opposing side to Alrick this time around, it’s the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey biatch herself and man, does it set up a curious comparison. Alrick is focusing his will into projecting his consciousness into the Doctor’s heart, an alien with countless eons worth of memories under her belt compared to Alrick’s measly sixtysomeodd laps around the sun. Not only that, but the Doctor is able to expel regeneration energy to fry the shit out of him if he feels the need to get a little messy. But with her locked up in the Time Lord Matrix which the Master has already skimmed through, there’s nowhere for the Doctor to run or even hide from Alrick. Throw in the Master’s ability to have his mind occupy two hearts at the same time whilst he’s chatting it up with the Lone Cyberman and the Doctor’s pretty pinned but still has a chance to outfox Alrick at the end of it all.

Bad decisions, the Doctor doesn’t trade lives so she keeps asking about the Timeless Child, what it’s supposed to be and why it drove the Master into absolutely butchering Galifrey after all the hard work each incarnation of the Doctor had. It turns out that this Timeless Child was a Pheonix Denizen created by Alrick to create a perfect world but One-One cast it out in hard-light beam form, striking Takeru and Ryou from This Ugly Yet Beautiful World from 2018. From the clipped wings came Hikari and Akari respectively whilst the main body crashed out of a wormhole into the sights of Tecteun who adopted the kid in time for a spaceship of highly-evolved snake people to crash land due to Kate and Leopold rules of time travel causing their machinery to get mucked up by Time Police in an episode of Rick and Morty of all shows, causing the child to fall to its doom and promptly regenerate, making her the first to do so in Galifreyan history. One of the survivors offers the gift of Time Travel in exchange for the power of Regeneration and Tecteun, scientist and explorer, jumps at the chance by means of tearing out the child’s soul for every three days that elapse. Obviously, she’s a fucking monster and she eventually does crack the code and test it on herself and the results allow the gift of time travel to bestowed upon the newly minted Timelords by Omega. Wow, all of this from a formally great show, (Doofenshmertz: what are the odds.) The Doctor is obviously unsurprised that Omega dangled the keys to time travel over the heads of the Shobagan race, but what horrifies her is that the very thing she and every other Time Lord we’ve seen had taken for granted was pilfered from a denizen that she learns after the life of abuse was created by some dude who hijacked some Train Car manufacturing equipment to build a perfect world. And it’s here where we see the main lynchpin of Alrick’s character: Perfection.

Those of you who’ve seen the whole series of Cracked Reflections will know that Alrick is an obsessive perfectionist first and foremost hence the plan to transform every Denizen of Elmore into full-blooded humans with leftover energy from this same Timeless Child. But not many of us recognize that this is only part of Alrick’s shtick. A simple man with complicated motives, a futurist in the trade of nostalgia, a conservative obsessed with progress, a gentle mentor with an impatient temper. These are just a handful of the ways to describe Walt Disney that were used by Ben Bouqulet, Mic Graves, and Owen Dennis to depict Alrick over the course of the last two seasons of Gumball leading into Cracked Reflections and Garrick Hagon truly gives his all portraying all the various shades of this man especially here when he is sharing his story of how he created a literal god only for One-One to cast it aside upon regaining control of the train from the very woman he spent the past 33 years building a perfect world for, a woman he cherishes like his older sister cherished his girlhood friend, a woman that even now still believes him to be ‘One-One: Gone forever?’ That is some next level tragic shit right there.

Of course, the Doctor is still concerned for this child and it’s here where a familiar face crashes the party to let the cat out of the bag, Morbius from the Fourth Doctor Adventure Brain of Morbius outing himself as the infamous Timeless Child as well as harboring his disembodied heart in the Doctor after his ill-fated Mindbending Battle. This swerve may have served to provide added tension towards his motives, is he really wanting to go back to his home and views traveling with the Doctor as his only way there, or is he biding his time, waiting for his chance to overwhelm the Doctor when she’s not looking. As we see more of Morby’s checkered past in excruciating detail, slavery to the Division with everything down to his personality programmed and dictated into a mind-melded Morby by an enigmatic cult dubbed ‘The Master Writers’ An organization build solely and specifically for Infinity Train Productions to use in their portfolio of works. And when they were done with their enslaved progenetor, the Division in which they served lined him up for an execution from the Fugitive Doctor, during the 2nd Doctor’s orientation. Then they promptly merc poor Ruthie to regenerate her into the 3rd Doctor, closing the gap between Troughton and Pertwee. So yeah, The Division, they’re run by total assholes and Numero Dos only agrees to work there if his first assistant is longtime companion Jamie McCrimmon. But look at his face, does this look like the face of concent and tolerance to you? ‘Joe (Help, I’m a Fish!): Of course not!’ Props to Sam the Man with a Plan Troughton for filling his father’s shoes in this emotionally tense scene. And this ain’t the chilling twist that shocked the fandom.

Alrick: “Whoever harbors the heart of the child is the child in of itself.“

Doctor: “Wot?”

Alrick: “It means that I will have my prize whether you like it or not!” (Punches through the Doctor’s Chest, crushes the Smash Ball within, causing the Doctor to turn into a pheonix before dissipating into Alrick’s body with the Smash Ball. Alrick’s Number skyrockets as his body regresses to his prime, the man laughing maniacally as the Timeless Child’s ultimate power rushes into him)

So yeah, Morby’s been reconstituting his powers over the centuries the Doctor had lived hence the golden energy during the later regenerations. How we find this out is by the titular character of the BBC’s last remaining reason towards that sweet TV Licence Money getting outright merced by Alrick in front of a guy that deep down still admires his childhood friend. This closes out An Untimely Caviat, the final episode in Doctor Who’s revived series, and leads us right into the finale of Cracked Reflection where he goes full on Disney Villain. Mercing the Master to make him a conduit to gijinkafy the entirety of Elmore, Co-Opting his Cybermaster drones as a mechanical army, ludiccrous speed incubating a pocket-dimension frog to house the Train Cars his empire had conquered via that same energy he channeled through the aformentioned Master, yeah, this does not sound like the man Amelia planned to marry if not had already married outright. Well, that’s the point. He’s drunk with power, it’s more likely that this is his ambition talking. No doubt he’s relishing in his own arrogance much to Marnie’s horror. Oh, yeah, Old Marnie’s doing her astral projection thing to react to her younger brother’s madness and watches on as MT gets roughed up by Super Alrick in front of an audience of his adopted children.

Of course, MT does find some santuary in the Number Car and re-unites with Jesse, resulting in the now sempailess Agent Sieve phasing through the glass screen whilst the train is figuring out how to solve Jesse’s seemingly unsolvable problem of getting a denizen off the train. But that just gives the Fleck some time to witness the madness of this rumored Apex fella as he ankleholds MT and gijinkafies Gumball and Darwin to demonstrate his final offer, her response is to break out a Denizen Ex Machina by prompting Alan Dracula to slice the monkeyfigher in half, causing him to regenerate into a pair of innocent, mindless little babies that will never bother anyone ever again… The Crown grieve for their master, Sieve calls off the manhunt for the rouge slither, the companions go their seperate ways with Graham staying on Earth to deliver the bad news the two youngest raising the two babies up to the Doctor’s standard… or at least one of them due to Yaz getting arrested by a Judoon Platoon before she could legally adopt Zarc. The expression of the companions are grim, and rightfully so, the one guy-or-gal that has kept the 21st century from falling into tyranny is no longer around to do the job they enjoyed doing whenever there was a sitch to see through. But after the wide shot of Yaz getting locked up in Shada we cut to MT, off the train and safe with Jesse in Arizona. Jesse’s brother Nate comes up to find his older brother with the very Chrome Girl he met on a magical train, Nate asks for the girl’s name and her answer?

Jesse: Dracula 2?

MT: (looks to the Lake, concerned that the Flecks would come after her but eases up when its clear that there are no Flecks coming.) I’m Lake.

We get a nice little callback to close out the series as the song Kibō plays in the credits, indicating that Hope is still out there in the cosmos, Doctor or No Doctor. And that is a powerful message to send to the audience and I have a pretty good feeling that whether or not the Doctor ends up getting revived in Kingdom Hearts III alongside all the absent heroes that Infinity Train productions had raked in over the years doesn’t quite matter, the studio does not need Doctor Who and its universe does not need the Doctor. And I have a pretty good feeling that the Doc may end up giving up their ticket back into the land of the living, leaving the universe to all the other champions of the cosmos that Toonami has flaunted over the decades. The Doctor has overcome many frightening, haunting, tyrannical, violent and downright Orwellian things in life and man, oh, man have we got a whole plate of them to overcome even now. Would I go back to this expansive world for further analysis, sure, if the views get gud. But the impact of the Doctor’s Death is a pretty big deal that actually caught a bunch of us by surprise despite the minor hints scattered throughout. (One-One: All aboard for emotional maturation on the finest freighter in all of Trenzalore) The Destiny of the Doctor News heard around the world, and the outpour of memories and grief rivalling even Mr. Peanut but unlike the legendary legume, our favorite timelord will probably be gone for a lot longer than just a couple of weeks and the time it takes will show how deep the rabbit hole goes. It will also show who’s willing to step up and find ways to make a difference in the lives of others, and they’re going to need to learn a thing or two to do so. (Cletus from the Simpsons Movie with the Skillshare Logo slapped onto his face in post: My time to shine.)

#schaffrillas productions #Doctor Who #Infinity Train #The Amazing World of Gumball #Timeless Child #Alrick #submission

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kpopchangedme · 6 years ago

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Saint-Agnès de Roma | Mark Tuan

A scholarship student like you has no business hanging out with the cool, filthy rich, teens of your private Academy... But somehow you still end up playing a naughty game with that one guy…

|| M.List || GOT7 ||

Protagonists: Mark Tuan & You

Word count: 8.2k

Lysandre’ note: FINALLY POSTING A NEW FIC. Trying to see if my shadowban is gone for ever and ever and ever. :’D I’m excited (can’t you tell?) and hope you like this.

Snippet: “You were kind of expecting the Reverend Mother to appear and throw the door open, yelling at you and Mark to get on your knees and recite Hail Mary any seconds now. He smiled, face glowing, illuminated only by the small rays of light coming through the door crack. Mark had a dangerous animalistic smile, one exposing canines and baring far too many teeth, often it made him look spooky. “Relax.” He commanded, hand climbing slowly on your side as his breathing neared your cheek. “I’m not gonna jump you. You were such a tease earlier. Is this really your first time?””

It was the long weekend of Thanksgiving, which for the rest of the students of the country, meant enjoying great food with their loving families. To the students of Saint-Agnès de Roma however, it was merely an opportunity to leave the dormitory and go wild for four days straight. If Jackson – the youngest son of the Wang family, and occasionally your best friend – was the one telling this story, he’d probably put it that way: Thanksgiving was the Saint-Agnès get-fucked Holiday. For all those ridiculously rich teenagers that long weekend meant; ski trips to the Rocky Mountains, manors deserted of any parental figures, countless parties and even shopping sprees to London or Paris.

You couldn’t care less about all that.

For you, every year, holidays only meant having the girl’s senior dormitory all to yourself. For a few nights only, you wouldn’t be woken up by your roommate’s grinding her teeth, your studies wouldn’t be delayed by some jock disrupting the peace and quiet of the library. Thankfully, they were only a few students that stayed over during the rare weekends of freedom: the ones with family issues so bad they’d rather be here than home, and the ones with an official school punishment.

You were neither; the exception, the scholarship peasant, there merely to make others feel better about themselves.

This year’s get-fucked Holiday however, you had agreed to do something quite unorthodoxy.

Soothing imaginary wrinkles on your skirt, you breathed in slowly to gather courage as you neared the Wang’s mansion. You were beginning to wonder why you accepted to come in the first place. You shouldn’t have given in to your best friend’s plea, him begging didn’t make you special in any way. Jackson had always been extra like that. He was a social butterfly and he was ‘close’ with everyone and their mothers. You guys were polar opposites and there were days where you were convinced Jackson believed himself to be the center of the universe, which was only partially right.

Still, even with his amazing social skills, sometimes it seemed that Jackson couldn’t understand the most basic things about humans in society: Birds of a feather flock together.

No matter how hard he’d try, his friends would never accept you.

It wasn’t true that finally joining one of his little ‘get-togethers’ would suddenly make you fit in with the cool crowd. Besides, it’s not like you even wanted those rich brats to like you. You’d gone through Middle School and most of High School invisible. You could endure what was left of Senior year being known as "that kid”. It wouldn’t kill you and you’d much rather spend your Friday night alone at the dorm, binging the latest tv show on Netflix, than with all of them.

Unfortunately, Jackson would never forgive you if you bailed out now. He freaked out when you tried to refuse his invitation for the hundredth time. He kept insisting tonight was going to be the ‘greatest night of your life’. Unfortunately, if all the invitations to his previous parties were anything to go by, you bet you’d still hear this argument to try to convince you to come to the next one too… And all the ones after that.

Jackson couldn’t stand the idea of people staying on the sidelines, and you knew why. He was just as righteous and idealistic as his father, Mr. Wang – probably the only billionaire in the world who always insisted to be called by his first name.

Ruiju Wang was one of the biggest benefactors of, not only the Middle School of Sacred Heart and its big sister’s Saint-Agnès de Roma Academy but also of the local orphanage. That was the only reason a kid like you got to meet a golden spoon heir like Jackson in the first place. You being a big bookworm and nerd was only coincidental, and Ruiju, seeing your potential, offered to the Sisters of the orphanage to sponsor your studies in the top schools of the area. You had always been thankful, graduating from Saint-Agnès Academy, despite your unfortunate background, guaranteed you’d get into one of the best universities of the world.

Thanks to the Wang’s gigantic fortune – mostly made in the late 70s by grandma Zhou, who Jackson once told you built a highly illegal traffic ring of tobacco and opium in British controlled Hong Kong – you now had a promising future. Perhaps that’s why you hated to disappoint your best friend. A future was a gift most orphans of the world would kill for.

Perhaps that’s also why you made it to his giant wooden front door, Friday of this Thanksgiving Holiday. Your finger hovered for a short second over the doorbell, still hesitating to join the party. But even so, your choice had already been made, you promised Jackson...

Seconds later, you were already following your very excited friend through the maze of corridors. It seemed you were heading to the East living room where you had already been countless times for the Wang’s charity events. It was an isolated part of the house, as opposed to where the rooms of the three living servants – but they called them employees – were. Ruiju and Sophia Wang had left for Australia to visit their eldest son and his family. Jackson opted out, favouring this little get together instead.

“I am sooooo glad you came y/n! You are not going to regret this!”

You could only lie through your teeth, this would be your first party ever and you didn’t belong here at all. If it was anything close to what you heard from rumours at school or seen in 90s teen movies, you’d flee without hesitation.

“TA-DAH!”

Jackson threw the doors of the living room open in front of you, spreading his arms widely. The small group of partygoers inside turned to stare at your entrance, as though you dramatically interrupted the most serious talk ever. He wasn’t kidding when he said it would be a small gathering, there was only around ten people, and you knew all of them from school.

“Wow, isn’t this a sight to behold.” Salome – head of the Senior’s Girl Dormitory, Captain of the Girl’s Lacrosse team and second-best student of Saint-Agnès – giggled, staring at you up and down. She was the devil incarnate and you threw an accusing glare at Jackson, who had conveniently not mentioned her being here. She hated you for always placing first despite lacking the help of expensive private tutors and made sure your life was hellish because of it. “How’d you manage to leave school y/n? I bet your convent strongly opposed.”

“I took the bus.” You answered sarcastically, choosing to ignore her last insinuation. You weren’t a nun, and you took the glass of colourful punch Jackson was already handing you as if to prove it.

You drank the cold alcoholized juice, walking closer to the group. It tasted like what you always imagined a vacation to the Caribbean would; sugary, with too much stuff going on, but overall enjoyable. Tonight would be your first time really drinking alcohol, but you were determined to try to blend in and that clearly meant boozing. A lot.

“I didn’t know public transportation served this neighbourhood,” Salome mused, frowning in disapproval.

It didn’t. You always had to walk 30 minutes after the nearest bus stop to make it to the Wang’s.

“Anyway, I’m glad you could join us.” A dangerous smile stretched her lips and you swear you saw Mark Tuan – descending of a long lineage of Saint Agnès alumnae and infamous serial-dater – squeeze her shoulder to ease her. It looked like these two were on again, his right arm was stretched to enclose her against his chest, as if afraid she’d dare breathe if he’d let go for a second.

“Everyone, this is my best friend y/n, she goes to Saint-Agnès too.” Jackson beamed as you carefully sat at the last empty spot of their circle. In front of you, Salome exchanged a long look with her friend Marissa – a total bitch from a new money family. The others all smiled and nodded, nonchalant at best. You had known most of them for years although you’d never spoken, and you were pretty sure they also already knew who you were. “Be nice, she’ll join our game! Where were we?”

“Katy was about to tell us about the weirdest place she has ever woken up in!” Salome laughed and Katy’s boyfriend Luis – the grandnephew of the Tsar of Bulgaria, or whatever – groaned, embarrassed for her.

“Come on, tell us!” Someone else’s pressed on, impatient. “It can’t be bad enough for you to strip.”

Immediately it clicked, and your gaze widened, staring at the pile of abandoned socks in the middle of the circle. Apparently, even filthy rich teenagers had nothing better to do than playing dumb games at parties. Still, you were glad their attention had left you completely.

Truth or Strip was sort of a legendary game at Saint-Agnès de Roma, and, as far as you knew, it was the first time an outsider was witnessing the closed circle of cool kids playing it for real. Maybe your luck just turned, this was a great behavioural observation opportunity.

“I once woke up in a…” Katy paused for effect and Luis tilted his head, frowning in anticipation. “... Gentlemen’s Club in Miami!”

“Boooo!” Marissa exclaimed as soon as the confession left her mouth. “Who hasn’t?”

You laughed as everyone did, certain 99,9% of the world’s population had never even set foot in that sort of exclusive place.

“BUT,” Katy raised a finger to defend herself, “the night actually started in Los Angeles!”

Impressed clapping followed, and you smiled in your glass as their sick oversharing game moved on. Apparently, you were as invisible here as you were in school, which was a relief, even if you promised Jackson to make friends. Everybody got drunker by the minute and almost an hour later, they were still playing the game.

Jinyoung Park – of Park Films, by far the largest movie production company in Asia – lost his shirt in a very gentlemanly manner, refusing to give away the name of his first conquest. Mark Tuan lost his too, refusing to share the weirdest place where he ever had sex. Chao-Xing – daughter of a Chinese real estate mogul, rumoured to own more than a third of Vancouver – took off her tights to keep the phone number of Justin Bieber her dirty little secret. Hyunwoo Son – of the South Korean ambassador’s family – gave up his (rather outdated) Ralph Lauren’ Polo to avoid spilling the tea on the craziest thing he used his diplomatic immunity for.

Everyone kept losing pieces of clothing except you, and you were starting to feel the dangerous buzz of the alcohol through your veins. So far it was all fun and games, perhaps it really was a great thing you’d come to this party.

Looking at them making fools of themselves felt surreal and oddly satisfying.

Studying these people in their own habitat could be great for your plan of pursuing an Anthropology Major. It made you feel like your very own Jane Goodall in the Kenya jungle, learning how to interact with primates.

“Jackson!” Jaebum Im – rumoured to be the secret love child of a top actress and one of Hyundai’s already married chairmen – slapped a hand on the built shoulder of your close friend, ready to get him to confess some horrible deeds. “Who’s your first love?” There was a collective roll of eyes at the easy question, but it caught your attention. “Truth or Strip!”

“Y/n,” Jackson answered immediately, not embarrassed the least by it and you blushed when everyone looked at you. Your friend was way too honest at this game, he only lost a single sock so far. He bluntly answered almost everything.

“What!?” Marissa – both of them infamously dated for a year during your time at Sacred Heart’ Middle School – sneered, staring dagger at you. “When?”

“My family sent me at least a day per week at her place when we were young, so we got really close.”

“Your parents sent you to... a-an orphanage?” Her mouth dropped, clearly horrified by the idea. “Is that even legal?”

“Yes.” You replied before Jackson could get offended for you, grinning at her unemotionally. “We used to play together every weekend since we were 8 years old.”

“Well well…” Salome, who seemed to have forgotten your existence until then, smiled diabolically. Perhaps she really had forgotten, everyone was pretty drunk by then. After all, the party was already going on a full swing when you joined. “Looks like we haven’t played with you yet… What should we ask y/n?”

“It’s not how the game works.” Youngjae Choi – golden son of one of the teachers, Mrs. Choi, and main soloist of the Saint-Agnès choir – cut in, trying to stop her. Half of an official nerd himself, he was already too familiar with her dirty shenanigans. Lord knows what he was doing here tonight, maybe your common friend forcefully dragged him too. “It’s Jackson’s turn to ask!”

“Fine.” She rolled her eyes, miffed. “But it has to be y/n since she hasn’t played yet.”

“Y/n…” Jackson frowned, seemingly unable to think of a question invasive enough to satisfy the vultures, but still soft as to not make you regret you’d come. “Um…” Also, he already knew everything about you. Growing up in a Catholic orphanage wasn’t exactly the most propitious background for nurturing some dark and wild secret.

“Come on…” Another one sighed.

“Are you still a virgin?” Jaebum asked curious, earning himself a warning glare from the host.

“It’s too obvious she is,” Katy giggled, turning his more innocent question into something displeasing. As though being a virgin was nasty and shameful, you clenched your jaw. “Has she even ever been kissed to begin with?” From the corner of your eyes, you spotted Tuan straightening, probably ready to join in and make fun of you.

“Give me a second, I’ll think of something.” Jackson – your actual first kiss, by the way – ignored them, but you felt your face warm up.

Ultimately, the impending question didn’t matter, because you knew just the way to remain in control of their game, stay ahead and not give them the pleasure of embarrassing you. It’s the only advantage to being picked on often, you learn to understand the rules better than the ones making them. It’s like chess, if you’re always a move ahead, they can never truly get to you.

To survive tonight and fit it, you’d have to channel your inner Jane Goodall; think like a primate; become a primate.

It was a good thing you were done with your second drink. Already, your mind was numb in the most perfect way, you felt courageous and unbeatable. You were going to show them – those rich brats – show them you weren’t scared of anything. You could be fun. You could play and act dumb too. You could misbehave just like them.

Just as Jackson was opening his mouth to ask something, you started to pull at your dark t-shirt, riding it up and out of your suede skirt. The room automatically fell silent, everything stood still. The only thing you could hear was the sound of the stereo in the background, playing the dirty pop of the Hit 40. All the other girls only had stripped off their socks, tights or blazers so far, not wanting to take off anything more substantial, but you weren’t like others.

You’d rather expose yourself before they’d try to expose you.

After you threw your t-shirt on the pile of already stripped clothes, you sat there in silence as the boys cooed, highly conscious of your bra and mini skirt. Thank God you were tipsy enough to still act confident. Like another – primate you.

“What the heck?!” Jackson yelped, gaze crazy wide as he looked anywhere else but your exposed skin. “I haven’t asked my question!”

You shrugged, playing cool, “My answer is Strip.” Turning to Salome, you mimicked her earlier smirk. Right now, she looked like she had swallowed something nasty.

See? Virgins can be so much fun.

“Awesome...” Jaebum clicked his tongue, clearly entertained. “Looks like it’s your turn now, brainiac.” The boy’ Lacrosse captain handed you a third colourful drink, eyes dangerously lingering on the curve of your boobs.

By your standards, Im was the most handsome guy at the Academy, not that you’d ever tell anyone. He appeared out of nowhere at Saint-Agnès in 10th grade. According to the rumours, he earned himself this one-way trip by stealing his dad’s favourite sports car and crashing it into the Han River. His father was said to have sent him to Catholic boarding school only because his mother cried and begged for it not to be Military Academy. Jaebum was a ‘no comment’ type of guy, so nobody ever got to the bottom of his story. If it was true, you had to admit his mom horridly failed him. You were pretty sure Saint-Agnès’ Reverend Mother was scarier than any drill inspector could ever dream to be.

Accepting the drink, you blushed for everyone to see. It felt as though Jaebum’s eyes were fire on your neckline, as though it were his fingers and not simply his gaze that was on you. You didn’t feel exposed, you felt seen. Every single guy in the room – except Jackson – had his eyes glued to you and surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be.

“Let’s stop now.” The host gloomily stared away. You knew him enough to be aware he thought he was responsible for letting his schoolmates corrupt you.

“Yes, let’s play another game.” Salome agreed all too eager, having recovered from your little stunt. You smiled widely as you took another big sip of the tropical punch, aware she was fuming.

“The Knot?” Marissa suggested.

“Strip Pong,” Luis replied, running his hand up and down Katy’s thigh.

You rolled your eyes as the ideas kept coming, all games you had no clue how to play and clearly involving losing more clothes and dignity. Mark Tuan snorted at your dramatic gesture, catching your attention.

He was also childhood best friends with Jackson, but you never hung out together after you entered High School. Jackson was the only one who kept publicly addressing you, whereas that jerk played the other kids’ scheme, the invisibility one. Mark offered you one of his legendary lopsided grins as you held his gaze. You quirked a brow in distaste for him to see, a part of you wanted that almighty guy to know he had no effect on you whatsoever. Not anymore anyway, you were way past that naive 11 years old phase where you thought he was kinda cute. Nowadays you weren’t one of his fangirls, dying for him to notice her.

Coming from alumni and rich – you-have-no-idea-how-rich – kind of family, Mark Tuan stood at the very top of Saint-Agnès eligible bachelor hierarchy, the type you bet student’ parents slyly mentioned at family suppers: “Are you friend with the Tuan kid? I hear he’s as beautiful as his mother. She was a Miss Universe in the late 80s.”: “Isn’t the oldest son of the Tuans in your class? He’s old money, they left Mainland China many generations back.” or perhaps even: “He’s worth 20 billion at the very least. Please, do shag him and get knocked up”.

You, however, had no parents shoving you his way. Mark Tuan had been the quiet and hard to get close with type even in Middle School, and of course, it took a Jackson Wang to break down his walls. But he wasn’t the shy kid following you two around anymore. Now Mark had found his own species and returned to the wild. Like all of them, he was all about Gucci tees, yachts, drugs, fun and whatever. You definitely hadn’t seen him at Sunday mass in a while.

From what you heard, he had become as superficial as these other rich jerks, going through girls as models go through clothes. Curiously, Salome always seemed to find a way to pull him back somehow. Why even bother? These two started dating on and off between Middle and High School and never stopped. The same summer you and Jackson had a fling. Why did Tuan like the she-devil though? Even Jackson didn’t have any clue, nor could justify his friend taste for the dark side.

Filthy rich players like Tuan weren’t a ‘catch’, they were the poison of modern society. They thought they could get away with anything.

“Suck and Blow.” Salome decided on the game Authority herself, unaware her very shirtless boyfriend was still checking you out. And boy was that a sight, even you had to admit it. He might’ve grown up to be a piece of shit, but Mark had become one damn good looking turd.

Once everyone agreed, you all stood and – Thank God – got dressed. You picked up your own t-shirt from the pile to put it on, relieved. Sure, you were confident, but you didn’t want to chill with them half-naked all night either. Done, the party spread in a circle again and, sensing your confusion, Youngjae pulled you by the wrist to his right. He then leaned in to whisper in your ear, not as subtle as he intended to: “We just pass a card around with our mouths without dropping it. It’s about timing, the pair that drops it has to deal with a punishment.”

“Ew, that’s disgusting.” You grimaced and he shrugged, apparently already familiar with the game. You didn’t peg him for the type to come to these parties often, but perhaps you were wrong. Perhaps the choir sweetheart had a secret thing for booze and dirty games… How intriguing, you turned to consider him anew. “Are you good at this?”

“I...” Youngjae hesitated a second too long, doubt shading his features, “am really, really bad.” He confessed like a sin, making you laugh. He was cute in a ‘pure guy’ kind of way, you were familiar through Jackson and often shared a table to study quietly at the library. Youngjae was also in Saint-Agnès’ top 5 and didn’t come from a particularly wealthy family, thereby an ally. Jackson once told you that Youngjae attending the Academy was in his mother’s teaching contract. His financial background made him comfortable and relatable somehow. At least you had someone like him here with you tonight. Jackson was way too busy hosting to notice you didn’t know where to put yourself.

“What’s the punishment?”

“Well, obviously, there’s a risk you’ll… kiss, by accident.” He cleared his throat, accidentally adorable. They were far worse fates than sharing a kiss with him, you decided. “And if you drop the card, the usual pun-”

“Have you never played, y/n?” Tuan, who somehow had appeared to your own right chuckled, amused by how clueless you were. “Cute.” You gulped, staring in his almond eyes, he was about the same height as you now. In your Middle School friendship years, he’d been shorter by many centimetres, never managing to grow fast enough to catch up to you. “Don’t worry.” Mark plucked his lips your way and winked, gaze dropping in your neckline. “I’m good enough at this for us two.” If you were reminiscing of young innocent feelings, his douchebag attitude definitely brought you back down to the present.

Strong of your alcohol confidence, you feigned to look over your shoulder in confusion. “Are you talking to me?” You pressed your chest with both hands like honoured to be blessed by his recognition. “Can you really see me?” Tuan blinked, taken aback and Youngjae snorted to your left. He was always a great public, easygoing and always laughing at your stupid jokes.

“Of course, y/n. Your bra was kinda hard to miss earlier.”

Having recovered, Mark’s rude tongue darted through his parted lips to taunt you and your face warmed treacherously. It had been forever since you two last spoke or stood this close. The way Mark was looking at you now felt unsafe, predaceous. You almost took a step away instinctively, but that wouldn’t have been a very ‘primate y/n’ thing to do so you held back.

“Good girl gone bad... I’m all here for you.”

Instead, at that, you rolled your shoulders and exchanged a glance with Youngjae.

“Well, you must not know a lot of good girls, Mark… We’re the very best at being bad.”

Youngjae immediately coughed and the player’s brows shot up, a new glimmer in his eyes. What the fuck was primate y/n doing, flirting? Why would you ever say something like that? Jesus.

“Well, colour me intrigued.” Mark exhaled before taking a sip of his cup and you stared, trying not to hate yourself for saying shit like that aloud. “Then a good girl like you probably has a few bad tricks to teach me.”

You were about to reply with something – hopefully clever – for him to sod off, when Jackson announced the start of the game, standing on the other side of the circle. Your jaw dropped, realizing it meant you’d play between Youngjae and Mark. You’d sooner eat a live spider than kiss that jerk. Oblivious to your inner turmoil, Jackson winked at you, taking out a credit card from his wallet. (Lord knows where it had been!) Without wasting a second more, he put it on his mouth, sucked air and lowered to Salome to his right, passing her the card.

The game had started. Suck. Blow. Suck. Blow.

Pretty simple and self-explanatory. You tried to concentrate on watching the others play with ease to prepare yourself. If you mastered the technique, there was nothing to be afraid of. Still, you suspected it was a lot harder than it looked though and you peeked at Tuan, nervous. In a matter of seconds, it was your turn and Youngjae lowered himself above you, brows furrowed in concentration. You sucked the card successfully, disgusted at the sensation of wetness on your lips. Dreading the next exchange, you turned to the man to your right, not without a certain sense of responsibility. You were usually good at games and you could own this one too. Tuan’s face drew nearer, and you stilled, trying to make it easier for him. You passed the card without any difficulties. Thank God, you sighed, watching it make its way faster and faster around the circle.

You would get herpes because of this stupid party game. Ew.

You lacked time to dwell on that new disgusting realization before it was your turn again. Clearly, the unspoken rule was to accelerate to make things harder. No one had dropped the card yet. Youngjae chuckled gladly when he successfully passed it to you once more and you tried to ignore the dirty wetness from all the other players this time. This time, Mark wrapped his hand around your neck to stabilize himself when you turned to him. Other players had done it too and it made the exchange easier, so you tried not to think much of it. Like you did earlier, when you felt him suck, you blew to let the card go. Only this time, to your absolute horror…

The card fell.

You barely managed to retreat away from Mark’s plucked lips in a panic to avoid any skin contact. Drunkenly stumbling backwards, you hit Youngjae who held you up with strong hands. The small gathering collectively laughed at the fail and Mark winced, falsely apologetic.

“Gee!” He snapped his fingers like a 30s cartoon character who just made a blunder. You stared, bewildered as he bent to pick up the credit card, tossing it to Jackson under a thunder of woos. Mark lost on purpose. You were almost sure of it. Next, to the awfully serious host, Salome was livid, looking like she was about to murder you on the spot.

“Seven Minutes in Heaven!” Bambam – a 2nd generation heir from Thailand, newly transferred after being successively kicked out of his four previous boarding schools in Asia (and very proud of it) – announced your punishment.

Unfortunately, you knew how to play that game.

“W-What?!” You gasped in dismay, desperately turning to Youngjae for help as Mark shrugged at you, smirking.

Seven Minutes in Heaven?! More like: your own personal Hell.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Salome crossed her arms in front of her petite frame, head about to burst. “She obviously dropped it on purpose!” Your mouth opened in befuddlement. It was the stupidest accusation in the history of mankind. “Mark.” She warned, and the young man shrugged again, unbothered by her dirty glare.

“Rules are rules.” He said with a laugh.

“It’ll be the most boring seven minutes of your life, Mark!” She snapped, lacing venom in her words and the others self-conceited asstwats stifled their laughs.

“Excuse me?” Insulted, you narrowed your eyes at the brunette. Alcohol was apparently making you forget that these rich brats’ opinion of you couldn’t matter less. Boring? Why was she taking her anger out on you? You weren’t the one who failed the game and it’s not like you were trying to seduce her disgusting boyfriend.

“Please y/n, everyone knows you’re frigid.” Spiteful, Salome snickered, but no one found her funny this time. Jaebum even took an instinctive step between you two. Wait… Was she jealous, of you? The thought made you secretly ecstatic. Jeez, she should keep Mark Tuan on a leash if she cared that much. It’s not like he wasn’t running around giving it to anybody in the first place.

“Sally, don’t–” Even he tried to stop her, but she cut him off.

“I mean, isn’t she saving herself to take the veil or something?”

Your jaw clenched at that one last insult. You were aware of your prudish reputation, an overly Catholic childhood tends to stick to anyone, but you hated it. Salome regularly used that to publicly ridicule you. This time was different though, and she was either too drunk or stupid – or both – to realize that. She had just shown you her entire hand.

You smiled, she’d given you leverage, the upper hand, something invaluable you never had before. Now you knew her weakness.

“Jackson?” The summoned boy winced at your call, apparently dying a thousand deaths. It was too late now, you were worked up and he recognized that expression on your face. There was no point trying to stop you. “Where’s the closet?” You asked, as if there was some sort of unholy place specially dedicated to playing that game.

“W-What?” He couldn’t have looked more alarmed

“Tuan and I obviously need a heaven.” You pressed on, rolling your eyes. You should’ve stopped, but you were getting way too defiant.

“We do?” Mark whispered for only you to hear, slight panic now showing.

“Rules are rules.” Primate y/n replied to him sarcastically.

You wouldn’t have played Seven Minutes in Heaven with that asshole just to abide by the rules of this stupid party, but if it made Salome lose her mind... Then it was the only reason you needed to be willing. You’d do almost anything to give her a taste of her own medicine.

Youngjae pulled at your elbow, mouthing a very clear ‘don’t’ as a warning, probably thinking you had a death wish. There was no way she’d let you live when she got back to the dormitory after the Holidays. Too bad for her, the she-devil was already making your life a living Hell. You grinned at Tuan, trying to look convincing. You didn’t see him anymore, he wasn’t that former childhood friend nor the school’s hottest manwhore.

Now he was it, your own personal vendetta.

“A closet?” Jackson breathed out, mind completely blank. You bet if it was anyone else playing, he’d laugh and cheer, turning into his usual overdramatic bubbly self. Right now, he looked nothing but dejected.

“To show Tuan a not-so-boring time.” You enlightened, seriously exasperated. This time everyone else came alive to guide you two. Mark, who followed with heavy feet, clearly had a change of heart, but you didn’t care. He was the one who dropped the card. He didn’t have to do it for laughs, to bluff like that. What an ass.

‘We’re still young and they aren’t all that bad. You need to learn to have fun y/n!’

That’s what Jackson had said to convince you to come. I’m trying, you thought, I’m being; not boring. You bet now he was regretting ever inviting you.

You had to enter a guestroom to find an actual closet and it was empty and surely uncomfortable, like pretty much anything in the Wang’s gigantic mansion. Still, in a daze, you stepped it, followed closely by Mark. As soon as the door closed behind, you heard a chair being dragged to block it.

Now if either of you wanted to make a run for it, you couldn't. Great….

“Why’d you do that for?” You immediately ushered and hit his arm, freaking out at the dramatic shift of atmosphere. Before, you were sure he lost on purpose and he must have had intricate ulterior motives. There was no way one of the biggest playboys of the Academy did that just to earn himself seven minutes in the dark with your nerdy ass.

“Weren’t you begging for this to happen just now?” Mark drew nearer and you backed away until you couldn’t escape anymore. His arms found the wall on each side of your head. That proud asshole didn’t seem half as reluctant at the thought of you now that nobody could see him. This situation felt awfully intimate... Even though Salome was probably counting the seconds until she could open the doors.

“Besides, I haven’t done anything yet.” His whisper made you shiver as his breath fawned over your face.

You exhaled anxiously, staring back at him, oscillating. “Your girlfriend is going to kill me.” Perhaps you shouldn’t have drunk that much. Sure, you told Jackson you would try to fit in, but right now, with Mark, locked in this closet... It felt as though you had succeeded at becoming an entirely different person and you wondered if you’d find yourself back once the door reopened.

Jane Goodall did struggle after she left the primates to their jungle and returned to her own reality.

“Who?” He questioned innocently, “When I’ll date for real I won’t play around.” Mark’s right hand found your hip bone in the semi-darkness, thumb brushing your stomach through the fabric. You stilled, not knowing how to react to that. “Sally’s just a little intense,” he glanced down at your lips, “sorry she’s being hard on you.”

“That’s the understatement of the year.” The last world barely left your throat. From this close, this turd… He smelled kind of nice. Dammit.

“So… Are you really a good girl?” Mark hummed softly, leaning closer, voice deeper than the freaking Pacific ocean. Betraying goosebumps immediately spread on your skin. Right, you closed both eyes in defeat. That was why he made sure to lose the game. He knew it would turn out like this. “I bet it’s true...”

Mark's tongue darted out, catching the light and your eyes dropped on his lips. It was unfair. You weren’t prepared to face that kind of threat tonight. He was getting all predacious again and you were an easy prey. Sure, you hated the guy… When sober, collected, in control of yourself… Apparently, being pressed against a hot torso in the secrecy of a closet can change one’s perspective. You were almost trembling, blood boiling, body turned to stone; trapped.

“That you’re good at being bad.” Mark let out a weird small exhale, almost inaudible, tilting his head to the side.

Oh God, he was going to make this happen.

You had kissed boys before – OK fine, mostly Jackson and only when you were about twelve – but you had never made out in a dark closed space with anyone and surely that was bound to be sinful. Just being this close with Mark was surreal, electrifying, completely wrong. Did all guys smell like that? Jesus.

You were kind of expecting the Reverend Mother to appear and throw the door open, yelling at you and Mark to get on your knees and recite Hail Mary any seconds now.

His thumb pressed that spot on your hip and you inhaled sharply in apprehension, almost a purr. How humiliating, you’d never even made a sound like that. That jerk’s touch was more inhibiting than alcohol. Primate y/n was a traitor. Hopefully, you’d remember not to ever trust her again tomorrow morning, when you’d sobered up. Mark must have heard it because he smiled, face glowing, illuminated by the small rays of light coming through the door crack. He always had a dangerous animalistic smile, one exposing canines and baring far too many teeth, often it made him look spooky.

“Relax.” He commanded, hand climbing slowly on your side as his erratic breathing neared your cheek. “I’m not gonna jump you. You were such a tease earlier. Is this really your first time?”

Mark wasn’t that much of a talker in Middle School, this new him was the worst. He chuckled silently, unaware of your thoughts and a resolve birthed in your chest at his amusement. You weren’t about to let that guy boast later to the whole school about how inexperienced you were. Especially not to his bitchy non-girlfriend. Strong of determination and anticipation, you put your own hands around his hips, unsure where else they should go. You weren’t going to freak out. You weren’t going to be boring. You might as well go all out if primate you were about to do this to herself.

“No,” you lied, almost convincing your drunk self. “it’s not.”

“I’m gonna kiss you...” Mark announced with his alpha tone, not buying the lie. Although his statement should have sounded awkward, it made you shiver at the suspense. Through the tip of your fingers on his shirt, you felt his heart thump loudly in his chest. Was he nervous? Surely not, you bet he’d kissed a thousand girls in dark closets.

“Well…” You faked confidence again, acutely conscious of how hot he was now– in every possible way… Even if he was a disgusting manwhore. “Is it coming today or...”

Mark was still baring his toothy grin when your noses brushed. You’re the one who met his lips in the middle, surprisingly tilting your head to help.

He tasted of Caribbean punch, a mix between warm nights, fresh fruits and bonfire. It was addictive, not half-bad. Instantly, Mark’s kiss became insistent, his mouth opened against yours, adding pressure and you obeyed, too dazed to do anything or have second thoughts.

He was trapping you against the wall roughly, ravaging you. He had absolutely no mercy and you were pushing back with all your might to survive, hips, lips and hands all over. This wasn’t about the reality outside at all, any thought of the others completely vanished the second Mark slid his hand under your shirt. You let him do it, skin awaken by the touch, discovering a thousand new nerves on your body.

Yes, you had become another y/n.

That was the only explanation. A y/n that makes out in dark rooms with cool kids and grinds into them shamelessly, but just for seven minutes.

Seven extremely messy minutes.

Mark groaned in your mouth, skilled fingers caressing your stomach softly and you curved against him, craving more, possessed. Your skin was buzzing, like screaming, begging to feel him more. His left hand hiked up your body in a hurry, climbing under your t-shirt in your back and you prayed the door wouldn’t shed light on this scene. It would be terribly embarrassing; you were letting him put both of his hands up your shirt. Mark pressed his leg between yours that opened automatically, and your fingers entangled themselves in his hair, almost for support. He never broke the kiss. He too, probably knew better than to waste any second of whatever shared craziness this moment was.

“So good,” Mark grunted, words shaking to escape his throat and you opened your eyes in amazement, “but so bad.”

Shared hysteria. That was what this was.

You both weren’t done though. He adventured his left hand on the fabric of your bra and you froze briefly. Mark must have felt your hesitation because he kept it there. He didn’t push it further nor did he take it away and it felt weird. Like your heart was about to burst through your left breast for him to hold. Sometimes you dreamed of being touched like that, but it was even better than what you imagined, overpowering.

Even if it was by Mark Tuan, or perhaps even more frighteningly; because it was him. This was all Primate y/n’s doing, anyway, not yours.

The Reverend Mother would’ve had a heart attack if she knew where you were and with whom. Your head was spinning, imagination taking this even further. This deserved at least a thousand Hail Marys, a plethora of Rosaries.

“Fuck,” He whispered in your mouth, the sound like thunder. “Who knew.”

Not you.

You had no idea you were so easy, such a whore. He resumed kissing you as though this was perfectly normal, but perhaps he just couldn’t stop either. You could feel him through his pants, the bad boy wasn’t so unphased by you. This was so new, everything was exhilarating. Mark rocked between your legs, causing your eyes to roll back in your head. You were enjoying every second of this, you were right; Seven Minutes in Heaven with Mark Tuan was your own personal Hell. Whatever this was would haunt you later on for sure. The smell of his skin, the taste of his tongue, the touch of his hand. But you were shameless, you took it all. You didn’t have any second to waste before reality hit. Mark pushed against you again and you pressed closer involuntarily, wondering if he was doing it on purpose.

The direct friction on your tights and panties was going to make you lose your damn mind. You slid one of your own hands under his shirt to feel the abs you spotted earlier during the Strip or Truth game. You ran your nails on his body, and he moaned.

Mark Tuan, actually moaned while making out with you.

You stilled for a heartbeat, unsure if this was supposed to be good or not until he bit your lips, rolling it between his teeth. And you came alive again, because... Jesus. That was unexpected. And Lord, that felt like Heaven. Your hands slid to his back to pull him closer and Mark obliged, fingers caressing the curve of your boobs endlessly, every bit of skin not covered by your bra. In the moment, you wanted to ask him to touch you under the fabric, wanted to know if you would break, but your mouth was too busy being full of him.

As though he heard your thoughts, or unable to refrain from it anymore, Mark’s left hand finally slipped under your bra to touch your breast. He brushed your nipple, causing you to make another embarrassing inhuman sound, something low that he swallowed and kept to himself. Thankfully, Mark only became more eager after that. He used his other hand to press you harder on him through his pants, rolling his hips forward. Your whole body was ablaze, alive in a way it had never been before, and surprisingly Mark seemed as equally taken. His kisses were messy, his breathing on your face heavy as if he was running a marathon. According to your heart rate, you certainly were too.

Mark mumbled unintelligibly, something about his will failing and doing this sooner, as he slipped his free hand to where your thighs met. Before you could process what he said, he touched that forbidden place through your tights and panties, even just like that it felt overwhelming and dangerous. Instantly, you fidgeted and dug your nails in his skin. He hissed and stilled too, but you pulled at him, undecided on what you wanted to do next. Reality was still waiting outside that door.

“Mark…” He seemed to recognized the call for whatever it truly was, and his fingers started to move cautiously on the fabric.

“Shhh, don’t want them to hear, do we?” Mark’s head dropped in the crook of your neck to suck on your skin. Your whole body was humming at his touch, like wanting to be heard, to scream for the world to know.

Right. Reality. You covered your mouth with your hand, flustered. If you were still logical, sober and calm, you’d push him away, ask him to stop, but you didn’t want that. You wanted Mark to keep going, keep that up for an eternity, nothing else mattered. “Mark, this is s-so…”

Summoned, he grunted on your neck pleased you kept calling his name. “Good,” he asked, lips now brushing yours “being bad?”

Reprobate. Wrong. Lewd. Vile. Immoral. His fingers were still rubbing you, and you sighed, clinging to him, unable to say anything else. Perfect. Mind-blowing. Addictive. Perfectly right.

“Fuck, you’re so hot.” Hot.

“Me?” Hot. “Have you lost your mind?” You giggled and he joined, complicit.

“Yeah,” Mark’ hands abandoned their dirty deeds to cup your face, pulling you in for a deep kiss, “long ago.”

“When?” Seeing your frown, he grinned way too largely again. He was just about to answer when reality interrupted.

“ONE MINUTE!” Someone loud – very Bambam-esque – hit the door and you both jerked away, startled.

How many bases did you two run anyway? Suddenly, you wished you knew baseball enough to get the sexy metaphors. Was that only the first base? This felt like way more.

“Fuck,” Mark swore again, exhaling loudly. “Y/n, that was… so hot.” That word again. It was the first time someone used it to describe something about you. Then again, tonight felt like a night full of ‘firsts’. Mark reached for your skirt that had riled up your hips and pulled it downwards, hiding how far your game had gone. The fact that it was his first move gave away how accustomed he was to that kind of heated make-out sessions and you shook your head from side to side, remembering who you were with and why. Right. He was the player of Saint-Agnès de Roma, a manwhore… Surely that was why.

“Did you drop the card on purpose?” You asked hurriedly while he was making sure your t-shirt was back to its original place.

He blinked, staring at you for a long second like you were a dimwit. “Yes.”

“Why?” You were determined to leave this place with a clear answer.

“Well, y/n,” Mark murmured, pressing his lips on yours and running his tongue at the edge of them one last time, “I don’t think I could make myself any more obvious.”

“W-What?”

“TIME’S UP!” Someone yelled – yep, it was Bambam – letting the too cruel light shine on the scene inside the closet.

Thankfully, Mark was standing at a safe distance when the door opened. Still, he must have looked guilty somehow, because Jaebum applauded, impressed.

“Jesus Christ,” Jackson swore – a very rare occurrence – when he saw your ruffled hair and swollen lips.

Another day, you’d feel like hiding away, but, probably because of the rush of oxytocin and all that Caribbean Punch, tonight, primate you just shrugged it off. Your mind was caught up elsewhere, up in the clouds. No wonder that jerk was so popular with girls.

After those Seven Minutes in Heaven, you had learned three new things:

One, Mark Tuan could Jedi trick you into doing absolutely anything.

Two, you could make him lose his mind...

And three…

You sneaked a look his way while getting pulled by Jackson out of the (blessed) closet. Mark was strangely silent, letting his friends tease him without much reaction. He met your gaze and you misstepped, almost falling on the Wang’s luxurious carpet. Jackson caught you in extremis and your clumsiness made Mark snort, struggling to conceal his inhuman grin. There he was, making fun of you again.

And three... Tonight was obviously going to become a regular thing between you two.

And you weren’t the one making the rules.

|| M.List || GOT7 ||

269 notes · View notes

wonderer-ru · 6 years ago

Text

my soul remembers us

☾ Taehyung|reader story

↳ genre: fluff and soft angst ↳ word count: 14.004 ↳ warnings: none ↳ a/n: fun fact. i wanted to finish writing this by Taehyung’s birthday… last year. so this has been a long time coming. i love this story very much, this is my favorite concept and i hope you enjoy. please, let me know what you think. oh, and there’s a little easter egg for those who read “under the spell”. happy new year!

⍣…your generation cracked a shell of something that was beyond one’s comprehension for thousands of years. What was made to be a matter of belief, religion and mysticism, took a form of the undeniable truth. Reincarnation. Yes, in your time, reincarnation was a scientifically proven fact…⍣

moodboard

☾ reincarnation au; soulmate au

Each generation had something that they thought was impossible at the beginning of their reign, yet later it sneaked into reality with such smoothness, the discovery was welcomed almost too nonchalantly to be fair. Some thought video phones were out of a fairytale, but decades later they found themselves using those daily, without a second thought or the initial feeling of novelty. That’s how progress worked, you thought. The most farsighted people would just stop wondering and fantasizing, deciding to bring unimaginable things to their tangibility instead. Sometimes, it was scary how quickly those miracles became nothing more than mundane accessories in people’s routine lives.

You hoped it wouldn’t happen to this particular notion, because your generation cracked a shell of something that was beyond one’s comprehension for thousands of years. What was made to be a matter of belief, religion and mysticism, took a form of the undeniable truth. Reincarnation. Yes, in your time, reincarnation was a scientifically proven fact, that also helped in explaining several psychological phenomena; many of which were previously considered to be purely trauma-based. How could this become ordinary? Admittedly, the break through was still fresh in society’s minds, so you didn’t worry about its oblivion. Not yet.

Nowadays, the theurgic discovery nested right in the sweet spot: the government just started to provide financials for research, while keeping the scientific details away from the general public, therefore the concept was still too vague for the scammers to get their hands on it. Sure, mediums offered a look into previous lives long before that, but now they strived to cash on the boost that would inevitably occur, forging some science degrees along the way. The good old psychic shtick was in the past. Claiming you can talk to the dead in a dimly lit room wouldn’t roll anymore. No, people would ask you for your diploma now.

And while grifters tried to figure it out, clinics were built, special nursing courses and programs were organized, and you were fortunate enough to get into one. Studying felt like constant research, as if you were a part of developing this new knowledge, and it felt invigorating. You were learning aspects of reincarnation right as they were uncovered, and isn’t it the best way to become a specialist on the subject? Every piece of information was cherished by everyone around you, so you couldn’t help but stock those close to your heart as well. It all became even more surreal, when you found out that your first internship would be spent under the mentoring hand of none other than the man himself. Dr. Kim Namjoon. A young genius, only a couple of years older than you, that shook the world with his findings and now, naturally, was leading as many research teams as he could handle. The rest still worked with his careful oversight.

The growing amount of brand new possibilities and fields of research seemed overwhelming at times, yet there was one phenomenon that attracted the most attention. Confabulation. A disturbance of memory that used to be defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world, without the conscious intention to deceive. Now - dictionaries with this definition in them could be thrown away, because confabulation was currently known as “the glimpse into one’s past life”. Not really scientific yet, but, yes, those “fabricated” memories were proven to be very real memories that the soul experienced in one of its past incarnations.

People’s confabulations ranged from subtle alterations to bizarre fabrications, and - what’s even more fascinating - those people were generally very confident about their recollections, despite contradictory evidence. That’s why the subjects didn’t bat an eye at the contact with something much more modern than their previous self would be used to. The lucky peculiarity made Dr. Kim’s research much easier and a lot less expensive. After all, it would be highly inconvenient, if the doctors had to build entire eras around their patients - probably separate hospitals for people from certain decades - just for the results to be somewhat valid. It was crucial to keep people of interest calm and undisturbed, so, fortunately, they didn’t freak out when their soul from the 1920’s suddenly woke up hundreds of years later.

Surely, at some point, maybe half a century into the future, fruits of this work will become widely accessible - to wealthy people first, then to common folk - providing everyone with a peep into their distant adventures. Today, however, the thoughts of building any sort of business based on reincarnation were strictly put on hold, at least until Dr. Kim and his team figure out the safest way of putting a person into the state of paramnesia and, most importantly, bringing them out of it. The latter posed as a tougher task, because, at this stage of research, all existing records showed that patients could be stuck in ‘confabulation’ for, apparently, only God knows how long. From days to months, to even years. No trace of noticeable patterns or correlations.

“We have a new patient today,” Dr. Kim stopped in front of another hospital room, and you almost bumped into him, a little too intently scrabbling away in your writing pad. Namjoon (not that you could call him by his name) always had five to seven interns following him during rounds, because “I don’t know if you’ve gathered enough information about me, but I only have two eyes and one brain. I’d rather have all that, but times five. Gross, I agree. Plus, the surgery would cost a fortune. So I dutifully ask of you, interns, the fresh blood of this place, to be my extra eyes, brains, hands. The hospital will provide you with pens and paper. Quantity of your notes could result in quality of our overall data”. Dr. Kim was well aware that he couldn’t catch every single detail by himself - especially since he was the one asking questions - so he took all the help possible, which spoke to his humble nature. The man just really wanted to move forward with his discovery.

But, despite leading the most advanced scientific program in the world, he was quite old fashioned when it came to interacting with patients. Dr. Kim refused to install any hidden cameras in their rooms, because having interns by his side gave him several unique points of view on what his patients said and how they acted; which was priceless, unlike the equipment that would only lower his eyes sight in the end. Have you seen the quality of those videos? One-way mirrors were also unacceptable, as they would turn any conversation into interrogation, and the sheer vibe of the room could make patients feel uneasy. Not to mention the expenses that this kind of purchase would cause. Government could only help to a certain extent, and independent sponsors still found the research too risky and unreliable to invest into.

“I was informed that this case is somewhat special. The patient correctly recalled his name, which could mean one of two things: he just, for some unknown reason, remembered his current name, or, he had the same exact name in his past life. That we won’t be able to determine with certainty until he snaps out of it, I guess.”

“Is it possible that he has kept more memories of his present life? Of course, but we’ll have to wait and see. So,” Dr. Kim took the chart from a wall pocket and looked over it. “Kim Taehyung. Twenty three years old. Male. Car accident. Has a couple of bruised ribs and, of course, a head injury. The decade his soul is currently in: 1960s,” as you might have noticed, Dr. Kim favored answering questions before they were asked, which honestly made things easier, since your preference consisted of staying quiet, observing and writing things down. “You will all be given additional files with more information about him, what his family and friends could provide. Take your notes carefully, so later you can potentially point out similarities between his past and current lifetimes.”

You nodded, along with four other interns, and followed Dr. Kim into the room, laying out some preparatory work on the blank piece of paper: his name, today’s date and the date his soul thinks it is. As you walked in and proceeded to take your usual spot in the corner of the room, your gaze brushed the patient’s figure on the bed, noticing a book in his hand. A book that, according to his perspective of time, would be written half a century later, so, basically, the man was reading a story form the future and didn’t even know it. You made a note of it, even though it wasn’t your main task.

This late into the internship, you and your group-mates have made up a system where each intern had only a couple of aspects of the conversation to document. No one had to split their focus, and, at the end, you’d exchange notes to create the complete picture. Some had to pay close attention to patients’ nonverbal behavior, some listened to their voice and intonations. Your job was to write down the exact words that were said. That’s why you didn’t bother with getting a better place to stand, to look at the young man. Your ears would work perfectly fine from the corner. You were used to carrying this role by now, since it was pretty much the same group of interns every time, and everyone has settled into their groove. Although, maybe, you should’ve switched more often, because catching the words and writing them down became a chain of mindless, automatic operations. It didn’t matter what the conversation was about. You’d analyze everything later, when the puzzle is assembled.

Dr. Kim went through his usual set of questions - nothing specific, yet; minimal usage of modern terminology; just general check up - but, a couple of minutes in, his voice acquired lightness that was slightly out of character, and you even heard Namjoon laugh. Huh. This guy must be very amusing. The thought left your mind as soon as it entered, and you continued to be oblivious to the patient’s velvety voice, or the way a wide boxy grin made his eyes disappear. Words, words, words. You were only concerned with words, not noticing that the room was already charmed and completely in love with Kim Taehyung. Maybe, you’ll feel the same, once you read back everything that’s been written in the past ten minutes.

However, your fluent handwriting suddenly falters when Dr. Kim is interrupted mid sentence.

“Y/N?”

Your own name was left unfinished under the pen as your eyes widened in realization. The patient just called you, and, judging by the tone of his voice, he was pleasantly surprised. You looked up to find every gaze in the room turned in your direction. Taehyung was smiling, and, suddenly, you were very aware of him. Shouldn’t have ignored his presence before, because now it was a bit overwhelming. And there’s that flitting feeling... You’d call it a déjà vu, but it would contradict Dr. Kim’s newest theory. He thought that the concept of “déjà vu” was about alternative universes, not about past lives. According to him, déjà vu appears when you experience something that your alternative self lived through a bit earlier. As if they went through life a little faster, but in a moment of deja vu you catch up to them, hit the same point in time and space, then go your barely separate ways. Anyway...

You turned to Namjoon - who looked surprised, but also intrigued - hoping that your eyes screamed for help obviously enough.

“I didn’t realize that they’ve brought me to your hospital,” the man seemed very excited by the encounter, so, at least, he liked you. But how the hell did he know you at all? You opened your mouth (that appeared to be rid of any moisture) to say something, but Namjoon stepped in; probably to prevent you from answering with anything that could confuse or disturb the patient.

“Excuse me, Taehyung. Can I steal your...?” Dr. Kim paused, expecting for Taehyung to finish the sentence, and - oh boy - he did.

“Fiancée,” the man replied happily, a somewhat prideful look adoring his features. Meanwhile, your ability to breathe was packing its bags, ready to travel. A soft gasp - that sounded a lot like ‘fiancée’ - escaped your lips, and you felt someone’s hand on your back, pushing you off the wall. When did you lean against it? Now that you decided to concentrate on it - your legs were obviously shaking.

“Fiancée,” Dr. Kim repeated, physically pushing you out of the room, because your body didn’t seem to cooperate under the severe shock. You could vaguely - very, very... very vaguely - understand what all of it meant, but the right pieces just bounced off each other, not clicking yet. “Fascinating. We’ll be right back,” Namjoon ushered you out, hoping that Taehyung didn’t find your terrified state too suspicious. He couldn’t let this chance go to waste, because for Dr. Kim everything clicked the moment his patient called your name.

“Y/N, do you know him?” he had to make sure that in this life you were absolute strangers. Your lungs came from their brief vacation and worked with full force, as you frantically tried to remember seeing Kim Taehyung’s face before. No memory came up, and, sure, you could forget a face, but certainly not the fact that you were engaged to said face. So you shook your head, confidently enough for Dr. Kim to light up with delight and anticipation. A new discovery was on the way.

“No, I’ve never seen him, and I am not his fiancée,” you denied the fact as if it was an outrageous accusation, when, in reality, everyone knew that the whole thing was just a trick, played on Taehyung by his own fogged mind.

“That’s excellent!” Namjoon was practically jumping on the spot, while your confusion slowly wore off. Very slowly.

“Excellent? Wha- why, why? Why would you-? I wouldn’t use that wo- ...Oh,” and then it hit you. “OH! It means that he knew me in his past life! Holy sh-“

“Yes, precisely! And it also means that you had the same name in your past life, which means that he probably did too!” Dr. Kim was hitting you with conclusions and calculations - rapid fire style - so your inner scientist was simply ecstatic, yet overwhelmed and a bit dizzy. “And it also means that you physically look the same as your previous self! This is unprecedented! You have to play along!” you were nodding along to everything Namjoon was saying. He was so enthusiastic and fired up, it was infectious. But wait-

“Wha- What?!” did you hear him right? “Play along as in... I have to pretend to be his fiancée?” Namjoon exhaled to calm himself down from excitement, before attempting to calm you down from panicking. His hands squeezed your shoulders, but Dr. Kim soon found that it wasn’t enough to ground you. “I have to do everything that it implies? I have to pretend... to be in love?” you whispered the word ‘love’ like it was something forbidden; like faking love is the most sinful and horrible crime to commit.

“Y/N, my dear Y/N, please, hear me out,” Namjoon’s hands altered to cradle your face, and he looked into your eyes as if you were the only one who could help him, save him; like you were the only person that mattered right now, and if the context of his pleas was any less professional, you’d feel weak in the knees. It made sense, though. Dr. Kim was in love with scientific progress, and you were the embodiment of it in that fateful moment. “We can’t destroy his world right now, because we don’t know- ...we can’t predict what it could possibly do to his mind. It could result in a catastrophe. But, more than that, just- ...just imagine how much we can uncover. You already gave me a lot just by standing in the corner of that room. Do this too, please. It could change everything.”

“I... I am not a good actress. And I don’t know anything about him... about us in his... damn it! Our past life. What if he figures it out?” to be completely honest, you were convinced the moment Namjoon started speaking. You’ve never seen anyone so determined and committed. It truly was the work of his life. Right now, your frightened mind just scrambled for more reassurance that, you knew, he could give you.

“It won’t matter to him. You know as well as I do that these patients don’t get suspicious about things ‘not adding up’. You just have to act like you know him and that, yes, you are a woman in love, about to marry the man of her dreams,” Dr. Kim was still pretty close, so you pealed his hands off your face, in case Taehyung came out of his room. He shouldn’t see you in a position that looks far from innocent. Was he a jealous type? Well, you were already in that mindset, might as well... Your head hit the wall with a quiet knock, and you closed your eyes, thinking things over one last time.

“You don’t seem like the kind of student that would have a crush on their professor, so I won’t ask you to do this for me... unless,” he stretched out the sentence, narrowing eyes at you. Suspicion was real. “...you do have a... crush on me?” you snorted at that. His cluelessness was truly adorable. He obviously didn’t know or care about the proper navigation of someone’s romantic advances. And your reaction to it - as if it was such a ridiculous implication (after all, it wasn’t far fetched at all, because a lot of students did have a crush on him) - didn’t hurt the man, even though he said “ouch”. “Okay, then do it for science, Y/N, because I know you care.”

Dr. Kim lifted his hand, and you were split between rolling your eyes and squealing with joy. Here goes nothing.

“For science,” your fist bumped into his, and that sealed it. You were officially science bros with Kim Namjoon.

...

“Were you really ready to use poor girl’s affection towards you? For your own benefit? Shame on you, Dr. Kim.”

“Uhh, not for my benefit? For science?”

...And you were officially engaged to Kim Taehyung.

The hospital staff was immediately informed of your unusual situation, and not being the only one who had to “play along” felt somewhat relaxing. Moving forward, for Taehyung and everyone else (in Taehyung’s presence) you were just a nurse that worked exhausting shifts daily and fulfilled her duties by caring for all sorts of patients. Now you practically lived at the hospital, not only because nurses in the 60s did that, but because Dr. Kim advised you to spend as much time with your new-old fiancé as you could.

You felt like a government spy, and Taehyung was your mission. In some ways, it was true. You were his lovely bride’s evil tween, and your task was to get close to him, because he held some important secrets. Dramatic, yet strangely accurate. His personal file - that also comprised everyone’s notes on the man - served as your desk book, and his parents’ narrative was your bedtime story. You were relieved to find that Taehyung was single, even though his current life didn’t mean a great deal at the moment. The fact that there wasn’t a romantic partner in sight eased your mind considerably. Directing “heart eyes” (even fake ones) at someone else’s lover would be guilt-inducing, surely. You just hoped that his family and friends were informed of his personal life as well as they thought.

This noble scientific swindle was destined to start awkwardly, so you were having an out-of-body experience during every conversation with Taehyung. Lookers-on see most of the game, and you could imagine how easy it was to point out the stiffness of your posture or the rehearsed nature of your sentences. Your own tongue felt heavy and foreign as it moved in your mouth, and, at one point, Namjoon seriously considered paying for acting classes. He couldn’t have you compromising the “mission” by planting seeds of suspicion into Taehyung’s mind. Admittedly, it would be really hard - or even impossible - to do, but your behavior around the patient was just that unnatural and forced.

By good fortune, Taehyung was completely oblivious to your struggles with communication, and, as irony would have it, played a crucial part in making the whole situation less tense. Of course, he did it without even realizing his own contributions to the success of Dr. Kim’s research. With time, you stopped dreading the interaction and your own heavy-handedness, because, when it came down to it, Taehyung was really easy and fun to be around. He had a gift of making people feel joyous, always ready to spark or endure some benignant foolishness. His ardour was infectious, and the man rarely failed in making you laugh.

One month into the “relationship”, you could unhesitatingly confirm that Taehyung was a sweet and caring boyfriend. More than that, you were convinced that the mastermind behind the term “puppy love” was inspired by the look on Taehyung’s face whenever he zoned out, staring at his fiancée - in this case, you - and it had nothing to do with teenagers being in love. The man was quite affectionate (note: understatement of the millennium), and if, at first, his urge to be close to you was restrained by the injuries and prescribed bed rest, now - you could barely find an empty corner and write your daily report for Namjoon. You had to do it while Taehyung was asleep, which wasn’t particularly problematic, since the boy always nudged you to take a nap on his lap the next day, while he read on a bench in the garden. Taehyung tied your tiredness to night shifts, you imagined.

Nonetheless, being his significant other was challenging in unexpected ways, so you still used Taehyung’s injuries as a protective barrier. The bruise on his bottom lip was pretty severe, so kisses were off the table, which saddened the man greatly. Plus, the complete healing was constantly postponed, because Taehyung would always cut the wound open by smiling widely at something cute you did. When an older nurse scolded the boy for making her tend to his poor lip again and again ( ...and again), Taehyung only shrugged and said that his fiancée was simply too adorable and he couldn’t help it. So. No kisses. Less smiling. Once, though, he turned his head at the right time - just as you leaned in to leave a peck on his cheek - resulting in your lips brushing the corner of Taehyung’s mouth, and it was the closest he got to lip locking with you. That little “accident” got the man so excited, he didn’t beg for kisses that week at all.

It was much harder to deprive him of cuddles, though. Not because there were no excuses to avoid them. He had a couple of broken ribs, and it would be painful to even hug tightly. Pushing the man away, keeping him at the arm’s length turned out to be emotionally exhausting and heartbreaking, because Taehyung didn’t hesitate to regularly remind you of how much he loved all the snuggles and cuddles, and how desperately he missed feeling that sort of closeness with you. Every time you left his side, so he could rest, Taehyung pouted playfully, not willing to let go and fall asleep just yet. On more occasions than your heart would like to admit, you gave in - just a little, but it was a big victory for him - and kissed Taehyung’s forehead, not missing the way he sighed deeply and contentedly as your lips pressed to his skin. The boy’s eyes always appeared a little more dreary when you pulled away, and he never omitted a chance to hold onto your hand for a second longer, before giving you a tight smile and a quiet “goodnight, beautiful”. The image never failed to create a lump in your throat. He deserved much more affection in return, but the “you” that could give it to him was long gone.

Your debt to him was becoming unmeasurable by the day, because, through Taehyung, you could also get a glimpse into your past life, without having to injure your head. It was a truly priceless gift, but its destiny was unknown and impossible to predict. Will Taehyung remember any of your time together after he “wakes up”? Will he remember all the love he spent? All the memories of you he shared? There was no way to tell with certainty. Most patients didn’t recall their “confabulation period” at all. They were left with completely blank pages, and no stories to fill those with. Being in a coma would probably be more entertaining and colorful. Yet, some lucky people remembered parts of different lengths. An even smaller percentage of patients - remembered everything.

You didn’t know for which outcome to hope, but you’d be okay with anything as long as Taehyung didn’t feel sad or hurt, or the wrong kind of foolish for giving away so much of himself; all to someone who failed to appreciate that fraction of time with him for what it was: a beautiful and unselfish gift of love. Sometimes you thought that it was your only chance to be loved like that... in this life.

“The 60s you” was obviously a nurse, but you kept discovering new details about her with every visit to Taehyung’s memory bank. He loved reminiscing about the most trivial things, and even the first time he saw you brush your teeth in the morning was special. That’s when Taehyung knew that you felt like home to him. Well, good for you and your notes to Dr. Kim, who was quite pleased with how detailed your reports were. He did point out that the way you wrote about Taehyung felt more... inspired - less formal and more poetic - though, it didn’t come as a surprise to you, because, with time, you became significantly more fascinated with your-past-self’s future husband... if that makes sense.

Kim Taehyung was a pilot, which slightly correlated with his current occupation: aeronautical engineer; although, it didn’t cover solely planes in your time. He seemed to really love the sky, and it reflected in his poetry preferences. Taehyung read and recited poems about the skies the most, be it the blue and fresh early morning or the mysterious starry night that rhymed within their lines. The “hopeless romantic” side of him was utterly endearing, which is why you struggled to hide your shock when his other passion was revealed. Your-60s-self was probably aware of it, so you couldn’t really react when Taehyung confessed that he missed street fighting almost as much as flying. It was hard to imagine Taehyung expressing any sort of aggression, but that particular hobby of his just proved that everyone needed an outlet. The darkness had to go somewhere, and the man not only let it out away from you or the job, but also got some trophies (or prize money) for it.

Later you found out that Taehyung was into a more... civil form of competing. Yes, it was still violent, but somewhat organized and restricted by a set of rules, which made the whole thing less gruesome in your mind. Taehyung was also strangely amazed at how ironic the cause of his injuries was: with duties and interests as dangerous as flying a plane and street fighting, he managed to be knocked out by a plain car crash. He talked about all of it with such ease that the very thing that should’ve pushed you away, made you distant, brought you a new appreciation for the love you once had for each other. Taehyung trusted you enough to let in on that secret, and you loved him enough to except that dangerous hobby of his. You must’ve been sure that he was worth it.

Yet, while you cherished the love itself, your young heart still couldn’t grasp what your old soul already knew, already lived. Multiple times, it could be. What could create a bond so strong, so powerful that it surfaced through Taehyung several lifetimes later? You couldn’t find the answer with the way you’ve been approaching the mystery so far. Your mind was so completely focused on the words that came out of Taehyung’s mouth, you failed to look past them. Subliminal messages got lost between the lines, because the information for research was your priority. And, even though Dr. Kim praised your reports, there were things about Taehyung that skipped your attention. Some of them were gearing up to hit you in the face pretty soon.

It was a very busy day at the hospital. Several new patients arrived, all with signs of confabulation, but their physical injuries had to be treated first, which made all the real nurses occupied and unavailable to do Taehyung’s scheduled re-bandaging. You’ve seen it done enough times on different patients to know the drill, so you didn’t think twice before agreeing to perform the procedure on your fiancé. Come to think of it, you were never present when his bandages were changed. Every time you went to remind him or ask, he’d already done it.

“Y/N?! What- What are you doing here?” Taehyung stuttered, wide-eyed, as you burst into his room with fresh bandages and other necessary supplies in hands. The man looked panicked, but you decided to write it off as the initial surprise.

“I will be changing your bandages today,” you practically sang and turned to the table for preparations, missing the way your uncharacteristically cheerful mood went completely unnoticed by Taehyung... ironically. On any other day he would eagerly channel, harbor and try his gosh-darn best to increase that rare excited lilt in your voice. He’d strive to make it last as long as possible... Not today, though.

“Are- Are you sure no one else can do it?” the man kept stumbling over his words, voice sounding painfully small, but it still wasn’t enough for you to get suspicious.

“Why? Don’t you trust me? I’m hurt,” you feigned offense, playful to a fault, but the tease went right over Taehyung’s head, who appeared oblivious and rushed to assure you that-

“No, no. Of course, I trust you...,” the sentence faded away as if he mumbled it under his breath, to himself, and the words felt so heavy with worry and nervousness that your movements faded as well, brows furrowing in confusion. You slowly turned to look at him - really look at him - for the first time since stepping into the room. The man before you clearly couldn’t decide what to do with his body, constantly shifting on the bed, not knowing where to place his hands or how to successfully escape your gaze... or his own skin, it seemed. Eventually, Taehyung crossed his arms, protectively hugging himself. You’ve never seen him so tense.

“Tae? Are you sure you’re alright? I’ve seen you shirtless... right?” you chuckled humorlessly, not even buying that that could be the reason for his behavior. Or could it? Why was he acting like this? Was your marriage arranged? Did you agree not to have sex before the wedding? It seemed- felt unlikely, but, before you could spiral into a full on panic mode, he answered...

“Yeah! ... Yeah, let’s just- let’s just do it,” he swallowed, reaching for the hem of his shirt with trembling fingers. You didn’t realize you held your breath until it whooshed out, all at once, at the sight of his bare torso.

In that moment, certain, relatively ordinary for a hospital patient phrases came rushing back to you. “I miss fighting, but with the way my body aches, it feels like I still do it every day”, Taehyung would joke, and your psychoanalytic brain would only highlight the ‘i miss fighting’ part of it, because that gave you new (and quite shocking) information. Now, though, you cursed at your own ability to pay attention to all the wrong details, because it should’ve been obvious. He was in pain.

You stepped closer, taking in all the bruises that covered his upper body. If they were fading now, what was it like before? The mere thought of it and the flashing images made you lightheaded, though they weren’t the main reason why your knees hit the floor in front of him.

“Taehyung-,“ you gasped, reaching out to touch his stomach gently. The man hissed at the sting, but you didn’t move your hand away, only willed it to be even gentler. His presence was a miracle in more ways than one now, because he shouldn’t have survived a crash that left him in so many shades of purple. Not only his soul was a traveler, but his body seemed to have gone through so much as well.

“I didn’t want you to see this,” the man sighed and shook his head in defeat, not looking up to meet your eyes that, he imagined, were wide with horror. They were.

You blinked away the tears, stood up and quickly moved to get the bandages. Suddenly, you wished they were made from the softest material imaginable. They weren’t, but it just meant that you and your hands had to be as careful as ever. Butterfly wings had to have nothing on your fingers. Without realizing it, you promised yourself that he wouldn’t feel a thing as you worked.

Unfortunately, like most things, it was easier said than done, and, even though, you stepped in Taehyung’s direction with determination to soothe his aching body, your lack of experience with “real” nursing tasks was bound to ruin the plan. You weren’t sure what kind of pressure to apply or what was the best way to wrap bandages around his torso, which, combined with the overall painful nature of the procedure, only interrupted the quietness of the room with Taehyung’s grunts and hisses, always followed by his strained “it’s okay, keep going”. Your hands froze every time he made a distressed sound, but, when a number of them crossed what seemed like a hundred, you only wished to finish faster.

The less bandages there were left - the more concentrated you became, finally finding your groove. Later, it would feel like an out of body experience. Like you’ve done this before, or, rather, your soul did, and it took the reigns in that moment, not asking for permission. You moved around Taehyung with much more swiftness, getting lost in your own repetitive movements. One roll of stretchy fabric later, you were ready to tie the final knot over his right shoulder. Taehyung moaned in pain, again, when you applied more pressure to make the knot tighter, and the next words escaped your mouth before you could think about it.

“I’m sorry, baby. It’s almost done,” your soul seemed to take over you completely. The phrase slipped out so naturally, you appeared right where he was - in your shared past life. Taehyung turned to look at you; so fast, you thought you heard his neck crack. And you realized why the man was stunned, yet, strangely, you didn’t feel the urge to be surprised about it as well. This moment felt too right to ruin it with stuttering excuses.

“What?” you asked innocently, referring to his wide eyes and the fact that his mouth was hanging open. The boy blinked a couple of times, still unmoving, but when you shrugged and moved again to check if the bandages were wrapped around him comfortably, Taehyung snapped out of it.

“You didn’t call me that- baby in awhile,” he paused, looking down at his lap. “I missed it,” Taehyung wished you didn’t say it now; not when he felt so undeserving of it. From where you were standing, though, he deserved to be called the sweetest of names all year long.

You circled the bed to stand in front of him. When Taehyung didn’t look up, guilt radiating off of him, your fingers reached for his chin to gently brush and tilt it up. Your eyes locked with his, and you felt your soul flutter... No. You felt your soul shudder as it desperately gulped for air after being suffocated under miles and miles of water for the longest time. You guessed, it was because you looked at him with a clear, unselfish purpose for the very first time.

“Don’t hide things like that from me again,” you said - quietly, yet firmly - right before your throat started to tighten with emotions under the intensity of his gaze. He looked back earnestly, like he couldn’t believe the sight. He couldn’t believe that he got to see you like that: brave and terrified, determined and vulnerable. So beautiful. Still, he didn’t deserve it. But he would take in every detail, until his own eyes would start to water, matching yours. After all, he was just as terrified and just as brave as you were. Just as beautiful.

The air was charged with rawest intimacy, yet, it felt empty. Not void of emotion or meaning, no. Quite the opposite. It simply felt freeing. Like you could spread your arms and spin, and you wouldn’t bump into a bed, a table, chairs. Your wild limbs wouldn’t touch a thing. You didn’t dare move and explore this vacuum, though, because, when it came down to it, you’d much rather spend every moment of that freedom next to him. You were zoned in on each other. Cocooned in this blissful nothingness that was supposed to make you shiver, make your skin crawl, and still, you felt warm... like your souls were hugging.

Suddenly, it wasn’t enough, and soon Taehyung’s hands were on your waist, guiding you closer. Your shaky knees nearly buckled, when the man buried his face in your stomach, wrapping the whole length of his arms around you and holding you tightly. A bated gasp escaped your lungs, but even your heartbeat slowed down and got quiet as soon as you realized that Taehyung was mumbling something into the material of your white coat. You could tell by the waves of warm air spreading against your belly and his lips moving to let it out. It tickled a little, but you managed to make out a couple of phrases. “I’m sorry” and “I won’t”.

In that moment, you felt beyond any time any place. It was scary and felt so immeasurably bigger than both of you. Did Taehyung sense it as well? Did his soul? Your fingers reached for his hair, running through it, and you felt an exhale against your core - trembling with relief - like he was going crazy without your touch, and now was on the verge of insanity, because he finally felt it. You smiled, letting the tears fall freely on top of his head. Your mind wasn’t quite set on why you felt like crying for hours. Were you just deprived of such pure human contact for so long, or was your soul crying in a mix of pain and happiness at having him so close again?

“You worry about me so much as it is. I didn’t want to add to it,” Taehyung pulled away a little, his chin still attached to you, and looked up. He seemed miserable and exhausted, making you wonder if he felt this way too often lately and was just really good at hiding it. But then, from a different perspective, he looked at ease and, somehow, younger. His eyes appeared less clouded, almost crystalline, and, for what it’s worth, you were happy that Taehyung didn’t have to mask his feelings anymore. Not from you. For as long as this incarnation of him would stay here.

“You are a miracle,” you whispered as your fingers left his hair, sliding down to cradle his face instead. This phrase belonged to multiple versions of you - to “the scientists” you, to “the 60s nurse” you, to “the fiancée” you - but, ultimately, it belonged to your soul. Taehyung’s eyes widened for a split second, giving away his surprise at your words, but then a brilliant smile spread across the man’s features. He smiled like he realized something you didn’t, you couldn’t, because he was in this relationship with you for much longer, so he studied you that much closer. Now, it seemed ridiculous that you ever felt more aware of things than him, when you only knew one thing - his condition - and Taehyung has lived years by your side.

“I missed you calling me that too,” he said teasingly and placed a quick kiss to the inner side of your wrist. You said that to him before? Wow, you really did, didn’t you? Of course. “Although, it would usually be ‘you are my miracle’, but we’ll get there again.”

Again. So he noticed the change, the setback. He felt the distance you’ve put between them. Taehyung might have been oblivious to the fact that the books he read were from another century, but he was attuned to you and your moods this whole time. Did your behavior confuse him? How did he explain it to himself? Did he suspect that something wasn’t right? Just like that, the research was on your mind again...

And, just like that, you also realized that that research wouldn’t be your priority anymore when it came to Taehyung. Taehyung himself would become your main focus. Not only his words would concern you, not only the information he gives you to fill out reports, but his feelings, his well-being, his heart.

You promised yourself to keep Taehyung’s heart safe, dreading the fact that he was probably right. You will get there. One day, you will want to call him yours, and that will become your downfall.

After what could only be described as a life changing experience you felt the shift. You felt your soul move for Taehyung whenever he was near. It arched stubbornly towards his soul, kicking and screaming, like it wanted to hug its newfound lover again. You felt your heart beat faster every time he smiled at you. This relationship danced on the verge of being too real for comfort and was destined to end in a catastrophe, given the speed at which your affection for Taehyung was growing. Hell, sometimes you had to physically pinch yourself to keep from daydreaming about your shared past life. You found yourself wondering, quite frequently, if those versions of the two of you really loved each other till their dying days. Or did they divorce years later? No, that didn’t feel right. Could you Google that?

It didn’t help that Taehyung felt the shift as well. He started to initiate more physical contact without fearing your rejection, and you didn’t have it in you to push him away anymore. So you just held you breath every time his hand casually slid down your back and stayed on the small of it, all while he quietly watched you fill out fake reports at the nursing station. Eventually, seeing your frustration with the task, he’d start to rub your lower back in soothing circles, which made you relax almost instantly. It’s like he knew exactly what you needed... He knew you.

Sometimes (and it started to happen more often as the time went on), you forgot to separate your past and present lives from each other, eagerly listening to Taehyung’s stories like they were all a part your grand character ark. You saw yourself as the manifestation of all the previous incarnations, finding that you always agreed with your own views on life and love, and the world... however different those worlds may have been.

You grew more curious with each passing day, gradually becoming fascinated not only with Taehyung, but with his version of you. You liked her. She seemed wiser then than you were now, and you wondered which path she took to become that at this age. She was impressive. A lifetime ago “you” had enough courage to change your career’s direction halfway through college, from journalism to medicine, realizing you wanted to take care of people the way you helped Taehyung through some rough fighting aftermaths. You still loved to do research and write, and the boy confessed that watching you mull over the right order of words was very calming.

At least, “the current you” was wise enough to bite her tongue and not ask Taehyung and excessive amount of questions... most of the time. Yes, he wouldn’t bet an eye and just rationalize your curiosity, coming up with an explanation on his own (you had a feeling that he often settled on “a semi-subtle check-up of his memory for a medical record”), but Namjoon gave you specific instructions that you had to follow... or try to follow. It was hard when Taehyung lit up like a Christmas tree every time you answered “fine” to his question of “how are you today, beautiful?” That’s an odd reaction, right? So you had to ask. As it turned out, a couple of years ago you and Taehyung came to a conclusion that being “fine” is way better than being “great! excellent! happy!” Why? Because every time you feel happy, inevitably, you also feel that ounce of fear that that feeling will soon end.

“I am always a little scared when I’m with you, though,” he confessed, and you felt your heart skip a bit. That goddamn charmer! What was even more infuriating is his complete obliviousness to the fact that one of the most romantic and smooth lines just came out of his mouth. Taehyung simply kept watching you with a gentle smile on his lips, absolutely loving the way you didn’t seem to know what to do with yourself. You kept avoiding his gaze, looking everywhere, but mostly at your lap. You were blushing furiously, all the way to the tips of your ears. And you were smiling so wide, you had to bite down on your lip to suppress it. Your painfully endearing shyness seemed to have awakened a strange sense of déjà vu within him, and you heard Taehyung hum softly beside you.

“What?” you asked, finally being able to look at him directly.

“I don’t know,” the man shrugged, reaching out to play with your hair. “Somehow, it just felt like when we first started dating.”

A sudden gust of nostalgia for something you’ve never known, never experienced hit you in the chest, quickly spreading to engulf your whole body and making you gasp in surprise. Anemoia’s the word, right? Dr. Kim was writing a paper on it at the moment. You could definitely help him with some interesting insight now, because your entire being was lovingly placed into another time and space. Almost the way a song that played at your prom takes you back to the night, so your body is momentarily tricked into believing that you are actually there.

Only it wasn’t a song this time, it was a person. It was Taehyung that lead you to that feeling and made it last for more than a split second. You could taste the difference on the tip of your tongue as if the air around you really shifted into something tangible and full of memories. And you remembered how it felt to simply exist back then. How it felt to be you, living in your skin in another time... And it was your second or third date, yet you could still feel the butterflies just looking at him. Faint jazz music suddenly reached your ears, and you wanted to hum a tune that you’ve never heard before.

Was it where Taehyung’s mind went? Did you feel the right things? You couldn’t possibly be sure, but nostalgia was never this striking or lasted that long.

“You fully intend to keep making me fall for you, don’t you?” Taehyung whispered mindlessly, as if to himself, but the implication left you more breathless then seemed possible. There was a negative amount of air in your lungs now. “Over and over again,” he was closer somehow, fingers brushing your neck without a specific intention. He was just submitting to the pull he always felt near you. The one that makes you move and touch, and watch intently. It’s when you register every drop of her eyelashes, yet you don’t seem to notice yourself leaning in. The movement is barely there, but oh wow, it’s impactful. “I have to say, I don’t mind one bit.”

You feel his words on your lips now. They are full of breath that you lack, and it would be almost too delicious to make him share it. You had the chance to be selfish in the most acceptable and pleasant way. But... You simply wouldn’t come back from it. You would be going for seconds every chance you got. But...

You make him fall deeper in love? This you? This present-time-you? The thought was dangerous with how flattering it was, making your heart stutter. Taehyung’s eyes were already closed and he was angling his head slightly, looking like the angel he is. Gentle, even if a little impatient. Meanwhile, you felt like a mess. Overwhelmed and very conflicted. You swallowed and shut your eyes tightly, already scowling at what you were about to do. And when did your breath come back, making your chest heave this heavily?

“Tae?”

“Yes?” he sounded so shaken by mere anticipation, you had to keep yourself from whining and giving in. It was just cruel how undeniable his need for you was.

“I need to go back to work,” the broken exhale that he let out was bound to haunt your dreams. You didn’t look back as you walked away.

You couldn’t figure him out. You couldn’t “predict” him. It seemed like he instinctively dodged every romantic comedy cliche. There were countless melodramatic tropes paved for him, but he always chose to swerve and draw his own patterns. You imagined, he was always the kid that, on his way home from school, would be tempted to mark the perfect white canvas of fresh snow with his footprints - and would do it too, eventually, dragging his feet through the deep drifts - while everyone else just followed the padded path.

Taehyung didn’t seem upset or hurt. He didn’t question your escape nor did he try to make you feel guilty about it. As if the boy refused to see that hurried exit of yours as the door being shut in his face, and, instead, saw it as your trauma of almost loosing him melting away a little more. To Taehyung, your soul needed just a little more convincing before letting him in again and trusting that nothing will happen that could put his life at risk. Not if he could help it.

Apparently, the key point of his strategy was to remind you of how good and fun you were together, often acting like teenagers in love with total disregard for whether the time and place were appropriate. Yet, your displays of affection never crossed the line into something provocative or deprecated. True to his pure and innocent nature, Taehyung’s “moves” always looked playful and, dare you say, cute in everyone’s eyes, with your overflowing fondness towards each other making people around you go “aww”.

And the boy would definitely be lying if he said that your flustered appearance and blushing cheeks didn’t make it that much more fun for him.

“You should be more careful next time, Mrs. Lee,” since you were helping with Taehyung’s bandages more often and leveled up your nursing skills training on him, it wasn’t a rare occurrence for you to look after other patients as well.

“I know, dear. I guess the kettle was just too heavy for me,” the old woman sighed as you wrapped her burnt wrist carefully. Mrs. Lee was a sweet lady - always put together and endlessly welcoming - but a bit too clumsy for her own good. It was her third minor injury this week. Previously, she managed to hit her toe against the bed frame and get a pretty nasty paper cut on her thumb. Ouch. Her soul thought it was 1920s, so maybe people were more careless about their health back then.

“There you are!” Taehyung’s booming voice entered the room before the man himself burst inside, and you didn’t miss the way Mrs. Lee’s eyes lit up. She adored him. Everyone did. “Good morning, Mrs. Lee! New day - new adventure, I see. I’m glad you keep my fiancée on her toes,” Tae winked, and you heard the woman actually giggle. The power he possessed was truly boundless.

“I do what I can,” Mrs. Lee was full on beaming now - bright and happy - the pain in her wrist seemingly forgotten. You smiled to yourself too, finishing up the procedure.

“Mornin’, beautiful,” Taehyung lowered his voice, and it took less than a second for you to start blushing. Blood rushed to your face somewhere between his breath hitting your ear and his lips briefly pressing to your temple. You were used to a lot of “Taehyung things” by this point (barely): holding Taehyung’s hand, brushing Taehyung’s hair while he slept, Taehyung’s fingers dancing across your back while you worked. Always teasing. Sometimes tickling. Like right now. Up and down. Up and down. Down. Down, down. Wait, what?

“Taehyung!” you gasped. He pinched you! He pinched your butt!

Your hand flew to cup the “violated area” (on pure reflex) as you turned, wide-eyed, to Taehyung, who was clearly trying his best to stifle the fit of giggles. He had the audacity to look surprised by your animated reaction, like it wasn’t his intention all along. Oh, he was so amused! The boy quickly hid his hands behind his back as if trying to dispose of the evidence, but you were already on a mission to give him a piece of your mind.

“Out!” you grabbed Taehyung’s arm and proceeded to drag him out of the room, unwilling to scold the men in front of another patient.

“Mrs. Lee, save me!” he pleaded, not really trying to put up a fight, even though he definitely could.

“You are on your own, young man,” the older lady just laughed and, rather entertained, waved the two of you a goodbye.

“What the hell, Taehyung?” you whisper-screamed as soon as the door closed behind him. Your “disapproving wife” mode was all the way on, and you didn’t even know it was a part of your settings in the first place. Taehyung took in your crossed arms and furrowed eyebrows, feeling strangely endeared. Let’s keep it going for a bit, he thought. “That was really inappropriate!”

“Well, if you didn’t scream like that, she wouldn’t even notice. So, objectively, this is your fault,” he argued, mimicking your irritated posture.

“Objective- !? Don’t do this around other patients!” you hissed back, now vaguely aware of the fact that Taehyung was probably messing with you.

“Does it mean I can do it when we are alone?” the boy not-at-all-subtly wiggled his (gorgeous) eyebrows and stepped closer, placing his hands on your waist.

“Well, not anytime soon. You’ve ruined it for yourself,” you were still frowning - in a desperate attempt to appear mad - but your lips were starting to angle up in a smile, treacherously so.

“You are mean,” he pouted. Well, that’s not fair.

“And you are childish.”

“You like it though,” somewhere, in the back of your mind, you were painfully aware of how it all looked. Your palms rested peacefully on his chest, and you smiled at each other without saying a word, yet understanding everything. ‘I do like it. I can’t help it.’ You were in love. Really, really, really in love. “And you are right. It was inappropriate. I’m sorry. I just wanted to tease you and took it too far. It won’t happen again.”

“Thank you,” you sighed and leaned forward, so his lips effortlessly pressed to your forehead. You were so screwed.

After escaping Taehyung’s warm embrace (quite reluctantly), you snuck back into the room. The door clicked upon closing, and you were met Mrs. Lee’s knowing smile.

“Is Taehyung in trouble?” she asked, but, if your own tender smile was any indication, he very obviously wasn’t. You still shook your head ‘no’ and averted your eyes, suddenly shy. The woman laughed quietly at your timidity, while you busied yourself with her wrist. Taehyung’s little “tease” interrupted your work in quite a dramatic way, so you weren’t even sure if the task was completed properly. “Be glad he’s still playful. That boy has eyes only for you. I can tell.”

If you were blushing before, now your face caught on fire. It was one thing to experience Taehyung’s absolute devotion yourself, but to have it pointed out by someone else was another feeling entirely. Once again, you couldn’t help but think that your past-life-self got really lucky with him. Oh.

“How did he propose?” the question halted your movements for a split second. Oh. How did he propose? That’s right. You didn’t know. Because it wasn’t to you. The blush on your cheeks fainted, and you suddenly felt cold. It was so easy to smile just a second ago, but now you had to put in a tremendous effort in order to appear unaffected. Though, if you listened closely, you could still feel your soul sighing in content from having Taehyung so near and so warm, and not so long ago. A bittersweet feeling, but it helped.

“It’s almost time for your check up with Dr. Kim. How about we save that story for later?”

Mrs. Lee nodded, a little upset, and you couldn’t blame her. You’d love to hear all about it yourself. It would hurt even more, sure, but if you were to bet your life on anything, you’d bet it on Taehyung organizing the most wonderful and romantic proposal in the history of mankind. You didn’t dare coming up with something of your own right now, because it simply wouldn’t compare.

Millions of thoughts and questions flooded your mind even before you left Mrs. Lee’s room. It wasn’t really you Taehyung was in love with. Of course, it wasn’t. It was another girl that shared your soul and looked like you. But then... Were you essentially your soul? Did it matter what life made of the rest of you? Was Taehyung in love with your soul exclusively? He said it himself. He was falling deeper in love with you.

Taehyung’s beloved soul was your soul. It was just a lifetime older than he thought.

“Y/N?” Namjoon’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts, and, after looking around for a second, you numbly discovered that your feet didn’t carry the rest of your body too far away from the door. “You okay?”

You nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced. The man was probably on his way to Mrs. Lee, so you had to pull yourself together as to not hold him up.

“Could you, please, stop by my office later? I’d like to talk to you.”

“Sure,” you managed a verbal response this time. Short and sweet. Nice job all around, but it still earned you a concerned look from Namjoon. He regarded you for another moment, then nodded, disappearing behind the door a second later.

You probably should’ve blinked at least once.

It turned out that Dr. Kim unintentionally witnessed the quiet and sweet moment you shared with Taehyung outside Mrs. Lee’s room. The hospital hall could be considered a public place, so the display of affection wasn’t meant to be hidden, yet, Namjoon felt as if he was prying on an intimate exchange. That foreign feeling made him stop and pay attention to something besides science (though, implicitly, the issue at hand was related to it), which said a lot. He was notoriously unaware of... He was notoriously unaware. Period.

That, combined with faint mental notes he made while reading your reports, pushed Dr. Kim to invite you to his office for a private conversation. The way your descriptions of Taehyung’s past and present increased in poetic value as the time went on never really bothered Namjoon, because he could always work around that and still get a lot of valuable information. Plus, your expressiveness made it into a good read.

Your every word became more vibrant and meaningful after he saw the way you looked at your fiancé. You were a terrible actress, and no one knew it better than Kim Namjoon. The man wasn’t being overly dramatic when he confessed to having nightmares in which your acting was so bad that it made Taehyung “snap out of it” and leave. Namjoon bet a lot on you.

It was supposed to be a game of pretend, and he had to make sure it was still the case for you. Was Dr. Kim doing it for science? The man wasn’t sure himself. His research could still become groundbreaking, whether your heart ended up broken or not, but Namjoon just couldn’t stay unaware this time around. So now you were passing from wall to wall in his office, trying not to panic. Trying and failing.

"How much longer will I have to play along? He wants... to do stuff, you know? I am his fiancée,” Namjoon glanced up from his papers, slight alarm in his gaze, so you hurried to clarify. “No, he doesn’t say or do anything. I just feel it.”

"Just tell him he's too weak for that," Dr. Kim shrugged, but then paused for a moment. It’s been a little less than three months. Taehyung was almost completely healthy. “Wait, actually, just tell him that it's against hospital policy. Or both.”

"That's what I tell him, but he's just so damn eager and responsive to everything I do! Not in a gross way, but still! What if he never comes back from it? What if I-,” fall in love before he wakes up? You didn’t finish the thought out loud, but your breathing was rushed and uneven, so he knew. He’s observant at the very least, but it’s more than that. You both knew. Namjoon was surprised at himself, and you were surprised to see his eyes so full of untapped emotion. He looked a little sad, but mostly worried. Maybe a tad bit apologetic. You hoped you imagined a drop of regret in the mix, because that’s what you didn’t feel, despite hurting.

"Do you like him?"

I’m in love with him.

"I do,” you said, defeated, yet, somehow, relieved by acceptance and the openness. For a split second you got scared that Namjoon would pull the plug on the research. “But let me do this. I will never hold it against you.”

The man appeared conflicted, but not nearly enough to drop all the progress you’ve made. To put the work of his life on hold. And you wouldn’t let Namjoon do it, even if he was ready to quit for your sake. You were his partner in crime, just as involved, and your “timeless lover” didn’t make you forget that. At least your heart would be broken for science.

"His feelings for you are not real. Not in this life. Please, remember that and be careful, Y/N".

Yeah. It was a little too late for that.

Maybe you overestimated your own determination to finish the research, or maybe it was harder not to pretend and be in love, with clear mind and a heavy heart. Maybe it was harder to accelerate, knowing that you were gonna crash. That, eventually, Taehyung would come to his senses and leave to live his life.

Truth be told, you hoped it would happen sooner than later. Preferably before you married him, had kids and grew old together. Imagine trying to explain to someone where their whole life went and why another version of them got to live two.

To say that you were torn would be an understatement. Oh, how you wanted to just give in and love him, and be loved! It was agonizing, ironically so, because you couldn’t help but see it as the foreshadowing of the day that his love would be taken away from you, whether you decided to let yourself have it or not.

Your scale was looking more and more like the game of seesaw, refusing to balance, constantly tipping one way or the other. You went from being playful and engaged (no pun intended) to appearing cold and distant to everyone around you, not only Tae. The uncertainty was exhausting, to the point where you missed the days of just being awkward and nervous around “Taehyung the Patient”. Back when your love for him was only a memory that your mind would never be able recall, because, up until this point, it only echoed in the depths of your old soul.

There was no end to this back and forth, it seemed. But when, one day, you saw the way your internal turmoil affected the one you cherished the most, it became exceptionally easy to make a choice.

“Tae, I am leaving for the day,” you cracked open the door to his room and quickly scanned the space to make sure he was there. The lights were off, but as soon as your eyes got used to it, you found Taehyung standing by the window. It wasn’t an unusual sight, since he loved to admire the night sky every chance he got. The moon was full and visible for the first time in weeks, so, of course, the man was there to appreciate it in all its glory.

“See you tomorrow?”

On nights like this you always tried to say goodbye and make your exit swiftly, leaving Taehyung to have his moment of peace, but this time the boy’s profile didn’t seem serene to you. There was no dreamy smile playing on his lips. His eyes weren’t traveling from star to star, looking for constellations. Instead, his lips were stretched thin and pale, and probably bitten in worry. You could see that he was frowning, but the blank look in his eyes was the most concerning.

“Tae?” when he didn’t answer again, you stepped further into the room. The door creaked unpleasantly, pulling Taehyung from his thoughts. At the sight of you something in him moved, but stayed still. It felt like his soul immediately reached out for yours, and, for the first time, he didn’t let its urges guide him. The realization terrified you. He was uncertain. You hated it.

“Hey. Sorry, I didn’t hear you. Are you leaving?” Taehyung asked. He understood that you had to go home sometime, yet, it didn’t make him miss your presence less. The boy never wanted you to leave, and it was always obvious. Except now. Taehyung wasn’t sure if he wanted you to stay, because he wasn’t sure if you’d rather go. He hated it.

“Um, yeah. I was about to head out,” your thumb pointed towards the exit, but you proceeded to move forward and soon stopped, facing Taehyung by the window. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t-“

“Tae,” you cut in, suddenly desperate to resolve whatever was troubling him. “You can tell me,” when your fingers moved across the windowsill to touch his, Taehyung held his breath, because you never really initiated physical contact before. Not like this. Your touch was always meant to comfort or calm him. You never did it, because you yourself craved the closeness. “Please, tell me.”

“It’s you,” Taehyung breathed, and your fingers froze millimeters away from his. It broke the boy’s heart a little, but he couldn’t keep his own muddle to himself anymore. Because you did initiate touches before. You were utterly selfish and demanding when it came to keeping him close, and it was so very charming, he couldn’t stand being away. Taehyung felt needed. Sadly, that car crash seemed to have broken something between you. And it split his life in two.

“I don’t recognize you,” for a moment you thought that his old memories were leaving him, confabulation gradually wearing off, but no. The memories of two lives weighed him down, conflicting and contradicting each other. It pained you to see him so lost.

“And I don’t feel like you recognize me, either. Most of the time you look at me like I am a stranger,” Taehyung’s voice started wavering, confused and sorrowful, as if the boy never imagined that he would be saying this to you. Your fingers moved again, completely on their own, to touch him. To comfort him. “At first I thought that, maybe, you were just in shock after the accident. Maybe, you thought you were going to lose me. And I get it, I do. I can see that you still love me,” oh, thank God, he saw it. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself, if he lost his faith in your love - the only thing he wholeheartedly connected to in this world, in this time. “But it’s been months of up and downs, and I don’t understand, and- it’s just starting to hurt.“

Taehyung gasped a couple of seconds before your lips met his, because it was only the third of the things you did. First, you intertwined your fingers and tugged him closer. Second, your right hand flew up to rest on the back of his neck, pulling him down. Third. The moment fell into complete stillness as you stayed there, unmoving, with your lips pressed together way too tightly. If he was going to feel your kiss for the first time in months, you were going to make it count. You wanted it to leave a mark on his heart, deep enough to reach his soul.

And maybe that kiss felt like trying too hard at first - because, admittedly, you were a little desperate to heal his doubtful mind - but it all clicked into place, when his fingertips reached to touch the side of your face. Still unsure and nervous, but slowly starting to believe that it was really happening. In that moment, you heard your soul whisper something not so secret: it, and you, already knew how to kiss him right. You knew how to kiss Taehyung to make him smile. You knew how to kiss him to drive him crazy with want. You knew. So you pulled back to lessen the pressure, letting your lips move smoothly and tenderly against his. You knew how to kiss Taehyung to make him feel loved.

"Do I kiss the same?” you asked, breathless, hoping against all hope that you really did kiss his lips right now just as you kissed him a lifetime ago. The man swallowed shakily, nodding his head. Taehyung didn’t move away, not even a little, as if he simply missed the feeling of your breath on his skin. To him, there was something so singular and intimate about the face-to-face, skin-to-skin closeness and sharing the same air, that you never even had the “big spoon/little spoon discussion”. The pair of you always fell asleep and woke up facing each other, morning breath be damned.

“Yes. Yes, you do,” his hands cupped your face - understandably urgent, but still so very gentle - and he dove right back into the kiss. You had no choice but to keep up, because Taehyung seemed determined to have all the wasted time made up for. It wasn’t long before he lost himself in you: hands in your hair, fingers and thumbs; deep little sighs and sweet noises against your lips. The way Taehyung moved became almost chaotic as he tried to find some balance between holding you close and not breaking his ribs all over again.

While Taehyung was quick to melt into the kiss, you took your time, letting the inevitable impact build and build under your skin - with every slide of his lips, with every touch of his fingers - to, eventually, hit you all at once like a tidal wave. Taehyung wasn’t exploring you like this for the first time, (even though, judging by how eager he was, you wouldn’t be able to tell), but to you, in this body at least, it was the first. And, oh, what an absolutely maddening ride. To top it all off, you forgot to take into consideration that, as well as you knew how to make his body tick, Taehyung was just as knowledgeable about your weaknesses. Within minutes, naturally, he managed to make you mewl and pant, and tremble against him.

“Tae,” your attempt to pull away failed, so his name got muffled by his own mouth. You smiled at his unwillingness to stop kissing, but tried again, pushing lightly at his chest. Nightshift nurses took their duty seriously. “Tae, we should stop.”

The man made a faint noise of disapproval at the loss of contact, but nodded and gave you some space. It felt as if your lips would never stop buzzing.

“Sorry, it’s just,” he paused, catching his breath, and no one could understand him better than you. That was intense. “It’s been so long.”

Taehyung’s hold on your waist tightened, and you could feel those words coming. The anticipation in your chest was tangible, yet you’ve never felt more content.

“I love you.”

…

“I love you, too.”

Looking back, yes, it should have been an awkward interaction for you. By all accounts. Faking affection towards someone you barely knew, just to get data. Ridiculous. But… If someone asked you about it right now, you’d say that pretending to be in love with him was the easiest thing you ever had to do.

So you let yourself love Taehyung for another day. For another week. Trusted him with your heart completely, without caution or doubt. Became adorably clingy, just the way he remembered you. Whatever common sense that was left in your system was used to dodge the wedding plans discussions, and it was easier, too, because you could just kiss the boy into silence, and he would never complain about that or suspect anything. Taehyung just figured, you missed him just as much as he missed you. But, oh, how you wanted to indulge in those discussions sometimes.

Namjoon still tried his best to forewarn and protect you, but, at the same time, he understood that it wasn’t his choice to make anymore or his place to judge your decision. All he could do was go through your daily reports and gather all information possible. No one could halt the research, simply because it became more than just a research to you. Namjoon did hope, though, that it would come to an end before the point where your heartbreak overshadowed the triumph of science.

And it did.

“I will love you forever,” he said the night before, as a goodbye you both thought would only last till morning. You smiled, letting him kiss your forehead, and replied: “You better.”

Your coat wasn’t even off yet, when you spotted Namjoon coming out of Taehyung’s room. He was smiling to himself as he closed the door, and then his eyes found yours. Slowly, you moved towards him, even though Namjoon didn’t call. Not with words or gestures at least. The man’s smile turned into something undefinable, an anxious mix of dread and hopefulness. You finally stopped in front of him, eyes pleading.

“He’s back,” Namjoon said, clearly, but why did it also sound like “He’s gone” to you? That must have been the somber undertones in his voice.

“Oh,” you exhaled, fumbling with buttons on your jacket. Okay. It’s alright. You knew this was coming.

“He wants to talk to you,” the man continued, and, before you could panic, his hand landed on your shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You are going to be fine.”

Namjoon looked deep into your wide, petrified eyes and smiled again, a lot warmer this time. His other hand lifted fluidly, and you followed its direction to breathe in... and breathe out.

“Y/N,” Namjoon called, finally getting your gaze to focus on him. “Thank you. For everything.”

Your eyes suddenly watered, and you couldn’t help but smile at the man. He was your clarity and reason in all this madness.

“No problem, Dr. Kim,” you raised your fist for him to bump, making the lovely dimples appear on his cheeks. “For science,” Namjoon laughed at that, and quickly bumped your awaiting fist, before wrapping you in a tight hug.

“For science.”

“Hey,” the door creaked right as you said that, making your whole body wince. Great start. It’s wasn’t a loud hey in the first place, so you prepared to say it again, oblivious to the fact that Taehyung’s attention was already on you.

“Hey,” he echoed, straightening up a little. No longer oblivious, you let yourself look at him. He was sitting on the bed with a book in his hands, and you noted that it was opened on one of the later pages. He didn’t start from the beginning, but continued reading it. “Please, come in.”

The boy crossed his legs, making more room for you on the bed, but you moved to stand at the foot of it. He didn’t question your choice of position, wisely deciding to give you some much needed space. In that moment, it suddenly hit you that only yesterday you could come in and practically jump into his arms, starting Taehyung’s morning with a kiss. It wasn’t the case anymore.

A moment of awkward silence stretched through the air, but, eventually, you gathered enough courage to speak first.

“Do you remember-"

"I remember everything," Taehyung deadpanned, and you nodded, swallowing some of the nerves. Namjoon suspected he would. This was no ordinary case. “And I am glad I do.”

The addition made you look up from the floor. Taking a chance to study Taehyung closer, you didn’t expect to find the look in his eyes so... sympathetic. And curious. And anticipating.

“Oh, God, Tae,” sudden embarrassment washed over you, and your hands came up to cover your flushed face. “I am so sorry. I feel so terrible-“

“What? Why are you apologizing?” Taehyung was taken aback, seemingly surprised by the outburst of guilt. Trying to explain your embarrassment was, somehow, even more embarrassing.

“You weren’t in your right mind, and I sort of took advantage of that,” truth be told, you never saw it that way before. Not until you met the real Taehyung. “With all the kisses and touches. I should’ve stopped it. It’s your body, and I had no right-“

“No, no, no. I get it,” as if pulled by some force, the boy shuffled across the bed on his knees, eventually stopping in front of you. His fingers wrapped around your wrists, gently moving your hands away from your face. “You had to keep the story going for me. Dr. Kim explained everything.”

‘Right. Keeping the story going. That’s all it was,’ you thought ruefully, but said:

“Thank you for understanding,” it was easy to smile at Taehyung, even now, so you did. The boy smiled back, releasing your wrists, and, strangely, you didn’t feel like keeping distance between you anymore. “I feel a little less perverted.”

“Good. You should,” Taehyung nodded, looking proud of the fact that he didn’t let you think badly of yourself. “So,” the man shrugged innocently, letting his hands fall to rest of his thighs. “You said you sort of took advantage...,” Taehyung’s eyes glimmered mischievously, and you noticed his fingers tapping a playful rhythm on his lap. Wait... “Does it mean that you liked it? If it was to your advantage...”

Was he teasing you right now?

“Oh, wow. That was so bad,” you burst out laughing, which felt kind of anticlimactic, but so so needed. That’s Taehyung for you. The boy laughed along, showing off that infectious boxy smile of his. “How about I leave now, for awhile, and you come up with something better, okay?”

“Wait, wait,” Tae reached for your hand again, when you made a move towards the door. Both of you knew that you weren’t really leaving. “Do you want to get a cup of coffee? With me? Or tea? You like tea, right?” it’s like the boy wanted to prove that he remembered these things about you. It was sweet.

“Tae, are you sure? I mean, it wasn’t really you who liked me-“

“I said I remember everything, and I really like what I remember. About you. About us. I mean, if anything, the question is did you like the-past-life me, because, let me tell you, he’s not that different from the guy standing right here.”

“Well, obviously. The soul is the same.”

“See? Something tells me you weren’t faking it, not all the time. Not when it mattered,” his words carried certain weight, like he not only remembered, but, miraculously, experienced everything that happened. “So, did you like him?” Yes. Easy. “Do you like me?” Ooh, a little tougher. He did look exactly the same. (Duh.) Yet, there was something that made him feel more aware, more awake. More... here.

“If you remember everything, like you said, then you should know the answer to the first question.” I loved him.

“I do,” Taehyung said, turning completely serious for a moment, and you were thankful that he didn’t take your feelings lightly. “That’s why I-,” the boy cut himself short and bashfully shook his head. Cute. “Sorry, nevermind. It’s cheesy and a little too far.”

“No, tell me,” you tugged at his hand, consequently realizing that it was still holding yours. The comfortable nature of it didn’t surprise you. “I’ll be the judge.”

"I think he left something with me, and,” Taehyung’s free hand landed on his chest, near his heart, emphasizing where the change happened. “Who knows, maybe we will prove that eternal soulmates exist too," the boy was beaming, so proud of his charming line, and you didn’t make him wait too long for a reaction. Your cheeks got much warmer, and you lowered your gaze, trying to hide a shy smile that threatened to hurt your jaw with how wide it was.

“You were right. It is cheesy. But, maybe, not too far fetched.”

You cried yourself to sleep that night, realizing that, in some strange and gut wrenching way, you lost someone you loved. Forever. That bright and ridiculously romantic Taehyung from 1960s was gone. But you smiled before finally dozing off, thinking that you gained someone who could make you heart flutter just the same. Perhaps, equally bright and romantic. You just needed to give it a little time.

You fell in love with Taehyung once. You could do it again. Namjoon still had to prove it, but his soul belonged with yours, and...

He promised to love you forever, after all.

["thank you for stopping me, when i- uh, when i wanted to take things a little too far."

"um, yeah, no problem. though, i must admit, it wasn't too easy."

"how so? was i- was i pushing you too much?"

"no! no. it's just that- sometimes, you and... what you did... made me forget about, well, everything."

"oh? ... OH! i see..."]

a/n: thanks for reading! i really hope you enjoyed! for more of my stories go for masterlist here and here. feedback, as always, is needed and will be very much appreciated.

if you like my stories, you can support me here: buy me a coffee ✨☕️

#bts #bangtan #kim taehyung #reincarnation au #soulmate au #fluff #angst #fanfic #scenario #scenarios #story #oneshot #long #sfw #soft #my post #armyart #bts v fluff #bts v angst #writing

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tokupedia · 7 years ago

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Linkara’s Kamen Rider Fourze review

youtube

@atopfourthwall

REVIEW KITAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Hello, Channel Awesome fans! I am one of the many western representatives of this little fandom Mr. Lovhaug is about to encounter in the comments section of the video you see before you.

Now the first thought that some annoyed fans of his unfamiliar with KR might ask is…”Why this? This isn’t a comic!”

Ah, but a comic book creator is responsible for its inception, or in this case a manga creator: Shotaro Ishinomori. He was known for creating a lot of superheroes in Japan among other things. Plus, Kamen Rider has been adapted into superhero manga stories like Kamen Rider Spirits or Futo Detectives and its original incarnation’s main character was a manga drawing concept first before becoming a TV star.

And for those disappointed that Secret Origins Month was cut short, well this counts as an origin of a super hero, just one you are not familiar with. So ..you get three origins to heroes this year instead of four *shrugs* Plus, Lewis deserves a break and a honeymoon after all that non-stop work. :)

0:33-0:34: “Known for having an insect-like look” Hmm… fair enough. The core trait of a Kamen Rider is that they have detailed and round compounded eyes on the mask. (most of the time, some play with that aesthetic or drop it altogether). The original 15 Riders were themed after different insects and this bug theme carried over on and off again until Double. (OOO briefly brought it back with the Gatakiriba Combo). The producers, costume designers and staff also decided to play around with various costume themes aside from bugs like Oni, Japanese folklore with trains, a Vampire with a stylized pumpkin head, chimeras, wizards, video game genres ..and cars. This season’s hero as of late 2017, is organic things like animals fused with inorganic objects! (A Hawk mixed with a Gatling gun for example).

If one were to ask me personally about what the draw is, it is the slightly heavier focus on characters than fluff and a balancing stance on being as over the top and crazy as possible or having dramatic and quiet moments that invest you in what is going on….also crazy-awesome weapons and karate cyborgs and/or men in belt activated power suits who can stop/destroy evil by kicking and punching them really hard! And bikes! Cannot forget the cool motorbikes!

Fun fact, the original Kamen Rider’s actor also played Segata Sanshiro!

0:57-1:02: “Patreon sponsors will get a KR: Dragon Knight review if they donate enough $$” Given the pattern I’ve seen so far based on this and the preceding Gokaiger review, odds are you are more likely to encounter/collide into a request for either another toku series from 2011-2012-2013 or an anniversary event of media like Gokaiger vs. Gavan or Ultraman Mebius. Am I the only one noticing that he has done anniversary seasons of different franchises and both are from 2011?

1:03-1:25 GAH! MASKED RIDER! *DEMONIC HISS* Yeah, some KR fans can agree this was a horrible mistake as Saban tried too hard to force Kamen Rider into a Power Rangers mold…which doesn’t work because there are tropes and elements that separate the two that cannot be removed to fit that format. Also the fact that KR was absent from TV for most of the ‘90s aside from clipshow specials and a 12 minute crossover with Ultraman in one said special. Using clips from the darker Shin Kamen Rider movie and the two movies directed by Keita Amemiya was just a hodgepodge mess when blended with Black RX.

1:26-1:28: Ah, Dragon Knight! A good series adaptation screwed over by 4Kids execs for those wondering why it was cancelled despite winning an Emmy.

1:43-1:53: Even Linkara dislikes Ferbus, the Jar-Jar of our fandom.

1:55-2:36: Four-Zay. It has to do with Japanese pronunciation of the “e” sound. Don’t feel bad about the complaints though, we are getting drama right now here about the correct pronunciation of the current secondary hero Kamen Rider Cross-Z. It is just one of the pitfalls of being fans or observers.

The reason for the space theme was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of man’s first flight into space, hence the astronaut motif of Fourze’s costume!

4:10-17: It’s a Space Station. Though it would be easier to identify as such if Sir Alec Guinness was present.

4:35-37: It is a kind of male cowlick pompadour, he is reflecting the style of a high school Yanki in popular Japanese fiction. But, unlike them, he isn’t a jerk. Also, I really like saying pompadour. Pompadour, pompadour! Pooom-paa-douuur!

4:50-58: “Better to be an idiot than a tool” I want that phrase on an arts and craftsy bathroom sign that you get at a flea market to hang on my wall.

4:59-5:30: I can accept you not liking the visuals and critiquing the opening but sorta liking it, that’s fine. But... this is our jam, so let’s crank it! Ladies and gents of the uninitiated to Kamen Rider, for your possible audio pleasure I give you...SWITCH ON! by Anna Tsuchiya! Woooooooo!

5:36-42: Don’t tempt fate man. Toei is a vicious beast when it comes to Kamen Rider related materials on the interwebs, ask Des or anyone in the toku community. Also since you mentioned the complaints about subbing: *Queen music* Another one gripes the subs, another one gripes the subs, and another logs on and another logs on. Another one gripes the subs! Hey, he’s trying to do a review, but another one gripes the subs!

... Sorry. Also, fans, be thankful he took time out of his busy (and now married) life to even do this. He could have ignored the request to do a Rider series and gave you nothing...just sayin’.

5:43-50: heheheh....Setup.

6:19-29: aaaand pay off of a man surprised by a burger toy being in a show when he was only being sarcastic about one being there. This burger thing actually has some possible explanation behind it. See Kamen Rider had changed TV sponsors in the start of the 2010s. One of those new sponsors? The American fast food giant, McDonald’s. Yeah, as part of a deal with the toy company Bandai and TV Asahi, the mighty Golden Arches could sell Happy Meal Toys (or Happy Set toys as they are known in Japan) of Kamen Rider characters and promote Bandai’s Ganbaride and later Ganbarizing arcade game by handing out special collectible trading cards in the kids meal. The Foodroids, as the assorted mini bots are called, are all coincidentally based on McDonald’s food products like McNuggets, burgers, a milkshake, french fires and the Japan exclusive McHotDog Classic. Still, not as cool as the McMegazord or a Mr. T Holographic Trading Card.

6:45-48: “Always follow the nice one talking about friendship and stuff, that person will become an all powerful god or something.” Wait....is that a Madoka reference? Hehehehe...should I tell him?

7:16-22: Well, the idea is that Gen wants to be a good friend to everyone by reaching out to people and trying to help them, even if they won’t admit that they have problems. He’s just that nice of a guy. And...it works. There is an excellent article that the now defunct Comics Alliance did a while back on Fourze that explains it better.

7:41-55: Amanogawa High School (shortened to AGHS by some fans) is a Japanese education structured school but has an American high school aesthetic, especially with social cliques and the environment reflecting one.

(Minus the budget cuts and selfish parents and politicians refusing to pay more taxes to further improve learning and engage in creative activities, increase a teacher’s pay or failing to maintain the building and spending all the special education and tutoring money on a new football stadium)

8:01-05: That is the power of Koichi Sakamoto at work. Yes, THAT Koichi Sakamoto.

8:28-30: Powder-izer? Sounds like an Avon product, what is this... Powder-izer you speak of, stranger of our ways? I kid, I kid. I know that one’s going in the New year’s bloopers. Go easy on him folks, to err is human.

9:10-13: Yuki is useful at times and is a good friend, it depends on who’s writing the episodes how the characters act. Sometimes a Rider series can have up to four writers working on it, hence why some shows suffer in quality while others are more consistent.

9:53-10:00: “It’s a Bomb!” Ha!

10:24-26 Saw that coming a mile away...and still a good reference joke.

10:27-30: Fourze’s suit design is loosely based on another creation done by Shotaro Ishinomori, Skyzel from the Space Ironmen Kyodyne show of the mid 1970s. Fans of Lucky Star already know of that series thanks to the humorous karaoke of Konata singing the opening theme song. It took a bit of getting used to when fans first saw the suit, but most of us grew to love it!

13:07-17: That is Tomoko Nozama, a precious little cinnamon roll who is a geeky goth that is into the occult and urban legends. She will be an important thing later, but that comes past the point where he stops.

13:28-47: No surprise, this show is about the younger Millennials and the Japanese writers actually do research on subjects beforehand in some cases. Unlike the luddite schlock kings of tinseltown, who think com-pew-tors are magic boxes or write them as such thinking the audience is stupid.

14:05-08: *Driver.

14:24-30: Well, if that didn’t shock you, I know a scene in a little show called ToQger that will make you yearn for the days of seeing a bike go into space. Or a Shinkenger V-Cinema or even...Amazons.

14:40-46: Ah, legacy. The original plan for this series was that the kids would investigate the Kamen Riders and their legends and gain the powers of past Riders in switch form...which was turned down by execs due to Decade doing something like that a few years back. The idea in some ways was salvaged in expanded non-canon materials, Legend Rider toys and the Ganbaride game. Since Linkara went a bit fast on that shot, the Riders you see before you in the footage are Kamen Rider 1 (the first Rider if the number didn’t give that away), Super-1 (Rider #9 from 1980 and also astronaut themed like Fourze, only mixed with a hornet), Black RX (Evolved form of Kamen Rider Black from the late ‘80s) and Kuuga (first Kamen Rider of the new millennium) and a scanned newspaper photo clipping of Futo Tower’s destruction by the evil Kamen Rider Eternal from the Kamen Rider Double summer movie. (great film, check it out after you watch a bit of Double!)

14:50-53: Behold, the most Redbubbliest logo in our fandom!

16:40-44: *spits drink and laughs* Does....does he know what KR Ghost is? Even if he doesn’t, that is too surreal, given Ghost’s poor reception among some fans after a certain point punctuating the joke.

16:50-56: Well, Japanese Superheroes don’t really always go for the secret identity thing. It is admirable that they are willing to risk their own privacy and lives just to save someone. They don’t do the dumb thing some comic book heroes do where they have to choose between their secrecy or saving a life, they just suit up and go right to it! Plus, with such a large community of heroes with them or the confidence they can defeat their foes, risk of death is minimal in most cases unless a “defeat flag” is triggered.

18:30-34: Miu grows as a character, she does become a little nicer and realizes the value of true friends later.

19:05-08: Shun is a jerk at first, but there is a good reason for that involving his life at home.

Yeah, the fourth episode is a bit weak.

Happy you like Gentaro!

21:40-22:04: Well, it depends on the suit and Mr. Seiji Takaiwa’s direction by the film crew. Some fights are fastpaced, some slowly build and others fizzle out with a beatdown or curbstomp. I’d argue that it is more Gentaro being new to fighting in-suit as he later learns things like kick boxing, gets better at using his Astroswitches and mixing his fighting style with the use of his jetpack. Koichi Sakamoto did a good job on the out of suit fight action and the battles got more intense in the movies due to a higher budget.

All in all, a fun time for everyone! Now I did see the comments of those who were curious about where to start with Kamen Rider and I’ll answer with the usuals that most recommend: Black, Amazon, Kuuga, Den-O, Double, the original 1971 show, OOO, Ex-Aid, Drive and Gaim.

Before leaving this post, I have something to personally say to Mr. Lovhaug and the KR fandom will agree this is a good choice…

That quote from Mr. Belt is useful when somebody ties the knot!

Count up your sins and make amends. Believe in hope and your friends. Let the desires of a bright tomorrow, overcome every sorrow, and may you love each other ‘til Diend!

May your love for Viga always be in top gear and your lives together burn bright!

The Kamen Rider Fans of the USA, UK, etc.

Thank you for your time Lewis and giving our heroes a moment in the spotlight! We are grateful!

A. Fox

#linkara #atop the fourth wall #lewis lovhaug #channel awesome #kamen rider #kamen rider fourze #thank you lewis #japanese superheroes #rockets #astroswitch #uchuu kita #gentaro kisaragi #drill #space #astronaut #moon #internet review #fandom highlight

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heavyarethecrowns · 7 years ago

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A rather interesting op-ed about the UK media vs the royal family

On November 8th, shortly after news broke that Prince Harry was in a romantic relationship with American TV actress and celebrity lifestyle entrepreneur, Meghan Markle, Harry put out a pretty incendiary public statement blasting the press.

While he confirmed that the story was true, he also made it clear that he thought it was absolutely none of our business. Blaming “sections of the English media” he thundered at the Sun for “…the smear on the front page of a national newspaper” and lashed out across the board at “the nightly battles to keep defamatory stories out of the papers”, “the racial undertones of comment pieces” and the intrusion that Meghan’s family was suffering, with “her mother having to struggle past photographers”.

Then, ending with this carefully-phrased stinger, Harry left them to chew on this: ”Those in the press who have been driving this story can pause and reflect before any further damage is done.”

You don’t need to be an English professor to understand the subtext here, nor can you particularly blame Harry for wishing ill of the industry that was more than somewhat responsible for the early death of his mother.

But, despite what it might look like at first glance, Harry’s statement wasn’t just a bit of hot-headed ranting. There’s a very subtle powerplay going on here.

The dynamics between the ruling class, celebrities and the press is shifting under our feet. Legislation influence by Royal Charter is about six weeks from potentially changing the face of press reporting for good.

And Harry might well have just set the press up to score a massively damaging own goal.

Royal History

The British Royal Family have a strange place in today’s culture. The Queen is our longest serving Head of State – a serious constitutional position, even in 2016 – and yet the Royals seem to exist mainly as Britain’s biggest tourist attraction. That, or a high-end soap opera for Americans.

The Queen aside though (and her immediate successors to the throne – Charles and William) you do have to wonder exactly what purpose the rest of the clan serves, if not for general public amusement?

Beyond a very small handful of other Brits (Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Adele, possibly Benedict Cumberbatch?) they are far and away our most recognisable celebrities on the global stage at the moment. What’s more, they have been at the forefront of gossip and media coverage for decades now. Crowds of thousands turn up just to see them wave. Their weddings are international television events. All we ask – in exchange for a luxurious taxpayer-funded lifestyle of travel, banquets, jewels, parties and palaces – is to be kept up to speed on what they’re up to.

There’s no doubt that that can be annoying at times. And we don’t wish to trivialise something that ended in a fatality back in 1997 but – despite what Prince Harry’s fiery rhetoric implies (or what Hacked Off will tell you, or what the Leveson Inquiry investigated) – the press have largely been running scared of the Royals in recent years.

Diana’s passing caused even the most hardened of tabloid editors to take pause. Many paparazzi were cut loose after that. Even as recently as 2007, News International (Rupert Murdoch’s media group) agreed that all their properties wouldn’t buy any pap shots of Kate Middleton.

The coverage of William and Kate has been nothing short of fawning. When those topless tit shots of Kate were published in France, they were roundly condemned in the UK. The bikini pictures of pregnant Kate on a Mustique beach were published by an Italian mag and a few Australian ones, but not in UK. And since two perfectly cherubic royal babies came on the scene Kate has been close to being beatified.

Harry’s experience has been different. Those nude shots after a Las Vegas pool party in 2012, while leaked originally by American gossip site, TMZ were later republished on the front page of the Sun (which possibly explains why he’s now quicker to anger with the British press…)

Still, even though the press have lightened up a lot on the Royal Family since 1997, it’s clear (and understandable) why Harry would harbour such animus for them. So his damning statement about the shittiness of our press didn’t seem wildly out of character. However, it turns out that that was just a bit of party talk.

For on the very same day that Harry put out that statement, newspaper editors all over the country received a letter. That letter was from the press regulatory body, IPSO, and it contained a rather stark message from his girlfriend Meghan Markle’s London lawyers.

And that was the real warning shot.

Regulators, Mount Up

The Independent Press Standards Organisation (or IPSO, as it’s commonly known) is the regulatory body that the press set up in response to the Leveson Inquiry’s savaging of its previous incarnation, the Press Complaints Commission.

The PCC – which was pretty much run by newspapers themselves – was often accused of being completely toothless. Whenever they were asked to adjudicate on serious complaints about their conduct, unsurprisingly, they tended to find that newspapers had done nothing wrong.

Those years of phone-hacking? Nope. Paying public officials? Nothing to see there. Multiple complaints of unwarranted intrusion? Meh.

So, in the face of severe criticism, IPSO was created to replace it.

IPSO was hastily whipped together in 2012 before Parliament had a chance to enact any of the recommendations that Lord Leveson suggested, or come up with its own regime. It’s kind of based on the same principles that the PCC ran on before it (that of industry self-regulation) but in appointing Sir Alan Moses as its chair, and having some non-media types serve as members of its board, it does have at least a touch more independence than the PCC ever did.

Consequently, most of the industry signed up to it (except for the Financial Times, the Guardian and the Lebedevs’ stable, who all decided to set up their own individual complaints systems).

How is this connected to Prince Harry?

On the same day that Harry made his statement about the press, his girlfriend, Meghan Markle, had some lawyers write to IPSO on her behalf, asking them to tell their members to back off. Her lawyers also warned that, in taking an interest in her life and her fledgling relationship, the Editor’s Code was in serious danger of being breached.

They claimed that the UK media: – “…is unfairly and wrongly creating a market for coverage and intrusive speculation about our client’s private life” – “…should not publish material obtained as a consequence of harassment (anywhere) whether outside the jurisdiction of UK” – “…should not under any circumstances harass our client if and on any occasion she is visiting the United Kingdom”

Reading between the lines here, it seems that not only are the English media being held accountable for any harassment that Meghan and her family suffer when they’re in the UK, they’re being held accountable for any harassment they endure anywhere.

Basically this was a warning that if any photographer or publication anywhere in the world writes anything bad about her, or attempts to photograph her, then the UK is going to be blamed – so it’s up to them to make sure it doesn’t happen.

It’s a smart, if slightly mafia-flavoured, move. You can’t go after the US media because of that pesky First Amendment, so you head to Europe (where Article 8 of the ECHR protects a person’s right to privacy) and you shake them down instead. You make the US media their problem. Rein them in, you say, or we’ll hold you responsible for it.

But there’s more to it than just that. This threat comes at a time when the British press is slap bang in the middle of a political battle.

One that could prove to be existential.

Hard To Impress

IPSO aren’t the final word on press regulation in the UK.

The press created IPSO in an attempt to ward off the threat of stronger state regulation being brought in at the recommendation of Lord Leveson – but this plan didn’t quite work out.

What came out of the Leveson Inquiry was the idea that there should be a Royal Charter. Something which, in theory, would give politicians oversight of the press. That was set up in 2012.

The Royal Charter then created something called the Press Recognition Panel, for the express purpose of formally appointing a “recognised self-regulator”. That was set up in November 2014. In all the time since, it has largely done nothing – but that all changed last month.

After two years of laying essentially dormant, about one week before the story about Harry and Meghan broke, the PRP finally swung into action. It had made its decision about the regulator it wanted and it gave its formal approval, not to IPSO, but to another body, Impress, to be the UK’s official press regulator.

The only problem with this decision is that almost everybody has signed up to be regulated by IPSO; and virtually no-one has agreed to be regulated by Impress. Moreover, no-one wants to be.

Why?

Well, aside from the ‘state-sponsored’ regulatory element it now has, there’s something else about Impress that the media industry doesn’t trust.

While IPSO was set up by those who come from (and broadly approve of) the newspaper industry, Impress is funded by one of its sworn enemies. Max Mosley.

You might remember Max from a famous News of the World front page, which showed him at a sadomasocistic orgy.

Mosley was awarded damages by the UK courts for that particular story, but that wasn’t enough for him. He took the case further, right the way up to the European Court of Human Rights, to attempt to change the law so that newspapers would be forced to warn anyone before they run a story on their private life.

The court rejected it, saying a “pre-notification requirement would inevitably affect political reporting and serious journalism” (and Mosley hasn’t stopped fuming about it since).

That’s only part of why the industry is mistrustful of Impress, but there’s one other thing you need to know about the Royal Charter and the significance of its choice.

There is a piece of legislation known as the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Section 40 of that act was designed specifically to incentivise newspapers to join the Royal Charter’s recognised regulator. And it carries quite a sting in the tail.

What Section 40 says is that publishers who are not a member of the recognised self-regulator can win any relevant media case in court, but still have to pay the losing side’s costs as well as their own.

To make that absolutely clear: if they are not signed up to Impress, any newspaper or magazine that has a court case brought against them has to pay the costs of the people who brought the case – regardless of whether they win or lose.

Only by joining the state’s preferred regulator can you avoid this.

Now, you could argue that there’s a good reason for doing this. This sort of system means that anyone who felt they’d been treated unfairly by the press could bring a case against a publication, even if they weren’t rich enough to afford QCs – and that’s an important element of press accountability to consider.

The reality of the situation, however, is that it’s entirely open for abuse. Anyone rich and powerful with something to hide could bring whatever case they wanted against a newspaper or magazine that isn’t signed up to Impress (and, remember, practically everyone signed up to IPSO or abstained) knowing that, whichever way the case went, the publication would still have to pay costs.

It wouldn’t take long to bankrupt smaller publications by taking a few punts on this, and those big enough to withstand the financial hit would undoubtedly have to think twice about undertaking any tricky investigations. (After all, they have shareholders or benefactors to consider.)

Now that Impress has been recognised as the official PRP regulator, Section 40 is primed to come into effect. Meaning that the publications which signed up for IPSO are – for want of a better phrase – royally fucked.

Who signed up for IPSO? Over 1,500 print and 1,100 online titles. Roughly 90% of the UK’s media.

Who signed up for Impress? Somewhere between 30-40 “niche and local publications”. And, erm… that’s it.

Great news if you’re the Brixton Bugle, the Caerphilly Observer, the Port Talbot Magnet or Shropshire Live.

If you’re anyone else, not so much.

Thankfully, there’s been something of a reprieve. Section 40 should have come into effect when Impress was granted Royal Charter status – but on 1st November the government, aware that this could have major implications for freedom of the press, announced that it will be subject to a ten-week consultation period while they decide if it’s something they really want to do.

No doubt by complete coincidence, precisely one week into this ten-week period, Prince Harry (the grandson of the woman whose name and title is all over this charter) chose November 8th to lash out at the press.

November 8th is also the date on the letter from Meghan Markle’s lawyers to the IPSO members.

It was nice of Harry to give the press a full week to enjoy this probation period. For make no mistake, anyone who fucks up in the next nine weeks could be fucking it up for everyone. Meghan’s lawyers made it very clear to IPSO that they wouldn’t look kindly on anything that breached the Editor’s Code. So keeping everyone reined in right now is not just essential for IPSO’s own existence, it’s essential for that of a continued free press.

A Blue Bloodbath

The press’s right to photograph an American actress who happens to be dating a minor British royal doesn’t necessarily look like something that any of us should get too hot under the collar about.

But let’s look at Culture Secretary Karen Bradley’s 1st November statement. “The press should tell the truth without fear or favour and hold the powerful to account.”

The Royal Family is still a powerful institution. Taxpayer funded, its members represent British commercial and political interests around the world. As role models they can have a profound influence. They should 100% be classed as part of “the powerful” that the press should hold to account.

A pushback on ability to cover the Royals – no matter how frivolous this looks – is a pushback on the ability to scrutinise, and it’s not as if the Royals are above shifty behaviour.

Recent years have seen various members of the family try and exploit their connections for money. Take Sarah Ferguson and Sophie Wessex, for example. Married to Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively, both of them were caught up in cash for access scandals.

Prince Andrew himself was discovered to have links to murky Kazakhstani money and politics. Prince Charles was accused of attempting to meddle in government business with the Black Spider letters. Or – and we’re loath to bring him up again, but – Prince Harry wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party at Highgrove House.

Royal privacy is a difficult thing to quantify. Prince Harry expects the press to turn up and cover his duties. The Invictus Games, which he started, owe their existence to the fact that he’s mediaworthy and can therefore secure interest in it. Dating an actress, who has a big public profile, will make him even more mediaworthy. Particularly as Meghan Markle isn’t shy about putting her own private life out there – especially when there’s a payday to be had.

At the same time as Meghan’s lawyers were making the statement that “Our client has no intention of talking to anyone about her private life”, everyone could read her long feature in Elle magazine detailing her family and private life.

Once you’ve finished that, maybe you’d like to read a brand new piece she’s just written about how fame brings responsibilty as a role model – and showing her as a UN Advocate.

As for Meghan’s claim that the UK media is “creating a market for coverage” – they should perhaps defer to her expert knowledge. She knows all about how to market coverage. With the world hanging on her every word, waiting for her to confirm that she is in fact in a relationship with a member of the British Royal Family, her first move is to send out an inspirational Gandhi quote on social media – all branded up with the logo from her professional aspirational LA lifestyle website and business, The Tig.

Though this doesn’t constitute a huge conflict of interest, this is exactly the sort of thing that a responsible press should be monitoring.

Is it enough of a reason to give the press carte blanche to harass her family, and pepper them with paparazzi? No. Does her blogging business mean that reporters need to shadow the new couple so closely that they never have a private moment alone? Of course not.

But the press also shouldn’t have to swallow this dangerous piece of wider legislation �� which could have devastating consequences for freedom of reporting – just because a few bad apples get over-obsessive with the Royals.

Still, so long as the press don’t overstep the mark for the next few months, everything should be fine. The fact that there is now a Royal sword of state regulation dangling over their heads isn’t ideal, but so long as they don’t do anything stupid and deliberately try to antagonise Prince Harry and his girlfriend, then there may still be a chance that the British press manages to retain its freedom…

Ah, well.

At least we’re looking a little safer than America…

http://popbitch.com/2016/12/part-iii-battle-royal/

SUBMITTED

#media #prince harry #meghan markle #submission

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creepykingdom · 7 years ago

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Episode 133 / Creepy Day 2 Halloween Time at Disneyland

SHOW NOTES:

On our second Creepy Day of 2017 we take a look at all of the Halloween offerings this year at the Disneyland Resort! Including all of the brand new Halloween fun at Disney California Adventure and a review of this year’s Mickey’s Halloween Party!

REVIEW: (by Melissa A. Camacho)

It’s amazing what a little lighting and fog can do to get you in the Halloween spirit. At this year’s Mickey’s Halloween Party at the Disneyland Resort, both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure were decked out in fall and Halloween decorations. And for the first time ever, your ticket to Mickey’s Halloween Party allowed you into either Disneyland or DCA prior to the main event. In this review, I will be covering both parks and also giving you tips on this year’s party.

For those of you who have not heard of Mickey’s Halloween Party, it is a separate ticketed event that happens on select nights starting in mid September to Halloween at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. At this event, the park is closed early for regular attendees and the park is transformed into a full blown Halloween Party. Complete with a trick-or-treat candy trail, a dance party, Disney Villain appearances, the Frightfully Fun Parade and the Halloween Screams Fireworks; not to mention everybody is allowed to come in costume. Each year, this event sells out, and this year was no exception. So for those interested in attending next year, I highly recommend buying your tickets early.

We start off at Disney’s California Adventure. If you want to get a head start on your spooky day, take advantage of the early entry park-hopper and enjoy what DCA has to offer for the fall season. Early entry to either Disneyland or DCA starts three hours prior the main event. Unfortunately, I missed early entry this year (traffic coming up from San Diego was unusually bad) but, I was at DCA a few days earlier so I’m happy to report my take on the park on a regular day.

Before you even enter the park, you are welcomed by Oogie Boogie on top of the DCA entrance. As a huge fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I was already sold. I have never been into DCA around this time of year, so walking into Buena Vista street and seeing the vintage purple banners and bats immediately put a smile to my face. Going in farther, there is an epic Headless Horseman statue that exhales out smoke through its nostrils. It also makes noses and and lights up as the day goes darker.

Another new and bigger thing at DCA for this Halloween season is Cars Land’s Haul-O-Ween layover. Now, I am not a huge Cars fan, but this themed section of the park is my favorite. So adding a dash of spooky made it 10x, better in my opinion. There were car parts that created spider webs and ghouls. Many of the signs had creepy layovers which referenced classic Halloween and horror movies. Not to mention the perfectly themed treats they offered there which have been featured on numerous videos and instagram accounts by now. Luigi's Rollickin Roadsters had new music for your cars to dance to. And Ramone's House of Body Art was Day of the Dead themed complete with an altar for one of it’s characters. As a Mexican-American, it was really refreshing to see my culture being represented as genuinely as possible, considering the context of the land. I enjoyed it. My tip for this section of the park is to arrive at sundown. That’s when all the neon gets turned on and the whole environment feels different. Still cute, yet spooky.

Continuing with our trend of Day of the Dead, there is a Coco experience near Paradise Pier that features activities, music, dancers, folk art and food inspired by the Mexican tradition and movie. When I went to DCA a few days prior, I did not get to experience this part of the park myself, so I can’t give a first hand account of this seasonal experience. But, thanks to the internet, you can view all the colorful displays they have up.

Another new thing that DCA offers this season was Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark, ride layover. Right out of the gate, the Guardians ride is noticeably different. The lights and projections on the building are different and kind of creepy. The story of the ride also changes, as you are now trying to help Rocket save Groot from the space monsters that have been let loose. I also felt that there were way more drops in this incarnation of the ride, which I highly enjoyed. The cool thing about this version, is that it’s not an all day layover. So if you want the little ones to enjoy the original, ride it during the day. My tip if you want to experience this scary version, is to ride it at or after the sun sets. It’s a digital layover so it gets converted in a short period of time.

Overall, the three hours you have at DCA will be enough time to look at all the new decorations and maybe ride a few things. Now onto onto Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland.

I have attended this event for the first time last year and I immediately fell in love. If you’re a fan of Halloween and all things Disney, then this is the event for you. My boyfriend and I Disneybounded as Oogie Boogie and Jack Skellington, respectively. The one thing I love about Mickey’s Halloween Party is the small crowds. There is practically no wait for any of the rides. Another thing that makes the event so different is ambiance of the park. It immediately puts everybody in good creepy mood.

As huge Disneyland fans, we all know that Disney spares no expense when it comes to their seasonal decorations. Besides the cute fall leaves and pumpkins on main street and other parts of the park, Disney bumps it up a bit for their Halloween party. The colored lights turn on, the spooky sounds creep up and fog covers Rivers of America as the Cadaver Dans start making their way down on a raft. If there’s one section that screams out creepy Disney, it’s New Orleans Square by Rivers of America. If that’s not your thing, then I suggest taking a stroll down the newly opened Big Thunder Trail. If you’re coming up from the Frontierland side, keep an eye out for the creature that lives in the old train ride tunnel. I honestly don’t remember if that was there last year, but it really freaked me out. The sound effects and lighting in that little section made me feel uneasy. Which looking back… still freaks me out just thinking about it. I still don’t know what that was suppose to be and no Google search is helping me. So if you’re brave, go check it out.

Besides my irrational fears of things unknown, the majority of the event was amazing. If rides are your thing, as they were for me and my boyfriend, I highly suggest riding Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and Haunted Mansion Holiday. These rides have seasonal layovers that really put you in the Halloween (or Christmas) spirit. As some of you might know, each year the gingerbread house in Haunted Mansion Holiday is changed. And this year, it features a humongous Oogie Boogie gingerbread man. Again, I am a sucker for this guy, so I loved it. Biases aside, I wish the doombuggies would move slower at the ballroom scene just so everybody can see and appreciate all the little details of the gingerbread houses. Especially considering that it is all real gingerbread and sweats. While Haunted Mansion Holiday is less scary once Jack takes over, in my opinion, I can’t say the same for Space Mountain’s layover. So if your children get easily frightened, I say skip Ghost Galaxy. I think it’s a bit loud and the projections might be too scary for your younger counterparts.

Now it’s not a Halloween Party without costumes and candy. While you see your usual and more traditional costumes, there are some that certainly stand out. Maybe it’s the Disney magic that sparks people’s creativity or the photo opportunities that the park offers. Either way, some people went all out. I only captured some spooky ones, but there were plenty more varieties that people dress up as too. While you people watch, I suggest taking advantage of the treat trail that spans the whole park. I personally didn’t stop at all of the candy spots, but I got enough candy to fill my Zero popcorn bucket. When you first enter the park, you are given a treat bag and a map of the treat trail. At some stops, there are healthier and allergy friendly options for the trick-or-treaters.

I am not one for Parades or Fireworks, but for this event, I try my best to make some time to watch it. First is the Frightfully Fun Parade. Before the parade begins, the Headless Horseman makes his way down on a real horse holding his pumpkin head. Then parade begins. The floats are given as much detail as the regular parade floats but better because they feature spooky characters and Disney Villains. The parade itself is rather short but cute for what it is. They run it twice throughout the night. Now for the fireworks, I highly suggest either being in front of the castle or in the middle of main street. Both the castle and main street have projections casted on them. I was on the side of the castle closer to Frontierland and still had a decent view. Like I said before, I’m not much of a fireworks person, but this one sold me with the theme, projections, synced fireworks and pyrotechnics. If you ever attend Mickey’s Halloween Party, I suggest finding a good spot and watching it at least once.

Overall, Mickey’s Halloween Party is defiantly one of my favorite events to attend at Disneyland. I’m an annual passholder and I will gladly pay the extra money to attend this event. It has the perfect mix of Disney and creepy. I give this year’s event a five poison apples out of five poison apples rating.

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PICTURES: (By Melissa A. Camacho, Little Nikki, & James H. Carter II)

#podcastepisodes #disneyland #halloween time at disneyland #disney halloween #Mickey's Halloween Party

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rickhorrow · 5 years ago

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15+5+5 To Watch : 12020

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 20

with Jacob Aere

Brands spent $4.48 billion on TV advertising during 2019 regular season NFL broadcasts, according to iSpot.tv data shared by Broadcasting & Cable. The figure is up nearly 14% on 2018, as the number of ad airings during NFL broadcasts climbed more than 7% to more than 32,000. According to the data, the ads scored 157.8 billion impressions, an uptick of 11% from the previous year. Verizon, also an NFL sponsor, was the top-spending company, shelling out an estimated $150.6 million to advertise during NFL games. Insurance firms Geico, Progressive, and State Farm also spent more than $100 million on ad spots. Most money came from the automotive industry, as Toyota, Hyundai, and others reportedly spent $605.2 million on commercials, while electronics and communication firms spent an estimated $351 million. The study comes ahead of Super Bowl LIV, which has seen brands pay FOX as much as $5.6 million for a single 30-second ad slot during the game. We assume that State Farm is disappointed to see spokesman Aaron Rodgers’ Packers fall to the 49ers and miss out on a “Super State Farm Bowl” against fellow pitchman Patrick Mahomes.

Pro Football Hall of Fame's latest round of inductees were announced last Wednesday, when the 13-man contingent joining coaches Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson in Canton, Ohio, were revealed. The so-called "Centennial Slate" comprises 15 members in total, with 10 slots reserved for members of the Seniors category—former NFL players who have been eligible for election for over 20 years but have not been voted in yet—three contributors (including former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue), and the two coaches. According to Newsweek, The Hall of Fame assembled a special 25-man strong Blue-Ribbon Panel to determine the 15 inductees. The panel included 13 members from the Hall of Fame's traditional pool of 48 voters, while the remaining 12 comprised Hall of Famers, coaches, football executives, and football historians. A list of almost 300 candidates was whittled down to 38 finalists last month, which was voted on by the Blue-Ribbon Panel. The 15 men on the Centennial Slate will be joined by the five modern-era enshrinees, who will be announced during the NFL Honors ceremony the weekend of Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

Lots of familiar ESPN faces, U.S. females populate the Australian Open. The Australian Open gets underway on Monday, replete with many very familiar faces reporting from Melbourne against the backdrop of bushfires that have commanded headlines, donations, and on-the-ground aid personnel from across the world. In the broadcast booths at Rod Laver Arena and around the vast tennis complex, James Blake has joined ESPN’s tennis team, with the company announcing a bevy of new contracts for its veterans as well. Longtime ESPN tennis stalwarts with new contracts include Darren Cahill (2007, the year he joined ESPN); Chris Evert (2011); Mary Joe Fernandez, marking 20 years (2000); Brad Gilbert (2004); John McEnroe (2009); Patrick McEnroe, celebrating 25 years (1995); Chris McKendry (1996); and Pam Shriver, marking her 30th year with the network (1990). Additionally, there are 22 American women in this year’s Australian Open main draw, the most at a Slam other than the U.S. Open since the 1999 Australian Open. The first round pitted the oldest, 39 year old Venus Williams, against the youngest, 15 year old Coco Gauff (the winner).

Family-friendly Gainbridge LPGA event offers something for everyone. Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio kicks off this week with 108 of the world’s best female golfers teeing it up in the four-day championship, January 23-26. Event officials have outlined additional family-friendly and affordable tournament week offerings for the whole community. The tournament kicks off on Monday with the Gainbridge Junior Golf Clinic at Osprey Point Golf Course. LPGA Players and certified golf instructors will be on hand to offer free golf instruction to kids ages 5 and up. On Tuesday, #GainbridgeLPGA is teaming up with Versant Health for a Women’s Leadership Summit that will feature a panel headlined by female business leaders, a fireside chat with a LPGA Tour pro, and presentations from pioneering female leaders. Next weekend, A.D. Henderson University School will offer free onsite STEM activities for kids of all ages. “Gainbridge is committed to making sure the week is affordable for the entire family and that there is something for everyone, beyond golf,” said Lesley Baker, Executive Director. “We are thrilled the tournament is able to offer several programs throughout the week in year one, and we invite everyone in the community to come out and experience the event.”

NHL All-Star Game takes the ice and the streets in St. Louis. The NHL has lined up its roster of activations for the 2020 NHL Fan Fair, the official fan festival of the2020 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, running January 23-26 in St. Louis. Partners gearing up for the event include Enterprise, Honda, New Amsterdam Vodka, Truly, Discover, Dunkin’, Bud Light, GEICO, Great Clips, MassMutual, and SAP. Highlights of the four-day, family-friendly festival include autograph sessions featuring former and current NHL All-Stars; a Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit featuring the St. Louis Blues; NHL memorabilia and trophy displays, including the Stanley Cup; and the sixth annual NHL Mascot Showdown featuring all 29 NHL Mascots. Additionally, the NHL and Green Day will build on their multiyear partnership with the band’s headlining performance at the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game on January 25. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees will perform outside Enterprise Center shortly before they take the stage inside during the second intermission presented by Ticketmaster. The performance – as always, aimed at expanding hockey’s demographic reach – will be televised as part of the live All-Star Game broadcast on NBC and throughout Canada.

The WNBA and its players' union have come to terms on a new eight-year collective bargaining agreement that includes higher salaries, improved family benefits, and better travel accommodations. This represents a turning point for women's basketball and could ultimately lead to a substantial shift in how female athletes — across all sports — are compensated. The average WNBA cash compensation will reach nearly $130,000, and top players will be able to earn upwards of $500,000. Players will also receive a full salary while on maternity leave, and an annual child care stipend of $5,000. WNBA teams, which provide housing, will now guarantee two-bedroom apartments for players with children. And while players will still have to fly commercial, they'll finally get their own individual hotel rooms. "We believe it's a groundbreaking and historic deal. I'm proud of the players; they bargained hard, they unified, they brought attention to so many important topics," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. The implications of this agreement reach beyond basketball into the larger workplace, at a time when women are demanding increased pay and benefits, on their merit and as a challenge to historically unequal pay.

The NBA players’ union has created an accelerator to aid athletes’ off court business ventures. NBA superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant have become serial investors, lending their names, ideas, and money to multiple business ventures and startups. Now, their union wants to help its members with similar off-court aspirations follow suit. To that end, the NBPA is creating an accelerator program that’s open to current and former members. The program will operate in conjunction with Patricof Co., a highly specialized private investment platform designed to meet the unique needs and of pro athletes. The firm’s clients include Henrik Lundqvist, Venus Williams, J.J. Watt, and Todd Gurley. The union says the program will offer select player-led companies benefits including mentorship, exposure to like-minded entrepreneurs, and access to resources of the NBPA, Patricof Co., and undisclosed program sponsors. The new accelerator includes a three-day training camp to be held in June that culminates in a final pitch to a panel of professional investors. Just think of it as “Shark Tank” for hoops.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred came down hard on the Houston Astros last week for illegally stealing signs in 2017. Penalties Manfred imposed included a $5 million fine, the forfeitures of several top draft picks, and one-year suspensions from the game for manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow -- who were subsequently fired by Astros owner Jim Crane. While the Astros have suffered irrevocable damage as a result of this investigation, ripple effects extend far beyond Houston. Former Astros bench coach and Boston manager Alex Cora was also fired by the Red Sox for his involvement in the Houston sign-stealing, and former Astros player Carlos Beltran, whom the Mets hired as manager just days before the first sign-stealing story broke, was canned and thus had the shortest tenure in Mets history. The sign-stealing scandal also likely extends beyond Boston and Houston, and the league will have no choice but to pursue all future leads now that the precedent has been set. While MLB's strict punishment will likely help dissuade teams from breaking the rules, further action is still required to quell public concerns about cheating.

Looking beyond the Super Bowl, sports books nationwide are preparing for XFL bets. While sports fans have been focused on picking NFL playoff teams to bet on, or marshaling their cash for the Super Bowl, yet another opportunity to wager on football is right around the corner: the XFL. Several states have already authorized bets on the second incarnation of the upstart football league, which begins its season in February, shortly after the NFL season concludes with the Super Bowl. Others are considering doing so, and bookmakers say they have requested that regulators add the league to lists of approved betting events. On the sports betting front, helped by a surge in sports betting, Atlantic City's casinos won $3.29 billion from gamblers in 2019, an increase of over 15% from 2018 — and a huge boon for a city that's still recovering from a mid-decade meltdown that saw five casinos close.

The Super Bowl is two weeks away, but Pepsi is already making Miami Ground Zero. Pepsi has announced that Harry Styles will headline the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl party on January 31 at Meridian Island in Miami. Planet Pepsi Zero Sugar “will see an out-of-this world build out, transporting fans to a transcendent audio-visual experience unlike anything else at Super Bowl LIV,” according to the announcement. Pepsi also promises a free Pepsi Zero Sugar to everyone in the U.S. if either the San Francisco 49ers or the Kansas City Chiefs’ final score ends in zero. The company said that if such a score results, it will refund the price of the drink, up to $2.50, to anyone in the U.S. who purchases it from February 2-4. It said that in 25% of previous Super Bowl games, at least one team finished with a score ending in zero. Pepsi will also award the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year winner for the 17th straight year. This year’s winner will receive a custom matte black Pepsi Zero Sugar trophy as the highest fan-voted honor for NFL Rookies.

Fashion retailer H&M has announced a new partnership with NFL in a deal brokered by IMG. The arrangement will see a new line of NFL-branded products sold in more than 20 countries outside of the US, including China, Japan, and the UK. Akash Jain, the NFL’s vice president of commercial development, said, “By partnering with H&M, we are able to reach fans in markets across the world with a diverse selection of apparel and accessories for men, women and children.” Meanwhile, Matthew Primack, IMG’s senior vice president of licensing, added, “The NFL’s international appeal as a lifestyle and fashion brand continues to grow rapidly. “With its reputation for creative collaborations and thousands of stores around the world, H&M is the perfect partner to provide an accessible and stylish collection of NFL apparel and accessories that will be sought after by football fans and fashionistas.” The collaboration is designed as a response to the NFL’s growing international profile, with regular season games in London and Mexico having heightened the league’s exposure. The Super Bowl is now broadcast in over 180 countries and 24 languages.

In other football fashion news, ahead of Super Bowl LIV, Saks Fifth Avenue has created a Super Bowl-inspired collection for its Miami stores. After a successful collaboration in Atlanta last year, the upscale retailer is going even bigger in Miami. Last year, Saks Chief Men's Merchant Louis DiGiacomo told Women’s Wear Daily that the retailer is "not working with the NFL on this initiative but undertook it independently." He added, “Every year we work with the store in the city the Super Bowl is in.” For this year’s game, more than 100 items were created by fashion brands ranging from Heron Preston and John Elliott to Prada. The products "range from ready-to-wear and sneakers to accessories and were designed to celebrate the game." With NFL athletes increasingly as fashion-conscious as their NBA counterparts, it’s a safe bet that the Saks collection will be perused by visiting players as well as sartorially-savvy fans.

Nike begins the 2020s where it began the 2010s: as the number one sportswear brand on the planet. Nike’s Q4 earnings in 2019 grew to $10.2 billion; its income for the last completed financial year was $39.1 billion. All the same, the Portland-based giant faces significant change. It begins 2020 under only its fourth chief executive. John Donahoe, former eBay chief executive, joined Nike in January. Donahoe arrives after an awkward end to Mark Parker’s 13-year tenure. The high-profile Oregon Project closed amid reports that Parker had known uncomfortable details about the activities of banned distance-running coach Alberto Salazar. Strategically, Nike has other decisions to make that will be pertinent to the wider industry. Nike acquired consumer data analytics firm Zodiac in March 2018 and then bought Celect, a “predictive analytics and demand sensing” specialist, in August 2019. That same month it launched Adventure Club, a three-tier trainer subscription service for children. A full-scale version, perhaps based on the Nike+ membership and training scheme, could be a useful source of recurring revenue. Running a $143 billion corporation brings its rewards. Donahoe collects $45 million in cash and stock on arrival, then stands to earn up to $18.5 million a year.

Starting this season on golf’s European Tour, caddies — who are on camera almost as much as their players — will be able to earn money through endorsement deals. Allowing caddies to be paid to have logos on items like their hats, bag straps, and towels could significantly improve their financial stability, which is currently tied to player performance. “As it stands now, a player pays the caddie a weekly fee, mostly to cover expenses, and a percentage of his earnings,” notes the New York Times. “This is not for the guy who caddies for the seventh-ranked player in the world, since he does very nicely," Sean Russell, chairman of the European Tour Caddies Association, told the media outlet. "This is for the guy who caddies for the 157th-ranked player. If you do the math, that caddie probably earned 12,000 euros (about $13,000) in bonus payments over the fixed fee for the week that covers expenses. If you're earning a 12,000-euro bonus you'd be better off stacking shelves." Since 2014, Valspar has sponsored the PGA Tour's Caddie Hat Program, which pays caddies to wear the paint company's logo on their hats. The European Tour's approach expands on that.

Sad that the college football season has ended? A few more All-Star games remain. The Hula Bowl, the post-season all-star college football game held annually in Hawaii, named Newsweek as title sponsor of the 2020 event, which takes place January 26. “Newsweek is delighted to support the revival of a great American tradition," said Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad. "The Hula Bowl, with its deep American roots and its potential for global appeal, fits perfectly with our mission to build a loyal audience through highly engaging content on our multimedia platforms.” NFL Network also delivers live coverage of three collegiate all-star games this month starting this past Saturday, with the East-West Shrine Bowl and the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. On January 25, the network airs the Reese’s Senior Bowl. For college football diehards, that leaves mere weeks to fill with the pro game, including the debut of the XFL, before the NFL Combine gets underway in Indianapolis February 23.

Power of Sports Five

The NBA tipped off league-wide activities honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. NBA teams playing January 16–20 are wearing custom Nike MLK Day warmup shirts designed in collaboration with the NBPA, MLK Foundation, and Martin Luther King III. The Dri-FIT T-shirt features words from MLK’s timeless speech on August 28, 1963: “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.” The NBA has long been a leader in race relations and community outreach activities centered on diversity, and its annual MLK Day celebrations – which lead into the league’s month-long celebration of Black History Month every February – serve as a tentpole moment for this activism each year.

A capacity crowd of more than 15,000 at Rod Laver Arena watched Roger Federer defeat Nick Kyrgios in a one-set finale to the Australian Open's Rally for Relief to aid wildfire charities last Wednesday. Tennis Australia said the night helped raise nearly 5 million Australian dollars ($3.5 million) for the victims of recent and ongoing fires in Australia that have killed 28 people and destroyed several thousand homes, most of them in New South Wales and Victoria states. Smoke haze from the continuing fires has played havoc with scheduling of the first two days of qualifying at Melbourne Park, delaying play by several hours and prompting complaints from players over the air quality. Other players who took part included Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, and Alexander Zverev. On several occasions, volunteer fire personnel were invited on the court to play against the tennis stars. Fundraising efforts, which include various amounts for aces served during the tournament and the sale of merchandise donated by players, continue as the Australian Open begin in earnest on Monday.

FOX honors Stoneman Douglas students during its Super Bowl LIV prep. The football team of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was recently invited by FOX to serve as stand-ins for the Niners and the Chiefs as FOX technicians check camera angles for their broadcast ahead of the game. "They are really excited. It should be an awesome experience," Stoneman Douglas football coach Quentin Short, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Stoneman Douglas was the site of the tragic mass shooting in Parkland in February 2018. Its students, including student athletes, subsequently became high-profile international spokespeople for gun control, and were said to be an inspiration for Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg in her international quest to combat climate change.

The Fritz Pollard Alliance released a pointed statement decrying the last two NFL hiring seasons. The Athletic reports that the alliance, which was founded in 2003 to promote diversity hiring, “called on the league to...take tangible steps to develop plans to increase the hiring of people of color in leadership positions.” Of five NFL openings this offseason, only one was filled by a minority — Ron Rivera at Washington. In the last two hiring seasons, only one African-American was hired to fill the 13 openings (Brian Flores in Miami), with five African-Americans fired. Four of 32 NFL teams have a minority coach: Washington, Miami, Pittsburgh (Mike Tomlin), and the Chargers (Anthony Lynn). 70% of the NFL’s players are men of color compared with 12.5% of head coaches. The alliance points out that in 100 years the NFL has gone from Pollard as the first African-American coach in 1921 to four coaches of color in 2020; the league has only one African-American GM and no African-American team presidents. This despite the presence of the Rooney Rule, enacted in 2002, which requires that teams interview at least one minority candidate.

Dwayne Wade begins new career as Chief Culture Officer for CAA. Wade may have retired at the end of the 2018-2019 season, but there’s little downtime in his future. According to AdWeek, the 13-time All-Star is launching a new company with powerhouse talent agency CAA to help marketers connect with diverse audiences. Wade, who will soon celebrate his 38th birthday and have his Miami Heat jersey retired during a three-day ceremony, said he’s motivated in part by being “extremely competitive” with his wife, businesswoman and actor Gabrielle Union, and setting an example for his family. Wade’s role at CAA will have several facets. He’s launching CAA AMP, described as a brand-focused “cultural strategy agency,” and taking on the title of chief culture officer of CAA Basketball. There, Wade intends to help other athletes chart an entrepreneurial course for their post-playing lives. The new division is an extension of CAA’s diversity initiatives. In 2017, the agency launched CAA Amplify, highlighted by an invite-only conference featuring diverse artists and leaders from the sports, entertainment, media, and political worlds.

Top Five Tech

BASE:LINE is the new soundtrack to the NBA thanks to Apple, Ebro Darden, and Steve Stoute. According to The Undefeated, music industry entrepreneur Steve Stoute has combined the forces of Apple and the NBA to create a new weekly music playlist of 40 songs that will search the world for new hip-hop talent. The first weekly installment, which was released January 16, features Baby Keem, Dame D.O.L.L.A., Princess Nokia, Mozzy, Young M.A., Tobe Nwigwe, and more. Apple’s director of hip-hop and R&B, Ebro Darden, will curate the weekly playlists and the NBA will feature BASE:LINE in the soundtrack for its highlights and on social media. The new playlist offers artists a platform to get their music to a large worldwide audience while fans feel privileged to hear the up and coming artists before the rest of the world – it’s a win-win all centered around getting more eyeballs on the NBA.

Nike partners with esports giants T1 Entertainment and Sports and their League of Legends star Faker. According to SportsPro, Nike will design all T1 team uniforms while every athlete on the South Korean outfit’s roster will wear Nike footwear and sportswear during competition. The agreement also includes the development of a new esports training facility based in T1 headquarters in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, where Nike will devise training programs designed to improve the performance of T1’s professional gamers. Lee Sang-hyeok, T1’s star League of Legends player commonly known as “Faker,” will play a key role in promoting the partnership due to his iconic status and strong personal following. Founded in 2012, T1 becomes the latest esports company in which Nike has invested. The sportswear manufacturer signed its first esports apparel deal with China’s League of Legends Pro League last February and has since entered into a multi-year partnership with Furia Esports, a Brazilian gaming company. Nike is one of the few athletic brands diving headfirst into esports and is establishing itself early as a key player in the rapidly developing esports field.

BetMGM becomes the exclusive gaming partner of the National Lacrosse League. According to SportTechie, the deal represents the first gaming partnership for any lacrosse league in the United States. BetMGM is the mobile sports betting app developed by Roar Digital, a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and U.K.-based gambling firm GVC Holdings. BetMGM will create weekly betting lines distributed across all NLL platforms and social channels. Users will be able to wager on NLL games (where it’s legal), including placing in-game bets via the BetMGM mobile app or website. The BetMGM sportsbook is only currently available to users based in New Jersey. BetMGM also allows users to place bets on sports such as the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, MMA, college sports, soccer, golf, and tennis. The brand will receive promotional opportunities throughout the NLL regular season and playoffs as part of its partnership with the league. In November, the NLL announced a multi-year agreement with sports analytics firm Sportlogiq and the league already secured a betting integrity deal with Genius Sports, so the BetMGM deal was the final puzzle piece to get fans betting and paying attention to professional lacrosse.

Under-Armour refocuses its global brand through podcasts and long-form content. According to The Drum, the sports company's latest campaign, “The Only Way is Through,” aims to realign the sports label as one that truly understands athletes’ drive to push limits – to break “through” pain and mental barriers. It features a wide array of star athletes, including basketball MVP Stephen Curry, swimming legend Michael Phelps, and volleyball world champion Zhu Ting, who star in a fast-cut hero film that places them all in their natural, blood-pumping environments. This new campaign led to an entirely new global platform of storytelling: podcasting. Alongside out-of-home and OTT streaming buys, the brand is trialing new formats in order to get consumers engaging deeper with its athletes and is launching its first podcast with iHeartRadio. The series, which will launch with eight episodes and be hosted by the famed interviewer Cal Fussman. Similarly, Under Armour has brokered a deal with The Players' Tribune, in which the brand’s stars will write about their experiences in sport.

Barstool Sports is close to selling to little-known casino company Penn National. According to Recode, the Chernin Group, which currently owns Barstool, is in advanced talks to sell a majority stake in the company to Penn National Gaming, a publicly traded, regional gambling company that operates 41 properties in 19 states. Barstool was last valued at more than $100 million, but a potential purchase price could be much higher, and might create the biggest media-gambling tie-up in the U.S. since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting in 2018. The deal would tie Barstool, a well-known company with a passionate audience, to a casino company you may have never heard of and use Barstool’s brand to transition into online sports betting. This potential move looks like a positive for Barstool, which can't find a home with sports leagues due to its brash approach to sports and pop culture coverage, and Penn National, which needs to compete in the move to online sports betting.

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somar78 · 5 years ago

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1959 AJS 7R – The “Surtees Special”

Tell us about yourselves?

Team Obsolete is the worlds first and foremost Vintage Road Race Team and the originator of the first AMA sanctioned Vintage Road Races at Daytona, Loudon, Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca and Del Mar. Founded in 1979(?) Team Obsolete helped birth classic motorcycle racing in the US. Over the years we amassed a collection of pedigree road racing motorcycles with the goal of restoring them to race shape to reunite them with the original riders: Ultimately bringing the spectacle of motorsport history- the sights, sounds and scent of Grand Prix racing back to the track for enthusiasts worldwide to experience first hand.

During over twenty years of competition, Team Obsolete has entered more than fifteen hundred races worldwide, garnered twenty-two Daytona wins, and is the only American Team to ever win the Isle of Man Historic TT (1984). Other wins include French GP (Paul Ricard/Toulon), Assen (Holland), Brands Hatch (UK), Mallala (Australia), Pukekohe (New Zealand), La Carerra (Mexico) and Mosport (Canada) plus virtually every USA venue.

Team Obsolete’s extensive stable of Historic motorcycles includes: the highly prized 1964 Honda 250/6, a screaming six cylinder, 18,000 rpm, 250 cc motorcycle (the only one of its kind in a private collection), the MV Agusta Works Racing 350/3, 500/3, 350/4, 500/4, 125/2, 125/1, and MV’s last project, two extremely rare MV “Boxers”. A Benelli 350/4, an AJS “Triple Knocker”, and AJS Porcupine are just some of the other rare Grand Prix bikes in house. The “work horse” racing machines include , and an ex-Dick Mann BSA III. Through expert tuning skills, these vintage bikes are faster than ever and have won more than four hundred races.

What year/make/model is this motorcycle?

1959 AJS 7r (ex-works, on-off special) Conceived by the late John Surtees CBE the “Surtees Special” is a one-off 350cc racing machine powered by the AJS 7r engine partnered with a chassis designed and built by the legendary Ken Sprayson at Reynolds tubing.

Well this motorcycle has a storied history for sure. After the initial build by John Surtees he was forbidden to ride it by his sponsor Count Agusta (MV Agusta). Many say this is what led him to abandon motorcycle racing for four wheels that next season.

The bike was sold on to Rex Butcher who had trouble sorting the bike and sold on to Tom Arter.

Arter Equip then raced the bike with riders like Mike Duff and Peter Williams- the machine went on to become the inspiration for the later ‘Arter Specials’ which, in the hands of rider/ engineer Peter Williams went on to many storied races and wins well into the 2 stroke era. When Tom Arter passed away the estate was put up for sale and Team Obsolete boss Rob Iannucci, being such a devotee of the AMC singles and the Arter Specials in particular, went on to purchase the machine with the intent of restoring to it’s former glory.

Obviously with a motorcycle of this pedigree one takes on the burden of historic accuracy. The intent from day one was to bring the machine up to original racing spec and run the machine at events around the world reuniting the bike with its legendary riders of the past.

While many of the original parts were present many had been damaged over the years of racing, some beyond repair. Major items like the fuel and oil tank was made using period photographs as reference by the master Evan Wilcox.

AJS 7R – The “Surtees Special” Specifications:

Frame: Surtees/ Sprayson custom-bronze welded Reynolds 531. Engine: Ex-works AJS 7r bore/ stroke of 75.5×78, billet steel flywheels, titanium conrod, Jack Williams grind cam. Gearbox: Schaffleitner 6 speed. Clutch: AMC racing. Magneto: Bosch MR29. Carburettor: 1-3/8” Amal GP2 T-5. Forks: Norton Manx. Yokes: Norton Manx with alloy upper. Clip-ons: Period. Front brake/rim: Oldani 2ls 230mm laced to Borrani 19” rim. Rear brake/rim: Manx laced to Borrani 19” rim. Rear shocks: Girling. Seat: Original. Tank: Replica made by Evan Wilcox. Fairing: Avon. Tachometer: Smiths ATRC. Oil tank: Original. Tires: Avon am26 racing compound front and rear.

Did you use any outside contractors for paint, parts fabrication, etc?

Most everything was done in house with the exception of the tank by the maestro Evan Wilcox. We have a pretty amazing crew here at Team Obsolete:

Robert Iannucci – Team boss, operations manager, fountain of knowledge Dave Roper – mechanic, welder and rider par excellance Josh Mackenzie – mechanic, engine build, suspension Seth Rosko – welder, fabricator, mechanic Eli McCoy – Fabrication, panel beater, mechanic

While this machine has been written about extensively there are not many period images of the original build. John Surtees himself was very helpful until his passing shortly before the completion of this project. There are a few in published works on/by the late John Surtees and also in Mick Walkers book on the AJS 7R. We used these to confirm layout/styling and during the build process we were blessed by a few candid period shots from the paddock from helpful enthusiasts via social media. It’s been really a great help being able to connect with others in this way

The engine was built by the factory race shop for the reigning World Champion so the state of tune is the ultimate incarnation of the AJS 7R at the time. Tuned by the very designer of the AJS 7R, the legendary Jack Williams. Our job here was to return the engine to this configuration as precisely as possible. The engine was torn down, blueprinted and re-assembled with as many original parts as possible and replacements provided as needed from our extensive store of original parts.

This machine was purchased from the estate of Tom Arter and the plan from the outset was to bring the machine back to original spec and reunite with developer John Surtees and riders like Michelle Duff for historic races/ parades. Unfortunately Surtees passed before this was possible but we were able to bring the ‘Surtees Special’ to the 50th Anniversary of the Canadian GP (put on by the VRRA Canada) and have Duff pilot the bike for a few parade laps. It was really a special moment to see these two together again and the local racers and fans got to see and hear real history right before their eyes.

www.TeamObsolete.com

https://www.facebook.com/TeamObsolete http://instagram.com/teamobsolete http://www.flickr.com/photos/117245233@N04/

The post 1959 AJS 7R – The “Surtees Special” appeared first on Silodrome.

source https://silodrome.com/1959-ajs-7r-the-surtees-special/

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paulisweeabootrash · 6 years ago

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First Impression: Re:ZERO - Starting Life in Another World

It's time again for Paul is Weeaboo Trash!

Today's topic: Re:ZERO - Starting Life in Another World (2016)

Review based on 6 episodes. Or 5 if you count two two-part beginning, episodes "1A and 1B", as one.

The characters are plastered all over everything at conventions! It keeps getting casually mentioned in reviews of other shows! Rem is apparently everyone's waifu! And yet... I knew absolutely nothing about the actual details of this show. I think I might understand why after the first few episodes, because it seems like one of those things you can't really discuss properly without resorting to spoilers, so people evade mentioning them. Or maybe the things I'm calling "spoilers" seem so obvious to other people that they don't think they're worth mentioning. Or the spoilers may be “common knowledge” in the weeb community so people don’t think they’re worth explicitly describing. Whatever, I'm notoriously dense when it comes to picking up foreshadowing, and often "anticipate" different twists than the ones that end up happening. I'm the perfect rube for twists. I didn't know the twist of The Sixth Sense (a movie which, incidentally, I still haven't seen) until The Lonely Island mentioned it in a song nine years after the movie came out. You’ll see what I mean soon, hopefully, because I think enjoying this show is very dependent on the audience learning what’s going on along with the main character.

Anyway, my point is that all I had heard that this was an unusually good isekai, a genre which I have somehow avoided reviewing up to this point even though I've enjoyed some isekai quite a lot. The idea of being transported to another world has been around for a long time, even being a key feature in the archetypal “hero’s journey” story format. In its current anime incarnation, it tends to be set in medieval-flavored fantasy worlds and be very action-oriented, but there is some nice diversity out there in the scenarios and spins different works take on the general concept. It has even been inverted and descended into total absurdity. But there is a shadow over the genre: a shadow cast by unpleasant and overpowered characters and escalatingly-stupid writing. And it is that kind of world our, er, hero(?)... well, main character at least, Subaru, expects.

Subaru, you see, is a shut-in gamer who suddenly finds himself transported to another world while shopping. One moment, he's on a deserted city street at night in our world. The next, he is on a busy city street in daylight in — surprise — a medieval-flavored fantasy setting. And he is very familiar with what that means: he has been summoned here. Plucked from his mundane life, he must be a superpowered protagonist, about to find himself on a grand adventure!

Ha. Nope. Try as he may, it seems like the only power he has is above-average strength from working out (but no real skill at using that strength to fight). And he doesn't even have normal functioning here otherwise. He's illiterate in the local language, comes off as insane to everyone he meets, and almost immediately finds himself being beaten up by muggers he thought he could heroically take on by himself. Rescued and healed by a magical mystery woman and her cat-like familiar spirit, Puck, he knows right away: she is the superpowered protagonist, and beautiful to boot! She too has been robbed, and he will help her recover what was stolen! Ha. Nope. Subaru soon finds that his situation is far stranger than he expected.

See, Subaru and his new magical mystery companion search for the woman who robbed her of her item, described only as a jeweled insignia. On the way, he learns that she is a half-elf and her name is Satella, and that although he treats her like a stock tsundere, she both isn't one and doesn't understand why he expects her to act like this. And I appreciate this, personally, because realistically we should ask: what does he expect? They've known each other for only a few hours, after all! They track the thief, a professional named Felt, down to a bar in the outskirt slums of the city run by her fence, Old Man Rom, and Subaru enters to find it full of merchandise but no sign of people. Then he finds the corpses.

Because of how the first few episodes unfold, it will be necessary to go into some things you might want to leave as spoilers even though they happen so soon in, because there's really something to be gained here from being confused and surprised with Subaru, and maybe even seeing your own expectations contradicted along with his. If you don’t want spoilers but are intrigued by the summary so far, go skip ahead to the Weeb Ass Shit ratings and then watch the show.

If not, now we're going to finish episode 1A, and go onward from there, okay?

Okay.

Subaru and Satella are quickly killed by an unseen attacker, the same one who already dispatched Rom and Felt before they arrived. At this point, we remember that back in the very first scene of the episode, before Subaru was transported, the camera cut back and forth between Subaru shopping in a convenience store and a hand reaching out weakly as the voice of the person to which it belongs talks about saving someone. Because now we see that the hand was his, and he was reaching out for Satella.

And then he's back in the city, right where he first appeared. And apparently also right when he first appeared. Was it a dream? A premonition? He certainly thinks so, and wants to use this knowledge to help Satella. So he goes to Rom's bar, finds Rom alive and working, and tries to negotiate to barter for the stolen insignia. Felt shows up, as does Elsa, the woman who hired her to steal the insignia in the first place, who turns out to have been the one who killed him in his premonition. And she kills him again. And then he's back in the city, and the same time and place. Oh no. It's not a premonition, it's a Groundhog Day-style time loop.

After a third death and reset, he has learned three important things: first, that Satella's name is definitely not Satella. Second, that much to his relief, there is some sort of police force in this world, although so far the only part of it he has encountered is Reinhart, a single off-duty knight. Third, that this insignia is worth much more than Felt is being paid for it and has some significance he can't yet guess at. Oh, and also he has decided this loop must be his “power”, and has named it “return by death”.

That gets us up through episodes 1B and 2. After that, he makes (and survives this time, albeit just barely) a fourth attempt to recover the insignia from Felt, and to keep it and all of the people involved out of the hands of Felt's murderous employer. Emilia — who called herself Satella before as what now seems to have been a sort of off-color joke, due to her resemblance to the real Satella, whom we have yet to encounter but who is clearly Bad News — brings the wounded Subaru home with her. He wakes up to find himself fully healed and in a bed at Emilia's palace, attended to by maids who look like near mirror images of each other. Maids? Palace?!

Yes, it turns out that the country Subaru has been transported to, Lugnica, is undergoing a succession crisis, that Emilia (sponsored by the flamboyant Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers) is in line for the throne, and that the insignia is a sort of proof of her authority that she must possess to be eligible when the new ruler is decided. Subaru asks to work for her, and the twin maids Ram and Rem (aha, now we meet everyone’s waifu), struggle to teach him the basics he needs to survive here, like cooking and reading. At the end of an unspecified number of days of trying but failing to learn to work alongside them, Subaru speaks to Emilia alone, and they seem to be getting along very well. He very badly attempts to explain the concept of a date to her, and successfully asks her out on one, and goes to sleep happy... And he wakes up to find Ram and Rem waiting at the foot of his bed... just as they were when he woke up here the first day... Yes, it turns out that somehow he died in his sleep and has been “reset” again. But he has at least obtained a new "save point", as it were, with his power, and must now work out what happened to him this time — and how exactly his power works, since he went back multiple days this time.

You know what? I'm not even going to go onward in my summary into the sixth (fifth) episode. Those of you who have seen the show will notice that my summary is getting more and more cursory, but it's because I don't want to just recap the show for you, I want to provide enough overview so you know what kind of show it is. There is so much to enjoy and appreciate that I haven't gotten to. Here’s an assortment of highlights:

- Subaru's interactions with Emilia and Beatrice (the librarian who I didn't even get around to mentioning in the summary above) are particularly nice because he treats them with otaku-y genre-savviness and they respond not just with some moe twist on confusion but with actual annoyance.

- I find it interesting that we can't be sure whether nobody knows about his power yet or whether they just aren't letting on that they know (although it sounds like Beatrice might know something), even though it doesn't make that much sense to me that Subaru has not tried to explain it, or the fact that he's from another world, even though he has established that magic is downright common here.

- On that note, I love that it sounds like there may be a thought-out, maybe even "hard", magic system that the people of this world know as a normal and understandable part of their environment and not just ad hoc contrivances.

- And I love that Subaru hasn't adapted well to his power, unlike many fantasy characters who, upon obtaining magic, take to it seemingly instinctively. He behaves just as you might expect from someone who (1) has never experienced magic before and (2) has a power that is clearly horrifying to experience. He even has difficulty not talking about things that happened previous times through, constantly confusing people in ways that are sometimes dramatic and sometimes just plain funny.

Much to my surprise, this also seems to be one of the very few shows I can watch more than three episodes of in a row without getting restless and wanting to go do something else. Even shows I love, I can not usually binge watch. But Re:ZERO sets up and uses its cliffhangers excellently. Some shows have clear self-contained stories in each episode. Some seem like they try to end in a way that at least sets up the next part of the story, if not necessarily do so suspensefully, but they choose bad places to break up the ongoing story. Some shows end in ways that practically obligate you to keep watching because a single episode is so unsatisfying (and maybe they should've made a movie instead). But here, I both end each episode having watched a useful and well-paced unit of story and it leaves off with open questions that keep me interested in what will happen next.

I am looking forward to the political intrigue or succession war or both that will presumably happen because there's no way "will Emilia take the throne?" doesn't become at least a main plot line. I am looking forward to finding out why everyone loves Rem so much. I am looking forward to seeing if (and how) Subaru ever matures and adjusts to his situation, and what his relationship to Emilia ends up being once they really know each other. I’m just overall very excited and optimistic for the future of this show. And I will be very upset if it unravels.

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For scoring on this review, I'd like to try something a little different. I think I would like to add two things to supplement the Weeb Ass Shit scale, and I'll try this new approach for a few more reviews before deciding whether to keep it.

First, I was inspired by Yuri Reviews, which breaks ratings down much more specifically than the W/A/S, into Story, Characters, Animation, Sound, Yuri (of course), and Total Enjoyment, most of which would be merged incoherently into “Shit”. Keeping in mind that combining unrelated features was exactly my problem with the "Shit" scale in the first place, I will try breaking down my evaluation roughly into writing vs. everything else. That is, although I’ll still provide a single summary “Shit” score, I will try to explain it more thoroughly by having a category for things like characters, story, and translation (if egregious enough that even I, with almost no knowledge of Japanese, notice problems — I'm looking at you, Full Metal Panic!, with all your subtitles that keep trying to insist that "Teresa" is spelled "Teletha"), and another for character design, animation, sound, and anything else I feel like commenting on.

Second, given how "sexual content" can mean anything from risqué jokes to non-sexualized nudity to fanservice to depictions of sexual violence and there is no way in the W/A/S framework to evaluate other aspects prospective viewers should know (e.g., the surprise pivot from stylized violence to disturbing violence in R.O.D.), I will now provide "Content Notes" that, although not necessarily warnings in the "trigger warning" or "viewer discretion is advised" sense, highlight some things I think viewers should know about when deciding if this is appropriate for themselves or others.

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Deluxe W/A/S Scores: 4 / 3 / 2

Weeb: Although he announces what he means fairly explicitly, Subaru's dialogue and assumptions probably make more sense with some background knowledge on other isekai, especially the ones with bad reputations. The genre isn't totally unknown to Western audiences, especially in the English-speaking world, but it's more common to see it with magical artifacts or wishes being the triggers for the transportation, not just leaving it as a mysterious force or reincarnation. These are not well-known things to non-otaku American audiences.

Ass: Elsa’s costume is, er, quite revealing, and a few shots of Felt and Emilia are framed in fanservicey ways, but so far it's also hard to think of this show as titillating. There is some barely-covered male nudity later on, too, but in one scene and not explicit.

Shit (writing): The characters who we encounter more than once are mostly interesting and have some depth and motivation to them, except for the gang that repeatedly mugs Subaru in the iterations of the first day. The surprises surprised me, but as I said at the beginning, I'm dumb as a brick when it comes to twists. So I'm not sure whether that's good writing or me being oblivious.

Shit (other): It's well-above-average-looking in terms of consistency and detail, and the designs of characters and places just consistently appeal to me. I have a vaguely-formed idea I can't articulate that this seems very... well-framed, I think the word I'm looking for? I don't know cinematography, but I know what gets my attention and leaves an impression. I also want to bring special attention to a nice touch in the sound in episode 1B: when Subaru tells Felt, Rom, and Elsa that his occupation is "unemployed", the music pauses momentarily along with the action on-screen, emphasizing the other characters' awkward silence.

Content Notes: As might be expected in a show where the main character repeatedly dies, some of the violence crosses the line from stylized to unsettling and maybe even into disturbing.

#weeaboo trash #anime review #first impression review #re:zero

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eatbcstx-blog · 7 years ago

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Sponsored by Brazos VIP: Half Off at Local Restaurants, Shops & More

Tons of new tastes are coming to the Bryan-College Station area. Here’s the latest delicious list of eateries planned for Aggieland.

Berryhill Baja Grill Coming to Century Square across from Texas A&M

Berryhill’s relaxed and friendly atmosphere, in addition to their famous margaritas and frozen screwdrivers also make it the ideal spot for happy hours and group dinners. With eight locations throughout Houston, the Century Square location will be Berryhill’s first expansion outside the Houston market. Visit berryhillbajagrill.com for more information.

Blake’s Steaks Sandwich Shop Coming to Texas Avenue & Southwest Parkway

The Best Damn Cheesesteaks in Texas. They also make some pretty epic hoagies. Their food truck is a local favorite and the new restaurant location is highly anticipated by Blake’s Steaks fans.

Blaze Pizza Coming to Century Square on University across from TAMU

Blaze Pizza will soon be bringing a new pizza concept to College Station at Century Square across from Texas A&M University.

Blaze Pizza is a new pizza concept for College Station that will be soon opening in Century Square on University Drive. Click here for an EatBCS.com Restaurant Preview of Blaze Pizza.

Chef Tai’s South College Station Project Rumored to be Coming to South College Station

According to a rumor on the TexAgs Aggieland board, “Chef Tai is opening a restaurant in S. College Station. A location has been chosen. That’s literally all I know at present.” These TexAgs rumors often seem to come true. We’ll update the story as more details become available.

El Loco Taco Coming to Villa Maria & Texas in Bryan

El Loco Taco will be opening across the street from the Bryan HEB on Villa Maria.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard Coming to Tower Point off William D. Fitch in South College Station

Freddy’s is building their second B/CS location in South College Station at Tower Point.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard is bringing its famous steakburgers, fries, and custard to South College Station, according to a site plan recently submitted to the City of College Station.

Hey Sugar Coming to Century Square

Hey Sugar will open a third Texas location with 1,495 square feet of space at Century Square dedicated to selling specialty candies, chocolates, cotton candy, and old fashioned sodas. Customers can expect to find old-school classic flavors in the wide selection of treats, but will also discover that Hey Sugar offers a variety of innovative and fun flavors like bacon and merlot.

Hooters Coming to pad site in front of Premiere Cinema

After years of attempts, Aggieland appears to actually be getting it’s very own Hooters Restaurant at 960 N. Earl Rudder Freeway in front of Premiere Cinemas. As for now, the only sign of Hooters is a sign in the field where the restaurant will soon be constructed, notifying the public of their beverage permit application.

Howdy’s Pizza Coming to Tower Point

Say Howdy! to Howdy’s Pizza, a new pizza joint coming to Tower Point. They will offer great craft pizzas, wings, pastas, salads, and more! https://www.facebook.com/HowdysPizza/

In-N-Out Coming to College Station (Rumored Chimney Hill)

Last month, a petition was shared on the The Spirit Of Aggieland facebook group asking the iconic In-N-Out Burger to build a location in Bryan-College Station stating: “You can get a Double-Double Animal Style or 4×4 at t.u., UNT, UTSA and even Baylor these days. It’s time for Aggies to have access to some of the best burgers and fries on the planet without a 100 mile road trip being involved.” In response to the facebook post, College Station Mayor Karl Mooney posted the following: “They are already looking to be in College Station — no petition needed.”

Jimmy Changa’s Coming to Tower Point

Jimmy Changa’s is a Houston Based Tex-Mex chain slated to open a new location in South College Station’s Tower Point

The Houston based Tex-Mex chain, Jimmy Changa’s is coming soon to the Tower Point Shopping Center at Highway 6 and William D. Fitch.

La Bodega Baja Taco Bar Next to Cafe Eccell on Texas Avenue

La Bodega Baja Taco Bar, an old Northgate favorite known for fresh, light, coastal Mexican food and highly addictive shakers of Mexican Martinis, closed a couple years ago to make way for redevelopment in the Northgate district. Their sister restaurant, Cafe Eccell, relocated to the former Luby’s location on Texas Avenue at the Bryan-College Station city limits line. EatBCS was informed today by the owners of La Bodega that a new La Bodega is being built inside the new Cafe Eccell location. The best news: La Bodega will be open 24/7 and feature a drive through in its new incarnation.

Mad Taco Coming to CapRock Crossing in South College Station

Mad Taco serves its unique take on tacos in an upscale, contemporary environment.

Peter Madden’s popular high end taco stand, Mad Taco, will be building its second location in South College Station at CapRock Crossing in 2017.

Marco’s Pizza College Station

Marco’s Pizza College Station is planning a second College Station location for 2017 in the Embassy Suites development at University and Texas.

Mo’s Irish Pub College Station Coming to Century Square

Lively and festive anytime of the day, Mo’s Irish Pub is the perfect place for game watching and to gather with friends. Featuring Irish American scratch cooking, live entertainment and the perfect pint!

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen Coming to University Drive

Pappadeaux will soon open on College Station’s University Drive Restaurant Row.

A new Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen is still planned for the former Scott & White property on Highway 6. Planning the site has taken longer than originally anticipated.

Piada Italian Street Food Coming to University Drive, Across from TAMU

Piada’s Chefs found distinct charm in the family operated food carts and corner markets scattered throughout the streets of the Rimini, Italy, where the aroma of fresh basil, hand crafted cured meats and homemade cheeses saturated the air. This trip began our obsession…our inspiration…our mission to bring this experience back to the United States.

Poppy Coming to the George Hotel at Century Square

Offering the best in modern and eclectic dining, the restaurant pavilion and expansive porch has the best views of Century Square’s outdoor plaza. The plaza features an open air green space filled with music and special events year round. The sophisticated ambiance along with the proximity to the pool and lounge areas is a relaxing and inviting atmosphere. Whimsically named after what George H.W. Bush’s grandkids so affectionately call him, “Poppy” provides Texas favorites with unique culinary delights from deep in the heart of Texas (It’s ok to clap here, it’s a Texas thing!). Poppy offers a wide array of dishes sure to satisfy even the most discerning palates. Sit down, relax, and enjoy the light, appetizing menu selections and the welcoming atmosphere inside Poppy before indulging in a handcrafted cocktail at 1791.

Porter’s Coming to Century Square

Porter’s Restaurant’s capacity will be 156 seats which includes two 50-seat dining areas, a smaller private dining room, an outdoor patio, and additional bar area seating. The layout is designed to maximize capacity and create intimate dining experiences in each beautifully crafted section. The distribution of rooms also allows for the flexibility to serve private groups of various sizes without disturbing the regular flow of guests. Along with an evolving local customer base, visitors to Texas A&M University will find PORTERS to be a special dining destination.

Ronin Cooking Coming to the Ice House in Downtown Bryan

Ronin Cooking currently hosts farm-to-table dinners at their Bryan, TX farm. They will soon open a farm-to-table restaurant in Downtown Bryan’s redeveloped icehouse.

Ronin Cooking, best known for fine farm-to-table meals served at their Full Moon Dinners and catered events, will be serving up fresh food at the Ice House on Main’s new farm-to-table restaurant as early as this fall.

Star Cinema Grill Coming to Century Square

Star Cinema Grill will be opening at the new Century Square development on University Dr.

Star Cinema Grill was recently added to the ever-growing list of exciting new businesses building at Century Square. Star Cinema provides movie-goers a full-service restaurant experience delivered seat side while enjoying Hollywood’s latest blockbusters.

Starbucks Coffee Coming to Tower Point

Starbucks Coffee has submitted a site plan to the City of College Station for a new location at Tower Point. Currently, the only fine coffee purveyors south of Rock Prairie are Gogh Gogh, Tipsy Beans, and Blue Baker, so Starbucks should be a welcome caffeinated addition to the area.

Stella Southern Cafe Coming to Hwy. 6 Access Road, Just South of Momentum Bank

Stella, a concept by Michael Lair of Washbangers, will be located on the access road to Hwy 6 just south of the Momentum Bank building. The food is going to be built around scratch made biscuits and stone ground grits. And , boy, do we have some great things to slap on those – including buttermilk fried chicken, smoked pulled pork, and chicken fried tofu (what?!) among other things.

Subzero Coming to Century Square

Sub Zero, opening its 12th store in Texas in College Station’s Century Square development at University & South College, uses the freezing power of liquid nitrogen to customize ice cream creations right at the counter. Customers select the flavor and mix-ins of their choice, which are added to a bowl of fresh cream and then frozen in moments with the use of liquid nitrogen. In addition to dozens of popular recipe ice cream combinations, the menu also includes shakes, smoothies and ice cream pies.

Sweet Paris Crêperie Coming to Century Square

Sweet Paris Crêperie will open their third location in Texas – their first location in College Station – occupying 3,750 square feet of retail and patio space within Century Square. Sweet Paris Crêperie will offer a diverse selection of sweet and savory crêpes as well as waffles, milkshakes, salads, paninis, and options for kids.

TaD’s Steak & Seafood Coming to South College Station near Lowe’s

“Coming Soon” signage is up near the South College Station Lowe’s for TaD’s Steak and Seafood. The company currently has locations in Richmond, Katy and Tomball.

Takana Ramen Coming to Culpepper Plaza

Building permits have been filed and construction of Takana Ramen Restaurant is underway in Culpepper Plaza at 1617 Texas Ave. South.

The Halal Guys Coming to Northpoint Crossing

The Halal Guys, a popular restaurant chain that began as a wildly successful New York food cart company, will be in College Station’s Northpoint Crossing Center at Texas & University this Fall.

Tiff’s Treats Coming to Century Square

Boxes like these, filled with cookies, will soon be showing up at happy homes and offices all over Aggieland.

The wildly popular warm cookie delivery chain with roots deep in the heart of Texas, Tiff’s Treats, is coming to Aggieland in 2017!

Wayback Burgers Coming to Tower Point in College Station

Wayback Burgers of South College Station will be 1,750 square-feet in size. The new location’s design will feature a warm red barn board interior with white and stainless steel accents, modeled after the great American roadside burger joint.

Whataburger Coming to Southwest Parkway & Wellborn Rd.

A new Whataburger location is coming to Southwest Parkway & Wellborn Rd.

Zoe’s Kitchen Coming to Century Square

Zoe’s Kitchen is planned for a Spring 2017 opening at Century Square

Zoe’s Kitchen will soon add another light and healthy dining option to the Texas A&M area when they open at Century Square in early 2017.

30+ New Restaurants Coming to B/CS: Halal Guys, La Bodega, Sweet Paris, Porter’s, Blake’s Steaks, Stella, Berryhill, Mo’s & Many More Sponsored by Brazos VIP: Half Off at Local Restaurants, Shops & More Tons of new tastes are coming to the Bryan-College Station area.

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qiuyehui-blog · 7 years ago

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Hopefully 2016 bring us new titles as well as some of the classics

in the end we are talking about an activity that was released on November 17 after a couple months from release announced a 50 dollars DLC pack. Hopefully 2016 bring us new titles as well as some of the classics. As a gamer I will prefer to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Brand new Year, filled with incredible video games and a insufficient pointless DLCs as well as games ruined through pay to succeed tactics. Let’s see, gotta write this short article about intangible weapons, rifles, knives and also the marketplace where you can have them. Here goes nothing. If you’re in to Multiplayer Online First Person Shooters or even MOFPS for short (kinda), and I wager you are if you’re reading this, then you are extremely much aware of the actual eSport that is Counter-Strike and its no-so-latest incarnation, CS: GO (Short for Counter Hit: Global Offensive).

Not just that, but you might even be familiar with the market that has created out of the game’s weapons “skins” trade (you must be if you’re reading this blog). All of us sure are. Through the legend that is the AWP series, to the lesser known Negevs, you can get all of them here at OPSkins. But unless you’re the Twitch streamer or even an eSport sportsman, why would you want to spend your daddy’s hard earned college cash on a gun which you can’t actually use for you know, real life stuff? Well, first of all, you won’t create headline news through shooting other gamers online, a good thing considering that kind of thing is seriously frowned upon. You will however , appear amazing on the in-game kill cam after you’ve shot someone with your recently acquired factory new SMG, LMG, csgoskins Rifle, Hand gun or Shotgun. Probably the most expensive CS: GO skins can go for four figures (never mind the trolls selling some weapons for $99, 999. 99) and in a few very rare occasions, 5 (yes I’m looking at you FN Dragon Lore), but most can be had for a few bucks. You don’t need to generate thousands of dollars of sponsorship money in order to possess a good looking, in-game gun.

OPSkins is a marketplace - actually the largest in the world using more than one million customers and processing 50k+ transactions per day -- and as such if you appear often and with patience enough you will find which awesome looking weapon that you like for the right price. You do not need to have a 150k inventory. What you need to ensure of before you buy purchase you want 1) the weapon that just looks good for your own every day TDM or even 2) if you want a tool that is an investment. As is in a typical marketplace, the prices on OPSkins are set through supply and demand otherwise known as CS: GO Analyst. When a new skin rolls off on a Device update, it is usually in it’s highest selling point. Then the price plummets and it stabilizes, kind of like a stock; a stock which can be manipulated by the machinations of Mr. Gaben and his development group. They can drive the skin price into the ground by “nerfing” a weapon or even spike it through the roof by making said gun a requirement for unlocking other “cooler” skins through industry ups. We will additional explore these variances in the future, for now just know that the price of your own “skin” rests on Mr. Gaben’s fingers.

We will also get into detail with regards to the weapons “float, ” what affects it, and its selling history in the brief year that OPSkins has been operating. Notice that I’ve been referring to the actual guns only, knives are a whole some other story that will be explored. Without further ado, welcome to the largest online CS: GO skins market OPSkins. com and to your new go-to blog about the video game, the market and the business. 2015 was a excellent year for the video gaming industry and eSports as a whole. During this year we got to perform some of the most expected video gaming titles, we saw prize pools reaching millions, and with them some of the coolest and many impressive game performs. Here’s a summary of probably the most important events which happened on the eSports scene during 2015, ring the 30 days of August, thanks to a huge crowd funding campaign from the fans, Dota two broke records using the biggest prize swimming pool on an eSports competition reaching a whopping $18 million. For 6 days 16 groups battled to get a piece of that cake, buy csgoskins after an impressive run along with ups and downs (dropping towards the loser bracket, and then working their way onto the finals) American team Evil Geniuses crushed group CDEC’s dream as well as got crowned champ, claiming $6. 6 million.

It was an impressive year for CS: GO. For some groups it was their chance to be crowned champs again, and for other people it was the beginning of their success and increase to eSports fame. On one hand we have Fnatic, winners of ESL One Katowice, ESL One Cologne, FACEIT 2015, and many some other titles. On the other hand we saw a group like Luminosity, who went to Dreamhack Winter season as the underdogs as well as worked their way through the losers bracket onto the finals by defeating essential and favorite groups such as EnVyUs, NiP and Team SoloMid. Unfortunately their dreams were crushed towards the veterans from Fnatic. As for OPSkins you might ask, we started sponsoring major events right away, including two really cool tournaments: ESWC (Electronic Sports World Cup 2015) the actual tournament that took place in Montreal and had NAVI beating C9 for the first place, as well as “WINOUT. net CS: GO Championship” wherever we saw CLG claim the first prize against Luminosity www.csgo4skin.com .

#csgoskins

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spynotebook · 7 years ago

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Art by Tsuneo Sanda. Visit his website here.

Bonjour, my bonny mailboxes. Thanks to your abundance of excellent letters, I have an extra big mailbag for you today! So let’s get right to it: What’s the best Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack? Who could save the Transformers movie franchise? Why did WB decide to make the DCEU’s Batman so damn old? And more of your excellent and/or nerdy questions answered!

Machete Kills

Arnold C.:

Mr Postman, how do “Rogue One” and “The Force Awakens” affect the “Machete Order”? Start with “Rogue One”, and then move into “A New Hope”? Or, not even worry about R1? TFA after RoTJ for sure, right? What do we do about Episodes VII, VIII, and IX?

What if this does keep going on? If it extends forever, is there a point where you just watch all of SW numerically?

Let me start by informing anyone who might be unaware that the Star Wars “Machete Order” posits that people should watch A New Hope and Empire, then the prequels, and then Return of the Jedi, which is all essentially just to preserve the Vader-is-Luke’s father reveal. Some people even drop The Phantom Menace entirely. How to include The Force Awakens and Rogue One in this order is obviously causing some people some consternation. But I, as always, have the answer.

Arnold, over my many, many years as a nerd, I have discovered a truth, and it’s that only you know the best way to introduce someone to the Star Wars movies. Trust your feelings. Retract your targeting computer. Listen to the voice of the deceitful old man in your head.

I’m only partially kidding. We can say there’s a “perfect” order to watch the ever-increasing pile of Star Wars movies, but there really isn’t. I could almost argue that having the sequel trilogy makes the Machete Order better, in that Return of the Jedi wouldn’t just be hanging out there alone, only watched after the prequels, but Rogue One in particular has messed everything up.

Does anyone really think that Rogue One is the best entry into the Star Wars universe? Sure, it’s a hilariously direct prequel to A New Hope, but without seeing New Hope first, much of Rogue One would be weird if not outright off-putting. Seeing Star Wars first gives Rogue One the dramatic weight it needs to be truly exciting. And what the hell happens when the Han Solo side story shows up? It’ll almost certainly be set before Rogue One, but a Star Wars viewing order that starts Han Solo, Rogue One, then A New Hope does not sounds good to me—and certainly no way to potentially create a fan. And what about all the cartoons? Now that everything is canon, don’t they belong to be somewhere in here too?

But here’s the truth: There is no perfect order to watch these films, at least for everybody. But there can be a perfect order for you, or whoever you want to show it to. I will always want to start with A New Hope, because that’s my first, and my lynchpin to the Star Wars universe. But kids who grew up with the prequels are likely perfectly fine watching Episodes 1-3 and then the original trilogy. Meanwhile, some people will be fine—maybe even significantly happier—if Episode 1 is omitted completely from the viewing order. And maybe the best way for you to watch Rogue One is by watching the original trilogy, then the prequels, then Rogue One, and then A New Hope again. My point is there isn’t a universally correct answer here.