#that year was definitely the point where he started feeling unfulfilled with his career | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

apiratewhopines · 3 years ago

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Thanks to @teamhook for the updated artwork. She’s the only person I know who will provide a gift for her own gift 💝

Thanks to @motherkatereloyshipper for helping me pick Killian’s hometown in this story and for being an all around lovely person

Midnight

Chapter 2 — The Stroke

Summary: In which our heroine does what she does best

Chapter 2 of 7 on AO3

“And my imagination will feed my hungry heart,

Leave me one thing before we part”

-A Kiss to Build a Dream On, Louis Armstrong

The spot he was referring to was an out-of-the-way pub serving the greasiest onion rings in existence and a lively clientele that didn’t notice it was one o’clock in the morning and all decent people were in bed. After days of getting by on breakfast bars and the memory of what a full meal tasted like, Emma thought she had died and gone to heaven.

Melancholy tunes droned softly in the background as she demolished enough food to feed an army. The pretty waitress earned her respect when the woman didn’t even blink at her handsome companion, and she liked to think she earned it back when she ordered three of their daily specials without a trace of shame.

Ignoring the way Killian watched with an expression close to awe as she stuffed her face, she happily gulped down a cup of coffee and observed, “Nice place. Come here often?”

“Not as much as I used to,” he murmured, taking a sip of his drink. “Tell me about this man you’re hunting. Is it personal?”

“Please, don’t make me lose my appetite. Surely we can come up with something else to talk about,” she groaned around a mouthful of beef and melted cheese. He had removed his leather jacket when they entered the pub, and his black short sleeve t-shirt stretched across his biceps in a manner entirely too distracting for comfort. Their high-backed booth made it feel as though they were on an island all by themselves, the dark wood and Tiffany lamps creating a cozy cocoon while still allowing a view of the nearly deserted dance floor.

“Ah, definitely personal then. Did he insult your honor? Break your heart? Have you ever even been in love?”

It stung how quickly he was able to see through her. Did she wear her heartache like a stamp on her forehead announcing to everyone she was an idiot? Ignoring the last question, she replied, “He hurt the only person who ever cared about me out of petty revenge. Neal Cassidy broke me. Now I’m going to return the favor.”

“Chills, darling.” His tone was teasing, but she thought she saw him shudder at her words. “I guess you don’t abide the notion of turning the other cheek.”

“Not when the first hit cost me my home, my possessions, and my peace of mind.”

“So he’s the reason you haven’t eaten in days and don’t have any luggage? Sounds like a lovely chap.”

“I don’t need your commentary or your sympathy, Captain. While I appreciate your help tonight, and I definitely owe you one for the meal, I think my past is closed for further discussion. Let’s talk about you instead. What’s your story?”

“I don’t have one, love. What you see is what you get.”

“What I see is someone dodging my question. Guess I’ll have to fill in the details myself then. Let’s see…thirty-something-year-old man who lives a life of boredom and pines for more while feeling stuck in his white picket fence world. You have a decent career in a field that pays well but decided to start a side hustle to meet new people and have something to do after eight in the evening.” Gesturing with her chin toward his forearm, she continued, “Currently nursing his own broken heart over the woman who loved and left him. The only thing I can’t figure out is what part of England you’re from.”

“Well, aren’t you the perceptive one,” he answered with a self-deprecating chuckle. “Although, I would argue it’s cheating since I have my emotional baggage inked on my skin for everyone to see while you carry yours around like an invisible tumor on your soul. As far as where I’m from, a man likes to maintain a little mystery.”

“Come on! You really aren’t going to tell me anything about yourself? After I guessed all that about you?”

With an unfathomable look, he smiled softly and said, “Fine, I’m from Cambridge. Now you know all my secrets. And allow me to call your attention to how well my devious plan worked. My first evening with my side hustle, as you call it, and I’m already having a late night rendezvous with a beautiful woman. One full of food and dancing.”

“There will be no dancing, Captain. But I wouldn’t be opposed to more food.”

“Not sure where you’ll put it, love, there’s no more room on the table. But I’m game if you are. Come on, one dance, and I’ll buy you a whole pie.”

She wanted pie but not as much as she wanted to feel his arms around her. She wanted it so badly her mind raced with images of skin on skin and restless hands exploring. Then her stomach twisted at the knowledge they would say goodbye soon. They probably should have already said it, truth be told. As she debated what harm could come from giving in just this once, he extended his hand and pulled her gently from the seat. Slowly, she felt a small section of her walls crumble and gave him a reluctant smile. “One dance.”

The soft music wasn’t loud enough to allow for an appropriate selection of dance style, but she didn’t mind when he gathered her close and swayed gently in time with his soft humming. She felt his breath stir the hair around her face and realized this was a mistake. Now that she knew how it felt, it would be harder to deny herself an encore. Especially knowing tonight was a one-time thing.

“Tell me something, Swan. Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“No, I don’t believe in love at all,” she answered. Her words conveyed her deeply held conviction that poets and Hollywood movie producers invented love to make people so miserable with the lack of it, they had to seek out fictionalized versions to find some measure of happiness. Her tone, however, sounded as though she was open to being convinced otherwise.

“That’s a shame. I think you’ll miss out on a lot of what life has to offer by being so close-minded and scared.”

“If I were scared, which I’m not, I have every reason to be. One of my foster moms told me a long time ago that love wouldn’t buy me a diamond ring, and it was as easy to be in a relationship with a rich man as a poor one. Easier really. I used to think she was a witch, but now I think she had a point.”

“Bloody hell, what exactly did that man do to you?”

She felt his direct gaze like a physical thing caressing her even as his eyes flickered with disappointment. “I told you. He broke me. And my bank account.”

“Money isn’t everything, love.”

“Excuse me if I ignore advice telling me to count my non-monetary blessings from the man who picked me up in his Beamer. It may not be everything but not having it leaves you with nothing.”

“A person who needs forty dollars a day and makes forty is richer than someone who has everything and needs more.”

“Now you’re just being silly,” she said as she slipped from his arms. “And when a rainy day comes? What then?”

“I recently took up being an Uber driver in my spare time, love. I imagine I’ll make more on rainy days.”

Laughing as she looked at his endearing face under the dim light, she shook her head. “About my pie…”

—

She knew what she was doing. She lingered over the large platter containing a sampling of every type of pie the surprisingly eclectic menu had to offer. She watched him with affection as he critiqued each in turn, always saving the bites with whipped cream for her. The best parts, in other words.

She was stalling.

The night hadn’t turned out as she expected. While her main goal was unfulfilled, she couldn’t make herself think of it as a loss when her sides hurt from laughing, and her troubled heart felt at peace. It was a pity it had to end. And not because she had nowhere to go, although that was certainly the case.

Slowly they made their way back to his car, neither one speaking as the noises of the summer night buzzed in the background. She’d said a lot of goodbyes in her lifetime, eagerly in most cases, but was strangely reluctant to add this one to the list. “Well, Captain, it’s been an expensive night for you. I think you better drop me off at the nearest bus station before I cost you any more.”

“You’re always trying to bring the conversation back around to money. Get in,” he ordered as he handed her into the car.

The air in the cabin of his luxury sedan felt heavy with expectation. Neither of them spoke nor hardly moved a muscle. She considered asking him to turn on the radio but didn’t want to miss out on the last few moments of hearing his even breathing next to her. Minutes passed, and it took her a while to notice they had left Storybrooke and were heading back toward Misthaven. “How much further to the bus station?”

“We passed it several miles back. You’re going to stay at my place.”

Under normal circumstances, this would be where she prepared to kick someone’s ass, but she knew deep down, as surprising as his announcement was, she had nothing to fear from him. Well, nothing except a repeat of the broken heart fiasco that was getting harder to remember with every second spent in his company. “Oh no, I’m not. What happened to no strings and no funny business?”

“Calm down, Swan. Our deal stands. I’m working the rest of the night so you’ll have the place to yourself. Trust me, the bed in my guest room is much more comfortable than a seat at the bus station.” Without taking his eyes off the road, he reached into one of the compartments in the console and pulled out a key. “There are some shirts in the dryer if you need something to wear. Help yourself to whatever you want. If you hang around until nine, I’ll even make breakfast. If you don’t, leave the key under the Welcome mat.”

“I think you better keep your key, Captain. There are two ways this could end, and neither one is pretty.” She gave him a sidelong glance and was mildly irked to see him grinning at her.

“Only two? Please enlighten me with your power of premonition.”

Heaving a sigh of frustration, she wished he would be logical about this whole thing. Sure they had attraction in spades; the very air around them seemed to crackle with electricity whenever their eyes met. But she knew it would fade, and the only thing left then would be goodbye. Better to skip the messy part and go straight to the end. “The first is I stay and have breakfast, and it turns into the day and then another night….”

“That doesn’t sound so bad, love. And the second?”

“I leave the key under the mat, and we never see each other again.”

“Hmm, option two is decidedly less appealing. I’ll take what’s behind Door Number One, please,” he joked.

“You think so until reality sets in and you realize you’ve taken in a stray with a score to settle and not a cent to her name. It won’t be long before the sight of me in your shirts makes you cringe, and you resent having to share the couch with a woman who has nothing to give.” She would know having been in a relationship with a person who was only capable of taking, and she vowed never to do that to someone else.

“I have half a mind to hunt down this Cassidy fellow myself after seeing the hit job he did on you. Listen, Swan, the key has no strings. Breakfast is just food. Whatever happens, happens. But if you think I’m going to drop you off at a deserted bus station with only the clothes on your back, fetching as they are, you’ve got the wrong idea about me in more ways than one.”

“I’m not yours to rescue, Captain.”

“You could be,” he whispered in a voice that made her skin tingle. He tossed her a half-hearted smile, eyes stormy with the knowledge she was going to turn him down. Again.

“The fact we both want me to be is warning enough it’s a bad idea. Come on, Killian, let’s call it a night now so we can remember it fondly in the years to come.”

His jaw clenched, and she was worried he was going to fight with her sensible argument. People didn’t meet people in the middle of the road and form attachments in one night. This wasn’t a fairy tale, and she was as far from a princess as a person could get.

Although she had to admit he made a rather fine prince.

Pulling off into a nearby gas station, he turned to her and said almost threateningly, “We’re not through discussing this.”

Then he stepped out and slammed the door as the sky opened up.

—

It was a dirty trick. She knew even as she did it, but it was for his own good. For whatever reason, he felt like he needed to protect her, and she needed to save him from himself. So she waited until he walked into the convenience store and made a run for it.

That’s not to say she didn’t have a brief moment of whimsy. She couldn’t stop herself from placing a kiss on the key he had casually tossed to her as if inviting her into his home and his life wasn’t a big deal. Then she carefully placed it on the dash, grabbing the newspaper from his backseat as an afterthought, and scurried away before she was caught.

Like a rat.

Maybe Neal was exactly the kind of man she deserved.

The rain beat down in a punishing way, her makeshift umbrella getting soggy and soft under the onslaught. She was so busy looking over her shoulder, convinced he was going to search for her and half hoping he was successful, that the sudden absence of the storm took her by surprise.

“Here, miss, it’s raining cats and dogs tonight,” the sturdy doorman of the fancy establishment she was passing said as he reached out to place his umbrella over her. The burgundy awning extended to cover most of the sidewalk and, despite the late hour, classical music was drifting from the open door. Limousines lined the street, spilling well-dressed patrons as they approached the swanky club.

Before she could maneuver out of the way, she was swept into a tide of rich fish, all glammed out and ready for the party to start or continue as the case may be. She overheard one woman, whose hat was so large she had to tilt her head to make it through the door, complain, “Regina’s parties are always so dull even nature weeps.”

Deciding a boring party indoors was better than a lonely night in the rain, Emma changed her stance and walked over the threshold with her head held high like she belonged there. She noticed the plaque on the wall as she entered read The Rabbit Hole and couldn’t help but think it was aptly named. With its marble floors and curving staircase, it was no wonder this wasn’t one of the stops on the Captain’s tour of town. This place was as high-end as they came.

There was a man collecting tickets at a small side table and, with only a minute to improvise, she was glad to see the stubs were roughly the size of the photo she was toting around, one of the few remaining possessions to her name. Without a moment of regret, she turned the photo face down, relieved the love note Neal had written on the back was faded and worn, so only his faint signature was legible. Luckily, the sheer volume of people entering the place meant the employee merely took it from her without looking to confirm it was what it appeared to be.

Following the crowd into a large ballroom off to the side, she saw a black grand piano played with a precise kind of violence by a wild-haired man in a tuxedo. The room was packed to the gills, the group she straggled in with taking the last seats on the far side of the room. The audience was appreciative but far from silent, conversations carrying on as if private concerts of this caliber were a normal everyday occurrence for them. Every time Emma thought she found a place to rest her sore feet and sorer heart, someone took it before she could get there and, in one near miss, she almost flattened a lap dog that warranted his own seat for the show.

Finally, after pushing her way through a narrow row, she found a place and asked the man in the next chair with a hint of desperation, “Is this seat taken?”

Shrugging a silent negative with brooding eyes that lit up when she neared, she tried to ignore the searching glance he gave her as she dropped into the chair and surreptitiously removed her shoes. She could tell by the hint of a smirk he noticed the movement, but at least he had the good grace not to comment on it.

He was handsome in a careworn kind of way. His tousled dark hair and thick stubble were eerily similar to the Captain’s look, and it made her shuffle in her seat with guilt. The man kept staring, his light-colored eyes settling somewhere between gray and green, keenly taking in her appearance and finding it amusing if the continued presence of his smirk was any indication.

As the final notes of the concerto echoed through the room, a burst of applause started. Now that she was fed and able to sit for a few moments, Emma realized she was exhausted. It was a bone-deep weariness far beyond fatigue, and she was fairly confident it could be traced back to a man with blue eyes and more charm than any one person should be allowed to have.

She wondered where Killian was now. If he had already given up or if he was wasting more time and losing out on more money combing the streets looking for his erstwhile damsel in distress. Emma knew what she did was for the best as surely as she knew she would be haunted by the feeling of his arms wrapped around her for a long time.

After a brief break, the musician approached the piano again. Before he could start hammering out another song with the intensity of a madman, a raven-haired woman stepped in front of the instrument. She called out in a commanding voice, “Pardon the interruption but does anyone recognize this man? It would seem there was a mix-up at the ticket counter and someone accidentally handed in a photograph instead of their invitation to this private event.”

Resisting the urge to sink deeper into her chair, she furtively looked around as the audience murmured amongst themselves regarding the unusual disruption. She could tell by the sardonic tone of the woman’s voice and the way she emphasized the word private she wasn’t convinced it was an innocent mistake. A scene would be made if the guilty party were found and couldn’t provide the appropriate documentation.

“Really? No one is going to come forward?” With an annoyed look at the assembly, she sulked, “Fine, I won’t waste any more of your time.”

She saw the woman hurry to the corner and carry on a quick conversation with a few men before the group disbursed and fanned out to cover the room. Feeling her luck was running out, she slipped her feet back into her shoes with barely a wince and slowly stood under the watchful gaze of her neighbor.

She needed to escape for the second time that night, but now she had hundreds of witnesses. Nonchalantly, she surveyed the room, trying to determine the best way. During this perusal, a man caught her eye, and she froze as he began to cut across the room to her side. So much for a stealthy getaway.

Her pursuer had an air of refined boredom with an edge of mischief. His graying hair was an attractive finish to a lean, well-dressed form. Cocking an eyebrow in disdain or maybe curiosity, he spoke quietly to not draw the notice of the surrounding crowd. “A word, madam.”

“With me?”

“Indeed.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Squaring her shoulders, she ignored the way her neighbor watched with rapt attention as she resolutely marched toward her fate.

@teamhook @kmomof4 @jrob64 @motherkatereloyshipper @stahlop @xarandomdreamx @xsajx @klynn-stormz

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satendou · 4 years ago

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⟼ musical chairs

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

⇢ pairing: semi/reader

⇢ au: college!au

⇢ summary: when semi can’t seem to keep himself together, he turns to you

⇥ masterlist

⇢ warnings: psuedo-incest, mild reluctance, dubious consent, smut, oral, no prep, angst, parental gaslighting, mentions of blood

⇢ word count: 4790

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

⇢ a/n: yolo

you could hear them again, screaming and yelling at each other and your heart thumped hard in your throat. your stepfather and stepbrother were going at it again, probably over something to do with school and his music, because that’s what it almost always was. the whole household was walking on eggshells around the two of them, waiting for the next time something would set them off.

semi was tired, you knew that. he was tired of his father always shoving his wants and desires down semi’s throat in an attempt to make him into what his father had wanted to be when semi just wanted to make music. you knew as much because, though the two of you weren’t extremely close, you were also the only one who understood what he was going through, having been stepsiblings for going on ten years at that point. there was an age gap between you that meant, until you were older, the two of you had had different friend groups and interests.

when semi expressed a desire to pursue a musical career, it was quickly declined, being told that his future was set towards a doctorate degree and nothing less. it was the first time semi had exploded, startling you at the sink and causing you to shatter the cup you were holding.

he had come to apologize later for causing you to hurt yourself, taking your bandaged hand and rubbing it gently for a moment before quietly asking why they couldn’t understand. you yourself didn’t understand and it made you feel almost guilty because they wholeheartedly supported your own career choice-- psychology, with a minor in social services. it was a nice, stable path, they said, unlike semi’s, which would be tumultuous and unfulfilling-- for them.

it was unusual to see the strong willed semi so unsure of himself and for a while you just sat there with him in silence, unsure of what to say to him until you finally asked, “how bad do you want it, eita? i don’t-- i can’t say you absolutely should ignore what they say, but if you really won’t be happy until you’ve at least tried then… maybe you should.”

semi had looked at you with a pensive expression and then sighed. “they won’t be happy.”

you squeezed his hand and gave him a smile, though it was thin with worry. “i’ll support you, eita. your music is amazing, you’ll do well if you have the chance, i know it.”

the transformation in his face was staggering, and it made your heart skip a beat to see the smile that spread across it. you couldn’t blame him for wanting to pursue his dreams, and you certainly wouldn’t tell him he shouldn’t.

the fighting started more frequently after that, a lot of it revolving around him going out to open mic nights at clubs, bars, and cafes-- anywhere he could get some stage time. you also learned shortly after that that he had dropped some of his courses and replaced them with musical theory classes and the like, asking you to help keep his cover, which you agreed to without hesitation. for the most part, he had kept you from getting involved or blowing that you were supporting him behind the scenes. you often pretended that semi was studying with you while he was actually practicing his songs or out at mic nights. on nights when he couldn’t use you was when the fights would escalate, except today it seemed that it wasn’t about just his music.

there was the sound of slamming doors and then the house fell silent, which wasn’t unusual in itself, but there was something heavier than usual in it, as if something had irreparably changed. sitting up on your bed, you strained your ears and picked up the lightest footsteps coming up the stairs. they stopped just outside your bedroom and the gentle rap on your door indicated who it was, and you called him in quietly.

“eita,” you whispered, reaching out to him. his eyes were rimmed red and his mouth was twisted in a feral scowl which, in another instance, might have frightened you. but you knew without a doubt that it wasn’t directed at you, and he collapsed face down on your bed, groaning into the blanket. “what was that about?”

you had to scoot closer to hear his muffled voice against the fabric as he said, “they found out i switched my classes. they opened my fucking mail.”

“fuck, i’m so sorry, eita,” you said, carding your fingers through his hair. there was a lot of tension in his shoulders even after he relaxed under your touch. “what are you gonna do?”

he shrugged before rolling onto his back. his long fingers wrapped around your hand as he did and pulled you down to splay across his chest. you wiggled around frantically, hoping to hide your fiery face before he could see it and ended up tucking your head beneath his chin. the sound of his heartbeat was erratic in your ear, belying how nervous he was under his aggravated facade.

“they want me to change the courses back or they’ll stop helping me pay,” he whispered, and his arm tightened around you.

a startled gasp flew from your lips and you pulled up, turning your body halfway so you were hovering over him. “no way, they-- those assholes. i don’t-- why can they not just accept what you want to do? i don’t get it.”

he smiled at that, a cold uptick at the corners of his lips as he said, “of course you don’t. you’re doing exactly what they want.”

the reaction was instant.

your shoulders deflated and you pulled away, sitting up cross-legged behind him. it wasn’t exactly your fault you happened to enjoy something they approved of. turning your head away, you stared at the closet door, biting the inside of your lip to stem the tears stinging your eyes.

semi’s lips parted and he sat up as well, shifting the mattress beside you while he scratched the back of his neck. “i-- sorry, that didn’t come out the way i meant it to. you’ve always been their golden child without even meaning to. i know you enjoy what you’re doing, it’s just that they actually approve of what you’re doing. wish i could do that too.”

“you’re fine just the way you are, eita,” you whispered, turning back to look at him. you could still feel the tears sitting in your eyes, not quite heavy enough to fall but definitely there, and semi’s hand came up to cup your cheek. his brows were furrowed, guilt evident on his face, and you covered his hand with yours. “you should do what makes you happy, not force yourself to live the life they wanted to have.”

the room grew silent after you said that, unsure of what to say from there even though he wanted to disagree. it would make things so much easier if he just gave in and stopped fighting, and he wouldn’t have to worry about funding or how he was going to pay for the classes he did want to take. he propped his elbow up on his knee, resting his chin on it as he stared forlornly at your bedroom door, listening to the bed shift until there was a soft touch on his shoulder.

your head was resting on his shoulder, arm wound around his in an effort to comfort him, and he smiled. his lips pressed to the top of your head, eyes closing while a feeling of fondness overcame him. how he had never noticed, before this whole thing started, what a sweet person you were was beyond him and he realized what an idiot he had been to ignore you all this time.

“thank you, by the way. i don’t say it enough, but i probably wouldn’t still be trying if you weren’t encouraging me,” he said against your hair, and felt you nuzzle against his neck. warmth rushed through him at the small gesture of affection, and he had to resist the urge to pull you closer. he wouldn’t consider himself a bad older brother. whenever you needed help studying, he would walk you through the steps or if you had to stay late at school for an extra curricular, he would wait around to walk you home. it was just that there was a disconnect, a distance between the two of you that had a lot to do with age and his own self-absorption-- and he would be the first to admit he was pretty full of himself sometimes.

“that’s okay, eita. i want you to be happy and I’ll support you however you need,” you whispered, squeezing his arm. “wanna go get something to eat?”

“that sounds great,” he said, pulling you to your feet.

again. a-fucking-gain, they were fighting. you could hear stomping and yelling, cabinets slamming and what ultimately sounded like glass shattering. it fell silent just after that, and you sat in your bed with your head in your hands, just listening to the eerie quiet.

after a moment, there was a quiet conversation that made you more nervous than the yelling, and then footsteps passed your bedroom door. a door closed downstairs and a light flicked on out in the hallway, and you stood up and opened your door to find semi hovering over the sink in the bathroom, the water running a vivid red that set your anxiety off.

“what happened?” you murmured, pulling his hand out from under the stream.

he winced as you picked up a clean hand towel and pressed hard against the wound to staunch the bleeding. “i was holding a glass and squeezed it too hard. he told me it’s stupid to pursue a career when i have no talent.”

where there should have been bitterness or anger in his voice, you heard cold amusement and defeat, and looked up at him. “that isn’t true, eita. i’m an expert, i would know.”

your joke fell flat and his chuckle was humorless and empty while he watched you examine the cut on his hand. it was shallow and had already stopped bleeding, not even requiring a bandage, and he flexed his fingers. “i think i’m just going to quit. this isn’t worth it,” he said, so quietly you would have missed it if you weren’t standing close enough to touch him.

sadness welled up, a quiet ache filling your chest for your sweet stepbrother, who was sometimes an ass and kind of a narcissist. cupping his cheek in one soft hand, his eyes fluttered shut as he leaned into your touch, frowning as you said, “if you really feel that way, then you should step back. but don’t let them tell you you wouldn’t make it. i know you would, eita-nii. you’ve never let anything hold you back when you really wanted it, and your music is amazing. you fill up those mic nights, it’s only a matter of time until someone sees you.”

his lips pursed and he looked at you, a quiet sadness in his eyes that you were sure mirrored your own as he said, “i’m not sure i’m passionate enough about it anymore, _____. they’ve taken it out of me. maybe i won’t go down the path they want me to but… i don’t know if i want to pursue music anymore.”

that was surprising, at least for a moment, and then you realized how normal that was. when you were forced to choose between the thing you loved and people you love, sometimes the love for the thing faded away because of it. you just hoped semi didn’t come to resent them too much, though they would deserve it.

“what do you think you’ll do?” you asked, linking your fingers with his. his skin was cool and soft, worn from years of volleyball and strong-- you could feel it in the way he squeezed your hand, that he could hurt you if he wanted but he didn’t. it was comforting and made you feel safe, and you found yourself lost in the sadness swimming in his eyes.

he took a step forward and you took a step back, the motion repeating until you were backed into your bedroom, the door closing with a soft click behind him. the bed creaked beneath you as he forced you to sit before climbing on beside you. he picked up the remote for your tv and clicked the power button, mulling over your question.

he wasn’t really sure, truth be told. it was something he had been thinking about for a while but when he really thought about it, he couldn’t see himself doing anything else. but the fighting was too much right now, he was too tired of trying to make them understand him to want to do it anymore, so he would find something else to focus on.

you were warm beside him, staring up at him with bemused concern as he scowled at your tv. if anyone else were to look at semi right now, they would think he was pissed, but you knew better. it was easy to see the sadness, and the confusion and fear beneath it on his face. music was something he had been wholeheartedly set on, and all of a sudden he was adrift, unsure of himself. even though he didn’t answer, you knew what it was already.

i don’t know.

it was written all over his face, screaming at you and you stretched your arms out to him.

he allowed himself to be engulfed in your arms, curling his massive frame down over you and resting his chin on your shoulder. his eyes remained locked on the flickering screen, unseeing as you rubbed his back and, in the end, he gave into the urge to hide his face in your neck.

releasing a long suffering sigh, he sagged into you, but his weight was too much to bear and you fell backwards into the mattress, pulling him down on top of you.

praying he couldn’t hear your heart pounding away in your pulse, you relaxed into your pillows and wiggled until you could see the tv. he had put an anime on, probably one tendo had recommended to him, and it was at least interesting enough to keep your attention.

until semi’s hands started to move.

it started off with him adjusting his head so he could watch tv, his hair tickling your neck before his fingers started tracing patterns over your clothed stomach. you giggled and swatted at his hand and he snickered, pretending to stop until you were relaxed again and then he attacked, pinning you down while he tickled your stomach and sides.

you squealed, curling down on yourself for a moment before reaching for one of the pillows beneath your head. raining blows down on him, he used one arm to shield himself while the other continued to attack. he was straddling your hips by then while you bucked up, trying to throw him off. it was a miracle you didn’t wake your parents up with your laughter and squeaking bed frame, but by the time you were done you were out of breath, residual laughter lingering in the air between you.

staring up at him, cheeks red and eyes finally alight with something other than that lingering sadness, lips parted as he panted above you. like a switch was flipped, you realized two things simultaneously: one, the position you were in, laying beneath him as you were and two, that he was rock hard against your stomach.

“shit, sorry,” he muttered when he caught sight of your eyes widening. he made no move to get off though, continuing to stare down at you with an unfathomable look, taking in the flush in your cheeks and nervous, not quite repulsed glimmer in your eyes. your arms were spread out across the bed beside you, and you tensed when he finally moved off to the side. “roll over.”

“huh?” you said intelligently, giving him a confused look.

he sighed, pushing at your hip. “roll over. onto your stomach.”

even as you do so, you say, “um, i don’t think we should--”

but he cut you off, coming to rest over your thighs, and you clammed up upon feeling his hands slide up your shirt and over your back. you could feel his hard on, resting now between the cheeks of your ass and you were nervous but not in the way you should have been at having your brother groping you. swallowing thickly when his fingertips grazed the sides of your breasts, you wiggled and he tutted you.

“don’t fight, princess. i know you’re wet already,” he said, voice a low, not-quite-whisper in your ear and you whined quietly. his fingers hooked in the waistband of the shorts you were wearing and pulled, slowly peeling them down. you tensed your thighs to hide the fact that he was right, you were soaked but his sharp eyes didn’t miss the way your panties peeled off your slick folds or the wet spot that had been left behind on them. “oh hell.”

you bit your lip when he ghosted over the round cheeks of your ass, barely a touch against your skin and then he squeezed, parting your lips so he could get a peek at your soaked cunt. it was almost surreal, your head spinning as you wondered how you went from a playfight to semi practically eyefucking you. it was impossible to wrap your head around and you jumped when he moved so he was sitting between your legs, spreading your thighs far enough that he could lay between them..

“e-eita--,” you called out quietly, not sure what you want from him when the first swipe of his tongue covered your pussy from your clit up to your clenching hole. “mm, wait, please, we--”

“it’s too late, princess,” he groaned against you, feeling you jerk hard in his hands. he looped his arms beneath your hips and canted your hips up so he could devour you with ease. “you taste so fucking good, i couldn’t stop even if i wanted to.”

the way his tongue flicked at your clit sent shocks through you, and your toes curled when he forced his tongue into your spongy walls, filling you up. he lapped at your walls, tasting you with another groan before returning to your clit. already, you could feel your orgasm building, something about not being able to see him taking you right up to the edge and when he dipped his tongue into you again, you came with a cry, legs bending at the knee and back arching down into the bed.

he continued to eat you out for another moment, until you were trembling and trying to get away, releasing your clit with a wet pop. before you could say anything, a complaint or otherwise, he was sliding his shorts down his legs and throwing his shirt over the side of the bed. both hit the floor with a faint noise, and then your shirt joined them. you didn’t argue when he settled over you again, pinning your thighs together between his while he settled his cock between the cheeks of your ass.

you knew it was going to happen regardless of if you asked him to stop. the part of you that felt it was wrong was growing smaller and smaller anyway as he rocked his hips, the soft skin of his hard cock sliding between your cheeks, occasionally dipping down to nudge your entrance. you could how big he was and your toes curled every time he seemed like he was about to slide into you. he would pull back though, and you could feel your juices on his skin, smearing it across yours.

“i don’t hear you complaining anymore, princess,” he said, and you could practically feel the smugness radiating off of him. he stilled above you, hands squeezing and kneading your flesh and you craned your neck to look up at him.

you nearly stopped his heart when he caught sight of your flushed face and lips swollen from nibbling on them, eyes wide and glittery while you whined, “i’m not, eita-nii. please, i-- please put it in, i want it--”

oh fuck.

his cock throbbed at your words, at the nickname, so innocent and yet you used it now.

“fuck, whatever you want, pretty girl,” he whispered, barely containing his own need as he positioned himself at your entrance. he knew it was cruel, not prepping you when he was as big as he is, but you were such a good girl, he knew you would take it without complaining.

much.

even just the tip was enough to make you whine, nails digging into the comforter beneath you and you used that to try and pull away as he forced more of himself into you. it was a heady mix of pain and pleasure; you wanted it so bad you could taste it but the pain of him forcing you open was almost too much. it didn’t even feel like you were stretching, he was just pushing everything out of the way to make room for his girth.

your teeth sank into the pillow to stifle your scream, drool dripping onto the fabric as your eyes fluttered and rolled, focus narrowing down to the incredible feeling of him buried deep inside you. as pretty as you acknowledged him to be, this wasn’t something you had ever fantasized about and you were wondering if he was going to split you in half when he finally stopped. you took a deep breath, ready to cry in relief when he pulled back out and pushed in again, your cunt already partially open and offering no resistance as he worked to hilt himself inside you.

it took a few more thrusts that left you winded and crying before his hips finally met yours and, just as he said, you didn’t complain once.

not that you could when he took your breath away with each thrust.

he braced himself up on his elbows over you, muscles tense on either side of your head, and you tilted it back to look up at him. his face was swimming in your vision, but you thought he was smiling even though he was panting.

and he was, even though his face was twisted with pleasure over how tight you were squeezing around him. he could feel you pulsing around him, still trying to suck him in deeper even though he was already nestled right against your cervix. there was something so wrong about being buried balls deep inside you, his little sister, someone he grew up in the same house with for so many years. it was taboo, wrong, fucked up and he pulled his hips back to your stifled whines before slamming back into you with abandon.

the noise you made was choked and high pitched and he throbbed at it, doing it again just to see if you would make it again and he was rewarded for his efforts. he wasn’t going to last long with you choking his cock like that. the tight fit made incredible noises, your pussy gushing around him and dribbling down to the blanket, and they filled the room along with your muffled noises. he was grateful you had the forethought to silence yourself as his hips slammed into yours because he couldn’t hold back even if he wanted to.

your legs kicked up against his back because he was grazing the swollen, spongy spot inside you with every thrust and you could feel every ridge and vein rubbing along your walls. it felt like he was dragging himself out of you every time and you gasped when he snapped back in, cunt stretching with the effort to take him even though he was fucking you like he was trying to imprint the shape of his cock into you.

his hair was matted to his forehead and there were red marks where his fingers were digging into your hips but it didn’t phase either one of you as you tightened up around him, cunt fluttering as you teetered on the edge.

you’d never cum without pressure on your clit but there was a spot inside you that he kept fucking rubbing and you were going to lose your mind. the whines that fell from your lips were mindless, eyes streaming tears and you thought it was going to be too much just as the coil snapped and your whole body tensed because he wouldn’t stop moving. you screamed into the pillow, a loud, whiny noise as he hips continued to roll, forcing your twitching walls to part around and pressing into the spot that made you cum in the first place and the bed below you soaks.

he knew you squirted, knew you were too sensitive and when you were trembling with overstimulation he stopped and let himself cum deep inside you with a broken, rough moan. his fingers bit into your hips and ass, keeping you still until he was done and then he collapsed over top of you, forehead resting on his arm beside your face and he saw that your eyes were closed.

at least you released the pillow.

when he had finally caught his breath, he nuzzled your cheek and you sighed, leaning into it. after a moment, you turned your head and bumped his nose, blindly seeking something and sighed again when his lips met yours. the corners of your mouth turned up and he can taste salt on his tongue and he worried for a moment that he might actually have hurt you.

“are you okay? you aren’t hurt, are you?” he whispered, unwilling to break the soft afterglow between the two of you, and you shook your head.

“no, i’m okay,” you answered, just as softly, and moveed so that your arm pressed to his.

balancing his weight carefully, he linked his fingers with yours, moving your arms up above your head, so that his chest was plastered against your back and you were fully encased in his arms. “eita, what now?”

he shrugged, breathing evenly against your cheek and pressing small kisses to your skin. “what do you want to happen?”

you mimicked him, shrugging as best you can beneath him and bit your lip. “i don’t know. can we even be anything? and would it end well if we wanted to be? i just…”

his normally sharp eyes softened as you stared up at him, doubt and confusion and worry all twisting your sweet face into a grimace, and he squeezed your hands. “we’ve only lived together for how many years? we already know each other’s bad habits and negative traits. we’d probably do a lot better than most.”

“what about them?” you persisted, and he knew you meant your parents. but there was a tinge of hope to your question, a little less tension in your body beneath him, and he kissed you full on the lips again.

“what about them? if we’re careful, they won’t know the difference,” he answered, breathing the words against your lips. he was over talking now, your wet cunt still gripping his cock and he could feel himself hardening again.

a careful roll of his hips produced a gasp and a whine, and your fingers squeezed down on his like your walls were around his shaft, buried all the way inside you.

“e-eita-nii,” you whined, lips parting in a quiet moan as he slid slowly out and back in. you were so loose and relaxed now that he had no issue slipping back inside with a wet squelch, groaning into your ear as you swallow him whole.

“feels so good, princess. ‘m not leaving this hole all night, i promise,” he whispered, and he can feel you trying to rock your hips back into his.

“fill me up, eita-nii,” you begged, voice ragged with need. there was already a throbbing between your legs, each drag of his cockhead over your walls leading you towards your high for a third time. “want all of you inside me, all the time.”

he growled at that, jerking his hips hard and forcing himself into you so fast it took your breath away. “don’t ask for things you can’t handle, pretty girl. i’d hate to break you so soon.”

a shudder ran through you at that, his words filled with dark promise and a question, and you breathed out shakily.

“break me, eita. please, please, break me.”

⇥ masterlist

#spencer's dark corner #tw incest #tw pseudo incest #tw gaslighting #tw abuse #tw blood #.musicalchairs

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shanie-the-toyaddict · 4 years ago

Text

Stay

A Sami and Kevin Fanfic

_____________________________________________

4070 Words No Pairings Present (Zowens if you squint)

As Kevin lays in a hospital bed after Money in the Bank, he finds himself confronted by one Sami Zayn. But has Sami come to gloat? To enjoy Kevin's suffering yet again?

Or is there something else motivating his visit?

No violence or smut, but there is some foul language so, Rated T?

The worst thing about ladder matches was the fucking ladders.

Well, maybe not the ladders themselves; ladders were a useful tool in everyday life and carried no ill will of their own. But when you put them in the hands of the type of angry, violent assholes who filled the locker room of the WWE, it never ended well.

To be fair, Kevin Owens was one of those angry, violent assholes and he was happy to use the ladders to commit such acts himself but as he lay in a hospital bed in Fort Worth Texas battered, beaten, and with an injured neck that didn’t want to work courtesy of Seth Rollins powerbombing him through one of said ladders, he couldn’t help but curse the existence of the damn things.

Still, he wasn’t in much pain. He wasn’t feeling much of anything, really. Kevin was never one for painkillers outside the hospital; he'd been in the industry long enough to know that they could lead you down a dark path of no return and that was the last thing he wanted for himself or his family. But, as long as he was in the hospital, they were fine. Plus, if you got yourself into enough trouble to wind up in a hospital bed, you were likely at a point where they were a necessity.

This was one of those times.

On top of the painkillers, he was tired, so tired. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, but it couldn’t have been long. Two days at the most. They’d taken the neck brace off at some point, although they’d warned him to try not to move his head much. He’d been sleeping on and off ever since arriving, but it never seemed to help. He wanted to sleep more, the utter exhaustion from the past few months having caught up with him.

His body was broken. Between his injured arm, his injured knee, and now his injured neck, he was ready for a vacation. He’d intended on taking one several weeks back but Sami, that infuriating bastard, couldn’t be left alone for more than a week. Kevin had been drawn back in again, this time for a Last Man Standing match, in an effort to end Sami’s reign of terror once and for all.

It hadn’t worked. He’d beaten Sami down until he couldn’t get up again, sure. But his original goal of fixing Sami went unfulfilled, and Kevin realized it always would. You couldn’t help someone who didn’t want to be helped and it was clear Sami didn’t want his help. He was too deranged and paranoid to see that Kevin gave a damn and, whatever, it was what it was. Kevin was shit at trying to help people anyway, he had no idea what made him think he could help Sami in the first place.

Best just to leave him to his insanity. He’d burn himself out eventually.

Hopefully.

Still, a break was a break, nearly literally in this case, and as he lay in the hospital bed half asleep, he couldn’t help but think that the room would be better with company. And as he stared up at the ceiling of the hospital room, contemplating another nap, he got his wish... in the worst way possible.

Kevin heard him before he saw him.

“You're an asshole, Kevin Owens,” he heard the voice say as he entered the room.

Kevin’s eyes shifted over to look towards the door.

Yep, it was definitely Sami Zayn, as bitter as ever.

Kevin squeezed his eyes shut.

Great, he thought, completely disgusted, the last fucking person I wanted to see.

“Go away,” he grumbled. His voice was raspy and weak and it only served to piss him off more. Being weak was never something Kevin tolerated from himself and being weak in front of Sami? Unacceptable.

Still, Kevin knew he didn’t have the strength left for the appropriate amount of rage warranted, so he would just have to make do with what he could give. Staring up at the ceiling once more, Kevin responded.

“I’m not dealing with your shit today,” he told Sami. “I’m tired. Whatever the hell you want, it can wait till Friday.”

A chuckle escaped Sami’s throat as he replied, “Oh, and I care so much about what you want. Really, I do. Oh, hang on, no I don't.”

Kevin sighed. If he’d had the strength, he’d already be out of his bed, strangling the lunatic. It was true that Kevin cared about Sami, but as he’d stated before, Sami wasn't Sami anymore. At the very least, he wasn’t his Sami. His Sami was an angel, kind, loving, protective, and all the things that Kevin secretly wished the powers of the universe had given him the capacity to be. But this new Sami? He was one big ball of psycho and just being around the bastard made Kevin want to throttle him.

But the truth was, there was nothing he could do about Sami being there. Sure, he could call the nurse to have him removed, but Sami would just cause a scene like he always did, and Kevin didn’t need any more stress. The best option was to ignore him until he went away.

He closed his eyes once more and said nothing.

Fuck him, he thought.

He feeds off attention. Don’t give it to him.

Kevin heard Sami drag a chair across the floor to sit down beside him.

“Besides,” Sami said, “I’m loving the look. You stuck in a hospital bed? It’s such a wonderful birthday present. A bit late, but really, great job, Kevin. A for effort. You outdid yourself this year.”

There was something about the tone in Sami’s voice, something that Kevin couldn’t quite put his finger on. Kevin pushed it from his mind. Whatever new flavor of insanity Sami had brewing he didn’t care.

Still, Sami didn’t shut up.

“I mean, I’m sure that’s what it was. A birthday present. At the very least it’s a gift from the universe. Karma for everything you’ve done to me. And it is so sweet. Sweet, beautiful Karma.”

Kevin was rapidly losing his patience. He wasn’t going to shut up. Granted, he never did, but like an idiot, Kevin had hoped this was the exception.

Mustering up all the energy he could but still not looking at Sami, Kevin responded, “Is that why you came? To gloat?”

“Gloat? Gloat?” said Sami, the mania not leaving his voice, “Why wouldn’t I? It isn’t like you didn’t try to break my back two weeks ago.Again. I mean, I have to hand it to you, credit for staying true to form. It isn’t enough to betray me time and time again, the consistency for you trying to end my career is admirable.”

There was definitely something about Sami’s tone. Kevin was trying valiantly to try and ignore it but the more the redhead ranted, the harder it got. Through the weariness, Kevin tried to place it. Once upon a time, he’d have been able to read Sami like a book without the need for words or other lesser means of communication. But whatever hellscape Sami’s mind had become, there was no understanding him anymore, even with words. Still, Kevin needed to try.

Anger? Well, that was surface level and to be expected. Hate? Again, par for the course between them. Regret? Possibly, but they’d put each other through so much by that point that their entire history was coated with regret. It was nothing new for either of them and it wasn’t what he was hearing now.

“Although, I have to say, Kevin,” Sami continued, “trying to end your own career? Odd choice. Brave, and entirely on point for your level of bullshit but still – odd choice.”

As the statement left Sami’s lips, the tonal shift became more evident than ever and, suddenly, Kevin realized what was happening.

Concern. That’s what was burning at the edges of Sami’s voice. Concern.

Suddenly, Kevin couldn’t avoid looking at Sami any longer. Pushing through the grogginess and haze, he turned his head to look at his former best friend. As he did, Kevin realized that, as tired as he felt, Sami somehow looked even more tired. His face was haggard and his already wild curls looked messier than usual, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a couple of days and the sight caught Kevin off guard like a kick to the stomach.

Still, Kevin didn’t care. He knew he didn’t. Not even a little and if he could just convince himself of it long enough for Sami to leave...

“You look like shit,” Kevin said.

Sami’s eyes fell to the floor, the façade starting to break. “So do you.”

Kevin couldn’t deny it anymore. Sami was worried about him.

And somehow, that made everything so much worse.

Don’t say anything,Kevin’s mind was screaming. Just let him leave. Don’t engage, don’t say a word...

“Are you... worried about me?” Kevin asked, despite himself.

Goddammit.

“NO!” Sami replied fervently, shaking his head as his eyes darted off in another direction. “No, of course – no, no! Why would I – no. No.”

It was far too many “no’s” to be a denial.

After a moment, Sami settled down again, his eyes once more on the floor. There was a knot tying itself up in Kevin’s gut, a familiar ache that Kevin loathed with every fiber of his being. He hated that knot, but he could never seem to escape it. As much as he told himself, swore to himself that he didn’t care, it always came back. With every stunner, every beatdown, every apron powerbomb atrocity he committed against Sami, he felt it. He’d fought against the feeling for over a decade by that point but it was relentless, carving up his insides and leaving him empty.

It felt a hell of a lot like guilt.

Kevin watched as Sami rubbed his face with his hands.

“Sami...” he said warily, but he was immediately cut off.

“I mean, I hate you!” Sami exclaimed, his voice turning wild once more. “I hate you with every fiber of my being! Every part of me, every single strand, every single sinew stands in defiance against you and what you have spent your life doing to me. You represent everything that is wrong with the WWE, and you are everything that is wrong with my life! You’ve been holding me down for so long, why the hell do I care?!”

For a moment, Sami’s crazed eyes locked with Kevin's, and Kevin realized two things immediately. First, Sami had accidentally replaced the word “would” with “do” in his rant and, second, Sami knew that he had and suddenly needed a way out of it. As quickly as they met, Sami’s eyes were gone again, slammed shut, and turned away from Kevin.

“I don’t care,” he muttered. “I really, really don’t. I just -”

Sami tensed up for a moment as if trying to restrain himself from something before letting out a long sigh, leaning back in his chair, and relaxing slightly. He was still pointedly avoiding Kevin’s gaze and as Sami rubbed his nose with his hand a nagging thought crept into Kevin’s mind.

It was the kind of thought that, were things different between them, might have meant something. The kind of thought that, was Kevin’s heart not already hardened against his former friend, might have given him hope. It was the kind of thought that chewed at your soul, stabbed you in the chest, and left you feeling raw and gutted inside.

He knew he should ignore it and any other lies like it. They couldn’t be true, the universe was too indifferent to muster up that level of cruelty. Were Kevin a wiser man, he’d have thrown the idea into the metaphorical dumpster, tossed in a burning match, and slammed the lid shut. But when it came to Sami Zayn, Kevin had never been a wise man, and the thought kept building and building until it was roaring like a freight train in his brain.

Somehow, the thought told him, likely against his will and buried deep in the shattered and broken mind of his ex-best friend, Sami still loved him.

It was a horrible thought, and as it tore through Kevin like a chainsaw he realized that a far worse fact lay buried beneath that.

Despite everything he had convinced himself of, all of the violence and aggression, rage and bitterness, he felt the same way.

Fuck.

Kevin stared at Sami, the silence between them almost tactile. It was no good. Kevin knew as much. Whatever they might have had long ago, it was gone now. Whose fault it was didn’t matter, although he knew in his heart it was mostly his. His friend, his Sami, the man he loved so much and who Kevin once would have gladly laid down his life for knowing that he would do the same, was gone. Immolated and turned to ash amidst a thousand paranoias, conspiracies, and obsessions. But as Sami sat beside his bed, his shoulders slumped and what Kevin swore looked like tears in his eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was a chance, some excruciatingly small chance that they could be mended; Made whole once more.

Put back together.

They sat in silence for several long, agonizing minutes and Kevin watched as Sami fought the moisture in his eyes, steeling himself before finally shaking his head, scrubbing his face and eyes with his hands roughly, and hunching over in defeat.

Kevin couldn’t hold it in any longer. He had to say something, anything to break the tension.

What came out of his mouth was a question.

“Are you alright?”

Such a stupid question.

Sami didn’t respond at first, and Kevin watched as he bit his lip angrily before, strangely, he let out a small chuckle. Then another, followed by a laugh, and before Kevin could react, Sami was laughing. Rising, escalating laughter that reeked of the insanity Sami had been suffering from for so long. Crazed, maniacal laughter that shook Sami's whole body, and, as he cackled, he started shouting.

“Am I ok?” he hollered, “Am I ok? The man in the hospital bed asks me if I am ok!”

Anger filtered into Kevin's heart. What the hell was the asshole laughing at him for, all he asked was...

Sami bolted to his feet kicking the chair out from under him.

“YOU DIDN’T MOVE!” Sami cried out, and suddenly, he wasn’t laughing anymore.

Kevin’s eyes went wide as Sami’s laughter choked and sputtered turning into something that was entirely different and burned itself into Kevin’s brain.

“You didn’t move!” repeated Sami, waving his hands as the tears in his eyes threatened to spill over, “You landed on your head, bent in half and you didn’t move! I mean, it was just for a second, but I thought...”

Kevin wanted to say something, anything to calm Sami down, but his tongue felt thick in his mouth and the words got caught in his throat.

Sami’s words were soaked with pain as he continued. “... I don’t know why the fuck it matters, anyway, we aren’t friends. You didn’t... I don’t think we ever were, you just used me, used us for years until you were done with me and - and then... but we...”

Sami trailed off and Kevin watched as he fought to regain control. It struck Kevin as odd that he was fighting, that he was even trying to calm down. Sami had been ranting and raving for so long that Kevin had assumed he’d just stopped giving a damn about civility. But standing at Kevin’s bedside, Sami’s hands were now clenched into tight fists at his sides, with his body stiff, his eyes closed, and a face straining under the pressure to keep it together.

And, somehow, the impossible occurred.

Sami succeed.

Kevin watched the visible signs of Sami’s battle against his own mind start to subside and an uneasy calm fell over the redhead. Sami relaxed a bit, taking several long breaths before continuing.

When he did, he sounded nothing like the Sami that Kevin had grown accustomed to. He wasn’t Kevin’s Sami either but, somehow, it was as if a middle ground had been reached.

“I know it was Seth,” Sami told him. “Seth powerbombed you, that – you didn’t choose that, and I can’t hold it against you. It happens. But even on Smackdown, with the ladder there, and all the other crazy shit you’ve been doing? You’re going to injure yourself. End your career. Or worse…”

Sami trailed off once more, wiping his wet eyes.

Kevin knew Sami had a point, some of his antics from the past few years had reached new and creative levels of stupidity, outpacing the risks he so willingly took in his younger years. And yes, time and time again, he’d managed to injure himself in the process.

Still, it wasn’t all on his shoulders and Kevin’s jaw was tight as he replied.

“You know, I remember someone shoving me through a pair of tables a couple weeks ago,” he said.

Sami’s eyes were once more on his shoes as he responded.

“I remember some asshole powerbombing me through a pair as well. You wouldn’t happen to know who that was, would you?”

There was so much hurt in Sami’s voice that it broke Kevins’ heart. The anger was feeling dissipated and KO could feel his soul shattering into hundreds of mirrored fragments, shards of a past, present, and future devoured by fury and hatred, each reflecting back a stark reminder of who caused this, who was to blame.

He’d done this. He was the one who turned Sami into who he was now. Sure, the mental breakdown had a hand in it but Sami’s fall from grace was entirely on Kevin. He was the one who dragged Sami into his world all those years ago, determined to “fix him” and “bring him to the light”. All he had done was pull his best friend into a darkness that Sami had yet to come back from.

And still, as far as Sami had fallen, as much as he had crashed and burned, somehow Kevin was still managing to hurt him more.

Kevin’s voice was low when he finally responded.

“I never meant to -” Kevin paused for a moment, modifying the sentence in his brain, “ - worry you. Sorry.”

Sami scowled, shaking his head. “Sorry doesn’t begin to cover it, Kev. Not anymore. We have gone so far past sorry. So damn far.”

Kevin tried valiantly to shut down the part of his brain that was screaming at him. They’d gone too far, it was true. Anything they might have once had was irreparably broken. His gut was twisting as he realized it but there was a voice in his brain screaming at him to try anyway. Do whatever it took. Apologize more. Get on his knees to ask forgiveness. Plead. Beg. Hell, just kiss the guy if that’s what it took. Whatever was necessary to bring Sami back into his life. Sure, his Sami might be gone forever, but watching Sami struggle not to care, fighting back tears as Kevin lay in a hospital bed?

Part of Kevin believed that there might be enough of his Sami left to pretend they were ok.

And, at the moment, that part was winning.

Looking over at his former friend, Kevin’s brown eyes were full of love as he spoke his name once more.

“Sami...” he said.

The way the name came out, passing over his lips like a tragic reminder of what once was and what he wished could be again. It was a promise that Kevin would never give up on Sami, regardless of what new hells they might put each other through. A sacred oath that no matter what fate or any other force might do to them, Kevin would keep fighting to save them both.

Worst of all, Kevin knew it was a prayer. A prayer that, against all odds, there was something still worth fighting for.

That’s what you do with angels, isn’t it, he thought, the regret in his heart twisting like a serrated blade.

You pray to them.

Sami’s eyes returned to Kevin’s once more and KO realized that he was right. There was so much hurt, rage, and yes, insanity there in those hazel orbs. But Kevin had spent so long staring into them over the last two decades that he knew, in his heart, that his guardian angel wasn’t dead.

Not yet.

Fallen, yes.

But not dead.

And at that moment, Sami’s fight against the tears in his eyes was lost and they brimmed over, rolling down his cheeks.

“Don’t,” Sami said, his voice equally as sad as Kevin’s, “Just... don’t.”

“What?” Kevin asked.

Sami’s voice was cracking as he replied. “Don’t talk like we’re friends.”

Despite himself, a smile began to break through Kevin’s soul-torn expression

“I just said your name,” he said.

“I know.”

For the briefest of moments, Kevin thought he saw Sami smile in return when, just as before, the moment was wrenched from him as Sami broke away, turning his head aggressively to send a clear message that he was having no part of Kevin’s attempt at kindness.

“No,” said Sami firmly, “No, this isn’t happening. You don’t get off that easily, you shithead. We’re done here.”

Without looking back, Sami turned and started walking towards the door.

“Stay,” Kevin blurted out before he could stop himself.

God, you’re hopeless.

Sami stopped in his tracks, still facing the door.

“Why,” he asked. “Give me one good reason.”

Sleep was beginning to wash over Kevin. He fought it, he had to. He wasn’t ready to let go of... whatever the hell was happening between them. He had to stay awake, even if it was only until Sami was gone.

He didn’t want it to end.

“I’m waiting,” Sami said. “Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t just walk away.”

There was no anger or attitude in his voice and Kevin couldn’t help but think Sami sounded as tired as he felt.

“Because I... I want you to stay,” Kevin admitted. It was all he had.

With a bitter chuckle, Sami turned his head sideways to say over his shoulder, “I said a good reason.”

His voice weary with pain and exhaustion, Kevin said, “I don’t have one. Stay anyway.”

Kevin watched as Sami tensed up for a moment as if ready to throw attitude once more before he slumped and let out one final shaky breath. Wordlessly, he turned around and, retrieving the chair from where he’d kicked it, set it upright and sat down.

Nothing more was said. It was better that way.

Looking one final time at Sami in the chair, Kevin couldn’t fight the need for sleep any longer. He wanted to memorize the sight, Sami beside him for the first time in years peacefully and without them hurling insults, powerbombs, or helluva kicks at each other.

It wouldn’t last; Kevin knew that and Sami had to as well. By Friday, none of it would matter, they would be back to hating each other. Or, even worse, not caring at all.

At least when Sami was wailing on him, Kevin was close to him. Fight forever, that’s what they always said. When he was fighting Sami, they communicated on a level few could hope to comprehend. At Wrestlemania, there was an energy in the air, as if they’d found a canvas to paint a masterpiece on that would rival the greatest works of Rembrandt or Van Gogh. When he fought Sami, it still felt like home.

Sami loving him was the greatest gift of all. Sami fighting him was a close second. But indifference?

That was the worst fate imaginable.

And as sleep started to consume him, Kevin gave a silent prayer to any angel that was listening, Sami or otherwise, that that wasn’t the future that awaited him when he woke up.

The heavy silence between them faded away to foggy nothingness, and Kevin felt himself drift away.

The final thing he registered before unconsciousness took him was the feeling of a hand wrapping around his own.

#Fanfiction #Zowens #Shanie's Fanfiction #WWE

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lia-jones · 4 years ago

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Growing Together - Chapter Twenty - The Green Eyed Monster

It was early dawn when we left the apartment, the cold breeze enough to jolt me awake from my remaining morning sleepiness. Loveland was still asleep, as it would be on a very early Saturday morning, and the only thing we could hear was the sound of our footsteps on the gravel… and my moaned complaints. I’m really not a morning person, and making me leave the warmth of my bed to face the frosty 6 am air without even letting me have my coffee first was pure torture. Needless to say, I was beyond moody.

It had been almost a month since Owen’s grandmother’s first and last contact with us, which meant that probably she took my words to heart and decided to leave us alone. Victor announced a week later that Daniel had been sentenced to 15 years of prison, and was waiting to be charged for other crimes, which meant he would probably never leave prison. All of the things that were taunting us were slowly but surely slipping away, and now we dared to take a deep breath of relief. Which led us to why we were getting up so early in the first place.

We were aware that things would become hectic pretty soon. LFG France was almost ready to make its official debut, which meant that Victor would have to make a long business trip to France in order to tie up the last loose ends, and we would be seeing much less of him in the upcoming weeks. With that in mind, my husband decided to treat the family with a comfort meal, and take the three of us on a small field trip: we were going to Loveland’s Farmer’s Market to get the best ingredients. Early. When it was freezing outside. This meal had better be worth it.

“Are you cold?” Victor wrapped his arm around me as we walked towards the market. “I told you to put on more clothes. It’s chilly early in the morning.”

I grunted in protest, but still leaned my nose on his chest, looking for warmth.

“I see what this is all about.” He let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry, you’ll have your coffee soon enough.”

“I want a hot chocolate!” Owen chimed in, excited. “Do you think I can ask for marshmallows?”

“How are you so perky?” I squinted at my son, offended that he could be so alert while I was still trying to stave off sleep.

“Dad says that all the great chefs go at this hour, and they personally pick the ingredients.” Owen jumped as he explained. “Can you imagine meeting one of those top chefs that we see on TV?”

I grunted again, burying myself in Victor as much as I could. The only chef I wanted to meet was Pillow Boyardee, back in my bed, where it was still warm. But that was so far away that it felt like I had left it in another dimension.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Victor nudged me playfully, making me look at him. “We’re here. Do you want something else with your coffee?”

The scent of freshly ground beans hit my nostrils, awakening from my stupor. The Promised Land! Finally, I had arrived at a place where I could be happy: the coffee shop. Victor laughed again, as I promptly gave up his warm embrace for the promise of caffeine.

“Two coffees, one hot chocolate with marshmallows and three cinnamon rolls, please.” He asked the cashier, a perky brunette in her early twenties.

“Can I have the names to identify the beverages, please?” The cashier smiled widely at him.

“Coffee for Andrea and Victor, and hot chocolate for Owen.”

“Andrea, Owen and Victor…” The girl rolled her tongue weirdly as she pronounced Victor’s name. “You can have a seat anywhere, I’ll meet you there. After all, you are very hard to miss.” She gave him a sultry smile.

I blinked in confusion as Victor took mine and Owen’s hands, leading us to a table nearby.

“Is it just me or was that girl a little bit too friendly?” I asked as Victor pulled a chair for me to sit.

“What girl? The cashier?” He gave me a confused frown.

“You didn’t notice? I could swear she wa-”

“Here’s your coffee.” The cashier came with our order. “Strong and hot, just like you.” She winked at Victor.

I was so appalled I couldn’t even react. How dare she hit on my husband right in front of me?

“Careful, she said it’s hot.” Victor slid my coffee cup towards me, seemingly ignorant of what just happened.

“Ok, there is no way you didn’t see that.” I glared at him, only to have my glare returned with a confused look.

“See what?”

“Strong and hot, just like you.” I repeated her words with a nasal voice. “She was flirting!”

“You probably heard it wrong. I’m sure she didn’t say that.”

I felt my blood boil.

“So I’m hearing thin-”

“And even if she did, it would be useless. I’m happily married.” He said matter-of-factly. “Drink your coffee, you’ll feel better.”

The table fell silent. Victor was minding his phone while Owen was focused on blowing on his hot chocolate, poking the marshmallows with his little finger so they would melt a bit more. And I was steaming just as much as my coffee, but I kept quiet, not wanting to make a scene.

“What are we buying, Dad?” Owen broke the silence.

“I am glad you asked, my loyal esquire. This quest will not be an easy one.” Victor answered in all seriousness. “It is essential that today we make a meal fit for royalty, since our Queen is discontent.”

He was teasing me to make me laugh, and the sad part was, it was working. I took a sip of my coffee to hide my grin, but obviously he caught it and kept on playing, his tone even more exaggeratedly ceremonious than before.

“We start our perilous adventure fighting the most ruthless of adversaries: the butcher. We must obtain from his bloody hands the most precious cut of meat, the tenderloin.”

“We will go into the woods, holding our mighty swords, looking for the beast to hunt it down.” Owen continued, amused with the story.

“Or, in your father’s case, he’ll go into the market holding his mighty wallet.” I chimed in with a dry tone, although I was melting with how playful these two could be.

“The tool is irrelevant.” Victor smiled at me, sipping his drink. “All that matters is that I win the Queen’s heart.”

And just like that, Victor was making me giggle like a schoolgirl. He was good, I had to give him that.

“Why is there a number written under your cup?” Owen interrupted, frowning at the bottom of Victor’s cup.

“She wrote her number under your cup?” I looked at the paper cup like it was cursed.

“It's nothing.” He lifted his cup at an odd angle, so I wouldn’t see the bottom, drinking his coffee in one go. “Let's go. The market will get busy soon.” He declared as he crumpled the cup and promptly threw it away.

Somehow I managed to let myself be led out of that coffee shop without making a scene, but the truth was I was barely holding myself. Jealousy was churning inside me, and I wanted nothing more than to unleash all my anger. That girl had some nerve, hitting on a married man in front of his wife.

“You are surprisingly quiet.” Victor noticed. “Is this because of that woman?”

“No.” I pouted as I lied. Of course, he wouldn’t buy it.

“Why are you making such a fuss over this? I clearly have no intention to pursue any other romantic endeavors. You are too much trouble already.” He tickled my ribs, trying to get a smile out of me. He got an annoyed scoff instead.

“This doesn’t become you, you know.” He continued. “Jealousy is for insecure people with unfulfilling relationships.”

“I'm not jealous. I’m just annoyed that she flirted with you in front of me. What happened to sisters before misters?”

“I admit it was crass, but since when do you even pay attention to those things?"

“I don't.” I threw, wanting to close the topic. “It’s over, let’s move on.”

I could feel his eyes studying me and all my movements. When I turned to scold him, he was smiling mischievously.

��Well, I suppose you do have reasons to be cautious about other women.” He gave me a smug smile. “I am quite the catch.”

“Self-confident, are we?” I gave him a warning look.

“Rightfully so. You fell for my charms, didn’t you?”

“Ugh.” I walked faster, hoping he would just drop the subject. It was obvious he wouldn't.

“Admit it, I’m irresistible. You tell me yourself every day, I’m handsome, I have a promising career, I can cook…”

“You can be ridiculously annoying sometimes.” I added. “Like now.”

“They called me Loveland’s Most Eligible Bachelor, after all.” He continued, amused. “You can’t blame me for having all these women falling at my feet. Because, in all seriousness, who wouldn’t fall for this?” He pointed at himself like he was presenting an appliance in a game show.

“You're such an idiot." I shook my head.

“You're such a moron." He quipped.

It was true that there would always be some floozie flirting with Victor, he was indeed a remarkable man. But it was also true that, probably due to some lucky star, he only had eyes for me, and he showed me that every single day. Why was I letting such petty things get to me? The green-eyed monster was definitely not a good advisor, and I wasn’t going to let him ruin my day. Especially when I felt my husband’s hand hold mine, his fingers entwined with my own.

We finally stopped at the butcher’s door, Owen looking at it in amazement. He probably was expecting a violent man chopping off some animal’s head inside, and not the scrawny guy with a high-pitched voice that Victor called Clarence. Nonetheless, Victor looked at Owen with wide scared eyes.

“Do not look straight at him.” He warned, and I couldn’t help but laugh at Owen’s excited gasp. “His eyes feed on the souls of fools.”

“I am no fool!” Owen declared. “I will go prepared!”

Of course, he had nothing to prepare for, the butcher shop was as normal as any other, with burgers and meatballs on display, along with some other cuts of meat.

“Mr. Lee!” We heard Clarence’s high-pitched voice, very unlike someone who can eat your soul with his eyes. “Came to take your order?”

Victor was distracted for a few moments, staring at the door.

“Yes, my wife will take it for me. Here.” He quickly put some money on the counter, turning to me afterward. “Wait for me outside, me and Owen will be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“On another perilous mission.” He gave me a smug smile. “Don’t worry, Owen will swat away all the women that throw themselves at me. I will be safe.”

“Not as safe as you think.” I frowned.

I turned to face the counter again, part of me happy for seeing him in such a good mood, the other part a bit concerned that now that he knew I was jealous, he would be teasing me all day. I caught one of the workers watching our interaction, a large bag in her hands.

“Here’s your order.” She smiled. “May I interest you in anything else?”

“No need, thank you.” I smiled. “To be honest, I have no idea what he’s cooking.”

“Mr. Lee is cooking?” She sighed. “You are lucky. A good-looking husband that can cook? Most of us can only hope.”

I felt the green-eyed monster poking my shoulder.

“Don’t get too excited, he doesn’t cook that well.” I lied through my teeth. What was with Victor and women today? Jesus.

As agreed, I waited by the butcher’s door, holding a bag full of meat, wondering where the hell could the two men of my life be. I felt a hand on my shoulder and immediately turned around, expecting to see my husband’s smug smile again. I had a whole different thing coming.

“Andy?”

“Levi!” I threw myself into his arms for a big hug. “I haven’t seen you in ages, how are you?”

“Last time I saw you was when Victor had that accident. I never heard from you since.” His voice had a tinge of hurt. “I knew you moved from the guys that were taking your stuff from your apartment.”

“Oh God, yes.” I grimaced. “A lot has happened since.”

“Oh, I know. I saw your wedding on TV. You looked beautiful, by the way.” He gave me a sweet look. “And congratulations on your award. And for the new job position.”

“Thank you, like I said, I have been pretty busy.” I smiled, feeling awful. I had been a terrible friend. Levi was a very close friend before I met Victor, my greatest support when I was alone and had no one to help me, and I didn’t even invite him to my wedding. Even worse, I couldn’t find the time to make a call. All he knew from me, he had to learn from the media. “I’m sorry, I am a bad friend.”

“It’s alright, it’s never too late to catch… Oh, hi, Victor, how are you?”

Victor was standing right behind me, his earlier playfulness gone, a grim expression instead, eyeing Levi like he was one of the monsters he and Owen were supposed to be slaying. Levi extended his hand for Victor to shake. Victor shamelessly ignored it.

“Mom! Mom!” Owen pulled my arm, excited. “We got something for you!”

I looked back at Victor’s hands and spotted the bouquet of roses he was holding.

“You’re a mom?” Levi asked, seemingly incredulous.

“Oh yes, I am sorry.” I took my son’s hand. “Levi, this is Owen, my son. Owen, this is Levi, my friend. He used to teach me Krav Maga. It’s a martial art.”

“You taught my mother how to fight?” Owen’s interest in Levi peeked instantly. “Will you teach me too?”

“I sure will.” Levi nodded. “Ask your mom to bring you to the studio one of these days, we have a kids’ class you can attend.” He turned to me with a smile. “And maybe she will let me buy her some coffee, see if we can catch up on lost time.”

“I can’t really promise you that for now, I have been super busy with work. But text me the time, maybe I’ll ask our nanny to drive Owen.” I looked at my beautiful boy. “Would you like that?”

“Yes, yes, I would love it! I want to be strong like Levi!” Owen turned to Victor. “Can I, Dad? Can I?”

“We’ll discuss it later.” Victor answered dryly. “Shall we?” He took my hand.

“Yes, we need to go. So nice to see you, Levi.” I let go of my husband’s hand to give Levi another tight hug.

“Don’t be a stranger, will you?” He ruffled my curls. “And no excuses, I want your sweet tushie in my studio for proper training!”

I had no time for Krav Maga, but the truth was, I did miss it. I had been so stressed the last few weeks, I definitely could use blowing off some steam. Owen definitely seemed excited about it.

“Mom, do you think he will teach me how to kick, like this?” He lifted his little leg haphazardly, kicking the air. “I bet he is super strong! I bet he can lift forty pounds!”

“Who cares if he can lift forty pounds?” Victor muttered. “Elephants can lift a lot more, they don’t waste their time bragging about it.”

“He didn’t brag about it, Owen was the one who mentioned it.” I pointed at the flowers in his hand. “Are those for me?”

“No.” Victor almost pouted, pulling the flowers to himself. “And you don’t need to defend Leonard. If he is so incredibly strong, he can defend himself.”

“Ok, number one, I wasn’t defending him, I was merely pointing out an inaccuracy.” I spoke gently, trying not to aggravate my already very aggravated husband.

“You’re an inaccuracy.” He childishly muttered, but I wouldn’t be deterred.

“Number two!” I called his attention again, holding up two fingers. “His name is Levi and you know it.”

“I do not have the time nor the interest to memorize Larry’s name.” He scoffed.

“Did you know that the elephant communicates with others by purring as cats do?” Owen chimed in, completely oblivious to the subject at hand. “And that they are the only mammal that can’t jump?”

“That does sound like Lenny.” Victor quipped. “Quick to purr, but slow on the jump. ”

I looked at my husband, reading his expression and posture as he stopped by one of the many colorful stalls to pick some vegetables. His eyes were focused on whatever produce he was handling, but his jaw told me he was churning over something else. He was jealous.

I observed him for a while longer, wondering if I should take this moment to my advantage and tease him as he teased me. The answer was pretty simple.

“Come on, Victor, are you jealous of Levi?” I joked. “You said it yourself, jealousy is for insecure people with unfulfilling relationships.”

“I am not jealous, why would I be jealous?” He frowned. “Because Lemur was flirting with you, despite the wedding ring you have on your finger? Maybe I’ll have to buy you a bigger diamond, or a traffic cone. Do you think he will see that?”

“Why would Mom wear a traffic cone?” Owen giggled, again completely unaware of our argument. “That’s ridiculous.”

Victor scoffed as he took the bags full of groceries from the vendor, and I prepared to deliver a final blow.

“Ok, I will let you have this one.” I threw my hands up in defeat. “You are right.”

“You don’t need to tell me, I know I am.”

“It’s just like you said earlier.” I gave him a cocky grin. “I can’t help being this irresistible.”

He paused to look at me, right before unlocking our car.

“So, that’s how you are going to play this.”

“Well, it’s not like I can turn it off.” I continued. “Of course I will have men throwing themselves at me.”

“Fine.” He declared before getting in the vehicle.

“I mean, I did get Loveland’s Most Eligible Bachelor to marry me, that has to count for something.” I stuck my tongue out to him.

“Can I drive us home in peace or do you want to cause an accident?” He glared at me before starting the car.

“Can you acknowledge your jealousy is just as ridiculous as mine?” I glared back.

“Shut up.” He pressed the Start button.

Victor seemed to be incredibly tense the whole ride, so I decided to leave things as they were. It was pointless to discuss things that would never happen anyway, we were both loyal, I knew that. And talking only seemed to make things worse, so the best thing to do was to hope that cooking would distract him, and eventually the green eyed monster would leave him as well.

Sadly, that was not the case. After I helped him put all the food away, I found him flattening the steaks with a hammer, his blows so hard he almost punched a hole in one of them.

“Victor, you’re hurting the food.”

“Do you think Lawrence would do a better job?”

Even though I knew it would only upset him more, I had to laugh. Victor’s commitment to not mentioning Levi’s name was truly commendable.

“Why are you laughing? Is my distress amusing to you?”

“I have to admit it is a bit amusing.” I came closer, running my hands through his chest. “Come on, let’s end this.”

“There is nothing to end.” He stiffened.

“You know, I’m an idiot.”

“I agree.”

“So are you!” I playfully smacked him on the chest. “We love each other. Why waste time with this?” I wrapped my arms around his neck, prompting him to come down for a kiss. Victor, however, stood tall, unwilling to give in.

“Come on, let me make it better.” I purred.

“I need to get lunch ready.”

I wasted no time. I grabbed his shoulders and basically jumped up, knowing he would catch me so I wouldn’t hurt myself. I wasn’t wrong. His arms wrapped around my waist out of instinct.

“Are you trying to get yourself hurt?” He scolded.

I kissed him, my tongue grazing his lips. He hardly resisted, deepening the kiss as he placed me on top of the kitchen island, so his hands would be free to roam my body.

“Now, doesn’t it feel better?”

“Not really. I burned my tongue drinking my coffee so fast.” He was still trying to appear upset, but his tone told me otherwise.

“So I wouldn’t see what she wrote?”

“So you wouldn’t get upset. I don’t want you to ever feel insecure about other women. There is no need for that.” He gave me an earnest look.

“Same goes for other men. I’m yours.”

“I guess we both are idiots.” Victor reached behind my back, presenting me with the bouquet he bought.

“Aw, Mr. Lee, those are for me?” I smelled the beautiful red buttons.

“They were always meant for you, and you know it.” He complained as he slowly pecked the tip of my nose, moving to my mouth, and then my neck, making me shiver with pleasure.

The sound of our doorbell echoed through the apartment.

“Are you expecting anyone?” I gave him a curious look.

Without a word, Victor walked to the hall. I followed him.

“Mr. Victor Lee and Mrs. Andrea Lee?” I heard a man ask.

“Yes?”

“You have been served.” The man handed Victor two envelopes, turning to leave.

Victor closed the door with a stern look and went to the study to find a letter opener. I found him wide-eyed, reading the contents of the envelopes.

“Pamela is suing for Owen’s custody.”

“What?” I took one of the letters from Victor’s hands to read. “She said she wouldn’t interfere in the adoption.”

“And you believed her? It’s irrelevant, either way. She won’t get him.” Victor declared, narrowing his eyes at the piece of paper. “He’s our son.”

Sometimes, jealousy -- or in Pamela’s case, greed -- gets the best of us. It tells us that we don’t deserve something, and urges us to do the craziest things to secure them. Crazy like throwing an irrational fit, or like removing a child from a safe loving place. Either way, at the end of the day, we all fall prey to the green-eyed monster.

#mlqc fanfic #mldd victor #mlqc victor #love and producer #mister love queens choice #mister love dream date #Growing Pains - Series #growingtogether #victor x oc #jealousvictor!#mlqc li zeyan

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animatedminds · 4 years ago

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Pixar’s Soul: Review and Reaction

The first sentence I’ve always used to describe Pete Docter and Pixar’s Soul since watching it has nothing to do with the plot. It’s instead is a starstruck comment about the music: the movie begins with a cover of a Duke Ellington classic - Mercer Ellington’s “Things Ain’t What they Used to Be.” It ends with a jazz rendition of a classic from several decades later - but still quite a bit in our past - Curtis Mayfield’s soul classic “It’s Alright.” On a personal level, this would say way more about Soul that most other descriptions of it might to get me to watch it - were I not the kind of person who was absolutely intent on watching the movie day one regardless. Though I am myself a few generations after either of those artists were around, their music has been a part of my life since I was a kid and are essential on any playlist in my opinion. Curtis Mayfield’s music, especially, deserves all the love in the world, and hearing by surprise someone cover his work in a Disney movie made my entire day - and it would have, even if the film weren’t the meaningful ride it is.

But before we get into all that, lets also look at those songs. “Things Aren’t What They Used To Be” is played a la a teacher and a higher school band class: the students are learning and a bit difficult to listen to, while the music-loving teacher cringes at the front. But the choice of song tells us a lot. It’s a jazz standard: which means when it comes to jazz, it’s one of the essentials - a tune every band learns to play, and every jazz fan has heard before. The teacher is a jazzman - you can probably guess who - and the whole time he’s listening to the song you can hear him wanting to sit down and make it sound as perfectly as he hears it in his head. Remember that analogy. Heck, when you watch or rewatch the movie, remember the mindset Joe - because that’s who that teacher is, Joe Gardner, is in for that whole teaching scene in the first place: and remember how important the desire to make things perfect is to the greater story the movie is trying to tell.

“Things Aren’t The Way They Used To Be,” indeed. By the end, you have to wonder: isn’t that the point? Now the second song. “It’s All Right” is a smooth number for dancing to - not frenetic and wild dancing, but more a slow jam sort of vibe. BUt it’s the lyrics that are the most befitting the themes of the movie. Like several of Curtis Mayfield’s tunes “It’s All Right” is an ear worm of an R&B number that’s actually about being a peace with yourself. “You’ve got soul” - ha, I get it - “and everybody knows, that it’s all right.” Or, to quote instead my favorite verse of the song (I did say Mayfield was one of my favorites): “when you wake up early in the morning feeling sad like so many of us do, hum a little soul, make life your goal, and surely something’s gonna come to you.” This is before the spoilery part of the review, but they could not have picked a better song for the movie’s themes if they wrote it themselves.

Soul, after all, is ultimately a movie about how the things we do, the things we love, even the things that define us and should make us feel good in and of themselves, can become a shackle that prevents us from feeling the things that we adopt them to feel. Dreams - especially dreams deferred - can consume us rather than uplift us, and sometimes in pursuing them we may forget to live, and forget that others are living in this world and dreaming alongside us.

This, as you might be able to tell from the way I’ve described it, is a movie with a very strong, and most importantly very well related message that - as we’ve come to expect from Pixar’s output at this point - touches us in our jaded adult hearts. As a creative person with lofty dreams who has almost literally been where the protagonist is in this film - and as many in my generation also have gone through - it definitely feels like a film that was directed straight at the generation that first watched Toy Story as kids decades ago, and now feel somewhat unfulfilled as adults going into the world. Same as Inside Out (a movie specifically designed to make adults cry, in my opinion), the SparkShorts and arguably Onward (I definitely related to Bailey, some). So much like my review of Jingle Jangle, you have something of an idea where this review is going to go before the jump, but that’s okay. This movie did have ups and downs, but its just the kind of up Pixar is good at: they know they’re audience, and especially did for this gem. By the end, it can definitely make you feel as though you too can make it through, as long as you have a little Soul. However, it is not just the message, but the nuances and skill in which they relate that message (and they do come close to making decisions that could have ruined it, at times), which means it’s very difficult for me to put why this movie works into a review without SPOILERS. If you want to avoid SPOILERS, don’t hop over the pic and instead treat the above as your non-SPOILER review.

Soul is the story of one Joe Gardner, played by Jamie Foxx a brilliant early middle-aged pianist with lifelong dreams of becoming a jazz musician, who we first meet teaching part time band at a local high school. The inciting incident is an interesting choice: Joe gets a major offer - he can come on as a full time teacher, making his occupation a career! But Joe believes very much in the adage that “those who cannot do, teach” - in the sense that he wants to do. He cannot accept the position - over the advice of his mother - because that would mean giving up on his dream of being out there playing music for a living: a dream that has consumed him his entire life but which has given him nothing in return. Until now. While agonizing over the decision to take the position, Joe's life then gets a big twist: a former student of his, remembering him fondly years after they knew each other, has a hook for him to join the band of a famous jazz singer and saxophonist - played by Angela Basset (side note, here: jazz has long had a reputation for being something of a boys club, especially for certain instruments, and the choice to have the lead saxophonist and famous idol whose band Joe wants to join be a woman is a great choice that my entire jazz-loving and living family took note of). Joe is instantly elated - he rushes over and naturally aces the audition for the part in the band, and so is on cloud nine...

Until he dies. That’s when the plot really starts. Joe falls down a manhole like an astronomer in an aesop fable, and is now stuck on the slow escalator to The Great Beyond. Naturally, he’s not for that and tries to escape - pursued by overeager spiritual soul-accountant Terry - ending up in the Great Before instead, and leaving his body in a still-living coma (the implications that coma patients in general are people who are choosing not to die when they’re “supposed” to is something I’m sure the writers didn’t intend, so I’ll let it slide). There, Joe is pressganged into mentoring a pre-prepared soul for birth, helping them find their Spark for life - which Joe interprets as the one true purpose and dream they are meant to fulfill. Once he gets them their Spark, he will be able to steal a badge his mentee earns as fully fledged souls and . Luckily for his intended very morally suspect intent on spiritual larceny, he ends up with Soul #22 - and that’s #22 out of hundreds of billions - a soul who has simply never found a Spark despite having been in the Great Before for thousands of years. #22 doesn’t want to live, so she agrees to give him her patch when they’re done. But no mentor before has been able to inspire her (well, technically #22 is genderless, as she demonstrates in the story at Joe’s request, but she is voiced by Tina Fey), so how can Joe? When that proves to be too hard indeed, #22 instead decides to help Joe get back - mostly because she’s intrigued at why anyone would want to cling to life so badly - with the help of some mystics who astral project while in the Zone: where everyone goes when they’re fully immersed in what they do. This almost works, but at the last second everything goes awry: #22 gets mixed up with Joe when he returns, and so he doesn’t quite get back the way he wants to...

That’s enough plot summary for now. That’s all just the set-up anyway, for the choices in writing and concept that I’m about to talk about. As you might have been able to tell from that ominous last note, the middle chunk of Soul - almost right up until the climax, in fact - is actually a body-swap movie, a la Freaky Friday. #22 ends up in Joe’s body, so he has to get her to do the things he needs to get ready for his gig and get through the day while they wait for the mystic to bring a way to set everything right. And did I mention he’s in the body of a cat? Having been following the movie, this wasn’t entirely a surprise, but it was still not something I was entirely ready for coming in. I tend to shy away from that kind of story on a personal level, as body-swap narratives are nearly predominantly based on cringe moments and awkward misconceptions - and that sort of thing usually tends to make me want to leave the scene in question and get a cup of water until after the awkwardness passes. However, this isn’t really part of the review in the sense that I perceive that the movie being in that genre is a flaw - because ultimately that’s just an aspect of my personal taste. Rather, I use it to show just how strong a movie Soul was and how well its narrative choices resonated with its themes that ultimately while it did indeed partake in your typical body-swap narrative cringe moments - “look, the [redacted] in Joe’s body just ran into his boss / mom!” / “look, the [redacted] is having a bizarre conversation with Joe’s friends!” / etc - those moments actually add to the narrative rather than take you out of it. Joe as “friends,” as exemplified by the barber he goes to to get his hair ready for the gig when it inevitably gets ruined in a bout of hijinks (the barber being that extremely well-designed bearded character the internet went wild over). He goes to that barber all the time, talks with him constantly, and believes he knows him well. But it turns out that Joe’s so wrapped up in his wants and desires that he’s never even asked him about his life - he just assumed that the barber was like him, born to do that one thing he was good at. It takes #22′s innocent, slightly off-kilter and occasional philosophical questions about what the heck all this “life” stuff is about for Joe to learn that this person in his life didn’t even want to be where he ended up initially, he ended up there because that’s the way his life turned, but he loves it because it’s life and he appreciates the world he’s come to create around himself. Likewise, he runs into his mom, but while Joe has come to expect his mother to be dismissive of him and his dreams, it takes an accident with #22 for him to realize that he’s been so caught up in his desires and her in her preconceptions that neither of them have ever had a real talk about their relationship, nor given a chance to grow in each other’s eyes. You might notice a trend. One of Joe’s students - a brilliant trombonist - comes to tell him she’s quitting band, but she doesn’t really. She’s just insecure because the other students make fun of her. Joe knows this already - it’s become commonplace to him - so the doesn’t feel the need to do anything about it and instead focuses on his own needs. But #22 decides to talk to her on a whim, and this push and pull of insecurity but joy in what one is good at fascinates her, while it bores Joe. While - like any other New Yorker - public transit is a chore to Joe, the melting pot of people and music draws #22 in: best evidenced by the moment where Joe and #22 meet another great musician playing for tips in the subway. Joe, despite being capable of relating as a musician, just walks past him after appreciating the sound for a sec, while #22, entranced by the things people do, leaves something for him. The world is drab and lacking in vibrancy from Joe’s point of view, as evidenced by the very accurate grimy look of the high school he work at - but from #22′s seemingly jaded eyes seeing it for the first time, it’s full of wonder.

This actually creates an interesting character contrast on top of the one we already know: Joe is the idealist, and #22 is the cynic... right? Well, it turns out Joe doesn’t have much of an appreciation for the world around him - not intentionally, but still to a very strong degree - whereas #22 simply hasn’t had the chance to experience life yet and thus never knew what it was that made people want to be part of it. Life itself becomes her Spark, though neither of them realize it at the time. Lets just get the aesop out of the way now. Your dream is not your life: that’s what Soul wants to say. Things that compel you as a person may consume you, even embitter you, and prevent you from seeing the world around you for what it is. But that doesn’t make dreams a bad thing: people everywhere find that Spark from the dreams to keep moving forward - it’s just that it shouldn’t preclude living, nor should living preclude your dreams. Life is a delicate balance, and man is this movie serving up some complicated life lessons here. I immediately took this as a far more mature take on the message The Princess and the Frog stumbled somewhat through years ago (man, I’m turning out to be pretty hard on that movie in this blog). My biggest issue with PATF is that it tells us that Tiana should be less intent on her dream and find love instead, but doesn’t show us. It’s just characters chiding her for not settling down until the plot ultimately pushes a man in front of her and she realizes she should’ve been finding one all along. That’s a very harsh way of putting it, but it condenses what I’m trying to say: ultimately PATF pushes Tiana to realizations she doesn’t seem to need, whereas Soul has a similar message about life and does so by focusing on character development, about how the protagonist doesn’t have as firm a handle on his life as he thought, and thus brings us a take on the lesson that’s far less cut and dry.

If you’re a fan of The Incredibles, the comparison to Mr. Incredible is fairly easy. Joe, though well meaning and decent overall, is a very self-centered person who happens to be so for very sympathetic and relatable reasons. He just wants to do the thing he feels he was born to. He'll do anything to get back to life and do that thing, even for a single night. He’s consumed by this desire so much that he's oblivious to the people around him, unable to connect to the people he loves, and unable to find joy in anything but his dream. And man, as a young writer who knows in their heart of hearts they can do great things and feels pain at the idea of not doing so, that hits different let me tell you.

The lessons Joe learns from #22 even stick. It turns out that part of what caused Joe’s dream to fail all those time was because of that lack of connection with life. He never presented himself in a way that got people to take notice of him, he never pushed for that position he wanted even though people said no, he never made himself and his life so vibrant that he glowed in the eyes of others (and again, that hits different). That’s maybe the most simplistic message of the bunch, but as a person in the creative field it’s true that sometimes being the smartest person in the room isn’t enough: it’s making himself shine that ultimately clinches Joe the gig even after he almost lost it thanks to the day’s shenanigans.

But in the end, it doesn’t feel like he thought he would.

Remember when I said there are parts where the movie comes perilously close to kiboshing its message? That moment is one, it’s the one. Not that that moment is bad - far from it, it’s the best moment in the entire movie (and you can fight me on that if you want to). It’s because it’s the crossroads, the pin, the core of the entire film: depending on the choice they made after that point, that moment could have either been the best moment in the entire movie, or the moment that toppled everything.

The realization of Joe’s dream doesn’t feel like the explosion of confetti and catharsis that he expected. It was just another moment of his life, a great one, but it’s still just part of his life. So what does Joe do? Does he panic? Does he keep going until it feels good? Does he - as he would in a lesser movie trying to give a cookie cutter aesop - immediately quit and realize he should’ve been teaching all along? No, he does none of those things. He absorbs the moment. He realizes that at the end of the dream you’re still just living life, and that you have to appreciate that. Joe isn’t wrong for pursuit of his dream. He’s not wrong for believing that hopes and dreams make life so much more worthwhile. He’s wrong in thinking that those dreams are all that define us, and that their realization is all that makes people themselves worthwhile at all.

And in the end - though I may be getting a bit too referential for this - the unexamined life is just so much less fulfilling than the alternative.

And all that a message and a half! It hits different. It’s mature as all heck. It’s something people my age (especially in my generation), twice my age, half my age never learn. It’s a callsign that sometimes Pixar is still make movies for the people who were kids way back when Toy Story was released, and are now insecure adults wondering why the world isn’t as wonderful as they saw on the screen. It’s brilliant. I said before that Joe interprets the “Spark” to be one’s purpose in life. The one thing that makes them who they are, that they are on the planet to do. He is wrong, absolutely and utterly. And in that misconception, when #22 finally does get their Spark just from being on Earth and seeing what its life, he accuses them of leeching self-actualization over his own personal ambitions, fully believing that they didn’t find a “purpose" on her own, but just copied his. But the Spark, as it turns out, is just the joy of living, the thing that makes people want to live. It can come from a dream, or just from watching the beauty of the sun set over a leaf drifting in the wind. Only in understanding this can Joe finally understand what he’s been missing in life, only then can he reconcile with #22 and help her finally be born, only then can he walk into the world and know how he’s going to live it.

We never find out what Joe decides, whether he goes back to teaching, or continues with the band. The choice is open to him, but we never find out which one he takes - another choice that keeps the aesop from falling apart. The point of all of that wasn’t that Joe has to do one thing or another to be happy, it was that Joe needs to be happy and secure in himself before he chooses what his life should be. Either of those could make him happy. Neither of those could. But now he’s in a much better place to see it, and do what he can.

We also never find out what #22 is like when she (or he, etc) is born. The two of them never meet past the point where #22 goes to Earth. Their time together has passed, and #22′s life is now their own. And that’s a great choice either. I’ve seen the occasional person feel that the choice made in this paragraph or noted in the previous one made the story confusing, but they’re ultimately what make the story what it is. The answer isn’t the necessity of resolution, its the reaffirmation of the journey. It reminds me somewhat of Wreck-It Ralph (an example of the main Disney Studio delivering a complex aesop, rather Pixar delivering them all), where being a villain wasn’t Ralph’s problem - it was that he wasn’t happy doing the thing he loved. You have to live, from living you will learn, and from learning you will do. The sheer incredible execution of this message (as you may have guessed, it’s a fairly difficult one to relay adequately in a film narrative, and the movie goes non-traditional in conclusion to maintain it) would have made this film a recommend for me even if it wasn't also beautifully animated, very well acted, funny (there’s a Knicks joke that floored me), heartwarming and relatable. But it’s also all of those things, so I have to recommend it twice as much. It is, regrettably, another movie with a black lead where the lead spends most of it transfigured into a form that’s not a black person (a soul, and then a cat), and I’ve already seen some grumbling that instead for much of it a character explicitly coded as a white woman is in his body instead, but I perceive that as an issue that’s endemic to the industry than a fault in this movie specifically. Everyone does that, but this is the only movie I’ve seen where doing that is an essential part of how the narrative develops the characters (Joe has to not be himself in order to understand his life from an outside perspective, a la Scrooge as a ghost watching his own history), and so I don’t scorn the movie for it. I, however, would very much like Hollywood to start doing that less, and - hey - as a prospective writer that’s one of those things I plan to do my part to combat. This movie, however, gets a pass in my book in ways that the general usage of this concept does not. In short, you should see it. If you get the chance to see it right now, you should take it to feel good at the end of this incredibly insane year. If you don’t want to have to sign up for Disney+ to see it now, I get you and understand, but if you get a chance to see it later do not pass it up. It’s one of the few movies I’ve watched that are an instant buy when it becomes available on digital - and the last time a movie did that for me was BlacKKKlansman. Whatever you choose to do, do it well. Keep the spirit alive, always keep searching for the real you - because it’s not always easy to find, but it’s worth looking for - and always remember that you could always have a little soul.

#Soul #film review #Disney Pixar #Pixar #Pete Docter #Jamie Foxx #Tina Fey #the afterlife #self actualization #jazz #curtis mayfield #duke ellington #animated film #animation review #animated minds for animated times #Joe Gardner #22 #recommended

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kim-lexie · 4 years ago

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record of youth.

seriously when i say i was awaiting this drama, i was WAITING. park bogum’s dramas are always stellar and next level. he knows how to pick them, so as soon as i knew bogummy was on the project you best believe i was counting down the days to the release. they got an incredible cast and this drama did not disappoint. and now that it is over i will miss these characters that i have found myself attached to over these past few weeks. i would 10 out of 10 recommend this gem.

plot synopsis.

this drama is a record of the moments between a group of people in their 20s. (get it?! basically a record of their youth in their 20s) jeong-ha an aspiring makeup artist with a day-job as a makeup assistant and a youtuber street artist at night. hye-jun an model/aspiring actor, who is deciding what to do with his little time before enlistment. and hae-hyo as hye-jun’s best friend also in the same career field. with this as our backdrop it follows jeong-ha a fan of hye-jun as they meet and grow in their relationship.

thoughts. *spoilers ahead*

i must say that i loved the premise of this one. it was just unique that i was able to see some new sides to this aspiring actor dimension as well as see the side of the makeup industry. but also familiar with the aspects of the family and wanting to do what is best for those around you.

i thoroughly loved seeing how hye-jun’s family grow into their new role as he became more famous to see that it was not going to go to their heads. his family, and eventually his brother came to find this answer after the shine of it went away. as they stayed in their house, and even hye-jun wanting to do more where he had been planted was beautiful and made me love his character more.

i cannot say how much i loved hye-jun’s mother. she was the sweetest most precious bean. keeping her husband honest. supporting both of her sons, and encouraging her father-in-law’s new dream. all while working for a well-off family and slaying it. what a queen. we stan. i think that if jeong-ha and her had met at that family dinner (they spent episodes try to plan) it would have been a different story. they would have been the best of friends. because they are both encouraging people with their own dreams to see their people succeed in life.

i loved the grandfather’s role in all of this. from being quite and timid because of unfulfilled dreams. and hye-jun allowed him to dream and realized that he was not finished yet. to having him go to modeling classes, and get head shots, to winning awards for his modeling after a few years. truly inspiring. and i loved that completed character arc, because we all live for those great shiny stories.

loved his father’s redemption from being critical and cynical and slapping hye-jun at one point to eventually being his father’s manager, to apologizing to his son. yes, yes. and same with his brother, writing malicious comments back saying only i can be rude to my brother and no one else, to asking for forgiveness.

it was interesting to have the juxtaposition of hye-jun’s family with hae-hyo’s family because the dynamics were so different. and we saw how the two mother’s approached their sons very differently. and hae-hyo’s mother saddened me throughout the drama because of her lack of trust in her son. and when hae-hyo came to find the truth behind his career it devastated him.

i wish we had seen more of jeong-ha’s family because the relationship with her mother was so drawn and weary i understand why there was not a ton in it. but her father seemed so nice and encouraging of her, i would have loved to seen him more. as well as getting the families together in general. we never got to see jeong-ha meet his mother. and i am so sooooo sour about that. because we all know they would have been the best of friends.

i feel like jeong-ha’s family explains a lot about her approach to things from her living alone and owning a house of her own at a young age. to the way she wanted to hold on to the friendship with hye-jun. to her ending their relationship because she wanted to not be a burden on him. it kind of all fits. and i wish we had more development from her. she constantly mentions that she loves living unpredictably now because hye-jun literally turned her life upside down and made her grow, which she did grow alongside him. but still she was so dead set on not burdening or sharing how she honestly felt that she didn’t allow herself to fully fall in love. but then again it also speaks to what is love to you? is it never depending on your person and doing it all alone because that is all you’ve known, or is is understanding that you both will have hardships and need to be honest with each other to help one another get through those moments in life...unfortunately she did not see it to be the latter.

the siblings here took on an important role in this drama. from hae-hyo’s sister hae-na dating his best dude jin-woo, to gyeong-jun taking on new roles and the family realized hye-jun’s importance. they both came to be extremely important in the family relations and dynamics changing. and i must add that i wish we saw more of the relationship between hae-na and jin-woo because they were cute, and i liked them. also while i’m on my soap box i must say that at the end i was kind of wanting min-jae and gyeong-jun to end up together, because they are seriously opposites and they would make a quirky pairing.

their workplaces were interesting, and i must say that i could have done without all the focus on tae-su, the horrible ex-agent of hye-jun, and his artist do-ha. like we get it you don’t want him to be successful because he dumped you. also could have done with out the focus on the journalist for the tabloid plot like okay we get it you’re out to get our man. you need to get a life. and if we removed these nonsense plots that did not add too much to the overall story of our characters we could have gotten so much more, i.e. a FAMILY DINNER. sorry really just sour about this.

their relationship was soooo cute. i loved how it developed from her being like ‘nah boo you got it wrong i’m not a fan of you’ to finally owning up and being like ‘yeah, honey you’re the one’ to being like ‘i want to stay friends, and not ruin this beautiful thing’ to hye-jun confessing being like ‘you’re my boo’ to them finally together. it was great, i loved it. wish i didn’t get second male lead syndrome so early on, because you could see that hae-hyo liked her too because she was honest and raw compared to all the people around him, kind of like how hye-jun was with him.

but yeah it was a great ride, and i freaking knew the writers would screw over the beautiful story i had in my head and have them break up because their timing was off. but in reality i think it would have been fine. like seriously girl, he is enlisting you will be a better person in 2 years no need to fret saying, it’s not our time i want to be a better person because you’re already a better person. so the double standard she put up was there, because our boo was a nobody when she met him. but you know with that open ended ending i totally say they got back together, had a good ole family dinner, everyone got along great and they lived happily ever after. i did love how they added the same scene again at the closing because he was saying goodbye to us for the time period because he was a part of our ‘record of youth’ just as we were in his.

i must say i kind of liked the time jumps that this drama stacked up. like it was interesting to see the ending the episode prior, then get to see the events from another’s perspective that led to the prior event. kind of liked it in the end. at the start i was really confused, but i caught on eventually. also wish we got more of a time jump into the future with them together, but you can’t always get what you want.

it is also important to mention how much i loved all the guest appearances. like i know that isn’t that important for our characters, but seriously it was uplifting to see the familiar faces every so often in this drama. from park seo-joon, to seo hyun-jin and lee sung-kyung. i thoroughly enjoyed it. also loved seeing the random tidbit of fake dramas that hye-jun was in, like boo i would definitely watch those...

the ost.

‘go’ by my boo seungkwan. we stan because this is literally a gem and i play this all day every day. it’s encouraging and makes me want to smile and jump around.

‘shine on you’ by whee in. this one delivers all the feels from the precious good moments to the tearful moments.

‘what if’ by kim jae hwan. THIS ONE. I LOVE IT. this man’s vocals are stunning, and i loved this one. it was beautifully utilized in the drama to express the special moments that they were having. and made me nostalgic for the past moments they had because they did not realize all they had. and makes you want to treasure the now you’re living in.

‘just you’ by j rabbit. they have such sweet vocals and i loved this dreamy track.

now don’t get me wrong these songs were great, however i would have LOVED a park bo-gum on a track. like seriously. like for real, the voice of an angel would have made a lovely addition.

anyways, i really loved this drama and i tried my best to be cohesive about my thoughts but i’m writing this late the day it ended so i’m still little emotional that it is over. and i shall patiently await for my park bo-gum to come back from enlistment and i shall watch all his dramas once again.

i will also post my weekly play-by-play because i knew i would have a lot of feelings and thoughts to short through with this one. so if you want you can check it out here.

#record of youth #tvN #korean drama #drama #review #2020 #park bo gum #bo gummy #sa hye jun #park so dam #ahn jeong ha #byeon woo seok #won hae hyo #kwon soo hyun #kim jin woo

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akaluan · 5 years ago

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Erich/Kisuke/Alexis: Soulmate AU + Character in Peril Part 4

He sleeps poorly that night.

It’s strange to think that he’s already grown accustomed to his soulmate’s nightly visits, but somehow he has. Two nights of healing rest, a third interrupted visit, and now a part of him is missing the rest and reassurance even though it’s only been a single night.

Degurechaff politely says nothing as he hauls himself from his bedroll and gets dressed, and for her sake — for the sake of all his men — he boxes up his emotions and sets them aside for later.

They can’t afford for him to be off his game.

***

They work together like a well-oiled team.

He’s always known that Degurechaff was clever-sharp-capable, but he’s never quite appreciated the extent of it until it’s him and her against the world. Without the other officers in the way, their meetings are short, to the point, and decisive. Between them it almost feels like they can… perhaps not win, but at least survive until help arrives.

(Or until the Empire falls.)

(He tries not to consider that outcome.)

***

Degurechaff knows far more about guerrilla warfare than Erich knows what to do with.

They’re not quite there yet — their force is too large and they’re unwilling to divide into small, self-contained units — but… they start taking measures as they go. Caches of supplies tucked into places their enemy probably won’t find. Scouting focused on the lay of the land and plotting escape routes. Hit and run tactics in an attempt to delay and disrupt their enemy. A base camp hidden away where their wounded can recover in relative safety.

Their raids go off better than they should, mysteriously smooth in a way that indicates his soulmate hasn’t left the area. No alarms are sounded, no warnings go out, nothing happens except for the usual mishaps and trouble; some wounded, a rare few dead, a general lack of useful information to steal, the standard issues of raiding.

His soulmate still doesn’t visit, keeping his distance in a way that makes Erich itch. He wants—

But he shouldn’t, and he knows it.

His soulmate is still a Reaper, still a danger to him and his wife and all the people relying on him, Quincy and soldier alike.

But there are no more murdered camps that he comes across, no more indication that the Reaper is taking things into his own hands beyond smoothing their way, and he…

He doesn’t know what to do with that.

His sleep is restless and unfulfilling.

***

Erich slips away from his men as they all return from another raid, leaving Degurechaff in charge without qualm. She’s shown herself more than competent at handling their combined unit without him around, so… it’s no big deal to leave her to it.

He trusts her.

(And he’s so, so tired…)

He ducks into his tent with a sigh and seats himself on his bedroll, burying his head in his hands. He’s tired and sweaty and disheveled, his muscles ache and his feet are sore and he wants to go home but there’s no end in sight, there hasn’t been for years. He’s tired of the killing and the regretful souls and the Hollows that arise from them. He’s tired of sleeping alone and tired of hard beds and terrible food and—

Erich takes a deep breath. Lets his frustrations crowd his mind. Breathes out and lets them go.

(It’s not permanent, it’s never permanent, but…)

(It’s the only thing he can do.)

He straightens. Unbuttons his cuffs and brushes a hand over each of his soulmarks. Alexis is still fierce-determined-focused alongside her usual concern-love-trust and the sense of her feels… closer. She’s almost certainly coming to find him, he decides, and that’s definitely something he should inform Degurechaff of before it becomes an unwelcome surprise.

(He’ll tell her in the morning.)

(She doesn’t deserve to be blindsided.)

The Reaper is also the same reassurance-trust-loyalty as before, but the sense of depression and defeat has… tapered off. It’s still there, but now it’s tempered by patience and… he’s not sure how to take that.

Erich reaches over and pulls his bag closer, digging through it for a change of clothing that isn’t a mess. They really do need to head back to their base camp for supplies and cleaner clothing. Maybe he’ll suggest that to Degurechaff in the morning as well.

The strange hat the Reaper wore tumbles out of his pack as he digs, crumpled and a bit dirtied but otherwise fine. He pauses. Stares at it. Slowly picks it up, running the wide brim through his fingers—

“Your soulmate has terrible taste in clothing, sir, did I ever mention that?” Degurechaff asks as she enters his — their — tent and spies the hat in his hands.

He snorts, the corners of his mouth lifting involuntarily at her words. “You didn’t, but I had gotten the impression off of you, yes.”

Degurechaff comes to a stop a short distance away, hands clasped behind her back and an unreadable look in her pale eyes. Her gaze sweeps over him and he straightens at the assessing stare, wondering at the cause. He’s been professional, he’s been focused, hasn’t allowed himself to wander or leave without her or another soldier except here in the heart of their camp.

So why is she—

“He’s still nearby,” she says without preamble, then sighs through her nose when Erich nods once. “Call for him.”

“I— pardon?” Erich blinks, hands faltering in their motions. He wonders if he heard her wrong, if he’s maybe asleep, if she’s been somehow influenced by the Reaper—

“While I appreciate that he’s stepped back and given you room, you are still affected by his presence and who he is,” Degurechaff begins to explain. “Call him in so that we can get this conversation over before the uncertainty on both of your sides begins to fester. The lack of sleep hasn’t affected you poorly yet, but it will soon enough.”

He hesitates. Watches. Waits for Degurechaff to take her words back, to tell him she’s joking, to… to something that will make sense of her words.

(She didn’t want the Reaper around and now she does…?)

But she doesn’t say anything, just watches him in return, one eyebrow slowly inching up as the silence stretches between them.

He gives in first.

(Of course he does.)

(She’s telling him to do something he wants to do but doesn’t dare.)

(Why would he refuse?)

There’s a satisfied glint in her eyes as Erich sets the Reaper’s hat aside and settles a hand on the man’s mark. He breathes in. Out. Centers himself and tucks away the emotions he doesn’t need. Focuses on need-want you here-please and pushes it down the mark, tries to make it as clear as possible, tries to ignore the glimmer of hope that maybe everything will be better, maybe he was wrong, maybe-maybe-maybe—

“Maa, I didn’t expect such a welcome!” the man announces as he appears in the center of the tent as if by magic.

Erich starts, yanked from his focus by the words. He looks up, feeling suddenly tiny-helpless-insignificant, feels his heart stutter and his breath catch and his mouth dry because no, he wasn’t wrong, that’s a Reaper and he’s currently looming and—

“Sit your ass down,” Degurechaff orders gruffly, and the words manage to penetrate his rising panic because— because—

When did she have time to learn Akitsugo?

(The Akitsushima Dominion hasn’t been important for most of her career.)

(So why would she take the time to learn it?)

It’s the incongruity — the clean diction and easy grasp of a complex language so unlike their own — that gives his mind something else to focus on. Even as the Reaper sends a surprised look Degurechaff’s way and then sits as ordered, Erich’s attention is on Degurechaff instead of him. He arches an eyebrow in question and she… hesitates?

“Later, sir,” Degurechaff answers in their native language.

Erich accepts that answer with a small nod, content to let it be, then turns his attention reluctantly back to the Reaper. Now that the man isn’t looming, his presence isn’t quite so overwhelming. He still can’t sense much of anything from the man’s presence, but there is something there.

(He breathes out.)

(In.)

(Tastes the blood-death-chill of a Reaper and wants to hide—)

“Was there a reason you wanted me here, or was it just to admire me?” the man asks with a smirk, leaning towards Erich as he does. “I’m certainly willing to be admired—”

“Why are you here,” Degurechaff interrupts before he can complete his sentence. The look she levels on the Reaper is one that Erich’s only seen her level on under-performing soldiers, and it makes him tense, makes him remember the moment she hurled a cadet from the third floor and threatened to carve the rules into his skull—

“Maa, maa, my soulmate called out to me! Why else would I be here?”

Breath hisses through Degurechaff’s lips and she reaches up to adjust her cap. “You know what I mean.”

The Reaper hums and rubs at his chin, expression mischievous. “I didn’t know it was illegal to leave my country in order to find my soulmate.”

“You’re a soul. I saw you. Why are you here?” Erich says before Degurechaff can dig herself deeper, earning himself two grimaces for his butchery of the language.

“Sir… your accent is…” Degurechaff trails off with an awkward grimace, clearly trying to figure out how to politely tell him that he speaks like the worst sort of foreigner she’s ever heard.

“Being underestimated has its advantages,” Erich says with a touch of amusement. “People say all sorts of things when they don’t think you can understand them.”

(That, and it’s been years since he had a chance to practice.)

(He’s… a bit more out of practice than he expected.)

She gives him a flat, unimpressed look, but it’s clear she understands both his spoken and unspoken answer. “Just tell me if he says something you can’t catch, sir,” she says at last, then turns back to the Reaper and scowls at him. “Answer the question.”

The Reaper laughs awkwardly and leans back, rubbing at the back of his head. “Maa, can’t a guy just want to meet his soulmate?” He twitches at the way Degurechaff’s expression turns colder and raises his hands in a placating gesture. “Uh… would you believe I was bored?”

“Sir…”

Erich sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I know.”

They’re getting nowhere, both of them dancing around the truth. The Reaper hasn’t even acknowledged that he is a soul, and Erich doesn’t want to indicate that he knows the man is because there’s no reason he should know. Quincy know about Reapers, but the average human doesn’t.

(They can’t build a relationship on lies.)

(He knows this, and yet…)

Degurechaff looks between them, her gaze sharp-cold-calculating, and Erich feels his stomach knot. She knows the history even if she doesn’t know what the Reaper is, and she knows his reaction to it. That she hasn’t called him out for being a coward is a miracle in and of itself, evidence that she respects him more than he ever expected.

A part of him… doesn’t want to let her down.

(Foolish.)

(Why does he care so much?)

(When did he stop feeling terror at the very thought of her?)

Erich grimaces and straightens up, setting the man’s hat aside and tugging his cuffs back in place. “Degurechaff, if you could translate for me?” He’s not willing to risk fumbling his words or speaking something wrong. Not now. Not when everything relies on clear communication. Her nod is all he needs, and he tilts his chin as he gathers his thoughts.

“I know what you are,” he starts, staring at the Reaper with narrowed eyes. “I know what you are and what your people have done to mine, Shinigami,” he hisses, deliberately using the Akitsugo word for Reapers. “I have no interest in placing my life in the hands of one who will end it without hesitation.”

The Reaper startles at the word, attention darting from Degurechaff to Erich and back, listening to her translate and growing more thoughtful as she does. Erich can almost see it as the man pieces it all together, can see the understanding grow, and—

Genius, the plum tree across his right side promises.

He’s not exactly handed the man a complex problem but… the understanding sparks faster than he’d like. It sends a chill down his spine and he can’t force himself to remain in place, sends a glance Degurechaff’s way, doesn’t know what she reads from his expression but she moves, stands between them and he—

Leaves.

#soulmate au #erich von rerugen #Urahara Kisuke #tanya von degurechaff

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optimiist · 4 years ago

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𝚒’𝚍 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚢𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 ; that there is APRIL RIGGS , notorious for being ( deceitful ) and ( superficial ) , but there are times when she can be ( charismatic ) and ( strategic ) . i've heard that she could pass as a MEGAN FOX doppelganger , but i don't see it . the ( thirty-five ) year - old cis woman has been in town for ( two weeks / majority of her life ) and they are a ( socialite ) by day and murder suspect by night . they tend to spark images of swarovski crystal champagne flutes raised in the air , a 14 carat diamond ring left on the bedside table , a singed undergrad diploma , a stranger in the mirror , a stadium full of empty applause , the lethal combination of a stepford wife and stifler’s mom . you’ll know when they walk by because they always seem to be blasting feeling good by NINA SIMONE . it truly explains why they're known as THE TROPHY .

to know:

UPDATE: her full bio is here. gives more important insight into the relationship she has/had with her mother.

triggers: neglect, brief mention of statutory rape

i got very ‘poetic’ in the ‘a little further’ portion of the app and described her as a trophy in my first bullet point… so there you have it! you see, no matter what she did, she was always only praised for her appearance. just a trophy!!

she was born (in taunwick) to a very successful politician and her trophy husband. therefore, she spent much of her time alone as her mother was busy campaigning or throwing galas while her father, her mother’s trophy husband, went along for the ride.

there were very few times they spent any ‘quality time’ together – picture what i think was the first scene (one of!) in mommie dearest where joan crawford is turning her daughter’s birthday into a photo op. that was pretty much their definition of quality family time. it could be successfully argued that april’s mother figures all came in the form of nannies.

it could also be successfully argued that, unlike lionel, april is part of the daddy issues™ club. as will be very evident afhdliuwdsjn

probably also part of the mommy issues™ club aflhskd

mother riggs probs would go off about wire hangers but... u kno... not to the mommie dearest point...

what should be taken away rn is that she was literally raised to be shallow fhlakjds

she began an entitlement act rather young - there were only two people who saw through it, one of which will be sent in as a wc and the other… being harley!! bc gotta get april connected to the murders somehow!! gotta give her a reason to stay in taunwick too but!! that’s a problem for a future bullet.

there are those annoying kids who refuse to share their toys and all. and they usually grow out of it. but april… did not. elementary? demon child. junior high? demon preteen. high-school? demon teenager.

now!! on the topic of high-school!! if her age is any indication, she is not part of the class of 2000 - if i have my math right (possibly don’t, i once legit studied for a math exam and wound up still only getting a 34), she was part of the class of 2003. that being said, one year of hers did overlap with everyone else’s - she knew chastity as an acquaintance at best, although she still recognized harley as a friend!! good for her!!

that being said, chastity’s murder….. didn’t have much of an effect on her…. ya it’s v tragic….. but it’s been a week guys :\

her alibi: she was in the woods with someone…….. when pressured to say with who bc animals and trees can’t confirm that…… she was ashamed to say it was someone on the lacrosse team. she usually aimed higher :\

anyway, they all graduated and it was HER TIME TO SHINE!! it was HER TIME to USURP THE THRONE and become THAT BITCH of the school!! probably had .3 real friends, what with the exception of the one wc i plan to send in!! that... was inspired by “jenny” by studio killers… we can’t wait to send it.

did everything she perceived as the it girl stuff, what from joining those cool teams to being crowned her own prom queen to……………. sleeping with teachers. 1) alexa play “daddy issues” by the neighbourhood, 2) fire them.

fun fact tho!! she got into a hella good school. as in the ivy that is columbia. by what was….. partially her own merit…… partially her mother giving a very generous donation. have to make the family look PERFECT!!

she received an art history degree on what was….. partially her own merit…… partially sleeping with professors (see two bullets above.)but... graduation came… and what do you do with an art history degree from an ivy…

you marry rich!!!!!!!

in the perfect parallel that she did not even recognize as a parallel because she’s big dumb, she found a marginally older politician (....it’s gonna be a wc so it’s gonna depend on the player but it’s gonna be 50+ hfdlsjak wld make it older but there j aren’t enough resources!!) and was like *martha (...virginia woolf?) vc* “yes, yes. [he] will do.” *end vc*

in spite of having become marginally more introspective than she was in high-school… she still doesn’t recognize her daddy issues :\

they got married. in spite of it being beautiful and expensive and gaudy, she really didn’t feel anything?? was lowkey GLAD her parents weren’t there (and not in the angsty ‘they never show up to anything anyway :\’ way, in the ‘this is literally wasting everyone’s time’ way). their marriage started and continued as a very unfulfilling one. he, in perfect politician style, began having affairs exactly as she, in perfect april style, began having affairs. while they never directly spoke of them, they knew the other was involved with other people.

why april didn’t divorce him is an excellent question. is it out of a certain selflessness, not wanting to do any damage to his career?? is it out of selfishness, not wanting to lose that sugar daddy?? a little bit of both. probably more the latter tho!!

anyway!! her father finally divorced her mother and she was like “i’m…. gonna say i’m gonna go be a good daughter…. go comfort my mother in this trying time….. but jk i j wanna get away from my husband lmao”

again, barely knows her mother. learned various different languages so she could have fair conversations with the foreign nannies.

but….. he has a reputation to keep up!! and his wife straight-up disappearing and leaving him would be 100x worse than a divorce…. so here he comes!! to save the day!! and his reputation!!

as you can imagine, between her husband figuring out her real motive + her…. barely liking her mother, she would be inclined to return to nyc… but that’s where harley’s murder will come in!! the perfect crime!! literally!!

TL;DR:

a former It Girl™ with daddy issues, mommy issues, and a fear of commitment.

CONNECTION IDEAS:

**open to any gender unless otherwise specified

her husband (m): WILL BE BEING SENT INTO THE MAIN.

that connection based off of “jenny” (f/nb): WILL BE BEING SENT INTO THE MAIN.

various affairs: gotta have those if she’s resigned to a new life… still with her husband :\

‘friends’ from the class of 2002-2005: i think that’s the right range for when she would’ve been THAT BITCH in the high-school?? but ya!! ppl chillin w her for the clout and she was like “this is validating”

enemies from the class of 2002-2005: again, i THINK that’s the right range?? but wow. ppl she didn’t even TRY to be nice to. or ppl who j straight-up hated her. there were plenty of reasons!!

hookups / ‘dates’ from the class of 2002-2005: again with the math?? But ya!! more inclined to ‘date’ those cool folks, but apparently didn’t discriminate with her hookups if her alibi is any clue.

neighbors: up in the hills chillin right next to a very watered down political joan crawford, her trophy husband who yeet’d out of existence, and eventually her very shallow daughter and said shallow daughter’s husband who’s probs closer in age to said very watered down political joan crawford. what could go wrong!!

acquaintances of any sort from the class of 2000: gotta get them skels!!

more to come!!

FURTHER:

for a bit of a better idea:

pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/idkimnewwastaken/april/

playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1416e2ijuY3viSnzi6HjPz?si=sQmXEc5DQlSKbT2t7XZYeQ

musing tag: https://optimiist.tumblr.com/tagged/april-%7C-musings.

mini stats (to be later extended): optimiist.tumblr.com/as (also again with the font) (and notice the irony i have in my url when combining april and lionel!!)

#april !#april | intro.#taun.intro #UPDATE: same things lionel's intro tags say fhalaiedjskn

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tellywoodtrash · 5 years ago

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What is HAPPENING on Sanjeevani, girl?! I saw some clips on my Insta and it had a wild!Gaurav Chopra?! A nervous wreck masquerading as Dr Ishani?? And she's MARRIED to GChops?! Ded!Dr Shashank?? Mysterious son and Dr Anjali in Germany??? What.

Hiiiiiiiiii friend! 😘😘😘

Loooooooong time! How have you beeeeeeeen?! 🤗🤗🤗

Lmao I can’t even beginnnnnnn to describe the clusterfuck that has been Sanjivani since like…. October, but lemme try and break it down in bullet points (if you know all of this already, just skip down to the “three years later” bit!):

Sid who was flirting it up and sexy dancing at a wedding with Ishani till 8 pm, suddenly at 8:01 pm remembers that he has a dead fiancee in his past (plus najaayaz issues) and suddenly starts calling himself a panauti, properly balls-to-the-wall believing in the phenomenon (y’know, as educated, scientifically-minded surgical residents/general medical wunderkinds tend to do! blaming things like their mother’s premarital pregnancy and an older family members’ developmental disorder on themselves!) and being passive-aggressive in trying to ward off Ishani to “protect her” from him.

Passive-aggressive has to be notched up to AGGRESSIVE-AGGRESSIVE coz Ishani’s a dheent who won’t take no for an answer; so he GOES AND MARRIES ISHANI’S BEST FRIEND ASHA, who has gotten knocked up by Aman (who tata-bye-byed outta the whole sitch. Props to him for being the smartest person in this show. He’s probably living an unfulfilled life somewhere, but seemed to come from wealth, so how sad can you really be when you have so much money????)

This whole SidAsha marriage was engineered behind the scenes by Vardhan - who found out that Asha was pregnant and threatened to set her Khap Panchayat from Haryana on her or some shit. He coerced Asha to take advantage of Sid’s “achchaai” by playing on his najaayaz kid feels and take responsibility for her.

Lots of angst and drama as Ishani and Sid struggle with their feels about each other while he’s married to a pregnant Asha, whom he’s pledged his support and name to.

Asha’s pregnancy hormones seem to make her batshit crazy and unable to make any reasonable decisions, and she keeps messing with Sid’s career; drugging him and making him fuck up important surgeries and what not.

All this, again, coz Vardhan. Vardhan wants revenge from Sid. Why? Because dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn, Sid is Shashank’s son! Vardhan wants to ruin Shashank’s life and thinks the best way to do it is by torturing his kids, and thus is fucking with Sid’s career, and is fucking with Anjali (like, literally. 👉🏽👌🏽👉🏽👌🏽👉🏽👌🏽 Coz sis has daddy issues and reallllllll bad judgement when it comes to men.)

But why does Vardhan want revenge from Shashank???? Damned if we (including the writers) know. Something to do with Vardhan’s Dearly Departed Didi, whose photo he keeps staring at while gritting his teeth. I’m guessing Shashank’s stuck his pen in that inkwell too?

Oh btw, Shashank also confessed his feelings for Juhi, who seemed HORRIFIED at the prospect, but like 5 minutes later is cool with it and reciprocates with her own crushy-wushy feelings? Idk man, idk. It’s all very unclear what that whole plot point was exactly, beyond some vague conversations and ambiguous coy smiles.

Daddy Shashank is disappointed in his known/unknown kid(s) for their various missteps in personal/professional lives. Saare milke inhe paagal banaa rahein hai, yeh chutiya bachchein.

Lots of other miscellaneous fuckery is going on between Sid/Ishani which……. honestly, is exhausting and not worth getting into. Anyway, it’s finally found out that Asha is the culprit behind this dhai mahine ka dukh-dard-chutiyaapa.

Ishani takes a bullet for pregnant Asha, and goes into a coma. Guilt-ridden Asha tells Vardhan to fuck off, signs annulment papers, and finally gtfo, but not before giving Sid a clue about who’s really behind all this kaand.

Vardhan is like lmao, I didn’t need her anyway and goes about paying randomass people to frame Sid for medical malpractice. Ishani literally comes out of the coma and hightails it straight to the police station to save her man. (For the record: I wouldn’t even let a man interrupt an afternoon nap of mine.)

Oh btw, by this point Anjali was like bohut ho gaya and fucked off to go play a Naagin on Colors. Good for her. 🐍🐍🐍

Sid and Ishani start working on exposing Vardhan. Coz appropriate R&R after getting up from a goddamn coma, what’s that!?!??!? JUST SHAKE IT OFF!!!!!!!!! PFFFFFFFT, TAKE A CROCIN OR TWO!!!!

Lo and behold, Dr. Shashank is killed in an accident. (We haven’t really seen him for the last………………………………… like 20 episodes or so? So…. do we really care at this point? Not really. Mohnish didn’t even show up to shoot the dead body waale shots. For the longest time I was like PAKKA SHASHANK NAHI HOGA, FACE NAHI DIKHA RAHEIN, KOI AUR HAI YAAR!!!!!!!!!!! But nope, all the characters identify him by face……… So yeah, egg on MY face.)

Sid’s mummy drops the bomb at the cremation that Sid is Shashank’s son and should light the funeral pyre. A very cool fun appropriate time for Anjali AND SID to find that out!!!!!

Sid and Ishani channel their sads into exposing Vardhan. Hallelujah, finally a win for the unluckiest people in this show. FFS even the little child who got impaled on a rod and Nurse Philo’s daughter with terminal brain cancer have had better lives.

Sid proposes to Ishani. He says he’s been accepted into some program in America and wants her to come with to start a new life there. Ishani is like nope, YEH MERA INDIA SANJIVANI, I LOVE MY INDIA SANJIVANI.

Ishani’s Mama/Mami come for rishta talks and catch the two almost making out in an on-call room and are all hawwwwwwwwww cheeeeeeee sanskaaaaaaar, etc. They turn out to dislike Sid coz najaayaz. And are rudeass snobby assholes to him and his family. Sid is understandably quite mad.

INSTEAD OF TALKING THAT SHIT THROUGH WITH HER, HE DITCHES ISHANI AT THE FUCKING MANDAP VIA TEXT AND FLIES OFF TO AMERICA. VIA TEXT. VIA TEXTTTTTTTTTTTTTT. We are all reminded once again, that Tellywood Men Ain’t Shit.

Except for Drs. Rahil and Neil who have categorically maintained their Very Good Boy crowns 👑👑👑👑 throughout the run of this show. Gold stars to them for achieving the impossible. 🌟🌟🌟

Sanjivani is on fire. Like, metaphorically it was always on fire, but this time literally. Unhinged Ishani runs riiiiiiight into the burning building.

3 years later………..

Sanjivani has been rebuilt. By Gaurav Chopra whose name is Navratna Singh, lololololol. An appropriate name because he does seem to be quite thanda thanda cool cool. He reopens and invites all the old staff back to pitch in and restore the place back to its old glory.

Anjali is a guest lecturer in Germany and may or may not come back to Sanjivani soon, depending on her Naagin transformation schedule.

Rishabh now seems to be a semi-decent human being????? Still a bit of a self-obsessed idiot, but definitely seems to be not as much of an asshole.

Rahil is super-serious and also bitter that his best friend just fucked off to America and hasn’t bothered keeping in touch. No one knows where Ishani is.

Ishani is now some kinda nervous wreck who spends her time doing pottery, but not the sexy Ghost kind. Just very sad and jittery and constantly popping anxiety pills (which looked like green Cadbury Gems to me???????) She can’t seem to help a person who sustains a semi-serious injury near her, completely freezing up in the moment.

Mr. Thanda Thanda Cool Cool finds her at the pottery studio, seems quite familiar with her, and tries to gently persuade her to come back to her first love: medicine.

But ofc heterosexuality rears its ugly head and sis can only think of the trash boy that ditched her.

Mr. TTCC brings her to Sanjivani but she behaves exactly like a toddler on the first day of school. There’s having to be coaxed out of the vehicle, reluctant dragging of feet, weeping, the works.

Precap shows her yelling at TTCC and saying he’s the boss of Sanjivani, not her, and kis haq se pakda hai, chodo mera haath!!!!!!!!!! And he gently reminds her of the wedding vows he took, to never let go of her.

Looks like the poor dude may have invested and rebuilt all this just for her and……………… in the end he’s gonna have to let her go to Dr. FuckBoi, mirroring the end of DMG, which……………… *prolonged, defeated sigh*

AND THAT’S WHAT YOU MISSED ON GLEE SANJIVANI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#sanjivani #bullet point recaps #tt answers #theincorrigiblemagpie

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notebookfilledwithscrabbles · 5 years ago

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20/9/2019 Joint interview with Yuzuru Hanyu after ACI published by Sponichi (Part. 2)

Translation post 27

Original language: Japanese

*Part 2 of an article based on a joint interview done by Japanese press after Autumn Classic International 2019. This is not a word-for-word translation. I paraphrased some of the things said to clarify the main point.

*Part 1

At the end of September, Figure Skate Magazine 2019-2020 Vol.1 also released a transcription of this joint interview. Yuzuru's answers were mostly the same in both media, but in some sections, Magazine's transcription is more detailed. To clarify the context, I am going to add the excerpts of the article by Magazine in the appendix. (I will do the same with part 1 I posted in September) According to Magazine, part 1 of the joint interview was conducted by TV stations and part 2 was for print media.

Yuzuru Hanyu, champion's instinct: "I felt the desire to win as I was skating, so strongly."

Published by Sponichi Annex on 9/20/2019 https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2019/09/20/kiji/20190920s00079000157000c.html

Yuzuru Hanyu (aged 24, affiliated with ANA), who won two consecutive Olympic titles in figure skating at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 gave a joint interview after competing at Autumn Classic International held in Oakville, which was his season-opening competition. He has made a fresh start this season after finishing last season being 2nd at the World Championships. The absolute champion who thirsts for victory talks about where he is now and where he is planning to go. The tone of the man who is preparing to renew his attack becomes gradually enthusiastic.

--You finished 2nd at the World Championships last March. What did you think that you need to close the point gap between Nathan Chen (USA)? "After all, I just have to raise my base value. I think (t/n: under the current judging system) it is worth doing only when you can earn positive GOE. However, there is a limit to depending on GOE since it is affected by the standards of those who evaluate it. So, I think in the end, it (t/n: going after huge GOE) is worth doing only when you can land difficult jumps."

--You've mentioned the five-quads layout. Do you see it as a layout to defeat Chen? "Not exactly. It is more like I am always calculating the maximum layout I am capable of executing. Obviously, what he did at Worlds isn't his maximum. I am sure that he can add more difficulty as much as he wants. I think I need to be capable of beating him even when he does his maximum."

--Last season, upon including 4T+3A sequence, you said that you wanted to do what you wanted to do even if it would lower the GOE you might be able to earn. "Hehe. As I said, I think I was really fluffy after PyeongChang. But I strongly hoped to land it solidly and cleanly after I actually attempted it. (t/n: in a competition) After all, I really wanted to be the first person to land it in an official competition since I had been doing the jump sequence in shows for a long time. So I feel fulfilled about it by having landed it cleanly last season."

--And in the end, you went back to pursuing victory. "Yes. I certainly desire to win. It would be great if I could win by competing the way I did, but it is no use saying such a thing. After all, I think I need to master the Axel (t/n: 4A) as a weapon as soon as possible, and as a step towards it, well, not that I am planning to proceed step by step, but I want to equip Lutz (t/n: 4Lz) first. I feel that it (t/n: his 4Lz as a weapon) has become quite reliable, so I want to be able to include it depending on the situation, considering whether it is needed or not in each time."

--You said that you don't want people to see you in disgrace. "Because, you know, I definitely don't want to hear people say something like, "Ah, Yuzuru Hanyu's time is over." Take today for example, I thought... How should I put it? I thought that I fought well, but I think I am so uncool looking at the scores. (Laughs) So... I am really going to work harder." (t/n: see also no.1 of the appendix)

--What is your image of your disgraceful/uncool self? "I always end up thinking I am disgraceful at Autumn Classic and Skate Canada. (Laughs bitterly) I am always thinking, "Oh, I am so uncool" while competing. (t/n: in these competitions) But, after all, I have always been having dramatic ups and downs, and I am the kind of person who would straightforwardly acknowledge what happened whether it was good or bad. I am most severe when I evaluate myself, and this time, I can say that I didn't do well. After all, I am still craving for what I felt while performing SEIMEI and Ballade No.1 without mistake, or what I felt while performing Hope and Legacy at Helsinki 2017. I have a strong desire to surpass my perfect self at that time. If I manage to do that, then I will be able to consider myself cool--"cool" may not sound right in this context--then I will be able to believe that I did well as an athlete. I consider any other results uncool."

--It sounds like you have a long list of things you want to pursue, and it is not just for this season but for multiple seasons... "Well, it is like I am doing what I can do. After all, there is a limit to the things I can do on each occasion, so I am feeling like, if I end up doing so as a result of doing what I can do on each occasion, so be it. Anyway, I am feeling that I still have room to grow while training now. Actually, there was a time that I found it difficult to go on. As expected, I hit a huge wall mastering Axel, and was like, "Am I really going to be able to do this?" Now, I am becoming to feel like, "It looks more do-able than I thought." So, hopefully, I will be able to become stronger by trying various things and getting more information." (t/n: see also no.2 of the appendix)

--When was the time (t/n: you found it difficult to go on) and what kind of wall did you hit? "As you may know, it was around the Autumn Classic last year. There was a time that I felt like, "This is no time to practice Axel." After all, I was nowhere near mastering it. I had landed it with the help of the harness, but without it, it didn't even seem possible to complete the rotations. But I am finally becoming able to complete rotations. Last season, I had no time to practice Axel when I had competitions to take part in, and there was the injury, of course, so I had my hands full just to prepare for the Worlds. But as it turned out, it worked as a training. (t/n: for 4A)"

--There was a talk about the year 2022. How clear do you feel about it now? "I know you want to hear about it... Well, but, in my mind, it is just an extension of my competitive career. I really think so. At the moment, I am not dying to compete or win in it. I am just dying to do the Axel. How should I put it? I want to land the Axel, and on top of that, I want to make Origin complete. That is what I want to achieve most." (t/n: see also no.3 of the appendix)

--So, your goal as of now is to land the Axel and make Origin complete? "Well, it may take three or four years to achieve that. Who knows? (Laughs) Anyway, I have to proceed little by little, mindfully trying not to damage my body."

--What are you going to do after you achieve the goal? "Well... I used to have plans, but my environment has changed so much. It is so different from what I imagined... I mean, I am receiving overwhelming support from so many people. For example, this is a B-class competition, but no one cut corners because this is a B-class event, and not just my supporting team, but the organizing staff and the security staff of the event also treat me with special care that a normal skater would never receive, I think. So... what I feel most strongly is the urge to reciprocate them for their support. I used to think that I wanted to be this or that... When I was a kid, I was always thinking that I was going to win in PyeongChang and then turn pro and work hard for a year to make money, but... after PyeongChang, I started out (t/n: the next season) leaving things open, like, "OK, let's tackle on Axel then," and as a result, I am now skating with the feeling that it is so much fun to compete. What forms the basis of my motivation right now is... the desire to master the Axel and to make Otonal and Origin complete, of course. But I may be motivated more strongly by the urge to perform well to meet the expectations of people supporting me. I am not sure how long I will continue this way, though."

--During the World Championships, you said, "Losing is no better than dying." How strongly do you desire to win now? "During this competition, I didn't think much about winning or losing. I really wanted to present complete programs with the current layout. I have a sense of unfulfillment in this regard. Now I am finding issues like, "Ah, maybe it should have been like this, or like that.” Anyway, I... Hmm. It is so difficult to explain in words, but... Well, at Worlds, when I lost, I felt that it (t/n: the victory) was out of reach, and I... How should I put it? I felt the desire to win as I was skating, so strongly. As I said earlier, since when I was in kindergarten, I had been thinking that I was going to win at PyeongChang. No, in my mind, it wasn't even "PyeongChang." I was just thinking, "I am going to compete in Olympic games at the age of 19 and 23, win at both and quit!" So... after that, (t/n: after winning at PyeongChang) I didn't have much desire for victory. Well, I think I had the desire during the GPS last year, but having lost at Worlds in the way that I felt the difference in our ability... Well, I don't know what the result could have been if I have managed to skate with no mistake, but I think our ability should be defined by how we performed there. So, having lost at Worlds feeling the difference in our ability at that time is making me... uh... how should I say... want to win so much. I competed here in a sense trying to suppress the desire because this time, I wanted to make my performances complete regardless of such desire. But as well as the gratitude toward people supporting me and the urge to live up to their expectations, the kuyashii feeling I had toward the loss at that time makes the foundation of me keep skating now, and it enables me to work extra-hard this season, I guess."

--What kind of life is it to live just for mastering quad Axel? For us, it is hard to imagine. "I live like a monk practicing asceticism. (Laughs) I mean, for real. So I think it must be pretty un-interesting for paparazzi if they come after me. Because, you know, my life is like, go to an ice rink, practice, go home, have a meal, work out, take a bath, and go to bed. (Laughs)"

--Have you found anything you can enjoy outside of the rink? "It sounds as if I were a super sad person... (Laughs) Well, I don't go out. I haven't found it fun to go out since my childhood. I don't consider it especially good or bad, though. But interaction with artists like I had during Fantasy (on Ice) is very inspiring. I can learn as a performer through interacting with them since there is always something that makes me feel, "Oh, I didn't know this," or "I didn't know that." Well, you don’t just have fun on such occasions, but I think it (t/n: FaOI this year) was fun and inspiring. So... I think I had enough fun during Fantasy. (t/n: on Ice) Well, of course, I consumed myself for it to a certain degree. I consumed my foot too. But in a sense, it helped me to recreate or refresh my mind during the off-season. This year, I haven't had time off the ice, so my life may have been revolving around skating. Well, I enjoy playing video games. (Laughs)" (t/n: see also no.4 of the appendix)

--How is your right ankle now? We heard that only a small amount of tendon left intact in it. How would it affect if you get injured again? "I can't say. I really don't know what would happen, but I feel that I can easily sprain my ankle. When I got injured in Russia (last November), I didn't expect it to swell much, but it became swollen and puffed so much that I worried if I would be able to put the boots on. Hmm... I don't know, but I should be careful while skating for sure. But I don't feel any pain now, either in my right foot or left foot. Well, it sometimes hurts like an old wound, like in the morning, when I wake up, but that's about it. It doesn't affect when I compete anymore. It is just that I bear a higher risk of injury than others."

--Thank you very much. "I am not going to retire at all, yet!" --What video game are you playing now? "I am playing the Fire Emblem now. (On which platform?) Switch." --We are looking forward to seeing the Axel. "I am going to land a beautiful one. I mean, I am going to land a truly beautiful one. Watch it, world!" (t/n: see also no.5 of the appendix)

Appendix

1. In Figure Skating Magazine 2019-2020 vol. 1, this Q and A starts like this: --You said that you don't want people to see you in disgrace. "Yes, I did. (Laughs)" --That was an impactful comment, I think. "Really? (Laughs) Because, you know, I DEFINITELY don't want to hear people say something like, "Ah, Yuzuru Hanyu's time is over."

2. In Figure Skating Magazine 2019-2020 vol. 1, this Q and A starts like this: --It sounds like you have a long list of things you want to pursue and are going to keep going on and on... "Hehe... Well, it is like I am doing what I can do. After all, there is a limit to the things I can do on each occasion, so I am feeling like, if I end up doing so as a result of doing what I can do on each occasion, so be it.

3. In Figure Skating Magazine 2019-2020 vol. 1, this Q and A is transcribed like this: --As to Beijing 2022, how clear do you feel about it now? "Hehe... I know you want to hear about it... Well, but, in my mind, it is just an extension of my competitive career. I really think so. At the moment, I am not dying to compete or win in it. I am just dying to do the Axel. (Laughs) Uh... How should I put it? I want to land the Axel, and on top of that, I want to make Origin complete. That is what I want to achieve most."

4. In Figure Skating Magazine 2019-2020 vol. 1, this Q and A starts like this: --Have you found anything you can enjoy outside of the rink? "Hahaha! What kind of question is that?! It sounds as if I were a super sad person... (Laughs hard covering his face with his hands) Um... Well... I don't go out. I haven't found it fun to go out since my childhood. I don't consider it especially good or bad, though.

5. In Figure Skating Magazine 2019-2020 vol. 1, the conversation after the interview is transcribed like this: (The joint interview ended here. Hanyu talks with the press as he leaves there) "Hehe. I am not going to retire at all, yet. Hehe." --We partly wish to see you win three consecutive Olympic titles... ".........I will try my best. (Laughs)" --What video game are you playing now? "I am playing the Fire Emblem now, and..." --On which platform? "(T/n: Nintendo) Switch!" --Don't you sometimes become tired of being the Yuzuru Hanyu? "It is like, I have already gotten used to it... (To everyone) Thank you very much. Thank you. Today's interview was kind of gloomy, wasn’t it? Hehe. Like, "Are you going to retire?" (Laughs) No, I am not! (Laughs)" --We are looking forward to seeing the Axel. "I am going to land a beautiful one. I mean, I am going to land a truly beautiful one." (t/n: You can't find "Watch it, world!" here, but he certainly said so since you can find it in multiple articles written by reporters who were actually there. source 1 2)

#yuzuru hanyu #aci 2019 #autumn classic 2019

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charminglatina · 6 years ago

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Ranking Riverdale Actors Based On Their Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Ratings (Part 2).

People do crazy things when it comes to love. Some run away from home, others stay in an abusive relationship in the name of love, some quit their career because their love dictated so, and so much more. Most people claim they are in love but in reality, they have no idea what the meaning of true, spiritual love is. In some relationships, they are driven by obsession, jealousy, and intimidation of their spouse. They stalk their spouses everywhere they go, they physically and mentally abuse them, all in the name of love. Some people go to the extent of making sure their partners do not have any friends. That is not a definition of love; it is an illusion of love. The meaning of spiritual love is when you are able to maintain your individuality, despite the feeling of passion. You are able to love without applying any rules to each other. This is unconditional love. It does not matter that your spouse is ugly, shorter than you, or he laughs in an irritating way. You will love him or her the way he or she is. You will love all the flaws he or she portrays and not criticize them. Many people apply conditions in their relationships, claiming they love each other. For instance, you tell your spouse you love him when he buys you something. In spiritual love, it is like a spell that has been cast upon you. You appreciate your significant other as he or she is - no condition applies. You love him or her deep down and you just know it in your heart. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, that’s spiritual love. Below are some guidelines to help you know you are truly in spiritual love.

1. You Communicate With Each Other With Ease: In every relationship, communication is the key to building a stronger connection. Couples must talk with other often and they must be on the same page. If you are able to talk to your spouse with ease, he will not only listen but will also have empathy for the situation at hand. You feel appreciated, you are respected, and most of all, no judgment is applied. Your spouse supports you fully in all your endeavors. In such cases, most couples enjoy what they have while it lasts. They enjoy each other’s company and they usually look for private space to talk all the time. When one person is talking, the other is listening keenly. No interruptions, no coming up with other options. You are both there for each other and support one another while being in love. A connection in spiritual love is taken very seriously.

2. Equality Applies In Spiritual Love: Most people do not know the definition of equality in a relationship. It means when two people connect and they decided to live together, roles are defined automatically. You are able to acknowledge each other’s talents and respect each other enough to let them work their magic in your relationship. In every relationship, duties come automatically. In spiritual love, you know who is better at handling a certain aspect of your lives together. Trust applies in such a situation where you let your spouse take the lead without any prejudice or judgment. This does not make either the person in the couple lesser human beings, it just makes them more in love with each other.

3. You Are Attracted To Your Spouse: Most people do not know what attraction means. Some get attracted to a person due to their looks, how they dress, how rich they are, among other things. Spiritual love is when you want to connect with the person, mind-wise, body-wise, and to the soul. You want to be close to the person all the time. When you are together, you feel a passion that you have never felt before. It is like a love spell that has been cast upon you. You are consumed with the passion but at the same time, you are able to stay sane. Your individuality is still intact. Furthermore, there is more to life other than being carried away by lust.

4. You Find Comfort in Each Other’s Company: In spiritual love, there are no expectations from each other, no dressing up for the other. You just present yourself as you are. When you are in love with each other, you feel that you can conquer the world together. You do not see anything big under the sun. You experience joy when you are together and you do not question each other’s devotion. Only the two of you understand your connection. The way you feel for each other has no easy definition. You just feel content and your life will have a meaning. In most relationships, you will find people questioning themselves. They do not trust their judgment and most of the time they make excuses to split. Others spend years courting their partner and not making any real commitment since they find flaws in one another. In spiritual love, no such thing applies. You love your spouse as he or she is. You appreciate them for who they really are. There are no jitters or second-guesses when you are together.

5. In Spiritual Love, There Is No Hurry: Society expects that when there is a connection with the one you love, no time should be wasted, and you should quickly make arrangements for your future together. However, in spiritual love, no such thing is expected. Couples enjoy each other company; they leave the fate of their union to Mother Nature. You do not question if your spouse is the right person, if your spouse going to be swept off his feet by another, and so on. You trust your instincts that all will work out just fine. In spiritual love, you know you are under this love spell together no matter what happens. The way you view the world is the way your spouse views it too. You connect well with your lover and share energy.

6. Spiritual Love Promotes Growth: When you connect with someone and you vow to live together, you expect to grow in all ways, especially personal growth. Your spouse should be free to let you know your flaws and you must take them positively. Listen to your spouse’s advice. If someone loves you, you should not expect him or her to mislead you. We cannot achieve personal growth if our spouses do not speak up about our mistakes. In spiritual love, you do not take your spouse for granted nor do you see him or her as a tool to make ends meet. This is a great opportunity for you to experience the true joy of being in love.

7. Spiritual Love Does Not Let You Settle for Anything: As a human being, you are entitled to love life, follow your passions, love a certain lifestyle, to be respected and loved. Your spouse should also value the things you love. He or she should not dictate the way you live. Your love should learn to incorporate his or her needs into yours. You should live in harmony and be able to respect each other. Nowadays, most commitments are the opposite. People settle for a lot less. They let their spouses dictate their way of living and have no mutual respect in the commitment, all in the name of “love”.

8. Spiritual Love Enables You to Separate Fact from Feelings: In a commitment born out of love, you will have a few fights over the years. But that does not mean you have a bad relationship or your spouse hates you. You will get angry at some of the comments he or she makes. Instead of misquoting each other, you should learn to talk it out. Let your spouse explain what he or she meant.

9. In Spiritual Love, Couples Connect: People in love look each other in the eyes as they talk. Most ordinary couples talk for the sake of it. Some even talk with their back to their spouse. Well, couples who get each other are comfortable with facing each other while taking. They can sit across from each other at a table and communicate with their eyes only. Who would not think they are under a love spell? This shows how comfortable they are with each other and that confidence surrounds their love.

10. Spiritual Love Makes You Long For the Future: Every relationship differs from the others in so many ways. When two soul mates love each other deeply, they do not tire of each other easily. The excitement might fade with time, but curiosity remains. You will love each other more and more with passing years. You are two individuals who have different characteristics, but living together will enable you two to explore each other to the fullest as you age with time. Some claim they fell in love at first sight, but it takes time and growth to realize that you deeply love your spouse and that living without him or her would be unfulfilling. Furthermore, everybody would like an opportunity to grow old with his or her loved one. Nowadays, lovers settle for a lot less. They simply want to benefit from each other since they have no better option. Once they find someone new they feel a connection to, they part ways instead of giving their love a chance. True love takes time and patience. Even in the holy texts of different religions, spiritual love applies. To sum it all up, spiritual love is unconditional love that has no boundaries. It gives meaning and importance to your life. Everyone wishes to experience this kind of love at one point in life. It is a wonderful thing that cannot be compared to any other feeling in the world. It is hard to find unconditional love unless you exercise some patience. Couples who have a spiritual love are happier, they understand each other, and they fight less. If you are in a spiritual love, give it your best since you never know when it will end. Learn from each other and appreciate what both of you have. You are luckier than others because you have experienced spiritual love and you know its definition.

Ratings System Test (0% = WORST RATING; 100% = BEST RATING):

🌹0%–30%: Extremely bad and a MATCH MADE IN ABSOLUTE FIERY HELL! If a couple receives this type of rating, the spiritual compatibility either doesn’t exist whatsoever, or it’s so incredibly low that there isn’t even a spiritual connection to start. As a result of such a low spiritual compatibility rating, there’s bound to be a vast amount of spiritual conflict, disharmony and discomfort within the relationship. With a horrible and low score like this, expect these two to have a lack of trust, honesty, and communication within the relationship. Having a very low rating such as this means that the people involved in the couple will have a very selfish, ungiving relationship. In addition, a spiritual compatibility rating this low indicates that a romantic couple has a lesser chance of overcoming any obstacles that may come their way and it would prove difficult to fix the relationship if obstacles squirm their way into the relationship. If two people in a romance have this kind of rating, it’s best the two steer clear of each other because they clearly shouldn’t be together!

🌹30%–50% : Not good and a MATCH MADE IN TOTAL MEDIOCRITY! If a romantic couple receives this rating, the spiritual compatibility is subpar and mediocre in nature. There won’t be too much of a natural connection on a spiritual level, and they will have trouble connecting from time to time.

🌹50%–60%: Average and a MATCH MADE IN NOTHING SPECIAL AT ALL! If a romantic couple receives this rating, the spiritual chemistry is plain dull and mediocre. The spiritual connection between a couple who receive this score isn’t horrible but isn’t that great either. The couple with this rating is bound to have a very borderline 50/50 spiritual connection. Some days, they will spiritually connect, and other times, they will want to avoid each other like the Plague.

🌹60%–70%: Good and a MATCH MADE IN COMFORT! If a couple receives this rating, the spiritual compatibility and connection is reasonable and satisfactory in nature. It’s a slightly above average score which means that couples with this spiritual compatibility rating will have a comfortable, warm spiritual relationship. It should be noted that the spiritual connection between a couple who receive this rating won’t have an intense or passionate spiritual bond. It will be enough to provide decent compatibility for the two partners in the relationship to live a comfortable and harmonious enough life together in the long run.

🌹70%–80%: Extremely good and a MATCH MADE IN PERFECT HARMONY! If a romantic couple receives this rating, the spiritual connection is lovely and harmonious. The two partners have a powerful and reasonably intense spiritual bond, and they are highly in tune with each other’s emotions and feelings. Romantic couples (and even friendships) with this rating range will have a very fruitful, happy, successful, and harmonious romantic relationship. They have a strong spiritual connection, and they deeply understand each other very well. They will have solid communication, honesty, and trust in the relationship. Their spiritual chemistry is enough for either partner to have a healing effect on each other if either partner is emotionally or spiritually wounded. There are high chances that a telepathic and psychic link can be developed between the two partners. Also, romantic couples with this rating range can be considered to be soulmates. Couples also have a higher chance of getting married in the future and growing old together in comfort and harmony.

🌹80%–90%: Excellent and a MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN! If a couple receives this rating, the spiritual compatibility and connection between the two is excellent and highly harmonious. There’s no doubt that this couple will have a very intense, passionate spiritual connection and there will be higher chances of having a very successful, harmonious relationship with ease. Couples with this rating will easily be able to overcome any obstacles thrown their way and stay happy and united together. There may be a chance for the two partners to develop a telepathic or psychic connection because of such an intense spiritual bond between these two partners. A couple with this kind of rating is likely to have a soulmate connection.

🌹90%–100%: Outstanding and a MATCH MADE IN ABSOLUTE TRANSCENDENT HEAVEN! If a romantic couple receives this rating, then the couple is ideal for each other and made for each other in every way imaginable on a spiritual level! A couple who has this rating may be a representation of true spiritual love and unconditional love in its purest form. Everyone that comes into contact with this couple will be envious of their deep abiding spiritual love for each other and will desire to have a strong spiritual bond and love like theirs! The love and passion between this couple will just be emanating from them without even trying. They have an incredibly passionate, intense spiritual bond and connection that is unparalleled or unmatched. A couple with this kind of spiritual compatibility has a bond that is unbreakable and will never be broken no matter what, even in death and beyond. Couples with this high spiritual compatibility rating liely have a mystical, other worldly, supernatural kind of connection. They are also likely to have an intense telepathic, psychic or empathic bond where the two wouldn’t even need to say words or speak to each other to communicate! Couples with this extremely high spiritual compatibility rating are best described as true soulmates or even more, twin souls or twin flames. The two are incredibly spiritually in tune with each other and they are connected to each other intensely and intimately on another level that many others wouldn’t be able to comprehend. These two are spiritually in sync with each other, and as a result, they understand each other very well. They may also have tons of things in common and share many similarities with each other and have parallel lives and journeys. When the two meet, their meeting would have many synchronicities. There will be a feeling of destiny or fate to their meeting. Their spiritual connection is so strong and intense that it’s comparable to that of twins! A couple with this high spiritual rating is best defined as a couple that is destined or written in the stars!

Please check out my Biorhythm Compatibility rankings list where I rank the pairs of Riverdale actors and couples based on their Biorhythm Compatibility Ratings here.

#11. Camila Mendes & Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale Pairing: Chonica, Cheronica; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 56%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Rating; 79%)

At #11 on this rankings list (well, technically, at #8 because I forgot to add them in their appropriate spot on my previous post) is Camila Mendes and Madelaine Petsch, who portray the fictional couple of Cheronica or Chonica. Camila and Madeleine have a strong spiritual connection and they earned a score of 79% in this category. This means that Camila and Madeleine have a strong bond and kinship with each other. I can understand and see why they would have such a great score in this particular category because out of all the off screen friendships on Riverdale, Camila and Madeleine seem to have one of the closest on an emotional level. Let’s go back to Camila and Madeleine’s primary Biorhythm Compatibility and Chemistry scores. When it came to Physical Chemistry and Compatibility, Camila and Madeleine earned a very impressive rating of 85%. This proves that if their characters of Veronica and Cheryl were a lesbian couple and romantically involved on the show, they would be able to sell it brilliantly because they have such strong physical chemistry. Camila and Madeleine also did very well in their Emotional category. they earned a 78% in this category, securing the fact that they had a strong emotional bond with each other. Camila and Madeleine’s off screen bond and friendship speaks volumes about their relationship. I think that Camila and Madeleine have one of the most endearing Riverdale friendships on the show. It’s so real and genuine and you can tell those two see each other like besties or sisters. People try to say that Camila is closest to Lili out of the girls, but I strongly disagree. I think Camila is closest to Madeleine. In fact, I don’t think Lili is close to any of the other girls on set. She seems very cold, aloof, and unfriendly to me and I don’t think she has that great of a bond with other women as she likes to proclaim. Vanessa isn’t close to Lili, Madeleine isn’t that close to Lili, Camila isn’t that close to Lili, Ashleigh is definitely not close to Lili at all. How many of the girls on Riverdale are actually really friends with Lili. None of them really and that speaks volumes about her as a person. The only that Lili is close to on Riverdale is Cole and that’s her “boyfriend”. Anyways, back to my point about Camila and Madeleine having a very strong spiritual bond. How would Camila and Madeleine’s strong spiritual connection play into their fictional relationship of Cheronica. Well, I think the fact that these two have a strong spiritual connection would help them in their acting scenes together. Because of their spiritual kinship with each other, they would have a more natural vibe with each other. Their scenes together would flow much more naturally than those who don’t have this high of a spiritual connection. Cheronica friendship scenes have been some of my fave scenes in the series because they have such a nice chemistry. Not only do Camila and Madeleine have a strong emotional chemistry but they have a strong spiritual chemistry. These two have a best friend in each other for life.But, though Madeleine and Camila do have this great bond of friendship and kinship, the writers aren’t utilizing it enough. For some reason, RAS and the writers have this bias against Camila and her characters relationships with others on the show. Camila is the character that can have chemistry and compatibility with everyone because her personality is so likeable and vivacious. She can even have chemistry with someone that she doesn’t have that much chemistry with, if that makes any sense. What I’m trying to say is that the writers should be putting more effort into Cheronica’s friendship. In season 1, they always had these heartwarming scenes together and the reason why they were so touching was because of Camila and Madeleine's high spiritual and emotional compatibility. For season 4, I hope the writers make Cheryl and Veronica bond more and become friends again. I’m tired of the writers not utilizing the chemistry that she has with her costars. instead, they are spending too much time giving Lili and her character Betty too much screen time of her running around a school with a weapon and screaming like a banshee. No, I don’t want to watch that. I want to see bonds and relationships. I want to see friendships being shown and growth in relationships. I want to see new dynamics between characters being explored. Cheronica scenes were always one of the few highlights of this terrible show. Let’s hope that RAS and the writers utilize Camila and Madeleine’s strong spiritual bond and emotional chemistry and get these two back into doing scenes together again.

#12. Luke Perry & Madchen Amick (Riverdale Pairing: Frelice; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 66%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Rating: 67%)

At # 12 on this rankings is Luke Perry and Madchen Amick, who portrayed the fictional couple or pairing of Frelice. Since I’m going to be discussing Frelice more than about Luke and Madchen, I feel comfortable including Luke related pairings onto this rankings list. I’ve also had some time to process Luke’s death so that definitely helps as well. Luke and Madchen earned a score of 67% Spiritual Compatibility which is considered to be a good score. It’s not outstanding like some of the pairs of actors who are in the Top 10, but it’s still good. With this kind of score, Luke and Madchen had an easy and harmonious bond of friendship. This was evident when Madchen made a post on Instagram about Luke following his sudden death. Madchen had said that Luke was such a good companion to her and was a true friend to her. He would always make her laugh and smile and she would light up because of him. This was Madchen’s memory of Luke, how he made her laugh and smile constantly. Going by the way Madchen talked about Luke, it’s clear she had a strong fondness for him and they shared a strong bond. Madchen also said that she and Luke would be able to engage in deep conversations with each other about life in general on set. People with a good spiritual compatibility are able to do this very well. They are able to have deep and intimate conversations with each other and open up to each other with such ease and little effort. Madchen was definitely one of the cast members who took Luke’s death exceptionally hard, alongside Marisol, and her posts on Instagram about Luke prove this fact. They also share in common that they were both 90′s stars that were the star of a hit show from the 90′s. Luke was in Beverly Hills 90210 while Madchen was in Twin Peaks. Both were popular shows during the 90′s and they were both the “it” boy and the “it” girl of that time, Luke and Madchen also didn’t do that bad when it came to their primary Biorhythm Chemistry and Compatibility ratings. Luke and Madchen earned a score of 66% which is considered to be a good and above average score. Breaking down their Physical, Emotional and Intellectual categories, Luke and Madchen had a 78% Physical, 33% Emotional, and 89% Intellectual rating. They managed to do rather well in their primary Biorhythms but the only area where Luke and Madchen showed weakness was their Emotional Compatibility. They had a high Physical Compatibility of 78% so that indicates that of Luke and Madchen’s characters of Fred and Alice were sexually involved or romantically involved, they would have a strong enough physical and sexual chemistry to pull it off successfully. The high Physical Chemistry rating between Luke and Madchen is probably why some fans had interpreted Fred and Alice’s interactions as sexual tension. Plus, physically and aestheitically, Luke and Madchen would look together. If you take a photo of young Luke and younger Madchen and put it side by side, they would be a major 90′s aesthetic. Luke and Madchen didn’t perform as well when it came to the Emotional Compatibility category, but they managed to make up for it with a much better score in the Spiritual Compatibility category. Finally, Luke and Madchen do exceptionally well in the Intellectual Compatibility category by earning a 89% in this category. This means that Luke and Madchen connected very well on a mental basis and they stimulated each other on a mental level. Going by how Madchen had stated that she could talk to Luke about anything and everything for a long period of time, this is very fitting. With regards to their fictional couple of Frelice on Riverdale, Luke and Madchen’s characters of Fred and Alice always had a very contentious relationship. The two would snark and bicker at each other. They were next door neighbours who had a very sarcastic and snarky relationship. Some people interpreted the snarky relationship and dyanmic between them as sexual tension. As a result, some people suggested that Fred and Alice may have had some sort of romantic fling back in high school that may have gone south or went wrong and both Fred and Alice held a grudge against each other because of it. We find out in the flashback episode (3x04) that Fred and Alice initially got on each other’s nerves but they also shared an emotional bond with each other. Fred and Alice shared a moment when Fred tried to get Alice to open up about what was bothering her. Alice had confessed to Fred that she was scared and lost and that she had no idea what to do with her life. Fred opened up to Alice that he was just as scared as her because of his sick, dying father and being unsure of how to handle the situation. The two shared an emotional moment and in the heat of that moment, they shared a tender kiss with each other. It was one of the highlight moments of that episode for me. Even though that scene of young Fred and Alice wasn’t Luke and Madchen and was instead KJ and Lili, the moment between Fred and Alice was the first time that we see the two of them be open and vulnerable with someone. Alice was a tough girl from the Southside who didn’t let people in and let anyone break down those hard shelled walls. But Fred managed to do so. In regards to Luke and Madchen and their relatiosnhip as Fred and Alice on the show, I wished that the writers would have had them share more scenes together. Luke and Madchen have a decent overall chemistry rating and it’s a shame that the two didn’t have enough scenes together. I mean, they were neighbours after all and they should have talked to each other alot more than they did. I would have liked to see a friendship between Fred and Alice, where Alice would turn to Fred for emotional comfort in times of crisis. I think Fred would have been a strong emotional pillar for Alice, especially once she found out that her husband Hal was a serial killer and the Black Hood who had shot Fred and spent all that time tormenting the town in disguise. I think what Alice needed at the time was a good, solid and dependable friend that she could turn to for comfort and support. Unfortunately, Alice didn’t have that and that is one of the major reasons why Alice fell apart as a person and as a character throughout season 3. Alice lacked the bonds of friendship and companionship and reality, Alice was so inctedibly lonely. Who did Alice have outside of her famil? She had nobody. That is why she fell through the cracks the wayshe did so badly. She had no external support system outside of her family. This is where I believe that the writers could have incorporated Fred. The writers should have had Fred support Alice and be a comforting companion for her. Considering they lived next door to each other, it’s a shame that the writers failed to produce. Fred and Alice would have had such a good friendship bond if the writers tried to distance themselves out of their same bubble for more than five seconds. Since Luke and Madchen had such a strong bond and a great friendship off screen, the writers made a huge writing error and missed opportunity in not fleshing out the complex and complicated relationship between Fred Andrews and Alice Cooper, a complex relationship that has existed since their high school years. Nonetheless, it’s evident that Luke and Madchen had a special bond with each other and it’s one that Madchen will always cherish for the rest of her life.

#13. Lochlyn Monroe & Madchen Amick (Riverdale Pairing: Halice; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 57%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Rating: 63%)

Coming in at #13 is Lochlyn Monroe and Madchen Amick, who portray the fictional couple of Halice. Lochlyn and Madchen earned an average 63% Spiritual Compatibility Rating. This is not a bad rating considering that their fictional couple of Halice is the complete opposite of anything do with a spiritual connection or bond. Halice’s relationship is the embodiment of a loveless marriage in every sense of the word. But for some reason, Lochlyn and Madchen manage to bring out an aabove average Spiritual Compatibility score. This means that contrary to the fictional couple that they portray, Lochlyn and Madchen have a spiritual connection that is pretty solid. Their decent enough Spiritual Compatibility indicates that the two work together very well and that they have a very good professional relationship because they would be able to do scenes that flow more naturally. I have to say as messed up and as toxic as the relationship between Hal and Alice is, some of the best acting scenes between actors on this show is between Lochlyn and Madchen. Some of their strongest acting together was when Alice discovered Hal’s true identity as the Black Hood after he revealed himself to her and Betty. That scene was so raw, emotional and real. You could tell that Lochlyn and Madchen made the scene so believable with their acting. You could tell that Lochlyn and Madchen were really selling the fact that their two characters were in a highly abusive, toxic and loveless marriage. Looking at Lochlyn and Madchen’s primary Biorhythm Compatibility and Chemistry ratings, they didn’t have the best scores and their overall rating was pretty average. Lochlyn and Madchen earned a 57% Biorhythm Compatibility rating. With regards to their individual categories of Physical, Emotional and Intellectual Compatibility, they earned a 58% Physical, 100% Emotional, and 14% Intellectual Rating. Lochlyn and Madchen’s Physical Chemistry rating is an average score and indicates that they wouldn’t have the most robust or outstanding sexual or physical chemistry with each other. It’s fitting that their score be average in this category since Hal and Alice didn’t even have a sexual or intimate relationship. Their marriage was very loveless and devoid of real love and affection. The one area in which Lochlyn and Madchen knock it out of the park and is unbeatable is the Emotional Compatibility. They earned a 100% score in this category meaning that on an emotional level, they definitely have a connection. It’s understandable to see why they have such a strong and perfect score in this category because despite how devoid of real love their marriage was, their emotion during their acting scenes are always great and intense. Whether it’s a fighting scene or a threatening scene or a fearful scene, Lochlyn and Madchen know how to sell it. Let’s not forget when Hal and Alice had that one tender, heartfelt emotional scene where Hal insisted on getting back together with Alice and trying to fix their marriage for their family’s sake. Lochlyn and Machen do terribly in the Intellectual category, however. This means that on a mental level, they don’t click or connect and there would be disharmony on that level. It’s hard to incorporate Lochlyn and Madchen’s Spiritual Compatibility rating into the acting as Hal and Alice because their relationship is so toxic and unhealthy. Spiritual love is healthy, selfless and free of boundaries. Regardless, they manage to have a strong score in this category despite the fact that they will never be able to portray it on screen.

#14. Vanessa Morgan & Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale Pairing: Choni; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 54%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Rating: 53%)

Up next at #14 on this rankings is Vanessa Morgan and Madelaine Petsch, who portray the fictional LGBTQ couple of Choni. Vanessa and Madeleine earned an average 53% Spiritual Compatibility Rating. It's not extraordinarily terrible, but it's not overly good either. It's just kind of in the middle. On my Biorhythm Compatibility rankings, Vanessa and Madeleine earned an average 54% Biorhytthm Compatibility rating. So, Vanessa and Madeleine scored a similar Spiritual Compatibility Rating to their Overall Compatibility Rating, and there is only a +1% difference between the ratings. Vanessa and Madeleine’s Spiritual Chemistry rating shows that while they may have a close bond, their bond can be very unpredictable in nature. Their rating is what is called at the critical point, meaning that it’s either really good or really bad. At the same time, it’s over 50% meaning that they are in the safe point of incompatibility. Vanessa and Madeleine are known to be besties off screen, which is kind of a shock to me considering their very mediocre test scores. Much of their friendship and closeness is likely based on the Western astrology factor. Vanessa and Madeleine are compatible based on their Sun signs with Vanessa being an Aries Sun and Madeleine being a Leo Sun. Being astrologically compatible makes up for being not so compatible Biorhythmic-ally for Vanessa and Madeleine. When it comes down to their primary Biorhythm Compatibility scores, Vanessa and Madeleine are just very average. They earned a 85% Physical, 43% Emotional and 14% Intellectual. Their 85% Physical Compatibility rating means that they have some major sexual and physical chemistry between them and they do sell it very well as Toni and Cheryl especially during sexual or intimate scenes on the show. However, Vanessa and Madeleine don’t fare that well in the Emotional category, earning only a mediocre score of 43%. With this score, it means that Vanessa and Madeleine don’t have the best emotional connection and it may be very unpredictable. Again, this kind of rating is at the critical point between compatibility and incompatibility. Any score or category that has a rating between 41% and 49% is in the critical area. Finally, Vanessa and Madeleine definitely don’t connect on an Intellectual wavelength. Earning only 14% in this category means that their mental connection is highly incompatible or almost non existent. Looking at their combined categories of Physical, Emotional, Intellectual and now Spiritual, it appears that Vanessa and Madeleine’s strongest category is the Physical Compatibility, which is based on physical attraction, lust and sexuality. If Vanessa and Madeleine were a real life LGBTQ couple, they wouldn’t last because their relationship would be purely based on lust and sex and that’s not enough to sustain a healthy, long term relationship. When it comes to Vanessa and Madeleine’s Spiritual Compatibility rating and how it plays into their fictional couple of Choni, it indicates that sometimes Choni can and will connect spiritually very well and other times, Choni will have troubles connecting on a spiritual level. Their score shows that there may be a lot of unresolved or pent up tension and disharmony at a much deeper level than they both realize. It appears as though Toni and Cheryl don't always understand each other at times. They do have a bond, and it was evident when they first opened up to each other for the first time last season. But this season, their relationship has become very toxic and unhealthy, definitely not something that indicates robust spiritual chemistry or bond between two people. There is a lot of disconnection between Cheryl and Toni, and it's coming out in the way of them butting heads over power and control. If Toni and Cheryl had a better Spiritual Chemistry, then they would be able to get over their problems and the tension in their relationship with much more ease. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to do that, and that is a result of their middle of the road Spiritual Chemistry Rating. Unlike Bughead, Choni doesn't have a problem with communication and honesty, but what they do have a problem with is the type of communication they are giving each other. The two are getting things off their chests and saying what is on their minds, but they are still fighting at the end of the day. There's a lot of unnecessary disharmony in their relationship, and it's like a teeter-totter. Choni's relationship has become so unstable and unpredictable; it's tough to tell what their relationship is going to be like from an episode to episode basis. Their 50/50 Spiritual Chemistry Rating is like a coin toss. Sometimes Choni will connect spiritually and bond on a deeper level with little to no effort. On the other hand, Choni will become distant from each other end up having so much tension and frustration in their relationship and they won't spiritual connect. Choni having such a borderline Spiritual Chemistry Rating is not necessarily a positive thing for Choni and the future of their relationship, Them having such an unpredictable Spiritual Chemistry Rating may cause their relationship to be fraught with constant problems and tension in the present and the future. As of right now, Cheryl and Toni's relationship is at a dangerous threshold. Either they break up, and it's over for good, or they fight to make it work by trying to get back some semblance of being on the same page. Cheryl and Toni seriously need to communicate more beneficially than what they are doing right now. Spiritually, Cheryl and Toni aren't in such a right place. Do you want to know what makes me so disappointed about Choni? At the beginning of their relationship, I believed that Choni might have been a representation of true love and unconditional love. I thought that Choni might have been a representation of Spiritual Love. The kind of love that respects and nourishes and accepts. But this season has proven me wrong when it comes to Choni. The more I'm seeing their relationship this season, the more I realize that maybe Choni is conditional love and not one that is of a deep spiritual connection. Right now, it seems that all that matters to both Cheryl and Toni is who is more powerful and who has more control in the relationship. There's a massive lack of equality in the relationship, and it's heavily lopsided. One minute Cheryl is trying to take control of the relationship and the next minute, it's Toni. And when one of them decides to take control, the other doesn't respect it and resents the other for it. It is a big sign of spiritual disharmony in the relationship, and it's regrettable. Unfortunately, Choni cannot control science and the fact that they have a borderline, middle of the road Spiritual Chemistry Rating that will cause them to have a very unpredictable and chaotic relationship on a spiritual level. All I know is that Cheryl and Toni better at least attempt at trying to bond spiritually more often and communicate with each other more effectively, or I fear for the outcome of their relationship. Because right now, Choni is a complete toxic mess and their spiritual bond and chemistry are out of whack. Yes, they have appeared to have mended things for now, but who knows what the future holds when it pertains to this show. These writers throw people together just as randomly as they tear people apart. As of right now, I’m not certain that Choni has a lot of staying power, but we will see what the future episodes and season hold for these two. Nevertheless, I do greatly enjoy Vanessa and Madeleine’s real life friendship and I find it to be one of the most heartwarming, genuine and endearing bonds between the Riverdale cast members.

#15. Luke Perry & Molly Ringwald (Riverdale Pairing: Frery; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 53%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Rating: 48%)

At #15 on this list is Luke Perry and Molly Ringwald, who portray the fictional couple of Frery. They earned a total score of 48% Spiritual Compatibility Rating. Surprisingly, this is a shocking result for me. Luke and Molly seemed to have such a strong bond with each other, but as their Spiritual Compatibility score reveals, their spiritual connection with each other is just very average. Luke and Molly looked to be very fond of each other and they had a strong bond. They worked well together in the few scenes they had together as Fred and Mary on Riverdale. Looking at Luke and Molly’s primary Biorhythm Compatibility ratings, they earned a 07% Physical, 53% Emotional and 100% Intellectual Compatibility. Physically, Luke and Molly didn’t have great sexual and physical chemistry. This is fitting since their relationship was not based on sexual matters or lust. Their relationship is based more on love, trust and honesty than anything of a sexual nature. Their Emotional Compatibility of 53% indicates that they have an average Emotional Compatibility. It’s not overly great but it’s not extremely terrible. It’s in the safety zone. I’m kind of surprised that Luke and Molly didn’t have a higher rating in this category because Fred and Mary are known to be the loving, healthy couple and they have managed to do well with it. Finally, Luke and Molly’s Intellectual Compatibility score is where they did exceptionally well, earning a perfect 100% rating. With this rating, they tie Cole and Camila (Jeronica) in having a perfect 100% rating in the Intellectual category. Luke and Milly have a strong mental connection and this is where their strength lies. This made their professional co working relationship a pleasant experience for the both of them because they connected so well on a mental level. In regards to how their Spiritual Compatibility plays into their fictional couple Frery, I can’t say that it does. Since they don’t have the strongest spiritual connection, it’s hard for me to make a connection with the two relationships. I will say about Fred and Mary however is that their relationship and marriage is a representation of what a spiritual connection is. Fred and Mary’s relationship is very selfless and loving. Despite the two of them being divorced or separated, they still had a lot of love and respect for each other. Fred and Mary were clearly very supportive of each other and there was no animosity or hatred between the two. They were just two people who discovered that their marriage wasn’t working for them and they parted ways in the most amicable fashion. For that reason, I would say that Fred and Mary had the healthiest relationship out of all the adult relationships on Riverdale. They were separated and no longer in love with each other, but they were still friends and respected each other. they were also good parents to Archie and always supported him and wanted what was best for him. They were willing to put aside ant differences that they may have shared and be there to support Archie when it mattered. This is what you call a bond of true spiritual nature. Like it states at the beginning of the post, spiritual love is selfless and it’s about putting someone elses’ needs above yours. There is no selfishness in the relationship. There is an equal partnership between two individuals. This is what Fred and Mary represented. It’s unfortunate that Luke and Milly’s real life spiritual connection and bond wasn’t as abstract and strong as Fred and Mary’s, but it didn’t negate the fact that Luke and Molly had a great on screen and off screen relationship with each other. I’m gonna miss seeing red and Mary scene son the show and they will be sorely missed. The Fred and Mary scenes were always some of the best scenes between the adult actors on this show and they had the least toxic fictional adult relationship. Fred and Mary were the heart of the ParentDale side of the show and it’s a tragedy that it will never been seen again.

#16. Luke Perry & Marisol Nichols (Riverdale Pairing: Frione; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 92%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Rating: 48%)

Up next at #16 on this rankings is Luke Perry and Marisol Nichols. They portray the fictional couple of Frione. Luke and Marisol earned a score of 48% Spiritual Compatibility, meaning that with this score, they tie Luke and Molly. Luke and Marisol don’t have the strongest spiritual bond and connection with a score like this. However, when it pertains to their primary Biorhythm Compatibility scores, Luke and Marisol are extremely compatible on all levels. Luke and Marisol have a very impressive 92% Biorhythm Compatibility rating, only coming in second to Cole and Camila (Jeronica). Breaking down Luke and Marisol’s individual categories of Physical, Emotional and Intellectual, Luke and Marisol earned a 92% Physical, 94% Emotional, and 89% Intellectual. Those are very impressive scores across the board and in of the categories. Unfortunately, Luke and Marisol don’t perform well in the Spiritual Compatibility department. Can’t win them all, right? With Luke and Marisol having a 92% Physical rating, it means that they have strong physical and sexual chemistry with each other. Unfortunately, we were never able to see this chemistry on display even when they were engaging in an affair in season 1. Instead, we were subjected to watching couples that didn’t have the strongest sexual or physical chemistry grace our screens, couples such as Archalerie, Bughead and Varchie. Fremione was kind of thrown into the background eventually and those couples overshadowed them and took over the screen time. Luke and Marisol also did very well on an Emotional Compatibility level. They have a score of 94% in this category and they tie KJ and Lili (Barchie) in this category, in which they also earned a 94% score. Luke and Marisol having a strong emotional connection isn’t shocking to me. because Luke and Marisol were so close off screen. Out of all the Riverdale cast members, I think Marisol took Luke’s passing the hardest next to KJ and Camila. She worked the most intimately with him other than KJ and Camila so it’s understandable why she was so heartbroken over his death and why it was more pronounced for her and hit her harder on an emotional level. So, it was apparent that Marisol had such a strong emotional attachment to him off screen and their Emotional Compatibility rating proves this fact. Next is their Intellectual Compatibility and Luke and Marisol continue to do well. They earned a 89% which means that mentally, they have a very strong and robust connection with each other. They are pretty much on the same mental and intellectual wavelength and there is little to no disharmony in this area when it pertains to their relationship, off screen and on screen. When it pertains to how Luke and Marisol’s Spiritual Compatibility plays onto their fictional couple pf Fremione, it definitely matches in my opinion. Though Fremione had a lot of chemistry, their relationship was very shallow. We discover that they dated back in high school and had a brief fling, but then Hermione broke up with Fred and chose to go back to Hiram in which she ended up marrying him. For that reason, it makes it appear as though Hermione may have been using Fred as a replacement or a substitute for Hiram. Hermione’s mother didn’t approve of her dating Hiram or being in a relationship with him because she felt that he was a scrub despite coming from wealth and privilege. So, she dated Fred because he was there for her and they had a genuine bond, but it wasn’t a forever kind of bond unfortunately. We also discovered that Hermione was sexually manipulating Fred and having an affair with him because she was trying to get Fred to get into business with Lodge Industries. Her intentions of being with Fred were not genuine, selfless or based on true love. It was based on what Fred could do for Hermione and her family much to Fred’s chagrin. That is the epitome of a relationship or romantic affair that is selfish, shallow and devoid of depth. Their relationship was purely sexual in nature and they didn’t have that strong emotional bond. This is ironic considering that Luke and Marisol had the opposite and have a very strong emotional connection. So, in reality, Luke and Marisol’s mediocre Spiritual Compatibility rating managed to match their fictional relationship of Fredmione. Luke and Marisol had brilliant connections and chemistry in all of their other categories but they lacked in the Spiritual Compatibility. Despite this, I absolutely adored Luke and Marisol’s on and off screen relationship. They worked so well together and they complemented each other on screen. Their interactions were some of my favourites amongst the adult relationships on the shiw. Fredmione wasn’t the most healthy relationship but I never doubted that Fred and Hermione had a genuine love for each other. And I especially don’t doubt that Luke and Marisol loved each other very much and had a strong connection. Luke will surely be missed on the show and the heart of Riverdale has gone with him. RIP Luke.

Bottom 5 Couples (#17 to #21)

#17. Cole Sprouse & Lili Reinhart (Riverdale Pairing: Bughead; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 35%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Rating: 26%)

Topping off the Bottom 5 couples is Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart, who portray the couple of Bughead. Once again, Cole and Lili find themselves at the bottom of the rankings. Maybe not at the very bottom this time, but surely near the bottom. But what else is new with these two right? Cole and Lili racked up a terrible 26% Spiritual Compatibility Rating. I’m not surprised that Cole and Lili have such a bad Spiritual Compatibility Rating. Much of the reason why I think they don’t have a spiritual connection is because I don’t think Cole and Lili’s relationship is nbased on the concept of true love and genuine romance. I have made arguments in other posts of ine that Cole and Lili may not be a real or genuine romantic relationship. I made the argument that they may be a publicity stunt and are using their relationship for attention and PR purposes. If they are, then it’s not a bad thing, but what bothers me about them is how they try to pass their relationship off as if it is some epic love story or some fairytale. I don’t think Cole and Lili are dating each other for the most authentic or selfless of reasons. I think they are dating each other for selfish reasons so their low Spiritual Compatibility is very fitting for their relationship (or lack thereof). Normally, I don’t care about the status of many celebrity couples, but Sprousehart is just so overexposed in the Riverdale fandom and in the media that I can’t help but have a strong opinion about them. Not to mention that it appears that their relationship has overtaken the entire show and has ruined the promise of the show. Because now it seems that everything about Riverdale has to revolve around Sprousehart and Bughead and as someone who wants to see Riverdale focus on all of the characters and relationships, it’s incredibly frustrating to me. My dislike of Sprousehart is stemmed from the favouritism that they are constantly being shown by the writers, the media and the fandom and how the fandom goes out of their way to portray Cole and Lili as some saints who can do no wrong or as some kind of royalty that we should all bow to or fawn over. In reality, Cole and Lili are the most boring, ordinary, and uncharismatic couple in Hollywood or in showbiz. They aren’t even the most charismatic cast members on the Riverdale cast. Every other Riverdale cast member has more charisma and personality than the two of them combined.Once again, it’s no surprise to me that Cole and Lili have a dreadful spiritual compatibility because they also have a horrible Biorhythm Compatibility rating too. Cole and Lili earned a horrible 35% Biorhythm Compatibility and this rating made them the pair of Riverdale actors and Riverdale couple with the worst compatibility and chemistry in the entire Riverdale verse. They were at the very bottom of my Biorhythm Compatibility rankings list and it means that Cole and Lili have the worst chemistry out of all the couples and possible pairings. In addition to having a very horrible Overall Compatibility Rating (35%), they did horrible in all of their categories of Physical, Emotional and Intellectual. Cole and Lili earned a 68% Physical 33% Emotional, and 05% Intellectual Rating. Physically, Cole and Lili had the highest score out of all the categories, but regardless, having a sort of above average rating in this one category is not enough to master or create a successful romantic relationship for the long run. This is why Sprousehart may not make it that long because going by their scores, there is no compatibility and chemistry there. Maybe it’s just my assumptions but I really don’t believe that they are dating each other for the right reasons. I think they are dating each other because it’s what people want and because it will further their careers in this business. That sounds harsh, but the reality is that publicit couples exist I Hollywood. Celebrities date or get together for publicity and business reasons all the time. So me making the argument or creating the theory that Sprousehart may be more of a brand than a real, genuine relationship between two people is not that far off. Plus, I’m not the only one who has made this argument about them in the past. There were actually quite a few people who thought the same as me but were then silenced into expressing this belief within the fandom and on social media out of fear of being attacked, ambushed and bullied by the Sprousehart and Bughead Stans. I have to question the nature of their relationship because alot of their relationship simply doesn’t add up. How can they be a legitimate couple yet produce zero chemistry on screen as Bughead? How can they be a genuinely happy couple in love when they have such terrible compatibility ratings and scores? All of their Biorhythm scores and ratings indicate a highly incompatible couple that should not be together whatsoever. Not only do Cole and Lili have terrible primary Biorhythm Compatibility scores, but they can add having an extremely bad Spiritual Compatibility Rating to their list of underwhelming achievements. With such a low Spiritual Compatibility score, this proves that Cole and Lili don’t have a good, strong or harmonious spiritual bond and connection. This implicates that there is a serious amount if discord, disharmony and incompatibility on a spiritual level within Cole and Lili’s relationship. Now, how does Cole and Lili’s lacking Spiritual Compatibility rating emulate their fictional couple of Bughead on Riverdale. Well, in many ways in fact. In my opinion, life definitely imitates art where these two are concerned. It has been shown and proven on the show time and time again that Bughead don’t have a healthy relationship or a strong connection because of the things that they do to each other and within the relationship. They have a massive lack of communication in their relationship. They don ’t know how to open up to each other and talk when it matters most. They constantly lie to each other and keep secrets from each other even when it’s something of a severe nature. Jughead and Betty lacking spiritual chemistry is proof that their kind of love is conditional love. If Jughead and Betty’s relationship and love were unconditional love, they wouldn’t have so many problems, and they wouldn’t constantly feel the need to hide their feelings and thoughts from each other. Jughead and Betty’s lack of spiritual chemistry is evident in how they constantly fight with each other about little things and big things alike. It’s evident in how they constantly keep secrets from each other. It’s evident in how Jughead and Betty can’t tell the truth to each other and be honest when it counts. I don’t feel that Jughead and Betty truly accept each other for who they are. Their relationship is very conditional and is one of first love. Relationships that are First Love doesn’t represent the concept of unconditional love and spiritual love. It’s an infatuation based on impulse and foolishness. Spiritual love is deep; it’s mature and ever growing and evolving constantly. Bughead is a highly stagnant relationship that has not progressed, and they keep going around in circles repeating the same issues and problems and not doing anything to change it. Another thing is that Jughead and Betty make selfish decisions in the name of their "love" for each other. They do impulsive, stupid things that aren't beneficial for them or anyone else around them. Their actions regarding each other and about each other are very selfish. Jughead and Betty's relationship isn't self-sacrificing and selfless. True love and spiritual love are based on the act of self-sacrifice and selflessness. It's about putting the needs, wants and desires of your loved one before your needs, wants and desires, even if it hurts you to do it. Jughead and Betty have never done such a thing for each other. Even when they do things for each other, it's something bad or illegal. That is not the definition of true love. An example of the selfishness that exists in Bughead's relationship includes Jughead having no issue with dragging Betty into his constant messes. Jughead suggested to Archie that he should get Betty involved in his drug trafficking with Penny Peabody while he and Archie were transporting drugs in Greendale. However, Archie was not having any of it because he refused to drag Betty into Jughead's drug trafficking mess and put her in danger because of it. It's like Jughead didn't even think about what the repercussions would be of dragging Betty into such a dangerous, illegal situation. Jughead was just selfish thinking of putting Betty into that kind of situation, and he didn't even hesitate to think that it was wrong of him to suggest it. Does Jughead not remember that Betty is his girlfriend and significant other, not his assistant and slave that he can use for his benefit or gain when he feels like it or needs it? Betty is just as selfish when it comes to Jughead. She's willing to risk her life and put her family in danger so that she can join a biker gang. Betty wanted to join the Southside Serpents had nothing to do with her caring about the well-being of the Serpents. She only joined them because she wanted to be with Jughead. If Bughead were true love and a love that's based on a spiritual connection, no way would Jughead even think of wanting Betty to join his dangerous world of gangs, crime, and illegal activity. He would want to keep Betty out of danger as much as possible. However, on the flip side, Betty wanting to join the Serpents was her personal decision, but Jughead didn't respect her choice. He berated her and treated her with disrespect as if she isn't his equal. So, it's a double-edged situation regarding Betty joining the gang. Regardless of whether Betty should have joined the gang or not, Betty joined the gang for purely selfish reasons, and that selfish reason was Jughead. I don't know whom Jughead made Betty the Serpent Queen. She doesn't have any qualifications to have that title. Yes, her mother Alice was a Serpent back in her teenage years, but she put that life behind her and has since embraced Northside life. Alice barely acknowledges the Serpent lifestyle anymore. Jughead only made Betty the Serpent Queen because she's his girlfriend. Another thing is that Jughead didn't even discuss the responsibilities and requirements that are necessary for her role as Serpent Queen. Jughead just said "Hey Betty, want to be my Serpent Queen?" instead of discussing what that role means. That is another problem with Bughead. There is a lack of actual communication between the two. We hardly see them thoroughly talk about things. Bughead's lack of spiritual connection is a huge reason why they don't communicate efficiently enough, which also leads to both of them keeping lies and secrets from each other. Another reason why Bughead doesn't have good spiritual compatibility is that they cannot be honest with each other. They constantly keep lies and secrets from each other, and they are usually secrets and lies that are serious. Also, I don't feel like Jughead and Betty respect and appreciate each other, and it was evident in season 1 and season 2. Jughead doesn't appreciate Betty enough or when Betty goes out of her way to do nice or good things for him. Instead, he chooses to throw it back in her face which provokes an argument and fight between the two. It was the case in season 1 when Betty decided to throw a surprise birthday party for Jughead. Yes, Jughead had told Betty that he didn't want a birthday party because he had faced childhood trauma that he didn't want to relive regarding birthdays. Yes, Betty should have listened to Jughead and respected his wishes. On the other hand, Jughead shouldn't have yelled at Betty and scolded her for wanting to commit a nice gesture for Jughead on his day. Instead, the two should have calmly talked about it and communicated about the situation. Instead,d it just caused them to argue. Lack of respect and communication right there. The foundation for Bughead's relationship is pure selfishness. They represent the typical, cliche, teenaged, high school relationship that's nothing more than a phase of First Love. They aren't Spiritual Love, mature love, true love, or everlasting love. Bughead is just playing dress-up in that regard. They are a First Love relationship masking as a True Love relationship. As a result, Cole and Lili h having a low Spiritual Compatibility Rating isn’t a shock to me because LIFE IS IMITATING ART and maybe Sprousehart is just as unhealthy as Bughead is. Bughead, like Sprousehart, has always run hollow to me as if something significant is missing in their relationship, and I can’t describe it. On the show, Cole and Lili as Bughead probably share more “emotional” and intimate scenes than any of the other couples on the show, yet, every single time that Jughead and Betty tried to genuinely bond or share emotional moments, I felt nothing at all. It’s the same result with Varchie. Now, after discovering Cole and Lili’s Biorhythm Compatibility and Chemistry test results, I know why that is. Because Cole and Lili have a low Spiritual Compatibility Rating. How do you expect me to feel the profound, meaningful, and deep bond between Jughead and Betty if Cole and Lili don’t have any connection on a spiritual level? It’s not possible. Whereas KJ and Camila as Varchie is more of physical, sexual relationship and they use sex as a replacement for having a low spiritual connection, Bughead uses lies, secrets, illegal activity, and escapism as a way to replace the lacking deep spiritual bond between them. The lack of Spiritual Compatibility between Cole and lili and by extension Bughead is so evident and apparent every single time. When Cole and Lili as Jughead and Betty look at each other, I don’t feel it. When they talk to each other, I don't feel it. When they act like a romantic couple and have romantic, intimate moments, I still don't feel it. It feels hollow and empty and it really shouldn't. When two people have a profound spiritual connection and Spiritual Compatibility, it’s so obvious, not just to them but to the people surrounding them and observing them. Spiritual Love and passion is emanating from two people in the relationship who have that kind of intense spiritual bond. Jughead and Betty seriously lack that, and it’s unfortunate to watch every single week because out of all the couples, Bughead arguably receives the most attention and screen time. Fans try to proclaim that Bughead is the couple that has the deepest and most meaningful bond out of all the couples on the show? Well, this test and Cole and Lili’s ghastly 26% Spiritual Compatibility Rating (along with their lacking 33% Emotional Chemistry Rating) proved them all wrong and negated their claims. Bughead, and by extension Cole and Lili, doesn’t have a deep spiritual bond or a strong emotional connection whatsoever. Factually, Cole and Lili and Bughead don’t have much of a spiritual connection, bond, or relationship at all and science has just proven this. Now, is it just me or does science seriously dislike Sprousehart for some reason? It’s like pseudoscience or the astral world is saying these two should not be together because they are seriously mismatched and incompatible. Cole and Lili have severe case of bad luck when it comes to the Biorhythm Compatibility tests, consistently producing terrible and horrible ratings. Cole and Lili’s relationship is an incompatible, mismatched mess and Bughead really is no better either, The two are not compatible on any level and science is proving this fact consistently. Why are these two even together in the first place? They have no chemistry and compatibility on any level, and their relationship of Bughead is played out and on borrowed time. They are only staying together to prevent rabid Bughead fans from losing their sanity and mental health. Maybe Sprousehart and Bughead weren’t written in the stars?

#18. KJ Apa & Camila Mendes (Riverdale Pairing: Varchie; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 67%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility: 15%)

Next on the list at #18 is KJ Apa and Camila Mendes who portray the couple of Varchie. They scored a massively dreadful 15% Spiritual Compatibility Rating. This is alot worst than their other scores on their Primary Biorhythm Compatibility calculations. In that regards, KJ and Camila have a 67% Biorhythm Compatibility Rating, meaning that they have an above average chemistry and compatibility with each other. Though their overall compatibility and chemistry is deemed to be good and above average, the writers of the show have ruined any chemistry or potential that these two had with poor writing and sidelining of them. The last time I saw KJ and Camila have legit chemistry was in season 1, notably in the Pilot episode when they were in the closest together and shared their first kiss. However, season 2 onwards, KJ and Camila’s on screen chemistry severely declined and I’m not going to blame it on KJ and Camila, but more so on the writing and the writers ruining them. When it pertains to breaking down their individual categories of Physical, Emotional and Intellectual Compatibility, KJ and Camila garnered a 68% Physical Compatibility, 53% Emotional Compatibility and a 79% Intellectual Compatibility. So, by looking at all of their cateogires, it’s above average across the board, meaning that it’s not completely terrible. My issue with Varchie is more to do with the content of their relationship than about their chemistry. With poor writing comes poor chemistry. Sometimes bad writing can affect the chemistry that two actors have together. The two actors may not have chemistry on one project but they may have much better chemistry on another project. This is the case with KJ and Camila, in my opinion. Because looking at their Biorhythm Compatibility, it is not a bad rating at all and it’s above average to good. They certainly have Cole and Lili and Bughead beat in this department, being over 30%+ ahead of Sprousehart in regards to total compatibility. The one category that I was surprised with when it came to KJ and Camila ‘s ratings was their Physical Compatibility rating. Since they are the sexual and physical couple on Riverdale, I would expect the two actors portraying this type of couple to have outstanding sexual and physical chemistry and attraction to each other. But, for a couple of this nature, their Physical Compatibility of 68% is very mild and middle of the road. Next is that KJ and Camila don’t have the best emotional connection either. They only earned a 53% in this category and this isn’t that strong of a score. It’s fitting that emotionally, KJ and Camila don’t have the best connection or chemistry because every single time that KJ and Camila have to do touching, heartfelt or emotional scenes on the show, I never end up feeling anything while watching them. Sometimes their emotional scenes are okay, but it doesn’t wow me or impress me. The writing doesn’t help KJ and Camila and Varchie either so they aren’t able to convey a couple that has an emotional bond instead of just a sexual bond. The one area where KJ and Camila do have a good connection is the Intellectual category. Here, they have a 79% Intellectual Compatibility, indicating that while they don’t necessarily connect the best emotionally, they connect rather well intellectually and mentally. How does KJ and Camila’s low Spiritual Compatibility play into their fictitious romance of Varchie? The lack of Spiritual Chemistry between Camila and KJ is very noticeable as Varchie because of how much these two don’t communicate and talk to each other like a normal romantic couple should be doing. Instead, they are using sex as a way to solve their problems. More than anything, their relationship is purely based on the physical and they lack that emotional and spiritual bond that is so necessary for a harmonious an successful relationship to be possible. We were all wondering why Varhcie seems like such a shallow relationship. Well, that is the reason why. They have a mediocre Emotional Chemistry Rating (only 53%) and a very horrible Spiritual Chemistry Rating (only 15%). Combine those two ratings, and the result is a profoundly shallow relationship that is mostly physical and sexual than spiritual or emotional. Unfortunately, there’s nothing that can be done to change this. Archie and Veronica can’t wave a magic wand and suddenly have this magical, spiritual connection or chemistry together. It’s something that is there or it isn’t there. With Varchie, it isn’t there (and it’s not there for KJ and Camila since the ratings are based on the date of birth of the real-life actors). The lack of Spiritual Compatibility is not only evident in that Varchie are always sleeping together and using the physical activity to help solve their issues, but the fact that they have little to nothing in common whatsoever. What do Archie and Veronica have in common besides sex and their love of music? Nothing. How are Archie and Veronica supposed to formulate a deep spiritual connection if they have nothing to talk about or communicate? They also have a massive lack of trust and honesty in their relationship which contributes to the lack of spiritual connection in the relationship. What also proves that Varchie has a seriously spiritually incompatible relationship is that their relationship is actively toxic and unhealthy for both partners. Archie and Veronica have changed dramatically for the negative since engaging in a romantic relationship. Before they got together, they were much happier and better people. When two partners have a robust spiritual connection, the two people in the relationship are supposed to grow and evolve beneficially and positively. They aren't supposed to have an abruptly negative change in their personality. It is one of the most significant signs that a romantic couple is in a conditional and toxic romantic relationship or love, not a healthy, unconditional and spiritual love and connection. When two people have a disharmonious or low Spiritual Compatibility, the connection between the two partners is severely neglected and fragmented. Ever since Archie has begun a romantic relationship with Veronica, he has become withdrawn, sullen, depressed, anxious, wrecked with never-ending trauma and heaped with personal troubles. Archie's relationship with Veronica has emotionally and spiritually wounded him, and now, he requires spiritual and emotional healing to repair his internal wounds. Unfortunately, Veronica is not the person to do that for him because she and her family are the ones who inflicted harm on him to start. On the flip side, Archie hasn't been right for Veronica either. He is a toxic influence on her as well, and her personal growth becomes stagnated. She doesn't become a better person with Archie. Archie has a habit of enabling her tosic personality qualities and traits which is a big no-no. Their relationship is way too toxic for them to qualify to have spiritual love or a powerful spiritual connection with each other. Their relationship is more physical and sexual than anything else. Therefore, KJ and Camila having a very low Spiritual Compatibility Rating is not surprising to me because again, like I have stated before, life is imitating art.

#19. Cole Sprouse & KJ Apa (Riverdale Pairing: Jarchie; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 50%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility: 15%)

At #19 on this rankings is Cole Sprouse and KJ Apa, who portray the fictional duo of Jarchie. KJ and Cole garnered a measly 15% Spiritual Compatibility Rating. I’m shocked that Cole and KJ don’t have a strong spiritual connection. Since these two are such close friends, I would expect them to have a much stronger bond on this level. unfortunately, they don’t. Going back to Cole and KJ’s primary Biorhythm Compatibility scores, they didn’t do exceptionally well in that test either. Their total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating is 50%, which is what is considered to be at the critical point or the borderline level between compatibility and incompatibility. It means that Cole and KJ’s compatibility would be unpredictable and changeable. One minute, they would bond really well together and other times, they will want to ignore or avoid each other like the Plague. As for their individual categories, Cole and KJ earned a 58% Physical Compatibility, 0% Emotional Compatibility, and a 93% Intellectual Compatibility. Their Physical Compatibility is on the average side, so if Cole and KJ has to portray an LGBTQ couple on the show, it’s uncertain if they would be able to sell it as convincingly as they should. Having the sexual and physical component within Jarchie’s relationship would give off the impression that they have an attraction to each other. But their score is much too average. Next is their Emotional Compatibility in which they did absolutely horribly and where they earned the worst and lowest score or rating out of any individual category on the rankings. Cole and KJ have a 0% Emotional Compatibility, meaning that they literally have no emotional connection or bond with each other at all. This is quite surprising considering how close KJ and Cole are off-screen. However, where they do have a very strong bond is on the Intellectual and mental level in which they earned a score of 93%. Cole and KJ may not have a strong Emotional or Spiritual Compatibility, but they do have a very strong Intellectual and mental connection and this is likely where Cole and KJ find their connection with each other. Again. it’s shocking that Cole and KJ not only lack Emotional Compatibility, but they don’t even have good Spiritual Compatibility either! What gives? Considering that Cole and KJ and Jarchie, are so close and are lifelong best friends, I would expect them to have a powerful emotional and spiritual connection with each other. How does Cole and KJ’s Spiritual Compatibility rating play into their fictional friendship of Jarchie? Their low Spiritual Compatibility Rating somewhat makes sense in the grand scheme of things, especially with how often these two best friends have drifted apart and grown distant from each other. Before the start of the series, Jughead and Archie stopped being friends, because Archie paid Ms. Grundy and his illicit affair more attention than to Jughead. It angered Jughead because both of them were supposed to hang out together during the Summer before school started. But Archie was too preoccupied, and their relationship fell through. Luckily, they managed to mend their friendship, and they ended up being on good terms at the start of the series. However, they had another falling out in season 2. Archie chose to turn against his friends, including Jughead, to swear loyalty to Hiram Lodge and the Lodge family. Archie turned his back on Jughead and the Southside by pledging his allegiance to the Lodges. At that point, it appeared as though their friendship might not have been repairable. However, they managed to get their friendship back on track once Archie had an epiphany and realized the error of his ways and chose to turn against Hiram and side with Jughead and the Southside Serpents. The fact that Archie and Jughead have had quite a few falling outs in such a short amount of time shows that there is some strong spiritual disharmony between the two and the two can’t seem to stay connected spiritually. Considering their very low Spiritual Chemistry Rating, this is not a shock. Archie and Jughead have proved that they have troubles with being honest with each other and opening up to each other when it matters the most. Archie and Jughead are supposed to be best friends since childhood yet they barely act like it. Both of them act so distantly from each other, especially this season. If Jarchie isn't fighting with each other or competing against each other, they are acting distant from each other. But when Archie and Jughead do manage to put their differences aside and connect as best friends, it provides some of the best scenes and moments on the show. Let's go back to season 2 for a second and analyze Jughead and Archie's relationship. At the start of season 2, Archie and Jughead were on good terms with each other. Jughead was supportive of Archie and was there to comfort him after his father Fred got shot and almost died. Jughead acted as a good best friend would. However, when the Black Hood drama, the Serpent drama and the Hiram/Lodge family drama came about and was incorporated in both Archie and Jughead's lives, the two friends grew distant once again. Things only got worse for their friendship in season 2B. It was shocking and disappointing at the same time to watch Archie continue to choose to be loyal to Veronica and the Lodge family (primarily Hiram) over being loyal to Jughead who had been there for him since they were kids. Archie choosing Hiram and the Lodges over Jughead solidifies an example of how Archie and Jughead are spiritually incompatible. Or how the two can go months without even communicating or hanging out together and acting so distant from each other as if they are strangers. However, despite the lack of Emotional Chemistry and Spiritual Compatibility that Cole and KJ have, Cole and KJ are compatible in different ways. They have an excellent and outstanding Intellectual Compatibility Rating of 93%. They scored a decent and stable Physical Chemistry Rating of almost 60%. And as you can see in the above ratings, Cole and KJ have excellent Awareness Compatibility (a massive and impressive 99%) and Intuitive Compatibility (a solid 79%). So, while these two may not be compatible on a Spiritual and Emotional Chemistry level, Cole and KJ makes up for those lacking areas by being compatible in other areas of their Primary and Secondary Biorhythm Compatibility test scores. But regardless of their occasionally bumpy relationship on the show and their lack of spiritual connection and emotional connection in the real world, I still Cole and KJ’s friendship and Jarchie’s on screen relationship.

#20. Skeet Ulrich & Gina Gershon (Riverdale Pairing: Fladys; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 72%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility Rating: 09%)

The runner up for worst Spiritual Compatibility rating is Skeet Ulrich and Gina Gershon, who portray the couple Fladys or Glythe. They have a horrendous Spiritual Compatibility Rating of 09%! That is absolutely awful! What’s interesting is that when it came to Skeet and Gina’s primary Biorhtyhm Compatibility calculations, they had a pretty strong score. Skeet and Gina earned a 72% Biorhythm Compatibility Rating making them one of the Top 5 ParentDale couples and one of the Top 10 couples on Riverdale in my rankings lists. Skeet and Gina’s Physical, Emotional and Intellectual Compatibility scores were as follows: 96% Physical Compatibility, 53% Emotional Compatibility and 65% Intellectual Compatibility. Skeet and Gina’s Physical Compatibility score of 96% means that they have major sexual and physical chemistry with each other. They never did get the opportunity to showcase this because Gina’s character Gladys never had any intentions of rekindling her marriage to FP and having a real relationship with him. She was there to take over Hiram Lodge’s drug empire. But as their Physical Compatibility rating suggests, they would have lit the screen on fire with their sexual tension and chemistry. They, no doubt, have one of the highest Physical Compatibility ratings out of all the couples in Riverdale. Skeet and Gina have an average rating of 53% Emotional Compatibility. So, it’s not the best, it’s just very average. Fitting that they don’t have the best emotional compatibility because their on screen relationship of Fladys eventually came to lack an emotional connection and attachment. Gladys even left FP high and dry and took their daughter with her to Ohio because she could no longer stand to be around him. So clearly, the emotional connection that she had to FP withered away with time. Skeet and Gina’s Intellectual Compatibility is above average with a score of 65%. Overall, Skeet and Gina’s primary Biorhythm scores are above average but nothing spectacular. What gives them a higher overall rating of 72% is undoubtedly their very high Physical Compatibility rating. As to how Skeet and Gina’s extremely bad and low Spiritual Compatibility of only 09% mirrors their fictional relationship of Fladys on Riverdale. Well, I say that it matches perfectly. Gladys’ relationship is extremely selfish in nature. We found out that Gladys came back to Riverdale to take over the drug empire, not to be with FP. She never had any intentions of getting back together with him or fixing her family. She cared about earning big bucks in a shady, illegal manner so that she could live the American Dream in Riverdale. Her intentions may have been wanting to provide a secure life for her family after so many years of having to do numerous criminal, illegal and underhanded things to get by in the past and conducting tons of scamming to put food on the table. But the fact that she managed to keep something that severe of a secret from FP shows that her love for him is selfish and wasn’t based on spiritual love. If she loved FP on a spiritual level, she wouldn’t have done what she did and resorted to the measures that she did to try and bring her family back together. Do I think Gladys loved FP and maybe still loves him? Yes. Do I believe that the kind of love that FP and Gladys share is a love of the spiritual nature? No. Their relationship is much too problematic, unhealthy and toxic for it to be based on spiritual love. That is why it’s super coincidental and fitting that Skeet and Gina don’t mesh well together spiritually because their fictional couple of Fladys doesn’t either. Falice (89%) and especially Formione (97%) definitely have Fladys beat in the Spiritual Compatibility department and it’s not even close!

#21. Martin Cummins & Robin Givens (Riverdale Pairing: Tierra; Total Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 44%; Total Biorhythm Spiritual Compatibility: 09%)

Finally at #21 and the couple with the WORST Spiritual Compatibility Rating is Martin Cummins and Robin Givens who portray the fictional couple Tierra. They earned a ghastly 09% Spiritual Compatibility Rating and they are tied with Skeet Ulrich and Gina Gershon (who portray Fladys) with this score. The reason why Fladys is ranked higher than Tomerra is because on my primary Biorhythm Compatibility rankings, Tomerra has a much lower rating than Fladys does and they were therefore ranked significantly lowers on the list than Fladys. Fladys has a 72% Biorhythm Compatibility Rating while Tomerra only has a 44% Biorhythm Compatibility Rating. When it comes to Martin and Robin’s individual categories on their primary test, they were as follows: 20% Physical Compatibility, 71% Emotional Compatibility, and 42% Intellectual Compatibility. Physically, Martin and Robin don’t have good chemistry at all. They can’t provide hot, sexy and passionate on screen chemistry that they would need during those sexual scenes. However, despite the serious lack of Physical Compatibility, Martin and Robin do manage to do very well on an Emotional Compatibility basis. Here, they have a 71% Emotional Compatibility rating meaning that while they don’t connect very well physically or sexually, they have a great connection emotionally. This can be viewed as a positive in their favour because then they would be portrayed as more than just the sexual couple. They have an emotional connection and through Tomerra, Martin and Robin would be able to convey that. Their Intellectual Rating isn’t strong either, only being 42%. They wouldn’t have a strong intellectual or mental connection and they may not always get along mentally. They likely wouldn’t have the best communicative skills with each other which is what this rating suggests. How does Martin and Robin’s low Spiritual Compatibility rating in any way comparable to their on screen relationship of Tomerra. Well, simply put, it’s not. While Martin and Robin may not have a good spiritual compatibility, their characters of Tom and Sierra are certainly the opposite. Going by the flashbacks, Tom and Sierra have genuinely loved each other since high school. They gave up their love for each other after playing the dangerous game of G&G and after the Midnight Club had broken up. Their love was so selfless in nature that they were willing to give up their love and their relationship to keep each other safe and because they made a vow to each other to do so. They both married other people and created their own separate families. They eventually rekindled their spiritual love in the present and are now a happily married couple in bliss. It appears as if Martin and Robin don;’t have much luck when it comes to compatibility as they have been in the bottom of the rankings in my ParentDale couples rankings and are now, once again, at the very bottom of my Spiritual Compatibility rankings. It’s a shame. I like Tomerra and they are one of the few interracial couples on this show. I just wish that they had better ratings than they have.

That’s it for my Biorhythm Compatibility and Chemistry Rankings for Riverdale! I’ll be doing these rankings for Game Of Thrones, The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, and possibly One Tree Hill couples in the near future. Until next time! ✌️🤘

#bughead #varchie #cheronica #fladys #halice #riverdale #biorhythms

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