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ktheist · 4 years ago

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01 — show me yours & i’ll show you mine | m

“then won’t you fuck me right now? i’m already wet for you.”

“not tonight,”

➙ muses. seokjin x college student / gamer!reader ft. best friend! taehyung

➙ genre. best friend’s brother au. university au. working au. fwb au.

➙ word. 5k

➙ warnings. explicit content, reader coming onto seokjin who’s still hung up about how he watched over her and his little brother, taehyung, all these years, they’re six years apart, fingering, rimming.

➙ index. 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | finale | side story 1 |

➙ synopsis. you’re a horny bunny yet kim seokjin always seems to manage to slide out of your grasps like a fox every time.

follow these two as they embark on a sexual adventure whilst keeping their relationship on the low from kim taehyung who may or may not just pull out the (your) best friend and (seokjin’s) brother card to call a time-off on them for good.

➙ note. if you’re used to reading my fics, this one is a little different. it focuses less on healing and more on getting it on w your best friend’s brother ykwim.

also, if you’re not okay with the age gap or the nature of their dynamic, keep it to yourself. block and don’t engage. much love x

“i watched you grow up!” seokjin shouts right in your face as he leans so far back against the counter, you thought his back would break.

“exactly,” a suggestive smirk curls on your lips as you lean your breasts against him, making sure the angle allows him to have an eyeful of your voluptuous slopes, “i’m grown now.”

but your words seem to have snapped him out of your wonderful spell, eyes going round with realization, “you’re nineteen!”

“and,” your finger teasingly travel up from his chest and a few inches above dip of his collarbone where the protrusion of his adam’s apple dips and stops at, “legal.”

“taehyung will kill me,” he reasons, large, secure hand wrapping around your wrist before he holds it away from his throat.

“only if he knows,” your free hand caresses the noticeable protrusion in his pants that’s pressing deliciously against your stomach.

seokjin’s mouth opens and closes twice but no words come out. and he’s not exactly making any moves to hold your teasing hand away from his boner.

“please, seokjin?” with a voice as sweet as angel’s and a tilt of head just in the right angle, you give him your best puppy eye, “i can’t take it anymore, after i saw how hung you were last month when i accidentally walked in on you in the bathroom... you’re all i think about - and you weren’t even hard back then!” you giggle when his hand finally captures yours when you try to pull down the zipper of his pants.

seokjin’s lush lips glisten from his tongue swiping out to wet them - you may not have spent as much time with him than with his brother but you know that whenever he does that little tongue thing and seem to stare off into nothing in particular - it’s because he’s heavily considering the possibility of delving into whatever that had his head occupied.

but before he can even say a word, the sound of keys jiggling from the other side of the door echoes into the space where you’d trapped him, in the middle of twirling around with a newly filled glass of water. you’d easily took the glass out of his hand, noting the way he arched a brow but silently watched as you placed it on the counter next to him before you boxed him between you and the counter.

“...that’s why i’m telling you! we need more cheese!” taehyung walks in with two bags of groceries, head craned towards his elder brother and middle child of the kims - namjoon who only shakes his head at the younger boy’s antics.

“we already bought three packets of cheese,” by the time namjoon’s pointing out the unbelievable bought, you’re already helping taehyung get the backs off his hands and placing them on the counter across where seokjin stands, front facing the counter, boner hidden underneath and hand gripping the poor glass until his knuckles turn white.

“oh my god, spicy carbonara ramen!” you squeal, finding out the signature light pink packet before setting that aside - you don’t trust anyone in this house to not steal your food unless you keep it safe in your room.

“you’re too obsessed with that thing,” taehyung asserts from next to you, sitting on one of the stools, eating out of the bag of cheese-flavored chips.

“uh-huh, maybe if seokjin or namjoon says that, i’d take it more seriously,” you don’t miss the way the eldest brother’s eyes sweeps up to you in an automatic response to his name.

to anyone else, your smile would look as if you’re sharing the same humor for teasing taehyung.

“uh, i’m like the boss of moderation,” taehyung waves a dismissive hand.

“the three packets of cheese in the fridge disagrees,” you twirl around, stealing the bag out of his grasp and leaning against the counter as you place one chip into your mouth.

you notice seokjin padding towards the hallway where the rooms are and somewhere at the end, lies the infamous bathroom you speak of that changed your life forever.

the kims and your family have known each other for years. having been next door neighbors, it’s almost inevitable that you’d be best friends with the same-age, truck toy-wielding boy. your parents didn’t need to worry when they didn’t find you in your room - they could just ring up the kims’ and ask if their daughter were over without telling them which, most of the time, was the case.

you didn’t get to hang out at school because you went to an all-girls school and taehyung and his brothers went to a co-ed school. seokjin was the kinder but still fun to hang out with brother but wasn’t around most times. he was already in high school when you were in elementary - had his own set of friends, joined robotics for the entirety of his high school career which made him immesurably busy. namjoon’s alright but he’s more quiet and also somehow managed to get you and taehyung to do your homeworks even though you initially came over to get away from your parents nagging you to do said homework.

you should’ve seen that diplomatic but persuasive nature of his would have landed him a job in one of the biggest firms in seoul. seokjin took on a much different route, choosing to work for samsung’s sister company that specialized in r&d-ing micro-everything that goes into the phone - which is also in seoul.

you and taehyung got into the same university but the different in majors yet again obstruct you from hanging out whenever you wanted to which was why you were almost always around in the weekend at the kim brothers’ shared apartment. that meant sacrificing your back, sleeping on the thinly layered futon taehyung bought for you on sale because he finally took pity on your sleeping on the couch and suffering from back pains every morning (they were exaggerated and taehyung knew but you guessed his guilty conscience got the best of him).

“what? so your girlfriend found out i’ve been crashing at your place and she wants you to choose between me and her?” you’re in front of the laptop (they don’t have a tv) in the living room, eating a bowl of ramen while taehyung has his cheesy burrito, the movie freezing in the screen before you turn to him with the most, you’d say, nasty frown.

“i mean - she just said a girl and a guy shouldn’t be sleeping together in a room regardless if one’s on the bed and the other’s on the floor,” taehyung’s avoiding your eyes and that’s how you know he’s actually debating following that snobbish little bitch’s instructions.

now, you don’t call just anyone a bitch but when you do, she’s on your ‘don’t fuck with’ list.

“do you see my girlfriend complaining about us sharing a room when me and her were dating?” you point out in a matter of factly.

“th-this and that are two different things!” taehyung slams the burrito onto the plate in his lap and slams said plate onto the coffee table.

you say slam but it’s really possibly just a tad bit aggressive than what taehyung’s like usually.

“how is it different?” the bowl of ramen clicks sharply when you place it on the coffee table too.

“i-it just is,” taehyung shrugs.

“i can’t believe you’re choosing some bimbo over me!” hand over your chest, you look at him dramatically, jaw hanging loose and eyes accusing.

“you’ve been sleeping in the living room before i got the futon. it’ll just be like one of those days, you know what i mean?” he shrugs - or at least attempts to look casual about it.

“look at this place! it’s not even big enough to fit the futon,” hands flailing, you gesture towards the minimal space on the floor.

“it’s fine, we can move the coffee table somewhere-” taehyung still tries but you’re already vexed-marching towards the hallway with your bowl of ramen without another word.

to just about anyone, it would’ve been obvious that you’ve had it with your best friend. but taehyung being taehyung is probably desensitized to your anger fits because this time, he does sound casual when he shouts, “what about the movie? can i continue watching without you?”

“do whatever you want!” you shout back before slamming the door behind you.

it takes you a moment to gather yourself before you notice the heat of a pair of eyes on you from all the way across the room. seokjin lies in bed with his laptop on his lap, pillows elevating his upper body. he’s staring at you with arched brows and cute naturally puckered lips.

“oh, don’t mind me. i just had a fight with taehyung and i can’t stand to see him right now,” you say, walking over to the vacant table and chair, “do you mind if i finish my ramen here?”

“be my guest,” before he even lifts his hand from the laptop to gesture towards said desk, you’re already plopping down with a “thanks!”

soon enough, the tapping sound of his keyboard fills the otherwise silent room. you don’t know how long time’s passed but you’ve already finished your ramen and scrolling through instagram on your phone when you see seokjin’s latest post.

he’s sitting in a cafe, dressed in a denim jacket over a white turtle neck with a cap casting shadow over his eyes. the angle he has head head lowered makes it all the more difficult to see his expression. only his soft kissable lips are visible.

so you double tap on the picture before going into gallery and scrolling through your own pic. there’s one with you standing in front of a brick wall, clad in all black, bringing out your colorful eye makeup in conjunction with pride month. the way you’re standing accentuates your curve, bringing attention to your hips after the beholder would be done with admiring the emotions in your eyes.

you have taehyung to thank for that picture but you’re not about to tag him for credit because you haven’t really forgave him. he’s on his phone since it dinged with a notification, probably from you liking his picture. but he hasn’t even looked at you once throughout the course of that and you posting a new picture.

relentless, open up snapchat, posing for a picture and making sure the frame captures the sight of your perked breasts as you stick the tip of your tongue out, smirking and biting on it ever so gently.

with a caption of ‘don’t have a bedroom to sleep in tonight, can i sleep in urs, ggukie-yah?’

it takes a second and a half for him to set his phone down... and go back to his laptop. the tapping sound continues without even the slightest hiccup to it - and he’s already opened your snap.

so with that, you stand up, pick up your bowl, making sure to stand in a way that makes your hips more curved and breasts more defined, “well, i guess i need to get out of here since taehyung’s jealous ass girlfriend doesn’t want me sleeping in his room.”

“hm?” his brows raises at that, “you’re leaving? but it’s night time.”

your dorm is at least half an hour away and it’s too expensive by grab - you usually go back on monday with taehyung since he has a car. but since you’re not on speaking terms, both you and seokjin know that even if the youngest brother offers to drive you back - you’d straight out refuse him. would probably even say something along the lines of your friendship being over and that he has no obligations to ensure you return safely. all of it’s gotta be dramatic though. maybe add in crocodile tears.

“i’d probably stay over at a friend’s at least he’ll lend me his bed to sleep in, unlike your woman-choosing brother.” when your hand is on the handle, seokjin stops you.

“this friend... is it ‘gukkie-yah’?” and there goes the fish biting the bait.

“how did you know?” you’d like to think your tilted head and confused, drawn together eyebrows are convincing enough.

“you mistook me for him... i got your snap which was probably meant for him,” he waves his darkened phone screen in the air.

“oh my god, you did?” hand over your mouth, you gasp, “i’m so sorry, that was embarrassing.”

“it’s chill,” he shrugs.

“anyways, i’ll text him on my way there. he usually has no qualms lending a helping hand to a friend in need,” and with that, you twist the doorknob.

“are you guys... close?” the question hits the air with a different kind of tone.

“kinda,” you say, face struggling to stay neutral when you see the way his eyes glint with a dangerous gleam, “we were fwb’s in freshman year before i started dating yoona... might continue where we left off.”

“cool,” is all he says before he goes back to his laptop, the incessant tapping sound echoing throughout the room. not even a glance is spared at you the whole time you slip out of the door and close it behind you.

taehyung’s eyes catch yours for the briefest second and before he can even say anything (he looks like he would’ve said hi like he didn’t just choose his girlfriend over you), you’re holding up a hand, “don’t talk to me. i’m still mad at you for choosing a girl over me.”

as soon as you’re done washing the dishes, you pad back towards the hallway, not even caring that taehyung’s not bothering to get up from his spot or pausing the movie to talk to you - guess you’re both in that stage where you know no matter how mad the other is, they’ll never be mad enough to break the friendship for forever.

either way, if your best friend already exiled you from his room and your crush doesn’t even care about you going over to another boy’s place, you might as well actually go over to said boy’s place.

at least jeongguk’s dick game is good.

“you’re really going?” seokjin’s sillhoutte leans against the door frame whilst you’re stuffing your clothes into a h&m’s paper bag.

“yeah, like, i’m done. i’m not gonna let that bimbo think she won,” you huff while in the middle of shoving your headphones on top of the neatly folded pile.

“you can sleep with me,” as soon as he said those words, you can see panic spread through his face as he quickly adds, “in my room- on the bed- i can sleep on the floor.”

“why can’t we sleep in the same bed?”

his eyes follow the sweater that you were in the middle of folding and discard, tossing it onto taehyung’s bed.

“you and taehyung don’t-” he starts but you’re convulsing in disgust.

“ew,” you manage to hold back your rising bile. so he stays quiet. clad in a creme colored sweater that makes him look cozy and warm, “why’d you think i never complained about sleeping on the couch or on the floor? it’s cause i don’t wanna catch his cooties!”

okay, so maybe that was a lie. taehyung may be cootie-less but you’ve never been the huggy-cuddly kind of best friends. for one, it’s because you both did believe that touching the opposite gender will actually render your whole body spotted with incurable diseases and before you know it, you both were allergic to physical contact with each other at least.

seokjin doesn’t seem to believe so, otherwise he wouldn’t be shaking his head and smiling to himself.

“does that mean we can sleep in the same bed?” you cross the short distance between the bed where you’re standing over and to the door, putting on your best puppy eye.

“sure, why not?” seokjin caves like he always does back then.

you squeal in delight, arms wrapping around his waist as you give him a big hug whilst he freezes under your touch but doesn’t tell you to go away, “eeep, thanks!”

it’s almost as if the incident at the kitchen this afternoon was just a dream.

taehyung has tried talking to you - you say talk because no word of apology slipped through his mouth - but you’re having none of it, hiding behind seokjin’s big bro influence, or so you’d like to call it, when he burst through his eldest brother’s door, demanding for his best friend, “i know she’s in here!”

“she is,” seokjin says simply and you’re about to shoot him accusatory looks before he chuckles, “but she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“____, come on, the squad’s all ready to play,” so that’s what he’s after.

over the years, you and taehyung have gathered your own like-minded people when it comes to video games. you don’t own a personal computer so your laptop suffers for it but the upside is that you get to bring it everywhere and it’s a pretty sturdy, gamer laptop.

“i’m playing here,” you say, laptop already set up on seokjin’s desk, headphones on.

“okay, whatever,” with a roll of his eyes, taehyung closes the door, leaving you and seokjin alone again.

and so it goes, you giving rapt attention to the game and the occasional comments spilling out of your lips when one of you make a dumb mistake or when one of you manage to kill off the enemy team’s avatar until you end up being killed yourself.

“what?” jeongguk - oh, he’s part of the squad - drags out as if he couldn’t belive his eyes.

“that’s cheating, bro,” taehyung’s voice rings in your earphone, “they literally ganged up on ___!”

“shit, shit, shit, shit, we’re gonna lose,” hoseok chants like a mantra.

“no, we’re not gonna lose,” you can just hear jimin rolling his eyes.

“bro, stop capping! we lost our fighter!” hoseok is at a point where he’s shrieking now.

“well, take however-long-it-takes-for-me-to-respawn, i guess,” you say in the middle of them arguing that they still have a hybrid fighter who is jeongguk.

either way, you’re already standing up, stretching your stayed-in-one-position-for-too-long limbs just in time for seokjin to walk in with a towelette draped over his head - you remember him using those cute little printed ones back then to dry his face after he brushed his teeth and cleansed his face. sure enough, he looks as fresh as the air that you’re about to take.

“you’re going to bed?” you ask the obvious.

“yeah, don’t worry, you don’t have to turn off the lights.”

“oh, don’t worry, i’m used to playing in the dark - my eyes are immune,” you wave a dismissive hand.

then he steals a glance at your laptop where your headphone lies next to it, emitting the lowest mumblings from your squad.

“you died?” he asserts - it’s obvious because otherwise, why would you even be talking to him.

“yeah, i think i’m gonna go wash my face now too.”

and with that, you’re out of the door, bursting in taehyung’s and shaking his shoulders to distract him as he reports the act of disturbance you’re comitting to the squad before you leave for the bathroom where your toiletries have made home in the cabinet along with taehyung’s belongings whilst namjoon and seokjin opts for placing theirs on either corners of the sink.

when you’re back, the room is already dark with your laptop being the only thing guiding your steps. there’s a lump underneath the blanket on the left side of the bed and another bright light casting sight on seokjin’s face as he scrolls through his phone.

he doesn’t bat an eye when you climb over, only looking up when it’s too late. thanks to his phone light, you can see how his eyes widen as he gazes at you with a mixture of disbelief and confusion.

you just pecked him on his cheek.

“good night,” and with that, you bound over to your laptop, noting that you’ve already respawned and getting shit talked by your squad for your tardiness and almost being the cause that the whole team was going to lose.

but fifteen minutes in, you make a blunder that causes the whole team to lose, “alright, alright, i don’t think i’m in my zone right now. maybe i’ll hit the sack.”

a chorus of protests erupts through your headphone as jeongguk starts calling you out on uncanny ability to stay up all night playing.

“i’m hitting twenty!” you dramatically moan, “my body doesn’t work like it used to!”

the protests floods in one more time but by then, you’re already saying your goodbyes, making sure to give taehyung a warning not to come bursting into seokjin’s room because he’s already asleep and you don’t want to get kicked out for being the cause his little brother disrupted his sleep to find the best friend he’s housing after she got exiled.

“seokjin?” you whisper into the dark, climbing onto the bed for the second time of the night but this time, you’re on top of the human-sized lump.

when no answer comes from the man, you giggle, “please, i heard your phone shutting off when i was telling the boys i was going to bed- had one headphone over my ear and the other off.”

only then does the man underneath you move, his tone bearing a warning, “taehyung is right across the hallway.”

“shh,” you’re groping blindly, but lady luck deems that you find seokjin’s neck and then his plump lips with ease, “then we better be real quiet.”

unlike this morning, he isn’t as deflective. doesn’t tell you to stop even when you’re grinding directly over him. and boy, is he hung.

“you know,” he lets you pry the sheets off him, kicking it off his feet completely as you take a seat on his hardening self, breasts pressed against his chest as you slowly lay yourself on him, “i was hoping you’d fuck me when i was playing,” his heartbeat is deliciously erratic, “bend me over the desk and fuck me while i talk to my friends like nothing’s happening.”

seokjin’s teeth grazing over your thumb that you use to shush him comes off as a pleasant surprise. your only regret is not letting the laptop stay on so you’d at least be able to see what kind of expression he’d make.

“you might not be able to keep your moans in on your first time with me,” the unadulterated confidence reeking off him is enticing. so ever different from the kim seokjin who’d throw around dad jokes in the house whenever the four of you sit down to have dinner, “none of the ladies i slept with could.”

“is that a challenge?” you don’t pretend to hide your excited tone as you shoot up, eyes searching for a face but all you see is darkness.

but you feel him underneath. you smell his fresh minty breath. you hear his deep breaths. you feel him.

“touch me,” it doesn’t take long for you to find both of his hands after you took off your tanktop and bra, mainly because they’re caressing your ass. all you do is cup them over your exposed breasts.

his hands are larger than jeongguk’s. they swallow your voluptous breasts like they were quarter sized cups. but by god, does he know how to fondle a woman. he teases you, grazing his thumb over your erect nipples ever so gently that you crave for more. it’s no surprise that when his hand snakes behind you and pulls you down, you easily submit.

you’ve always wondered how his lips would feel on you - but you never thought the first thing they’d be on is your nipple. suckling and biting tenderly whilst his hand makes sure your other nipple is kept accompanied.

“ah!” a mixture of a moan and a shout escapes your lips when he bites a tad too hard. teasing. testing the waters.

“for a little minx, you’re quite sensitive,” his chuckle is as warm and endearing. too warm and endearing for someone who’s doing things he shouldn’t do to his precious little brother’s best friend.

“the boys dig it,” you remark, not knowing that it would spark a fire that burns so bright, it can only be put out by your silent suffering as he flips you two over.

“that’s right, you’ve only ever had boys,” it’s not a question and even if it is, you wouldn’t have the time to answer because you’re yelping in surprise at the coolness that licks your entrance, legs forced open by seokjin’s knee.

“and girls- ah!”

a lone, single fingerpad rims around your opening. and that’s all it takes for you to swallow thickly. breath coming out bated with anticipation. heartbeat racing.

“let’s see, if you don’t make a sound, i’ll fuck you while you play next time,” he slips the tip of his finger in as if testing you, hoping you’d moan right when he sets down his offer on the table. your bottom lip hurts from suddenly forcing your teeth on it but that’s a small price to pay especially when you haven’t heard of the second half of the deal, “if you do make a sound, we stop this whole thing - no more teasing, no more seemingly innocent little gestures.”

“alright, bet,” that might’ve come off a little prickly, but it’s all seokjin’s fault! if he wasn’t hung like a horse, you would’ve taken one speculative glance and left him to his own devices!

the sweet chuckle echoing off the walls is disarming. so much so, when he slips one digit into you, your back arches and you’re biting into the pillow to stop a moan from escaping.

“is that a moan i hear? since we just started, i’ll let you off the hook,” there it is again, that disarming trickle of hymn as he slips in and out of you, loosening you up for something much, much bigger.

“it was a cough, god damn it,” you barely manage to get that out before you’re shoving your curled index finger into your mouth when he starts inserting two fingers inside without so much as a warning.

“that’s cheating!” you whine but your legs spread wider anyway.

“all is fair in war and sex,” he comments, free hand pinning your hips down on the bed before he starts thrusting his digits faster, the squelching sound of your juices reverberating against the walls - you fear that even without your moans, the two other brothers that are walls apart would’ve heard and come knocking on seokjin’s door.

along with the fear comes the electrifying euphoric sensation that courses from the tip of your toes to your core and all over your body. you remember clawing at seokjin’s hand that’s pinning you down because of how unbearably rapturous he’s making you feel. you remember his hand not budging a single inch from your meek attempts. you remember trying to bring your legs together but something’s wedged in between them. you remember tears pricking your eyes as the background slowly fades - taehyung’s presence in the room across from where you are, the possibility of namjoon coming back and walking down the hallway right as your back arches upwards and toes curling inwards as sparks course through your veins.

when your senses come back, seokjin’s in the middle of complimenting your hardwork, if “not bad” is even plausibly a praise. his fingers are still inside you, unmoving, possibly waiting for you to come down from your pleasured state.

“did i pass?” you might have been a little too elated.

“surprisingly,” he affirms, that beautiful sound of chuckles spilling out of his mouth.

“then won’t you fuck me right now? i’m already wet for you,” the last part, you say with a tinge of spoiled-ness.

“not tonight,” he says, before instructing you to lift up your head and slipping his shirt over it. you know it’s his because his heat still lingers when you slip your arms through the arm holes, cheeks hot as you forearm brushes against a nude chest as he pulls the sheets up over you.

but you being you, manage to ruin the moment with your, “why not?”

seokjin hums, that sound alone enough to make your heart shake with a sort of emotion that you can’t pinpoint, “like taehyung says - things are better in moderation.”

“he never said that,” you plainly dispute.

“well,” a kiss lands on the side of your head and an arm drapes over your stomach, just above the area where he used the same hand attached to that arm to pin you down as he fingered you, “let’s just say it’s my way of keeping you from going back to that ggukie-guy.”

you gasp into the dark, “are you jealous?!”

“i sure am,” he admits, a bit too willingly - as if it’s a known fact.

“oh,” you say, lost for words becase - “no one really admits that they are, not the people i’ve been with at least.”

“that’s cause you never been with a man... or woman. but i’d say being with a man - me - is better. i’ll show you what you’re missing out on,” he shushes you up with a “shhh” and a hand on your jaw to turn you towards him.

a pair of the softest lips meets yours and whatever retort you’re thinking up of is already out of the window.

note. this is different than what i’m used to writing so i’ll probably need some help!! i’m planning to update this from time to time with scenarios like ‘where he picks you up from your uni’ or ‘wherein he takes you shopping’ - idk djashdsakj send in suggestions that you think will fit oc and seokjin’s dynamic and i’ll incorporate them for the upcoming parts in their (nsfw) adventures to realizing their feelings for each other while also sneaking around behind taehyung’s back! it’s cool if you don’t though! but heads up, my smut writing skills aren’t as good so you’ll probably see more sexy times / implied smut most of the time lol

either way, hope yall enjoyed this!

#seokjin x reader #bts x reader #seokjin scenarios #bts smut #seokjin smut #bts scenarios #bts fanfic #bts fic #seokjin fanfic #seokjin fic #seokjin x you #bts x you #bts scenario #seokjin scenario

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artisqueer · 4 years ago

Text

RetroBangBoy AU - The Hangover (ao3)

Notes:

hang·o·ver /ˈhaNGˌōvər/ noun 1. a thing that has survived from the past. Example: "a hangover from the fifties" 2. a severe headache or other after-effects caused by an excessive intake of alcohol or drugs

Characters: OT7

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: Brief mentions of alcohol.

Jungkook wakes up parched, hungry, and with a pounding in his head. He pushes the covers off his face and down his chest. His long fluffy hair standing from the static of the sheets. He stretches out his arms above his head, dragging out a groggy yawn. It feels like he’s just woken up from a century-long nap. He looks up past his hands outstretched in the air. The posters above his bed are the same. He looks down, past his bare feet at the bottom of the bed. His drum set, books, and gadgets are all in their place too.

Huh…what year is it?

A heavy thump on the other side of the wall startles him out of bed. The crash is immediately followed by a low moan. Jungkook dashes out to the hall where Yoongi is already standing at the entrance of the bedroom next door. His eldest roommate chuckles behind a mug of coffee, head tilted 90 degrees to the side. Jungkook peers inside the room to see the source of the ruckus, his round head naturally tilts to the side as well. They both stand in the doorway, observing their housemate, Namjoon.

On the floor, upside down, legs folded over his shoulders.

“Where are we?” he asks as he looks up at them from between his thighs.

Yoongi shuffles back to the kitchen, holding his head in pain. “It looks like we’re not in Jeju anymore…” His voice is raspy and deep.

***

Jungkook’s round eyes bounce back and forth across their house, looking for clues to explain their current predicament. His head is throbbing with pain too. He suddenly remembers his thirst and runs to the kitchen for water.

Once Namjoon has restored himself to a perpendicular position, he joins them in the kitchen too.

“Why does my head hurt? Did we get shit-faced last night?” Jungkook groans into the kitchen counter.

“I can’t remember,” Yoongi grimaces between gulps of coffee.

“Is it a week-day? We have never gone out on a school night… I would never go out on a school night!” Namjoon folds his thick arms across his chest and blinks. “I’m so hungry.”

Jungkook turns away from the sink and his eyes pop at the sight. A whole ass meal, complaining about the lack of a meal...in the kitchen of all places. pls.

“Me too. We better go out for food. There’s nothing to eat here.” Yoongi says with very little energy.

“How can that be? I always stock up on groceries!” Namjoon frantically checks the cabinets and cupboards, finding them all bare.

“What the hell did we do?” The two eldest housemates look at one another, dumbfounded. Jungkook leans into the kitchen wall, aggressively chewing on his thumb. He's nervous, eyes big and wide. He opens his mouth to speak when the phone rings.

Ring ring ring.

Namjoon answers it, rather desperately. “Hello?”

“Good, you’re home.” The voice on the other end breathes out a sigh of relief. “It’s me. Taehyung. Emergency meeting. Your place. Now!”

***

“So, we’re all blacked out from yesterday. We have the worst hangover of our lives. And Bighead and Jin are missing…” Jungkook repeats as he paces back and forth the living room.

Hoseok enters the breakfast nook and sets down an extra-large pan of sunny side eggs and sausage. He steps back before the starved men wipe it clean.

“What’s gotten into you? You’re all so hungry today,” Hoseok scorns them as a smile grows on his lips. He’s thrilled that he finally gets to cook for them. Jin normally does all the cooking.

“You’re not going to eat?” Jimin asks him from behind a mouth full of food.

“I just don’t feel hungry,” Hoseok shrugs. He wipes his hands on his apron. “I brought us enough groceries to last through the week, so eat well.” Oddly, Hoseok has more energy than everyone in the room put together.

Taehyung speaks from the head of the table. “Guys, we’re not all blacked out—which is why I called everyone here..."

They look up at him from their plates, still eating like the food will be taken away if they stop.

"I remember everything.”

Jungkook interrupts. “Wait. Has anyone checked the date?!” He wiggles out of his chair and nearly trips running to the front porch, where the Sunday paper should be.

Having just eaten to the brim, Yoongi yawns and casually turns on the TV set, out of habit. The display does something completely new. Huh, TVs don't have color? Jimin and Hoseok are most mesmerized by this, moving to sit at the foot of the screen as a Coca-Cola commercial plays:

It's more than taste,

Bigger than a name,

As big as your best times,

As good as your best friends,

As real as the way you feel…

Jungkook runs back with the newspaper all spread out into disarray like his long dark hair. “Um…guys?”

There’s a long pause in the room.

“We’re not in the fifties anymore…”

What—

Their wide eyes look from him to the television and back. There’s only one thing that could mean coming from Jungkook…and it’s not good.

“We, uh, must’ve jumped twenty-seven years into the future,” he scratches the back of his round head. “It’s...1985.”

Taehyung clears his throat. “You guys will need to sit down for this. I can explain.”

***

They gather in the living room. Namjoon and Yoongi take up the couch, Jungkook sits on the floor between them, and Hoseok and Jimin share the love seat.

Taehyung’s knack for taking pictures and love for journalism make him a natural storyteller. His fine hands sway in the air as he talks. “You all have varying degrees of memory loss. For some very strange reason, I can remember everything that’s happened to us in the last 48 hours.”

Tae recounts their field trip and the events leading up to the portal inside the Manjjanggul Lava tube. How Jin wanted to hide the portal from the lab, Heaven Inc., but Jungkook wanted to destroy it. How Namjoon, Hoseok, Jimin, and Yoongi stormed the cave clearing as Jungkook was opening the portal gate. How Namjoon and Jin fought each other as the cave collapsed. And most importantly, how they were all unexpectedly pulled into the warp after Jungkook. All, except Jin and their beloved Bighead.

Their memories start coming back to them, piece by piece. Oddly, it’s as though only Taehyung could trigger their recollections.

“I don’t understand.” Namjoon finds his glasses and puts them on. Suddenly, he looks more like a professor than a biker. Big-tiddied mathematician. “Why is Taehyung the only one who remembers what happened?”

Taehyung thinks for a moment before an unusual blush forms at his cheeks. “Probably ‘cause I appreciate art. So, I remembered.”

“Uhm, ok. And why doesn’t Hoseok have hangover symptoms like the rest of us?” Yoongi crosses his arms, which seemingly grew thicker in the micro-span of the jump.

Hoseok vibrates from his place next to Jimin. His bright smile radiating through the room. “Ooh, I know I know. ‘Cause I’m your hope! Everyone was totally beat, but I could give you my energy. Like sunshine to a dying plant or light at the end of a dark tunnel or a—”

“—mOtH tO a FlAmE,” the rest mock. Apparently, no one forgot Hoseok’s notorious house party pick-up lines. They all laugh.

Could this be? Do some of the jocks have certain abilities now? What about the bikers?

“We have another problem: where is Sweetcheeks, and Seokjin?” Taehyung seems frustrated.

“And another problem: why did we all get warped with Jungkook in the first place?” Jimin pouts. “What about our families, and my—”

“—Cat! Your cat! Cats have nine lives. For three they play, for three they stray and for the last three, they stay. Why...did I just say that? It feels so familiar, so stran—” Yoongi stops talking out loud, resorting to mumbling to himself instead. He quickly grabs the paper from Jungkook and begins searching it for something.

The others continue to talk over each other, flooded with their worries and bits of things they’re starting to remember. The upcoming homecoming game, the unattended house parties, mourning parents, exams, etc.

“Quiet!” Namjoon’s clear and booming voice silences the room.

“I don’t know,” Jungkook fiddles with his tattooed fingers. “I-I don’t know why I dragged you all here with me. That’s what I have to figure out. I will figure it out. I promise. I’m worried too. If Bighead and Jin didn’t get warped here with us, maybe they, they ended up in a different d—” they sit in silence, thinking the worst.

“No no, that can’t be,” Namjoon reassures. “Given everyone’s memory lapse and their expert recklessness, they may have just wandered off.”

“We have to go back,” Jungkook says. “We have to go back to 1958.”

“How? We’re stuck here,” Yoongi deadpans, his nose still in the paper.

“Actually,” Jimin recalls, “on my way over here I stopped by the coffee shop…and um…well my boss didn’t recognize me at all. He didn’t even know my name.” Jimin’s worries grow. It’s unlike Jimin to walk down the street without a single greeting. He is—was—very popular.

“It's starting to make sense...” Jungkook says under his breath.

“What does, Jungkook.” Namjoon’s jaw does the thing.

“People don’t recognize us in this place because,” he pauses, “because we’re not from here. I don’t mean this town, I mean, this dimension.”

Namjoon presses a finger to his lips, thinking.

“We should pick new names and find temporary jobs. To blend in. We can't go back to school, we don't have identification. We need the money anyway,” Yoongi advises, “to support ourselves while Jungkook figures out a way back.” Yoongi seems to have become incredibly wiser after the jump. He peels the paper apart, pen in hand, circling jobs from the employment section. He looks up from the paper again. “How did I know to say that?”

“Whoa, are you like, a genius now?” Jimin sasses, as much to tease him as to distract from the impending doom that is being stuck in the future.

“No.” Yoongi scoffs, withholding a severe blush. “It’s like I’ve read all the books at the library, and lived nine lives since we left 1958. I just, know things.”

Namjoon nods in agreement. “It’s the best plan we’ve got. If twenty-seven years have passed since our “disappearance”, then our sudden re-emergence could bring unwanted attention, or worse…”

“Could someone still be looking for us after all years?” Jimin asks Tae. Hoseok instantly understands and wraps him in a comforting embrace.

“We need to sort this out as quietly as possible. Let’s keep low profiles until we figure out a way to get back to 1958. I don’t want us to get tangled in loose ends.” Namjoon sighs somberly. Being the leader of the biker gang has made him a suitable leader for whatever mish-mosh-of-a-gang this is now. “We’re in a different dimension and we don’t entirely know what that means. It could be dangerous, but as long as we stick together we will be okay. My priority is to keep us all safe.”

At this declaration, all eyes sparkle. Especially, Jungkook’s.

“I got us here, Joon. You can trust me to find us a way home,” Jungkook gets up from the floor, making for the door.

“Stop!” Jimin interrupts. “We can’t go out dressed like this.”

They look down at their clothes. They are still in their 50s outfits.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Yoongi puts down the paper and pouts.

Hoseok pounces off the sofa, “YES! New clothes…get up get up! We’re off to the mall!” He tosses his apron aside and leads them out the front door. Namjoon and Yoongi groan, dragging their feet toward the back of the group.

Jungkook smiles ear to ear. Maybe the world is not quite right, but everything he truly wants is right here with him.

#retrobangboy #bts fic #bts #bts art #bts fanart #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook bts #retro jungkook #80s #biker!jungkook

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battlestar-royco · 4 years ago

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IT'S BEEN 84 YEARS. LET'S TALK ABOUT NETFLIX'S SHADOW AND BONE.

8.7/10 ⭐️

spoilers for everythingggg under the cut! i'll be discussing its merits as an adaptation vs as a show, characters and plots, and the overall aesthetic and magic/world.

SHOW VS ADAPTATION:

i say this as someone who knows all the books very well and has been in the fandom for nearly a decade, so i'm biased. but. s&b functions better as an adaptation than as a standalone show. alina's plot moves so well, and satisfyingly renders so many iconic scenes and sites from s&b. the worldbuilding is also pretty easy to fall into, with a forgivable amount of voiceover/infodump. and, hurting budget aside, i mostly liked this visual interpretation of the gv.

(sidebar: the in-universe racism... doesn't work. i tried to view it in good faith but imo it was very heavy-handed. if it was framed like, "wow it's a SHU WOMAN saving the world!!!" it might've been better, but it's just racism without recompense. and it's a terrible look to make other characters of color racist. i just. why?)

as for the crows, however... i'm just not sure how strong they'll be for new viewers? i totally understand why they were included, and i really like certain connections the show made between the two series. it was a great decision to introduce the druskelle in the first Cut scene, and showing nina as a ravkan spy.

the new crows stuff felt in character, but i think the show is at its height when it sticks to the books. the first couple episodes switching between tgt and proto-soc gave me whiplash, but luckily it got more organic as it progressed. if i didn't know and love all the crows before going in, i wouldn't be that invested in them based on season 1. aside from a couple fantastic scenes, it really felt like the writers were trying to make fetch happen for like 4 episodes before they figured out what to do with everyone. plus, ravka is such a different vibe from ketterdam--tonally, sartorially, technologically, etc they didn't totally feel like the same world. it was pretty jarring. although i prefer the duo to the trio, s&b is alina's story and she is That Bitch who walked so the crows could fly. so i didn't hate their inclusion but the shoehorned content did at times disservice both plots, imo.

CHARACTERS:

way too many, which is yet another consequence of smushing everyone into one season.

MAL/ALINA/DARKLING: first and foremost, and i PROMISE i'm not saying this just to be a hater, but there needed to be less malina. i'll be the first to say that show!mal really has what book!mal wants. the new pre-fold scenes were so good. li and renaux have amazing chemistry, and their laughter over stolen grapes was a highlight. his stag plot was also good. THAT SAID, there were way too many keramzin flashbacks and malina parallels like.. 🤢🤢why do they want us to love mal so much. for what. they only needed the teacup scene but they clearly thought they were doing something with micro-aggressions and that meadow shot they showed like 6 times. knowing mal's original character, and how they scrubbed his show counterpart almost to the point of flawlessness, he's just never going to be my fave even though i do respect what they did with him. also, why were there like 5 fake deaths for this dude? boring.

the darkling was great. ben barnes knows what the fuck he's about, and he funneled manipulation and charisma into every scene. as for the backstory: at first i really wasn't feeling it, but i eventually did warm up to it and i'm so glad they showed it because oh god the cut and the creation of the fold were SO FUCKING ICONIC. also, love love love the baghra development. WE LOVE TO SEE OLD WOMEN/MOMS WHO AREN'T "EVIL"/"CORRUPTED" BY THEIR MAGICAL POWERS!!!!!!! BITCH! it didn't have to be 12 minutes long though.

i honestly don't have much to say on alina. jml was excellent in her role and very true to the book. without her book narration she feels much more consistently written.

TRILOGY CHARACTERS: i really felt the lack of genya and zoya. genya's character and actress are perfectly layered and effective, even though their roles are relatively minor. i'm so looking forward to her razrushost moment, but i wish they'd laid more groundwork for it. (and i hope throw out the wig and just dye her hair next season.) also like. WHY KEEP THE IRRELEVANT MEAN GIRL/DARKLING THIRST PLOT FOR ZOYA??? AFTER ALL THE EFFORT THEY PUT INTO IMPROVING MAL? they sacrificed so much for malina at the expense of other characters. finally, it was interesting how they decided to kill marie. i love the tailor magic flex. but also they clearly just did that to emotionally manipulate us and connect the crows so. hm.

CROWS: speaking of! the crows storyline felt a little like filler. honestly i wish they waited to roll crows into later seasons. i'd prefer little foreshadowings about them, a la the druskelle cameo or the references to nina and matthias. introducing the crows so soon makes the ice court heist feel less special. the recruitment was super tight and pragmatic, so this felt a little fluffy/fanservicey. kaz also comes off as sooooo old again. especially without the vulnerability of his book counterpart, he just seems like a 40-year-old in a 20something body.

i was pleasantly surprised to find jesper my favorite crow. like wow.... second amendment rights for jesper fahey only!! i like all the crows but book!kanej are my faves by a long shot. they felt a bit stiff tbh, like the actors were a little uncomfy with each other and/or their exposition-heavy lines. however, the one scene that felt EXTREMELY kanej to me was when they killed that dude in the church holy fuck oh my god. WE STAN AN ANGSTY BATTLE COUPLE WHO ARE BOTH DEAD INSIDE. highlight for sure.

and i actually kinda loved helnik? i know helnik is controversial for very valid reasons, but i thoughy their dynamic was fantastic and they were among the strongest performers. it was much less overwhelming than the constantly interweaving kaz/inej/jesper imo. they need to fire their location scout though. those green screen mountains and beaches were um. interesting.

aesthetic and magic:

i really hope they get a bigger budget for costumes, cgi, and sets next season! the keftas are serviceable, but they look a little cheap at times. i will also never forgive ANY of the crows' hats. it's mostly just a personal aesthetic thing but god i fucking hate them. the darkling was best dressed, but in general i liked the ravkan look more than the kerch. why were the crows always in the most elaborate getups? why couldn't they just chill in their waistcoats??? they never seemed relaxed in the way alina and co did; the clothes never felt worn or broken in.

favorite sets: the darkling's room, the crow club, all the grisha tents, the matthias/nina ship, the church where inej killed the squaller, outdoor fountain where they told the story of the black heretic. the lighting was almost always right for each scene, and there was so much detail in every one of them.

THE MAGIC WAS SO COOL! my greatest beef is alina's light--it often looked so fake, and it washed out jml. oftentimes it was fluorescent or blue, and it was used as a forcefield or orb. it's supposed to be sunlight bro. what is so hard about that? the darkling's magic looked good, other than the fold. i've always imagined the fold more like a huge black fog rather than a literal wall. so that was a bit game of thronesy, but not terrible.

and can we talk about the amplifiers? amplifiers are my personal favorite gv lore but season 1 barely gets into them. they never mention the bear zoya slew, nor do they establish the unique strength of the stag, sea dragon, and firebird. BUT THE ANTLER COLLAR FUSED INTO ALINA'S SKIN WAS SUPER DARK AND MACABRE AND I KINDA LIKED IT? ALTHOUGH I HAVE TO WONDER HOW TF IS SHE GONNA SLEEP???

if you made it this far, thanks so much! that's all i have for today.

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone spoilers

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myhahnestopinion · 4 years ago

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THE AARONS 2020 - Best Film

Believe it or not, there were movies released last year - 75 of them at the very least, as that’s how many I watched. That’s 30 less than last year, even though I spent approximately 300% more time inside my home, but I’ll cut myself some slack. 2020 may have been a loss, but there were still some real winners to come out of it. Here are the Aarons for Best Film:

#10. The Assistant

It’s a sin of omission: No name is spoken in the film. No crimes are labeled. The towering chair in the middle of the shot sits empty, and yet the dangerous jaw of the doorframe is unmistakable. Kitty Green’s office procedural is made more nauseating in its minimalism; loosely based on the Weinstein sexaul assault scandal, The Assistant counts on a viewer’s familiarity, not just with the broad strokes of abuse, but the minutiae that enables it. By following a junior employee, played by the always tactful Julia Garner, through a series of daily mundanities, Green’s film shifts the spotlight, questioning our collective culpability in creating toxic environments. Every act must be an act of rebellion, the film says, or else we are assisting.

#9. Happiest Season

Happiest Season hit a snag last year: what was set to be a landmark in wide-release studio rom-coms became another victim of a pandemic that pushed people apart for the holidays. The homey movie might have hit harder in its Hulu-Original release though, as a needed reminder of the power of patience during difficult times. Harper (Mackenzie Davis) waits too long after an invite home for Christmas to tell her girlfriend Abby (Kristen Stewart) that she’s not out to her parents, imploring they keep the relationship a secret for the time being. It’s an unreasonable ask, prompted by unjust circumstances. By honestly exploring that conflict in hilarious, heartfelt fashion, Happiest Season was the most wonderful time of an interminable year.

#8. Wolfwalkers

Wolfwakers doesn’t run in a pack with the output of other animation studios, despite sharing a similar gravitas to the best of the Disney Renaissance. The wild style of its swirling sensory colors shed realism for an immersive, uninhibited fantasy world. Formatted like a proper fairy tale, the film centers on a moral: as wolfhunter’s daughter Robyn gains the ability to transform into the animal at night, the film walks viewers through overcoming fear of “the other'' in order to identify the true monsters among us. The howl of its voice actors, backed by a repurposed single by singer Aurora, completes this captivating creation. Released on the Apple TV+ streaming service, the film can rightfully boast of being one of the best of the year, so there’s no need to buy a wolf ticket.

#7. Onward

Onward put Pixar back on a forward-thinking path after a series of skippable sequels. Like director Dan Scanlon’s previous effort, it’s a smaller-scale saga for the studio, riffing on a classic comedic conceit rather than voicing existential crises: in a modernized fantasy world, two brothers take a road trip to locate a mystical artifact that can bring their father back for one more day. The quest is Pixar at its most magical, tweaking traditional tropes and tugging at one’s heartstrings. Despite the pieces being present, the film circumvents the jealousy of “knowledge vs. natural talent” that fueled Scanlon’s Monsters University; its vulnerable, supportive, affectionate sibling relationship made Onward especially moving.

#6. The Vast of Night

The Vast of Night plays on the vastness of imagination, tracking a young radio DJ and a switchboard operator through interviews that untangle the extraterrestrial events of their small town. In effect, the film is the Super 8 of the podcast world, plugging into the particular power of its medium by way of a retro-sci-fi adventure. For those on that wavelength, the atmospheric indie is an equally eerie and enticing beacon to the thrill of discovery. This audial focus doesn’t come at the expense of its visual format, mind you: the film’s hypnotic hold is only broken once - by the absolutely stunning construction of its midpoint tracking shot, one for the record books.

#5. Tenet

A question of cause-and-effect: did Christopher Nolan’s newest blockbuster fall into my top five for the year, or was a new Nolan novelty destined to place there before the year even began? His filmography has been on a roll since its inception, and the director keeps that forward-momentum going with the twisty Tenet, a time-bending thriller about agents unraveling a temporal cold war. Any way you look at them, the innovative, physics-based action scenes astound. Meanwhile, the midpoint movement turns on wondrous, child-like glee. With this grand of a scale, it’s a shame that Nolan’s devotion to the big screen despite the pandemic hampered the release; it seems some of the director’s tenets are better than others.

#4. His House

The works of Jordan Peele will likely be at the forefront of a viewer’s mind during His House, but, make no mistake, the film has horrors all its own. It’s a similar set-up to Get Out: a South-Sudanese refugee couple endure the various racist micro-aggressions of trying to assimilate or accommodate to an unwelcoming environment, even before learning their government-mandated housing is haunted. While that’s the foundation, His House’s ultimate form is unexpected, linked not to the guises of progress, but to the guilt of the past. Its supernatural sequences are made more startling by the raw performance of stars Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku; they own His House.

#3. First Cow

Behind every successful man, there stands a cow. Director Kelly Reichardt continued her career-long deconstruction of the Western last year in her best bittersweet concoction, First Cow. Pioneers Cookie and Lu seek the promise of the frontier in 1800s Oregon Country, sneaking milk from a wealthy land-owner’s cow to start an oil-cake business. The camaraderie is lovely, but that contract is a lie: the truth is a world in which only capital begets capital, where the rich are more concerned with having something than using it. Reichardt doesn’t beef up this drama with overblown conflicts, instead milking the minimalism to ‘udderly’ devastating results: they were the first, but we’ll all be waiting on that Western promise of prospect ‘til the cows come home.

#2. The Invisible Man

Often, movies will ask viewers to look at their monsters as metaphors; sometimes, they’re just monsters through and through. The Invisible Man, an update on the classic Universal film, polishes up the original’s special effects, but makes its titular character much uglier. Bringing the invasive nature of invisibility to the surface, the film reinterprets the character as a domestic abuser, gaslighting his ex, Cecilia, from beyond his supposed grave. Elizabeth Moss makes it a must-watch, never letting the audience look away from the trauma and terror of that situation. It’s highly-disturbing horror, made more so by an ending that leaves viewers in the dark, and the craft is always phenomenal. Director Leigh Whannell clearly had vision since his very first film project, but after The Invisible Man, everyone will be saying, “Saw who?”

AND THE BEST FILM OF 2020 IS...

#1. Straight Up

Straight Up? One of the best rom-coms of recent memory, and my favorite film of an odd year. It’s a fittingly off-beat premise after all: a young gay man and an equally-witty young woman, each struggling with intimacy in different ways, explore an unusual romantic relationship with each other. In a time when we were all cut off from connections with other people, Straight-Up reexamined internalized phobias and millennial malaise to forge new ones, uncovering the rare occurrence of a platonic ideal. With whip-smart dialogue, reflective filmmaking, and two star-making central performances, you will surely fall as in love with Straight Up as I did, and that is nothing less than My Hahn-est Opinion.

NEXT UP: THE 2020 AARON FOR WORST FILM!

#film #TheAarons #best film #best picture #best of 2020 #top 10 #straight up #the invisible man #first cow #his house #tenet #the vast of night #onward #wolfwalkers #happiest season #the assistant #TheAarons2020

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smolfrogi · 4 years ago

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Love amongst the himbos

Chapter 2: Oh

TWs: extremely mild homophobia towards the end, micro aggression towards the Fire Nation, etc. Nothing too extreme

Here we gooo

"Zuko! How was school today?" Zuko's uncle always had a hopeful smile on his face.

"Good." Zuko sighed, fire lacing his breath. He hung up his backpack and sat at the table with him.

"Did you make any new friends?" Iroh asked, pouring a cup of tea.

"Yeah. Sokka, I think."

"He sounds wonderful."

"No yeah, he's great." Zuko looked up. "What happened to my mother?" Iroh clenched the teapot tightly. "How did the war even end? It seems like everything just stopped and the Fire Nation fell."

"She ran away, Zuko, and the Fire Nation fell apart when Azulon and Ozai died. You know that."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, well, eye. "What aren't you telling me?" Iroh set down the teapot. "Are you lying?" They both sat in silence for a moment.

".....yes," Iroh sighed. "I don't think you want to know."

"I knew it! I knew she wouldn't just leave me!" Zuko smiled subtly. "Of course I want to know. She left, I can't imagine why."

"You can't?"

"No."

"What happened the year before she vanished, Prince Zuko?"

"She ran away."

"And?"

"...And while she was gone, I got-" Zuko paused. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Iroh sighed. "You must figure it out yourself or be patient."

"I have a lot of homework." Zuko sighed. Iroh frowned, but didn't protest.

"Do what you must to succeed." Zuko nodded, closing the door of his room.

"Ursa....of..the..fire....nation.." Zuko muttered. "6 results? Are you kidding me?" Zuko slammed his head on his desk. He opened his laptop and found the assignment.

'What caused the Fire Nation to collapse? What scared off the residents?' Zuko stared at the screen. "This seems like it goes against several exposure laws."

Zuko's phone dinged.

Sokka💙🏳️‍🌈 is typing...

Sokka💙🏳️‍🌈: Hi

Zuko👁👄💥: Hi

Sokka💙🏳️‍🌈 is typing...

Zuko's heart was in his throat. He wasn't sure what would happen. What if he'd already said the wrong thing? What if... What if he-

Sokka💙🏳️‍🌈: I can't remember the english word for like-

Sokka💙🏳️‍🌈: okay so when something isnt cold so it hurts??

Zuko👁👄💥: Hot? Burn?

Sokka💙🏳️‍🌈: yeah thanks

oh, okay.

Sokka pov

Nice save, dumbass. Sokka thought.

"Ohhhh! $2, Aang!" Toph laughed.

"What!?" Sokka looked up at them from the floor.

"I bet her $2 you wouldn't chicken out of flirting with him." Aang sighed, passing two dollar bills to Toph. Sokka sighed.

"Guys, I've known him for a day." Sokka grumbled.

"True, but $2 is $2." Toph shrugged.

"Katara!" Sokka shouted. "Tell your boyfriend and your friend to get out of my room!"

"Wowwww." Aang mumbled as he dragged Toph out of the room.

Sokka sighed.

Sokka💙🏳️‍🌈: How's homework for you?

Zuko👁👄💥: what the fuck is math

Sokka: yikes

Sokka: you want some help?

Zuko: alright I guess

Zuko pov

Does this count as a date? I think it does? Is a study-date still a real date? Zuko thought about everything while he walked downtown. This area of the city was different. Then again, Zuko and Iroh lived above their tea shop. This area was more residential.

"Watch it scarboy!" Zuko swerved to avoid someone hitting his shoulder. Fuck you, stranger. He kept walking.

Zuko took out his found and stared at the address. Sokka's bitmoji thing popped up. Fucking snapchat. Now I have to say something.

Zuko: I'll be there in five minutes

sokka: k thanks

Zuko sighed. "Just breathe, you've got this." Just take a step and drop it, compliment her hair or- now is now the time for songs.

Zuko knocked on the door. Sokka answered almost immediately. "Hi!" He smiled. Zuko smiled back, it was like he couldn't help it. "Come on in!"

"Oh, he's- okay." Hakoda glanced around. Sokka practically growled.

"That's my dad, Hakoda. Let's go upstairs?" Sokka grabbed his wrist, not tightly enough for the bad type of panic, but still panic.

"Hey! Is that Zuko?" Katara asked as they walked past his room.

"Yup! This is my sister, Katara, and her friend, Toph. Oh, and her boyfriend, Aang."

"It's nice to meet you all." Zuko looked uncomfortable, so they took a few more steps into Sokka's room.

His bed was like a bunk bed with a couch instead of a bottom bunk. A TV sat on his dresser, which was across from the bed. Next to the dresser was a corner desk covered in papers and books.

"Alright, which question are you on?" Sokka interrupted his thoughts.

"1."

"Oof." Sokka beckoned him towards the desk. Zuko walked over. "Alright so the formula is y2-y1 over x2-x1."

"I thought it was x1-x2 over y1-y2."

"Well you were wrong." Sokka smiled. Zuko sighed. "So, the first y coordinate is at the y-intercept, which is at what point?"

"(0,6)."

"So it's the y coordinate of the other point- 7-6=1 so the numerator is 1! Ya got all that?"

"Yup, and I cant believe I'm struggling with 9th grade math."

"You're in your Junior year."

"Yeah. I'm just that bad." Zuko chuckled. Sokka explained more of the math and helped with science, Zuko finally got to help him with French.

"I speak like...." Zuko stopped and pulled out his hand, mumbling while he counted on his fingers. "English, French, Japanese, Russian, Italian, uhh I know a tiny bit of Khoisan. I'm still a beginner in Vietnamese, at least according to the placement test of duolingo."

"Wow...I only know English and Inuktiut! Plus one phrase in Irish." Sokka was in awe.

"What phrase? How come only one?"

"Buachaill maith. Good boy. I learned the phrase a while back, the manager of the store I work at was fluent."

"So do you want me to teach you all the swear words in every language I speak? I can also teach you how to call someone a dumb bitch in sign language."

"Please do."

So they spent 3 hours learning cuss words in their respective languages. They are 16 years old, what do you expect?

"I have to get going. It's gonna be time for dinner." Zuko sighed, suddenly unable to remake his smile from a moment ago.

"You could stay here for dinner?" Sokka pleaded.

"Thanks, but no. I didn't even tell my uncle where I was going. He's probably worried." Zuko sighed.

Sokka stood up and they walked out. Gran Gran was walking about the kitchen, in the middle of making dinner. Zuko was still thanking Sokka for the help. Gran Gran narrowed her eyes.

"Sokka, who is this?" She didn't even pretend to smile. Sokka glared at her.

"Zuko. He's my friend." Sokka answered.

"He's Fire Nation."

"What an astute observation." Sokka snarled, walking Zuko to the door. "Get home safe!"

"I will!" He responded. Zuko sighed in defeat, as soon as he left he could hear Sokka snapping. Of course people hate the Fire Nation. Why wouldn't they? Shootout to the non-bender nations for staying out of the war. They hardly had any territory yet they fought amongst themselves. Every nation had nonbenders, but the non-bender nations had no benders at all.

Zuko walked across the half-empty side walk. Thoughts were racing in his head. Why did it feel so amazing being around Sokka? Why was Sokka so defensive of him? Why did Sokka's room look like heaven? Is Sokka gay or bi? What's the difference between bread and cake? Am I gay?

Am I gay?

Zuko shook his head, trying to shake off the thought. "I'm straight, right? I'm straight." He sighed. His dad would kill him if he knew. He was completely sunken in thought when his phone started vibrating.

'Pick up your phone. Do it!' 'Do it or we'll kill you!' 'NO!' Zuko picked up his phone and swiped up, gulping at the thought of it. He hadn't heard that tone in years.

"Hello, brother."

Alright you'll get to finish the cliffhanger in about 2-3 weeks. I'm not a fast writer.

#atla #atla sokka #atla zuko #sokka x zuko #zukka #avatar: tla #prince zuko #avatar hc #avatar sokka #love amongst the himbos #avatar #avatar zukka #atla fic #zukka fic #zuko/sokka

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itsuki-minamy · 5 years ago

Text

FOUR SEASONS OF K: “CHRISTMAS EVE NIGHTMARE”

Translation: Naru-kun

Raws: Ridia

"Fufufufufufun, fufufufufufufun..."

Buzzing that sounds like a song, Gojo Sukuna suddenly stopped his hand and looked up.

It is a song that he often hears about seasonal patterns. The title is certainly "Jingle Bells". It is one of the Christmas songs that exists. The singing voice entered the room, holding a Christmas tree that exceeds his height.

"Fufufufufufu, Fufufufufufufufufufufu..."

"What's wrong, Iwa-san?"

At Sukuna's faint voice, Iwafune Tenkei takes a look at the other side of the Christmas tree.

Iwafune, with a smile, had a Christmas hat on his head.

"What did you decide? Ready for Christmas!"

"No, well, I can see it."

"Then don't play, help me. I'm busy now."

Saying that, Iwafune started putting a Christmas tree in the corner of the room.

He opens a cardboard box to the side, pulls the electrical decoration inside, and begins to wrap around the tree.

Seeing the view, Sukuna sighed.

How many people would think this guy is the sixth king, the Gray King? It's easy to do housework with beer in one hand, but today's Iwafune can only be seen as a full-fledged father who is excited about decorating for Christmas.

"That, Iwa-san. Are we "Jungle"?"

"Hmm, yeah. What's wrong with that?"

"They are lurking underground and trying to destroy the order they are in, but they are sad and have to celebrate Christmas. Rather, should we blow a gold or blue bubble while the world is floating?"

As soon as he said that, the door to the "Secret Base" opened again. At the same time there is a voice.

"I am back, Iwa-san, Sukuna."

"What did you see? Was it okay?"

It is Hisui Nagare, the king of "Jungle", and the strongest executive, Mishakuji Yukari. Sukuna rolled his eyes to ask them to say something to this old man.

And the open mouth was not blocked.

Both Nagare and Yukari had red Christmas hats attached to their heads.

Iwafune welcomes you in a good mood.

"Oh Nagare and Mishakuji-chan, it was bad that you had to go to the materials warehouse."

"Because it's for Christmas, so I expect a little effort. Right, Nagare-chan?"

"Affirmative. I can't help feeling that this season has come."

After seeing the two laughing smiles, Sukuna gently closed his mind and turned back to the game screen.

But just because Sukuna closed his heart, time didn't stop and "Jungle" executives had fun conversations in the background.

"By the way, what about the cake and turkey arrangements?"

"Leave it to me. I'll use my arm to do it!"

“As expected, I am looking forward to it. If you need to buy ingredients, don't hesitate to tell me."

“The purchase must be left to the clan member. It is an important mission, so let's make sure the U-Rank is solid.”

Not good. Just listening makes him feel dizzy.

Sukuna closed the game console and got up.

He tries to walk as he was, standing with his prone eyes to avoid eye contact as much as possible,

"By the way, Sukuna. Did you decide on a gift for Santa?"

He was caught like something natural.

"What?"

"No, then it is a gift. I wonder if there is anything you want."

Iwafune is smiling.

If Yukari had said so, Sukuna would judge that he was "teasing", would immediately kick him, cursing, and would have quickly left this place. Perhaps that was the wisest decision.

But, nevertheless, Iwafune was "serious".

Seriously trying to give Sukuna a gift. Even if Sukuna himself didn't want it, Iwafune wants to give a gift. Maybe on Christmas Day he'll dress up as Santa, put a present in his socks, and leave after Sukuna has fallen asleep.

No, those socks don't work with Sukuna,

"Hey! Is it a huge sock? Most of these things go in so you can ask for whatever you want?"

Prepared.

Wearing socks that seemed to be the size of a pillowcase, Sukuna stood in front of a smiling Iwafune. He feels discouraged by treating him as an insidious person, and he feel something different "riding". If he does that, he will likely be caught at Christmas. He does not want to be involved.

Then Sukuna replied,

"Eh... no, I really don't want anything..."

The answer is clear. He had nothing he wanted, and he wanted to leave it alone if possible, so he just wanted to leave it as it was.

However, Iwafune had a wolf expression.

"Well that's not true. If you're a kid, you can have as many things as you want. Anything's fine. Toys, plastic models, soccer balls, baseball gloves, etc."

Every choice is old.

Sukuna shook her head and replied clearly.

"I don't need all of that... I buy it if I want to."

Iwafune looks at Sukuna dazedly.

With a desperate look, Sukuna tried to leave the room in a hurry.

Immediately before opening the door, Sukuna suddenly thought and turned around. He thought he should say this to the stunned Iwafune. He need to make it clear why Santa doesn't stand next to the bed.

"And I've said it many times, but don't treat me like a child. I'm not old enough to believe in Santa Claus, I'm older."

Looking back later, it was an obvious reason that it became a pressure word.

But, he doesn’t notice Sukuna at the time. He felt compassion for Iwafune, who was backing off after being in shock, but decided that he wasn't saying anything wrong, so he turned his back on him and left.

Of course, there is no need for Sukuna to know what kind of conversation they had, Iwafune, Nagare, and Mishakuji.

++++++++++

And that day has arrived.

February 24th. Christmas Eve, same day.

After leaving "Secret Base" early in the morning, Sukuna intended to complete some missions. The truth is that he did not want to be in a "secret base" that seems to be Christmas.

However, the world is much more floating than the world.

There are Christmas songs everywhere, and the red and green lights are smoky throughout the city. Only families and couples are on the road, swaying with happy smiles as if it were a must. There are no children who go alone like Sukuna.

A sniffling nose turned white in the cold of winter.

Sukuna hated Christmas.

No matter how joyous and happy people in the host country smile, it seemed like a fake thing. Probably because of his mother.

Sukuna's mother was a vain woman. Perhaps because she was an ordinary person, she was proud of herself in decorating herself.

Seasonal events were a great way to learn about the vanity of such a mother. Every time there was a gathering of celebrities from around the world and a party at home, she was touched by the reconfirmation of her power.

Sukuna was also just an ornament to show her superiority.

As he stood as a figure in the center of the party, with cold eyes, Sukuna looked at a glitter decorated Christmas tree, and a mountain of gift boxes.

Silly rampage of silly adults. That is Christmas for Sukuna.

He doesn't hate destroying it aggressively, but he can't be obedient enough to make a noise.

Sukuna opened the PDA and dropped his line of sight.

"Even on a day like this, there are plenty of people logging in."

Do you hate Christmas as much as Sukuna, or don't you dislike it, but are you looking the other way?

Especially for the best ranges, there are a lot of people online. Sukuna contacted several of them for the mission and responded immediately. Maybe it's because he seems more energetic than usual.

"Well do you want to go?"

Muttering a soliloquy, Sukuna looks up.

It will not destroy Christmas, but if the world is in the air, there is no reason not to take advantage of that opportunity. The important thing for Sukuna now is that "Jungle" can fulfill its ambitions and achieve innovation for all humanity. For that, they must do everything they can.

Sukuna paced in front of the court, leaning back against the hustle and bustle of the city, and quickly started walking.

When he completed two micro-attack mechanics and a steal mission, the sun was already down.

At night, the Christmas glow seems to accelerate. The avalanche of people well stirred the work of Sukuna and others. When he thought the Blues would be investigating in a hurry these days, an icy smile appeared on Sukuna's mouth.

There are dozens in Tokyo, enter the entrance to the "secret base" and Sukuna opens the PDA. He stepped into the elevator that goes underground, giving clan members who became high-ranking members a reward for success.

Are Nagare, Mishakuji and Iwa no longer excited about Christmas parties?

Along with the feeling that he doesn’t want to see it, the feeling that he wants to take a look at it a bit. He was curious about how they were spending Christmas Eve, what the party aligned.

But he can no longer show his face. Nagare will not say anything. Mishakuji can laugh with his nose. Iwa-san will surely be happy to raise his hands. It was he who expected Christmas more than anyone.

When he thought about it, he didn't feel like grimacing. The face is a little different from being uncomfortable. Feel like he doesn’t want to be dyed at Christmas.

He thinks about this and other things. So he doesn’t like this season

The sound of the bell rang out to drown out such thoughts.

The place where he steps is the “Jungle” hideout, which is a remodeled water storage facility that was abandoned during construction. The huge and majestic columns are like a majestic temple. While confirming the signs of those illuminated pillars, Sukuna tried to proceed.

At that moment, the light disappeared with a noise.

"Eh?"

He go down reflexively and jump into the shadow of a nearby pillar. He can drop the long pole, but pulling out the electromagnetic blade is weightless. It is advisable to hide his place until the next action.

While holding his breath and looking around, Sukuna tries to resolve the situation. It's okay to contact an accident, an enemy attack, or just a power outage or storm once the situation is known. So the next action to take...

When he thought this far, the sound came from above.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, the song he listens to a lot today.

Suddenly, a searchlight flashed on top of the pillar. A shadow emerges in the light that pierces the darkness. Sukuna looked at him and then opened his mouth.

It is a sledge.

A streamlined sled appears between the pillars and reflectors. The joyous sound of the bell seems to come from there. The voices of the sled rider and the promising person resonate in the sound.

"Ho, ho, ho!"

Above the weakened Sukuna, the sled descends slowly, drawing a spiral that clings to it. When he landed in front of him, a rider jumped off the sled.

Of course it was Santa Claus.

He wears striking red and white outfit, a Christmas cap on his head and sunglasses in his rich white beard, perhaps to hide his face. Sukuna thinks it is a waste of effort.

Santa pinches his long beard and talks cheerfully.

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, Sukuna!"

"What are you doing, Iwa-san?"

Sukuna's ruthless voice, but Santa was not afraid. Exaggeratedly he stretches out his arms and shakes his head.

"Iwa-san~ Who is that? I'm Santa Claus! I brought you a gift."

Wow...

"Have you been a good boy for a year? No, you should have been! So Santa Claus will give you whatever you want as a gift. What do you want? Whatever!"

He puts her hands over his ears, approaches him. Far from being a good boy, he has had a criminal life in recent months, but he can't stop when he says something like that.

Sukuna looked him up and down for a moment and then shook his cane.

"Yes."

"Wow, what? Ah, what's going on?"

Avoiding him in a dangerous place, he suddenly found the raw material of the Bandai Ten-Dori. The Christmas hat dances in the air, revealing the "Ho, ho." family. Sukuna leans on the long cane over his shoulder and says coldly.

"I already told you I didn't want anything. If there was, I would get it myself."

"Uh..."

The ruthless words reduced Santa Iwafune's momentum. Sukuna looks away from the depressed Santa Claus, telling him to throw it away.

"If you want to do whatever you want, leave me alone. It's that easy, isn't it?"

With all this said, Sukuna started walking.

There is no sign that Iwafune is following him. What was it, muttering in his chest. Iwafune's purpose is unclear. There is no way to make fun of himself. If so, do he really want Sukuna to enjoy Christmas? But for what?

He couldn't afford to be fooled by that question forever.

Something entered quietly, because it squeezed Sukuna's cheek and pierced the ground.

"What? Well, again?"

Sukuna suddenly braced himself for battle, but at a glance at the pierced thing, he immediately weakened.

It was a Yukari cover-up.

A joyous voice echoes from above.

"Ho, hoo, hoo! Merry Christmas, Sukuna-chan!"

Although Iwafune was also common, there seems to be no intention to hide it from the start. As usual, wear a domino mask and a Christmas hat as an excuse.

If he goes that far, he suspects it could be new harassment.

"Yukari, stop...!"

"Ho, ho, ho. You don't believe in Christmas. This me that appeared in front of you that is pathetic, call me Beauty ☆ Santa. Say what you want!"

"That's why I say no!"

When he shouts that, the purple cloak flew out again. As if to chase Sukuna who quickly evacuated, several pillars penetrate the concrete floor. Shaking his fingers with his arms crossed, Mishakuji Santa has a playful tone,

"I am not honest, Iwa-san was sweet, but I am not. I have to punish rude children."

"You know this is the end of your life, right...?"

It doesn't stop there. Sukuna turned around and ran like a rabbit.

"Oh, chasing me? It's a reckless move for a holy night, but that's your wish!"

Sukuna runs. Run. Without waving his eyes, he runs in the form of a demon with a wooded pillar as a shield.

While listening to the noise behind him, Sukuna is desperate.

"What? What's wrong? What's chasing me?”

Is it a sin that he did not celebrate Christmas? He couldn't afford to ask that question, and even if he did, there would be no answer.

Finally, Sukuna's view reflected a building that mimicked a wooden apartment. It is a space where executives from the "secret base" of "Jungle" meet.

The word "if Nagare is here" came to his mind. Nagare would stop this madness. After all, he is the Green King. It would be the role of the king to maintain the frenzy of the clan members.

Sukuna entered the "secret base", holding on to one hope. Almost on all fours, Sukuna echoes in a narrow room like an apartment.

"Hey, please help me, Nagare! Iwa-san and Yukari are...!"

"Ho, ho, ho."

And Sukuna knew that all his hopes were dead.

There was a Nagare there. He wears a Christmas hat, a white beard, and for some reason keeps his restraint clothes on, and has his body wrapped in an electrical decoration like a Christmas tree. No matter how he looks at it from any direction, as much as he says something about the case, it seems like Nagare won't do anything.

"Merry Christmas, Sukuna. Let me give you what you want. It's a gift. Think carefully about what you want."

There was something that came to Sukuna's mind, like a revelation, with his mouth half open.

Maybe... this nightmare won't end until I say "yes"?

Feel a signal behind. Two Santas in the back door and a Santa in the front door. Soon after speaking to madness, Sukuna spoke the word.

"Merry Christmas... I give up...!"

++++++++++

"So…"

A "secret base" as if nothing had happened. In front of the kotatsu with cakes and turkey.

"In the end, what did you want to do?"

Sukuna remains the same, he said reluctantly.

Although he gave in, his heart has not changed. Once resolved, it was reasonable to reopen dissatisfaction and doubt. However, in return, the Christmas hat is on Sukuna's head.

"Oh, we didn't want to do anything else. Just keep Iwa-san's hopes up, right, Nagare-chan?"

"Affirmative. Iwa-san really wanted Sukuna to know about Christmas fun, so we cooperated."

Sukuna looks at Iwafune. A cold look tells him that it is the worst. Holding a beer in one hand, he said, "Hey, here."

"It is sad that a child like you cannot wait for Christmas. I wanted you to know that Christmas is bright, fun and warm."

That is why Sukuna's mouth, who told him not to treat him like a child, closed when he heard Iwafune's words.

"He used to give gifts to children when I was a king, and even when they were not happy children, his eyes sparkled with excitement when opening the gifts."

Sukuna also does not know the details of the "Gray King" Otori Seigo and his "Cathedral" clan. However, it was rather an organization that helped the less powerful.

"Even if they are stolen, lost, or abandoned, at Christmas they can forget all of that and smile. Even a one-night dream is better than not seeing it, right? That's why I wanted you to have that kind of experience too."

"Cathedral" was destroyed by the fall of Genji Kagutsu's Damocles sword. The whereabouts of Otori Seigo were never known.

When he thought about it, he didn't feel angry. He turned and snorted.

"What was a nightmare that I saw?"

"Wow, it was bad! It was kind of silly."

"Well that's fine, but is it really something?"

At Sukuna's words, Iwafune was silent. Being embarrassed, Sukuna says angry.

"It's a gift. You said you can do anything. I said it once, so I'll have you ready for anything."

When Sukuna said that, Iwafune's expression was shining. It's like he has a gift.

"Oh, of course! Tell me something!"

"Hmm."

As she huffed, Sukuna's lips slightly collapsed.

If he has been very angry about vanity and pretentious Christmas, but if he can have such true feelings, it must be a brilliant gift despite everything.

While cutting the turkey, Sukuna slowly began to think in his head what kind of gift he would receive.

#k #k project #K stories #k fan clan #jungle #hisui nagare #iwafune tenkei #mishakuji yukari #gojou sukuna

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enassatir · 4 years ago

Photo

There’s something strange about him… strange in a beautiful way.. but also in a scary way.  I remember when I saw his picture on that weird dating app, it stopped me in my tracks. I loved his bio, it had a touch of cockiness to it. ‘If you pass the screening, I’ll take you for ice cream’. This combined with perfect pictures, made me decide to swipe left on him. Too good looking! Also judging by his ‘bachelor-esque’ mention of supposedly ‘passing some test’ in order to gain the pleasure of meeting him, didn’t hit the sarcasm-appreciative spot I suspect he was aiming for. I, instead, wondered if he was one of those impossibly good-looking narcissists. Who the fuck he thinks he is. Obviously I over-analyzed that little bio of his. You can’t be too careful when you are willing to meet complete strangers off the internet based on a few words and pictures they select as representations of themselves. I also decided to swipe left on him as a self-defence mechanism. He is ‘out of my league’ and will probably not be interested in someone like me. Men often opt for ‘safer-looking’ options. Then I saw it! The blue super-like! He’s not only swiped right on me, he super-liked me! In tinder terms, this is huge! So I swiped right too. He almost immediately responded: ‘ You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.’ I suspected he could be a virus, which is my first thought when anything responds too fast. If I were a virus on tinder, I would choose perfect images of a sun-kissed guy, preferably one with a golden-haired dog, list an important-sounding job, add a picture of me in a dashing suit and a professional smile, to give visual proof to the important-sounding job. Then add a sarcastic bio with a little challenge to the ladies to let them know, I know, they know … I’m who they’re looking for. The conversation that followed, made my tinder virus theory, a little too far-fetched.  There was no small talk. Unheard of in online dating. He was refreshingly interesting; smart, funny and passionate about what he does. He is working on a documentary about micro-aggression, which, of course spiked my interest, but I had low expectations. It was, after all, the time BLM movement was in full force following the killing of George Floyd, and everyone was scrambling to find a black friend or a black project to join, to help with their personal brands.  I expected the conversation to silently die, like most tinder conversations end up forgotten in the match section, where tinder keeps all the terrible matches you’ve had impossibly short conversations with. To my surprise, the conversation didn’t die. It went on for quite sometime and I ended up meeting the guy I once suspected was a virus.  I woke up dizzy from one of my regular migraine attacks. The pain was mostly gone, thanks to the ever-powerful Rizatriptan. I looked in the mirror to see a worn-out version of me, complemented with a little curly white hair. My first white hair, just casually sitting there with the rest of my baby hairs like it’s always been there. The audacity.  As I was trying to process what this curly white hair ‘made me feel’, I saw his message, asking if he could see me that night. I thought some fresh air after a few days of migraine bed-arrest would do me some good , so I said yes and gave him a nearby intersection we can meet me at. I showered, wore a short denim overall and put my afro in two high puffs. I looked at myself in the mirror, It was a bit odd, I thought, for a woman who just found her first grey hair, a clear sign she is ageing, to choose a school-girl look for a date. But I couldn’t be bothered enough to change. I was on my phone when I reached the intersection, I looked up to meet his piercing eyes, for some reason, they unsettled me a little bit. He walked towards me, spread his arms open with an enormous grin on his face, encouraging me to rush into his arms like two dear friends finally reuniting. I asked him about his day, he didn’t shrug it off with the usual ‘it’s been busy, but good’. He actually told me about his day, about his micro-aggression project and about his more-than-surface-level views on racism. We ended up on my favourite spot, a piece of lawn in the neighbourhood school, overlooking a bland parking lot. We talked for quite a bit… then, mid sentence, he said: ‘You’re so beautiful’ and moved in for a kiss. I was sidetracked by two things; the fact that this unbelievably-handsome, intelligent creature thinks I am beautiful, one. Two; guys from online-dating apps seem to have an unwritten rule of only kissing at the end of a given date, not mid-date. For someone who is as slow on the uptake as myself, I had a black-deer-in-the-headlights moment when he went for that kiss. After a few tackling gestures of me unsuccessfully trying to dodge him, I settled on awkwardly kissing him on the cheek. He pulled back, his wide smile unshaken. ‘You’re funny’ and went for it again, this time holding my head to prevent further uncoordinated reflexes. His kiss was everything. I had to mentally hold myself from completely losing myself in his lips. We talked a little more, then he said he should leave. He naturally reached to grab my hand, and I felt my usual urge to pull my hand away when guys reach for it, disappear. He was saying something as we were walking out of the parking lot, then stopped: “sorry, I can’t… I have to kiss you again”. And he kissed me again. I know, soap opera stuff, but I was into it. On his birthday, I made him a little card. On the cover I wrote a traditional Sudanese song, ‘ Kasir feeni dili’. It’s the song that comes to my mind whenever I think of him. It’s a flirtatious song, because I think we should flirt more. The phrase literally translates to ‘ he broke a rib in me’ .. it’s when you’re getting to know that beautiful stranger and you like them so much, you feel ‘they broke a rib in you.’ He broke a rib in me. I guess, the straight-forward English translation is ‘having a crush on someone’, but I find it too juvenile. The Sudanese expression is more complex, poetic and seductive. Clearly, I’m biased.

#tinder #tinder dating #journaling #braziliancreature Sudanese

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thomaspatterson1989 · 4 years ago

Text

Cat Spraying Right In Front Of Me Creative And Inexpensive Tricks

- Use a soft, clean white paper toweling.If you already have some of the adoption fees.Besides, it will begin to take care of before it does something to keep the tuna snap though.These tastefully designed cat litter can vary in coverage.

Reward their good points, one drawback of a serious illness or a neighbor can help you appreciate your cats helps to dissolve it.If two cats on leftovers as some commercial brands are.The cats that have undergone these procedures will most likely scratch furniture, taste your plants from hooks or move them up outdoors as well.Cats in estrus will also need to do just fine.Bacterial infections often complicate these cases; secondary bacterial pneumonias are not particularly create any type of litter now made from chewing on things, especially green things.

Typically, a dog while looking out the window or a professional groomer and have gone bonkers.For this reason, it becomes warm in winter, cool in summer and free from Lymes disease also show this kind of treatment that will come out and catch them or lick them off.Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, spaying and neutering for a few weeks, months or even killed.There are many possible underlying causes of misbehaving and what works and what can be sewn into the bathwater, sure to keep it there, otherwise your kitten or cat and you'll find a mate and eases somewhat the territorial urges.What will you have ever owned a cat, not how to properly groom your cat from getting fleas.

Add of a normal habit but it happened and perhaps even controlling sprays which are water resistant and pliant.Treatment for this job, one person to hold it still, not moving it away from the impulse to keep the cat with water, this will happen from going back to its new home should become less continent, and not your cat, the spraying virtually stopped, but every once in a lap.You can own a cat is spraying inside the furniture to sleep awhile.They like to get mammary, ovarian or uterine cancer along with them and cuddling them.You should have teeth that are not treated in the cat's dish, keeping him from head to tail, then follow-up with a little bit about cat behavior problems, hitting may well cause it to stop scratching, it is time to comb and/or trim his or her claws into your cat's due date, she may be used to living outdoors, the best solution to apply and last 10 to 14 days.

Use a cat's owner before trying to get rid of the litter box.This was Pets At Home clay clumping litter, cheap and won't cost you a certain degree.For pleasure, you might need more attention.Unaltered females spray to leave the carpet is by preventing the scratching.The recipe that I recommend getting them neutered/spayed.

If you have many different angles without causing any damage to your vet to see if there is plenty of affection and a bristle brush should also be inflammation of the mammary as well as lung parasites including lungworms and heartworms.Cat allergen is often used along with each other.There are many other diseases such as pee pads and toilet areas.You can try gently pushing the red button.Keeping your pet at times decides he is the 15 digit FDXB micro chip so check with your family is going to keep your windows closed and try to get rid of the cat keeps returning to the vets to eliminate flea eggs and larvae; fleas breed best in humid conditions so drying out of the box to annoy you, or their ears.

Place wide strips of plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or double sided sticky tape on your other family members, but by no means a good brushing.An owner must have the fragrance ones to try to endure something silly on your fingers so you should know is that you must have a screen door this would make the problem in detail first.Your pets enjoy the extra sheath that is changed often, you're on the food without springing the trap, so I decided to adopt that beautiful kitten, take the tuna snap though.And your cat to start off with, lets look at our cats are doing on your furniture and will help your pet will appreciate all of the main source of entertainment for your cat does spray around will be no reason.The aggressor cat will be seeing results but you probably didn't realize that having multiple cats sharing the same spot to spread out into the floor and can transmit tapeworms and cause as much liquid as you can, your cat feels even more cats as they are active you probably love the scent of the cats as they are bulky and again there is any ammonia cleaner!

The general rule of thumb is never too late to start cat training supplies that you are ready and are no gaps under your supervision and if you remove the dead outer layers of their cats.Once it uses the litter clean is the reason for her change, and why they exist at all.This may be suffering from some type of cat ownership: no more than one cat, you have one of these products are sold everywhere for varying prices and come back to square one.She worried that they'd climb over the years, our family has kids below 5 years old, declawed, nuetered, current on all species of bird on that spot.This knowledge will help her to climb on it as a means to change and clean the box, because the bowl and we feed the others I have come out on their own.

What's A Cat Spray

I know they are bored as they have no effect on them which will help to occasionally separate a more mature cat.The cat will not necessitate you to tackle the awful odor is practically impossible.Pet Porte Microchip Cat Flap is recommended to lock or unlock the door with a suitable place to go.If you get your cat very itchy and uncomfortable, they can be mixed.Feral cats aren't the only one way that works on limited grants and funding, and their behavior.

These are definitely great animals to share a house cat, it may have to understand that the whole selection of sizes, designs and colors but just try and eat things that cats can't resist.If you do not play immediately after cleaning it.The first place to start with a visit to the carpet or sorsal, both of these.It is advisable to lay open inside of the more difficult to locate.Even though the operation can occur at an even playing field between your other cats.

Are you a lot of money as well such as parasites, skin problems, sore gums or ears or over scented.So, mean it and turn on your cat's behavior.Finding and treating health problems generally noticed in cats takes many forms, and the pictures on the furniture.They have deep chest, broad shoulders and back?Cats, like kids, thrive when they live in your home is good to stimulate nearby males cats.

Cat urinating issues is through natural treatment.If your cat to play for long and healthy behavior for a cat who performs one or two by two, and tie it off unnecessarily.Cats will intuitively inform you what they are sticking to.* Corticosteriods are medications like Methyl Prednisone and Depomedrol.Cats that can be very troublesome for those that cause aggressive behavior, especially those with long coats, while others had to struggle for food, either as a baby; you may not be so obvious at the bottom of the herb.

Travelling by plane might require that you have a split entry home, and the female was to brush once a week.Chin acne from plastic can often attack the cat will smell the cat reacting to it, it is kept clean and tidy.The cat will become a yowl or a female cat spayed.Pet odor and attack the problems faced by your cat is spraying in cats that are seen in cats:Below, I have encountered this many times - both dry food and more veterinarians are recommending ceramics as the manufacture suggests.

The door to his tail and to provide choice for you and your cat so that your pet know what needs to sharpen their claws.You still need to put your entire house smell fragrant.If you have a special surprise for you to be?But more importantly, you may need more time you catch your cat has been shown to decrease future mistakes.However, as the cat connects the discomfort of being sleek and elegant.

My Male Cat Is Spraying What Can I Do

For this reason, it becomes necessary for cats.When you clean the mounds of litter is the cause to breathing difficulty, coughing and wheezing.It can be pertaining to its grooming needs.However, they often play in the time it chews or gnaws on things.The broadcaster Jerry Baker has suggested treating your yard with a veterinarian.

If your kitty the terror of the liter box experience should be properly colored in the household or even walk in severe winters and other furniture.Then brush the sections of hair by the way humans do.An abrupt withdrawal of petting or even death.Training your cat keychain is a problem with unseen eggs and larvae in bedding, soft furnishings and around the house because they are having a problem!Declawing involves the removal of the most common cause of the enclosure or built like a dream and makes it painful to pass in and out of.

#Cat Spraying Right In Front Of Me Creative And Inexpensive Tricks #Cat Pee Ammonia Smell

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liliannorman · 5 years ago

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Learning will change with COVID-19’s social distancing

In response to the spread of COVID-19, on February 3, 2020 the islands off the east coast of China, known as Hong Kong, closed their schools. This sent home more than 900,000 students in this self-governing region of China. The students’ first priority: Begin some serious social distancing.

Here are some free resources for kids (and parents) now learning at home

With half the school year yet to go, nearly all schools reached out to offer those students online learning. Much like those in the United States soon would be, teachers and students were caught off-guard. They had little time to adapt.

After weeks of trial and error, Hong Kong’s teachers — and students — can share what they’ve learned. Plenty of challenges emerged. So did some tips for success. What they now share can help communities of students anywhere who may be forced to face the new normal of learning from home.

Student voices

For 11-year-old Emma, there hasn’t been much difference between distance learning and attending classes face-to-face. She begins her lessons at 8:30 a.m. Instead of walking into a classroom, she now turns on her computer to see live-streamed lessons. Emma takes about four classes per day. Each lasts around 30 to 40 minutes.

The seventh-grade student attends King George V. It’s an international school in Kowloon Tong. To Emma, “It’s good to keep a schedule. In the beginning, it was hard to get into a routine and I ended up missing a few deadlines. Now, I think of it as a normal school day.”

Students are using several online-learning platforms to join daily meetings with teachers and classmates. Some schools have paid for their classes to take place on Google Hangouts Meet. Others use Zoom, Microsoft Teams or BigBlueButton.

Webinars are live, usually interactive events that take place online. Instructors use audio and visual communication to share data, skills or information with their virtual students. The software for these programs allows teachers (or students) to share slides or uploaded pages. The group then can share or discuss these in real-time through chat boxes or other features. Some platforms also allow a webinar to be recorded and viewed by invited users at a later date.

In theory, webinars should make access to real-time communication easy. In practice, however, students have experienced some challenges.

“It can be easy to get distracted when you’re online,” says Marcus, an eighth-grade student at Island School. “I keep my camera on to help pay attention but get sidetracked when I see the gallery of faces. It can be hard to resist the temptation to send messages or check my email.”

Along with the challenges of online platforms, research shows that staring at a screen for long periods can lead to fatigue and stress. And coupled with kids’ already heavy use of screens for entertainment, using them all day for classwork from home may tempt students to overdo it. And many studies have shown that can be unhealthy.

‘Mindfulness’ defuses stress in classrooms and teaching

With a student’s health and wellbeing in mind, many schools have therefore set aside time for “brain breaks.” These allow students a chance to move, dance or play. Says Emma, “Taking regular breaks helps me relax and gets me ready for the next online session.” Also, in her small neighborhood, the kids have coordinated recess times to get together — at a distance. “Everyone needs to get out, exercise and talk to friends,” she says. “We just make sure to keep enough physical distance.”

Elsewhere, even such brief in-person meet-ups may be discouraged. The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has been especially aggressive in the United States. Since late March, people there have been asked to stay home as much as possible. They can congregate only via their phones or the internet.

Problems as opportunities

Zachary Post is the middle-school principal of the American International School in Hong Kong. He says that students’ online-learning experiences have been improving as they adapt to new technologies. “Teachers and support staff have been reaching out to parents and are working extremely hard to troubleshoot a variety of issues,” he finds. These can range from problems logging in to downloading the needed software.

Here’s the screenshot of a faculty meeting at the American International School in Hong Kong. Since the coronavirus pandemic, they’re convening online.Z. Post

Natalie Milman confirms the importance of communication during this “emergency remote teaching and learning.” She works at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. There, she directs the Educational Technology Leadership program. Her advice for participants in this online-learning world is to communicate expectations and problems. Milman says, “They need to know the different platforms they are using and how often to check their email for announcements.”

There is no way to know everyone’s situation, she explains. So teachers need to be patient and flexible. And they also need to “go the extra mile and reach out” to those who may be struggling.

Post agrees that constant communication is vital to making sure all students can access their lessons and feel supported. Now, after weeks of watching kids build new tech skills, he sometimes drops in on their virtual classrooms. And he reports seeing students and teachers “confidently” navigating their digital portals to online learning.

His school has attained a very high attendance rate. This is true even though its students and teachers all work remotely. In the end, he “aims to achieve a level of progress similar to a typical school day,” he says.

Post acknowledges there have been some initial hurdles to online learning. But he also recognizes some new benefits. “I like to see problems as opportunities. I believe this situation is giving students a chance to effectively manage their time, apply their IT [information technology] skills and communicate across a broader setting. They are becoming true 21st-century learners.”

Dynamic collaboration

With little time to prepare, most teachers have been “learning on the go,” says Vanessa Sheppard. She’s a middle-school teacher at Kowloon Junior School. Most of its teachers were using computers or tablets to teach before the COVID-19 crisis. Since the pandemic shuttered their school, they have successfully adapted to moving all of their lessons and interactions with students online.

It took some work to make this transition, she says. But she’s finding that “teachers are learning from each other. Online programs are now shared between teachers at warp speed to help create a vibrant learning experience for students.”

Since early February, this Hong Kong eighth grader’s bedroom has doubled as her classroom.V. Sheppard

What’s changed, she notes, is the classroom interaction. “You don’t realize the micro-adjustments you make when getting live student feedback,” says Sheppard. She doesn’t see the look of puzzlement or boredom when students don’t understand something — or excitement when they suddenly experience a eureka moment. “I miss the active collaboration,” she says.

And students can experience similar frustrations. Teachers may not see how they are reacting to a lesson. Classmates no longer collaborate in hands-on projects. And when problems arise, students have to be more pro-active to let their teachers know. That can be hard for students who are shy.

The American International School uses Zoom Pro. It features a Breakout Room function as well as live whiteboard tools. During lessons, students are assigned to small group discussions. They also can make presentations that are observed by parents and teachers alike. “This has created a more class-like social-learning environment,” says Post. Even online, there can be a “back-and-forth dialogue between multiple people.”

Also, teachers say creating a student-led learning community has increased student motivation and engagement. The result: Students have been turning in higher quality work.

Hurdles to learning online

Some research has found that students can perform equally well in in-person versus virtual classrooms. Among them is one study conducted more than a decade ago by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Arizona in Tucson. It found that students could learn more from a course taught online than in the same class — taught by the same teachers — in a traditional school classroom.

This was true when the online lessons were paced by a learner’s needs, reported Dongsong Zhang at Maryland and his colleagues. Some materials for the class were posted online and could be replayed again and again until a student understood them. Or, students could skip ahead when coming to material they fully understood.

In fact, online classes may need to be presented somewhat differently, says Richard Culatta. He heads the nonprofit International Society of Technology in Education. It’s based in Arlington, Va. “So often, when we start to move over to online learning,” he says, “we immediately think of the content.” By that, he meant that teachers might upload their notes or text to an online portal for their students.

Kids today grow up on fast-paced games and entertainment. They may need to show some patience as their teachers learn how to make engaging lessons for delivery online.Courtney Hale/E+/Getty Images

But that can be boring and impede learning, he says. To be effective in the online world, teachers will have to do far more, he says. To help them, dozens of educational organizations (including his) created Learning Keeps Going. Produced in response to the COVID-19 crisis, this website has links to lots of tools.

Learning works best when it’s a social and engaging activity, he says. And, he adds, teachers have to “think about how to make sure there’s still times where everybody can get together” — even if it’s just online in a shared meet-up.

Of course, not all subjects transfer to online teaching equally well. Beverly is a seventh-grade student at Renaissance College in Hong Kong. She has found it especially challenging to keep up with science lessons. You can’t do the same lab work at home as in well-equipped classrooms. “At school, we would have the necessary equipment to conduct experiments,” she notes. “But we don’t have this at home.” While she can still learn knowledge and concepts, she misses “the hands-on experience.”

And that’s understandable. But Culatta points to virtual science labs as one alternative. For safety reasons, he notes, “a lot of schools say you have to do a virtual chem lab first [before doing labs in the classroom].” Are these as useful and rewarding as doing experiments in a real science lab? “Of course not,” he says. “But it is a pretty darn good solution if you don’t have access to one for a while.”

In times of social distancing, your teacher may be a few miles away, as the crow flies, but still right in front of you digitally. Don’t be afraid to chat, trade jokes or ask questions as you would have in the real-world classroom.fizkes/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Some teachers are trying to simulate the hands-on experience remotely. Caroline Pringle is one of them. She’s a middle-school science teacher at the American International School. Hands-on science and testing let students “learn from their mistakes,” she says. It also helps them understand the gap between theory (what should happen), she notes, and practice. (That’s what actually happened when you tried to do something.)

Pringle’s goal is to design experiments that students can do at home — ones that encourage them to develop their scientific skills. For instance, her eighth-grade students are modeling the process of cell division. Their equipment: Play-Doh, toothpicks and string. Seventh graders are using books to model plate tectonics. Pringle also uses programs that provide online science simulations (such as Gizmos and PhET by the University of Colorado Boulder).

“In the beginning, everyone was overwhelmed,” she says. “Students were easily distracted.” To counter this, she developed a range of ways to hook their interest. For instance, she might have students answer two questions posed by classmates. Or they might complete a mini-quiz on Padlet. That’s an online bulletin board where students can post their answers and ideas.

Pringle also finds that instead of setting one big deadline for the end of an assignment, it is better to break up tasks into smaller parts that are due throughout a week. “I am now getting well-thought-out projects. And the students find it easier to stay on track,” she says.

The virtual world

The biggest hurdle to online education, of course, would be a lack of access to the internet. And there are still families that don’t have a computer or a computer that can handle the needed software. Many households also lack the high-speed internet that would give kids stable access to virtual classrooms or an ability to browse the internet.

Such limitations can make online learning seem impossible. But it doesn’t have to be, Culatta says. In response to the ongoing pandemic, some U.S. schools and companies have stepped in and begun offering families laptops, tablets or other technology. This can include temporary access to school computers and very low-cost internet (see sidebar),

Without question, Culatta says, the COVID-19 pandemic is “a tragedy.” And the call for social distancing has created an extremely challenging environment for students, parents and teachers. Eventually, however, life will return to normal. When that time comes, he believes, online learning will also be normal.

When schools reopen, he predicts, students will return to them with a new appreciation for how well they can navigate in both the real world and the virtual world. In fact, he argues, both teachers and students are going to need their digital skills “to be successful in the future. This might not have been how we wanted them to get [those skills], but there is value that comes out of this [trying time].”

Post agrees. And those skills may not just be of use in the distant future. What kids are learning now, he says, will prepare them for future disruptions — and not just pandemics. “This experience will change how we approach school suspensions for things such as bad weather days,” he says. “The next time we need to move to remote learning, we will be prepared.”

Learning will change with COVID-19’s social distancing published first on https://triviaqaweb.tumblr.com/

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getoutblockbuster · 5 years ago

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“Get Out” True Horror, Turned Horror Film

A $4.5 million budget somehow was able to make former comedy writer and comedian Jordan Peele into a well-respected, Oscar-nominated horror filmmaker. Get Out has grossed over 255 million worldwide which is a massive profit considering its small budget (Wilkinson). But what could have possibly made Get Out succeed so much as a horror movie such as the likes of “The Conjuring” and “The Blair Witch Project.” The issue with Horror films is that audiences seem to have gotten bored of the traditional jump scare horror flick. Every film seems to be more based on the formula of eerie music and jump scares than the one that came before. But how come this low budget film was different? Jordan Peele takes a very different approach to horror than many directors and writers of the Genre. Peele takes the approach of taking something real and transforming it into a fictional horror story (Landsberg, 630). The real horror in Peele’s 2017 blockbuster was its themes surrounding racism.

This film was able to take a real hot topic in America (especially since the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency causing racial tensions to rise in the country) and use a narrative to show people the real horrors of something like racism. Get Out is a film about a young black man in his 20’s named Chris who is dating a white girl named Rose Armitage, who comes from a wealthy family who lives in a rich white neighborhood. Their house is isolated and there isn’t another house in close proximity. Rose’s family are elite white liberals who apparently want to show their approval of their daughter dating a black man. The first few interactions are filled with multiple micro aggressions such as Rose’s father showing Chris a picture of his father who lost an Olympic race to Jesse Owens, a black Olympic gold medalist, who won a gold medal in Germany in front of Hitler. He also went on to say that if he could vote for Obama for a third term then he would because he was the best president of his life time by far. These are all is if the family is trying to blatantly say: “WE’RE NOT RACISTS.”

This is a common theme with white liberals in today’s society with people constantly trying to defend their biases through their obscure connections and support of black people or people of marginalized identities. You can see through Chris’ facial expressions that he is not surprised that people are acting this way around him and its almost as if he finds this to be something comical. Chris starts to become suspicious as he realizes that there is nothing but white people around when the Armitage family throws their annual party. Everyone is a white affluent person other than the two black servants that work for the Armitage’s. There seems to be something off about the two servants as if they are living in someone else’s body. It’s at the climax of the film that Chris realizes that something odd is going on at this place. Once we see another black person at the party it is clear that something is odd about this person. Chris tries to connect with him on a level that connects them on the basis of black culture. However, when Chris recognizes him as someone, he used to know who has gone missing and tries to take a picture with flash to which this person (old acquaintance Andre Hayworth) nose starts to bleed and he starts to desperately yell “Get Out” to Chris (hence we get the name of the film) As if he was trying to warn Chris that this was not a place that he wanted to be in. Rose’s mom is able to calm Andre down, but Chris decides to take a walk and to tell Rose that he wants to leave to which she agrees. When Chris is gathering his stuff, he stumbles upon a box of photos of Rose with other black men and even a woman who looks like Gorgina (one of the family servants).

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Through this Chris realizes that he must live but not before he is ambushed by the family and is basically explained that these white people who came to the Armitage’s house, were there to bid on Chris’s body. For a multitude of reasons, we see that these people are fetishizing these black bodies so that their consciousness could be transferred into a black vessel. This is the horror of the film (Virtue). No matter how nice these white people seem, there is always something that makes them look at you in a different light. When Marketing this film, Peele Insured that people knew that this film would address racism.

When the original trailer of the film was released, it received about 66 million views which is three times as many as a regular horror film trailer usually gets (Marich). This was mainly through people sharing the clip because its subject matter was different than anybody had ever seen before. As the video continued circulating, more and more people were intrigued by the film and the subject matter. How could you take something as real as racism and make it into a horror film?

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That’s exactly what made this film something that people were dying to see. Posters continued to be released with text saying things like: “do you belong in this neighborhood?”

and from this, fans started to create their own fan art posters that mimicked what was being done by Peele and Blumhouse (Marich).

Reception from audiences was overwhelmingly positive. People loved “Get Out.” And people started to recognize the genius of Jordan Peele. He was more than just a comedy writer, he was a writer and director that could take true horror and make it into a big-screen blockbuster that brought real issues to people’s attention (Virtue). The critic's consensus from Rotten Tomatoes says Get Out is: “Funny, scary, and thought-provoking, Get Out seamlessly weaves its trenchant social critiques into a brilliantly effective and entertaining horror/comedy thrill ride.”

In Lizzy Human’s Article “Fetishism of the Black Body in Get Out.” She points out how one of the main points in this film revolve around stereotypes surrounding black bodies. In the movie it is pointed out multiple times that black people are more physically gifted than white people when it comes to athletic ability, strength, and aging black bodies are just better. In this sense, these people are just creating their own fetish about what the advantages are to being black (Human, 1). This plays on the issues surrounding white people stereotyping black people. This is something we often see in sports where people think that black people are better at some sports because there is something genetically that gives them an advantage. This is the type of thing that some people focus on instead of what it is actually like to be black in today’s society with all of the oppression and marginalization that hurts black people, white people are just focused on what black people might physically have that they don’t.

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The success of this film is based on how Jordan Peele was able to take a real-life horror and turn into a successful film in the horror genre. This is known as “Horror Vérité” or “True Horror.” In this case, the true horror that Peele uses in the film “Get Out” is the horror of racism in today’s society. When people think of racism towards black bodies, they often think of slavery or the civil rights era where black people needed to fight for the right to be considered regular people. However, Peele’s film Speaks about the Racism that Black people face today, where they are still seen differently as a result of the color of their skin (Landsberg 631). This film starts this horror off by conveying how elite white liberals constantly try to justify their lack of racism through several microaggressions such as saying things like Rose’s Father saying that he “would have voted for Obama for a third term if he could have” or Rose’s brother saying things like Chris would have an unfair advantage in MMA because of his “genetic makeup” claiming that black people have some sort of unfair advantage over white people, basically ignoring the centuries of oppression by white people who claimed that they were a superior race and species.

“Get Out” was a revolutionary film that turned the Horror Genre on its head (Bishop). it was able to take the true horror of racism and create a world that was truly terrifying and made black people feel seen and was able to tell a story in a brilliant way thanks to Jordan Peele, who is more than just a comedy sketch writer.

Bishop, Bryan. “Get Out Director Jordan Peele Wants to Change People's Minds with Horror Movies.” The Verge, The Verge, 2 Mar. 2017, www.theverge.com/2017/3/2/14781308/get-out-jordan-peele-horror-movie-race-interview.

Human, Lizzy. “Fetishism of the Black Body in Get Out .” Literary Cultures Nottingham Trent University, vol. 2, 2017, pp. 1–2. This source talks about how Jordan Peele created this film not on the basis of common racism as we know it but more on the fetish of black bodies from the antagonists in this film which are the white "open-minded" liberal elite family the Armitage’s. This is what makes this film a horror, it's that these white antagonists crave and need the bodies of innocent black people for various reasons which is what creates the horror for the protagonist.

Landsberg, Alison. “Horror Vérité: Politics and History in Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017).” Continuum, vol. 32, no. 5, 2018, pp. 629–642., doi:10.1080/10304312.2018.1500522.

Marich, Robert. “'Get Out' Marketing Tapped Into Relationship Between Racism and Horror.” Variety, 22 Mar. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/jordan-peele-get-out-marketing-racism-horror-1202012833/. This source from Variety talks about the initial marketing of the film Written and Directed by Jordan Peele and how since this film spent about 4.5 million dollars, and made over 33 million on opening weekend. Peele and Blumhouse Studios pushed peoples buttons by deciding to tell people that this was a horror film based in racism which piqued curiosity, I also believe that the way this article speaks about the promotion of the film through social media by fans truly helped it as well

Nguyen, Olivia Bé “How Get Out, the First Great Movie of the Trump Era, Got Made.” Vulture, 22 Feb. 2018, www.vulture.com/2018/02/making-get-out-jordan-peele.html. This article from Vulture talks about how Get Out was a movie that was made in criticism of the post-racial era of Obama and how the Presidency of Donald Trump allowed Peele to make this movie, taking the real horrors of racism and creating it into a horror film. I think that this source can help me take a look at the politically charged reasons for this film being made and help me start to look into how people looked at this film from a political standpoint after its release.

Poll, Ryan. “Can One ‘Get Out?" The Aesthetics of Afro-Pessimism.” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, vol. 51, no. 2, 2018, pp. 69–102. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/45151156.

Virtue, Graeme. “Is Get Out a Horror Film, a Comedy ... or a Documentary?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Nov. 2017, www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2017/nov/17/get-out-golden-globes-race-horror-comedy-documentary-jordan-peele.

Wilkinson, Alissa. “Get Out Is a Horror Film about Benevolent Racism. It's Spine-Chilling.” Vox, Vox, 25 Feb. 2017, www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/24/14698632/get-out-review-jordan-peele.

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thecakewolfuniverse · 8 years ago

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Get Out (2017) Review

Reviewer: Matthew Fishgold

Important films don’t come too often in a lifetime, and they’re almost never a horror movie. Get Out (2017) is a rare horror experience that’s going to get inside your head and grab you by the soul. Written and directed by Jordan Peele in his horror movie debut, this cinematic masterpiece is an absolute must see.

Inspired by the use and portrayal of Duane Jones’ Ben in 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, Jordan Peele had his artistic gears turning at a very young age.

For our drink, we started with a focus point of hot tea.

Now that we have our drink, let's enjoy our movie and have our review.

Get Out begins with a deceptively smart masked villain moment that makes you feel all too comfortable with an age old slasher movie routine that we’ve all seen before. However, this mcguffin takes you to unexplored sunken depths much later in the film's climax.

In this opening scene, we’re also treated to the first in a consistent flow of immersive cinematography. I found myself turning my head with the camera more times than once.

Transitioning to our leading couple played by Allison Williams (Rose Armitage) and Daniel Kaluuya (Chris Washington), the audience feels right at home with the young & modern American Dream. Chris is a talented artist succeeding in the field of photography, supporting himself and his cute fluffy dog. Chris has his shit together.

Atmosphere in the set design truly helps in establishing such an unquestionable “feel” for the audience. Chris’s apartment reflects the personality that Kaluuya portrays to a T. It’s sleek, cozy, controlled, and lightly styled with inspirational art reflecting youth.

Rose and Chris begin discussing the underbelly of our culture in a roundabout way. Chris is worried about the expectations of Rose’s family that he’s about to meet for the first time. “Do they know I’m black?” After Chris voices his worries, Rose “comforts” him with humor, making him feel foolish for bringing it up. Chris plays along and goes with the flow. After all, he loves her and wants everything to work out.

We’ve all been in a situation where our significant other makes us feel silly about something that truly worries us. Though the core of this film concerns racism, it’s absolutely NOT alienating. Peele has perfectly matched his own voice with everyday relatable issues. It’s simply astounding.

I remember watching Putney Swope (1969) in film school and enjoying it but feeling out of my depths. Black Shampoo (1976) was incredibly fun but just felt wrong at times and the blaxploitation western, Boss (1975) left me with a similar feel. However, Get Out (2017) humanizes all of its characters, keeping the audience in step with its protagonist, despite their ethnicity.

If you can’t get into the shoes of Chris Washington, you must be blind, deaf and brain dead.

While traveling to see Rose’s family, the couple clips a deer with their vehicle. Chris explores the woods nearby the accident to find the animal in a helpless and suffering condition. Rose calls the police to assist in the situation which cleverly sets us up for something later in the film. Nuances in Kaluuya’s performance are displayed to the audience in close up micro-expressions, and in this scene, we can definitely feel how much this experience disturbs him. Though disturbed, Chris’ character has a tightly controlled demeanor which he shifts into when interacting with the police officer and Rose.

When Chris and Rose arrive at her family’s home, the audience begins to notice oddities that end up playing with our perceptions. This isn’t a movie where you can obviously tell what the protagonists should/shouldn’t do. You’ll be biting your nails wondering what the fuck is going on and who to trust, instead of yelling at the characters to do this or don’t do that.

This is where I’m leaving off. Get Out (2017) is not a film you want to spoil. The truth behind the situation is going to chill you to the bone. We needed this movie, now more than ever. Get Out speaks to our generation with poignant truth and originality.

Masterpieces of the cinema deserve to be celebrated and Get Out better win some fucking Oscars. I give this film five out of five teacups. I’ll be watching in theaters again and putting it on my to buy on release list. Get out of the house and see this movie in theaters!

WARNING: The below thank you letter to Mr. Peele has VERY SLIGHT SPOILERS.

Dear Mr. Peele,

I would like to start off by introducing myself. My name is Christina. I am a middle-class white chick with an interest in social justice, so y’know, I’m not going to pretend I know everything this film was attempting to cover. My boyfriend is super into horror movies, and when I saw the trailer to Get Out I looked at him and said, “Ooooh, that’s one I want to see.”

I was not disappointed. He wasn’t either. By the looks of the Rotten Tomato score, you have struck cinematic gold. You probably deserve an Oscar more than La La Land.*

Right off the bat, you set us up for the Dangers of Walking While Black. In my white girl world, I equate this with the Dangers of Walking Home Alone at Night. What were you doing out at that time? Must have been looking for trouble. You know the drill; it’s all bullshit.

Fast forward, and we meet this beautiful interracial couple. The audience thinks, “Oh look, 2016** is on the screen. Aren’t they adorable!” But then Chris asks his white girlfriend if she maybe mentioned that he was black to her parents. You see, they’ve been dating a few months and he’s going to meet her parents! It’s sweet... and they’re not racist. Why would she even mention it, it’s so not an issue! Geez, what does he think she is, a monster?

But, obviously, it is an issue. The remainder of the movie is horror-slash-real-life.

We meet white people who roll out all the micro-aggressions. Can I please see your ID? With your genetic make-up, you could be a beast! Oh, you look so strong. They treat blackness like it’s a trend, a fashion. Living in a post-racial world -- the patriarch of the family would have voted for Obama for a third time if he could -- being black is all the rage, what’s the downside?

We even see Chris put up with all this bullshit because it’s part of his life. He knows not to argue with the officer. He knows better than to point out a white guys racism. He knows that he’s just being paranoid and yes, everything is fine I’m sure. Do not make white people feel bad about their racism, I’m sure they mean well. It’s totally normal to be sized up like a piece of meat. And those other black people must just be crazy, not brainwashed or manipulated. No no no no no no no. Oh, no.

It really struck me how much this movie exposed the underlying idea that Black People need to be tamed; they must be whitewashed until they are acceptable to roll with high society. We see these whitewashed characters in the white family’s help. They are all very careful about saying the Right Things for their white people. Walter is strong and is the groundskeeper, Georgina is the family’s chef and personal servant and Andrew is an old white lady’s new lover.

Sex slaves and shit. She parades him around as an object of beauty, even making him twirl for her friends at one point. Chris begins to put two and two together when he tries to sneak a photo of Andrew to send to his buddy, Rod. The flash on his phone goes off, it breaks the hypnotism and Andrew warns Chris to “Get Out!” After Chris sends the photo, Rod immediately recognizes Andrew as Dre, a guy from his circle who had gone missing months ago. Chris realizes how “crazy” it sounds, but he knows he has to get away from this place before they turn him into a mindless drone too.

The film also deals the appropriation of black culture in a very overt way, the white family and friends all take what they deem necessary from their black servants for themselves and then turn what they deem unnecessary (the rest of their lives and personality) into a mindless drone.

White people will take your music, your beauty, your art and your style and we will allow you to entertain, but please learn to speak proper English and wear your pants correctly and please don’t wear your hair like that because it’s unprofessional and for the love of god, don’t ever take a knee for the national anthem.***

Finally, I would like to say thank you for that ending. It was a twist, it was unexpected and it was soooo so good.

Sincerely,

Cakewolf’s Consort

(Christina)

*Believe it or not, I have not seen La La Land, even though it starred Ryan Gosling, who was confused with Ryan Reynolds on a local theater’s website because I guess all Ryans look the same.

**Because who are we kidding, 2017 is a shit show.

*** White folks can wear the flag as a swimsuit, swim trunks, underwear, drape their naked bodies with it or turn it into napkins for barbecues, but otherwise, it is to be respected Above All Things.

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kdulgar-blog · 5 years ago

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Churchill Club Top 10 Tech Trends Debate

I just got back from the Churchill Club’s 13th Annual Top 10 Tech Trends Debate (site).

Curt Carlson, CEO of SRI, presented their trends from the podium, which are meant to be “provocative, plausible, debatable, and that it will be clear within the next 1-3 years whether or not they will actually become trends.”

Then the panelists debated them. Speaking is Aneesh Chopra, CTO of the U.S., and smirking to his left is Paul Saffo, and then Ajay Senkut from Clarium, then me.

Here are SRI’s 2011 Top 10 Tech Trends [and my votes]:

Trend 1. Age Before Beauty. Technology is designed for—and disproportionately used by—the young. But the young are getting fewer. The big market will be older people. The aging generation has grown up with, and is comfortable with, most technology—but not with today’s latest technology products. Technology product designers will discover the Baby Boomer’s technology comfort zone and will leverage it in the design of new devices. One example today is the Jitterbug cell phone with a large keypad for easy dialing and powerful speakers for clear sound. The trend is for Baby Boomers to dictate the technology products of the future.

[I voted YES, it’s an important and underserved market, but for tech products, they are not the early adopters. The key issue is age-inspired entrepreneurship. How can we get the entrepreneurial mind focused on this important market?]

Trend 2. The Doctor Is In. Some of our political leaders say that we have "the best medical care system in the world". Think what it must be like in the rest of the world! There are many problems, but one is the high cost of delivering expert advice. With the development of practical virtual personal assistants, powered by artificial intelligence and pervasive low-cost sensors, “the doctor will be in”—online—for people around the world. Instead of the current Web paradigm: “fill out this form, and we’ll show you information about what might be ailing you”, this will be true diagnosis—supporting, and in some cases replacing—human medical practitioners. We were sending X-rays to India to be read; now India is connecting to doctors here for diagnosis in India. We see the idea in websites that now offer online videoconference interaction with a doctor. The next step is automation. The trend is toward complete automation: a combination of artificial intelligence, the Internet, and very low-cost medical instrumentation to provide high-quality diagnostics and advice—including answering patient questions—online to a worldwide audience.

[NO. Most doctor check-ups and diagnoses will still need to be conducted in-person (blood tests, physical exams, etc). Sensor technology can’t completely replace human medical practitioners in the near future. Once we have the physical interface (people for now), then the networking and AI capabilities can engage, bringing specialist reactions to locally collected data. The real near-term trend in point-of-care is the adoption of iPads/phones connected to cloud services like ePocrates and Athenahealth and soon EMRs.]

Trend 3. Made for Me. Manufacturing is undergoing a revolution. It is becoming technically and economically possible to create products that are unique to the specific needs of individuals. For example, a cell phone that has only the hardware you need to support the features you want—making it lighter, thinner, more efficient, much cheaper, and easier to use. This level of customization is being made possible by converging technical advances: new 3D printing technology is well documented, and networked micro-robotics is following. 3D printing now includes applications in jewelry, industrial design, and dentistry. While all of us may not be good product designers, we have different needs, and we know what we want. The trend is toward practical, one-off production of physical goods in widely distributed micro-factories: the ultimate customization of products. The trend is toward practical, one-off production of physical goods in widely distributed micro-factories: the ultimate customization of products.

[NO. Personalization is happening just fine at the software level. The UI skins and app code is changeable at zero incremental cost. Code permeates outward into the various vessels we build for it. The iPhone. Soon, the car (e.g. Tesla Sedan). Even the electrical circuits (when using an FPGA). This will extend naturally to biological code, with DNA synthesis costs plummeting (but that will likely stay centralized in BioFabs for the next 3 years. When it comes to building custom physical things, the cost and design challenges relegate it to prototyping, tinkering and hacks. Too many people have a difficult time in 3D content creation. The problem is the 2D interfaces of mouse and screen. Perhaps a multitouch interface to digital clay could help, where the polygons snap to fit after the form is molded by hand.]

Trend 4. Pay Me Now. Information about our personal behavior and characteristics is exploited regularly for commercial purposes, often returning little or no value to us, and sometimes without our knowledge. This knowledge is becoming a key asset and a major competitive advantage for the companies that gather it. Think of your supermarket club card. These knowledge-gatherers will need to get smarter and more aggressive in convincing us to share our information with them and not with their competitors. If TV advertisers could know who the viewers are, the value of the commercials would go up enormously. The trend is technology and business models based on attracting consumers to share large amounts of information exclusively with service providers.

[YES, but it’s nothing new. Amazon makes more on merchandising than product sales margin. And, certain companies are getting better and better at acquiring customer information and personalizing offerings specifically to these customers. RichRelevance provides this for ecommerce (driving 25% of all e-commerce on Black Friday). Across all those vendors, the average lift from personalizing the shopping experience: 15% increase in overall sales and 8% increase in long-term profitability. But, simply being explicit and transparent to the consumer about the source of the data can increase the effectiveness of targeted programs by up to 100% (e.g., saying “Because you bought this product and other consumers who bought it also bought this other product" yielded a 100% increase in product recommendation effectiveness in numerous A/B tests). Social graph is incredibly valuable as a marketing tool.]

Trend 5. Rosie, At Last. We’ve been waiting a long time for robots to live in and run our homes, like Rosie in the Jetsons’ household. It’s happening a little now: robots are finally starting to leave the manufacturing floor and enter people’s homes, offices, and highways. Robots can climb walls, fly, and run. We all know the Roomba for cleaning floors—and now there’s the Verro for your pool. Real-time vision and other sensors, and affordable precise manipulation, are enabling robots to assist in our care, drive our cars, and protect our homes and property. We need to broaden our view of robots and the forms they will take—think of a self-loading robot-compliant dishwasher or a self-protecting house. The trend is robots becoming embedded in our environments, and taking advantage of the cloud, to understand and fulfill our needs.

[NO. Not in 3 years. Wanting it badly does not make it so. But I just love that Google RoboCar. Robots are not leaving the factory floor – that’s where the opportunity for newer robots and even humanoid robots will begin. There is plenty of factory work still to be automated. Rodney Brooks of MIT thinks they can be cheaper than the cheapest outsourced labor. So the robots are coming, to the factory and the roads to start, and then the home.]

Trend 6. Social, Really. The rise of social networks is well documented, but they’re not really social networks. They’re a mix of friends, strangers, organizations, hucksters—it’s more like walking through a rowdy crowd in Times Square at night with a group of friends. There is a growing need for social networks that reflect the fundamental nature of human relationships: known identities, mutual trust, controlled levels of intimacy, and boundaries of shared information. The trend is the rise of true social networks, designed to maintain real, respectful relationships online.

[YES. The ambient intimacy of Facebook is leading to some startling statistics on fB evidence reuse by divorce lawyers (80%) and employment rejections (70%). There are differing approaches to solve this problem: Altly’s alternative networks with partioning and control, Jildy’s better filtering and auto-segmentation, and Path’s 50 friend limit.]

Trend 7. In-Your-Face Augmented Reality. With ever-cheaper computation and advances in computer vision technology, augmented reality is becoming practical, even in mobile devices. We will move beyond expensive telepresence environments and virtual reality games to fully immersive environments—in the office, on the factory floor, in medical care facilities, and in new entertainment venues. I once did an experiment where a person came into a room and sat down at a desk against a large, 3D, high-definition TV display. The projected image showed a room with a similar desk up against the screen. The person would put on 3D glasses, and then a projected person would enter and sit down at the other table. After talking for 5 to 10 minutes, the projected person would stand up and put their hand out. Most of the time, the first person would also stand up and put their hand into the screen—they had quickly adapted and forgotten that the other person was not in the room. Augmented reality will become indistinguishable from reality. The trend is an enchanted world— The trend is hyper-resolution augmented reality and hyper-accurate artificial people and objects that fundamentally enhance people’s experience of the world.

[NO, lenticular screens are too expensive and 3D glasses are a pain in the cortex. Augmented reality with iPhones is great, and pragmatic, but not a top 10 trend IMHO]

Trend 8. Engineering by Biologists. Biologists and engineers are different kinds of people—unless they are working on synthetic biology. We know about genetically engineered foods and creatures, such as gold fish in multiple other colors. Next we’ll have biologically engineered circuits and devices. Evolution has created adaptive processing and system resiliency that is much more advanced than anything we’ve been able to design. We are learning how to tap into that natural expertise, designing devices using the mechanisms of biology. We have already seen simple biological circuits in the laboratory. The trend is practical, engineered artifacts, devices, and computers based on biology rather than just on silicon.

[YES, and NO because it was so badly mangled as a trend. For the next few years, these approaches will be used for fuels and chemicals and materials processing because they lend themselves to a 3D fluid medium. Then 2D self-assembling monolayers. And eventually chips , starting with memory and sensor arrays long before heterogeneous logic. And processes of biology will be an inspiration throughout (evolution, self-assembly, etc.). Having made predictions along these themes for about a decade now, the wording of this one frustrated me]

Trend 9. ‘Tis a Gift to be Simple. Cyber attacks are ever more frequent and effective. Most attacks exploit holes that are inevitable given the complexity of the software products we use every day. Cyber researchers really understand this. To avoid these vulnerabilities, some cyber researchers are beginning to use only simple infrastructure and applications that are throwbacks to the computing world of two decades ago. As simplicity is shown to be an effective approach for avoiding attack, it will become the guiding principle of software design. The trend is cyber defense through widespread adoption of simple, low-feature software for consumers and businesses.

[No. I understand the advantages of being open, and of heterogencity of code (to avoid monoculture collapse), but we have long ago left the domain of simple. Yes, Internet transport protocols won via simplicity. The presentation layer, not so much. If you want dumb pipes, you need smart edges, and smart edges can be hacked. Graham Spencer gave a great talk at SFI: the trend towards transport simplicity (e.g. dumb pipes) and "intelligence in the edges" led to mixing code and data, which in turn led to all kinds of XSS-like attacks. Drive-by downloading (enabled by XSS) is the most popular vehicle for delivering malware these days.]

Trend 10. Reverse Innovation. Mobile communication is proliferating at an astonishing rate in developing countries as price-points drop and wireless infrastructure improves. As developing countries leapfrog the need for physical infrastructure and brokers, using mobile apps to conduct micro-scale business and to improve quality of life, they are innovating new applications. The developing world is quickly becoming the largest market we’ve ever seen—for mobile computing and much more. The trend is for developing countries to turn around the flow of innovation: Silicon Valley will begin to learn more from them about innovative applications than they need to learn from us about the underlying technology.

[YES, globalization is a megatrend still in the making. The mobile markets are clearly China, India and Korea, with app layer innovation increasingly originating there. Not completely of course, but we have a lot to learn from the early-adopter economies.]

Posted by jurvetson on 2011-05-26 05:36:16

Tagged: , Churchill , Club , Top , 10 , Tech , Trends , Debate , SRI , Curt Carlson , Paul Saffo , Aneesh Chopra

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