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panic-at-the-fiction · 3 years

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1973 pt2

Summary: (y/n) life hasn’t been the same since the school closed down and neither has her father. But there seems to be a sign of hope of the man he used to be returning with this new mission.

Warnings: I’m not doing this word for word with the movie ok. You’ve seen the movie you know how it goes.

a/n: I hope y’all like this. I know it’s going slow but I want build relationships with the characters around her not just with Peter. You got Logan who’s like the big bro everyone needs and Hank the fun uncle obviously and even Charles who right now is the absent father figure she cant even call dad. Hope you like that touch, her just referring to him as Charles other than in sarcastic context. @whyiswhatahow @willalaufeyson

We had been in the car for a few hours now with no breaks. We needed to get to Washington, DC as quickly as we could. After we found Logan’s friend, who was luckily living in Virginia only an hour away from the pentagon, we packed our things and left really early in the morning. We should be at the pentagon by 11:00.

Charles had insisted on driving. Which is bad considering he drives like an absolute madman. Hank looked like he would puke. When you're like Charles Xavier and you give up all hope, you too might drive like a madman. Logan and I, we’re in the back seat.

I’m still on the fence about believing him. Hank and Charles jumped right into helping him break a criminal out of high security prison in the hopes of helping Raven, but for all we know, she’s not in any trouble and this guy is actually working for Eric.

I turn to face him, “So Logan, tell me more about the future?”

“I already told you, kid, it’s too dangerous for you to know more than you need to. You had a good life in the future. I don't wanna mess it up.”

“Who’s to say you telling me about my life isn’t the reason I have that life.”

“That’s not how this works. Once I do what I do here, and I go back. It will be like the last 50 years I know never happened.”

“Sounds to me like no matter what you tell me, it’s going to be different anyways.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Fine, don't tell me about the future. Tell me about this friend or yours. Why do we even need him of all mutants?”

“He’s name is Peter, when I met him he was much older. Let’s just say he has some personal stakes in this, just as you do. Even if he may not know it yet.”

“Can we even trust him? If you don’t meet him until years from now, who says he’ll be the same guy you knew?”

“I don’t know much about his life as a teenager but from what I heard he liked breaking into things just to prove he could do it.” Logan smiled like he remembered something, but shook his head and continued. “Don’t worry about him, though, I’m sure you’ll trust him once you meet him.”

After that, we sat in silence. He wasn’t going to answer my questions about the future, and there wasn’t much to ask about this Peter anymore. Even if I did have a feeling that there was something Logan wasn’t telling me about him. I kept reaching into his emotions and on the surface he felt like a smartalec who’s making inside jokes that we can’t understand, but when I looked any deeper it was pain, grief and regret all twisted inside him. I liked Logan, but I didn’t like being around him and his deep emotions.

After 4 hours on the road, we finally pulled up to this boy's house. It was fairly normal looking except for the burnt out welcome mat. Charles knocked on the door and only a few seconds later an exasperated looking woman opened the door. “What has he done now? Whatever it is, I'll pay for it.” I smiled, I could feel the emotions of a little girl inside the house. She was having a blast playing dress up, and it was one of the better feelings I’ve gotten in a while.

“We aren’t cops, ma’am, we just need to talk to Peter.”

She sighed and moved to let us in and pointed to where the stairs were to the basement. It was packed with dozens of boxes which looked to have been stolen. Off to the left there was a brand-new Pac-Man machine and a pull-out couch. Right in front of the stairs, tho, was a ping pong table with a blur of silver running back and forth fast enough to play a game without a partner.

I couldn’t get a clear view of it at all, but it still spoke up. “Whatever it is, I didn't do it.”

“Of course you didn't.” Charles said sarcastically, scanning the room of all its stolen objects.

“Listen, Peter, we’re not cops.” Logan said, taking a step toward the table. Before he could take one more, the blur was gone.

“What is he? A teleporter?” Hank asked,

“I think he’s just fast.” I said. This Peter was definitely something. I couldn’t even see him for how fast he was going.

“Of course you’re not cops. If you were cops, why would you be driving a rental car?”

We all turned toward the voice. He was now sitting stretched out on the couch with a popsicle in hand. He had an arrogant smile and oddly enough silver hair that looked as if he may have stuck his head out a window of a moving car.

“Are you FBI?” I chuckled at the silly accusation, and I caught his eyes. For a moment, I felt a burst of nervousness that I wasn’t sure was mine. Then a gust of wind flew by me, and before I knew it the boy was standing only a few feet from us. “Nope, not FBI. Hey, what’s this gifted youngster place?” I looked in his hand and sure enough he had dear old dad's wallet.

“It’s an old card.” He said grumpily as he reached for his wallet. Peter only dropped the wallet and moved onto his Pac-Man game.

“He’s fascinating.” I said.

“He’s a pain in the ass.” Charles didn’t seem too pleased with this peter.

I just laughed at my dad’s irritation. I walked over to the arcade game next to where he was sitting. “You have to go left first if you're going to get around in time to beat the ghost.” I said getting absorbed deep into the game.

“How do you know that?”

“I memorized the levels.” I could see him give me a shocked look out of the corner of my eye, but I just kept staring at the screen. He felt nervous but impressed, and I was trying to not let it get to my head. “I have an eidetic memory.”

He turned back to his game. “Listen, Peter, we need your help to break someone out of prison.”

I pulled away from the game and took a few steps back over to the group. “You know that's illegal.” He said sarcastically. I laughed this time, and I felt Peter's emotions tense up.

“Only if you get caught.” I whipped back. Charles was giving me the dad side eye.

“What’s in it for me?”

I could tell Charles was getting annoyed. Mainly Because he was beginning to sober up from his hangover, but also because of the new kid peter being a quoted pain in the ass. “You, you kleptomaniac, get to break into the pentagon.”

Peter turned around, his eyes wide with excitement. For a moment he looked at me, questioning something. “How do I know I can trust you guys?”

“Because we’re just like you.” Hank said.

“Show him.” Charles almost smiled. Logan kept a straight but intense face as he let the bone-like claws rise from his knuckles.

Peter's face went white at the site. “That’s gross but… I’m in.”

#peter x y/n #peter x you #peter x reader #peter maximoff x y/n #peter maximoff x you #peter maximof x reader #peter maximoff #xmen x reader #x men fanfiction #quicksilver x y/n #quicksilver x reader #quicksilver x you

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seungkwanslowqualityenglish · 4 years

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Boyfriend!Soobin

Who: Soobin [ TXT ]

Word Count: 2,113 words

Genre: Fluff

Warning: N/A

Request: No.

@ultkyu I had planned to write just a short simple little fic for your birthday, however we know how that goes for me, short turns into not so short, and it’s still not done. So, enjoy this instead, I just wrote this quickly so it’s not the best, but enjoy.

Also 💕 💕 💕 💕 𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝐵𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝒦𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓈𝓎 💕 💕 💕 💕

You two would meet at a grocery store.

Like why do they always have to put the things you like on the top shelf.

You don’t mind climbing up the shelves, but that’s just sorta frowned upon, so you try not to.

You were just about to be giving up your goal of getting this one certain item, it being on the tallest of shelves, when you saw him.

He was over there looking all tall and handsome, but mostly tall, like really really tall, tall enough to reach the top shelf with ease.

It would have been an easy walk over, ask to get item, receive item, and thank them for getting the item, had he not turned around at that exact moment.

Of course, in doing so, he locked eyes with you, and here you are, that weirdo staring at someone else in the grocery store.

That was when you finally stuttered out “Help please”, after you finally got over being captivated by his stunning eyes and smile.

Like damn someone needed to write his parents a thank you letter, for giving birth to this god among men.

Maybe he was just used to this, or maybe he was just good at hiding his feelings since he simply chuckled, before asking “which item?”

That was just the first of many times you met him.

Often in that same grocery store, since his friends and parents often sent him on the food runs.

It wasn’t until one of your old friends invited you over to his house, that you got to really meet him.

While at Yeonjun’s, you learned his name was Soobin, despite all the times you met him in the store, never once did you get his name.

That was the first of many times you hung out with the guys.

Taehyun and Kai were like annoying younger brothers, and Beomgyu was as well.

It was about two months into being friends with them, that Yeonjun noticed something odd.

You always referred to all the guys as your brothers, but Soobin, he was just Soobin.

Yeonjun isn’t exactly a mastermind, but he felt like playing cupid, and that’s how you ended up at this restaurant with Soobin, waiting on 4 others who were not to come.

You had been sat about ten minutes when you finally got a text from Yeonjun, “can’t make it enjoy your date”.

That was followed by Soobin receiving identical messages from Kai, Beomgyu, and Taehyun.

He had set you up, and you couldn’t be mad at him, since they knew neither of you would have admitted your feelings and asked the other out.

The date was going well, however it still felt odd.

A fancy restaurant just wasn’t your vibe, and that’s how you two found yourself at an arcade.

That is how you stood here by the skee-ball machine, Soobin swearing he’s a pro, while also missing every single target.

This went on all night.

He was a skee-ball pro, a pinball master, a Pac Man wizard, and so forth.

But in reality, he wasn’t, he was just really trying to impress you, but it was sorta failing.

But honestly, it wasn’t really since you were impressed by his confidence.

As the night was nearing an end, he claimed he was a pro one last time, the crane machine.

While he played, you excuse yourself to the bathroom for a moment.

Had you stayed during that time, you would have seen him fail at the crane game many times.

During his times losing and his mumblings about wanting to win you something just once, he caught the attention of some other couple, who had their fair share of things from winning.

That was how he got the stuffed animal that he gave you, claiming he won it, once you returned.

Maybe you should thank Yeonjun, but his ego probably would inflate too much if you did, since it was due to him that you got a boyfriend.

After that, Soobin finally had the confidence to ask you out, well out again.

As he was dropping you off at home that night, he asked you for another date.

That one set off a string of other dates, before you two finally decided to become official.

Yet, in announcing it, it wasn’t anything the others didn’t know, since they’ve been knew, they were just waiting for you to confirm it.

You are dating the softest tallest sweetheart ever.

Like Soobin would treasure you, and nothing could ever stop that.

You would be precious to him, and nothing else can compare.

The two of you would have the cutest relationship, going on adorable dates to the arcade, the cafe, the beach, and stuff.

You two would be dating about a month before he finally works up the courage to kiss you.

The both of you were just having an at home date, having dinner and a movie in the boys dorm.

That was your first mistake, having your date in the boys dorm.

The second mistake was thinking the others wouldn’t interrupt.

The dinner went well, you and Soobin cooked, and did not burn the kitchen down, which is a big achievement.

The movie was going well as some random romance movie could.

It being a bit chilly, you found yourself moving close to Soobin, as he wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer to him.

It was at that moment that he decided to make his move, and he kissed you.

As your lips touched, it was a perfect moment.

Well, it would have been, had it not been for Kai and Taehyun running into the living at that exact moment.

Usually this moment would be described with fireworks and butterflies, but instead this moment was filled with screams and a door slamming.

Not exactly the most ideal thing to happen during your first kiss with him, but the rest of the boys coming home at that time wasn’t exactly ideal either.

It hadn’t been five minutes before all the other four knew, and it somehow shifted from you two kissing to completely making out on the sofa.

Which concerned Yeonjun, until you quickly explained that you were not, and that the others were exaggerating it.

It was that moment that the two of you both realized that this was the real thing, it wasn’t some short lived fling, and you didn’t run off when Kai and Taehyun interrupted you both kissing.

From then on, Soobin would constantly be giving you kisses.

Like if he doesn’t give you at least one kiss a day, he’ll die, or at least he claims.

Often it’s soft forehead kisses and occasionally nose kisses, at least when the boys are around.

Kisses on the lips is reserved for only when the others are gone, since you have no doubt it would be exaggerated if they witnessed it again.

Soobin would love just holding you.

Like you sitting on the sofa, not for long, your in his lap now.

You are sitting without holding his hand, not for long, now you are not only holding his hand but also have his arm around your waist.

He is here for pda, except he’s not that much here for it in public.

Like in the safety of your house or their dorm, he will hold you to his heart’s content, but in public, nah, he might hold your hand, if even that.

He would give the best cuddles.

Like literally the moment he starts cuddling you, you just want to stay there forever, and he would honestly let you too.

You both would have been together for a while, when he finally realizes he loves you.

It was his birthday, and imagine his surprise when he opens one of his many presents from you.

It was something he had vaguely mentioned wanting months ago, but he didn’t think he would actually get it.

You got him that, along with some other things he had mentioned wanting, but never bought for himself.

It was at that moment he realized that he didn’t only love you, but he was in love with you.

You remember little things about him that others forget, and you remembered all the vague little things he mentioned wanting, and the others had either not heard or forgot about.

Would probably immediately say “I love you” without thinking, just for you to reply “I love you too” and he’s just like so confused, like what just happened.

He would love seeing you wear his clothing, if they fit you.

Like he’d purposely leave his hoodies in your closet when he’s at your house, just so you wear them.

And if they don’t fit you, he’d purposely buy then bigger, and then be like “I like over-sized hoodies” when you ask him about it.

He would purposely buy couples hoodies and leave one at your house, and then you’ll wear it and he’ll also wear his and be like “oh look at that, I guess I had two.”

But you catch on easily, since he’s not that discreet about it.

He probably claims something like it was buy one get one free or something, but you know it wasn’t, he’s just not gonna admit he purposely bought one for you.

He would call you hella nicknames, like everything but your name.

His favorites are angel, prince/ss, and baby; and he probably has you in his phone as 💕My Angel💕 or something like that.

He says Angel so much, his parents will think that’s your real name, until he explains like no it’s not.

He’d probably introduce you to his parents after a few months, and you’d be so nervous, but he’d be even worse.

Like he would be freaking out the whole time running through different scenarios, and in his eyes, the worst thing that could happen is his parents hating the one he loves.

But they love you, and call you both adorable, and it goes well.

He would enjoy going places with you, and doing things with you.

Like you want to go shopping, he’s fine being your hype man for three hours as you try to find the right pair of pants.

You wanna go to the beach, he’s up for it.

He doesn’t mind where you go, as long as he’s with you.

He sends you good morning and good night text.

When he is gone, he’d facetime you every night, if he could.

He’d call when it’s night for you, talking to you until you fall asleep.

You wish he’d wake you or something, but he probably says some cute things like “seeing you sleep makes me feel like I’m close to you” or something.

He hates leaving you, so be prepared for daily selfies, and he would also like it if you sent him at least biweekly selfies.

Claims he’ll forget what you look like if you don’t.

Also overreacts saying you’ll forget what he looks like if he doesn’t send you daily selfies when he is gone.

Probably also fills your phone with selfies of himself before he leaves, so you have something to look at while he’s gone.

He loves taking photos of you, himself, and you both together.

He has a whole album of selfies of himself to send you, along with a whole album of photos of you he took, and a whole album of couple photos.

Normal people run out of storage from memes or music, he runs out of storage from photos of you.

Probably does something cute like compile photos of you and you two together, and then makes some cute scrapbook for your first anniversary.

Wants to document each moment he has with you, so he’ll never forget it, which leads to you having tons of photos around.

Totally plans on telling the story behind all of these stories to your future children, whether the two of you have children or you just consider the other boys’ children yours.

Loves taking you out to make these memories.

But absolutely under no circumstance are you to order mint chocolate chip ice cream, especially with him, the president of the mint chocolate chip ice cream haters club.

If you hate it as well, he’ll enlist you on clowning Yeonjun about liking it.

If you like it, well at least you have other redeeming qualities to him.

Sees himself with you in the future, but is sorta shy to admit it.

You are both young, and he just doesn’t want to scare you off by telling you.

But honestly, you see yourself with him in the future as well.

#kwritersworldnet #kreativewritersnet #thekpopnetwork #txt #tomorrow by together #soobin #choi soobin #txt fic #soobin fic #choi soobin fic #boyfriend soobin #boyfriend!au #soobin boyfriend #fluff #jae

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thegraphitesword-blog · 7 years

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Pride Prompt Month 15/30: Sleepover

Fandom: Be More Chill

Relationship: Expensive Headphones

Notes: Holy mother of all things pure in this world, I completely forgot that this ship existed. I have been reading stuff about Micheal and Rich becoming friends and stuff, but I forgot. SOOOOOORRY

More Notes: I gotta play the trans card sooooooo, trans bois getting together. I actually have no idea how i’m gonna do this but I have work so gotta make it happen. Also I will write Rich with a lisp but not the entire time, just as a reminder

TW: scars (old and new), burns and bruises. implied physical abuse and drinking, weed bois

Prompt: Sleepover

It was inevitable that by the time Rich had collected his things and patched up his newest wounds, his fucking dad would be face down on the table, empty bottles maned like russian security. Tonight was a relativly light night for both of them...well mostly just Rich; he got away with some cuts, a few bruises, and ringing in his ears. He had finished up and adjusted the ace bandages constricting his chest, they were hurting more than normal, but he just wanted to get out of the house.

His phone, buzzed followed by the sound you hear when you find an item in Legend of Zelda.

headphones kid: doors open, just letcha self in

Rich was excited to finally get to spend sometime with Micheal after all the shit that had happened over the last few months. The squips were gone....well, sorta, and his burns had pretty much healed-ish, and things were as back to normal as they could be. Micheal had invited him over weeks ago, but there were a lot of things that made Rich say no, the bruises and cuts were one of many. The fact that he was trans......was the big one.

But, tonight he just wanted to get away and Jake wasn’t available cause he had some meet or game. Rich pulled up google maps and started walking, Micheal lived about an hour away and since his bike was out of comission, Rich had to book it. About 20 minutes of running passed and he just had to stop, his chest hurting so much and he couldn’t breathe.

“Jethuth chritht.”

For a split second Rich groans, listening to his stupid speech impediment, something he had pretty much forgotten about when he had the squip. But, his friends didn’t mind as much, even when he tried to be harsh or intimidating, no matter how hard it was when he couldn’t fucking talk. It was beyond infuriating, the only solice he had was when Micheal told him how cute it made him. After that he only hated it when he was by himself. His phone rang, the tune of the Pac-Man theme song,

“Yello?”

“Rich where are you?”

“On my way asshole, just give me a sec.”

He laughed cooing, “That’s my lispy boy.”

Rich yells at him to shut up, and Micheal cackles, which seemed to close to be over the phone.

“Wait, where are you?”

“Behind you.”

Rich spins around to see Micheal leaning on a light post, iconic headphones slung around his neck and in his faded hoodie. He walked over swaying to music, Rich couldn’t hear, his smile glistened in the setting sun and the shine of his glasses, caught flashed in Rich’s eyes.

“Stop stalking me.”

“I got worried cause it took you so long. Why are you walking?”

“Because.”

“well we can walk together. Dinner will be cold, but it’s not too big of a deal. I think kaldereta tastes awesome after it sits for a while.”

“Kalde-what?”

Micheal leans down stretching his back out, “I told you, tonight was special. I was going to force your white American ass to eat something with a bit more flavor. Kaldereta is just a Filipino beef stew, well it’s normally made with goat, but i thought that would be a bit much.”

Rich’s stomach turned at the thought of eating goat, “Thanks for the consideration.”

“Say consideration again.” Micheal said with a sly smile.

“NO.”

Micheal collected the dishes and kissed his mother and Nanay, thanking them for the meal and dragged Rich to the basement. Despite being weirded out by the strange flavor, only to find out it was liver, Rich did enjoy the meal and Micheal’s mothers trying to speak with him in a mix of Tagalog and English. Micheal was more than happy to translate, adding his own subtitles. They resided in the basement, infront of the TV in bean bags, smoking and passing a flask, Rich had instictivly brought. The conversation floated through many different topic only to end on a question.

“So why did you wanna come?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well I wanted you to come over like weeks ago, and you just said no, fuck no, adn absolutely not. What made you change?”

Rich’s stomach dropped and it felt like the bandages across his chest just got even tighter.

“Just had free time and thit. No reathon.”

He grabbed the flask and downed the rest of it, without a thought. Micheal snorted, getting up and pulling out some games and movies, trying to see what they could do.

“Got disney, vintage, VCR, and Blu-Ray. As for games, pretty much, what don’t I have.”

Rich looked over his selection and decided some classic Disney was in order. After a marathon of, Mulan, Brave, and The Little Mermaid, Micheal was in the mood for some 7/11. Rich didn’t have any money on him, since he stopped selling squips and his dad didn’t give a shit, but Micheal got him covered. Slushies, Mountain Dew, Doritos and various candies and the two headed back. It was around 2 when Micheal noticed Rich, nodding off.

“Hey, you know that if you want to go to sleep you can. I don’t sleep till at least 4, so I don’t mind.”

“I’m not a pussy. I can stay up.”

“Sure yah can.”

Rich punched him in the arm, and picked up a controller challenging Micheal to a Mario Kart Torunement. Micheal tried his hardest to let Rich win. Which even with all the handicaps in the world, could help him. They made it half way before Rich’s controller slipped and he dropped out of conciousness.

“Yo....Rich? Hey,” Micheal shook his friends shoulder, “Jeez, I told you you could sleep.”

He eyes flicker for a second, “Thut up.”

“Come on, buddy. My bed’s got your name on it.”

Rich leans into Micheal’s arms, as his dork friend carries him to is bed. Rich snuggles into the blankets and mumbles something, Micheal can’t hear.

“NIght, Rich.”

Micheal was playing Left 4 Dead when Rich woke up crying in pain, he freaked out immediately.

“rich! oh my god, what happened.”

“C-can’t, “He gasped, holding his chest, “Breathe.”

Micheal didn’t even hesitate to grab the hem of his shirt, but Rich scream yanking away.

“Dude, chill. I’m just gonna check the scars on your chest and make sure nothing is bruised.”

“No no, please it’s fine, I.” His voices gets cut off by coughing and another pained whine.

“Just let me help.”

Despite how much, Rich fights, Micheal pulls up his shirt and freezes. The burn mark leading into a red section of flesh, was concening, but even more so was the bandages, obviously squeezing the life out of his friend.

“Holy shit.....Rich.”

Micheal gets up quickly, and starts digging through a drawer. Rich on the other hand tries to make a run for it. He doesn’t get far before the sharp stabbing pain in his chest, causes him to freeze.

“Fuck, dude. Just chill. Take them off.”

“No way.”

“If you’re gonna bind yourself, do it right.”

The sentence frazzles him, Rich steps back, “woah wait a second.”

Micheal sighs, throwing a article of clothing at, him. “if you don’t trust me, then maybe this will help.” He pulls off his hoodie and lifts his shirt all the way up. Aside from the dozens of hashes littering both Micheal’s arms and pudgy stomach, which Rich was aware of but never seen, the black strip of fabirc across his chest was a wake up call.

“Are you fucking shitting me?”

“Nope. Anais Mell.”

He drops the shirt, but holds onto his hoodie. Rich stares at him for minutes processing the whole situation

“Abigail Goranski.”

“Okay, now that the pleasentires are out of the way, take those god damn things off. I gotta make sure you didn’t break a rib or anything. Didn’t you ever hear that Ace bandages are the most dangerous thing to bind with?”

“If you hadn’t noticed, I am not very open or supported with this whole thing.”

“Well, take them off and put that on.”

Rich looks at what he’s holding and is shocked to find a black binder, much smaller than the one Micheal had on.

“That was mine when I was like.....14-ish. Might be a little big, but as long as you take those death traps off, you’ll be okay. Just...let me make sure you’re not gonna die?”

Reluctantly, Rich starts pulling off the tight bundle of bandages. The second they were off, he could finally breathe, even if it hurt like hell.

“Okay, give me a sec. this....will be kinda weird.”

Micheal runs a hand over Rich’s chest pressing lightly on different areas to check for tender obvious signs of a break or fracture. Nothing felt gritty, but a few areas were too tender to touch.

“Rich, we really should take you to the hospital.”

“NO, please let’s not do that.”

Rich struggled to put on the binder, before Micheal helped and though every red flag was blaring in his mind, he decided to at least give it an hour or two.

The silence was thick and the two of them settled on Micheal’s, trying to process the fact and gravity of what just happened. Micheal drew circles in Rich’s hand trying to get him to release some tension.

“Are you okay?”

“I....don’t know.”

They paused avoiding gaze.....

“Micheal?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I came, this was dumb and I should really just go.”

Micheal looks horrified at the thought of him leaving, especially after what just happened. He wasn’t going to let him just walk out after this kinda event and definitely not if he could be seriously hurt. Instead he watched, Rich stand unsure what he could do to make him stay. He watched his friend get to the base of the stair before an answer came, he raced behind him and carefully turned him around.

“Micheal what the fuck?”

‘He stared at Rich, glossing over freckles and burns across his cheek and resting on his eyes. Rich tried to ask again, but Micheal just mashed his lips on Rich’s. He got pushed off, the second Rich realized what was happening.

“What the fuck!!!”

“I’m sorry. i just...didn’t want you to leave and....and well I just wanted to show you I loved you.”

“Well you fucking suck at kissing, if that’s what you were trying to do.”

More silence hung in the air, and Micheal could see the wheels turning in Rich’s head. He was convinced that he would be furious and leave him....until Rich stepped forward, and pulled Micheal down by the headphones. they met together in a hesitant kiss and this time neither pulled back.

(had work couldn’t finish it like I wanted)

#bmc #pride prompt month #trans micheal #trans rich #bruises #cuts #alcoholism #improper binding #two moms #other things I can't think of #expensive headphones

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albertacancer · 6 years

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Lessons Learned Outside the Bell Curve: The Story of Tricia Antonini, 20-Year Cancer Warrior

It was a Saturday in summer of 1997 when Dr. Chris Brown, then 41, reported for on call duty at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary. He picked up his patients’ medical charts and commenced his rounds at the room of a new leukemia patient. As he strode into the room, he noticed a young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, sitting on her hospital bed poring over a mess of books spread out before her, while her mother hovered nearby. The patient had diamond-blue eyes and apple cheeks that were swollen like those of “a chipmunk, due to extreme mucositis,” a condition that often affects chemotherapy patients and leaves them with swollen faces and excruciatingly sore oral tissue. In his naturally cheerful manner, Dr. Brown introduced himself to the patient saying, “Hello, I’m Dr. Brown, and I’m on call for the weekend.” The young woman looked up at the doctor and regarded him with “laser beams.” Without speaking, the young woman communicated so much in a single look; strength, intelligence, determination. Her name was Tricia Antonini and she would go on to demonstrate all of these qualities in spades over the next 20 years.

The young woman looked up at the doctor and regarded him with “laser beams.” Without speaking, the young woman communicated so much in a single look; strength, intelligence, determination. Her name was Tricia Antonini and she would go on to demonstrate all of these qualities in spades over the next 20 years.

Tricia’s true story begins 23 years before that moment on May 21, 1974 at Pasqua Hospital in Regina, Saskatchewan. On that spring day, Lou and Marie Antonini gratefully welcomed their second child, a baby girl, whom they called Tricia Louise. Dad Lou Antonini, a burly man with a thick moustache, remembers the day they brought their daughter home, “Then, we had one of each. She filled our family.”

Mom Marie Antonini, a pretty woman with dark hair and wide green eyes, says, growing up, Tricia was an easy-going child who was always busy with extra-curricular activities and who never subjected them to ‘those scary teen years.’ When asked if Tricia’s incredible strength ever revealed itself early on, Marie recalls a time when Tricia overcame, seemingly on her own, an instance of grade-school bullying. As a gifted child, Tricia excelled in school and often put her hand up in class which sometimes led to her being teased and ostracized by her classmates. Marie remembers, “…one of the teachers spoke to me at an interview and said, ‘I don’t know how she comes to school’, and I didn’t know what she was talking about… [Tricia] wasn’t really sharing with us, so we didn’t realize how bad things were, but you know she just stuck through that year and then kind of went on… I almost think it even strengthened her.”

“…one of the teachers spoke to me at an interview and said, ‘I don’t know how she comes to school’, and I didn’t know what she was talking about… [Tricia] wasn’t really sharing with us, so we didn’t realize how bad things were...”

When she reached high school, Tricia began to shine. She had moved on from her mean girl experience and found a group of good friends. Among those friends was Tasha Westerman whom she met in grade 10 and whom she remains best friends with to this day. Tricia participated in a number of activities from school council to band to swimming and demonstrated talent in art and music. In addition to playing the flute, French horn, and jazz piano, Tricia loved to create art and was regularly called upon to hand-draw many of the school’s event posters. Best friend Tasha Westerman remembers how Tricia was in high school, “She was always really social, always willing to help out when others needed it. She would stay after school to help with events, organizing or fundraising or anything.” High school also gave big brother Brandon Antonini, now 46 and a father of 11-year-old twin boys, new reasons to look out for his pretty, younger sister. “I found out she went on a date with one of my friends… There was nothing good about it, it wasn’t allowed and was quickly snuffed out!” Always her “protector” since childhood, Brandon would later prove just how much that title meant to him when he would become the donor for not one but two of Tricia’s unheard of three stem cell transplants. When asked about his childhood with Tricia, Brandon warmly recalls one summer in the early 1980s when they watched National Lampoon’s Summer Vacation with Chevy Chase close to two hundred times and the way Tricia always supported him throughout his athletic endeavours as a competitive swimmer. Upon graduating from high school (and much to her art teacher’s dismay), Tricia chose to pursue a career in accounting at the University of Regina and then began working for PwC through an accounting fellowship in 1995. Upon completing her degree, Tricia moved to Calgary to continue working for PwC Calgary in January of 1997. There, while still in her first year as a chartered accountant articling student, Tricia signed up to play in the firm’s annual golf tournament. Though she managed to play all 18 holes, Tricia collapsed at the end of the tournament and was rushed to Red Deer Hospital where she awoke feeling embarrassed. Thinking perhaps she had had too much to drink, mortification quickly turned to panic when she was told by doctors she had leukemia and was transferred by ambulance to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. A biopsy confirmed this suspicion a few days later and she began her first chemotherapy session. Before beginning treatment, however, she was adamant that she wanted to write her final exam to become a chartered accountant. Cancer or no cancer, Tricia had plans. Together with her doctor it was decided Tricia would cancel her registration in an exam prep course but still write the qualifying exam, in a separate room away from the other students to mitigate risk of infection given her immune-suppressed state. Dad Lou Antonini recalls this trying time and his daughter’s determination to continue with her plans despite the life-threatening diagnosis, “I remember when she was first diagnosed, sitting on the floor, so sick from chemo, still studying [for her exams.]” Some months later Tricia received her first stem cell transplant (her brother Brandon was the donor) and a year later she wrote her final accounting exam (a process that takes 4 days and 4 hours of exam writing per day) and passed. In December 2002, when Tricia was 28, she threw a Toast to Life party to celebrate 5 years of cancer freedom. She welcomed her friends, family, and doctors, and thanked everyone for their support. She also encouraged them all to ‘engage the moment’ and ‘toast life’ every day.

Three weeks later, Tricia felt tired and her lips looked pale. The leukemia had returned.

As Tricia underwent chemotherapy for the second time, her doctors considered whether a non-related stem cell donor might improve her chances of remission. A match was found. The donor was a man from Germany. Two years later, she would find out his name was Oliver. Once Tricia was in remission again, she travelled to Europe for the first time and met Oliver in his small town outside Bavaria, Germany. She returned to work and continued volunteering with First Connections, a support program through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada, as a peer counsellor for newly diagnosed leukemia and lymphoma patients. She resumed her duties as Board of Trustees member for the Alberta chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada which she helped found earlier in 2002. Friend and fellow peer counsellor and Provincial Advisory Council (PAC) Cancer member Lorelee Marin remembers how dedicated Tricia was to improving the lives of Albertans facing cancer, “Tricia always shared her perspective in a beautiful and compassionate way, she was always focused on the "patient-first" approach to care and [on offering] solutions…” “Tricia always shared her perspective in a beautiful and compassionate way, she was always focused on the "patient-first" approach to care and [on offering] solutions…” It was 2004 and life was good, but it was about to get even better. Tricia’s employer made her an offer she couldn’t refuse: relocation to Manhattan for three years to work on an international project with PwC’s global head office. Tricia didn’t hesitate for a New York minute. She embraced the opportunity and fearlessly hopped on a plane to New York City in the summer of 2005. Once there Tricia leaned into her career and, in her free time, pursued her dream of acting. She walked the city’s endless street blocks and found something to be amazed by on every corner. She met people from different parts of the world and grew her circle of international friends. She sat in restaurants where tables were jammed too close together and she fell in love with the pad thai where the restaurant employees recognized her by her weekly order. Tricia was in the zone. About a year after moving to New York, she was preparing to leave for a weekend in the Hamptons when she got a fever. Another leukemia relapse. Tricia’s relapse was diagnosed on July 17, 2006 at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, but opted to return home to Calgary for treatment so that she could be near family. She flew home with her mom on July 19, 2006 and drove directly to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre where she met with her doctors. The following is an excerpt from Lou Antonini’s journal about his experience with Tricia’s second relapse: The doctors then told us that a third bone marrow transplant would not work… and that there were two courses of action to take: One, enjoy the balance of time she had left by extending it as long as possible with transfusions of blood products. (This way she would not go through the hell that chemo creates, and [live] a few months, in relative comfort. [Two], hit it hard with two sessions of chemo and then, if that got her to remission, go into a third 'maintenance' phase that would be continuous and could extend her life to a few years instead of a few months, again in relative comfort. The problem with the second choice was that she could go through the first two phases of chemo and all the torture and still not be in remission.

Tricia was not ready to give up and chose to fight again. And fight she would. On July 30, 2006, just 10 days into her first session of chemo and with next to no infection-fighting white blood cells, an innocuous black mark appeared at her central line incision.

Her blood pressure began to drop and she was quickly admitted to intensive care. In just one hour the black mark had bloomed and was identified as necrotizing fasciitis or, as it is better known, flesh-eating disease. Hospital staff prepared Tricia for emergency surgery which was needed to scrape away the deadly bacteria before it had any more chance to spread. After surgery Lou Antonini went to see his daughter and broke into tears at the sight of her:

When Tricia returned from surgery she was on life support with both breathing and feeding tubes in her throat, a catheter in, and a wound the size of my hand that extended from just below her Adam’s apple down about 5 inches and 8 inches across. Everything had been removed including her front neck muscles and it was at least an inch deep. I remember after seeing it for the first time I cried on and off for about three hours. Tricia was kept on life support and in the five days following surgery developed two cold viruses as well as pneumonia. With no immune system to even fight a cold sore Tricia’s condition was grim. Doctors advised the family to prepare for the likelihood that Tricia would not survive her stay in intensive care. The doctor added that even if she did survive, they would not be able to continue with chemotherapy which would leave her only a few months to live, at best. Devastated, Lou and Marie Antonini sought the opinion of Tricia’s first oncologist. Tricia’s doctor agreed with the original prognosis but noted that Tricia’s white blood cell count had risen unexpectedly overnight. Cautiously, the doctor told the distressed couple that there may be a glimmer of hope if Tricia’s white blood cell count continued to rise. Over the next two weeks, Tricia remained in the ICU with her neck exposed. Her parents took alternating shifts and together stayed at her bedside 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As days went by Tricia’s white blood cell count eked gradually upwards. On August 11, 2006 her breathing tube was removed. The next day she was discharged from ICU and sent back to Unit 57 at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. Things were starting to look up. A biopsy was done to determine the state of Tricia’s leukemia and whether she could resume chemotherapy. When the biopsy came back, the results revealed that Tricia’s leukemia was in remission! Despite only 10 days of chemotherapy, the plan had worked. Tricia and her family were ecstatic and breathed an enormous sigh of relief that she was stabilizing. A couple of months later, after extensive physiotherapy, multiple complications, a skin graft, and removal of her feeding tube, Tricia was discharged.

After Tricia’s harrowing experience in the ICU, she and her parents packed their bags for Maui. According to Tricia, when they arrived to the island she could barely walk on her own, “I had to use a wheelchair to make our connection, so my mobility was still in a state of recovery... When we went down to the beach, I had to get help. By the end of it I was snorkeling by myself, and I could get up by getting onto all fours. I got so much stronger in that period of time. We were like, How can we get back here? It’s an energy of different sorts, and it’s healing.” One year following the family’s trip to Maui, Tricia was approved for a clinical trial thanks to the combined effort of Dr. Brown and the team of doctors in Calgary and Dr. James Young, attending physician, Bone Marrow Transplant Service, Division of Hematologic Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. A year later, on June 12, 2008, Tricia received her third stem cell transplant (a claim only a handful of people around the world can make.) Once again, her protector Brandon Antonini was the donor. The next six years would be filled with the blissfully ordinary events of everyday life: birthdays and baby showers; drinks with friends and dinners with family; weddings and funerals. There would be highs and lows (or peaks and valleys as Tricia and Tasha came to refer to them): returning to New York to visit with friends, helping Tasha through her own cancer diagnoses, making Avenue Magazine’s list of Top 40 Under 40, saying goodbye to her Grandmas Mary and Amanda, returning to Maui with her family, and saying goodbye to her friend Ryan, Tasha’s first husband, to brain cancer. In 2011 Tricia joined Alberta Health Services’ Patient Advisory Council – Cancer (PAC – Cancer) and used her remarkable communication skills, business acumen, and first-hand experience as a cancer patient to improve cancer care for Albertans across the province. Lorelee Marin, fellow PAC – Cancer member, remembers the way “Tricia showed us all how we [could] make a difference.” And though Tricia knew she was living outside the bell curve and that every day was a gift, she was completely unprepared for what she was about to learn. The following is an excerpt from Tricia’s blog published November 2, 2014:

I haven't posted for well over a year - because life has been good and busy and no major health developments to report. I even just a month ago was in NYC speaking at the Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre's transplant celebration, reporting that 6 years and 3 months later, no sign of leukemia. Was transferred into the "long-term patient" clinic at the Bone Marrow Clinic in July. Leukemia seems to be quiet right now.

Unfortunately a couple days ago, I found out I have a new challenge to deal with - Breast Cancer. Yep. WTF. Exactly. My first mammogram at age 40 prompted an ultrasound and then biopsy last Monday and Thursday afternoon I went to the Bone Marrow Clinic and got results - invasive ductal carcinoma. Just about lost my breath and my mind at that moment. Totally believed the scleroderma (skin thickening GVHD from transplant #3), scar tissue from 4 central lines in my chest over 17 years and oh yeah, scar tissue from the surgery and skin graft I have in my neck and chest following flesh-eating disease was showing up in the ultrasound as unusual. But probably the most convincing argument that this would NOT be cancer, was that I already did that. 3 times. Once more, Tricia was facing cancer. Her course of treatment for her breast cancer involved a bilateral mastectomy and chemotherapy. It was the doctors’ belief the cancer had not metastasized. Once again life marched on and Tricia marched along with it. She went back to New York in October of 2015 for Memorial Sloan Kettering’s 20th Annual Transplant Survivor Celebration, an event close to Tricia’s heart. In January of this past year, the Antonini family made their annual pilgrimage to Maui, home of Tommy Bahamas, one of Tricia’s favourite restaurants, and the site of her incredible, 2007, post-ICU recovery. This past April Tricia began to experience headaches and went to the emergency room to get checked out. She was told she had five tumours in her brain. Two days later Tricia posted an update on her blog about the most recent development in her health. At the end of her update she shared a piece of writing that she had written in conjunction with a painting she had made entitled The Black which Tricia painted to convey the pain and suffering associated with loss. Below is an excerpt of Tricia’s The Black:

The Black by Tricia Antonini

While I would agree with people who say that I am a positive person, and that my ability to stay positive has helped me overcome many challenges, I feel the need to articulate the depth of moments where it is impossible to be positive, or where I have felt simply too tired to live… I used to believe, or possibly hope, that life was overall fair… I don’t believe this to be true anymore. I think shining the spotlight on the darkest moments, understanding, in detail, how we managed to get to the edge of the water we almost drowned in, how we didn’t bleed to death, how our heart managed to heal after being torn to pieces, makes us more capable of surviving the next hit. No matter how many times we are hit. And focusing on how black the black is makes the white extraordinarily more vibrant. Ironically, Tricia wrote The Black three weeks before learning about her metastatic tumors. Tricia, now 43, is currently in Calgary receiving palliative care for metastatic brain cancer. She maintains that while her breast cancer diagnosis felt “like someone came [up] behind me and smacked me in the head” and that learning about the metastatic brain tumours felt too foreign and too surreal to seem possible, she says she is not consumed by the questions that haunt so many cancer patients. ”I have had moments where I would say, Well, why is this happening? … Why me? Why not someone else? Because I’ve been doing everything I should be doing when you get told you have cancer. I’ve been volunteering, I’ve been giving back, I’ve been helping to raise funds, I’ve been a mentor for people, I’ve stepped back from my life and changed what I’m doing at work… I’ve been really listening, and I’ve been making the changes that you should make. And having the perspective that you should have…” But then Tricia realizes, “… there’s really smart people working on Why? … And they’ve been working on it for decades, and if they haven’t figured it out, I’m not going to figure it out today. And I have no energy, anyway! So why would I waste it on a question that is impossible to answer?” Tricia continues our conversation by discussing the importance of research, the narrowness of ‘The Cure’, and her own personal thoughts on cancer: “…people say, Well, there’s so much money that goes into research and they still haven’t found ‘The Cure.’” For one thing, we’re talking about thousands of diseases, not one disease. It’s grouped [under] this big name called cancer, but it is such a misnomer because they are so different, all of them… the focus shouldn’t be about funding ‘The Cure’ (and if we don’t find the cure, we’ve failed), it should be about funding more moments, creating more moments for people. I mean for me right now, they say [my cancer] is terminal, but you could give me more moments. My friend Ryan who passed away, Tasha’s late husband, he survived for about 15 months longer than they expected [thanks to a clinical trial] before he passed away. The moments that he had in those 15 months, unbelievable! …that ‘more moments’ idea is so true and it extends beyond cancer. Whatever we need to do to have more moments, particularly more potent moments [is] a big deal. To have more moments when the prognosis shows you’re not going to have any more? That’s still miraculous. It’s just as miraculous as a cure.” When asked about how the passage of time feels now that she knows it’s dwindling, Tricia attests that “life is not about a timeline, it’s about potency.” She believes that people are “canvasses walking around” and for every moment that we engage fully with the world and allow ourselves to truly be seen, we exchange a bit of paint with one another. Tricia believes that you can either go through life a “blank canvas” or become a “Jackson Pollock”. Time, Tricia says, is irrelevant. Moments are what matter. Potent moments. And lots of them. Last week on November 22, 2017 at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, surrounded by her friends, family and medical care team, Tricia awarded fellow philanthropist Elaine Moses with the inaugural Tricia Antonini Award for her contributions to creating a positive and hopeful environment for patients undergoing treatment on Unit 57, Foothills Medical Centre (FMC) and the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Clinic in Calgary, Alberta.

Written by Diana Gaviria

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Be like Tricia and help create more moments for Albertans facing cancer.

What you can do

Donate to the Alberta Cancer Foundation and help fund life-saving care and ground-breaking research right here in our province.

If you are between the ages of 17 and 35 and in good general health, register to join the One Match Stem Cell & Marrow Network and give someone like Tricia a second chance at life.

#tricia antonini #cancer stories #alberta cancer foundation

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junker-town · 6 years

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The Apple Cup live blog: Washington destroys Washington State

The Pac-12 North’s biggest rivalry ends up clinching the division for Stanford.

Fourth Quarter

0:00 - UDub 41 Wazzu 14

Wazzu is getting palindrome’d

— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) November 26, 2017

Falk finally throws a touchdown pass, hitting freshman Davontavean Martin from 33 yards out. Martin does a great job of adjusting on a ball that’s thrown outside of him. He will be a star in Leach’s offense, assuming that Mike doesn’t take one of the several jobs that have been mentioned as potential destinations during this broadcast. Here’s the view that the Wazzu defensive line had all night:

7:29 - UDub 41 Wazzu 7 - The Huskies recover the onside kick and then score a touchdown with the outlandish strategy of handing the ball off to Gaskin three times. Miles now has 192 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries. Wazzu is putting extra men in the box and it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference. Gaskin is a thousand-yard rusher for the third straight season. Put him in Wisconsin’s offense with the Badgers’ ball distribution and he might approach Ron Dayne numbers.

9:01 - UDub 34 Wazzu 7 - Washington is the best team in the Pac-12 and they aren’t going to play in the conference title game. They brought this on themselves by contriving to lose in Tempe, but I’ll bet you that if you hooked USC fans up to a lie detector, they would say that they are relieved not to be playing this team for the conference title.

Oh, and Washington State finally scored. They put the ball in the end zone after a 15-play drive. They finally blocked Vita Vea, so here’s to small victories.

Third Quarter

0:00 - UDub 34 Wazzu 0 - the only drama left is whether Washington will get the shutout. Falk takes a sack staring at a Mesh concept that he has probably seen thousands of times at Wazzu. After a dropped pass, the Cougars punt to the Huskies, who continue to mash the ball on the ground. So here’s a picture of my kids on a hike in North Cascades National Park:

Seattle is a HIGHLY underrated summer vacation spot. The weather is great. (This hike was the only time in a week that we used our raincoats.) There are three national parks within a two-hour drive, so you can alternate outdoorsy activities with urban fun. And for those of us in landlocked cities, there are ferries!

6:06 - UDub 34 Wazzu 0 - So here’s Kurt Cobain’s guitar from the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture:

Somewhere I have heard this before In a dream of memory restored As a defense I'm neutered and spayed What the hell am I trying to say?

Falk throws another pick. Gaskin scores another touchdown. Washington has outscored Wazzu 124 to 27 in the last two-plus games.

8:45 - UDub 27 Wazzu 0 - Hercules Mata'afa has the best name in college football. He will also not be participating in the rest of this game after he gets called for targeting, prolonging a Husky drive after the Cougars got a rare stop. Later in the drive, Isaac Dotson punches Miles Gaskin in the midsection and the refs decide that boys will be boys, so they call nothing. Vizcaino drills the field goal and the Huskies lead by 27. The potential for a fight has gone up. Can’t wait to see how Vea responds to his quarterback taking a head shot and his running back being punched in the kidneys.

13:40 - UDub 24 Wazzu 0 - “Whoever has the laser, please put it away.” A ref said that, in between Luke Falk sliding short of a first down and then UDub blowing up a WR screen. The second half has begun like the first ended. Purple as far as the eye can see.

Took that picture at Mount Rainier National Park this summer. There cannot be a better part of the country in the summer.

Second Quarter

0:00 - UDub 24 Wazzu 0 - Vita Vea is unblockable, at least for this Washington State team. Wazzu punts from its own one. Washington gets a first down and then turns the drive over to Tristan Vizcaino, who boots a 44-yard field goal just to show that the Huskies have everything. With 90 seconds left, Falk finally hits a few passes, then throws a bad pick under duress by Vea. That’s a third turnover in the half for Falk, who will not be putting this game in a Facebook status update.

Washington is a West Coast Ohio State. When the Huskies have been bad, they’ve been REALLY bad. Most of the rest of the time, they have looked like a Playoff team. If not for the tiebreakers in the Pac-12 and playing their games late at night, the Huskies would be in the Buckeyes’ shoes as a Playoff dark horse.

Rushing yardage in the first half: Huskies 181, Cougars -25. Somewhere, a south Georgia high school coach who was skeptical of the Mumme-Leach offense when they brought it to Valdosta State is feeling validated.

4:51 - UDub 21 Wazzu 0 - Wazzu really needs an answer. Called to the front of the classroom, the Cougars blurt out a first down and then stall when they cannot run for anything close to the two yards they need on third down. Wazzu has no running or deep passing game. The only plays that have produced anything are the short passes. Powell, who has been Wazzu’s best player, then hits a 56-yard punt to pin the Huskies at their own seven. Browning gets Washington some room with a pretty sideline throw to Andre Baccellia, then Gaskin hits a couple big runs. Washngton’s offensive line is kicking all manner of butt. A few runs later and Gaskin is tumbling into the end zone. This is like one of Leach’s games at Texas Tech where his Red Raiders played a much more talented Texas or Oklahoma team and just got whipped up front. This is a compliment to Chris Petersen for getting Washington to that level.

12:34 - UDub 14 Wazzu 0 - UDub’s drive stalls at the 41, so Browning hits a perfect quick kick that the Huskies down at the one-yard line. This game has been a showcase for punting. Wazzu then gets a first down before Falk fumbles. It takes Washington all of two plays to turn the game’s first turnover into a touchdown. This is like every other recent vintage Apple Cup.

The Joe Montana/Kat Dennings ad for Masterpass is playing on a loop on Fox. I keep expecting Montana to break into his Honest Guy persona and talk about how he is going to go upstairs to masturbate.

vimeo

Joe Montana's Classic Skit on SNL from Mike Moyer on Vimeo.

First Quarter

0:00 - UDub 7 Wazzu 0 - Washington gets one first down to get some room away from their goal line and are then forced to punt. Wazzu starts a promising drive with a pair of first downs, but then a sack is followed by a horrendous throw by Falk into ... lots of defenders. Washington hits a WR screen down to the five, but a holding penalty brings it back. Huskies have the ball at midfield at the end of the first quarter. Cougars are still without a first quarter touchdown in Seattle since 2007.

6:38 - UDub 7 Wazzu 0 - The teams trade three-and-outs. Luke Falk still doesn’t have time to throw, but the Cougars finally have something good happen when Erik Powell hits a line-drive punt that dies on the Huskies’ one-yard line. Wazzu was aided on the play by the Huskies’ normal returner Dante Pettis being out with an ankle injury.

8:28 - UDub 7 Wazzu 0 - That was quick. Wazzu’s first drive goes nowhere. We’re on immediate blow-out alert. On a happier note, the Apple Cup is sponsored by Boeing, which I love because if any company is going to slap its name on a game, it should be one with a local presence. In homage, here’s a shot of a B-29 from the Boeing Museum that I snapped this summer. Anyone want to debate the merits of the dropping of the atomic bombs or the strategic bombing campaign against Japan? We might need to go that route if Wazzu doesn’t start playing.

9:25 - UDub 7 Wazzu 0 - the Huskies have a perfect opening drive, predominantly on the ground. They face only one third down - a third and three - and put the ball into the end zone thanks to a short Miles Gaskin run. After one drive, this game seems like a continuation of the last two years. Bad news for the Cougars.

The game is only kicking off at 8:15, so the wife and I are explaining jewelry commercials to our kids. I referred to shiny gifts after a certain period of marriage as “maintenance jewelry.” Need to remember that line for the future. Also, we’re going with the Falcons pint glasses for the Dark & Stormies in honor of Blair Walsh.

Pregame

When Mike Leach came to Pullman, Washington State had not had a winning season in its last eight. The Cougars were coming out of the disastrous Paul Wulff era, in which the team won nine games in four years. Washington State has won as many games this season and tonight, it goes for the Pac-12 North title in Seattle against arch-rival Washington.

The Huskies are one year removed from a Pac-12 championship and a Playoff berth. They have had another excellent season, as they rank sixth nationally in S&P+, but two losses - most notably an inexplicable setback in Tempe - mean that Chris Petersen’s team can do nothing more than play the role of spoiler.

S&P+ likes the odds of the Huskies to do just that, making Washington a 10.4-point favorite. Part of the reason is that Washington State’s 9-2 record is a little soft. One-third of its wins have come in instances in which Wazzu’s win expectancy was below 50%. This is also an odd Mike Leach team, one whose offense ranks behind its defense. One wonders how Leach will coax points out of his attack when they are going against the #3 defense according to S&P+. It’s also worth noting that after winning his first Apple Cup, Leach has lost the last four, all by double digits.

As for the cultural context, let Brian Floyd’s excellent piece on the rivalry set the scene:

As you leave Seattle and head east on Interstate 90, cutting through the Cascade Mountains, you’ll notice the scenery changing. The range, which extends from Canada to California, serves as a natural dividing line in the state: East and west; rainy and arid; urban and rural; Huskies and Cougars. There’s a tension between the two sides of the state in politics, environment, and lifestyle.

Fittingly for a game on the rainy side of the state, the forecast tonight in Seattle is for rain.

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