#edit: i went back and edited it once over. i def missed some things but i just wanted The Worst(TM) smoothed out lmao

[tatakaetime07]

༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ੈ♡General Yandere Eddie munson hcs

A/n-Felt like the end was a bit rushed but y'know,was just curious abt this Eddie heh,also I do NOT condone this behavior in real life

Pairing:Yandere!Eddie Munson x Gn!Reader

Summary:Just what yandere Eds would be like ;)

Warnings:slight spoilers,stalking,eddie being a perv💀,drink spiking,kidnapping,obsessive behavior,controlling behavior,suggestive themes,cursing,ooc

Word count-703

*Not edited

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-Very skittery and paranoid yandere

-Let's get this one thing clear,once Eddie's interested he will literally become obsessed

-You would simply be walking through the halls before bumping into him(cliche ik).You would mutter a small 'sorry' while giving him a meek smile,and you had no idea what you had just started.As you walked away Eddie stood there awestruck,trying to slow down his beating heart

-Why did this catch his attention?Because you had already known who he was,actually you had been acquainted in middle school,so that meant you knew about his social status as the town 'freak'.Yet you continued to he nice to him,he would begin to see you as a small,defenseless little thing that needed someone to protect you

-After that he would start purposely bumping into you,saying things like,"We gotta stop running into each other like this."ugh that sly dog,anyway you would just laugh it off,mind being somewhere else.He seemed sweet enough,so when he asked you if you had wanted to hang out,you agreed

-Even tho Eddie isnt best known for how social he is,he knew that he had to try and get you with someway or another.Days turned into weeks and weeks into months.After getting to know each other(although might just be him learning abt you),you were both fairly close.So that meant he came over to your house all the time

-Yet you still didn't know about his escapades and why he came over so much.You especially didn't know why multiple pieces of your clothes had went missing

-However if you did know,welll let's just say you would certainly drop Eds.It would mostly be when your showering,Eddie would would walk around your room,staring and imprinting every last piece of your room into his mind

-The first time he stole something of yours was just a little pen(which by the he still keeps by his bedside),he was nervous you would somehow notice the pen missing and call him out on it,but as you started to trust him more and more he knew he could get away with more stuff.So gradually over time he would start taking bigger things

-"Hey mom have you seen my sweater?""Oh no sorry honey,haven't seen it for ages."

-Meanwhile Eddie would literally be sniffing the garment as he cuddled it

-So yea,you really shouldn't leave anything around him,and once he finds a pair of your worn panties?let's just say you're never getting that back again💀👀

-He always has a little box he keeps with all your things in one of his shelfs,not joking

-He would make his behavior obvious,although you would be slightly weirded out on how much he talked about his distaste for any of your friends who were close to you

-He would constantly try to make wedges between you and your other friends,which you would notice and take your friends side,and Eddie would def be a bit pissed,bit since hes also a bit delusional he'll think your friends were forcing you to or something

-For a few excruciating months after you calling him out,you would ignore him,and Eddie desperately needed to see you every day,at least in his mind

-And what does he do instead of calling?He ends up watching you from your window every night 0-o

-like seriously get some curtains

-Doesnt matter which part of the day he will always find comfort watching you

-And by the way hes definitely going to scare the shit out of some of your friends,threatening them to stay away from you(they dont)

-Your relationship is practically non-existent by the time Eddie's framed for Chrissys murder.And although he wouldn't have kidnapped you in normal circumstances,he knew that if he had to hide he would bring you too.And since he knew he wasn't the actual murderer he was terrified something would happen to you

-He would follow you to a party and ask one of his bandmates to flirt with you while spiking your drink

-It was no surprise when you awoke to a banging headache a familiar metalhead staring down at you

-You would of course freak out,but he would just silence you and tell you everything was going to be ok(which you said was b.s)

-Evantually Eddie would leave to get food and you would find a shard of glass strong enough to slice through the rope you were tied up in

-You would pass by the box which was open,and be internally screaming,just who did you let in your house?

-You would run like hell,and the chance that Eddie ever had with u would📉

-no promises that he won't find you again and just hide you better💃

#eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #st4 #stranger things #eddie munson x you #stranger things x reader #eddie munson fic #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson headcanons #eddie munson oneshot #stranger things s4 #stranger things season 4 #st x reader #yandere eddie munson #Jealous Eddie Munson #st 4

[thebraingremlinsaremad]

Daily Blog #15: August 22, 2021

Dollar Tree is honestly pretty fucking awesome 👌👌👌

I set my alarm for like 6:25 this morning, but it took 6 minutes for the "Horsin' Around" theme song instrumental to wake me up. I was pretty tired lol. I just dismissed it and went back to sleep.

I only went back to sleep because I knew I had another alarm set for 7:00. That got me up.

I should mention that this was still in the RV over an hour away from the house.

After I got up, I went to go get a shower, and did so successfully.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten my brush this time and had to do it afterwards after my hair had a bit of time to dry, which did make it a little more difficult lol.

I got dressed and grabbed my stuff, putting it into my car.

I made it a point to see and say "see you later" to my grandparents before I left for the flea market.

My dad insisted that I stayed to say goodbye to my mom, so I left.

I did NOT have cell service up there, as was mentioned in my previous 2 blogs of which I could only post today, so finding my way was a tiny bit difficult until I got some service to ask Google to take me to "...".

It worked and I got there.

On my drive, I listened to 1 by Simple Kid, a CD I had previously purchased at a Dollar Tree location.

I got a call from the guy at the flea market saying that I had some people there waiting for me. He asked how far away I was, to which I said "about 10 minutes." Ironically, that call made me miss my exit, as Google couldn't talk during the call, and added about 3 minutes to my arrival time lmao.

I did sell the Xbox that he said someone was interested in. I got $40 for it. I spent 27¢ on it. Pretty good return if you ask me.

I couldn't sell it with anything other than a power cord because the controller and AV cables I had been using to play it there were for my personal console. I'm just glad I can actually hook my Xbox up and stop having to drag them to the flea market along with a small library of games.

Not too long after I sold the Xbox, someone came in and asked if I wanted to see some electronics he had in his car. I went out with him. It was a pair of 3ft speakers and a Pioneer audio system with dual cassette decks (although neither of them works) and a 25 Disc CD-changer, as well as the standard AM/FM tuner. Additionally, there was a Fisher amplifier and AM/FM tuner as well as a Fisher Direct Drive turntable. He said he wanted $60 for em, but before that he casually, and probably accidentally, dropped that he was just gonna take em to the thrift store.

Big mistake.

I got em for $35 lmao. THERE GOES MOST OF MY PROFIT.

Oh well.

I tested everything. As I mentioned, the cassette decks don't work, but everything else does apart from the turntable needing a new stylus.

I posted some new photos of the shop to Facebook, and someone soon DMed me about a stereo system.

I priced everything, and it turns out I have about $300 worth of equipment from that deal, the Fisher amp and tuner being worth about $150.

The buyer will hopefully show up next weekend, for he wants to buy the Fisher stuff ($185 with the turntable), the 3ft speakers, an 8-track deck, and a Kenwood deck we've had for a week or two.

The speakers are listed for $50 (and are worth around $100-150), the Kenwood Deck for $50 as well, and the 8-track for $35. That makes it about $320 in equipment. Since he's buying so much, I'll knock it down to $270 and essentially give him the speakers or cassette deck for free lol.

Apart from that stuff, not much happened at the flea market. I sold some records, cassettes, CDs and I think 2 DVDs. One person bought a VHS tape? That money was the other guy's though. Oh well xD.

I can't say that I didn't miss my wonderful partner while on the trip. I actually brought along the stuffed animal they gave me (who's name is Greg) and snuggled with him both nights.

I was very happy to hear from them UwU.

They let me rant and I let them rant.

I honestly give them too much responsibility over me xD. I'm like, "Okay, I'm gonna do this. HOLD ME TO IT."

I know I can't hold myself to anything I personally say (this blog being the only exception apparently), but I listen to them pretty well I think 🤔. If they tell me, "No, you don't need that VCR," so long as it's not some weird specialty thing, like a worldwide VCR 🥵, I'll be like "Yeah, you rite bro."

I love you man xD. You control my craziness pretty well. I'm so thankful for you UwU.

#relationshipgoals

So part way through the flea market day, I went over to Dollar Tree to buy some snack, but ended up looking through the CDs to see if there was anything good. I took photos of about 18 CDs and flipped through them online for the remainder of the flea market day.

I deleted the photos of the ones I didn't want and kept those that I liked. Surprisingly, I ended up buying 13 CDs there, but not before dropping them on the floor like the dumbass I am.

Also, sorry for all the nerd shit I spilled on your lap earlier. No one cares about amps and tuners xD.

I'M LISTENING TO ONE OF THE DOLLAR TREE CDS RIGHT NOW THO.

I already transferred over to my online library on iBroadcast and put the disc into my CD changer, which is now holding 164 CDs.

Its max capacity is 300 discs 🥵

WHY AM I NERD

Oh well

I like being a nerd gurl

Also maybe a technosexual 👀

I get really excited over some electronics. Like. REALLY excited.

Some editing VCRs are like "Holy shit that is SEXY. Look at those goddamn VU meters 🥵. And hhhh there are like 7 inputs on this thing and individual controls for left and right audio gain, not to mention Hi-Fi S-VHS recording. Hhhhhhhhhhh please gimme 😭. Why are you so expensive?"

I uh, mean, uh, *cough* look, pretty lights.

Oh yeah, I was gonna say the album I was listening to xD. MAN I GOT SIDETRACKED.

It's 37 Everywhere by Punchline. Def give it a listen; it's pretty heccin good.

Another notable album I picked up was Page One by Steven Page. I very much like the first track, "A New Shore." It's quite catchy and he has a great voice imo.

Also at dollar tree, I bought a regular bag of Fieras and 2 bags of Fieras Sticks, which were marked down to 75¢/bag because they're expiring soon.

I honestly like the generic Dollar Tree version of Takis more than actual Takis. They're a lot more flavorful when it comes to the lime, but also hotter at the same time.

Don't get the hot nacho ones tho. Hot nacho? More like hot pile of shit.

HAH

Goteem.

They're not that good xD.

THE REGULAR ONES ARE FIRE THO

"How do you do fellow kids?"

I got home and started working on putting the CDs onto my computer, and then onto iBroadcast, but not without first adding The Music Man to my digital library, something I had neglected for a month or two. The CD had just been sitting there lol.

I also switched my digital file for "The Black Parade" to that of the uncensored CD, which I had purchased before I event started working over 2 months ago.

MAN I'M LAZY

I eventually get around to shit tho lol. I guess it's just a matter of priority.

What usually takes priority is digging through everything to find something that I forgot about but then remembered, making a mess in the process that I would then have to clean up, at least partially.

I think the album just ended. I've been writing for a while xD. I'ma start "I Made You Something" by The Island of the Misfit Toys.

I'll tell you where that album came from in a minute.

In the meantime, where was I?

I kinda lost my train of thought despite reading up to see where I was. Oh well. On I go.

I ate dinner and kept working on those CDs, eventually putting my clothes from the week into the washer.

I FORGOT TO PUT MY SHAPING UNDERWEAR IN. FUCKING HELL MAN.

I wanted to wash em for this week 😭

No tight pants for Leonna I guess qwq.

Meanwhile, the box of my CD album cases is overflowing. I need another box.

I keep all of the album artworks in a big CD folder. That's almost full.

I wanna fill my entire CD changer. That's one of my big goals in life. Idk why, but I just wanna legitimately fill the entire thing.

My clothes are in the dryer now. I don't think I have the time (or energy) to fold them tonight. I'll leave that for tomorrow morning before work.

And God. Fucking. Damnit. I start school again on Wednesday. NOT looking forward to that, and neither are my 2 coworkers. We already have low enough staff, but only the two of them working is gonna be a pain in the ass.

I'll still work Saturdays.

I need to contact my guidance counselor to get out of the gym class I signed up for. I scheduled this shit before I found out I was trans, and I don't wanna deal with the fucking locker room situation 🙄 I have far more important matters.

Okay so anyway, the album I'm listening to came from a cassette. I bought this cassette a few months ago at the flea market along with a few others. The reason I bought them? They were all newer cassette releases from the 2010's, and they're all actually pretty good music from very indie bands.

Currently getting mad at iBroadcast's compression algorithm. It's unnaturally fucking anything over -10db up. Oh well, there's not really anything I can do about it.

I have like 13GB of music on my phone btw. That's about 3.5k songs on 268 albums.

I'm kind of an audiophile, but I'm too cheap to pay for a lossless service. Oh well.

They do actually have a lossless service on iBroadcast, but once again, too cheap.

Someone just sent me a friend request who legitimately posted that BLM and the democratic party are hate groups.

BLOCK.

Goodbye ho.

I don't get that. They call the democratic party a hate group when they hate people like me, and I, being more of a democrat although not fully because the 2-party system is fucked, think nothing more of them than they're very wrong about certain things, especially, as shown, that black people, as well as asian, Indian, native, and people of all ethnicities and backgrounds, are not equal to white people.

Yeh.

Totally.

You go buddy.

Anyway, yeah, I can, and do, convert music and video from analog formats to digital files in order for me to archive and listen to whenever and wherever I please. I've actually made a bit of a business out of it, but I don't get too much work from it. At least I'm not overloading myself xD.

I honestly have so much more to say, but I should probably go to sleep soon.

A few final shoutouts to the following people and companies:

-Dollar Tree

-Steven Page

-Broken World Media

-The Island of Misfit Toys

-Simple Kid

-Punchline

-My incredible partner QwQ I love you so much. Thanks for being the best all the time. I hope I can give you the best life ever.

Anyway I suppose this is goodnight. Lmk if you want a full list of the CDs I bought today! I'll link that song by Steven Page here.

And here's a good song from Simple Kid

I really like music lol. Enjoy these pieces.

Anyway, goodnight lol.

Lots of love,

-Leonna.

#Trans #Lgbtq #blog #daily blog #Dollar Tree #Dollar CD #Dollar Tree Cd #receiver #pioneer #fisher #audio #music #CD #cassette #iBroadcast #nerd gurl #nerdy girl #ramble #rant #please read this to figure out what my life is like even though it quite honestly doesn't matter at all but might still be kinda interesting #Spotify

[mego42]

1x08 discussion questions

blah blah blah clever intro, most importantly, thank you @pynkhues​!! I really appreciate rewatch nights. s3 was my first experience watching live/with people and that was obvs a more, erm, contentious experience so it’s been really nice to get to kind of mulligan that with the rewatch.

ANYHOO onward!

1. What was your favourite scene of the episode? Tell us why!

the spa robbery, I could talk a big game about the montage editing and beth’s dress (which are all worthy points) but at the end of the day? it’s the robes, they just do it for me. they’re so snuggly and they have hoods.

2. Was there any scene that missed the mark for you? And if so, how?

tbh while there was a lot of delightful elements about this ep, the whole thing is largely underwhelming to me and rewatching reminded me why I often forget about most of it.

3. This episode opens with Beth discovering that the money is gone – not just the fake cash that she’s washing for Rio, but the cut of what they’d already washed too. What do you think this tells us about Rio’s mentality and approach as an employer / boss?

maybe if he weren’t such a dick and the kind of boss that breaks into your house to take back your paycheck, beth wouldn’t be so inclined to shoot him.

4. This episode also features the start of a really pivotal arc for Ruby and Sara around crime, and Ruby’s worries about Sara somehow inheriting that part of her. Do you think Ruby was right to react the way she did in this episode? Was there a better way she could’ve handled it?

I mean what else was she gonna do? be cool with it? who is she, darren’s parents? I love the nuance retta and reno bring to that scene, both with their reactions and empathy for why sara did it and also the way stan backs ruby in front of sara to present a united front. It’s just excellent parenting all around imo.

5. What do you think this episode tells us about Annie and Nancy’s relationship prior to the series starting? Do you think Nancy feels threatened by Annie? Or vice versa? How do you think they’ve negotiated their respective places in Greg and Ben’s lives?

honestly the hair oils comment makes me holler bc I feel like that’s nancy’s version of I see you being a dick and I’m going to pretend I don’t to take the wind out of your sails but also you’re dirty and garbage and get off my fancy couch. the way both actresses play it, the conflict feels so lived in I can’t see how it isn’t a long standing thing, but then the way nancy opens up (both in this ep and then in s2 at the baby shower) makes me feel like annie’s been the driving force in them not getting along up to this point.

6. The spa heist! What did you think of it? Good? Bad? Tell us all your thoughts!

I mean it was a terrible idea that rested on being able to unload botox to a 17 boy who sells pot and hallucinogens in a grocery store parking lot. the execution was neat, but any scenario where dean is able to pick up the pieces and save the day is obviously flawed in some fundamental way.

7. In a lot of ways, Annie’s ‘slow boil’ comment to Beth feels like it’s been a long time coming. When do you think Ruby and Annie realised that Beth got something beyond just financial fulfilment from crime? And do you think they know the full extent of it at this point in the episode? Hell, do you think they know the full extent of it in s3?

I think ruby and annie know beth well enough to know she’s getting a happy little zip out of crime-ing no matter what she says about it. the part I think they don’t/may still not realize as of s3 and/or are starting to realize as of s3 is how far and how dark she’ll go

8. Let’s talk about Beth’s sales pitch to / second date with Rio! Do you think it was a good pitch and Rio missed an opportunity? Do you think Rio was genuinely there to hear her out, or was he just entertaining her? And this is the first time he brings up the idea of her being a boss (via, well, her not being one yet). Do you think he sees her as that yet? Or if, again, he’s just entertaining her?

It was a terrible pitch but hysterically depicted. I love christina, she did a note perfect rendition of every single software sales rep I’ve ever encountered. rio was, imo, 1000000000% humoring her on the specifics of the pitch once he realized what she was trying to sell him.

that said, I think the boss encouragement was an organic evolution of how he’s been watching her step up over the past few eps and recognizing her overall potential to think creatively and take charge. the you don’t need it comment, on the other hand, always feels a touch out of place to me

9. How do you think Annie felt about the news Nancy was trying to get pregnant? And do you think she would’ve broken up with Greg if Nancy wasn’t?

I think she felt absolutely wretched about it, though based on later eps (is that cheating?) I think she would’ve tried to give it a shot with greg if that hadn’t been a hurdle. the getting preggo situation was def a significant factor for her, probs at least in part because she is obvs intimately acquainted with the trials and tribulations of single motherhood and isn’t trying to force that upon nancy if she can help it.

10. Mary Pat has two pretty tight scenes in this episode where she has power plays with Ruby and then later Beth. What did you think of these scenes? And how do those exchanges compare with each other?

mary pat runs circles around them in her bumbling, oh shucks me gotcha way and I love it. I feel worse for ruby who’s basically like please oh please just let me live, but beth 100000% strolled into that house trying to pull her we’re just moms in this together schtick but with an alpha twist (shout out to @gild-and-fire‘s which gg character are you quiz you should absolutely take if you haven’t already) and mary pat looked her up and down like do not even try to pretend you don’t wrap a fake bill around your vibrator before you get off with it. classic.

11. Ruby finds out about Eddie’s arrest! We talked a little about Eddie’s loyalty last week, but how do you think the arrest went down between Stan and Eddie?

ooh like did it involve the handcuffs stan brings home to ruby? kinky.

#gg rewatch #gg 1x08 #i should probably have a discussion questions tag but alas i do not #til next week folks #i say like im not going to be here at all hours of the day and night shrieking nonsense between now and then #gg related

[intoxicatingimmediacy]

Partners S1: E5 Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal

Daveed & Rafael are best friends and artists who have collaborated across film, theater, music, and poetry. Their partnership extends beyond the normal boundaries of friendship, and the normal boundaries of a working relationship.

Rafael: There's sort of a before we met and an after we met and no gradient. Daveed: Yeah. Rafael: I don't remember— Daveed: It's like, I don't even know this guy and then this is the person I work with on everything. Rafael: And I'm pretty sure I said to him, I was like, "This is my best friend." Daveed: I'm Daveed Diggs. Rafael: I'm Rafael Casal. Daveed: And we're buddies.

Listen to it here

Full transcript under the cut...

Daveed: I'm not sure when we met or when we were formally introduced, but surely at some sort of poetry event, because we were both sort of coming up in that scene. I was older, I was four years older than him. Rafael: My freshman year, his senior year. That's a lifetime apart in high school. My memory of him in high school is Diggs always had a very nonchalant way about him. I don't know that this paints it accurately, but this is a representation of it, at some point Diggs was like, "I'm just wearing pajama pants to school every day," and I'm sure that wasn't the whole time, I got this little window of it. Daveed: It was the whole time. All of high school, for sure. Rafael: That's amazing. Daveed: It was as a rule. But we would see each other at these poetry events and he was really, really good at writing poems. A way more sort of focused writer than I had ever been in that situation, you know? So I remember that. I remember thinking that here's a person that's actually better than me at this thing and that's pretty cool. Daveed: Then over the years, also after when I was in college, when I'd come back home for the summers, sometimes I'd drop in just to watch poetry things that were happening, sort of check in on the scene. He was the dude, he had become that guy. Rafael: I remember that so differently. I barely finished high school in a very nontraditional way and then went off and did this show on HBO, Def Poetry.

Rafael: I came back and had just enough money saved up with some friends to open a very dungeon-y recording studio and we were looking for other artists. We didn't have anybody else recording at the studio. So a mutual friend of ours, one of his close friends who was the older brother of one of my close friends was like, "You know Daveed raps?" Daveed: Yeah, we really got set up on a rapper play date. So our friend Justin was like, "You guys should work together. You're two of my favorite rappers." I was like, "Yeah, yeah." And he played me his stuff and it was really good. I didn't have anywhere to record, I was recording songs in my Mom's closet, in the little closet in my room. I hadn't been in a lot of studio spaces, so I was like, oh, a studio? Rafael: I don't know that this qualified as an actual studio. Daveed: I didn't know that yet because I hadn't been there yet. Rafael: But I don't think we had any idea what meeting each other and actually getting time was going to be like. Daveed: Finally we started. It was like, this is the song we're going to work. We had listened through some beats and it was like, "Let's work on this one." I just started writing and, yeah, it happened really fast. At some point we looked up and everyone else was gone and it was just the two of us in there and we were still making music. Rafael: We just made music until the sun came up and began the ritual that day of going to the car at 8:00 AM and playing everything that you'd recorded and then dragging your body home to sleep and kind of doing it all over again. Daveed: I'd been making music for many, many years and it had never been that much fun before. Rafael: Suddenly there's this person that writes a verse in five minutes and can nail it in a take. And at the time we were working with some random singers and stuff that couldn't ever sing the line and rappers who took an hour to get a verse down. It was just like, "Wow, this is so easy," and then we'd just have songs done.

Daveed: As a young artist early on when I'm still trying to figure things out and creating is hard for me, being around somebody who just creates all the time, it's addictive. I don't have the technical skill set that Rafa has, so he was so fast in Pro Tools. He was all of these things that I just would have to labor over and then all of that stuff became really impressive too. Once, as we started working together and I became aware that he had taught himself all of these things, nobody ever really showed him how to do anything, it seemed like... and he was editing videos and shooting things, the whole range of what it takes to be a music artist out in the world he had taught himself to do. I didn't really know anybody like that. Rafael: Over the next four or five years we recorded hundreds of songs- Daveed: So many more songs- Rafael:...that no-one's heard. Daveed:...that no-one will ever hear. Rafael: Legit hundreds and wrote a play together and then we lived together and it was like, oh man. When we're around each other this much it's like we have too many ideas. It was the right amount of proximity for the full version of creativity that we had always... we had thought we'd already tapped it and we did so much shit that year. I think artistically we were doing great. Daveed: Yeah, we're definitely making it and we were definitely broke. Rafael: People knew us. Daveed: It was just a combination of the thing, it was like- Rafael: We got on the radio. Daveed: This is also great, listen to how he says we. Because really Rafa was known, right? He had a song that got played on Clear Channel radio and then got named one of the Bay Area Freshmen '10. Rafael: Best new whatever. Daveed: He got named one of those, but Rafa never would take that for himself, it was always us. We are. We played those shows together and would end up making no money on these gigs because he would bring me and a band, four or five other people to play music, use the entire fee to fly us out to wherever, Georgia and play a show where no-one would make any money but we got to play a show. He was doing that from jump for so long. Hrishikesh: Why was that how you would always do it? Rafael: Well because, one, I don't, I'm uncomfortable with I statements. Daveed: Berkeley is shit. Rafael: Berkeley is shit. I'm not good to roll with I statements, they feel self indulgent. I was raised to not feed an ego that feels constantly eager for food. What I love about that period is we were all pushing to little different degrees of success. We're just kind of weirdos almost in a scene that we kind of make sense in. They didn't understand Diggs very much at all, I feel like the more commercial Bay Areas scene and they only sort of understood me. It was very you're in, but don't try to make any changes, you know? And I think that's a big reason that we went to LA. We could see the top of the ladder and it's not getting any friendlier or more receptive. We maybe can make this movie and maybe there's different music opportunities down there, but it's definitely not going to happen here. And then suddenly we packed up from the West Oakland place and moved to LA. Daveed: Also we had already been, we were working on Blindspotting, so we'd been traveling up and down. Our producers, we had been driving to meet with them really frequently. Rafael: We were slumming it so hard when we got to LA, we were so poor. Diggs was delivering tacos. Daveed: Yeah. I was like... I couldn't be an actor in LA, is what I decided. Rafael: We're just swinging and missing, just trying to figure out what does it mean to be in the bigger pond and want to be artists professionally. We did five years in LA before Diggs went to New York to do Hamilton. I think that was one of those things that came about for Diggs really organically. Hamilton was such an interesting... it was a play, it was legit written for him to flex all the things he's good at. They were like, "Who's this rap kid that turns out can also act?" And the rest of us were like, "Turns out? He's been doing that more than a lot of y'all." And the world saw Diggs in the light that best showed everything and they not only accepted, but obsessed over it. And then I went to visit him in New York when the show was picking up steam and the first thing that happened is this girl grabs my arm and looks at Diggs and goes, "Oh my God, is that Daveed Diggs?" to me and I start to realize that this woman is Anne Hathaway and she's fan-girling out. I'm like, "Oh man, a major shift is happening."

Daveed: My life is changing very, very quickly. I was under stress constantly. Rafa is calling and texting and emailing and I'm getting back to the degree that I can. So yes, obviously it would have been so much easier and nicer if my best friend was also living in New York and somebody who has context for me outside of this thing. Rafael: I remember [inaudible 00:10:39] I turned to Diggs and I was like, "I'm thinking about moving to New York so you'll respond more in person." I remember Diggs goes, "I didn't want to ask." Daveed: That's a big ask and I'm doing eight shows a week. It's not like, move to New York and let's go kick it in the Berkshires, you know? It's like, move to New York and I'll see you at midnight sometimes. Rafael: But I was like, well it's just good for him to have a friend there. But also can I run your social media? Because you're not posting enough and people want to see this adventure and there's a sincere way to do it. And I had done a little bit of it with his Twitter and stuff in the Bay and in LA, but this was like, "Give me your passwords." I probably already had them. Daveed: This was an admission that he was going to use them. Rafael: I was letting him know that I was going to do it. Daveed: On a regular basis. And I was like, "Yeah, yeah, do that." Rafael: And especially if you actually hadn't been able to do it, you didn't have to be self-indulgent, I'm doing it. There's a year of his Instagram that's just his friend's version of how awesome he is.

Rafael: Blindspotting got started because, around when I was 21, one of my friends got killed in a way that sort of didn't make a lot of sense to most people in the community. And it was sort of the breaking point because it was a woman, because it was somebody who wasn't really involved in the violence of the world that we were existing in at the time. Some other people had been killed and other people I sort of was close to. There was a series of funerals people had gone to in succession and this was the button on it. It was just a breaking point for me. So I had written this poem about sort of the numbness of that experience of like, "God, is this what life is? People die and we get numb and we care a little less every time? How does this go?" And then we just kind of started coming up with a story that was a movie that's in verse starring the two of us. We kept almost making Blindspotting and not making it. Diggs, he finishes this massive sensation in New York. He had 30 days in June that he could shoot this movie- Daveed: 22. Rafael:... and then a month later we were in Oakland shooting the movie. Daveed: In the hometown. Everybody who's an extra in that movie is a friend of ours that we grew up with. Rafael: Yeah. And it's still not a real movie to us. It's still a thing we can't believe they made. Daveed: In Hollywood, in a world that we always assumed we didn't belong in, that we never really figured out how we would fit into anyway. To have doors start opening in a way where they're sort of asking questions about what you want to do is crazy actually. It's just fun in meetings post Blindspotting now that we're associated together in this way and also people have been able to see that Rafael is a great actor as well as a great writer. It's like, "Well what's he doing? Do you think he'd be interested in this? Can you talk to him for us?" It's pretty... I love that. I love that so much. Rafael: And I still know the 10 things that he can do that nobody's seen yet. And that's still fun for me. Daveed: The closest I have ever gotten to fighting with Rafa I think is when somebody else I'm close to is fighting with Rafa, right? Rafael: I think that's sort of our good cop, bad cop type of... where someone will be venting to him and he's like, "I don't know what to tell you, I've already picked my team." We have this expression that we always say, we did this before every show and we kind of do it anytime we're at a crossroads. We're like energy up, expectations down. Daveed: Energy up, expectations down. Rafael: It's just like this whole ship runs on enthusiasm.

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal are partners. Go watch their film Blindspotting and check out the album they put out together last year, called Seven Nights in Chicago. You can follow them on Twitter or Instagram @DaveedDiggs and @RafaelCasal. Rafael probably still has the passwords to Daveed's accounts.

#daveed diggs #rafael casal #go to the source and listen to the whole thing it's lovely #their adoration and respect for each other as artists gives me LIFE #i could listen to them gushing about each other for days on end

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 2

Boggy the Froggy!

Welcome back, ya’ll! We jump back in with our Bad Kids (or 4/6 of them anyway) the very next day. Fabian sends Gilear out on a coffee run on the threat of bodily harm. His mom–who, if you remember is low-key a total badass–tells Fabian that if Gilear doesn’t come back from the quest alive, she’s going to duel him to the death on top of the house. Yikes. At Chez Thistlespring, Gorgug’s parents give him another very detailed sex talk and then remind him that he lives in a world where magic is very real so any and all dreams he remembers should be treated as omens. 

At the haunted house, Adaine wakes up having had portentous dreams like everyone else which is doubly concerning I have to imagine considering (1) she is the eleven oracle and (2) as a full elf she’s supposed to trance, not sleep and dream. Luckily for her nerves, she cast Find Familiar the night before and summoned an emotional support familiar which she gave the amazing name Bogariel Frogariel aka: Boggy the Froggy. 

Meanwhile (and I needed to switch paragraphs because Kristen is doing the D&D equivalent of playing Twister while everyone else is playing Checkers as she is wont to do) Kristen is talking to Tracker about changing Yes? again because she is filled with doubt about her god of doubt but the one thing she clearly doesn’t have doubt about is her relationship with Tracker because it’s been less than a year and she already sees wedding bells in their future. Wild. She also invites Tracker on the quest, rectifying what I thought was a wild oversight last week. 

Everyone meets up and they realize Fig and Riz are missing. They (specifically Fabian) can’t get Riz on the phone (which has never happened before) and all of Fig’s stuff is missing. They head over to Riz’s office to see if they can find him but, before that, Tracker cancels the church of Yes? because, sure. 

There are signs of a struggle at Riz’s office, but no blood. They find a picture of Riz’s super-spy dad (Pok) with his arm around someone who appears invisible to them (though the spot is circled in red). They also find claw marks going up to a mirror. Adaine stops Gorgug from touching the mirror which would have driven him insane and had him attack the group. She sees a twisted version of Riz in the mirror which no one else can see until she describes it (suspicious). Then, she dispels magic and the Riz appears in the room…and attacks them (roll for initiative baybee)!

Fabian is flipped the F out. Kristen decides to chill out and drink Riz’s coffee–much to the incredulousness of everyone else (she’s on those chill existential dread vibes). Adaine and Gorgug are stricken by fear but they’re able to snap out of it quickly. Once they’re sure it’s not Riz (the doppelganger is going full creepy horror movie monster with the head twisting and biting and junk), they start going full throttle but Kristen gets a clutch roll and lands a banishment on Nightmare Riz (who was invisible at the time). Also, Adaine finds a gun but no one is down with her packing heat without proper firearms training so she reluctantly puts it back. They confer with Sandra-Lynn and they find out Fig has, for some reason, gone to Bastion City (the capital) and Gorthalax is missing. Also, because Emily is Emily whether she’s present or not, they find out that Fig has decided to multiclass and she is now a bard/warlock with her demon dad as her patron. Those might be connected because, as her patron, Gorthalax can now find Fig at all times.  

Sklonda, in the meantime, has been investigating a robbery at the mall. They end up there too because Gilear (who is back from his coffee run) said he saw Fig’s bus in the area. They tell Ragh to meet them there and then head over (Gorgug in the old family car which he buys from them for 30 gold (the cost of a pony)–the amount Adaine suggests after the Thistlesprings reject his insane offer of 1000 gold). Also, Kristen leaves her brothers some gold secretly which is sad and also I think not the best way to handle that, but the intention is good. The robbery was of a gem–non-magical I believe–called the Devil’s Heart. [Edit: And apparently Fig’s doing.] Fabian shows up, tries to be helpful, and then eats glass. Normal stuff. 

The group tries to figure out what’s going on with Fig by calling the hotel she’s at and basically doing a straight improv comedy routine, each passing the phone around with a bad story until Adaine just hangs the phone up. Then, they find out from Sklonda that Pok’s partner is a tabaxi (cat person) named Kalina and she is in the empty space in the photo. Sklonda and Sandra-Lynn can see it even though the Bad Kids can’t. 

With that information gathered, the group leaves Elmville for the first time on the way to the Hotel Cavalier in Bastion City and, hopefully, Fig. 

Detention

Fabian for Intern Abuse

Poor Gilear. Fabian solicits increasingly complicated coffee orders from his friends to make Gilear’s job harder and tries to get them to threaten Gilear on their behalf. Even Sandra-Lynn was like, bro. Lay off the guy. Bad form, sir. (Hilarious, but bad). 

Honor Roll

Adaine for Rocking Her Portent Rolls

Adaine had a 19 and a 4 for her portent rolls this session and she used them very judiciously. The first was her 19 which she gave to Gorgug who was about to fail his saving throw and touch the mirror which would have led to him attacking everyone (she has a vision of his beheading her in a rage–sidenote love that Brennan makes her portent rolls actual visions instead of just having the mechanical effect of changing the roll happen). The second was a 4 which she gave to Brennan who was rolling for concentration on Nightmare Riz’s fear spell. What a power move to stare your DM in the face and say, “You roll a 4.” Amazing. Portent rolls are so good you guys. Also, bonus points for coming up with the name Bogariel Frogariel. 

Random Thoughts

Fabian’s response to his mom’s ultimatum that she will fight him if Gilear doesn’t return alive? “Damn, guess I have to fight my mom.”

“MAGIC IS REAL AND SO IS MY FROG.”

Brennan describes Boggy as just the most archetypal looking, round, squishy frog and I want a plush of his yesterday. Or a stress ball! It would go with his whole emotional support thing in game. I love that Siobhan picked not the potentially “useful” or “cool” animal. She went full Marie Kondo and was like, “What’s gonna spark some joy?” Boggy also can give her the help action, which is great!

The episode was great even 2 cast members down, but they were missed. On more than one occasion, I was like, “This is more quiet than usual. I wonder why–ah Emily.” We better get her reaction to Boggy as soon as she’s back.  

Kristen brings up the concept of patenting a god which is wild. We also get an answer to the question I had last week about Tracker’s cleric status–she still is a cleric of the moon goddess. The moon goddess is just chill with her followers not being exclusive. 

Fabian sans Riz is a hilarious mess. For anyone who likes them together as friends and/or romantically there was a lot of Content. Fabian being like, “Idk about Fig but something is def wrong with the Ball because he always answers on the first ring when I call  him.” Him canonically forgetting that he has a name other than The Ball (that’s the name in his phone, obv). And, the coup de grace, him investigating RIz’s office, but only for signs of his name. Him trying to Investigate like Riz, rolling a nat 1, and literally eating glass (“I thought I could taste fingerprints!”). 

“Coffee’s ordered, is the Ball dead?”

Adaine as everyone is clowning on Fabian for possibly making out with the Hangman: The Hangman is much more human than my bitch sister. 

Nightmare Riz, who they still think is actual Riz at this point, pops out of the mirror and Fabian and Adaine’s reactions respectively are, “You can’t do these things!” and, “It’s like 60% of our grade.”

The idea of Gorgug going from a terrified scream into a barbarian rage scream is very funny. Where are the animatics people?

Oh, speaking of people, Fantasy High was trending on tumblr the morning after this stream. Nice job, guys! 

The talk that Gorgug’s parents give him about all dreams being significant is something I always say in movies/books/shows like this. You have protagonists who *know* they live in a magic world and they have weird dreams and it’s not until 2/3rds of the way into the story that they’re like, “Wait. My dreams…mean something?” Bitch, what?

Gorgug’s initial coffee order is Hot Chocolate with a shot of decaf.

Everyone is very chill with Tracker coming onto the quest. Adaine just has one rule: No sex in the tent while they’re also in the tent. Kristen asks like she’s offended Adaine would feel the need to say that but like…come on. 

At first, I thought the invisibility in the photo was similar to the non-Adaine bad kids not being able to see Nightmare Riz until she described him but they still couldn’t see the woman in the photo after Sklonda described her so not sure what was going on with the mirror. 

I went back to the episode where Riz finds the photo of his dad (First Kisses and Last Words at around 1 hour, 27 mins in) and in that photo it’s of his dad and his mom. So either (1) it’s a different photo, (2) Brennan forgot/retconned something, or (3) something seriously screwy is going on. I will also note two observations here. Sklonda mentioned that Kalina doesn’t drink but was holding up her hand in a toast like she was drinking in the photo. That seems too specific a detail to not mean anything. And the second thing is, last ep, we did learn about a servant of the Nightmare King called the Shadow Cat and Kalina (if that is her real name) is a tabaxi so that’s something to think about. 

With all the complicated coffee orders flying around, Adaine just changes hers to a black coffee to try and make Gilear’s life a little easier (her original order was a Peppermint Mocha–sans the threat of violence to Gilear Fabian was offering). I do really love that Adaine seems genuinely concerned about the guy. SOMEONE should be. And it’s consistent with her characterization of just being generally well mannered and empathetic. 

Kristen getting the banishment on Nightmare Riz is something she did after Ally asked for it and Brennan was like, “lol, sure on a 19 or 20.” Boom. Rolled a 19. Just like in the prom fight. So the lesson here folks is don’t give your players a conditional yes and then expect the dice to bail you out. 

Kristen’s existential crisis is so crazy to me because she’s having, like, a prototypical Crisis of Faith™ (and pretty realistically) except, unlike in real life, she has certain knowledge about the existence of gods, life after death, and the means to communicate with those deities in the present day like…I feel like you’re crisis-ing wrong, girl. She’s crisis-ing like she just deconverted from Christianity when I feel like what actually happened is closer to, like, quitting a sorority or realizing you hate your major or changing political parties.  

the nature of humanity is just that every so often someone accidentally invents homestuck helioism again

Ragh had a dream matching up with Gorgug’s (but he didn’t realize it was Gorgug in his dream) which means something and I’m sure we’ll figure out what soon enough. 

The Fabian eating glass scene is another one where you truly need to see it to understand how great it is. Lou is equally game to have Fabian be the coolest person who ever lived or a huge baby and Fabian running away crying because he has glass shards in his tongue is incredible. Hilariously, he runs into Ragh in the food court who has also eaten glass in the past (“Glass is literally invisible.”) and they bro bond over it so hard (“That’s my boy!”) that Tracker and Kristen are like…are they a thing?

The other crazy scene is the gang passing around the phone trying to convince the hotel receptionist to give them info about Fig. Kristen comes up with the name Teddy Guyger (and Zac and I at the same time are like, “Did you get the name Teddy because you have a teddy bear in your inventory rn?”). Fabian tries to drop his dad’s name. Their first move for some reason isn’t to give the phone to Gorgug who is also a part of the band. Adaine just hangs up the phone like Peppa Pig. Exquisite comic timing. 

“I cast bane on Gilear.”

I love the running joke of Adaine having visions throughout the day of her friends in the process of doing dumb BS.

Nightmare Riz going after Fabian’s good eye was big gross. Thanks Brennan, I hate it.  

I wonder if what’s going on with Fig is completely different than what’s going on with Riz. Just because they’re gone for the same reason irl, doesn’t mean they’re gone for the same reason in game. Nightmare Fig could be a fun fight though.

As someone whose fave thing in D&D is not combat, I thought the fight in this episode was great. Interesting concept, good chance for in-character reactions, not too long . 

Ragh upon meeting Tracker: Check it out: I’m gay. (Tracker: Tight.)

Fabian, who has known Cathilda his entire life: Do maids dream?

In this ep, Kristen and Adaine rolled 2 nat 20s each (Kristen rolled one for initiative also but it was lowered by her modifier), and Gorgug and Fabian each rolled 1. Fabian also rolled a nat 1 (which, again, led to him Eating Glass).  

#fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #report card #the report card

[beckzorz]

Out of Nowhere (6/21)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/OFC Summary: An offhand comment at work draws Jesse Kaplan into the orbit of Bucky Barnes. Bucky’s excited at the prospect of normalcy, but there’s nothing normal about falling in love with the Winter Soldier. Words: 2702 A/N: The song for this chapter is “Chant in the Night” by Professor Cunningham And His Old School from The Rhythm Method. The plot thickens this chapter; buckle up!!! Hope you enjoy :3

PART 6: “CHANT IN THE NIGHT”

By the time Jesse got home from work on Monday, Bucky was due for lesson planning in less than fifteen minutes. The effects of Marilyn’s prolonged absence from the office were starting to take root. Between that and her own lingering anxiety about last Friday morning, Jesse had stayed late once again to finish everything on her plate. She hadn’t succeeded, but she had to get home to meet Bucky. Work would have to wait.

Jesse scurried around the apartment, trying to meet her guest-coming-over cleanliness standard. She cleaned the toilet—her skin crawled at the memory of dunking her arm—and did a hasty sweep of the bathroom and kitchen to pick up anything that had accumulated in the corners. Were the surfaces clear enough? The papers on the coffee table were in a single pile, and the top was just a shopping list—perfectly uninformative and bland. The counters were clean, with just a few dishes in the dishrack, but she ran her squeegee across the counter to get any crumbs in the sink.

The buzzer rang; Jesse froze with squeegee in hand. She quickly brushed the crumbs into the sink and ran to the buzzer unit on her wall.

“Hello?” she said into the speaker.

“It’s me.”

Bucky.

An unbidden smile appeared on her face as she pressed the button to let him in, and then she turned around and flinched. She still needed to do a few things—close Fran’s door, run the sink to get rid of the crumbs. A knock at the door came as she was closing her own bedroom door, and she dashed to turn off the sink before opening the door.

There he was. Bucky was typing something on his phone—a grammatical monstrosity of a text? She couldn’t tell. He was dressed similarly to that time at the coffee shop, with a baseball hat and a long shirt that didn’t quite disguise his musculature. Jesse tried not to stare. Fortunately, he finished typing in a moment. Bucky put his phone in his pocket and gave a tight smile.

“Sorry,” he said as he came inside. “It couldn’t wait.”

Jesse locked the door. “If it’s urgent, we can reschedule…”

“No, no.” Bucky crossed his arms and leaned against the partition wall between the kitchen and living room. His smile was lighter now. “Not that kind of urgent.”

“Good, I hope!” Jesse said. She bit the inside of her lip. She usually asked people to take off their shoes, but Bucky was wearing combat boots, of all things. Better not. “How are you?”

“Alive,” he said.

She snorted. “I feel that. Haven’t slept properly in days.”

“No?” Bucky tilted his head and fixed his eyes on hers. Worry wrinkled his brow. The concern written on his face sent a swoop through her; she swallowed.

“No,” Jesse repeated. She went to grab a cup of water; it wasn’t hot in the apartment, so why was she so warm? “Want something to drink?”

“I’m good. What’s up with your sleeping?”

Jesse fiddled in her freezer for ice cubes. Did she dare tell him about the scare last Thursday? She was pretty sure it was just a case of a distorted memory, but… No, no, Bucky didn’t need to hear about her problems. He never shared his with her. The least she could do was follow his lead.

“Just had some bad nights, I guess. I think I screwed my schedule up with all the late evenings.”

Bucky didn’t respond. Once she’d filled her cup, Jesse turned to look at him, but he’d left his perch by the wall. She made her way into the living room and saw Bucky inspecting the photo arrangement over the couch. He’d left his hat on the coffee table; she could see his whole face now, and he was frowning.

“Who is this?” He pointed to one of the many pictures with Fran.

“Oh, that’s my roommate. His photos have the gold frames. Mine are all silver.”

“Huh.” Bucky studied the photos for another minute, then turned to her with his face set with determination. “So what’s the plan?”

“Let me pull up what I’ve got, and we can go over it…”

Jesse grabbed her laptop and opened the document her college friend had sent. She talked Bucky through the different steps—warm-up, introduction, basic footwork, open position, closed position, dancing together, so on and so forth—and Jesse tested out various wordings for explaining the different motions and moves before typing it out in the lesson plan document. Bucky just typed, but he didn’t edit at all. Jesse looked over his work whenever he tilted the screen in her direction, but it was always solidly done. He must have had a lot of practice planning without making a sound.

It only took about an hour and a half to get through two lessons. Getting through the basics for total beginners didn’t exactly go at a clipping pace.

“Hopefully the kids are as enthusiastic as the ones from your other workshop,” Jesse said. She scratched the back of her neck. All the dance lessons she’d taken involved willing participants; plopping into a middle school to teach unsuspecting preteens wasn’t necessarily going to go so smoothly.

“Enthusiasm is catchy.” Bucky typed up his last comments. He shut the laptop and set it aside on the coffee table, then leaned his elbows on his knees and smiled ruefully at her. His eyes were bright, open. “You do a good job of it.”

Jesse snorted and propped her feet on the coffee table. “You haven’t seen me in front of a crowd.”

“I bet you could fake it,” he said.

“If I can, so could you,” she countered with a cheeky smile. “At least, I suspect so.”

“Yeah?” Bucky’s lips twitched, though he wasn’t smiling yet.

“I’ve seen you smile before,” she teased. “Properly, I mean.”

Bucky laughed out loud. Still grinning, Jesse surreptitiously studied the laugh lines on his face. For all his reserve, he was able to smile around her, and now laugh. How had she gotten so lucky? How many people could say they’d seen Bucky Barnes laugh because of them?

Not many.

He stood up and headed to the door, still chuckling. “We’ll find out when we get started,” he said. He unlocked the deadbolt and turned back to her. “Should we meet again before then?”

“Marilyn wanted at least five lesson plans set before we start,” Jesse told him.

“I’ll be out of town for at least part of the week,” Bucky said, his expression more serious than before.

“Okay.” Jesse’s heartbeat kicked up a notch, though she tried not to let it show. Out of town doing what? Did he have some work—dangerous work? Would he be okay? Would he come back? Or was he just going off to visit a friend? Did he have friends? She clenched her teeth against the avalanche of questions building in her brain. “How about next Sunday morning?”

He pulled out his phone again. “Should work. Here again?”

“Ye—no, we should take advantage of bagels,” Jesse decided. “There’s a great bagel place on Prospect Park West, two blocks south of the park.”

“Fine,” Bucky said. He pulled on his cap, shielding his eyes from her. “Ten okay?”

“Works for me.”

Bucky opened the door and tilted his head up to look her in the face without his hat obstructing his vision. He wasn’t smiling, but there was a softness in his blue eyes that set her heart beating fast. “Good luck sleeping.” He slipped out and shut the door.

Jesse sat on the arm of her couch and fell back onto the couch, feet dangling. All things considered, that had gone awfully well. She’d made him smile; she’d made him laugh. He’d looked more carefree in that moment, with his hair tucked back behind one ear and his eyes crinkling with genuine amusement, than anyone she’d ever seen. How could he consider anything he did normal? He was extraordinary, every step of the way.

—

    Today, 9:08 PM

itsadrian: i finally beat that game!!! jesse.kaplan: nice!! jesse.kaplan: did it have a good ending? itsadrian: surprisingly, yes itsadrian: i was def expecting some cop outs on the tough stuff, but nope itsadrian: they did a good jesse.kaplan: haha, good! itsadrian: what are you up to tonight? jesse.kaplan: picking up my takeout jesse.kaplan: I had a late meeting itsadrian: what for? jesse.kaplan: dancing stuff itsadrian: uh huh… itsadrian: with someone in particular? :P

—

Jesse couldn’t help the smile on her face as she stuffed her phone back in her purse. Adrian had the subtlety of a ton of bricks. Jesse wasn’t sure if she was smiling over fondness for Adrian or because of someone in particular, as Adrian had put it. Adrian usual made her smile, but so could Bucky, when he wasn’t awkward or frightening. Which was more and more, lately.

She crossed the street, and from there it was steps to the Chinese restaurant. Jesse went in and gave her name at the counter, but the cashier frowned at her.

“Someone picked that up already,” he said.

Jesse’s eyebrows went up. “What?”

“Sweet and sour chicken and veggie dumplings for Jesse?”

“Yes, that was for me,” Jesse said. “Steamed dumplings.” Her stomach growled, and the cashier winced.

“Someone picked that up a few minutes ago,” he said. “He knew the order, so I assumed… Even the steamed bit. One sec.”

He went back into the kitchen and started speaking Chinese to the chef. Jesse turned away, lips pursed and stomach panging. Of all the nights! She was already starving. And the news on the tv over the other wall was full of disturbing stories again.

    [ A Brooklyn woman has returned home after     [ five 5 days missing. Authorities report th

The cashier came back quickly, and Jesse turned away from the tv.

“We’ll get another order made up right away. So sorry,” the cashier said.

“Thanks,” Jesse said. She made her way to the counter and stools by the front window and perched there, frowning at the other patrons.

What the hell? This was bizarre. She’d been coming here at least once a month for the last year and a half, and nothing like this had ever happened before. She’d always called in an order, waltzed in fifteen minutes later, and picked it up. Boom, done. How had someone gotten their order mixed up with hers? Was there another Jesse out there with the same tastes?

No, that couldn’t be it. If that was the case, there would be a second order that she could take instead. Someone knew her order. Despite the heat of the restaurant, Jesse couldn’t help the chill that ran up her spine. She adjusted her gray dress over her leggings self-consciously. How could someone have known her order? She’d called in it at home—from her bedroom, no less.

Her stomach dropped; she rubbed her right arm, trying to get rid of the phantom feeling of wetness there. Did this have something to do with last Friday? She’d been working hard to convince herself the toilet and all the rest had been nothing, just a series of happenstances she’d brought about herself, but now… Now she was back to square one. She couldn’t figure a way for this to have been a coincidence, or anything else she could explain away. Her order was specific enough—steamed dumplings weren’t even on the menu! She’d asked for them special. How could someone have known that without listening in on her? Could they have read the receipt on her takeaway bag? She glanced behind the counter, but the completed orders were off in the kitchen with the orders obscured by a pile of unassembled boxes.

So. Someone was listening in on her. How? Something in her apartment, or just hacking the phone lines? If there had been a break-in last week, she knew which was more likely, but she was less and less certain of the truth. Nothing made any sense. Who would spy on a conversation just to steal some takeout? Or was this about something else?

Was this… about Bucky?

Jesse’s eyes prickled; she pressed her lips together and stared at the ceiling. God, let it not be about Bucky. She shuddered a little and pulled her phone from her purse. The blank screen stared up at her.

Should she text him? Call him, even? No, she couldn’t do that. They weren’t on calling terms. And if he wasn’t traveling, he was alone, enjoying some privacy. Jesse shoved her phone back in her purse and crossed her arms tight over her chest. She was supposed to be a normal thing in his life. He’d looked so pleased at the possibility. They’d toasted to it, together. If she couldn’t give him normalcy, what good was she?

Her stomach growled again. Jesse grimaced. She needed a plan, one that didn’t involve Bucky. She still had no idea where he lived, but she doubted he lived close enough to actually be of help. The closest police station was less than a mile away. She could go there—get an Uber, a cab, whatever came first.

But first, food.

She waited there for another five minutes, her whole body tense and her purse clutched tight on her lap. The place got a little busy at one point, and a stocky man bumped into her, poking her arm with his keys. He apologized, but Jesse just gave a tight smile and went to sit further away from the door.

When her food was finally ready, the cashier brought it out to her with a tense smile. “Sorry about that,” he said. “We threw in some egg rolls for free.”

A smile ghosted past Jesse’s lips as she took the stapled back from him. “Thank you so much,” she said. “Sorry for the confusion.”

Jesse slid off her chair and stumbled. The waiter grabbed her by the arm.

“Are you alright?” he asked, eyes wide.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said quickly. She pulled away, stood up straight, and rolled each ankle. “Just sat still for too long! I’m calling a cab, so no worries.”

Jesse gingerly sat back down and called a cab line. She kept an eye out of the front window, though exhaustion was catching up with her fast. Her vision was beginning to blur, and her limbs were tired. She blinked rapidly and pinched her arm.

A cab pulled up to the restaurant, and Jesse perked up in relief. She slid carefully off the high stool and made her way outside. She tried to pull open the back door of the cab, but her hands were as compliant as wet rags. The driver turned in his seat to raise his eyebrows at her, and Jesse gave a harried, apologetic smile and tried again. This time even her wrists didn’t engage.

“Let me help.”

Jesse turned her head and blinked groggily up at the same stocky man who’d bumped into her a few minutes before. He put a hand on her elbow to move her a little out of the way, and Jesse sucked in a harsh breath. Keys? He hadn’t bumped into her with keys! He’d done something to her! She tried to pull away, but all her strength had seeped away. Keeping herself upright was almost more than she could manage, but she shook her arm as much as she could, heart racing.

“Dun touch me!” Jesse meant to shout, but her words were barely a groan.

The stocky man ignored her. He opened the door and maneuvered her inside, then slid in beside her. The moment he closed the door, the driver peeled away from the curb.

“No,” Jesse mumbled. Her vision was fading. She tried to fumble for the phone in her purse, but the stocky man beside her easily pulled both her bags out of her reach. He patted her shoulder consolingly as he worked the takeaway bag open. Jesse’s head drooped, and before her eyes slid shut she saw him pulling out an egg roll.

“Relax, Jesse,” he said. Jesse heard him take a crunchy bite and swallow. “Just relax.”

#bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x ofc #winter soldier fic #winter soldier x ofc #bucky x ofc #becca writes #fictive february #the not for profit fic

[badwolf-in-the-impala]

~Welcome to the Neighborhood -- Ch.2~

Moodboard made by me: @badwolf-in-the-impala. Pics aren’t mine but the editing is.

A/N: Here it is y’all! The second chapter of mine and @jacksonroth‘s SOA collab! I hope everyone enjoyed reading the first Chapter, and that you’re excited to keep following this story! As stated before, we will be alternating chapters, so previous chapter links will be linked below! New chapters will be posted EVERY Monday! Happy reading ^-^ 

Warnings: Shameless flirting

Word count: 4,406

Chapter 1 

--------------------------------------

Within the hour, Harper and Kacey were unpacking the van along with the guys into their garage. When Gemma began asking what rooms the boxes went to, they were quick to shut down her unspoken request. To compensate, Gemma invited the girls over for a little club party she was having at her house the next night. Once they agreed and got rid of Gemma, now they had to face the guys.

“You ladies sure we can’t help out anymore?” Tig asked with a smirk. Juice and Jax exchanged a look and snickered while Opie shook his head and smirked. Harper smirked as she sat on top of her dresser while Kacey stood from setting down the final box. She turned to him and smirked, after tossing a glance back to her sister.

“We’re sure. We can take it from here.” She said, taking a few steps closer, as she added, “But if we need anymore help with any, um, lifting? You’ll be our first call.”

Harper snickered and shook her head as Tig smirked at Kacey while she walked away, going to lean on the dresser next to Harper. “Seriously. We can finish. Thanks for helping us out though.” Harper said, jumping down from her spot and going to Jax as Opie rounded the guys up, back into the van. Jax smiled and slipped an arm around her neck as she and Kacey walked with him to the driver’s side.

“No problem, darlin’. It’s what we do.” He said, removing his arm as he opened the door. “Just think of us as your Friendly Neighborhood Biker Boys.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Harper said, closing the door after Jax got in. She leaned against the door, folding her arms over the window and said, “Let me know about that estimate ASAP? I’m gonna need to find a job quick.”

Jax chuckled and nodded as he started the car, then leaned back in his seat. “Oh, for sure. Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Just get settled and I’ll give you a call.”

“Or we’ll see you at the club when you have to escape the clutches of Mama Gemma.” Tig said, piping up from the back as he leaned forward between Jax and Opie. Opie pushed him back and chuckled as Kacey giggled.

“Oh, come on. She’s not that bad.” Kacey glanced at her sister with a smirk and said, “We’ve endured worse.”

Harper shook her head and pushed off from the door, taking a step back. “See ya.” She said. Jax smirked as he put the car in gear, offering her a wink and a smile before they took off down the street. Harper sighed and followed Kacey back into the garage, closing it once they were both inside. Once the door shut, both sisters stood in place and looked at each other before sharing a groan, then began to haul boxes in.

“Let’s start with the kitchen.” Harper said, lifting a box labeled ‘Plates-Bowls’. Kacey nodded and grabbed another box, then followed her sister inside. They spent the better part of an hour and a half unpacking their kitchen and living room before they went to Harper’s room. When Kacey set down the last of Harper’s boxes, she stood, sighed, and said, “Do you really think we should be doing this?”

“Unpacking?” Harper asked, pulling out a few framed pictures and setting them on her dresser. She paused a moment, then looked at her sister and said, “Yeah.”

“Piss off.” Kacey said, annoyed, as she opened the box. “I meant with the club. Come on, Harper, you can’t tell me this is a smart thing to do.”

“Kay.” Harper sighed and turned to her, leaning against the dresser and watching as Kacey started hanging clothes in the closet. “I didn't know the Sons ran out of Charming. Nico never said anything about where they were. You know he didn't tell me everything about their business.”

“Yeah, but still.” Kacey sighed, shaking her head. She stood, facing the closet, and ran both her hands through her hair before turning to Harper. “This isn’t a good idea. If Nico and Bastien come looking for us...It won’t end well and we could end up getting everyone killed...Again.”

“That was not our fault!” Harper said, straightening and pointing a finger at her. “That little bitch Sara had it coming. This is her fault not ours. And besides, it was one guy, Kacey. Jesus. Stop being so dramatic.”

Harper turned and bent to open another box of clothes. As she leaned back to sit down and begin folding, Kacey said, “That doesn’t matter! I started the fight and you’re my sister! You retaliated for me and that’s when shit went-”

“Kacey, enough!” Harper shrieked, turning to her and glaring at her. “It happened, it’s over, no one else fucking died. Stop being dramatic about this. If they find out who we are, their feelings of kindness toward us can change real quick. We wanted a fresh start, Kay. This is it. We screw this up, and it’s fucking over.”

Kacey gave a small huff, but knew her sister was right. She finished putting the clothes in the closet and left her sister to her own devices as she stared on her room, slowly.

~

It was late the following morning when Kacey finally managed to drag herself out of bed and into the shower. Finding a note from Harper taped to the mirror letting her know that she had gone into town to start looking for a job, and that she would meet up with her later before the party at Gemma’s. Kacey groaned outwardly as she discarded the note into the trash, knowing she needed to do the same...job hunting easily falling into her category of least favorite things to do. Meaning this day was going to require coffee, and a lot of it. So after plugging her iPod into the living room stereo and cranking some old 80’s tunes, she fired up the coffee pot and jumped in the shower to begin getting ready for the day.

Kacey had just finished applying a little black eyeliner and mascara after throwing on her favorite jeans and a cropped Def Leppard tank-top. She was in the midst of brushing out her hair as she rocked out to ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, when a sudden banging sound from the front door caught her attention; causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

She waited a few seconds in hopes that maybe whoever it was would go away, but the knock sounded again; this time a little more aggressively. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest by that point as she ducked out of the bathroom and into her room; grabbing her Colt .38 Super from under her pillow and making her way to the front door.

Kacey cocked the hammer back gently as she moved to peek through the curtain of the side window next to the door, breathing a small sigh of relief when she found Opie standing patiently on the front porch. His attention turning back to the door when he caught the faint sound of the deadbolt being unlocked, a small grin tugging at his lips as Kacey finally opened the door. His hazel eyes drifting briefly to catch sight of the pistol she still held in her in her left hand.

“Expecting company?” He arched a brow curiously as he nodded to weapon. Watching intently as she uncocked the hammer and clicked the safety back into place before tucking it into the back of her jeans.

“Always.” Kacey smirked, leaning inside to turn down the stereo before she leaned a shoulder against the door frame and crossed her arms over her chest; blue eyes studying him carefully.

“Sorry if I startled you.” He apologized. “Jax and I ran into your sister in town. She said you were still home, and probably in need of a lift.”

“No worries.” Kacey chuckled as she pushed away from the door and stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in. “Coffee?” She asked as they rounded the corner into the kitchen and she began searching for what cabinet they put the mugs in.

“Ain’t it a little late in the day for that?” Opie chuckled as he looked up at the clock above the stove that read 12:30pm.

“Ok, first off; it is never too late in the day for coffee...never.” Kacey replied as she finally found the mugs and pulled down two from the shelf before filling them both and handing one to Opie. “Secondly...you don’t like coffee, we can’t be friends.” She smirked.

“Fair enough.” Opie laughed as he accepted the mug from her and took a sip. Things falling silent between them for a moment before he cleared his throat and asked. “So, you almost ready?”

“Yeah.” Kacey nodded as she picked up her mug and started for the hallway. “Just let me grab my vest real quick. She said, disappearing into her bedroom to grab a red plaid over shirt; tugging it on before putting her black leather vest on over it. Slipping on her rings and leather bracelet before returning to the kitchen and finishing off her coffee, making sure to rinse out the empty mugs. Turning the stereo off and locking all the doors before finally heading out to Opie’s truck that sat in the driveway.

“‘85 Dodge Power Ram. Nice.” Kacey mused as they approached the cream and tan colored pick up truck, Opie stopping to open the door for her, a look of surprise on his face.

“You know trucks too?” He asked as he slid into the driver’s seat behind her, noting the sly smirk on her lips as she slid her aviators onto her face and settled into the middle seat.

“I know a thing or two.” She shrugged.

“I’m startin’ to think you know more than just a thing or two.” Opie chuckled as he turned the key, the engine roaring to life as he shifted it into reverse. Using the opportunity to slip his arm behind her as he turned to look over his shoulder while backing the truck out of the driveway.

“I’m full of surprises.” Kacey replied. “We’ll just leave it at that for now.”

“Alright then, Miss full of surprises; where we headed?” Opie asked as he glanced over at her from the corner of his eye.

“The responsible adult in me says to go look for a job...the not so responsible adult in me on the other hand, says to look for the nearest bar.” Kacey laughed. “But, if I don’t at least try and find a job today, Harper will probably kill me...soooo.”

“Responsibility it is.” Opie chuckled as he turned and headed towards town, where they spent the next couple of hours hitting up every place that had a ‘Help Wanted’ sign up in their window. Kacey finally calling it quits after the Sixth or Seventh place in row that declined before asking her to politely leave.

“No luck?” Opie asked as she climbed back into the truck, noting the redness that tinted her ears and slowly crept its way up her chest onto her neck as she struggled to keep her temper in check. Rolling down the passenger side window as she pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a much needed drag and relishing in the rush of nicotine that swept over her; calming her nerves a bit.

“Would you fuckin’ believe it that, ‘apparently’,” She spoke in a mocking tone, making quotation marks with her fingers before ashing her cigarette out the window. “I’m not a people person.”

“You don’t say?” Opie teased, wincing as her fist connected with his arm. “Ow.” He chuckled, rubbing his bicep as she smirked back at him before taking another drag and offering him her pack of smokes as a peace offering.

“Remind me never to piss you off.” He added, passing her smokes back to her. Lighting the cigarette between his lips before backing out of the parking space. Not even attempting to hide his grin as she scooted back across the bench seat into the middle and got comfortable. “So, to the Bar then?” He questioned.

“I thought you’d never ask.” She replied with a fake southern accent, hands flying up over her heart as she feigned a dreamy sigh, tipping her head back onto his shoulder as she batted her lashes up at him; erupting into a fit of giggles at his expression while she pushed her sunglasses back into place and sat up a little.

“Alright Miss Daisy. Calm your shit.” Opie chuckled as he draped his hand over her shoulder. Kacey’s own hand drifting to rest on his thigh in return for the rest of the drive back to the Clubhouse.

~

Things at the Clubhouse were still pretty laid back when Opie and Kacey pulled in. Most of the guys still getting cleaned up and ready for the party later at Gemma’s. But three shots of Jameson and a couple beers later, Kacey found herself behind the bar in a competition to out bartend Half-Sack. The room filled with hoops and hollers as the guys hounded on the poor kid, giving him a ration of shit as he struggled to keep up with her; it obvious that she had more experience behind a bar than he did.

“Oi! It look’s like y’er abou’ ta lose y’er position as Barmaid, there, Sacky mah boy!” Chibs howled with laughter as the rest of the guys following suit, all throwing in their own mix of comments. Kacey shook her head with a chuckle as she shed her plaid overshirt and vest, leaving her in the cropped tank that only gave a glimpse to the number of tattoos she had. Opie having a hard time keeping his gaze off of her as she worked.

“I swear to God, Brother, if you don’t hit that, I’m goin’ to.” Tig stated lowly as he took a seat beside Opie at the bar; blue eyes fixed to Kacey like a vulture that just spotted fresh roadkill. Opie all but shoving Tig off his barstool in return. Tig snickered and stood, straightening his Kutte as he said, “Hey, man. Easy, My Giant. I was only sayin’.”

Tig smirked and offered a playful punch to Opie’s shoulder before he walked away. While the competition continued, outside, Harper rolled into the lot on the back of Jax’s Harley. Harper swung her leg over the bike and removed her helmet as Jax did the same, hanging his off his handlebars before getting off the bike and taking the spare from Harper. She gave him a sweet smile and said, “Thanks for the ride. I did not want to have to get in another taxi.”

Jax chuckled and said, “No problem, darlin’. Your truck should be finished soon. Gemma made us put a rush on it.”

He snickered as Harper rolled her eyes while he slipped an arm around her neck, the both of them walking toward the clubhouse. “Please don’t? I don’t need our only car up and dying on us. We don’t know when our bikes are gonna be here, so we need something.” Harper said as Jax opened the door for her.

“That’s what we told her, but she’s still making it our top priority.” He said. Harper’s next polite decline was cut off as the roar from the guys grew as Kacey raced to stack the beer glasses under the bar, while Half-Sack struggled to pour all his shots before she was done. Kacey damn near broke the last glass as it slammed in place and she cried out, shooting her arms up in the air with a laugh. Cheering erupted from the guys as Half-Sack sighed and leaned against the wall, thankful it was over.

“Oh, dear God.” Harper said, pushing her glasses back into her hair, watching her sister get scooped up and twirled around by Opie before setting her down and the two of them passing out shots. “Tazzy. Sweetie.”

Kacey turned and beamed at her sister, taking a moment to down her shot and Opie’s before bouncing over to her. “Hi! Did you find a job?!” Kacey squeaked, her eyes already tinting red, the reek of whiskey on her breath. Harper scrunched up her nose and took her sister’ arm, leading her to a barstool before she keeled over.

“Jesus, Opie. I said give her a lift not get her lit.” Harper said, with a soft chuckle, as she asked Half-Sack for a glass of water.

“Hey, she said she was good. She’s in good hands here.” Opie said.

“Yeah, yours.” Jax teased. Kacey giggled and said with a hiccup, “Stop worrying, Harps. I’m f-fine.”

“Uh-huh. Did you find a job today?” Harper asked, giving her sister a look and pushing the water toward her as Half-Sack set it down. Chibs descended on the sisters, slipping an arm around Kacey’s neck and said, “Oh, I’m sure Clay woulna mind lettin’ her have a job ‘ere. Natural born barmaid, this one.”

Harper smirked and said, “Natural born? This whore has worked in four different bars. She knows what she’s doing.”

“Hey!...I’m not a whore…” Kacey said, pouting a little. Harper gripped her sister’s chin, lightly, and shook it as she said, “A bar whore. Barbacking for you is like...Well, riding for me. You love it, you’re good at it, and if I were to get paid, I’d make big bucks.”

Harper giggled at her own joke and leaned against the bar. Chibs chuckled and said, “Well, once t’e boss hears about t’is, he’ll probably hire ye on t’e spot.”

“Hey, man, I tried!” Half-Sack called, from down the bar.

“Yeah, and she still creamed ye!” Chibs called, howling in laughter as he joined Juice and Tig at the other end of the bar. Harper held a polite smile and laugh until Chibs was out of earshot, Jax excusing himself to go talk to Opie. Once they were out of earshot, Harper’s smile faded and she leaned closer to Kacey, tugging on her arm and whispering harshly, “Are you fucking insane?!”

Kacey blinked at the sudden movement and looked at her. “What? I got a job.” She said. Harper shook her head.

“At the clubhouse? Are you serious? Did we not just have a discussion last night about the club?!” Harper whispered, glancing around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers. Kacey sighed and leaned her arms on the bar.

“Harper, I’m sorry. But...Harp I was refused at like 10 places today. They took one look at me and then Opie and made up some bullshit excuse about why I wasn’t a good fit.” Kacey said. Harper shook her head and sighed, pushing her hands through her hair in irritation. The last thing they needed was for Kacey to get the job and the club found out about their connections and toss them out on their ass. That was one thing Harper wasn’t willing to risk. “Harper, look. We need the money to pay for the truck and the house. Maybe I can talk to Clay about working on the truck myself that way we don’t have to pay labor, just parts? And I can put in a shit ton of hours here so it compensates.”

“Kace...I-I don’t know about this… What if-” Harper said, her features taking on an extremely worried look. Kacey put a hand on her sisters arm and said, “Harper. You’ve got to trust me. I won’t say anything about Nico and Bastien.”

“Yeah, unless you get too drunk.” Harper said, giving her a look. Kacey gave her one right back and said, “That was once and it was about my embarrassment so can we drop that please?! I’m not gonna fuck up again, Harps! I promise.”

Harper glanced down at Jax and the guys, then back to her sister. “You fuck up and you’re pushing that car, I don’t care how far, if it breaks down again…” She said, giving her a look. Kacey smiled and wrapped her arms around Harper’s neck with a squeal. Harper’s hard exterior cracked and she smiled, hugging her sister back. As they broke apart, Jax came back over to them with a charming smile and said, “Hey, did you girls want a lift back to your place? Me and Opie have to get to Gemma’s a little early to help set up for the party.”

Harper gave him a sweet smile and nodded. “Yeah. Sure, thanks.” She said. Jax smiled and nodded, calling for Opie and telling the girls he’d meet them outside. Kacey grabbed her overshirt and vest from behind the bar and they walked out with Opie to the bikes.

~

Kacey and Harper split off from Jax and Opie as they headed down the street to Gemma’s. Harper quickly jumped in the shower while Kacey changed. Once Harper pulled on her black boots and zipped them up, giving herself a once over in the mirror to make sure everything looked good, she called for Kacey and they both walked down to Gemma’s.

“Just don’t fuckin’ drop the thing, Jackson!” Gemma called as she opened the door. When she turned around and saw the sisters, she smiled and ushered them in. “Hey, you guys made it. How was the first night?”

“Good. I slept good at least.” Harper said with a chuckle. Kacey mimicked her sister, behind her back, and rolled her eyes with a smirk. Harper glanced back at her before turning back to Gemma and said, “Hey, thanks for all the help yesterday. We really appreciate it.”

“Oh, honey. It’s not a problem. If you girls ever run into trouble, just give us a call.” Gemma said, with a smile. “The guys are out back. You girls just make yourselves at home.” Gemma added before disappearing into the kitchen. Leaving the sisters to find their way out to the backyard.

“Aye! Parties ‘ere!” Chibs yelled as the girls stepped out into the backyard, giving it a once over and finding the guys were still in the process of setting up a few things. “C’mere an’ give us a hand, will ye?”

The girls ventured over without a second thought, helping Chibs pull some lawn chairs down from the shed and set them up around the yard and patio area. Kacey reaching up on her tiptoes to grab the last chair, struggling as it was just out of her reach. She was starting to get frustrated when a hand reached over her head and grabbed it. Turning around she found Opie who was smirking down at her, making Kacey glare back playfully in return.

“Don’t.Say.A.Word.” She warned.

“Wee bit sensitive abou’ our height, are we?” Chibs joked from behind him as he took the chair and stepped aside so that they could close up the shed. Kacey glowering at everyone who was now snickering quietly at the joke.

“Easy, Taz.” Harper chuckled as her sister moved passed on her way to the cooler. Muttering under her breath about not being that short as she grabbed a beer and took a seat up on the patio; pouting with a childish look on her face.  

“Hey, why do you call her Taz?” Jax asked, opening his beer as he took a seat across from Kacey. “I noticed you called her that a few times today.”

Harper snickered as she leaned against Jax’s chair. “Are you sure you wanna get into this now?” She asked, glancing down at him before looking to her sister. Jax smirked and took a sip, settling himself for a good story. Kacey rolled her eyes and took a sip before she said, “I get a little crazy when I get mad…”

“A little crazy? Sis, you’re not named after the Tasmanian Devil for fuckin’ nothing.” Harper chuckled. Jax snickered into his beer as he sat up.

“No shit?” He asked, looking from Kacey to Harper. She snickered as well and nodded.

“I believe it almost came to criminal mischief...What? 10 times?” Harper said. Jax laughed and looked at Kacey.

“Shit, how was it only almost? What did you do?” Jax asked.

“Hey, listen, if you don’t want your girlfriend getting a hold of your precious guns and using your precious ‘50’s El Camino, then why keep them in the same place, let alone piss off your girlfriend?” Kacey said, as Opie walked up to them.

“Ouch. Who pissed you off?” Opie said with a wince and a chuckle. Harper chuckled, but gave Kacey a warning look. Kacey shook her head and said, “An ex.”

“Jesus, is the car ok?” Opie joked. Everyone giving off an array of horrified expressions and sounds as Kacey mimicked an explosion with her hands before returning to her beer. Harper smirked and couldn’t help but add a ‘Ba-boom.’

“Guard your keys, boys.” Jax chuckled.

“Maybe just your valuables in general.” Kacey snorted. “And don’t piss off the Devil.” She added, casting a sideways glance and smirk in Opie’s direction as the group had a good laugh. Gemma walked out carrying a bowl of fruit salad, but stopped when she saw everyone gathered around the table.

“Hey. People are gonna start showing up here in a few minutes. I’d like to have this place set up before then?” Gemma said, squeezing between Jax and Harper to set down the bowl. She swiped the beer from Jax’s hand and gave him a look, but taking his beer was enough to get him out of his seat. Jax patted Opie on the back as he turned away to head back over to where Clay and Piney were setting up some more tables. Gemma chuckled and shook her head, taking a sip from the beer before setting it down. Harper took one last sip from her beer as well before setting it down and asking Gemma, “Did you need some help in the kitchen?”

Gemma smiled at her and said, “I’ve got a few of the girls in there. I’m okay.”

“Come on, Gem. We’re good cooks!” Kacey chimed in, standing up and moving to stand next to Harper.

“Gemma, it’s the least we can do.” Harper said with a smile. Gemma chuckled and crooked a finger at them as she started walking back to the house.

---------------------------------------

Taglist: @jacksonroth @stacie-marie-bloom @journeyrose @cole-winchester @spnhollis @omgbullslove @cococruzzzimagines @romanchronicles @captstefanbrandt @courtrae89 @tephi101 @shieldmaiden25 @staystrongsoa @imgoldielikehawn @annakay84 @laketaj24 @penny4yourthot

#sons of anarchy #soa #SAMCRO #redwood original #Opie Winston #Harry opie Winston #opie winston x oc #Ryan Hurst #Jax Teller #Jackson Jax Teller #Charlie Hunnam #Jax Teller x OC #Men of Mayhem #Original Characters #Fic Collab #soa fanfic #SOA collab #Fanfiction #Reaper Crew #Charming CA #Gemma Teller #teller-morrow

[violetbeachpod]

1x02 / incorporeal girlfriend

CHARLOTTE:

Hello Violet Beach! Charlotte Cranor-Liu here to keep informing the general public–or, the not-general not-public–about how terrible everything is!

So! Let’s talk.

I’m Char, I’m sixteen, junior at the Corielli Academy For Creative Youths, and your new best friend. Unless, like, we’ve already met, in which case, you already know what I think of you.

So. Where to start? Cuz I got stories. Uh. At fight call today, I hit Andrew Meyer for real, which was pretty satisfying. Cuz he’s the worst? AJ high-fived me afterward, and actually told me where he worked? Which was super satisfying, cuz I got kicked out of the Starbucks for fighting in the alley by it? In fairness, the guy stole tips, it was–it was morally an obligation. But the assistant manager was like, “oh, but now he’ll sue us, and why did you claim to be an employee,” which, like, has she never heard of getting into character to add more feeling to a situation? He would be more likely to give it back if he thought he was stealing my money? Just—whatever. I needed a new coffee-source and now I have one.

But, anyway, AJ took me to the Bean Zone today, which, cool, I didn’t know they were even open. Neither did anyone else, though, I don’t think because it was empty. Which might also be because their coffee is kind of the worst? Still.

I kept AJ busy, though. He used his employee discount, so, I only paid, like, ten bucks total for my thirteen drinks. So. After I was properly caffeinated and his two-hour shift ended, which, I didn’t even know they did those, we started biking to his place, and he–he fell. And I got nervous, and I grabbed his arm to help him up once I was sure he was okay, and when I made contact, the–

Well, Teresa talked about this last time, but the sky went that gross purple color. And I assumed tehat–I assumed that the glow was because of us touching, so I let go, and then–I couldn’t.

And then the breeze that’s always there happened again. And we were back on the road, on our bikes, and we were pedalling. Like nothing happened.

And he said, like, uh, “Nice grip,” or something, and I nodded, because my grip’s pretty nice, and we were just, in, like, a really weirdass situation, so.

Anywho. So we went back to my place and my sister was all like, oh, wow, who’s this, your–censored rude term that disrespects AJ, who is, like, maybe my only friend–and so I yelled at her?

I mean. He’s not my only friend. I–he is.

Why can’t I say that I have other friends? Like–I’m trying to lie, right now.

Um. Okay. Cool. So.

We’ll get to that later.

But, anyway, I did scream at her, yes. Cuz she was an ass. As per ush.

So. Anyway. AJ and I went up to my room and started watching a bootleg of—y’know? If this, like, truth serum thing going on’s a thing, I’m not gonna try to name the show. Cuz it’s embarrassing. I wanted to—no. Okay.

Can’t lie! That’s—

Ugh! That’s so stupid!

Um. What else? I think I saw a ghost during photography today, but that’s just how the woods are sometimes. AJ and I broke into some asshole’s beach house back there for this week’s project, because last year the guy who owns it was a creep to me. But I think that maybe his house is haunted? Cuz there was this, like, weird mist in the living room right by the TV.

But again, that’s just how the woods are. I think. That’s not really my zone. But, of all places in this town to already be haunted? That’s, like, top thirteen spots, natch.

Also: Gregory And Janet Wilson Who Live In The Beach House Development In The Woods From May To September Every Year But Who Live In Virginia Otherwise left three spare keys under the lion statuette in their uglyass overgrown garden. So, there. Make of that what you will.

But. It’s a supernatural occurrence, or whatever you wanna call it, so I should put it on here. The ghost sighting. Not his key location. That’s–that’s just a thing that I know. Obvi.

The mist was, like–it was kind of all-consuming? Like, in that way that people are always all-consumed by beauty, but not really, because I was also having heart palpitations. Or something. Not really sure what heart palpitations are, but, uh. I was overwhelmed by the beauty but also? Very, very afraid of it. I felt like I was frozen in place, like I was being swallowed by it–

And then AJ said, “Are you okay?” and I snapped out of it. I asked him if he saw it, and he nodded, was like, “uh yeah, but, like, we could agree before entering that the woods are super haunted,” and I agreed, but, like, he didn’t seem to get the vibes that I did. Swear to god, I heard horror movie music behind me.

Uh. The Corielli board is meeting tonight, and I’m supposed to talk about the theater program, just–I don’t like talking in front of the PTA, because I don’t know any of their kids, like, logically, I should know their kids. There are maybe 200 people in the high school, and I know most of them. I know all of their faces.

But the Corielli board’s faces don’t look like anybody. Like, literally. I’ve talked at Corielli board meetings, like, seven times, and I cannot tell you what a single parent looks like.

Which might be supernatural happenings also? Nice.

[faux-excited]

Mystery! Intrigue! Cool!

[a pause, a sigh]

At least this truth-curse-or-whatever-the-hell-it-is has room for jokes. That’s, like, legitimately cool.

Um. So, I have to talk to the board tonight, and I think that’ll be—that—shit. Shit, it’s in ten minutes.

I’ll record more later.

[static, and a click. CHARLOTTE is out of breath.]

Okay, I’m back. I’m—holy shit.

So, I think the truth curse is off, but—like, obvi, I’m not gonna—I can promise that I’m not exaggerating.

So, the board. The board.

So, I think I said that they might be paranormal activity? They super are. I’m usually late, when I go to meetings? But I was on-time, and, uh, I was supposed to stay in the auditorium, but I went backstage to check on the set, but. Whatever. I was backstage. And so were they.

The board, I mean.

And they were—they were silent, in a circle, staring at each other. All of them. No one said anything, for a minute—like, I started timing a few seconds in, and it was at least seventy-seven seconds.

And one of them looked up, and just—feedback and sirens came pouring out of his mouth, like during an emergency when you’re watching TV or—

And he looked at me, blinked, and said, “Miss Cranor-Liu, you made it!” and he pushed through the circle, and nobody moved, just—and he grabbed my shoulders, and I wanted to—I wanted to hit him, to—

He just said, “The meeting’s cancelled, dear, didn’t you hear?”

I tried to take in his face, just cuz, and—nothing stood out to me.

And I tried to pull away, to hit him, to—to, like, kick him in his balls, or whatever, and my body just—it froze. And then there was that stupid purple again, and—

And I was outside. And I checked my email, and I didn’t get a cancellation notice, so—uh.

Something’s happening at Corielli. And, uh, I think—four or five of us went to Corielli, like, Teresa and Elaine def didn’t, and Benji, like—I’ve seen him on campus before, like, when I was in middle school, but also, I’m pretty sure he’s omnipresent, so. Who knows, with him. But the majority of us involved went to Corielli, so—like. That’s relevant, I think? Put it on your conspiracy board, next to the seven photos of Avril Lavigne and her dopplegangers. Use green yarn, for, like—for my sake. S’a good color for conspiracy theory boards that you never see anywhere.

I watch a lot of conspiracy theory videos, just to—to laugh at that. Also, they’re so consistent to me? So they’re very relaxing. Good to fall asleep to. Like, some folks need white noise or ASMR or whatever, but a good ol’ Andy Kaufman death hoax ten hour loop, y’know? Or, like, a Sondheim is multiple people one. It exists. You have to look hard for it, but, like, it almost convinced me that there are eighteen of him, so it’s worth it. I watched a seven-part documentary on the moon-landing thing when I was a kid, and that thing just, like—it got me so interested. I’m not crazy or anything. But this is ringing major documentary alarm bells. Maybe I can hit up some clickbait site and they can send folks over here to wrap a nice bow on this whole weird situation.

[beat]

Nobody’s gonna listen to this, like—and AJ’s the only person who’ll care, so, like, might as well talk on here.

Mae Babson the new transfer student is hot as hell. Like—I try not to have crushes, because they’re dumb, and they keep my eyes off the prize, which is to say, y’know. College. My art.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that feelings are pointless and that we’d be way better off without them, y’know? Especially when those feelings are for really dreamy girls who manage to look, like, at least 70 percent like she’s into girls, even though this is Corielli, so, like, she could be the straightest girl on earth, and also she’s weirdly nice, like—nicer than most people. And it’s kind of annoying how nice she is, like, she—she’s nice to everybody. Even to people who don’t deserve it.

But. Anyways. She’s super hot and I’m kinda sorta in love with her. Whatever. Rant over. I’ll edit that out.

So. Ghosts and mystery and intrigue. Woo.

Y’know, maybe Mae’s caught up in this mystery, actually, cuz—well, she only showed up after all that happened. Maybe she’s, like—maybe she’s a ghost. That’s the nightmare, honestly, being in love with a ghost. Like, second only to her being straight? Worst case scenario.

I could write a solid one act about being in love with a ghost and, like, protag comes to accept that she’s dead and is willing to make this work, but ghost girl’s like, “Oh, too bad, don’t like girls. Sorry, honey!” And that’s the plot twist. Sad ending. A tragicomedy for everyone.

But. Incorporeal Girlfriend and playwriting dreams aside, it is weird that she showed up, cuz—we never get new juniors, especially not midyear? So. It’s not entirely out there that she’s involved. Put her pic up next to the X-Files poster, connect ‘em with red yarn. For love symbolism.

Also, she’s like, otherworldly-ly attractive, so. That contributes to Benji’s alien theory. Also, Benji? I don’t care about your alien theory. Or that you wrote your thesis on aliens. Or that you—

Ugh. Just. The email thread is very long and you aren’t Agent David Duchovny On The X-Files I Don’t Know The Character Name But Oh Boy Do I Know Who David Duchovny Is. Also, use the goddamn group chat? Some of us don’t ever check our emails. And I know you’re gonna call me blasphemous or something for not knowing the X-Files guy’s name, which, yeah, I did that on purpose.

So, um, I was helping out the lighting designer—Ollie, the other day, because if the show looks like shit it’s my fault somehow, and they kept asking me about purple lights. I forgot about this, like—

Wait.

God, I can’t stop thinking about the board, actually. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything. I’m—I’m pretty self-aware, I would have said something. I’m me, for God’s sake, I would’ve said something half-charming and half-assholey, and then I would’ve been kicked out, and I would’ve, uh, maybe tried to pick a physical fight, and then—yeah. You know the deal. I told the Starbucks story earlier. I think—I think they somehow stopped me from saying anything, like—just like that force wouldn’t let me lie or let go of AJ’s hand or fight back—there’s always an inability to do something.

I swear, if this interferes with the show, I’ll fight God. Or whatever force is out there, like—I will press legal charges against fate or destiny or the passage of time or aliens or whatever the fuck. And also punch it.

The lighting designer stuff—that’s just me being paranoid, but the—the board, that’s real, and I’m scared as hell. I’m gonna—I’m gonna maybe do some recon, re: that, get those costume slash makeup design elective credits I’ve been trying for. I haven’t taken the class, because it’s seniors only and also because Ms. Dunkers hates me because her nephew accused me of selling him fake Rent tickets, which, I didn’t know they were fake, so, he can’t blame me, so she won’t let me in her classes anymore. She has explicitly told admin that “Miss Cranor-Liu is not to enroll in any of my electives no matter how much she complains to you.” So I asked admin, like, can I just do a bunch of independent studies, and I think they’re afraid of me? So they said yes.

Anyway.

I’m gonna sneak in on next week’s board meeting as an interested potential transfer student. Need an alias, and you know that it will be Faith Deathstrike. Which is an unfortunate last name, but a badass codename.

So. Uh. I’m signing off. Come to the show, week of February twentieth at the Corelli auditorium, and watch me get possessed by an actual ghost during my solo, or whatever. And if I get ritually sacrificed at the board meeting, now you know what led up to my disappearance! This is basically Serial, now, but in real time, right?

Anyway. Cool. Thanks. Bye.

#season one #script #charlotte

[happenable-blog]

SmackDown Review 23/4/19: Kevin Owens Heel Turn!!

Welcome to the SmackDown Review for the 23rd April edition of the show. Becky Lynch's SmackDown title contender is revealed. Some superstars are still being traded? And we saw a shocking heel turn in the main event. Read our SmackDown review and find out what we thought of the show. Elias and Shane McMahon beat down Roman Reigns Shane comes out and said he doesn’t have much time so he is going to introduce himself by Greg Hamilton just once. He then went on to talk about Roman Reigns punching Vince last week. He praised his father and compared Reigns punching Vince was as same as disgracing the US flag or disrespecting the Mount Rushmore. This was some good heel work by Shane which got some heat from the crowd. He said that he is not going to fine, suspend or fire Reigns. Instead, he is going to settle this in the ring. Shane ordered Reigns to come out. Reigns grabs a mic looks at it and throws it outside. Shane does the same and stands up to fight him. Elias runs in from behind. Roman tried to fight but he just couldn’t fight them both. Shane and Elias beat him down and left them laying in the ring. This was a good heel promo from Shane. He said that what kind of man attacks someone else’s father. When he had done the same just weeks ago. Shane is a great heel. And Roman getting cheered by the crowd is a good sign. He is a good wrestler, but maybe not the best at the mic. So I think it is a good idea to keep him away from cutting promos for a while. He is very much over with the crowd right now. Elias vs Roman is not the best of feuds, but it is not the worse either. Segment Rating: 3.5/5 Kayla did a backstage interview with Kofi, With Xavier Woods and Kevin Owens jumping in the frame in the middle of the interview. Kevin Owens is just a stand-in for Big E as he just said what Big E lines... Or was he? InterContinental Champion Finn Balor vs Andrade After being on Raw last week Andrade is back on SmackDown to face Finn Balor and win the Intercontinental Championship. That’s what Zelina and Andrade told us standing in the Gorilla just before their entrance. This was an OK match. I prefer their Raw match last week over this one. was dominating the match. The finish was when Vega tried to interfere in the match. She went on the top rope to dive onto Finn but missed when he moved out of the way. The ref was still there. So it had been a DQ anyway. Why would she do that? Andrade caught her and carried her across the ring. He was attending to her which gives finn an advantage to deliver a shotgun dropkick in the corner followed by the Coup de Grace. Andrade getting pinned is not the best thing for him. I thought he might win here setting him up for an intercontinental championship match. But now, I believe, he will be in the Money in the Bank ladder match. I think he was somewhat protected by Vega interference. But why would Vega do something stupid like that? It made no sense. Match Rating: 3/5 We see Elias backstage challenging Reigns to a match at MITB by singing a song. I guess that is how they will work their way around on SmackDown to make time for Elias' song. He was joined by Shane who left the arena with him in a car after saying Roman will never accept your challenge. Kairi Sane def. Peyton Royce Before the match, IIconics did their usual “make fun of their opponents” promo. This was, as usual, a great mic work from the IIconics. They kept referring to Kairi as Kerry which was really funny. Billie made an excuse for Peyton, who got pinned by Kairi off the insane elbow last week. She said Peyton was definitely not hydrated enough and was caught up by the element of surprise. It was good to see the crowd join in on the IICONIC again which seems to be a regular thing now. However, the women’s tag champions just keep getting pinned. The match ended pretty quickly the same way as last week with the InSane Elbow. After the match, the rest of the absolution, Mandy and Deville came out to face off with Paige’s new team. I think it's leading to a three-way feud. There is nothing of a match to rate here. This was more of a segment. Segment Rating: 2.5/5 Before the next match, we saw Aleister Black sitting in a dark room. He was talking a bunch of nonsense. He said some words about his character and what his character is. But I don’t get much from this. I think it will be just these promos for weeks now which I am not excited about. Lars beats down Everyone This was supposed to be a match between Chad Gable and Jinder Mahal. But Lars attacked Gable midway through his entrance.Then he got in the ring and beat down the Singh brothers after Jinder got away. Truth came to to have revenge from the last week but he got beaten up as well. Lars left Truth laying in the ring after two gutwrench running powerbombs. I am all for Lars to beat down people. I think Chad could be a great feud for Lars first match. But it seems like they are going for truth, which I guess will work as well. Segment Rating: 3/5 Roman Reigns accepts Elias’ challenge for Money in the Bank backstage when approached by Kayla asking the same. Bayley confronts Charlotte and Becky Charlotte came out to recap what had happened at WrestleMania 35. And as ususal Charlotte claimed that She never lost and deserves the SmackDown Women’s championship. She demands Becky to come out. Becky came out and said that she has already defeated Charlotte a countless time. She wanted to beat the women who had never been beaten. She wanted to beat Ronda Rousey. Then came a great exchange of words between Becky and Charlotte. They really went back and forth. They were cutting each other sentences instead of waiting for others to complete. Becky said that Charlotte deserves nothing and she wants to face new challengers like Bayley, Ember Moon, Mickie Jame but the management keeps getting Becky tied up with Charlotte. Bayley came out after this and said that Becky might have beaten Charlotte countless times but Becky has never defeated her.  Bayley said that why don’t Charlotte earn her match against Becky by facing her. Charlotte warned Bayley to go in the back of the line as Smackdown is still Charlotte's.  But Bayley just knocked the mic off Charlotte’s hands. This was a great promo from all of the women. Great back and forth argument between Charlotte and Becky. We also got to see a badass side to Bayley standing up to herself and shutting Charlotte off. Promo Rating: 4.5/5 Charlotte Flair def. Bayley There was some good fast paced action in the beginning. Charlotte worked over Bayley’s leg throughout the match setting up for figurre four later. The crowd chanted “Charlotte No Belts” midway through the match.LOL. The pace picked up again at the end. Charlotte went for a figure four but Bayley rolled her over. Charlotte kicks out and hit a spear for the win. I really wanted Bayley to win here. It is not good for her to lose clean. And I have seen Charlotte and Becky many times already. It will be a good match at Money in the Bank, but so would have been Bayley and Becky. I don’t know which of the two blondes will win at  MITB. It was a good match however, I do not agree with the booking decision. Match Rating: 3.5/5 Next we got the exact same Firefly FunHouse promo from Raw. I love this. As I said in the Raw Review this has a lot of potential. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston def Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ Kevin and Woods had setup a pancake commentary table to do the commentary for the match. They kept cutting to it in between. The match started with a well 18 minutes left for the end, which is more than enough for a TV match. But with more time there comes more time to fill. So they did, with some slow paced action. Kofi landed on his feet off a monkey flip. He stood up across the ring and mocked Nakamura’s “Come on!” taunt Kofi stomps Nakamura when he tried to go for the Kinshasa. He followed it up with an SOS but the pin was broken by Nakamura’s partner, Rusev. I will cover the beatdown as a separate section. I thought this match is going to get all of the time but it was just a set up to what happened next. Average match overall. Match Rating: 2.5/5 Kevin Owens and Xavier Woods came down to save Kofi. Woods dive outside onto Rusev bit gets hit by Kinshasa from Nakamura. Owens was attending to Kofi in the ring and Nakamura came from behind. Kofi saved Owens which made the incident that came afterwards more heartbreaking. Kevin Owens hit Kofi with a superkick. He ripped off the New Day T-shirt he was wearing and continued to beat down Kofi. There was some great character work from Kevin Owens. Woods tried to help Kofi but Owens delivered a powerbomb on the apron to him. He looked on with a sadistic expression on his face. This was heart breaking, brutal and an amazing story at the same time. I am excited about this feud moving forward lets see how it goes. Segment Rating: 4.5/5 SmackDown Review Final Opinions This show had an average first hour but a really great second one. I really liked Bayley badass like persona. She didn't win but I hope she wins the title in the near future and continue with the same character. I loved Kevin Owens' heel turn. He had turned heel on every one of his friends and it is always heartbreaking to watch. Overall this was a pretty good show. I really enjoyed both Raw and SmackDown this week. A good week for WWE. SmackDown Review: 4/5 Read the full article

#happenable #happenabler #harshpandey #SmackDown #SmackDownlive #smackdownreview

[n-ph]

2k16

wow it’s been awhile since i’ve written one of these. i just realized that i totally didn’t write one last year. anyway i dont even know where to begin. 2016 has been an interesting year to say the least. i was rereading some of my old posts and i said omg a lot. the days just seem to go by in a blur nowadays, so i will try to recap 2016 as best as i can. i dont have a word to encompass this year though.

went to seattle in january. tried some really expensive sushi..twice..holy crap. the quality was a1 but man the bill was something else. seattle was nice though. definitely had a san francisco vibe to it, except for when you go to the waterside and look back at all the construction. i guess we kinda ran out of things to do bc on the last day we went to chinatown and the area seemed really dinky. also gained a ton of weight in seattle though u_u

in february we tried 5a5 steakhouse. and let me tell u. it is the best beef i have ever had. it is also the most money i have ever spent on a single meal. oh my god. i dont know if i'll ever be back, but i would like to, some day.

thus far, the semester was pretty okay. let's see..i had government accounting with a moody professor who would throw tantrums whenever no one participated. i also had business law with this old guy who was really lively and fun. i had strategic management with a bryan cranston look alike. the class was really interesting though and i learned a lot and it got me started on reading the economist lmao im so old. i miss having so much free time that came with school. 40 hour work weeks are not the life (even if i barely do anything at work).

went to LA during spring break. and at a good time too bc it was still the soft opening of harry potter world so the lines were v manageable. butterbeer was dope. the entire hogsmeade village just felt so real. had sooo much good food in LA omg. got to see some friends as well. had some of the best steak frites ever.

i cant believe i particpated in asu's talent show this year. much has changed in asu since i joined. it makes me wonder if i was behaving that way when i first joined. it seems a lot more clique-y and high school and drama filled but hey maybe it was that way when i was active but i just never noticed. had many fun lunches with my grand little but man there is a lot of drama in asu and im just glad i wasnt in any of it. i kinda miss the old asu days of staying out late to eat or do nothing at all but also i dont miss it bc i get enough sleep and im a lot more productive without asu lmao. finally ended things with tram for good. maybe things turned out the way they did for the better. the entire friendship was such a roller coaster. im glad its over.

the end of the semester rolled around!!! and i graduated!!!! :') attended my sisters graduation which was pretty boring bc high school students have such a narrow view of life (not to say that college students are any better). attended my own graduation. felt really fortunate to have jessa and anthony there. this one kid in my graudating class gave a speech about accomplishments...and he revealed the wrestling belt he was wearing underneath his graduation gown...and then he made the grads stand up and chant thank yous to the friends and family sitting behind us. it was so embarrassing and extra omg.

shortly after graduation i was on a plane headed back to the motherland. and let me tell u. i hated most of it. it was super hot and humid and my sister and i shared about 100 mosquito bites between the both of us. also. i know i shouldnt but..vietnam is so dirty. i know its not their fault that theyre a developing country but man there are exactly zero sanitation standards and i dont even know why we were there bc the water had recently been polluted so none of the fish were edible and my mom didnt trust the food stands to have clean food either. i guess i made some new friends and visited some cool places but at what cost??? also i think my entire fam got sick bc we slept with the ac on but either way, the meds i took made me lose my sense of smell i think and i couldnt taste or smell anything for two weeks. the ac air also dried out my nose and gave me a skin infection (which i will discuss later). during our trip to danang a small ferry got flipped on the big river and a bunch of ppl died and the government tried to cover it up bc bad publicity etc. they played it off as if only a few ppl died rather than most of the ppl on the boat. our tour guide in danang was in the know tho so he told us everything and w o w that really could've been us on that river bc it was a boat the left the dock about half an hour after our boat left. crazy.

after the long and arduous journey abroad i finally made it back home...and then headed to hawaii. hawaii was dope af. 10/10 would recommend, would go back. battled the tides when we went kayaking and sadly the tides won and i lost my hat but also almost lost my flip flops if it weren't for some kind random strangers who swam out to get my flip flops. we stayed on oahu and maui. hiked up a v steep mountain in oahu. lost my hat from kayaking. got caught in the rain when we went looking for a beach on the first day. had some of the best shaved ice ever. attended my first luau. fell asleep during the first part of a fire dancing show (bc the fire hadnt started yet). essentially pulled an all nighter to try oahu's famous bakery that opened at 3am. flew to maui but due to poor planning we arrived 4 hours earlier than check in lmao. the house we had in maui was so beautiful though omg. it was ocean side so we could hear the waves every night and it just felt so peaceful and tranquil to sit on the balcony in the mornings, just staring out at sea. in maui we went snorkeling. the last time i went snorkeling was like...10+ years ago...in cancun...and the water was freezing...and i also thought i was lost in the middle of the ocean on our way to the snorkeling location... but anyway! the snorkeling this time was so cool omg they had prescription swimming goggles so i could see EVERYTHING. they also provided lunch which was dope. it started raining on our way back to shore though lmao. the next day we drove all the way up the volcano in maui...to find that the top was foggy af and we couldnt see anything. the road up was pretty nasty bc super windy and 10000 ft elevation. it got really foggy after like 6000ft so we basically drove in all fog until the top which was still foggy but also like 20 degrees colder than the rest of maui. maui is super rural omg. we tried to find a place to eat after our trek but there were barely any food places in sight. we picked a random spot in the middle of nowhere and then decided to take the road to hana (which is on the opposite side of where we were staying, and was about 3 hrs away. and boy did we mess up. we took the alternate road there and it was scarier than going up the volcano bc 1) windy 2) small ass roads which were unpaved at certain points and 3) cliff hugging roads..i cant believe i made the drive there and back it was so terrifying omg. not sure if i would go back. at one point there was a big ass cow in the middle of the road. once we got to hana though, the hike was really nice despite the humidity. almost died crossing the river at the end to see the waterfall. all the rocks had big ants on them!!! how was i supposed to cross the river!!! we missed out on the wading pools though but we were so starving by that time. made the 3 hr drive back and everyone was dead. spent the last day on maui not doing much bc rainy and we were all so dead.

about two weeks after i got back from hawaii was training week in sac for my first big girl job. ngl but i felt super homesick that first night. idk why since i would be home by the end of the week anyway. probably just overwhelmed by how fast everything was happening. graduation and now transitioning into a full time job. scary stuff. but i did make a really good friend in sac so it didnt turn out so bad!!! training was pretty fun bc our presenter was pretty engaging. except when we went over the boring stuff and i was v close to falling asleep. did get to catch up with some of my sac friends though which was nice. went to the state fair for the first time as well. it was..exactly as expected but hotter lmao. my family went to san diego at this time bc my sister was going to comic con but i couldnt make it :(

got back from training and started my first big girl job. im not sure what i expected but it was easy but also hard? my first engagement i was only with one other senior and she was super nice and pretty and really good at lettering. i dont feel like i learned much? i only really did the tasks given to me but i feel like half the time i wasnt even sure what i was doing. i also hated the commute all the way back from walnut creek. the going there wasnt so bad bc i got a ride out to oakland but man it would take forever to get home. :'( my second engagement was just me and a partner and i feel like she expected me to know everything...but i didnt know anything...so i mostly sat around a lot??? esp bc she wasnt on site every day so i had zero supervision. :/ towards the end of the second engagement i got an email from the city saying that they were accepting me into their accounting position and i was like oh shit. i ended up taking the job, which gave me a week in between quitting the first job and starting the second, which i used to go back to LA lmao bc i had a season ticket to universal. actually ate at the three broomsticks this time. it was defs filling and i thought it was a good bang for buck. attempted to go to the walking dead tour..chickened out..twice. i probs would've died in there tbh. also went to disneyland!!!! that was lit. their macone-roni and cheese was da bomb. saw world of color for the first time except it was the 50th anniversary edition so it wasnt so great. bumped into the couple that was in jbieb's love yourself video. tried some new food places in LA and saw some old friends, again.

started my second big girl job. all my coworkers are super nice except the big boss is kind of crazy and anal. but we deal with it. my supervisor is so nice :'( work isnt so bad bc i dont do much lmao. the hardest part sometimes is just staying awake if im being honest. getting paid to do nothing is the life tho.

spent my birthday weekend in monterey. we were supposed to go atv-ing but ended up going wine tasting but also not really bc we liked the first wine so much we got a bottle of that to share. it was really cold that weekend surprisingly so we stayed in and then went to this spa place on a whim and it was definitely an interesting experience.

went as a rice bag for halloween and i think that was probably my greatest costume to date. except we ended up going to a party full of white ppl...and i was like the only asian there gdi

tagged along w my sister when she went to sd. got to see many friends!!! went clubbing as well and that was lit. took michelle clubbing for her 21st birthday, also lit. squadsgiving and christmas were super fun. got some supplies for bullet journaling so guess thatll be my new years resolution. but also to take more photos bc i didnt buy that camera for nothing.

okay so in conclusion. i did a lot of stuff this year. it feels like it was mostly all highs. or maybe i just block out the lows but im pretty sure there were way more highs than lows. 2016 was a great year tbh. oh yeah i also passed two of four parts of my cpa exam!!! woot. in 2016, i learned a lot...of accounting lmao. plus i ran my first 5k!!!!! oh yeah and i joined a gym and now im getting swole af. im not sure what my reflections are. i guess, if i were to compare 2k16 kim to 2k14 kim i've for sure come a long ways. i wasnt afraid to try new challenges and conquer them. i stepped out of my comfort zone multiple times, sometimes with the help of alcohol. i got my shit together and really focused in school (which got me a 4.0 during my last year of college). i also got my shit together and studied my ass off for the cpa (which is still ongoing i crey). i really wanna say this was probably one of my best years with everything i was able to do and everything i achieved. so here's to you, 2016, and may 2017 be even better!!!

[comicteaparty]

December 4th-December 10th, 2019 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from December 4th, 2019 to December 10th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question: 

What comic ended or went on indefinite hiatus that you miss?  What about that comic do you like?

AntiBunny

An old one I enjoyed was Mindmistress. It was very interesting to see the combination of futurism and superheroes. It not only looked at what superhero tropes would and would not work in reality it took those tropes and looked for a way to make them work when they seem impossible. It wasn't exactly realistic, but it was believable and consistent within its self. The comic stopped very suddenly in the middle of a story arc.

carcarchu

Pao Ge Huang Taizi - https://www.kuaikanmanhua.com/web/topic/840/ i loved the funny and lighthearted tone of this series and really wish i could know how was supposed to end

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

My mind immediately jumps to Hannah is not a Boy's Name, which was one of the first webcomics I've ever read (that were not on the German site I was mostly reading where everything was manga inspired). Especially what Tess Stone did with typography in the comic pages was just...top notch (also one of the first comics I've seen that made used of vertical scrolling. It's pretty sad bc it ending had nothing to do with the creator, tho I'm glad Tess went on to create other really cool comics.

Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS

Oohhh seconding Hannah is not a Boy's Name. That story inspired me to no end, and then it just disappeared :8(edited)

Cronaj

For me it is almost always Grand Spirit. (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/grand-spirit/list?title_no=6608) I fell in love with it back in 2015, and then it disappeared for 3 years until it returned unexpectedly in 2018. Aaaand then it disappeared again this past July without a word. So who knows, it could be another 3 years before they return... Or it could be forever. I mainly loved it because the idea was really something. When this comic was originally published, it was for the Webtoon sci-fi contest back in 2015 (which I didn't participate in because I didn't have a solid idea to work with). But naturally, the story is about... fairies. XD Robot fairies created by the humans with one program in mind: protect the grand spirit of nature that humans have destroyed. The main character, Wang Min, is one of these programmed fairies, but he realizes when he is injured and taken by a human to be repaired that he is a machine created by humans for their own purposes. I mean, beyond the amazing concept, I thought the whole comic was excellently done: good character designs, excellent pacing, beautiful artwork. All this things falling into place for the author. They actually got past the first round of the contest, which is pretty amazing, but they didn't go any further past that, even though I was rooting for them. And then after that... They went on their hiatus. It makes me wonder if maybe the creator wanted to make money from the comic, and once they discovered they weren't going to in the immediate future, they gave up. Very disheartening. There are plenty of other comics that I love that have either gone on indefinite hiatus or that have ended that I still think about, but Grand Spirit is the one I think about the most.

Erin Ptah (BICP 🎄 Leif & Thorn)

I still miss No Rest For The Wicked

Not to mention What Happens in Carpediem, which was on Smackjeeves, so I bet even if the artist wanted to come back they'd decide it was more trouble than it's worth.

Eightfish

It makes me sad how quickly people responded to this question ): I too know of several comics I wish would be continued. Such is the world of webcomics though. Also, you guys, stop with the descriptions. They're too good! You guys are tempting me into reading these comics but I know if I do it will only end in disappointment edit: what is that thing below this vvv(edited)

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Oh gosh, where do I start? So many over the years. One that stuck with me the most was an old, old comic from the early '00s called Fallen about a fallen angel of death. The humour was so quirky and good, but it also hit the drama and emotional beats really well. It's long since vanished after going on perma-hiatus, but 10+ years later, I still miss it. Another was Off-White. The art in that one was incredibly gorgeous. I'd link the site as it's technically still 'there' but the archives are either broken or missing. And finally, one that hasn't been officially announced as dead, but probably is, is White Noise. This comic has such great writing and atmosphere. Like Fallen, it really hit all the emotional beats so well and the build-up to big reveals was always pulled off superbly. Fortunately, the website for this one is still up and functional, and you can read what there is of it here: http://whitenoisecomic.com/(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP 🎄 Leif & Thorn)

@Eightfish: the server has levels for every user based on how active you are -- the more you post, the more you level up! There's not a whole lot to it tbh, but there's a list of ranks and what comes with them in #rules

SAWHAND

Oh shoot! I remember Fallen @Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) ! And I don't have a great memory for stuff like that, but that one really stayed with me.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Oh man, White Noise was one of the first webcomics I ever read, but I still have never made it through the whole archive. I lost it for a few years when I switched computers and I think when I remembered it again it had gone in that hiatus. I think that made it to hard to try and reread again :(

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

For sure. I never start a comic that’s already on hiatus. It’s too sad to get invested in something that might never continue.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

So for me I guess my White Whale of indefinite hiatus comics is this one called Scarecrow Lullaby. It was also one of my really early first webcomics and it wasn't like, the best comic in the world but it hit a lot of the spooky but cute notes that I like in a story. There was also something about the art and character tropes that really resonated with me and my own comics I was making at the time. So I felt kind of a kindred spirit connection with the comic in some ways. I've felt that for other comics too over the years, I figure that's probably not uncommon for folks but I don't really know? But anyway, the hiatus for this one just really haunted me almost because the creator just kind of disappear. Like there wasn't any goodbye post or anything. The comment section got wild on the last page with people speculating that she had died or something. There were people saying they were real life friends confirming that the artist was dead and then others saying no, she was still alive but wasn't planning to continue. I still go check in on it every few years just to see if there's any news. I think what makes me most sad about it isn't that the story didn't finish but just that the artist vanished. Like I wish I could follow her on Twitter or Instagram and see how she's been doing the past 10 years but if she has accounts they aren't under the same name. Just a big weird mystery! https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/ScareCrow_Lullaby/

RebelVampire

The comic I miss the most is Chronicles of Oro http://www.chroniclesoforo.com/ . I really loved how languages were handled in the comic, the character designs, the interesting world, etc. It was a really great start to a good fantasy story that really just hit all the right notes with me. It's only been 2 years since the last page was posted, but its been agony. However, unlike some of the other depressing tales, the creator does occasionally pop in to give a "It's not forgotten" status update, so maybe it will return one day.

mathtans

I'm gonna show my age here. "Elf Only Inn". http://www.elfonlyinn.net/ It started as a comic about internet chatrooms in 2002. After a few years it went on hiatus and rebooted itself as a comic about an MMORPG. As if the same users were using a new medium. Brilliant. It's been on indefinite hiatus since 2008. I still get a kick out of the "Nimoy" character being mistaken for an elf.

keii4ii

I too remember the comic Fallen @Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) though I don't remember much of its humor, so not 100% sure if we're talking about the same Fallen? Is it the one where the human MC has a pet snake? I don't quite miss this comic, at least not in the sense of longing for its unlikely return. But it left an impression on me. Taught me an important lesson in writing character-driven stories. See, at the time I was chest deep in Chosen One stories and the likes, so I thought central twists had to be about what a character was. But Fallen showed me that a story could revolve around who a character is. It's such a basic lesson, and sometimes I feel dumb for not having learned it at an earlier age, but better a little late than super late!

It was a good comic, and I super appreciate what it did for the Younger Me.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

@keii4ii It must be the same Fallen, because I def remember the MC having a pet snake.

keii4ii

Woo!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

The humour wasn’t terribly prevalent, but I remember when it surfaced, it always made me laugh out loud. The author also left snarky and often hilarious comments under the pages.

Erin Ptah (BICP 🎄 Leif & Thorn)

Oh, man, Elf Only Inn takes me back. Such a perfect distillation of free-for-all tween chatroom roleplaying. She's a princess mermaid elf who is also a vampyre(half)!! I'd love to see someone do a sequel/homage with present-day kids. Same kinds of jokes, but it's on a Discord server with 2019-style memes.

"Not everyone uses a 1024x768 screen size, so we're shrinking the comic." #just2002things http://www.elfonlyinn.net/d/20020705.html

Kabocha

Comics I miss... So, it's not even online now, because the author pulled all mirrors and was going to redo the site back in 2012, but I really miss Picatrix. It was kind of fundamental to getting me into webcomics at all, and I became friends with the author. It was kind of an isekai sorta deal - Main character ends up in another world with magic and stuff, finds out there's a prophecy that she's gotta fulfill. Only she wasn't reincarnated or anything. But also the whole, "oh crap arranged marriage to a king?!" plot? I was kinda into it. Especially with how Az and Winnie started off hating each other.

AntiBunny

I'd forgotten about Elf Only Inn. Really takes me back to those late nights of chatting on IRC.

€heshire777

Dr. McNinja is my first thought

Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS

Did that die?

AntiBunny

Dr. McNinja finished. The creator works as a pro in comics now, but he occasionally does a short. Like "Never Enough the Wario Diaries" that he's posting on Twitter right now.

Kelsey (Kurio)

What sorts of comics does he work with nowadays?

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #reader favorites #comic tea party #ctp

[usatrendingsports]

WWE Uncooked outcomes, recap: Roman Reigns pulls double responsibility, girls shine all evening

One week after an exciting Royal Rumble, WWE was again with an uneven version of Uncooked, which delivered in some methods however was completely missing in others. Roman Reigns really pulled double responsibility on the present competing in two matches over the course of the night, however he was outshined by the Uncooked girls’s division, which excelled in every of their segments over the three-hour program.

Not solely was the ladies’s Elimination Chamber match set (with some controversy), the boys’s Chamber is now one entrant away from being full. There are three official matches now on the slate for the following Uncooked pay-per-view with a number of extra but to be determined. 

Lets check out what went down Monday evening on Uncooked.

Girls’s division booked sturdy on Monday

Not like most editions of Uncooked the place the ladies get one or presumably two segments, they have been featured extensively on Monday evening with 5 totally different segments all through the present. The first storyline concerned 4 girls particularly: Asuka, Bayley, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax. It began when, watching movie of her loss to Asuka from final week, Banks informed Bayley she now is aware of beat the Empress of Tomorrow. Bayley requested her pal to share that data, however Banks refused, saying she was protecting her tips to herself. Bayley then known as again to Banks eliminating her from the Royal Rumble, however Banks stated she did what she needed to do and believed she was the one one who may finish Asuka’s undefeated streak. “You assume you may beat Asuka?” she requested Bayley. “I do know I can beat you,” Bayley replied. “And if you happen to’re adequate to beat Asuka, so am I.”

Asuka def. Bayley by way of submission: The high-intensity two-segment match featured loads of large spots by each Asuka and Bayley, who’ve a historical past relationship again to NXT. Bayley escaped an Asuka Lock cinched in via the ropes, however as she regarded poised to hit Bayley-to-Stomach, Asuka reversed it into an Asuka Lock. Nevertheless, Bayley instantly rolled via and bought an excessive close to depend. Simply as Asuka kicked out, she instantly locked Bayley in an armbar and made her faucet in seconds. The 2 shared their mutual respect after the match by way of handshake. 

Uncooked common supervisor Kurt Angle introduced earlier than the Asuka-Bayley match the entrants for the Chamber with Mandy Rose, Mickie James and Sonya Deville becoming a member of Bayley and Banks. He additionally stated Jax would face Asuka with Jax in a position to earn a assured shot on the Uncooked girls’s title at WrestleMania 34 ought to she win. Alexa Bliss hit the ring to ask Angle pointedly why she needed to put her title on the road within the Chamber, whereas Lesnar will get to coast to ‘Mania with the boys’s match being for the No. 1 contendership to the common title. Angle famous that Bliss hasn’t defended her title in 4 months as the rationale, however she stated he makes the matches and is performing sexist by treating her totally different than Lesnar. Angle countered by saying Bliss was simply making an attempt to weasel her approach out of the match, leaving it as much as the group to resolve.

Nia Jax def. Vanessa Floyd by way of pinfall: Jax teased and taunted the way-smaller jobber earlier than shortly bulldozing her twice, hitting a pair of hip tosses and dropping a leg for the win. Jax promised to make Asuka put on her match completely and make her the “Empress of Yesterday” at Elimination Chamber.

The Banks-Bayley phase was unbelievable — albeit utterly scripted — and fueled the budding rivalry between the 2 associates. It will explode at some point.  The Asuka-Bayley match was nice, as one ought to count on contemplating their historical past, and informed a constant story in Bayley nonetheless being unable to beat Asuka regardless of getting shut on two events late within the match. The Angle-Bliss phase was a bit sloppy, due largely to Angle being given a convoluted storyline to clarify within the ring and Bliss arising with a powerful argument that was powerful to dispute or counter. The response was blended to Angle’s request for a crowd chant, which isn’t what WWE meant, however finally the match is on. Jax additionally delivered a strong-but-scripted promo in her alternative to talk.

Jason Jordan will get on The Protect’s dangerous aspect, once more

Jordan and Seth Rollins met up backstage early within the present with Rollins expressing concern for Jordan’s well being. Jordan stated he’s utterly wholesome and has been cleared by trainers, so Rollins emphasised it was time for them to exit and win the tag group titles again. Later within the evening, an apologetic Jordan stated he was stretching and “one thing did not really feel proper in his neck,” main trainers to rule him out for the match. Angle informed Rollins he noticed no different choice than to forfeit the match … till Roman Reigns walked into the image as his new accomplice. Jordan and Angle each smiled.

Tag Staff Championship — The Bar (c) def. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns by way of disqualification to retain the titles: The Bar hit a drained Reigns with their elevated White Noise finisher, however Reigns kicked out after which countered a Gotch Neutralizer . With Rollins injured exterior the ring, Jordan ran right down to carry him again onto the ring apron. Rollins bought the new tag and cleared the ring with a pair dives, however Cesaro dodged the Black Out. Rollins hit a suplex into the Falcon’s Arrow however solely bought a two. Sheamus distracted the ref, permitting Cesaro to poke Rollins within the eye, however Jordan grabbed Cesaro’s leg to neutralize the distraction. After a pair close to falls, Reigns yelled at Jordan, “We bought this,” demanding he go to the again. Rollins hit the ripcord and a superkick on Sheamus, however as Reigns was ready to hit the Protect powerbomb, The Bar tried to vacate ringside. Jordan stood of their approach, main The Bar to assault him, however he blocked Cesaro’s punch and inadvertently linked first, inflicting the interference DQ.

Backstage after the break, Rollins misplaced his cool at Jordan for being egocentric and by no means listening to him. Angle tried to interrupt issues up, however Rollins’ rage saved constructing. “The one factor I am sorry about is [that] I did not legitimately damage him myself!” he screamed. Angle ordered Rollins to again away, however as Jordan protested, he yelled at his son himself. “Go house and keep house till you are medically cleared!” Angle stated as Jordan regarded dejected and depressed.

This was near-perfection from begin to end. Rollins went from supportive within the first phase to aggravated within the second to enraged within the third. In between, he and Reigns placed on an amazing match in opposition to The Bar with Jordan’s interference well-placed. It was a unbelievable storyline end with Jordan purposely getting concerned however by chance costing Rollins and Reigns the titles when it regarded prefer it was of their grasp. With plans seemingly altering for Jordan attributable to his reliable neck harm, will probably be attention-grabbing to see how this performs out over the following few weeks.

What else occurred on Uncooked?

Roman Reigns def. Bray Wyatt by way of pinfall: Earlier than the show-opening match, Wyatt lower a promo about successful the Elimination Chamber a yr in the past within the largest victory of his profession, whereas Reigns lower one saying nothing will cease him on his approach into and thru the Chamber. Matt Hardy was proven watching on a backstage monitor after the primary industrial break. Wyatt reversed a Superman Punch right into a ura-nage, however Reigns finally hit the transfer and regarded able to put Wyatt away. As an alternative, the Eater of Worlds rebounded, hitting Reigns with Sister Abigail just for Reigns to kick out at 2.75, surprising and dismaying Wyatt. This led Wyatt to aim it once more, however Reigns was in a position to energy out and shortly land a spear for the 1-2-Three to advance to the Chamber. Instantly after the end, Hardy appeared within the ring and hit Wyatt with Twist of Destiny. There was hardly any crowd response to Reigns’ anticipated victory regardless of parts of the group chanting, “That is superior,” late within the match. The Reigns win was assumed, however it occurred in such typical trend with him kicking out of a finisher, setting the stage for WrestleMania 34 in opposition to Brock Lesnar.

Finn Balor & Karl Anderson def. The Revival by way of pinfall: Initially set to be a one-on-one match, The Revival challenged Balor to make it a tag group bout. Anderson took Sprint Wilder out at ringside, giving Balor the chance to hit Scott Dawson with a slingblade and Coup de Grace for the clear win. WWE 50-50 booked two wrestlers in as many weeks with Balor getting a win again after falling to John Cena and The Revival consuming an pointless loss after trying like they have been constructing momentum per week in the past.

Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali def. Tony Nease & Drew Gulak by way of pinfall: Alexander finally hit Lumbar Examine on Gulak for the victory as he continued his prolonged successful streak.

The Miz def. Apollo Crews by way of pinfall: Forward of the match, Miz lower a promo in regards to the on the spot affect he has made since his return to WWE, defeating Reigns in back-to-back weeks and now about to enter the Chamber. Uncooked got here again from industrial in the midst of the match. Crews bought in an amazing quantity of motion with a moonsault and standing taking pictures star press on Miz however may solely handle a two depend. He additionally reversed the Cranium-Crushing Finale right into a small bundle however was unable to get the pinfall. Finally, Miz hung Crews up on the highest rope, knocked him down and hit his finisher to advance to the Chamber. Credit score WWE for giving Crews a ton of shine for the second straight week. You can argue Miz doesn’t should be within the Chamber (as he isn’t going to win it) and Crews would have been a extra thrilling participant, however alas.

Mickie James def. Sonya Deville by way of pinfall: It was James who was the aggressor early with Deville promoting a busted open nostril. Mandy Rose leaping on the ring apron supplied sufficient of a distraction for Deville to reverse her fortunes as James offered a neck harm. James stunned Deville with a roll-up for the pinfall, main Absolution to assault her after the match till Bliss ran in to save lots of James. Each the group and James have been confused as Bliss helped James to the financial institution.

Elias def. John Cena (by way of pinfall) and Braun Strowman: The winner earned the correct to enter Elimination Chamber final. Elias prevented Strowman so long as he may with Cena taking a beating early, even getting flattened as he tried to hit Strowman with the Angle Adjustment. Finally, Cena and Elias teamed as much as take Strowman out of the ring, drive him into the ring submit twice and throw him into the steps. Strowman couldn’t be knocked down, so Cena drove stairs into him, Elias hit Strowman along with his guitar and Cena hit Strowman with the AA onto the underside of the metal steps. Simply as Cena was able to put Elias away, Strowman ran in for a operating powerslam, however Elias tossed him out of the ring and pinned Cena. Strowman then reentered the ring to powerslam Elias and took out his frustration with an extra operating powerslam for every. WWE lower Strowman’s music early so he may have fun with the group, which was utterly silent, so Strowman hit Cena and Elias with a 3rd operating powerslam every. The motion within the center with Cena and Elias teaming up was unbelievable, and the end was surprising, which made this a constructive phase throughout. The Iowa crowd sat on its fingers all through, nevertheless, and Strowman didn’t get the reception he deserved to finish the present.

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[junker-town]

Proof that Lamar Jackson’s 2017 has been even better than his Heisman-winning 2016

This guy absolutely better be a Heisman finalist again.

1. Big Play watch: Lamar edition

You know who has a pretty exciting, young quarterback you should pay attention to? Louisville!

This Lamar Jackson fellow, an upstart from Pompano Beach, Fla., had himself quite a game against Virginia, throwing for 195 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 147 and another score. The Cardinals clinched bowl eligibility with a 17-point win over the six-win Cavaliers.

Okay, yes, you know who Lamar Jackson is.

But I’m not sure we’ve ever taken a defending Heisman winner more for granted than we have with No. 8 this year.

He barely got a mention in our own Week 11 Heisman piece, which was largely based on betting odds, and he’s fallen out of the odds at Bovada.

Because of how we tend to look at college football, this makes sense.

For one thing, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield has been absolutely incredible.

More importantly, Louisville has been disappointing, suffering three double-digit losses on the way to a 6-4 record. Because the Heisman is more of a popularity contest than anything else, we hold that against you, whether it’s your fault or not.

Still, though, what the hell?

Virtually none of Louisville’s problems are Jackson's fault. After losing defensive coordinator Todd Grantham to Mississippi State and replacing him with Peter Sirmon, the defense has fallen from 19th to 98th in Def. S&P+; the Cardinals are allowing 1.1 more yards per play in 2017, and they have allowed at least 39 points in all four losses.

The offense? It has improved from 10th to eighth in Off. S&P+ despite Jackson losing his top three receivers and three starting linemen and lining up next to a QB-turned-WR-turned-RB (Reggie Bonnafon) in the backfield.

He has lower interception, fumble, and sack rates and a higher completion rate, and he’s once again going to rush for more than 1,600 yards.

In the offseason, Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino made a point of making Jackson more of a pro-style quarterback, whatever that means. We were all a hair worried that it would neuter the electric quarterback. It hasn’t. Jackson has sacrificed a little bit of rushing and gotten definitively better through the air.

Again, he’s doing this on a team with a new receiving corps and, because of the horrid defense, a lot more scoring deficits.

The guy won the Heisman and then improved.

And we’re nearly forgotten all about him. That’s a damn shame, considering we might only get to watch him three more times in a Louisville uniform.

You know, Week 12’s slate is pretty light, and Louisville hosts Syracuse at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. How about we set aside some time to watch a guy who is maybe only the second-best player in college football this year? Might be worth your time.

2. Give that win back

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

UNC’s Brandon Fritts catches a touchdown pass

North Carolina’s 2017 season has been ... unlikely. After winning 19 games in 2015-16, Larry Fedora’s Tar Heels were virtually guaranteed to take a step back, following the departure of quite a few stars. Instead, because of a crazy number of injuries, they stepped backward off a cliff.

UNC entered Thursday night’s game with Pitt a jarring 1-8. They had lost close games (24-19 to Miami) and blowouts (59-7 to Virginia Tech) and were playing out the string. You can forgive them if they didn’t mind stealing an unlikely win at Heinz Field.

On Thursday night,

Pitt outgained UNC by 93 yards and 1.7 per play.

The Panthers averaged 5.2 points per scoring opportunity (first downs inside the 40) to UNC’s 3.9.

Pitt dominated in terms of success rate, 65 percent to 42 percent.

With field position and big plays more or less a wash, Pitt won handily in three of the Five Factors and basically drew in the other two. Postgame win expectancy for the Panthers, given these stats: 99 percent.

UNC won, 34-31.

Football Study Hall

What? How?

UNC got help from a kick return. Sophomore Anthony Ratliff took the first kickoff of the game 98 yards for a touchdown. As explosive returns are extremely random, they aren’t baked into the postgame win expectancy formula.

Speaking of random: long fumble returns! With a minute left in the first half, UNC’s J.K. Britt stripped Quadree Henderson at the Tar Heels’ 2-yard line, and Cayson Collins not only recovered it but took it 66 yards in the other direction, setting up a long Freeman Jones field goal. These two returns gave UNC a 24-17 halftime lead despite the Heels having only two drives of more than 18 yards.

The second half went by really quickly. The teams combined for just eight second-half possessions, six of which lasted at least 2:54 of possession. That minimized the effects of Pitt’s per-play advantages; plus, the per-play advantages lessened anyway. UNC drove at least 44 yards on each drive, scored twice, made two stops, and ran out the final three minutes of the game.

That is a tenuous recipe I do not recommend following. But UNC deserved to have more than one win when it took the field that night, and sometimes the universe’s course corrections come with a lurch.

Per my postgame win expectancy measure, this was officially the least likely win of 2017.

3. 10 least likely wins of 2017, per postgame win expectancy

UNC over Pittsburgh (week 11): 1.5 percent

UConn over Temple (week 7): 1.6 percent

Marshall over Miami (Ohio) (week 1): 1.7 percent

Howard over UNLV (week 1): 2.3 percent

Arkansas over Ole Miss (week 9): 3.2 percent

San Diego State over NIU (week 5): 4.1 percent

Texas A&M over Florida (week 7): 4.9 percent

Kentucky over Southern Miss (week 1): 5.8 percent

UL-Lafayette over Southeastern Louisiana (week 1): 6.6 percent

Utah State over BYU (week 5): 8.8 percent

We only get unlikely results in odd-numbered weeks, apparently.

4. Elon watch

Speaking of unlikely: college football’s happiest, strangest story took a turn on Saturday. Elon entered its game at New Hampshire having pulled off the strangest balance possible: they were 8-1 ... with a negative scoring margin. They’d lost to Toledo by 34 points to start the season, and they’d proceeded to win eight games — over quite a few ranked FCS teams, by the way — 31 points.

The rugged Colonial Athletic Association finally caught up to the Phoenix. They were decent at UNH, but the Wildcats prevailed, 16-6. Elon didn’t score until there were about three minutes left, and a failed two-point conversion ensured there would be no last-minute magic.

So now they have to settle for only being 8-2 with a negative scoring margin. Totally run of the mill. (Not really.)

And that scoring margin is likely about to turn a lot more negative with No. 1 James Madison visiting this weekend.

5. Gunner of the Year watch

Out of pure curiosity, I’ve been tracking special teams tackles this year. Maybe we’ll give a pretend award out to whoever has the most at the end. Winner of the award gets it named after him.

Here’s your fake award watch list through 11 weeks:

We have a new tackles leader! Watch list stalwart Alex Grace, a WMU linebacker, eked past the field with 11.5 special teams tackles for the season. The junior has contributed to five stops on punt returns (which have averaged 7.4 yards per return) and eight kick returns (which have averaged 18.5). Those aren’t the best averages we’ve seen, but in this case, quantity is also quality.

South Alabama’s Deonta Moore, long the leader on this fake watch list, remained at 11 ST tackles this week, having contributed to three punt returns (8.0 average) and 10 kick returns (18.8).

Your new name of the week: the rapidly rising Cole McCubrey of UMass. The freshman linebacker is suddenly up to 11 tackles himself, having contributed to two punt returns (6.5 average) and 11 kick returns (20.4).

Perhaps the best gunner from a power conference this year: Minnesota linebacker Blake Cashman, who also has 11 tackles and has taken part in four punt return stops (6.3 average) and eight kick returns (23.8).

If quality is your thing, it remains difficult to ignore Bowling Green’s Nlijiah Ballew, who has racked up 10 tackles and has allowed just 3 yards per punt return (he’s contributed to three stops) and 10.9 yards per kick return (seven).

Or maybe you’re partial to another watch list stalwart: EMU’s Mathew Sexton remains at 10 ST tackles and is allowing just 2.2 yards per punt return (he’s contributed to five stops) and 15.1 yards per kick return (seven).

The MAC: cradle of gunners.