#Houston Open Air Tickets

[justmeinadaze]

I Have Nothing (If I Don't Have You) (Steddie X You)

A/N: Like I said last week, I was watching the music video for "Queen of the Night" by Whitney Houston from the soundtrack of this movie and it gave me this Steddie idea.

I have a few ideas I can take this! I seriously love protective Steddie. Probably something to do with my PTSD and need to feel safe lol Anyway... I hope you enjoy it! I dedicate this to @unfocused81 <3

Warnings: No smut (yet😈) but angst for sure. Security Steddie and Singer female reader. It is mentioned that Y/N does drink excessively and do drugs. Her boyfriend is a douchebag and assaults her (mentions of smacking and grabbing her, yelling at her, and calling her names) that results in Steddie intervening. There is also a bit of a riot at one of shows that they protect her from (kind of like that scene in the movie where people jump on stage and chaos ensues).

I wouldn't really call this dark themes but reader definitely has some things going on and is struggling a lot right now.

Work count: 5906

“What kind of security work have you guys done before?” 

Your manager leans against the outside of his desk as he continues to scan through the messages on his phone.

“Oh, um, we’ve done a lot before for the bar in our town and most recently a rock band in—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”, the manager cuts Steve off as he speaks. “That’s all well and good. Look, I’m going to level with you. This is essentially expensive babysitting. Y/N is a handful. Our last security detail quit when her last party at her house caused a riot in the streets of LA.”

“A riot?”, Eddie turned to his friend and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. 

The guy sets his phone down, sighing with impatience. “Yes. Obviously, you two don’t read or watch the news…which is good. Saves me the headache. Now, do you want the job or not?”

Both boys glance at each other before looking towards the man again. “Um, yeah sure. I mean it pays, right?”

“That’s the spirit. Ok, she’s at the studio downstairs right now recording…or at least that’s what she’s supposed to be doing. Go introduce yourselves. Glad to have you aboard.”, he rolls his eyes as he shoos them out of his office.

“Steve are you sure about this?”, Eddie asks as they head for the elevator. 

“Yeah. Come on, Munson. This is our ticket to high-rate clients and more money! We can handle one little girl.”

As soon as they get off on the right floor, they are met with extremely loud music and giggles from the studio room. A tall, lanky kid leans back in his chair extending his hand to greet both boys. 

“Hey, are ya’ll the security? I’m Devon. She’s in there ‘getting inspired’.” Their eyes follow his finger as he points behind the glass where you and some of your friends were strewn around the floor. “Good luck, gentlemen.”, he sings. 

Both men carefully tip toe around arms and legs to find you with your eyes closed, a half smirk painted across your lips. 

“Uh, Miss Y/L/N? I’m Steve Harrington and this is Eddie Munson. We’re your new personal security guards.”

“Hmm…sounds sexy.”, you slur. Your glassy, drug fueled eyes look up to meet theirs. “At least Jack hired some good-looking ones this time. Who is who?”

“Maybe, if you stood up and actually greeted us, you would have heard who is who the first time.”, Eddie chided. 

Your eyes fully open as your head tilts in his direction. No one ever had the balls to scold you like that since you became famous. It was usually “Yes ma’am” this or “Anything you want, ma’am. We’ll make it happen.”. Rising to your feet, you fully take them in through your haze. 

They both were attractive especially with that air of confidence you hadn’t seen in a long time. Your current boyfriend was cocky but definitely not confident. Everyone else around you seemed so fucking timid and you hated it. 

“Eddie. Steve.”, Steve repeated, pointed to his friend then himself. 

He was dressed head to toe in what you would call “conventional” clothes; nothing designer or anything to make him stand out. You could tell under the button up white, short sleeve shirt that he did have muscles that could protect you physically if need be. The jeans and sneakers he donned didn’t give you any new information that could tell you something about him except he probably didn’t make a whole lot of money. 

Eddie was more or less the same with a much more grunge fashion sense that, to you, he pulled off well. You pointed to his Metallica t-shirt with your finger. 

“My music isn’t like theirs. It might make your ears bleed.”

“As long as I can still see you and see you’re safe, I think I’ll survive.”

He’s quick witted. I like that…

“Ok. We’ll give it a try. Tomorrow, you’ll meet me at my house and I can tell you more about what you’ll be doing.”

***

“Steven Harrington, have you read half this stuff?”, Eddie sighs as he leans forward and places his elbows on his knees as he points at things on his laptop.

“She’s been arrested twice; once for possession and another for disorderly conduct where she was found having sex with someone while she was drunk in public. The cops have been called to her house multiple times due to, honestly, take your fucking pick. Her boyfriend was arrested just last week for sucker punching one of her fans for ‘getting too close’. How are we supposed to protect someone who invites all this chaos into her life.”

“I don’t know, Ed. The same way you protect anyone I guess.”, Steve leans back on the couch as he takes a sip from his bottle of beer. “Again, this is just a steppingstone. I’m sure after a few months of handling her, any number of high value agencies will want to hire us. WHICH MEANS…”, he glances towards Eddie. “…you need to control your Dom voice.”

The metalhead chuckles as he leans back as well. “It’s going to be hard with a fucking brat like her. Dude, she didn’t even have the common courtesy to say hello.”

“I know… I know… but just, try. For me?”

#########

It takes you awhile to open the door when they knock but when you finally do, you look completely hung over. 

“Yeah, come…come in. Do you want something to drink? Jack? Vodka? I have them all.”

“It’s 10am.”, Steve responds as he looks at his watch. 

You raise an eyebrow at him before heading for the kitchen and grabbing the whole bottle of Jack Daniels. “If you’re boring, Eddie. Just say that.”

“Steve. I’m Steve.”

“Right now, I don’t care—”

“We can tell.”, Eddie growls.

You blink as you look up at him. You’ve never wanted to toy with a man so bad in your life. He wasn’t even trying to hide that your disrespect was bothering him and honestly you couldn’t get enough. 

“I’m sorry, gentlemen. I don’t do mornings. Unfortunately, my manager insists on scheduling interviews for me that require me to up at this ungodly hour.” They watch you as you slump onto the couch and throw your arm over your eyes. “So, how much did Jack tell you?”

“Uh, just the basics. We watch out for you.”

“Good. It’s just following me around and making sure I don’t get swarmed or murdered. I’ll give you guys a key to my house before you leave today and when I stay at hotels I’ll do the same. You’ll most likely be staying in the same room as me anyway so…”

The sound of banging on your front door makes you cringe. “I guess I’ll get it.”, Eddie sighs as Steve’s eyes follow him. “Your makeup people are here, your highness.”

A big grin spreads across your face as you turn your head to look over at them. “I like him. Steven, you need to start stepping it up or he’ll become my favorite.”

The metalhead lazily glances towards his friend with playful wide eyes. “Well, lucky me.”

***

As snotty as your attitude was, they couldn’t deny how beautiful you were especially after your prep team was done putting you together. The makeup hid all damage you had done to yourself the night before and the outfit they had you in sexily showed off all your curves. Your eyes shifted to them, watching them as they looked around.

“No one is going to shoot me in here, boys.”

“Hm. You never know.”, Eddie exhales as he points to things. “Someone could come in through that back door behind you or because no one checks any of these people’s IDs, someone could sneak in pretending to be a hair stylist and take you out like that.”, he snaps his fingers. 

“Bags that hold all the beauty and camera equipment are big enough to hold even a rifle let alone a handgun. That’s implying someone would want to shoot you instead of stabbing or blowing you up.”, Steve followed. 

“Wow. Just charming.”

“It’s our job, Miss Y/L/N.”

“I think due to the circumstances you can call me Y/N.”, you grin. 

The producer gets your attention, walking you through the questions that would be asked and how the interview would go. The boys watched you in amazement as your personality practically changed when the camera went live. No one would ever be able to tell what you did behind the scenes or any other narrative then the one you provided. 

An hour later and after many questions, the interview ended and your face fell. 

“God, I need a drink.”

“Can we at least go over the tour first?”, your manager whined. 

“Baby!”

You excitedly got up and ran to your boyfriend’s arms. “Simon!”

Everyone in the room cringed at the heavy smacking sounds that left you two as he continued to sloppily kiss your lips. 

“Who are the new guys?”

“Babe, these are the new security guys. This is Eddie and Steve.”

They stand up to shake his hand but as Steve extends his palm the man looks down at it like the gesture was beneath him. “Yeah, listen boys, hands off, okay? She’s mine.”, you giggle as he slaps your ass.

“Come on, baby. I got a surprise for you.” You squeal as he lifts you over his shoulder and carries you towards your bedroom. 

“Y/N! We still have things to go over!”, Jack shouts as the door closes loudly. 

#########

“I want to go home, Steven. It’s 2am and they’ve been fucking in there all god damn day. At this point we shouldn’t have a client anymore because he killed her by not giving her any food or fucking water. It definitely won’t be due to her climaxing because I haven’t heard that happen yet.”

“We can’t leave until he does.”, Steve sighs. “Or she dismisses us for the evening.”

As if on cue, Simon saunters past them into the kitchen, casually opening your fridge, and begins chugging from a jug of orange juice. “Um, I’m pretty sure you two can leave. She’s not even here.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, I’m assuming she climbed out the window after I crashed. She does that to escape the security teams. It’s kind of a rite of passage honestly.”

“Where would she go?”, Eddie growls. 

“Um, there’s a bar about a mile up the road. She likes to walk there for some reason.”

***

“So, pretty lady. Do you want to come back to my place tonight?”

“Ugh, no. Get off me. I just want to drink in peace.”

“Oh, come on, honey.”, the man slurred. 

“Hey! The lady said no.”, Steve’s voice echoed through the bar as he starred the man down. “Leave. Now.”

The patron held up his hands defensively, staggering back towards his table. 

“Come on, Y/N. Time for you to go home.”, Eddie motioned for the bartender to stop serving you as the other boy reached into your purse to pay him. 

“You’re my security. Not my fucking dad. I can stay here and drink if I want.”

“You’re at a bar in a nightie, shorts, and flip flops at 2 in the morning. It’s a safety concern.”

“Oh shit.”, you giggle. “I am in my nightie.” Steve roughly grips your arm and tugs you out the door towards his car. “Let me go, you fucking dick.”

A switch flips in the man’s brain; he can’t help it. For the past couple of days, he’s tolerated your disrespect but like Eddie, he hated it. They both could handle a lot but you were pushing them too far. Still holding onto your wrist, he twirls you towards the vehicle till your back hits the door. 

“Now, listen here because I’m only going to say this once. We’ve handled the tone and the blatant disregard for what we do but it ends now. Our job is to keep you safe not fucking babysit some spoiled, rich washed-up singer. This is the last time you pull a stunt like this; do you understand me?” 

Steve’s body was so close to yours you could feel his angry breath fanning your face. It had been ages since someone put you in your place like this and you’d be lying if you didn’t say you were a bit turned on. A new feeling washed over you though as your eyes scanned his face. For the first time since you entered this industry, you actually felt safe. 

They weren’t afraid to be blunt with you which compared to everyone else in your life was a nice reprieve. You knew 90% of the people in your life, given the chance, would sell you out in a heartbeat but would still stand there and tell you how perfect you were. 

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?” Eddie’s voice startled you, completely unaware he was standing beside you with his hands in his pockets, glaring down at you with those same angry eyes. 

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good. Now get in the car.” 

#############

That following morning, they half expected to be fired but were surprised when you opened the front door as soon as they knocked. 

“We have to go to the studio first and then I have to get ready for the gig tonight.”, you mumbled as you swished around them, trying to get in the backseat of his car to no avail. “Can you open the door…please?”

Eddie caught it in your tone first…something wasn’t right and it had nothing to do with them. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Can we just…”, you gesture towards the car.

“HEY! When you get back tonight make sure it’s with a better fucking attitude!”, Simon yells from your front door. 

“Well maybe I won’t come back, you free loading mama’s boy!”

“Stupid bitch should learn how to talk to a man.”, he muttered under his breath as he slammed the door shut.

Steve and Eddie exchange a look before the metalhead speaks to you. “Is that something we need to handle?”

“No. He’s just being a fucking prick.”

He opens your door and you slowly slide in before both men do the same. As the car begins to move, Steve keeps checking on you in his rearview mirror. Your sunglass covered eyes remain focused on the window as you stare out into the California streets. 

“I’m sorry about yesterday. About leaving and keeping you guys out late when you didn’t have to. Simon just pissed me off and…”

“Does he talk to you like that often?”

“No. Sometimes he’s an asshole.” You flash them a sassy smirk that grows when you see Eddie try and hide his own at your sarcasm. “He’s just…hot headed, you know? He’s been through a lot.”

“And you haven’t?”

Your eyes swivel to Steve before glancing down at your hands. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

“He shouldn’t be talking to you like that, Y/N.”

“Yeah, well, neither should I so…”

“Just because you have an attitude doesn’t mean you deserve to be treated like trash. Maybe you just need someone stronger who can handle it and not take it personally.”

“Oh? And who would that be, Steve? You?”

“Aw, Munson, that’s cute. She thinks we can’t handle her.”

“Y/N, sweetheart, we’ve dealt with worse than you.”, he smiles as he turns around in his seat. “It’s you that can’t handle us. Thankfully though we aren’t in a relationship so we’ll never get to find out.”

“I never say never, gentlemen.”

****

After going over the tour dates, everything you would be doing, and everything you need, your next stop was the venue you would be performing at tonight. 

Eddie cringed as the feedback of the mic echoed around the building.

“Hey! Try plugging it into the correct port!” The young man shrugged his shoulders causing the metalhead to go over and show the boy what he was doing wrong.

“Let me guess? Rock and Roll drummer in a Metallica cover band?”, you grin at him as the mic starts picking up your voice perfectly. 

“Guitarist and our own band, not a cover band.”

“What about you, Steve? Are you musically inclined?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“What are you good at?”

“Babysitting.”, he raised his eyebrow in your direction making your smile grow. 

As the additional security from the venue finally arrived, you watched with fascination as the guys took on a more authoritative tone, telling each person where they would need to be. Time slowly dwindled till it was about twenty minutes before the show. You began pacing as you shook out your preshow jitters.

“Hey, they say they are ready for you to head towards the stage.”

You jumped at the sound of Steve’s voice. “Goddamn it! Okay, fucking thank you!” His eyes narrowed in your direction as he came in and closed the door behind him. “Can I help you with anything else?!”

“Are you alright?”

“Jesus fucking Christ, you’re not my father, Steven, or my friend. Get the fuck out! I’ll be right out!”

The boy bites his bottom lip as he nods his head. “Yes ma’am.” As he starts to open the door, he pauses turning to face you again. “You look really beautiful, by the way. Your voice is amazing. Eddie and I have actually never heard any of your songs before today. This will be our first concert. I’m excited to see it.” 

Your wide, glassy eyes turn to look at him as he slowly begins to close the door again. 

“Steve! Thank you…”

##########

That night you gave it your all and then some. Occasionally, you would glance down at the bottom of the stage watching as Steve and Eddie’s demeanor remained focused on the task at hand. Sometimes, however, you would notice a foot tap to the beat or a head would bob to your lyrics. If this was the first time they were attending a Y/N concert, you wanted them to enjoy it and show them what you bring to the entertainment table. 

So many people when you were starting out told you that you would never make it. That your dream of becoming a singer was a pipe dream for people with “actual talent”. Since day one you always felt like you had to prove yourself, hell, even before you started singing. In your house growing up you felt like you had to fight to be seen. 

Once you crossed that threshold, everything came easier but you never stopped fighting. Fighting the fear of being nothing again, the knowledge that everyone in your circle just wanted a piece of you and what you earned. Fighting to keep everyone happy including yourself. The alcohol and drugs helped immensely or at least that’s what you believed. You thought it helped numb your brain and the pain so you could just get through every day. 

When Eddie sassed you in the studio, you knew he was different. For a while you couldn’t get a read on Steve until that night outside of the bar. The fact that neither of them had asked you to hear their demo tape or hit on you was already a point in their favor but they genuinely seemed to want to protect you so you wanted to return the favor in some way, your voice.

When the concert ended, they snuck a peak at you. Eddie was never a fan of the type of music you sang but he couldn’t deny that what you did sing went straight to his heart. Steve noticed that while you sang, it was like you transported to a different place. You seemed calmer and more in tune with yourself, making you seem more confident than when you weren’t. 

This was the first time since they met you that you genuinely seemed happy. 

Something in the atmosphere changed. Maybe it was too many booze served at the bar or just the energy of the evening but people in the crowd started chanting for an encore. You were exhausted having gone longer on your set then you were supposed to already. You gave the crowd your best smile, thanking them for coming out, and telling them how much you loved their support. 

A fan jumped on to the stage and Eddie was quick to pull him back down. Panic set in as you watched the crowd start to fight with each other and the security team jump into action. The metalhead was in front of you and you hastily gripped his arm as he scanned the area trying to find Steve. 

“Harrington?!”

After tapping his shoulder, you pointed to the corner near a wall where you saw the boy in a fist fight of his own. Eddie pushed you towards the side of the stage behind a curtain.

“Don’t move! I’ll be right back, ok?!”, he shouted over the chaos as you gave him a firm nod. 

You watched as he jumped off the platform, running to pull the man off his friend and shoving him to where you were hiding. Steve didn’t even hesitate as he lifted you into his arms and they both ran down the hallway. They didn’t stop until they reached their car and placed you in the back seat, him climbing in with you as Eddie sped away. 

“Wait…what about Jack��and everyone else?”

“No. We have to get you out and away from the building especially during a scene like that.” Steve searched through his jacket pocket for a tissue, placing it against his nose when he finally finds one. 

“Are-are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fucking asshole got me good.”

About a mile down the road, Eddie parked the car into a gas station and got out to check you both over. “What happened, Harrington? Let someone get the best of you?”, Eddie chuckled. 

“Dude, they cornered me so fast especially after I pulled him off of the venue’s security guy.”

“Did I do that? Did I do something wrong?” Their head swivel around to look at your frightened frame. “Th-that’s never happened before…I-I-I…”

“Hey, hey, hey Y/N. It’s ok. You didn’t do anything wrong. I seriously think it was just…”, Eddie shrugs. “Beer and a packed in place. People just being…too rowdy. It happens but that’s what we’re here for.”

The man throws his arms up in surprise when you suddenly tackle him, wrapping your arms around his waist as you press your head into his chest. 

“Thank you…so much.” You let him go as you turn to give Steve a hug as well. “I’m so sorry you got hurt.”

When you started to pull back, his arms came down to hold you to him. “Hey, better me than you.”, he gently sighs, “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

#######

“Oh my god! What the fuck happened?! Baby, are you okay?” Simon ran to you from his place on your couch as you and the guys entered your house. 

“The concert ended a bit roughly but I’m ok. Really…”

“Isn’t it your job to fucking protect her!?”

“Yes and we did that.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?! Look at her! She’s a mess and she’s shaking!” Your boyfriend charged up to Steve who glared down at him as he continued to yell in his face.”

“Simon, leave them alone. Please, I just want to get this crap off and go to bed.”

Eddie gripped his friend’s arm as he spoke to you. “Is there anything else you need, Y/N? Do you feel safe enough for us to leave and let you rest?”

“Of course, she fucking does. I can take care of her.”

Your eyes met theirs as you nodded. “Thank you.”

“We’ll talk to Jack and everyone in the morning.” The metalhead tugs at Steve forcing him to back down from your boyfriend. He flashes you one more cursory glance before turning around and leaving you for the night. 

###########

“You boys did good last night. I don’t know what happened but you knew what to do.” Jack gave them a smile as he nodded his head in approval. “Please keep up that vigilance next week when we go on tour. I think—”

“Wait. You’re still doing the tour next week?”

Your manager looked at Eddie in confusion. “Yes? Why wouldn’t we?”

“I mean…she just went through a pretty traumatic event. I couldn’t imagine getting back up on a stage immediately after something like that.”

“Yeah, well, your security not a musician so—”

“I actually am but whatever.”

Jack sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as speaks to you. “Do you feel like you need more time?”

You didn’t even hear the man’s question. Since they picked you up and brought you to your managers office, you had been uncharacteristically quiet. You were thinking about everything including what transpired last night. It WAS incredibly scary but they did pull through and keep you safe. Not only did they look after you but each other; you appreciated that loyalty. 

Now as Eddie defended you, thinking of your well-being, you felt yourself spiraling at the action. No one cared about you this much and they barely even knew you. What was their end game? What made them tick? What made them this way? Was it genuine or was it just their jobs?

“Y/N!”

“Huh? Oh, um, I mean…a week would be fine…especially if I can just rest…”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.”, Jack responded in a nonchalant tone. “Go ahead and take the week but be back here on Thursday so we can go over everything.”

You nod as you head out of the office with your protectors in tow. “Hey, um, did you guys want to go get some lunch or something?”

***

“So, why security?”, you ask as you bite into your burger.

“Like Steve said, I mean, we’re good at it.”

“Well, good at protecting people. Security work just allows us to get paid for it.”, the man smiles as he takes a sip from his drink. 

“And you two have been friends for a while?”

“Since high school.”

“And where was that exactly?”

“You’re asking a lot of questions, sweetheart. Can I ask why?”, Eddie playfully narrows his eyes in your direction making you smile. 

“I just…you two are very different then people we usually hire. I just want to know more about you.”

“Different how?”, Steve asks.

“I don’t know. You just seem to genuinely care.”

“If the people around you don’t genuinely care then you need to hire some new people.”

“Yeah, well, that’s hard to find in this industry.” You reach in your purse and raise a flask in their direction as you pour a bit into your coffee.

“Is that why you do things like that?”, Eddie gestures towards you drink. 

“No, baby. I do things like this to keep me from going insane.”

“How about you do the healthy thing and stand up for yourself?”

You angerly turn your attention to Steve. “I can stand up for myself.”

“Oh? Is that why you let your manager, boyfriend, and entourage talk down to you the way they do?”

“Go fuck yourself, alright?! Look, I can stick up for myself and say what’s on my mind. For example, you two are complete fucking assholes.”, you growl. “I’m done eating. I want to go home.”

Eddie smirks as the other boy sighs. “Such a whiney, spoiled brat. I swear.” The metalhead pulls out his wallet, throwing money on the table as they both get to their feet. “Your highness.”, he gestures towards the front door. 

“I’m not whiney or spoiled. I worked hard to get here and I’m not going to let you or anyone talk to me like that.”

“Yet you do.”, Steve retorts as he opens the back door to his car. You roughly reach across, slamming it shut. “I thought you wanted to go home.”

“Apologize to me.”

“For what? Pointing out the obvious? Frankly, I don’t get why you have such a low opinion of yourself. You’re beautiful, talented, and you have such a gorgeous voice yet you pump yourself with poison and let these people take advantage of you. Why?”

You exhale as you look towards the ground. “I can handle it.”

“You say that a lot.” Eddie folds his arms on top of the car as he leans onto his hands. 

“Because I can.”

“By getting wasted?”

“My personal life is none of your fucking concern.”, you growl. 

“You’re right.” Steve opens the back door again and this time you climb in. “You just seem like you deserve better.”

##########

“I swear, man, that girl is going to get us killed. Or put in prison after WE kill her.”, Eddie chuckles from his place on the sofa. 

“I kind of like her.” The metalhead coyly raises his eyebrow at his friend. “Oh, come on, like you don’t?”, Steve sighs as he leans back against the couch. “There’s something hidden under all that sass and alcohol…I saw it when she was singing. I’d love to get to know that part of her better.”

Eddie grinned as he reached for his phone, smile fading when he saw the ID. 

“Hello. This is Eddie Munson.”

“E-Eddie? I, um, I think—FUCK YOU! —I need help.”

“You stupid bitch! Open this fucking door right fucking now!”

Eddie ross to his feet, tugging at Steve’s arm as he searched for his keys. “Where are you?”

“I-I’m in my bedroom. Simon and I got into a fight and-and he’s wasted. Pl-please…I’m scared. He’s never been this angry.”

Steve had already started the car, speeding towards your house. “Hey, it’s ok, sweetheart. We’re on the way, alright? Just stay on the phone with me, ok?”

“I’m sorry I was so mean to you guys today. Fuck… you two seem s-so different. I-I just…”

“Y/N don’t even worry about that right now. Everything’s going to be alright. We’re almost there.”

“You think you’re so high and mighty! Think you can talk to me anyway you want to! Fuck you, you fucking slut! Open the door, Y/N!”

“Oh, sure! You fuck all the groupies and fans that show up to my concerts but I’m the fucking slut!”

“Y/N, stop engaging. Talk to me.” There’s a loud crash and a squeak from your side as the line cuts off. “Steve…hurry.”

Five minutes later, they are bursting through your front door, running towards your bedroom where they hear your boyfriend shouting. Steve tackles him to the floor subduing him with his knee in his back. 

“Get the fuck off me!”

“Stop moving. You’re lucky I don’t fucking shoot you, asshole.”

“Y/N?”, Eddie softly called your name as you continued to cower in the corner with your head tucked into your arms. “Princess, everything is ok. I’m going to touch your arm.” You jump when his fingers graze your skin but you allow him to guide you to your feet. “There we go. Good girl. You’re doing so good. Can you look at me so I can check you out here?”

Your lips trembled as you faced him, his eyes slowly growing dark with fury as he scanned you over. Your face was red from your tears but he could also see where Simon had smacked your cheek. You had bruises that were starting to form on your arms where he must have grabbed you. 

“I’ll call the police and EMS.”, he grumbled trying to contain his anger. 

“No! No EMS. Please…I don’t need those pictures or attention.”

“But I do of me being pushed into a fucking cop car.”, Simon spat. 

Steve grabbed his hair and hit his head into the carpet. “Shut. Up.” His eyes meet yours as he speaks in a much gentler tone. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, um, I have a first aid kit here and all that so I’m fine.”

*** 

The police came by and took Simon away after taking everyone’s statements. Eddie and Steve took care of almost everything which you immensely appreciated. After everyone left, you expected them to as well but as your front door closed, you found you weren’t the only one on the other side. 

“I’m going to see if I can get your bedroom door back on its hinges.”, Eddie turned the corner to head down your hallway as Steve followed. 

You tiptoe after them, watching them with bewilderment as the metalhead got to work and Steve began straightening up the things Simon had damaged.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” They both froze, straightening up to look at you. “Why…why are you so nice to me? I’m such a fucking bitch to you. According to you, I’m a bratty, spoiled, washed up singer. WHY are you doing this?!”, you gesture around the room. 

They glanced at each other and after a few minutes it was Steve who finally spoke. “How should we be? Hm? Should we be like him? Do you think you deserve to be treated like this, Y/N?”

Their voices and demeanor completely changed in the moment; talking to you like a little girl who had just run into your parent’s room crying about a monster under her bed. 

“Sweetheart, NO ONE deserve to be treated like this. You didn’t trigger this. What he just did…isn’t your fault. You did the right thing calling us here. Now what kind of protectors would we be if we left you here alone with your house like this?”

You broke, sobbing almost uncontrollably as your hands covered your face. Strong hands tenderly grabbed your biceps, pulling you into a chest as you wrapped your arms around his back. Another palm delicately petted your head and for the first time in your life, you had never felt safer.

Stepping back, you wipe your eyes, glancing up to see Eddie’s kind, worry filled orbs running over your face as Steve stood beside him doing the same.

“Can, um, can we worry about this tomorrow and you stay here with me tonight?” 

“Yeah, we can stay here, honey. Do you have another room you can sleep in? I don’t think tomorrow morning you should open your eyes and this is the first thing you see.”

“I have a guest bedroom down the hall here.”

“Good because I agree with Steve. We can sleep on the couches out here and—”

“Can you sleep with me?”, you interrupt, your question startling both men. “I-I-I mean, you don’t have to. I just… I’m still a bit scared. I’m…forget about it.”

Eddie grabbed your hand as you started to walk away. 

“We can do that for you. If that’s what you want.” You nod your head to his statement, watching him closely as his eyes shift from security Eddie to something you had never seen before in any man. Whatever it was it made you feel weak in the knees. His fingers reached out to brush a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “Can you say it?”

“I-I want you two to sleep…in my bed…with me. Please.” That last word comes out almost in a whisper, pleading with them to stay. 

Steve’s fingers softly caress your cheek before gliding under your chin, turning you to face him. He had that same look Eddie had, that air of confidence you remembered seeing when you first met them but more dominate. 

“Good girl.”

[mayra-quijotescx]

downright lit stove burner of a transit take here but for what the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority is spending on their fare checker mobs that roam in neon yellow threes up and down our miniscule light rail "system" all day writing people $75 tickets for the crime of not having $1.25 and their shitty flatscreens that alternate between showing you how surveilled the bus is and playing commercials for METRO Police, they could probably afford to place one set of three single-user, ADA accessible public restrooms at each Transit Center and hire custodians to keep them maintained 24/7.

This would help the bus drivers to not have to stand in a line holding it at the one (1) keypad-locked Employees Only stall each TC has (by comparison, up to 8 buses can be docked at Texas Medical Transit Center at a time and frequently there's additional buses parked around the perimeter waiting their turn; that's a lot of UTIs on the wrong day), but it might also go a long way towards preventing certain stops from devolving into bug-ruled open-air latrines because for all that transphobes love to whine about how allegedly unsafe public restrooms are, we don't actually have any.

[fyeahdpr]

[Article] Lifestyle Asia HK

DPR is coming to Hong Kong for their ‘The Dream Reborn’ world tour this December 

UPDATED: AUG 09, 2024 01:38 PM HKT  |  3 MIN READ | BY KRITI NAYYAR

Members of DPR, or Dream Perfect Regime, are returning to Hong Kong for a concert in December. DPR Ian, DPR Cream and DPR Artic will be coming to the city as a part of their upcoming 2024 ‘The Dream Reborn’ world tour, which will kick off in July with multiple shows in Seoul.

Hong Kong isn’t the only Asian city on their list. The artists will also head to Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok as well as New Taipei City. Keep reading to know everything about DPR’s concert in Hong Kong, including the date, ticketing details and more.CultureDPR Ian opens up about his endless love for tattoos, music, and storytellingWhat's OnUnmissable concerts and music festivals in Hong Kong and Macau in 2024

DPR concert in Hong Kong: Date, ticketing details and more

As announced on DPR’s Instagram handle, the trio will be coming to Hong Kong on December 22, 2024. They’ll finally head to New Taipei City on December 28 before wrapping up their world tour. Tickets for the Hong Kong concert will go on sale on August 16 at 10 am local time. Fans can also grab their spot via a pre-sale which begins on August 14 at 10 am local time via KKTIX.

Tickets cost HKD 1588 (VIP), HKD 1188, HKD 988, and HKD 788. The VIP package includes a category one ticket entry, early entry to the venue, first access to the merchandise, VIP laminate and lanyard, and a meet-and-greet with DPR Artic, DPR Cream, and DPR Ian. The meet-and-greet also includes a Q&A session and a group photo.https://www.instagram.com/p/C-b17NxPG7e/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=1080&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lifestyleasia.com&rp=%2Fhk%2Fwhats-on%2Fevents-whats-on%2Fdpr-hong-kong-concert-2024-date-venue-ticket-details-and-more%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1728%2C%22ls%22%3A1643%2C%22le%22%3A1664.0000000000002%7D

Moreover, the upcoming concerts won’t feature DPR live, who announced last year that he’s taking a hiatus from the group to release music under his real name, Hong Da-bin.

DPR ‘The Dream Reborn’ world tour 2024: Full schedule 

July 2024

Seoul, South Korea: July 13

Seoul, South Korea: July 14

September 2024

Vancouver, British Columbia: September 9

Seattle, Washington: September 10

Oakland, California: September 13

Los Angeles, California: September 15

Phoenix, Arizona: September 16

Denver, Colorado: September 18

Irving, Texas: September 20

Houston, Texas: September 22

Atlanta, Georgia: September 24

Washington, D.C.: September 27

New York, New York: September 28

Boston, Massachusetts: September 30

October 2024

Toronto, Ontario: October 2

Chicago, Illinois: October 4

Mexico City, Mexico: October 12

Sao Paulo, Brazil: October 14

Santiago, Chile: October 18

Buenos Aires, Argentina: October 20

London, United Kingdom: October 27

Tilburg, Netherlands: October 30

Berlin, Germany: October 31

November 2024

Copenhagen, Denmark: November 2

Warsaw, Poland: November 5

Frankfurt, Germany: November 7

Milan, Italy: November 10

Barcelona, Spain: November 12

Paris, France: November 14

December 2024

Auckland, New Zealand: December 4

Sydney, New South Wales: December 6

Melbourne, Victoria: December 10

Singapore: December 12

Jakarta, Indonesia: December 14

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: December 18

Bangkok, Thailand: December 20

Hong Kong: December 22

New Taipei City, Taiwan: December 28

(Hero image credit: LE3AY STUDIO)

(Feature image credit: dpr_official/ Instagram)

Note: The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

TAGS

HONG KONG CONCERTS DPR IAN DPR LIVE DPR

WRITTEN BY: Kriti Nayyar |

Senior Digital Writer, Wellness, Culture, Astrology, Tech

Kriti is a stay-at-home dog mama, whose knack for telling interesting stories keeps her erstwhile monotonous life sane. A literature & journalism degree holder, you'll find her binging on Agatha Christie novels while critiquing the everyday state of affairs. On Kriti's seldom social outings, she's seen devouring coffee sangria with appetizing bread on the side.

https://www.lifestyleasia.com/hk/whats-on/events-whats-on/dpr-hong-kong-concert-2024-date-venue-ticket-details-and-more/

[shotattheshow]

[TOUR] King Diamond announces North American dates with Overkill

For the first time in five years, metal legend King Diamond is hitting the road, embarking on a 35-date North American tour aptly titled Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920.

Set in a 1920s mental institution, the brand new stage show is based on The Institute, King Diamond’s forthcoming double LP in 2025, and promises to be the Mercyful Fate frontman’s most elaborate production to date. The new music tells a horror concept story, and the accompanying onstage visuals are guaranteed to rock and shock in equal measure.

“We have been busy putting this ever-growing horror story together, and it’s still growing,” said King Diamond in a statement. “I know the end of it, but how we will get there will be a long trip. There are so many characters, and so many unexpected things along this journey.

“There will be some horrific surprises taking place on stage, but we are not to be held responsible since we are on a whole different timeline in 1920. It was back at the time when medicine was going through a dark period with lots of testing on human beings in order to progress medicine. This is Saint Lucifer’s Hospital, also known as The Institute, enter if you dare!”

Joining the King are New Jersey thrashers Overkill and Ventura, California power trio Night Demon. Additionally, Danish solo black metal artist Myrkur will provide backing vocals and play the organ on select songs throughout the night

The tour kicks off October 15 in San Antonio and finishes in the Lone Star State in Dallas on December 6. Full tour dates are below:

October 15 - Boeing Center at Tech Port. - San Antonio, TX

October 16 - Bayou Music Center - Houston, TX

October 18 - Andrew J Brady Music Center - Cincinnati, OH

October 19 - The Factory - St. Louis, MO

October 20 - The Midland Theater - Kansas City, MO

October 22 - Murat Theatre At Old National Center - Indianapolis, IN

October 23 - The Louisville Palace Theatre - Louisville, KY

October 25 - The Eastern - Atlanta, GA

October 26 - Duke Energy Center for the Arts - Mahaffey Theater - St. Petersburg, FL

October 28 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD

October 30 - Kings Theater - Brooklyn, NY

October 31 - Roadrunner - Boston, MA *

November 02 - MTelus - Montreal, QC

November 03 - The Theatre At Great Canadian - Mississauga, ON

November 04 - The Masonic Temple - Detroit, MI

November 06 - The Agora Theatre & Ballroom - Cleveland, OH

November 07 - The Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL

November 08 - The Riverside Theater - Milwaukee, WI

November 10 - The Fillmore - Minneapolis, MN

November 11 - Vibrant Music Hall - Waukee, IA

November 14 - Mission Ballroom - Denver, CO

November 16 - The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT

November 18 - Orpheum - Vancouver, BC

November 20 - Edmonton Convention Center - Edmonton, AB

November 21 - TCU Place - Saskatoon, SK

November 22 - Grey Eagle Resort And Casino - Calgary, AB

November 24 - Keller Auditorium - Portland, OR

November 25 - Moore Theater - Seattle, WA

November 27 - Fox Theater - Oakland, CA

November 29 - YouTube Theater - Los Angeles, CA

November 30 - The Theater At Virgin Hotels - Las Vegas, NV

December 01 - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre - San Diego, CA

December 02 - The Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ

December 04 - REVEL - Albuquerque, NM

December 06 - The Factory In Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX

* No OVERKILL

Tickets go on artist presale Wednesday, July 31 at 10 a.m. EST, and on general sale Friday, August 2 at 10 a.m. local time. For tickets, go to kingdiamondcoven.com

[tinygmusic]

NIKI RELEASES NEW ALBUM 'BUZZ' & SHARES TITLE TRACK MV

Rosa Gulliver of TINYGMUSIC | 9th August 2024

Jakarta-born, LA-based singer-songwriter and producer NIKI firmly plants herself as one of the most dynamic artists of today with the release of her new album Buzz via 88rising, out now. Accompanying the release is the music video for title track “Buzz,” directed by Isaac Ravishankara. The video, a cheeky line-by-line depiction of the lyrics, encapsulates the rush of raw emotion and bittersweet nerves of a budding romance – glimpses of buzzing bees, a crackling guitar amp, and longing looks between two people, all signaling towards the start of something new. NIKI was initially inspired to name the record after the budding growth she observed in her garden every spring. Across thirteen tracks on the album, the singer encapsulates the feeling of being on the precipice of something undiscovered.

The album’s release joins previous singles; the love struck summer track, “Tsunami,” astrologically-inspired song “Blue Moon,” and flirty lead single “Too Much of a Good Thing.” NIKI plans to celebrate Buzz with a comprehensive world tour, produced by Live Nation, kicking off this fall. Tickets are available now HERE. See below for full routing.

 

NORTH AMERICA

Sep 5, 2024 - Toronto ON - Budweiser Stage

Sep 7, 2024 - Boston MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Sep 8, 2024 - Washington DC - The Anthem

Sep 12, 2024 - Philadelphia PA - The Met

Sep 13, 2024 - New York City NY - SummerStage in Central Park

Sep 16, 2024 - Charlotte NC - Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre

Sep 17, 2024 - Atlanta GA - Coca-Cola Roxy

Sep 19, 2024 - Houston TX - 713 Music Hall

Sep 20, 2024 - Austin TX - Moody Amphitheater

Sep 21, 2024 - Dallas TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory

Sep 25, 2024 - Chicago IL - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom

Sep 27, 2024 - Minneapolis MN - The Armory

Sep 29, 2024 - Denver CO - Fillmore Auditorium

Oct 1, 2024 - Salt Lake City UT - The Union Event Center

Oct 3, 2024 - Berkeley CA - The Greek Theatre *

Oct 8, 2024 - Phoenix AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre

Oct 10, 2024 - Las Vegas NV - The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan

Oct 11, 2024 - Los Angeles CA - The Greek Theatre

Oct 12, 2024 - Los Angeles CA - The Greek Theatre

Oct 14, 2024 - San Diego CA - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre

Oct 17, 2024 - Portland OR - Alaska Airlines’ Theater of the Clouds

Oct 18, 2024 - Seattle WA - WAMU Theater at Lumen Field

Oct 19, 2024 - Vancouver BC - Rogers Arena

 

* Non-Live Nation Date

 

EUROPE

Oct 27, 2024 - Brussels BE - La Madeleine

Oct 29, 2024 - Cologne DE - Palladium

Nov 1, 2024 - Paris FR - L’Olympia

Nov 2, 2024 - Tilburg NL - Poppodium 013

Nov 6, 2024 - Manchester UK - O2 Apollo Manchester

Nov 7, 2024 - London UK - OVO Arena, Wembley

Nov 10, 2024 - Dublin IE - 3Olympia Theatre

 

ASIA

Feb 9, 2025 - Hong Kong

Feb 11, 2025 - Manila

Feb 12, 2025 - Manila

Feb 14, 2025 - Jakarta

Feb 15, 2025 - Jakarta

Feb 18, 2025 - Singapore

Feb 20, 2025 - Taipei

Feb 22, 2025 - Bangkok

Feb 25, 2025 - Kuala Lumpur

Feb 26, 2025 - Kuala Lumpur

 

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Mar 5, 2025 - Perth AU

Mar 7, 2025 - Brisbane AU

Mar 9, 2025 - Sydney AU

Mar 13, 2025 - Melbourne AU

Mar 15, 2025 - Auckland NZ

 

What eventually became Buzz, the third studio album by singer-songwriter and globally-renowned star NIKI, started with an urgent quake from the innermost core of her being. What surfaced in its wake was a collection of warm, stirring folk-rock songs, which crackle and flare like a bonfire between close confidantes. “I went through an identity crisis,” says the 25-year-old of Buzz. “It took a lot of trial and error, and I just stumbled upon pieces of myself along the way. I named it Buzz because it feels like I'm on the precipice of something about to happen.”

 

For NIKI, things have been happening progressively since she was a high schooler in Jakarta, Indonesia. As a student at an international academy, she cut her teeth scribbling lovesick poems in English class and performed acoustic guitar covers of American pop songs on YouTube. With a six-string in hand, and her family and classmates cheering her on from the audience, Nicole Zefanya then staked her claim to global stardom as NIKI.

 

And claim it she has - with over three billion streams worldwide, sold out shows on multiple continents, massive sets at festivals across the globe, front row seats at Paris Fashion Week, four songs on a Marvel film’s soundtrack, and some of the most phenomenal, confessional songs being released in 2024, NIKI has already established a veteran’s resume before the age of 25.

NIKI - Photo Credit: Annie Lai

On Buzz, her songwriting remains as intimate as ever. In her initial sketches of songs for Buzz, NIKI took cues from other lane-paving women with confessional, honest lyricism soundtracked by guitars.  “Joni Mitchell is my songwriting north star,” she says — and uncompromising feminist luminaries like Stevie Nicks, Carly Simon and Liz Phair. To match the wandering spirit of Buzz, NIKI cultivated her own elastic approach to guitar.

 

To further harness this creative and personal sea change, NIKI began enlisting producers who had worked with her favourite contemporary singer-songwriters. She tapped Tyler Chester, who’d captured tracks with Madison Cunningham and Sara Bareilles; she also recruited Ethan Gruska, who counts Fiona Apple and Phoebe Bridgers as collaborators.

Buzz reverberates with the hard-earned wisdom of a young woman who charges dauntlessly towards her dreams — but can still spare a laugh if she stumbles.

About NIKI

NIKI born Nicole Zefanya on January 24 1999, is an Indonesian singer-songwriter. She is currently based in the United States and signed with the record label 88rising. She released her first full-length studio album, Moonchild, in 2020. It was followed by Nicole (2022) and recently Buzz (2024). Her debut headlining concert tour, Nicole World Tour (2022–2023), visited over 40 cities across North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe.

NIKI has garnered global recognition for her songwriting and musicianship and is among the most popular female artists from Indonesia. In 2020, NIKI was listed among Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.

About 88rising

88rising, stylised as 88⬆, is an American record label established in 2015, known as a multifaceted entity combining management, record label functions, video production, and marketing.

The label has risen to prominence as a music platform and record label, especially for Asian American artists, and has been dubbed "The Disney of Asian hip-hop." In 2019, 88rising earned the title of Label of the Year from Netease, a major music streaming service in China.

In 2018, 88rising launched its inaugural Head in the Clouds Festival in Los Angeles, which Billboard promptly recognized as "the Asian Festival You Need To Know."

Keep up with NIKI

Instagram

X (Twitter)

Facebook

TikTok

YouTube

Website

Spotify

Apple Music

Amazon Music

DEEZER

TIDAL

genie

Melon

SOUNDCLOUD

iTunes Store

YouTube Music

[thelensofyashunews]

LUCKI ANNOUNCES THE GEMINI TOUR – KICKING OFF 7/18

Chicago underground icon turned national rap mainstay, LUCKI has just announced that his first US headlining tour, The Gemini Tour, will kick off on July 18th in Raleigh, NC. Produced by Live Nation, the 27-date tour will make stops in Miami, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Boston, Brooklyn, and more before wrapping up on September 7th in Atlanta, GA. The forthcoming tour will support his new album GEMIN! which is set for release on June 14th. The recently-released 2-pack of singles titled 2 Faced Pt. 2 (the Coupe-produced "Heavy On My Heart" and the Brent Rambo-produced "Courtesy Of") served as the first glimpse into LUCKI's forthcoming follow-up to 2023's s*x m*ney dr*gs, with the former serving as an upbeat outing buoyed by LUCKI's candid bars over a soulful instrumental while the latter is a hard-hitting victory lap draped in his distinct raspy flow. A longtime staple of Chicago’s underground scene, LUCKI’s hazy cloud rap confessionals saw the then-teenager grow a cult following in the Windy City and beyond before garnering mainstream recognition with his 2022 debut album FLAWLESS LIKE ME (which boasted appearances from Future and Babyface Ray) and hit track “New Drank”(200M+ Streams). The upcoming album marks LUCKI’s first full-length outing since the aforementioned s*x m*ney dr*gs and arrives on the heels of a high-profile appearance on “Broke phone” (7M+ Streams) from Veeze's 2023 album Ganger as well as a strong run of 2024 singles, including “PAIDNFULL”, “COLORFUL DRUGS”, and most recently “All Love”, where he linked with Lyrical Lemonade for a Cole Bennett-directed music video, as well as a guest outing on Southside’s latest track “Elegant”.

Serving as the debut offerings from LUCKI’s upcoming fourth full-length album GEMIN!, “Heavy On My Heart” and “Courtesy Of” are the initial foray into what will be a busy summer for the Chicago-grown artist. He’s currently slated to make appearances at both Rolling Loud and Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash this summer before embarking on his first US headlining tour, The Gemini Tour throughout the summer. LUCKI also recently dropped two trailers for the forthcoming album – "2 FacedSlatt :(" & "2 FacedSlatt :)", showing off the two different sides of himself embracing his mafioso-like stature in the rap game. Both, along with the two new singles, are showing off the two different sides that make up LUCKI as an artist – someone who's grown from an underground Chicago mainstay into an international star with critical acclaim, using his hazy cloud rap confessionals to pave the way for the sound of modern Hip-Hop. With his GEMIN! era officially in motion, LUCKI is continuing to assert his legacy while proving just how far his movement has carried over the past decade.

THE GEMINI TOUR – KICKING OFF 7/18 GET TICKETS  

The Gemini Tour Dates 07/18 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz 07/19 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte 07/23 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live 07/26 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theatre 07/27 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues Orlando 07/30 – New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore New Orleans 07/31 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall 08/01 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom 08/04 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre 08/06 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues Anaheim 08/07 – San Fransisco, CA – The Masonic 08/09 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl 08/11 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre 08/13 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium 08/16 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Crystal Ballroom 08/17 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo *** 08/19 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex 08/20 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium 08/22 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore Minneapolis presented by Affinity Plus 08/23 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre 08/25 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway 08/27 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount 08/30 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit 09/03 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia 09/04 – Washington, DC – Echostage 09/06 – North Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues Myrtle Beach 09/07 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy

*** = non-Live Nation date

About LUCKI: Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | SoundCloud

[tripgoto]

Pros and Cons of Buying Air Tickets at Night (After Midnight)

Embarking on a journey involves numerous decisions, and one often-contemplated choice is the timing of booking air tickets. In this exploration, we unravel the advantages and drawbacks of purchasing flight tickets at night, specifically after midnight. From the convenience of online air booking to navigating routes like New York to Bogotá, Houston to Colorado Springs, New York to Aruba, and Charlotte to Las Vegas, this guide aims to shed light on the intricacies of nighttime ticket hunting.

 Night Time Advantage - Lower Demand :

Dive into the potential benefits of booking air tickets at night, including lower demand and the likelihood of stumbling upon discounted fares. Explore how reduced competition during the late hours can translate into cost savings for savvy travellers.

Online Air Booking Convenience :

Uncover the convenience of online air booking, especially during the quiet hours of the night. Delve into the user-friendly interfaces of booking platforms, exploring the ease with which travellers can navigate and secure their tickets for various routes.

Route-Specific Considerations :

Explore the pros and cons of nighttime booking for specific routes, such as New York to Santiago, New York to Bogotá, Houston to Colorado Springs, New York to Aruba, and Charlotte to Las Vegas. Understand the nuances of different routes and how nighttime booking may impact the overall travel experience.

Drawbacks of Midnight Booking :

Balance the scales by examining the potential drawbacks of booking air tickets after midnight. From limited customer support availability to the impact on personal sleep schedules, assess the challenges that come with nighttime ticket hunting.

Influence of Time Zones :

Consider the influence of time zones on nighttime ticket booking. Understand how crossing time zones may affect the perceived advantages or disadvantages of booking during the night and how to navigate these considerations.

Tips for Optimising Nighttime Booking :

Equip yourself with practical tips for optimising the nighttime booking process. From leveraging fare alerts to choosing the right booking platform, explore strategies to make the most of late-night ticket hunting.

Impact of Seasonal Variations :

Consider how seasonal variations influence the pros and cons of booking air tickets at night. Explore whether certain times of the year make nighttime booking more advantageous or present additional challenges, offering a nuanced understanding of the seasonal dynamics.

Managing the Trade-Offs :

Delve into the personal trade-offs associated with booking air tickets after midnight. Evaluate the balance between potential cost savings and the impact on personal well-being, including considerations of sleep disruption and overall travel experience.

Flexibility in Night time Booking :

Understand how flexibility in travel plans can influence the outcomes of nighttime booking. Explore how having flexible dates and destinations may open up more opportunities for finding favourable deals during the night hours.

Customer Support Accessibility :

Examine the accessibility of customer support services during nighttime booking. Evaluate how limited customer support availability during late hours may impact travellers and discuss strategies for addressing potential issues that may arise.

Balancing Act - Sleep vs. Savings :

Navigate the delicate balance between securing cost-effective air tickets and ensuring a good night's sleep. Discuss practical approaches to manage this balancing act, considering individual preferences, health considerations, and travel priorities.

Real-life Experiences and Testimonials :

Enhance the narrative by incorporating real-life experiences and testimonials from travelers who have opted to book air tickets after midnight. Share diverse perspectives and anecdotes to provide a well-rounded view of the actual outcomes and challenges faced by individuals.

Evolution of Booking Trends :

Explore the evolving trends in air ticket booking and how technology has influenced the landscape. Discuss whether advancements in online booking platforms and artificial intelligence have impacted the advantages and disadvantages associated with nighttime booking.

Conclusion :

As we wrap up this exploration of the nocturnal realm of air ticket booking, remember that the decision to book after midnight involves a myriad of factors. From the convenience of online platforms to the route-specific considerations for journeys like New York to Santiago or Houston to Colorado Springs, your approach to nighttime booking is as unique as your travel aspirations. May your journeys, whether booked under the moonlight or in the sunshine, be filled with smooth skies and delightful discoveries. Safe travels into the night sky!

[juarezesdeporte]

New Season of “UTEP Football with Dana Dimel” Radio Show Debuts Tuesday

EL PASO, Texas – The new season of “UTEP Football with Dana Dimel” Radio Show will debut on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at Hudson’s Grill (1170 Lee Trevino) from 5:30-6:30 p.m. airing on 600 AM ESPN, while fans can also listen on the UTEP Miners App

The long-running radio show will alternate between Hudson’s and the Moon Tower Sports Bar (3233 N. Mesa). Moon Tower will host the second show on Tuesday, Aug. 29 from 6-7 p.m.

Host “Voice of the Miners” Jon Teicher is back for his 43rd season as UTEP’s play-by-play man. He and UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel will review the previous week’s contest and preview the upcoming games.

This season a pair of shows will air on Friday. The first will be on Oct. 6 at Hudson’s Grill from 5-6 p.m., while Moon Tower will host the Oct. 20 show from 5-6 p.m. One show will air on a Monday (Oct. 16 – 5-6 p.m.) at Moon Tower.

Dimel is looking to lead the Miners to their second bowl appearance in the past three years while also navigating a new-look Conference USA. UTEP is back as the longest tenured member in the league, with FIU, LA Tech, Middle Tennessee and WKU also returning. Jax State, Liberty, NM State and Sam Houston are all in their first year with the conference.

2023 UTEP FOOTBALL WITH DANA DIMEL RADIO SHOW

Tues., Aug. 22 (5:30-6:30 p.m.)          Hudson’s Grill, 1770 Lee Trevino

Tues., Aug. 29 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)          Moon Tower Sports Bar, 3233 North Mesa

Tues., Sept, 5 (5:30-6:30 p.m.)            Moon Tower Sports Bar

Tues., Sept. 12 (5:30-6:30 p.m.)          Hudson’s Grill

Tues., Sept. 19 (4:30-5:30 p.m.)          Moon Tower Sports Bar

Tues., Sept. 26 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)          Hudson’s Grill

Fri., Oct. 6 (5:00-6:00 p.m.)                Hudson’s Grill

Mon., Oct. 16 (5:00-6:00 p.m.)           Moon Tower Sports Bar

Fri., Oct. 20 (5:00-6:00 p.m.)              Moon Tower Sports Bar

Tues., Oct. 31 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)           Hudson’s Grill

Tues., Nov. 14 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)           Hudson’s Grill

Tues., Nov. 21 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)           Moon Tower Sports Bar

THE 2023 SEASON

The Miners kick off the new campaign at Jax State on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 3:30 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network. Fans can tune into 600 ESPN El Paso and hear the action from “The Voice of the Miners” Jon Teicher and former UTEP WR Cole Freytag and Mando Medina reporting from the sidelines.

UTEP will open home action on Saturday, Sept. 2 against Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. in the Sun Bowl. Tickets for the 80’s Night game are available at www.utepminers.com/tickets, by calling 915.747.UTEP, emailing tickets@utep.edu or by visiting the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office (500 W. University Ave., 79968

[badbihk]

Liked by alexiademie, jackharlow, summerwalker and 1,567,896 others.

yourusername omg i can’t believe y’all actually caught this on camera😂 ANYWAYS come see us in Houston tonight @jackharlow #comehomethekidsmissyoutour

alexiademie stunning🤎

⤷ yourusername thank you my love😘 imy

urbanwyatt YALL HEARD THE LADY!!! COME SEE US TONIGHT @ 6

babymommay/n ugh she looks so good😩 I can’t believe tickets sold out so fast

⤷ yourusername I will be on a solo tour this summer👀

jackharlow proud of you. thank you again🖤

⤷ jackharlowspoison idk why he even had her opening for him???? He could’ve had anyone😔

⤷allaboutjack I was thinking the same thing😂😂

⤷ urbanluvr123 she probably fucked him

mariahthescientist love you girl😘

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You put the phone down after reading all of the comments. The fact that people think you fucked Jack just to be able to open a show had you ready to leave the tour all together. You had worked your ass off since 18 producing and making your own music. You didn’t need to open for Jack but you did it as a favor. Neelam had been your manager for about a year when you first got famous. After Jack’s opening act pulled out she called you. As much as you didn’t want to; you knew you owed her. Without her you wouldn’t be as far as you are now. You took a deep breath and left your dressing room. Jack was already waiting at the door.

“Jack what do you want” you muttered as you walked past him.

“ I saw the comments. I know you are here doing a favor for Neelam and that you were on a break from music. I just wanted you to know I appreciate you” he said while following behind you.

“ I appreciate your that but it’s not your problem what people think. I have to go. I’m on in five but thanks” you said while getting your mic put on.

Jack sighed as he started walking away. He felt bad you were getting shit on. Especially after he had kissed you last night.

———————————-Last night———————————

The night air was cool as you sat on the balcony of jacks hotel room. Jack had the blanket tightly wrapped around the both of you. Jack was on his fourth drink while you sipped your wine. “You wanna smoke?” You asked while pulling a preroll out from your bag and looking at him sheepishly. “ you tryna get me fucked up tonight” he chuckled while taking the preroll from your hands and lighting it.

“ thank you for coming out with me. I seriously can’t believe we have sold out every concert so far this tour and I truly believe that’s because you are here with us” Jack said while taking a couple of hits and passing it back to you..

You giggled as the hitting the blunt. That wine was definitely starting to sink in.

“ it’s all good. I’m actually having a lot of fun. I decided to take a break because I feel like this industry is so crazy sometimes. Having all eyes on you at all times. It’s easier to focus on my music when I don’t have to deal with all the bullshit.” You put the blunt down and looked out at the city. It was stunning. You looked over at Jack but his eyes were already locked on you. He looked beautiful as the moonlight shined on his face. It complimented all his features beautifully.

“ don’t look at me like that” Jack says as he chuckles and takes another sip of his drink.

“Like what?” you question looking at him with a smirk.

“ like you want me to kiss you” Jack stated as he planted a kiss on your forehead. He then stood up and reached his hand out to help you up from your seat. You took his hand as he pulled you up into his chest. You both stood there for a minute just enjoying the warmth of each other.

“ i should really go. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow” you stated will while squeezing past him and opening the door that led to his hotel room.

“ it’s late but you don’t have to. We could watch some movies and just hangout” he says while following you into the room and plopping on the king sized bed.

“ Jack look you are a sweet guy but we both know if I stayed here tonight it wouldn’t just be movies and hanging out” rolling your as you stood between his legs. He was truly the best man you’ve ever been around. You couldn’t help but just study his face. His cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. His eyes were low and a deep red from the blunt y’all had just killed. His curls were messy from him running his hands through them.

“Look Y/N im not sure if it’s just because I’m fucked up but” he paused and ran his hands through his hair. Jack couldn’t sit here and act like he didn’t want, no need, your lips on his. He slammed his lips on yours. Kissing you like you were his lifeline. He wraps his hands around the back of your thighs and pulls you on top of him. You were now straddling him and you couldn’t help yourself from grinding yourself on his already hard dick. There was a loud knock on the door that caused you to quickly jump off of him and adjust your shorts that has ridden up your thighs. Jack stood up and walked towards the door opening it. Urban strolled in with two bags of McDonald’s

“ Hey Jack…… Y/N” he said while looking between the both of you. “ I didn’t know you were here” he said while placing the food on the small table that was in the room.

“ yeah uh I was just leaving” you said while shuffling to the door. “ goodnight Urban and um Jack. I’ll see y’all tomorrow”

You quickly walked out the door shutting it behind you.

“ was it just me or was she acting weird” urban said while opening the bags of food. “ anyways I got us ice cream too”.

———————————————————————————

The show was absolutely amazing. Of course it sold out. You sang your heart out and Jack killed it like always.

Everyone was headed back to the hotel since the next show was only a few hours away. The plan was to leave in the morning. Jack had offered to give you a ride back as soon as he was done meeting a few fans. You were hesitant to agree but decided to say fuck it.

After about an hour and a half of mindlessly scrolling through your phone you received a text.

Jackman🧸

Hey pretty girl. I’m getting the car now meet me out front.

You rolled your eyes; he was such a flirt. You gathered your stuff and headed outside where he was already outside. You hopped in and didn’t say a word to him. Truthfully you didn’t know how to feel. You were already getting shit on for people thinking you fucked him to get where you at. Plus the fact that you WANT him had you second guessing everything. Maybe you shouldn’t have taken the offer in the first place.

“Y/N you’ve been quite the whole ride. You good?” He asked while looking over at you. His hands were gripping the wheel so tight his knuckles were white.

“ yeah I’m good sorry just think I’m still a little hangover” you said while looking out the window.

Jack takes a sharp right turn into a empty grocery store parking lot.

“ Jack what the f—”

“ look if this is about last night I’m sorry. We were both drunk and high as fuck. I shouldn’t have kissed you but I don’t want shit to be awkward between us. We can just forget it even happened if that’s what you want”

You didn’t know what to say. I mean what could you say? You couldn’t deny there was a connection but this just wasn’t the right time to explore this new feeling. You couldn’t feed into the rumors about fucking your way to the top. If anyone even found out y’all kissed it would spread like a wildfire.

“ j-just forget I even said anything” Jack said as he pulled back on the road and headed to the hotel.

———————————————————————————

You rolled over and looked at the clock next to your bed.

1:32

Fuck. You had been back at your room for almost 3 hours and couldn’t sleep. What Jack said kept replaying in your head. Why should you have to limit yourself to please the fucking internet? You know what fuck that. You got out of bed and put on some sweatpants and headed out.

*knock*

Jack groaned as he heard the knock on the door. Who the fuck was coming to his room this late. He walked to the door and opened it

“ urban I swear to god it’s too late to deal with your bullshit”

“ hey Jack” you said as you squeezed in the small opening of the door.

“ why are yo-”

“ look Jack I know I didn’t say anything earlier. Truthfully I didn’t know what to say. I don’t want people to think I fucked you to be able to come on this tour. Then again why the fuck would I care? I don’t know what this is or where it’s going but it’s SOMETHING. I like you and I want to see where this go-” Jack cut you off with a rough kiss slamming you against the hotel door. You run your hands through his hair and wrap your legs around his waist.

Liked by jackharlow, urbanwyatt, and 2,363,266 others

yourusername honestly……fuck it👀

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Okay y’all not too much on me now…… this is my first try😂😂😂😘

[langdxn]

Omg I love this song idea so much! How about Love Bites by Def Leppard? 💕

So this was a pretty popular request! I’ve also had (quite) a few asks for some Xavier goodness with mixtapes so I’ve merged them all together, I hope that’s okay! This is quite sub!Xavier too and fluffy as hell, so be warned... 🖤🖤🖤

“Fuck you, Xavier, I knew you stole my Hall and Oates!”

A tornado of cassette tapes and receipts circled the front seat as Chet furiously rummaged through the glove box of the Vanta-C.

“Oh please, Chet, don’t pretend you have good taste in music,” Xavier cast a salacious grin over to his passenger, snowed under a pile of parking tickets and rolling papers. “I’ve seen your collection and there’s way too much Whitney Houston in there.”

“Blasphemy!” Ray chimed in from beside you. “There’s no such thing as too much Whitney Houston!”

“You keep telling yourself that, Mr Pet Shop Boys,” Xavier barked back.

“Hey, that’s my Billy Idol!” Montana screeched was a cassette tape flew in her direction. “I’ve been looking for this for weeks, Klepto Plympton!”

“I can’t be held responsible for you jerks littering up my van!” Xavier shrugged, his cut-off jade vest emphasising every single slick movement of his muscles.

Tossing aside an empty hip flask, a distinctive red tape with a Tipp-Exed label fell right into Chet’s hands.

“What’s this?” Chet raved, holding it aloft like a trophy, noticing your name scrawled into the bumpy white sticker. “Is this a mixtape for the shy one?”

“I—uhh,” Xavier stuttered, frantically searching for an explanation, his gaze fixed on the red tape in Chet’s hand as if willing it to not exist. “She needed a new tape for her metal aerobics class, didn’t you babe?”

You leaned forward in your seat in the far back corner, speechless. The whole gang turned to face you, intently watching your reaction to the development.

“Bullshit, Plympton, she’s just as surprised as we are.” Ray landed a reassuring hand on your knee. “Looks like our Xav’s got the hots for you, pretty girl!”

“Then let’s hear it,” Chet slotted the tape into the cassette player, rubbing his hands together as he waited for the first notes.

“Shut up guys,” Xavier snapped, clearing his throat and slamming his hand on the pause button. “We hardly know each other.”

“Hardly know each other, my ass,” Montana smirked from ear to ear, leaning in to whisper to you. “Good luck babe, his dick is huge.”

Xavier swerved the van around a tight corner and pulled to a stop, yanking the handbrake with all his might and peering over his sunglasses.

“Last stop, the studio. Everybody out, you motherfuckers!”

The blur of everybody grabbing their bags and jackets zoomed past you like a neon kaleidoscope. Before long, you were the only one left in the van, deafening silence replacing the cacophony of gossip and the grinding of lighters sparking up joints.

You were staring into mid-air for what felt like hours, concentrating on that red tape nestled in the player. Was Xavier telling the truth? Or had he actually made a mixtape for you? There’s no way a guy as flawless as that aerobics maestro could be interested in you; he was right about one thing, you hardly knew each other. Not that familiarity seemed to bother him too much, the talk of his past hookups suggested the less he knew about the girl he was screwing, the better.

“Cat got your tongue, baby girl?” Xavier piped up from the van door, peering his heavenly blue gaze over his sunglasses. “Haven’t you got a class?”

“N—no, not for another half hour,” you stumbled over your words like a lovesick teenager, tucking your hair behind your ear and gazing at the floor. Xavier hauled himself into the back, swinging the van door closed behind him and crashing down on the seat beside you.

“Then we’ve got all the time in the world, beautiful,” he purred into your ear, his arm draping over your shoulder as he leaned over you.

The tense air between you filled with familiar sounds from the tape player, Def Leppard booming through the speakers Xavier had rigged in the back.

If you’ve got love in your sights, watch out, love bites

“Is this—“

“Yep,” Xavier hummed. “Just for you, babe.”

“I—I love Def Leppard,” you stumbled over your words, losing yourself in his oceanic gaze.

When you make love, do you look in your mirror?

“I know you do, baby,” he husked, a hand reaching to ghost featherlight fingertips over your bare thigh, daring himself to slip his fingers beneath your skirt. “I know you better than you think, shy girl.”

Who do you think of? Does he look like me?

“You think so?” You quirked an eyebrow, leaving Xavier swallowing hard and rearranging his tight white trousers, his pants failing miserably at concealing the raging hard-on beneath the thin fabric. Not that Xavier minded you knowing the state he’s got himself in, the restriction of his clothing just made him more frustrated.

Do you tell lies? And say that it’s forever?

Suddenly, you swung a thigh over his lap and straddled Xavier’s waist in one slick move. The actor’s arm was still draped across the chair you just left, stunned into silence for the first time in a long while.

Do you think twice, or just touch and see?

“You still sure about that, lover boy?” You cupped his delicate face in your hands, fingers digging passionate trenches into his neck as you leaned in to kiss him deeply.

When you’re alone, do you let go?

“You kept that quiet,” Xavier chuckled into your mouth, humming contentedly as his hands finally compute your move and surge up to wander across the expanse of your back.

Are you wild and willing or is it just for show?

“I keep a lot of things quiet, Plympton. You should try it sometime.”

I don’t want to touch you too much baby

Trailing your hand down the hollow of his throat and following the curve of his chest to the waistband of his pants, Xavier’s breaths quickened and his heart raced. He simply couldn’t conjure one of his quick-witted one liners to entice you further — for a start, you didn’t need enticing further. Your sudden assertion of control over him made Xavier weak, knocking all sense of power out of him as you assumed your place on top of him.

‘Cause making love to you might drive me crazy

“What’s the matter, baby?” You cooed as you slowly inched his zipper down and set his length free with a groan caught in the back of Xavier’s throat. “Cat got your tongue?”

I know you think that love is the way you make it

“I—I… fuck,” Xavier slicked back his quiff and searched your eyes for confirmation. “Am I dreaming right now?”

So I don’t want to be there when you decide to break it

“Not quite, Xav,” you hummed as your fingers curled around his tip and palmed him softly, his hips gently rocking into your touch. “Just be a good boy and let me take control.”

Love bites, love bleeds, it’s bringing me to my knees

Raising your hips to line his tip with your soaking folds, electric anticipation bolted through your core as his length slipped inside you. You both moaned erotically in unison, Xavier’s head throwing back into the chair as you eased down onto his cock.

Love lives, love dies, it’s no surprise

“You know you could’ve just told me you liked me, right?” A groan died in Xavier’s throat as he bottomed out, hands gripping your hips as you sank down onto him.

Love begs, love pleads, it’s what I need

“Now where’s the fun in that?” You whimpered lightly, sinking open-mouthed kisses into the nape of his neck. “After all, you thought I was shy.”

When I’m with you are you somewhere else?

“I also thought you wouldn’t be up for banging on the first date but we’ve not even made it to a first date yet.”

Am I getting through or do you please yourself?

“I think we’re way past first dates, don’t you?” You punctuated with a slow roll of your hips, sending Xavier’s eyes shooting to the ceiling. “You made me a goddamn mixtape, Xav.”

When you wake up will you walk out?

“Yeah well—oh fuck—it wasn’t supposed to come out like this,” Xavier growled under his breath, jutting his hips up to meet yours.

It can’t be love if you throw it about

“What wasn’t, baby?”

I don’t wanna touch you too much baby

“How—how I feel about you,” Xavier glanced down to where your bodies met, watching his cock emerge from your folds soaking wet, your arousal dribbling onto his white pants.

‘Cause making love to you might drive me crazy

“Use your words, Plympton,” you snapped down onto his length and wriggled your hips to take him as deep inside you as possible, instigating a tight, burning, wanting sensation deep within your walls — teasing Xavier only led you even closer to your own orgasm. “You didn’t pick Love Bites just because you’ve got a high school crush, did you?”

Love bites, love bleeds, it’s bringing me to my knees

Constricting your walls around him and drinking in the accompanying moans spilling from his lips, you resolved to hold off cumming until he spoke out.

Love lives, love dies, it’s no surprise

“You’re really gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” Xavier tried in vain to distract you both by pistoning his hips up to you, but he only succeeded in chasing his own release as his cock smoothly grazed your pulsing walls with every thrust. “Fuck, I’m gonna cum—“

Love begs, love pleads, it’s what I need

“Goddamnit Xav, just say it so I can say it back already.”

Xavier shot you a perplexed look, raised eyebrows tangling with his blissfully parted O-shaped lips to create his own brand of ‘about to cum but confused about it’ look.

If you’ve got love in your sights, watch out, love bites

Spotting his weakness, you started grinding down on him with a smooth flick of your hips, tightening your walls around him and watching in awe as his back arched frantically and his cock twitched fervently, desperately, relentlessly.

“I… I think I’m in love with you.”

With his confession, Xavier pumped into you and gave into his release, pouring against your walls just as you unleashed a fresh tidal wave of arousal over him. Your blending moans filled the van well above the music, a symphony of lust-blown cries as you both gripped onto each other.

Yes it does, it will be hell

Melting gasps and exhausted breaths into one, you fell speechless as you rode out your orgasm together. Venturing both hands to cup his face, you stole a blissful kiss from his lips and melted into him as his arms wrapped around you. Pressing your forehead against his, you whispered softly.

“I love you too, Xavier.”

[everybodyscupoftea]

jj the soccer fan

jj x unc women’s soccer reader

this is very short and purely to indulge @moldisgoodforyou​ @sunnypogue​ and i. however i could be convinced to add to this in the future.

(warnings: cursing, not proofread)

It was love at first slide tackle. Or, that’s what John B liked to tell JJ mockingly. In reality, that’s the first time he saw you.

A guy in one of JJ’s classes had an extra ticket and invited him because, “Dude, you have to see the soccer team, they’re insanely good every year.”

JJ was unsure, he’d seen a few of the girls’ soccer games at his high school, and it wasn’t really his cup of tea. But five minutes in to the Tar Heels home opener, it was safe to say JJ was incredibly impressed. The speed and technicality were astounding.

It was your sophomore season, and the game wasn’t against a particularly hard opponent, but you were still feeling a lot of first game nerves. Shaking your legs and arms out while you waited for the coach to call the team together, you stared out at the crowded stands.

One of your older teammates came to stand beside you, “More than last year, don’t you think?”

You nodded and stood in silence with her for a few seconds. Just as she moved to walk away, you asked, “You nervous?”

She laughed, “Always. But don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

You took a deep breath. You’ve got it. The shaky confidence held through the coach’s speech, lineup announcement, anthem, and taking the field. Once you got out there, you felt like you could breathe again.

The right midfielder on the other team lined up, and you could tell she was about to streak up the line, so you prepared, dropping into a ready stance. When the whistle blew, she took off, and you gauged, trying to decide where the ball was going to go. With your perfect read and interception, the student section next to you went insane and you settled in.

JJ and his friends were late. They’d met to drink a little before the game, planning on going out afterward. The air was warm and a little humid, and his shirt kept sticking to him while they looked for seats. The game in the background was tied he thought.

Suddenly the crowed roared a little and he turned just in time to see you slide and tap the ball out of bounds, the other girl flying over your leg and hitting the ground hard. You popped up, shaking your hand out, and she got up, giving you a dirty look.

“All ball,” you told her with a shrug, “stay on your feet next time.”

JJ couldn’t hear what you said, but he saw the little exchange and the amused look on your face was incredibly attractive. His friend nudged him, “She’s insane. Recruited out of Houston, and she’s been to a few National Team camps.”

He nodded wordlessly, taking in the information as he watched you sprint up the sideline, screaming for a drop pass.

You collected the pass and picked your head up, looking for the forward supposed to be checking across. Passing her the ball, you told her she had time and started crashing the goal, praying your midfielder would fill your position. The goalie ended the attempt and you sprinted back as fast as possible, managing to get back in time to shield the ball out of bounds.

JJ was impressed with your speed and stamina. He could tell you were breathing heavy, but it didn’t look like you were slowing down at all. The game flew by and he spent most of it watching you. When it ended, he was hooked.

His friends could tell and they made fun of him a little, “Yeah dude, good luck with that.”

Unbeknownst to him, you’d noticed when him and his rowdy friends had showed up. You could tell they were well on their way to being drunk and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. It seemed a little inconsiderate, but nothing you could do about it.

After the game, it seemed like JJ saw you everywhere. Eating in the caf with your teammates, sitting in the hallway of the math building waiting for class, in line for coffee before an 8 a.m., and leaving the rec center, headphones in.

One afternoon, when you were studying for a psych exam in the library, he sat in the chair across from you. You didn’t really care, the library was pretty full, but it started to get a little uncomfortable when you felt him staring at you.

He eventually cleared his throat, “Good game the other night.”

You looked up at him, “Thanks.”

“I’m JJ,” he continued, holding his hand out.

Shaking it, you nodded, “Nice to meet you.”

“Not going to introduce yourself?” JJ asked, jokingly.

With a shrug, you told him, “Seems like you already know me.”

“Fair enough.”

The conversation ended and you went back to studying. Halfway hoping he would leave you alone so you could focus, halfway wanting to talk to him because he was incredibly cute. JJ packed his stuff up several hours later, around dinner and addressed you one last time, “You hungry?”

Closing your textbook, you nodded, “I could eat.”

“Want to grab some Subway?”

The two of you walked across campus together, exchanging small talk. He was mostly asking about the season and your position, and you started to get the impression that he didn’t know much about soccer. After another question about how many players on the field at a time, you had to ask, “You a big soccer fan?”

JJ blushed in the evening light, “That obvious, huh?”

“Just a little,” you told him with a laugh, nudging your shoulder with his, “it’s okay though, I don’t mind talking about it.”

When you sat down with food, JJ changed the subject more toward getting to know you, and you were pleasantly surprised with how well it was going. JJ was funny and seemed interested in what you had to say. You found yourself joking back, and even reaching across the table to shove his arm when he said something ridiculous.

Eventually, you had to get home. It was a little bittersweet, you were having a good time. JJ held his phone out, “Can I text you any soccer questions I have?”

You took it and put your number in, biting your lip to hold in a smile, “Yeah, definitely. But you could also come to some home games and we can get dinner after. That way I can answer them before you forget.”

JJ beamed, “Bet. See you on Thursday, then.”

And just as he said, you looked around the student section Thursday evening while warming up and found him. He caught your eye and waved and you waved back. One of your teammates cooed mockingly, “You have a fan club.”

“Shut up,” you muttered, secretly thrilled.

He was cradling a hot cup of coffee, exhausted, because he’d spent most of the night before googling rules and your position so that he’d have a better understanding when watching you again. And when your eyes lit up when JJ asked a mildly informed question at dinner that night, it was all worth the lack of sleep.

[mayra-quijotescx]

Hi! This is for Houston friends and friends who may someday visit Houston:

If you can afford it, please travel with one extra q-card (METRO's bus card). The Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority persists in the foolish decision to spend a lot of extra money hiring fare inspection personnel to harass riders all day instead of simply making the rail lines, whose trolleys run regardless of whether they have passengers, fare-free. These fare inspectors like to write $75 tickets to anyone they catch on the rail without an in-use q-card or a fare receipt, and in particular like to give a hard time to anyone who looks unhoused. (This is particularly heinous considering how unbearably hot the weather has been this year and how the city has neglected to open emergency cooling centers inside the loop; the light rail is one of the only air-conditioned spaces in the business-class theme park known as 'downtown' that won't automatically chase people away for being visibly poor.)

Now, I don't know how these punch-clock assholes think someone who can't swing $1.25 for a fare receipt is going to cough up $75 for a ticket, but I do know from experience that giving the person being targeted your spare q-card, then telling the inspector that the person they were messing with can pay the fare now so there's no reason for such a ridiculous fare markup, usually embarrasses the inspector enough to get them to fuck off.

[everwitch-magiks]

dance with somebody (ch. 19)

start from ch. 1 | back to ch. 18

Dex drives him to the airport.

Even though it's still too fucking early o'clock, Whiskey feels wide awake. He didn’t think he would – it’s not exactly like he got an abundance of sleep, last night. He’s supposed to be joining the Aeros for their practice, right after lunch, and unfortunately, he highly doubts this nervous energy is going to last him until then.

Whiskey closes his eyes, breathes in and out. It’s fine. It will be fine. Somehow.

"Hey," Dex says carefully.

"I'm okay." Whiskey forces his eyes back open. "Thank you for doing this. I’m so sorry it had to be this fucking early."

"No problem," Dex tells him firmly. "Just remember – if you need to get out of there, for any reason, don’t hesitate to call. Alright? I promise I’ll drive right down and rescue you.”

Somehow, that actually makes Whiskey smile.

"Sure. It's literally on the other side of the country, but sure."

"Just a few hours behind the wheel," Dex replies decisively, almost like it could truly be that simple. Like he actually means it. "Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask. Have you talked to Jack, yet?"

Wait. What?

"Zimmermann?" Whiskey asks doubtfully, and watches in disbelief as Dex nods. "Why would I… Dex, I don't actually know Jack Zimmermann. I've spoken to him once, maybe twice in my life."

“He’s Samwell Men’s Hockey alumni, isn’t he?” Dex points out. “And obviously, he knows more about these things than any of us. He could definitely help you get some perspective.”

“Maybe, but I can’t just… It’s not like I’ve even got his number.”

“Do you mind if I talk to him, then?” Dex suggests. “I’m sure he’d have your back, Whiskey. And if there’s ever a time when you should rely on all of your support systems, I think it’s probably now.”

“I suppose it can’t hurt,” Whiskey agrees, somewhat tersely. It goes without saying that talking to Jack equals getting Bitty in the loop, and Whiskey’s not sure if he’s completely ready for that, just yet. “You know, it’s really okay if… I mean, Jack Zimmermann is probably very busy.”

“Just leave it to me.” If Dex picks up on Whiskey’s discomfort on the subject, he doesn’t show it. “We should probably also consider how much I should tell the team, while you’re away? They’re bound to have some questions.”

Whiskey closes his eyes again, just briefly. Fuck. The team. Tango and Ford. Louis, Hops and Bully. Chowder and Nursey. Joyo and Jader. Pips. God fucking damnit.

“Tango and Ford already know,” Whiskey says, as evenly as he can manage. “As for the rest, could you just… Try to say as little as possible? At least for now.”

Dex takes a moment before he replies.

“They’re all going to be happy for you,” he says carefully. “You know that, right? Sad, too, and in some cases pretty fucking devastated. But happy, ultimately.”

“Maybe, yeah.” Whiskey attempts a casual shrug that he knows Dex will see right through. “I just think, if I’m really doing this, then I’m going to need to tell them all myself. So for now, just say that something came up and that I will be back on Saturday.”

“Alright,” Dex agrees. His tone is a lot gentler than before. “Sounds good.”

Whiskey nods, once.

They don’t talk much more for the rest of the drive.

Emily has booked Whiskey a first-class ticket, and that should be exciting or at least somewhat distracting, but it’s not. Whiskey barely takes in his surroundings as he moves through priority boarding and fully reclines in his very spacious seat. He manages to sleep a little on the plane, so at least that’s something.

A bored-looking driver collects Whiskey from the airport, and then they’re off straight towards the rink. Whiskey grits his teeth as he steps out of the car. This is it. This is actually fucking it.

Someone is waiting for him by the entrance. It’s one of the players Whiskey certainly knew by name even before he obsessively googled the Aeros’s current roster, the night before. Walt ‘Mickey’ Davis, team captain of the Aeros and one of the highest ranked defensemen in professional hockey.

Whiskey takes a breath. No big deal. Absolutely no big deal at all.

“I hear you’ve had a bit of a whirlwind, these past twelve hours,” Walt greets him. His handshake is firm, and Whiskey immediately likes the steady way he meets Whiskey’s eyes. If Walt Davis is at all concerned with the fact that two of his best forwards are out due to a broken collarbone and a torn meniscus, respectively, he certainly doesn’t show it. “It’s Connor Whisk, right? Let’s see what we can do with that. I go by Mickey.”

“I know,” Whiskey says, only to immediately feel stupid. Which, in itself, is stupid – the only reason he’s here is because he’s been explicitly asked to come, so if he somehow makes an utter fool of himself it’s actually kind of on them. Besides, all of this is just more hockey, isn’t it? Whiskey knows hockey. How fucking hard can it be? “It’s very nice to meet you. I’m really looking forward to getting on the ice with you guys.”

“Polite, eh?” Mickey smiles. “Come on. Let’s get you settled in as best as we can, before practice. I have to warn you, though – Ducky has this slight obsession with the Samwell NCAA team. He might have one or two questions. Just let me know if you ever need him to back off.”

Whiskey blinks. Right. What’s one more utterly baffling thing to navigate.

Ducky, it turns out, has a lot more than two questions. He instantly reminds Whiskey of Tango in the best way possible, which unfortunately makes Whiskey feel nauseous all over again – what the fuck is he even doing here – but he kind of also reminds Whiskey of Bitty in a way that calms him slightly, and of Chowder in a way that almost makes him smile.

“So obviously, there’s been a lot of talk,” Ducky says, after Whiskey has apparently satisfied his curiosity on Samwell’s defensive strategy during last season’s playoffs, “About Eric Bittle. You played with him, right?”

Whiskey stills.

“Uh, yeah. For two years.”

“That long, huh.” Ducky grins. “So, like, is there any chance you’ve got some intel on the whole jam situation?”

“Ducky,” Mickey says, somewhat warningly.

“No, I swear, it’s a whole thing!” Ducky insists. “I used to play with Poots on the Falconers, okay, and I’m telling you, Poots won’t fucking shut up about it!”

Slowly, Whiskey exhales.

“The jam is a whole thing,” he offers tentatively. “But, it’s not... I mean, Bitty’s jam is the greatest, yes, Poots is absolutely onto something there. It’s just, did he really not mention the pies?”

Ducky’s eyes widen.

“Oh my God. There’s pies, too?”

“Dude,” Whiskey says. He actually smiles. “The pies are where it’s really at.”

“Our nutritionist is gonna be all over this,” someone chirps – Lacer, if Whiskey’s not entirely mistaken. God, he’s gonna need fucking flashcards. "Are we talking, like, blueberry or apple, here? Or is there any chance for apricots?"

Somehow, inexplicably, the conversation about pie lasts all the way until they're lacing up their skates. It's only then that Whiskey realises they've talked a lot about Bitty, and at one point little about Jack, but not for one single second about Bitty and Jack. It just hasn't come up, even once. Whiskey's not entirely sure if that should make him feel relieved, or concerned.

Stepping onto the ice is like a breath of fresh air. Whiskey skates a lap, and then another, and it’s like he finally relaxes for the first time since last night. Pretty soon, Mickey calls them to order, and suddenly it’s all starting, but Whiskey still feels like he’s got a decent grip on himself. He’s got this. He can do this.

They run a bunch of drills focused on puck control, at first, and then split up into pairs to work on passing and receiving. And somehow, it all feels achingly familiar. It’s almost like Tango is right there next to Whiskey as he shoots the puck to Ducky over and over again – Whiskey gets the timing exactly right every time, but that's only because he and Tango spent all those hours fucking nailing their passes, last season. And later, when Whiskey races Mickey up the ice in a speed exercise that has him high on adrenaline, it’s almost like Pips skates furiously beside him, like always, pushing and pushing and pushing until Whiskey is giving it everything he’s got and then just a little bit more. It’s weirdly grounding, how every member of the Samwell team seems to manifest themselves through his playing, a constant reminder of how far they’ve all helped him come.

They play something of a mock-game towards the end of it, and Mickey has them changing up the lines again and again. By the time they’re wrapping things up, Whiskey thinks he’s played alongside each of the other forwards at least once.

They’re all good. They’re all really fucking good.

Mickey claps a hand on his back as they’re stepping back into the locker room.

“Not bad,” he says. “You’re fast.”

Not as fast as Pips, Whiskey doesn’t tell him. And neither are you.

“I try to be,” he says instead, and Mickey grins.

“You’ll catch up to an old man like me in no time,” he chirps kindly. “Now, I think Larsen wants to get hold of you sooner rather than later. Let’s try not keep her any longer, eh?”

Unsurprisingly, Emily Larsen is waiting for him when he steps out of the locker room.

“There you are,” she says brightly. “Welcome to Houston, Connor. We’re so happy to have you here at such short notice.”

He’s ushered off to something that turns out to be a meeting. There’s at least three different people who shake his hand on the way there – one of them is the nutritionist, who has somehow already heard rumours about baked goods. 

Emily promises not to keep him for too long, but she does have a few things that apparently can’t wait. She goes over the draft of his contract, aided by someone from the legal department who is able to answer some of Whiskey’s questions, which is good. Or well, it’s at least informative. Then there’s the question of housing options, which Whiskey decides to postpone until all of this is actually completely settled. He’s in a hotel, for now, which is perfectly fine. Finally, Emily runs through a brief power-point presentation on the Aeros, their history, and some aspects of life in Houston. Which isn’t uninteresting, exactly, but Whiskey is sort of more fucking exhausted than he remembers being in last year’s playoffs.

“Almost done,” Emily reassures him as she changes yet another slide.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, the next headline captures Whiskey’s full attention. Outreach Activities – You Can Play & The Rainbow Puck Foundation. Our values and vision.

“Well,” Emily says. She looks at the screen, her expression almost a little confused. “This is, you know. What we stand for, and all of that.”

And just like that, she’s moved on to the next slide.

Right.

Whiskey checks into his hotel room, puts his suitcase down, makes it to the bed and sleeps for three hours.

When he wakes up, he’s got seven missed calls and more than twenty texts.

Most of the texts are from Miguel. Whiskey smiles softly while he scrolls through Miguel's more than familiar stream-of-consciousness. It's perhaps a little more chipper than usually, almost as if Miguel is making an effort to sound nothing but cheerful. Whiskey's heart aches desperately as he types up a few lines in response. got here okay. practice was fine. will call you tonight. I miss you so fucking much.

The calls are from Dex, Chowder, Louis and Pips. Pips has called twice, Dex thrice. Dex has also sent him five texts.

The last one contains Jack Zimmermann’s phone number.

call Jack, okay? he’d really like to hear from you. Bitty says hi, by the way.

Whiskey plugs in his phone, and gets up. If he’s going to have a heart to heart with one of the most high-profile players in the league, he’s going to take another shower, first, and his phone is going to have more than six percent battery.

About half an hour later, he’s put on pajamas, because fuck it, and settled into an armchair by the window with his hair still damp. His hands barely shake as he carefully types in the number.

Jack Zimmermann doesn’t pick up until the seventh ring.

“Connor?” he asks by way of greeting.

“Yeah.” Whiskey pulls his knees up to his chest and fiddles with the hem of his pajama pants. “Hi.”

“Give me just one second.” There’s a bustling noise, the sound of a door closing and then quiet. “There. It’s nice to talk to you again.”

“You, too.” God, Whiskey has no idea how the fuck he’s supposed to navigate this. “I hope this isn’t a bad time?”

“Not at all,” Jack reassures him. “How are you?”

“Um.” Whiskey grimaces. “Tired?”

“I can imagine,” Jack says, his voice surprisingly warm. “Dex filled me in a little bit, this morning. You’re already in Houston, right?”

“That’s right, yeah.”

“How are things, so far?”

“Not bad,” Whiskey decides, after a moment’s consideration. “I don’t really… I mean, I’ve actually barely had time to think about it.”

Jack hums.

“How long do you have, before you need to give them a definite answer?”

“Until Sunday.”

“Sunday. Okay.” Jack pauses momentarily. “That’s not unreasonable, on their part. Sometimes these things happen really fast.”

“Right. Okay.”

“Can I ask… Do you have an agent?”

“No, actually.” Whiskey runs a hand through his hair. “I haven’t really... I mean, I’ve basically been thinking that there would still be time before I’d need to consider these things more seriously. This opportunity was very unexpected.”

“Okay.” There’s another moment of silence before Jack speaks again. “Look, I’m just going to be very blunt about this. How much are these guys offering you?”

“Ah,” Whiskey says. He tries to remember – there’s been numbers mentioned, several of them, something about a signing bonus and a monthly salary and Whiskey’s barely registered anything beyond how that’s a lot of digits, holy cow. “I haven’t… Honestly, the financial aspect has sort of been the last thing on my mind.”

“Okay,” Jack says again, and there’s something of a smile in his voice. “I understand that, I really do. There are a lot of other important factors. It’s just, you should definitely think about getting an agent.”

“No, I know,” Whiskey agrees readily. “I, uh. This has all just happened really fast.”

“I’m getting that.” There’s no judgement in Jack’s tone. “But you haven’t actually signed anything yet, right? Not even some non-disclosure formality?"

“No, nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Then you’ve got the ball in your corner, still,” Jack says encouragingly. “Or, you know. The puck. This is all going to play out the way you decide is best, in the end.”

“... Right.” Suddenly, Whiskey wants to laugh. Fuck, he’s so tired. “The thing is, I’ve honestly got no clue how I’m supposed to figure that out. There’s no telling if I’ll ever get a better offer than this, and that’s...  A major concern for me. This is what I want to do, and I don’t know if I can afford to pass up on this chance. But I never imagined that I would need to be ready to take this step so soon, and I… I just don’t know if I’m going to be.” 

“Okay,” Jack says. And this time, he doesn’t need to pause and consider before he responds. “Look. The only thing you need to do, here, is make sure that you do right by yourself and what it is that you need. Okay? I know the Aeros are in a bit of a hurry, at the moment – I’ve heard all about those injuries and the estimated recovery times. They’re going to have several key players out for the rest of the season, and that’s certainly an urgent situation for them. Now, I’ve seen the way you play, Connor, and I’m more than familiar with your statistics. You’re good. Clearly, this is a move that makes complete sense for the Houston Aeros. The real question is, is it something that’s going to make complete sense for you?”

Whiskey closes his eyes for a moment. He exhales, and feels his shoulders relax a bit. Huh. When he opens his eyes again, looking out over the unfamiliar city outside his window, it’s like he finally has a moment of clarity.

“I don’t know,” he says, almost steadily. “I thought it might.”

“Well,” says Jack Zimmermann. He sounds almost fond, which is of course completely ridiculous. Clearly, Whiskey is having some sort of sleep-deprived hallucination. “Maybe don't rule it out after your very first day. But you might want to give that some serious thought, during the rest of this week.”

“Yeah.” Whiskey inhales, then exhales. “I guess that’s what I’ll have to do.”

Their conversation continues for a little while longer. Jack inquires about some of the Samwell team members, and coach Hall and Murray, and Whiskey finds himself surprisingly at ease as they take turns sharing a few personal anecdotes about Faber, and the Haus. It's never quite struck him, before, how much of a shared history he has with the generations of Samwell team members that came before him.

"I'd really like to stay in touch," Jack says before they hang up. Surprisingly, he tacks on something of a chirp. "If you're going to be my new competition, I'd like to know what I'm up against."

"I don't think I could give you competition," Whiskey tells him honestly, and if that reveals just a little more of Whiskey's deep and genuine admiration for Jack than he had maybe intended to show, well, so be it.

"Don't be so sure," Jack says plainly. "Take care out there, Connor. I'll talk to you soon."

ch. 20

[indieephemera]

Audience ticket for the first three episodes of Lifetime television show Jane Pratt, taped on February 16, 1993.

Depending on how much a fan you are of the late teen mag Sassy, you may or may not know that onetime editor-in-chief Jane Pratt also had a short-lived career as a daytime talk show host.

Honestly, I was not the target demographic for Sassy when it debuted in 1988. After all, teen girls like myself read Glamour and Cosmopolitan. Pre-teens were the ones who read the so-called teen mags like YM, Seventeen and Sassy. But when I found out the editorial staff of Sassy were into indie music—heck, the magazine ended up collaborating with Sub Pop Records on a free 7″ single!—I needed to subscribe. Oh, and the zine column was also key. I even gained a couple of Sassy readers when they picked as “Zine of the Month” Geoff Farina of Karate’s zine No Duh, the latest issue of which contained a review of my own zine.

So I was certainly aware of who Jane Pratt was in 1993, when I was living in New York City taking a, uh, college “gap year.” Out of curiosity, I’d watched an episode or two of her daytime talk show, Jane, for the local Fox affiliate the previous year, before it was cancelled. But then Ms. Pratt got a second chance, in the form of a new show, Jane Pratt, to be debuting on cable network Lifetime. And my friend Chin-a had audience tickets. Would I like to go?

I was pretty sure that wasn’t my scene, but I was convinced to go since a friend of hers, music journalist Ann Powers, was going to be appearing as a guest on a show about music fandom. Music, you say? Sure.

I don’t remember too much about the taping, other than Chin-a stepping up to Jane’s mic to berate some sexist dude in one of the non-music episodes (they taped three total). But my memory was recently refreshed by a re-watch of the VHS tape onto which I’d recorded those three episodes when they were aired. And yes, I digitized them. Here’s that episode on music fandom, also with guests David Cassidy and Downtown Julie Brown.

The taping may have been a bit of a snooze, but Jane Pratt made a bit more of an impression on me when I saw her perform onstage as the violinist with short-lived “Sassy house band” Chia Pet. Their amateurish set opening for Bratmobile in a dank basement club on Houston called The Spiral was engaging in the way nothing on manufactured television stage set in Queens could ever be.

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

🚌Tues 10 Dec🚰

Harry will host the Late Late Show tonight (airing like an hour after this posts.) He interviews Kendall Jenner and Tracee Ellis Ross, performs, and does Carpool Karaoke and Spill Your Guts Fill Your Guts where I hear we can look forward to seeing him drinking cod sperm and making lots of blow job jokes! Primo content! And speaking of innuendo, the pearl necklace is safe and made an appearance. In today's interviews he says for Christmas he wants to see his loved ones, and he'd like a rocket ship (to go see his alien loved ones presumably), Rolling Stone delivers the breaking news that he is "kind of weird," aww they're catching up, how cute, and Harry says yeah, the climate crisis is "probably our biggest issue," so we should all try to reuse water bottles. He stops short of saying that will save the world at least (more on that later) but for political actions of the day I'm happier with him being seen out and about in a timely 'VOTE' shirt (vote labour!)

Also today, the introduction of the Love Bus, a Love On Tour VW van to drive home the sixties mood for the album, which will "surprise fans" tomorrow at the forum. Uh maybe they should have spoiler tagged the press release? The van is already visible at the forum getting fancied up for tomorrow's event. The event opens at 10am, and it will include a drawing for tickets for the Fine Line concert the following night (and maybe the Love Bus is going to distribute tickets to all those held back sections? It's not really clear to me how this works.) Meanwhile people who have tickets are already camped out so I guess they're in position to appreciate all this but will they just have to sit and watch people go into the event so as not to lose their places? Ouch. HSHQ tweeted about Eroda (#JourneytoEroda) so perhaps the discussion about tomorrow's event theme being Erodan is on point. I'm happy to have been wrong that we'd seen the last of it all, though if they have Eroda swag that's only for a few lucky LA local attendees and don't offer it to the rest of us I think we should throw fish at them.

The reviews of Niall's Strictly Come Dancing performance are in and they are: thirst! The GP had a lot to say about his chest hair and general... everything. He has new shirts out and we have lyric merch! I personally wouldn't wear a What's Your Name shirt because I don't want people to talk to me but still, cute. The PRICING THOUGH OMG is this merch by gucci? Are we having Platinum pricing for hoodies now?? Despite this the $50 water bottles sold out right away, prompting Niall to tweet, "let's save the bloody planet people!" The idea that meaningful change can be made by adjusting consumption patterns without addressing the systemic problem is dangerous and willfully naive and millionaires thinking they've found ways to do good without sacrificing their profit margins is about my least favorite thing so I am, in short, cranky.

Liam for the holidays! He'll be on a Strictly Come Dancing Special airing Christmas Day and will play at Disneyland for a special YouTube broadcast on New Year's Eve. He played an acoustic set today that included the two current singles and looked to be having fun being charming and goofing with the audience. He posted about the Times Square billboards for LP1, and he will be on Jimmy Fallon the 17th. He posted merch today also, a reasonably priced tote bag with no delusions of righteous grandeur.

DLIBYH has been added to the fantasy football league playlist; this seems weird to me but I feel like Louis is probably pleased so hurray! He was spotted being adorable with fans in Houston in advance of tomorrow's listening party there.

And Zayn tweeted about FIFA and didn't mention plastic water bottles, thank you for that Zayn.

[frontproofmedia]

Jermell Charlo Takes on Brian Castaño In Highly Anticipated Undisputed Showdown Live on SHOWTIME Saturday, July 17 from AT&T Center in San Antonio

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Published: June 16, 2021

SAN ANTONIO, TX. (June 16, 2021) – Unified WBC, WBA, and IBF World Champion Jermell Charlo and WBO World Champion Brian Castaño will battle for undisputed status at super welterweight as all four 154-pound belts hang in the balance for the first time in history on Saturday, July 17 live on SHOWTIME from AT&T Center in San Antonio in a Premier Boxing Champions event.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will also feature unbeaten Interim WBA Lightweight Champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero taking on Austin Dulay in the co-main event, plus unbeaten middleweight Amilcar Vidal matching up against veteran contender Immanuwel Aleem in a 10-round bout that opens the telecast.  

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Lions Only Promotions and TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased through www.attcenter.com. Romero vs. Dulay is co-promoted with Mayweather Promotions.

"This is going to be a monumental and historic event on July 17 at AT&T Center in San Antonio," said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. "Charlo and Castaño will be vying to become the first undisputed champion at 154-pounds in the four-belt era. This is a big moment for the sport and I’m expecting both fighters to do whatever it takes to accomplish something that’s never been done before. Whoever emerges victorious on July 17, will cement their legacy and become the undisputed top fighter in one of the most stacked divisions in all of boxing.”

After years of scintillating matchups, memorable showdowns, and drama-filled bouts, the super welterweight division will crown an undisputed champion on July 17 when the unified champion Charlo puts his three titles on the line against the hard-charging world champion Castaño. The winner of this matchup will become the first four-belt champion of the 154-pound division.

Houston’s Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) became a unified champion in his last fight, dropping Jeison Rosario three times on his way to an eighth-round knockout that earned him the WBA and IBF titles. Before that fight, Charlo had avenged the only loss of his career, as he reclaimed his WBC belt via an 11th-round knockout of Tony Harrison in one of 2019’s best fights. The 31-year-old is trained by Derrick James in Dallas and won his first world title in his debut fight with James by scoring an eighth-round knockout of John Jackson in 2016. He followed up that victory with three successful defenses, knocking out Erickson Lubin and Charles Hatley while winning a decision over former world champion Austin Trout.

“I’m more than excited for July 17,” said Charlo. “I have so much potential and I’m just doing everything I can to get better and do better day by day. I’m hungrier than ever because I know I’m on the verge of capturing this undisputed title and doing something that nobody has ever done before at 154 pounds. There’s nobody out there that’s as fast, strong, and elusive as me. Castaño doesn’t possess anything I haven’t seen before, and we’ll see if he can take my power and the pain I’ll bring. But there’s nothing that worries me about this fight. I’m training super hard and aggressive and just taking it one day at a time. I’m so ready for this and more than likely he’ll walk into every shot I throw.”

The 31-year-old Castaño (17-0-1, 12 KOs) put on a spectacular performance to capture the WBO title in February, as he dominated Patrick Teixeira to wrest the belt away via unanimous decision. A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, a win on July 17 would be a monumental achievement in the storied history of Argentine boxing. Prior to winning his title, Castaño fought to a draw against two-division world champion Erislandy Lara in a 2019 action fight, and also owns triumphs over Michel Soro, Cedric Vitu, and Wale Omotoso. A highly experienced amateur, Castaño notched victories over unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and top middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko before he turned pro.  

“This is the biggest opportunity of my life and I won’t let it get away,” said Castaño. “I’ll make Charlo suffer more than he ever thought was possible. I’m training with only one goal in mind, to leave the ring with all of the belts on July 17.''

A rising prospect in the Mayweather Promotions stable, Romero (13-0, 11 KOs) won his interim title in August 2020 via unanimous decision over then-unbeaten Jackson Marinez. The 25-year-old followed that victory up with an impressive seventh-round TKO over Avery Sparrow in January. Representing his hometown of Las Vegas, the undefeated Romero began his pro career with knockouts in 10 of his first 11 fights.

“I’ve watched some clips of Dulay fighting, and he definitely isn’t going to want to get hit by my power,” said Romero. “My trainer Bullit Cromwell and my dad are always by my side in camp, so we haven’t been working on doing too many things differently, we’re just fine-tuning. People said that all I have is power, so in my last fight I carried Sparrow the entire fight so I could show a different side. But for this fight, I don’t think I’m going to need to do that.”

Dulay (14-2, 10 KOs) enters this fight the winner of three out of his last four bouts, as he seeks a career-best triumph over Romero on July 17. The 25-year-old most recently defeated Jose Gallegos by unanimous decision in November 2020, putting him back in the win column after a decision loss against former title challenger Diego Magdaleno. Fighting out of his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, Dulay’s only other pro loss came against unbeaten rising interim super featherweight champion Chris Colbert.

“I moved my whole camp to Atlanta to focus mentally and to prepare physically for this fight,” said Dulay. “I’m bringing everything I got for this opportunity. But honestly, my training began over 20 years for this. It’s my time!”

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Vidal (12-0, 11 KOs) now fights out of Coachella, California, having beaten previously undefeated fighters in his last three bouts. The 25-year-old made his U.S. debut with a stoppage of Zach Prieto in November 2019, then returned quickly to knock out Leopoldo Reyna in January 2020. Most recently, the undefeated middleweight stopped Edward Ortiz in the second round of their November 2020 clash.

“Training has been going great for July 17,” said Vidal. “This is the best camp of my life. I will be stronger and hit harder than ever before, which is not good news for Immanuwel Aleem. The fans should watch this fight because I have a spectacular knockout to show them. My opponent has excellent experience and is a very good fighter, but I have full confidence in my punching power and my ability to beat him. This is another great opportunity for me. I grew up dreaming of doing exactly this in the ring, fighting in America against great opponents who will test me. This is a chance to be one step closer to reaching my goal of becoming a world champion from Uruguay and I will make the most of it.”

The 27-year-old Aleem (18-2-2, 11 KO) has been sparring with WBC Middleweight World Champion Jermall Charlo as he prepares to make his return to the ring. Born in East Meadow, New York and now residing in Richmond, Virginia, Aleem will look to bounce back from a draw against Matt Korobov and a majority decision loss against Ronald Ellis in his last two fights. Unbeaten in his first 18 pro bouts, Aleem owns an impressive stoppage victory over then-unbeaten Ievgen Khytrov in their memorable 2017 brawl.

“I’m excited to take advantage of this opportunity on July 17,” said Aleem. “Vidal has an undefeated record, so I know he’s going to come in with confidence, which should make this a great fight. I can’t wait to show off everything I’ve been working on. You’re going to see the very best version of myself in this fight and I’m going to do whatever it takes to have my hand raised.”