#I dunno I didn’t watch the race I was driving to California

[cowboylarries]

Best Cars character and/or scene. Come with receipts. Start your engines on your mark ready set boogity boogity boogity let’s go racing bois GO.

okay. i accept your challenge. here are my favorite scenes. with receipts. (im placing it under the cut bc i realize this is a very very niche discussion here and not everyone wants to see this)

my absolute favorite scene is when mack is driving across the country and life is a highway is playing and its just all scenic shots!! something about this just makes my heart sing every time and it's quite honestly the prettiest thing i've ever seen

like tell me this isn't the prettiest animation sunrise you've ever seen ^

OR the prettiest animation sunset you've ever seen!!! ^

here are a few more that bring back some hard hitting nostalgia. when i was younger, we lived four states away from my grandparents and any other extended family so my parents would drive 16 hours straight to get back for christmas and summer vacations and these shots look just like what i remember seeing out my car window

i was going to list the next scene as my favorite but then i was watching this scene again and it made me so happy and i was so passionate about the beautiful animation that i had to move it to the top!

so the new road scene with all the neon is one of my all time favorites.

look how good it looks!!!!!!! like there was so much dedication and artistry put into making sure that the neon reflected off the cars in the right way and that the lighting was correct and im always in awe of it! like the whole movie is so well thought out for like frame by frame for an animation and its very pretty!!

something about seeing radiator springs as it was in the olden days makes me feel all gushy inside and then when lizzie talks to stanley about how she wishes he could see this ! ! ! ! ! ! it makes me teary every time.

my absolute favorite line from this scene is when flo asks ramone "low and slow?" and ramone says "oh yeaaaah baby" (they might be my favorite characters like ever)

but i also think that i love the angst when everything is going perfectly and then something bad happens or a plot twist comes into play. which this scene is because SPOILER (in case anyone else is reading this) right after they cruise down the new street, the press comes and whisks lightning off to california and mater didn't get to say goodbye and so this scene is perfect in all the right ways right before it seemingly goes to shit :/

lastly, doc hudson has a special little place in my heart. dunno why but he's my favorite and dare i say it? he's straight up sexy. men who look like him, call me please.

[harringrovetrashrat]

The discord (specifically @warheadache) got me thinking about a Grease AU and...well...

Steve gets broken up with at the end of the year.  Nancy is just not in love with him the way she thought.  So he goes with his parents for a full summer away, a full summer in California.  And he meets the most beautiful boy he’s ever seen.  And it’s summer.  It’s California.  And this boy is licking his lips at him, is flirting and he just--

He has the best summer he’s ever had.

And when they part ways Billy kisses Steve so fiercely it’s like he’s fallen in love, too.  But they have to part ways, even if it break their hearts to do it.

When Billy gets news that he’s moving to bumfuck nowhere, he’s pissed.  Because how can his Bambi come back and find him now?

The first person he meets is this greaser boy, Tommy.  Sees him smoking and asks to bum one.  Tommy immediately knows he’s never seen him before, clocks the leather jacket and tight pants, and introduces himself.  And he’s small town, but he’s fun, he pushes a nerd around and makes Billy laugh, so he’s good for now.  He does keep talking about a Stevie, probably his girlfriend, and a Carol, maybe his other girlfriend, but Billy won’t judge.  Can’t, yanno.

And Steve and Carol are busy most of the day, so they somehow don’t cross paths until after school, until the pep rally, when Carol runs over and plants one on Tommy.

“This must be Carol,” Billy says, giving her a wink.  She waggles her brows before turning and yelling,

“Stevie!  Over here!  Fresh meat!” Billy turns and… Fuck.  There’s his Bambi.

And Steve is so excited when he sees Billy, even if he’s fucking nervous because Billy understood him in a way none of his partners had before. But Billy...

The beautiful boy he thought he’d never see again, who had wanted more than a quick handy under the pier, who had broken down some of Billy’s walls in a single summer, is here?  In front of him?  And he panics.  Teases Steve, and he’s honestly kinda mean, and Steve just, doesn’t get it.  Tommy thinks it’s all in good fun, tells Steve that “Billy’s just like that” and Steve stares Billy down, hurt when he answers, “Never woulda guessed.”

Cue Steve spending more time with Carol and Heather, making Tommy jealous and a little sad, and Billy just kinda swallows his regret.  Let’s Steve keep his distance.  Keeps teasing and teasing because he’s never been good with feelings.

Steve is sitting by his pool after leaving a hang out, thinking about how different Billy is now that he’s here, and Billy arrives. Followed him because it’s almost December and he can’t take it.  He can’t be here, be near Steve, without getting to have him, even just a little bit.  So he’s standing on the opposite side and Steve ignores him because he’s tired of getting his heart broken, yanno?

But Billy sits, using a stick to make the water move and he says,

“I’m sorry.” Which doesn’t mean much but Steve shrugs in acceptance.

“Whatever.”

“No, I—“ Billy struggles with the words because this boy... “I’m sorry for... for everything.”

“Everything starting this summer or everything starting from the pep rally.”

“I could never be sorry for this summer.” And Steve looks up at that, a little shocked.

Billy isn’t looking, too vulnerable, but he keeps going.

“You— I’ve never—“ A frustrated groan.  He can’t find the words so he gets up, goes to leave, and as he walks away, he hears Steve say,

“I forgive you.” And Billy wants to stay, but he’s got a curfew and he’s still so scared.  Because there’s no way Steve could still love him the way he did.  Even if he does forgive him.

After the pool, Steve and Billy kinda call a truce.  They won’t bring up the summer, but they will act like it didn’t happen.  Like they just finally stopped butting heads.  Tommy loves it.  Because now Steve will hang out with them instead of the girls, right?  And Steve does, helps Tommy and Billy fix up Tommy’s car, even if it’s just controlling the radio while the other two work, rolling joints for their breaks.  But there’s a weird distance between Billy and Steve that Tommy just can’t seem to get rid of, and it irks him.  He keeps his feelings under wraps, but like, he doesn’t wanna lose Steve just for Billy.  No offense to Billy, he’s great in Tommy’s opinion, but Steve is his BFF.

And Billy and Steve, WHOOO BOY, these boys are staring at each other any time they can.  Billy watches as Steve laughs, chucking fries at Tommy while Tommy shoots spitballs at him from across the table.  Like, how can Steve be so beautiful while he’s got spitty paper stuck to the side of his face?  Billy doesn’t know but he’s weak for it.

And Steve is literally so grateful that Tommy spends most of his time under the car so he can’t see how Steve has to keep shifting as Billy bends over the front of the car, messing with the engine.  Like, Steve has had so many inopportune boners it’s getting ridiculous.  Cuz Billy wears his pants so tight and hates wearing sleeves, or keeps them rolled up so he can tuck his cig pack in the fold, and like, Steve is just supposed to look and not wanna jump him? Rude.

And things are decently chill, right?  And then prom.

It’s their last one and Steve decides to ask someone to go with him.  I’m wondering if maybe it’s Heather, who will agree because Robin maybe can’t go, or she needs a cover.  And like, they aren’t together, Billy has made that bed himself, but he doesn’t wanna fucking lay in it.  He doesn’t wanna watch Steve get all cuddly with a girl all night, cuz of course he’s gonna go stag.  And he thought maybe Steve would go stag too and they could ditch together and go to the park or drive in or something, and Billy could finally maybe make a move (he’d deny planning this shit out and daydreaming about it even tho he 100% did).  But no.  Steve wants the full experience and apparently he can’t get that with *illy.

And maybe Steve was trying to make Billy a little jealous.  See if he would be jealous.  And maybe Steve was thinking that since Heather and Robin are so obviously in love (somehow he’s the only one who notices (besides maybe Carol)) that he could get his dinner and photos for his folks before ditching to spend the night with Billy.  But since Billy decided that he’d rather spend the night talking with fucking Stacey Connors instead, Steve watches from across the room, sad and angry and wanting.

Heather takes him out to the back, because if she’s gonna sit with a moping Steve all night she’d prefer to have a little schnapps or some devil’s lettuce to get thru, yanno?  And Steve goes to lay down his jacket, but Heather just plops onto the dirty ground outside the back of the gym, because,

“This dress is ugly and I need weed more than I need to go back in there.” And Steve laughs, sits next to her, because Heather is actually really fun and nice and Steve wished he hung out with her more--

And the back door bursts open as Billy spills out, freezing in his tracks when he sees them sitting, passing a joint back and forth.  He gets a little embarrassed cuz he was definitely planning on breaking up a makeout sesh, not catching Steve laughing at Heather’s spot on impression of their principal.

“Hey Billy!” Because Heather cannot for the life of her read the tension between the boys.  She pats Steve’s knee, handing him the joint as she gets up.  Billy helps her on instinct and she pecks his cheek, giving it a pat.  “I’m gonna go see if they restocked the snack table.  You boys want anything?” Steve asks for some chips and Billy shakes his head.  Heather winks at Billy, all, “Take care of him while I’m gone.”

And then they’re alone.  So Billy sits next to Steve, who hands him the joint.  And things are a little tense, a little stiff, but finally Steve breaks the silence.

“Where’s Stacey?” Billy shrugs.

“Dunno.  Dancing, I think?”

“Really?” Steve snorts.  “You don’t know where your date is?” Cuz he’s bitter and not above giving some jabs because he thought maybe Billy was gonna be ready.  Would have understood.  Billy shrugs again.

“She wanted to dance with Kyle more.” And well, that wasn’t entirely true, but Kyle definitely wanted to dance with her more than Billy ever would.  So he’d slyly made sure that Stacey would have someone to cry to when he inevitably dropped her the moment he could get Steve alone.  “You and Heather having a good time?” And it comes out more petulant and annoyed than Billy meant for it to and Steve shakes his head, putting out the joint and pulling out his flask, handing it to Billy.

“She’d be having more fun with Robin, but yanno.  She’s nice.  Fun.” And Billy blinks, flask still pressed against his lips.

“Huh?”

“Robin,” Steve says, like it’s obvious.

“I mean, I guess, they are best friends--”

“They’re dating,” Steve says, realizing that Billy didn’t know.  And they lock eyes and something surges and--

“I got a bunch of different kinds of chips!” Heather showers them with small bags, making them laugh, and the three of them finish prom together before they take Heather to Robin’s.

Suddenly Steve and Billy are close again, and Tommy doesn’t know what’s happening when he’s not around, but these two keep going from hot to cold over and over and it’s infuriating.

And there’s a rival gang, led by Adam, who keep teasing Tommy, because Steve seems above it all (and Adam has a one-sided crush, is maybe pissed Tommy gets to be Steve’s bff instead of him), and Tommy finally bursts all,

“You’ve been so preoccupied with yourself you didn’t even notice these guys have been pulling shit all year!” And he and Steve get in a tiny fight, but it’s quickly resolved and Steve wants to tell Tommy what’s going on but he can’t, so he just admits he was distracted.  Hadn’t been giving as much as he got from Tommy.

And when it comes to the race, over turf is what it comes down to, because both of them want the Quarry as theirs, Tommy is ready to go.  But Steve is worried for him, so he does the thing of knocking Tommy out on accident, trying to just get him to let it go, but he won’t, keeps trying to get in the car even with a possible concussion--

So Billy does it.  Fucking wins.  No doubt.  And Steve can’t help himself.  Cuz it was hot and Billy is smiling and Tommy is happy and Steve has everyone he cares about close and there and--

And he kisses Billy.  Too wrapped up.

And everything stops.

The other gang had left, thank god, but Tommy is quiet.  Billy is stunned.  Carol thinks she shoulda seen this coming.  So Steve books it.  Fucking hides.  Avoids Tommy and Billy and everyone, sitting with Nancy and Jonathan to their surprise.

Billy is, well, he’s happy, but scared.  And Tommy suddenly realizes why Steve was so weird around Billy.  Realizes that Billy probably likes him back, too.  And he feels like shit because neither of them felt comfortable enough to tell him.  But Carol pumps him up and they make a plan.

And it’s the end of the year festival.  Everyone is there.  Tommy tells Billy to meet him by the ferris wheel and Robin tells Steve to meet her by the ferris wheel.  That she and Heather understood and wanted to talk to him.  And Tommy forces Steve and Billy into a ferris wheel cart with him, Robin along as help since Tommy doesn’t understand everything.  Tells a shaking Steve that they’re best friends and nothing would change that.  Tells Billy that he better take care of Steve, but that he’s got their backs because they always have his.

They all get off the ferris wheel, Heather and Carol waiting for them, and they are all together again, the D-Dogs and Pink Ladies.  They ditch the festival, choosing instead to go to the Quarry and celebrate there together.  And everyone in their pairs, Tommy and Carol cuddling on the hood of the car, Robin and Heather dancing to the radio as they watch and Billy and Steve?

They stand together at the ledge, holding hands, kissing, finally, to the sounds of their friends, happy behind them.  Ready for another beautiful summer.  One that won’t end.

[lemonlushff-iy]

Summary: Kagome comes home to Montana from her new life in California…only to be greeted with hostility and the demons of her past. Some mistakes can never be forgiven. She just hopes that maybe this one can.

Story inspired by Clearwillow​’s “New Moon Ride”, written with permission and for the March 14, 2020 White Day celebration…and slowly uploaded much sooner…

Read parts 1-6 here

One Last Ride - Part Seven

"Hey kid," Inuyasha grinned, grabbing Souta around the shoulders and mussing up his hair.

"Aw hell, do you have to do that," Souta groaned, struggling to get free and causing Inuyasha to let out a deep, full-bodied laugh.

"A'course I do," he grinned cheekily, and Souta sighed, figuring there was no point in fighting the much older and stronger man. When Inuyasha let him go, he watched the young man run his fingers through his black locks, trying to fix his hair at least a little.

"You smell like shit," Souta griped, and Inuyasha smacked lightly upside the head.

"Watch your language - you're too young ta start saying that shit."

"Yeah? And what about you?"

"I'm older, wiser, and my Ma ain't in the house over there," he smirked, tilting his head to the side.

"Rub it in," Souta grumbled, leading Inuyasha over to their truck, and he chuckled again as he hopped into the passenger side, letting Souta drive. The truck rumbled to life and Souta rolled down the windows, cranking up the country music in the car so it blared out the windows.

"Not too loud," Inuyasha chided, folding his ears flat as he turned the radio down a little, and Souta grinned sheepishly at him as he put the car in drive.

"Sorry," he apologized as they headed down the Higurashis' long and winding driveway towards the main road.

"It's fine Squirt," Inuyasha smirked, and Souta shot him a withering look.

"When are you gonna stop calling me that?"

"When you're taller."

"That's what you always say."

"That's 'cause I'll do it when you're taller."

"When is that exactly? What's tall enough for you? Kagome already thinks I'm almost as tall as you now."

Inuyasha's smile faded a little as he thought about what Souta had said. He had always been a small, little kid. The baby...but...he really wasn't a baby anymore, was he?

Souta didn't climb up trees and get too scared to come back down from them, needing him to come and get him. He didn't race over to him to show him the lastest trading card he got at school or the newest hot wheel he had received for a good grade.

He was eighteen now. A man by most standards...and he was almost as tall as he was now.

When the hell had that happened? When the hell had Souta grown up?

He shook his head and sighed before admitting, "yeah...I guess you are now, huh? You aren't a kid anymore are ya?"

"Getting sappy?" Souta teased.

"Nah. Just...feelin' old."

"Well…"

"Hey!"

"You started it!" Souta defended, and Inuyasha barked out a laugh, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah...I did…Hey...listen kid," he began, figuring now was as good a time as any to bring up tomorrow. "Kagome told me that you want me ta come ta graduation tomorrow?"

Souta glanced nervously at him, suddenly apprehensive.

"I would," he confirmed warily, "Is...that ok? Since Kagome is coming too?"

"Yeah," he breathed out in a loud puff. "Kagome and I talked about it a little. We both love you, and want to be there for your big day. We're adults now...we can put the past behind us. So if you want me too—"

"—Of course I want you to!" Souta immediately interrupted. "I was just too nervous to ask you about it. I thought…"

"Yeah. I know. But you thought wrong."

"Do you wanna come with us? We were gonna go down in Kagome's rental."

Inuyasha whistled long and low at that.

"Might need to. Kagome doesn’t know how to drive that thing!"

"You shouldn't do that without a spotter," Inuyasha chided as Kikyo stood on the balls of her feet on the top rung of the ladder, trying to hang a banner.

After Souta had dropped Inuyasha off at his family's ranch, he had worked there for a few more hours helping with the livestock before showering and taking the sedan into town. Once there, he only had a few minutes to spare to drop it off at Dave's Auto Service before he needed to be at the high school auditorium to help set up for graduation.

Kikyo had taken the lead this year for preparations, and when they had spoken about it in passing, she had casually mentioned that they were down a few hands. One teacher, Jackson Humphrey, was out with a horrible stomach bug, and Erica Welch was out on maternity leave.

The extra set of hands was greatly appreciated, and his strength and speed would easily make up for the missing help.

"Probably not," she agreed, "but I didn't want to bother anyone."

"Please. Bother," he chuckled, coming to take hold of the ladder as she continued to struggle to mount the banner. "I wouldn't want you ta fall and break your neck."

"And if I did? Would you come visit me in the hospital?"

"I dunno...it's a hell of a drive. If you wanted to get me alone, there are much easier ways of going about it," he flirted, and her airy giggle filled the auditorium.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like buying me a drink at the Rusty Bucket tonight," he grinned back.

"Mmm...that does sound easier," she grinned back, her red lips perfectly framing her white teeth.

He couldn't help but notice how lovely she looked today. Her stick straight, waist length, black hair had been tied up to keep her it from falling into her eyes as she worked. She wore a white t-shirt and a red pair of shorts with a girly bow in the front. He didn't know how, but they showed off her shapely legs in a way he had been ashamed to say he had paused to admire a few too many times today. She was cute, and easy going, and he could tell that she was ready for a break from teaching for a few months.

Inuyasha smiled as she finally attached the banner to the wall and let out a small sound of victory before climbing down a few rungs to get the other corner.

If he were being honest with himself, Kikyo had always been lovely...going back as far as middle school. She had never really dated around however, which is why it was such a surprise when she had asked him if he would like to get coffee a few weeks back, after church.

Honestly, he thought she didn't think that much of him one way or another. She might have been a little flirty back in the day but he was so taken by Kagome that he didn't really notice. He did vaguely remember a time when he thought she had tried to kiss him when they were working on a group project for science...but she had just rolled her eyes and told him that she was getting an eyelash off of his face. He had been embarrassed and had stammered out some sort of apology and that had been the extent of her “interest” in him.

It was cute, really, when she asked him out all these years later. Her cheeks had turned bright red as she pulled him off to the side and asked him if he had any plans after, or if he was going to go back to the ranch. He said he didn't and he'd love to go for coffee. That had been their first "date", their second being a lunch at Ottwell's, which was when she had mentioned needing help.

Though it wasn't really labeled as such...tonight could be seen as their third date.

He was a little nervous and excited for it. He still felt awkward on dates when he thought of them as such. He had spent his youth with Kagome, so dating had been a challenge after they had broken up.

Sure he had...and he had been to the rodeo before at this point...ridden a filly, if you will...but it hadn't been easy and he'd been damn insecure about the whole thing. He hadn't known where to place limbs and heads had smacked into each other as he fumbled, trying to figure out what to do...that first time had been an...experience, to say the least.

It had also been a challenge feeling like he could finally date again without having this twisted voice in the back of his head whispering that he was betraying Kagome.

She had fucking left him damnit! He deserved to move on, and he sure as hell wasn't betraying anyone. If anything, Kagome should feel like she was betraying him!

That was the problem with being a dog demon though.

The unshakable sense of loyalty that was ingrained into him on an instinctual level.

"Two down...two to go," Kikyo cheered as she began climbing down. When her waist was eye level, he wrapped his arms around her, plucking her from the ladder and swinging her around.

She squealed in delight, holding onto his arms as her head tilted back. "Inuyasha!" she weakly protested, his name leaving her lips in a bubble of laughter. "Inuyasha, what do you think you're doing?"

He dropped her after a second and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her back against his chest.

"Nothing," he rumbled, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek. "Just making sure ya don't hurt yourself."

"I don't think I'm at risk for that," she giggled, "I do think you're at risk for something, though."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Being kissed," she smiled, turning around in his arms. She nervously bit her lip before hesitantly tilting her head up and standing on the tips of her toes. He leaned his head closer, his heart nervously racing as she placed a soft, chaste kiss to his lips.

Their first kiss.

It was tentative and sweet and exploratory, and he was pretty sure he had her cherry red lipstick smeared on his lips, but he didn't care.

When she pulled slightly away from him, he rest his forehead to hers, a smile spreading across his face.

He moved away from her after a moment and she nervously bit her lip, looking up at him through her lashes as her cheeks heated.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," she admitted nervously.

"I probably don't," he agreed. "Why don't you tell me?"

Her cheeks only somehow got redder before she whispered, "since middle school."

He felt like he had just been sucker punched in the gut.

"W-wai-what?" He stuttered, blinking hard.

"You really didn't know," she asked, blushing even harder. "Inuyasha, I've had a crush on you for years…"

It felt like his brain stopped functioning. How had he never known? How had never suspected?

Wait a second…

"You did try to kiss me in middle school!" He blurted out, the wheels in his head suddenly turning a mile a minute as he began to connect the dots of his past.

She nodded her head, averting her eyes to the side.

"Yeah. You and Kagome were fighting at the time. She wanted to go to the dance and you didn't, and you were complaining about it…"

"So I wasn't crazy!"

"No," she replied, looking away. "It...it wasn't my proudest moment. I never should have...but I just liked you so much but you didn't see me and…"

"Hey...it's ok," he reassured her as she began to spiral. "It's all in the past now. Kagome and I haven't been together for years. Don't worry about it," he soothed, and she nodded her head.It should bother him. He knew it should...and maybe it did bother a small piece of him...but this was in the past. They were no more than fourteen, and kids did stupid shit all the time. 

He wasn’t about to let the impulsive mistakes of a a girl who couldn’t even drive yet affect his view of the woman who stood before him now.

"Listen...why don't you let me get this banner up, and then why don't we get outta here? Sound good?"

"Yeah."

Inuyasha pushed his empty plate to the side, taking a sip of his beer as he waited for Kikyo to return from the bathroom. Their date had been going pretty well so far. The conversation had been flowing smoothly, and Kikyo was very interested in hearing about his life and learning more about him...and he felt the same way about her.

It had been years since he had seen her regularly, outside of church, of course, and it was kinda nice. Like catching up with a friend, almost.

But he knew that the point of a date wasn't to catch up. It was to see if you were compatible and if you wanted to explore a relationship with the other person.

So far, he had to admit that he wasn't completely opposed to the idea.

Kikyo was smart, loved children, and was sweet and understanding...not to mention very attractive.

He was curious to see where this would lead.

Kikyo slid back into their booth across from him, greeting him with sparkling eyes and a cherry red smile.

"So I was thinking," she began, drumming her fingertips excitedly on the table top. "We should play a drinking game."

Inuyasha arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms on the table top as he leaned forward, intrigued.

"Yeah?"

"Why not? It will be fun! Come on Yash!"

His spine stiffened at the name and his expression must have betrayed his feelings.

"I...Oh...Inuyasha, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it…" she apologized, looking down at her hands.

"It's fine," he internally grimaced. "Yeah. Sure. Let's play a game. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, this is a date," she began, pausing nervously to see if he would refute her assumption. When he didn't, she continued. "So...I was thinking we could play that drinking game in Game of Thrones. You know. Tyrion's game."

"Remind me of the rules," he grinned, placing his hands palm up on the table.

"I make a statement I think is true about you. If I'm right, you drink and I get to make another statement. If I'm wrong, I drink and you have to ask me a question," she explained, placing her hands into his.

"Sounds dangerous," he purred, his thumbs rubbing her knuckles. "Who asks first?"

"Is that a yes then?"

"Absolutely," he smirked, and she beamed back at him.

"Alright...how about I start us off? Your favorite color is red."

"That's an easy one," he grinned as he let go of her hand, taking a sip of his beer.

"I had to start off easy," she teased. "I need to get you drunk enough before I can start asking the fun questions."

"You have fun questions in mind?"

"Of course I do," she smirked back. "Alright...let's see...You prefer beer over wine."

He took another sip.

"That doesn't mean I won't drink wine though," he clarified.

"How about you like whisky more than bourbon?"

He drank again.

"Are all of your questions going to be about drinking?"

"I told you - I have to work up to the fun ones," she giggled. "Alright...let's see here…" she thought aloud, tilting her head to the side. "You've never done recreational drugs."

He drank again. And again. And again until he was done with his beer. Kikyo either knew him a lot better than he thought she had, or he was just really easy to read.

"Let me get you another one," she laughed, sliding out of the booth and going up to the bar.

As soon as she left, the door opened and a small group of women walked in briefly gaining his attention. He could easily see them from his vantage point, but his nose told him he should pay a bit more attention to them than he was originally going to.

They were all Kagome's friends...and in the middle of the small group, stood Kagome herself.

His heart started racing and his palms became sweaty. Why the hell was she here? She knew he was going out with Kikyo tonight. Did she have to come here with her friends now? He gripped the table harder, as they made their way to a booth a few over from theirs, and he noticed she smelled nervous even if she didn't look it.

Did she not want to be here?

Did they drag her along?

That...he wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

"I'm back," Kikyo grinned, sitting down across from him. "Now...where were we...Oh right! You picked me those beautiful flowers earlier from your ranch," she said, slowly drawing him back to the here and now, and he drank again.

"Let's see…" she pondered aloud before her cheeks flushed. "Kagome was your first kiss."

"Everyone knew that," he groaned, drinking again.

"Ok...I'll try and make it a bit more challenging now then," she grinned mischievously. "You never had sex with her...but you wanted to."

His eyes widened, his mouth opening in shock. He hesitated, not sure he wanted her to know before he internally swore and drank again.

"I knew it!" she laughed, clapping her hands in delight. "Ok...how about this...You like to be the dominant one in the bedroom?"

"Were these the fun questions you were talking about earlier," he grumbled, taking another sip as his cheeks flushed.

"Oh I'm just getting started!" she cackled. "You haven't had sex in over three months."

God damnit...he didn’t want to admit that either.

He drank again, movement out of the corner of his eye catching his attention...and his wandering eyes caught Kikyo's attention. Kagome had stood up from the booth with her friends and had gone up to the bar, placing an order for who only knows what.

Probably some foo foo drink from California.

He probably drank more than he should have that time, and slammed his glass down a little harder than intended. The noise made Kikyo jump and Kagome turned around, her eyes widening when she saw them before lowering in shame as she turned back to the bar.

He turned his attention back to Kikyo, and saw her looking nervously at him before she tried to hide her feelings.

"Maybe we should stop playing," she whispered, looking down at her hands. "It's getting kinda late, right? And graduation is tomorrow—"

" —Ask me another one."

"Inuyasha…" she sighed. "You aren't over her, are you?"

"Drink." he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What?" she replied, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"I said drink," he repeated. "Those are the rules. You made a false statement about me, so now you gotta drink."

"You're sweet, but we don't have to do this," she whispered, worrying the thin, gold bangle on her wrist, twisting it around and rubbing her fingers over the metal.

He clicked his tongue and stood up from his spot, sliding into the booth next to her.

"Inuyasha...what are you—"

He didn't let her finish, as he cupped her face and turned it towards him, leaning down to kiss her deeply, passionately. His teeth gently nipped kikyo's bottom lip, and he felt her arms wrap around his neck pulling him closer. A growl rumbled out from his chest, pleased with her response and his tongue prodded her lips, asking her for entrance.

Kikyo needed to be convinced he was over Kagome, right? That he didn't want her anymore. That he didn't still think about her. That he didn't still want her. Dream of her. Wonder how Kagome was doing in her new perfect life without him.

That he had moved on.

Was moving on.

Kagome was his past and he needed to focus on the future.

He had to.

He had to focus on a future without Kagome...because she didn't need him. And he didn't need her.

Not anymore.

Not in a long time.

He tried to pour all of those feelings into their kiss, and rejoiced when Kikyo parted her lips, granting him the permission he sought. He let out a low moan as their tongues touched, hers slipping into his mouth to explore his sharp fangs. He pulled her closer, sliding his fingers into her hair at the nape of her neck as their kiss continued for a few more minutes, electrifying him to the point where he needed to push away before he gave Kikyo (and everyone else in the bar for that matter) a show he wasn't prepared for.

He leaned his head to hers, panting, pleased that she was doing this same.

"I said drink."

___________________

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[hartigays]

45: they’re drunk laying under the stars hehe

45. “Tell me a secret.”

billy takes a swig of his beer, followed by a drag off his cigarette. he’s reclined back in the grass, looking up at the multitudes of stars twinkling above.

“‘s fucking crazy,” steve says suddenly, looking over at him from where he’s lounging on the ground next to him. “there’s so many.”

“told you,” billy replies, smiling softly. “best seats in the house.”

steve blinks back up a the sky, the ghost of a smile still on his lips. but he looks a little more distant, a faraway look on his face.

billy pauses, waiting to see if he’ll speak. when steve doesn’t say anything, he asks, “what’re you thinking about?”

“i dunno,” steve answers, after another quite pause. “just makes you feel kinda small. there’s so much out there and we’re just...here.”

“don’t go having an existential crisis on me, harrington. i’m too drunk for that shit.”

steve laughs, a sound that seems to bubble up from deep within his chest. a moment later, he sobers, peering over at billy with those big brown eyes of his.

“tell me a secret,” he insists. he’s still looking at billy with watchful eyes. it makes billy feel warm.

“what kind of secret?” billy asks. his throat feels a little tight with steve’s eyes still burning into his.

“any kind.”

billy has a number of things he could talk about. california, his newfound friendship with max, his mother. or why he sometimes can’t sneak out of the house on weekends, when neil is in one of his moods.

or, more importantly, how looking into steve’s big brown doe-eyes makes his heart do a funny dance behind his ribcage. how steve and his infinite well of gentle kindness makes billy feel warm from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. how steve really just makes him want to be a better person.

instead, he says, stupidly, “i don’t really have any secrets.”

“everyone has secrets,” steve says softly, rolling his eyes. but he has a soft smile that’s just on the side of blissfully drunk. “i’ll tell you one of mine. i’m in love.”

billy’s stomach sinks. he looks back up at the stars, swallowing thickly. “that’s not a very good secret, harrington.”

“‘course it is,” steve objects. billy can still see him looking over at him out of the corner of his eye. “you didn’t even ask who it is.”

“do i even want to know?” billy asks. his head is still a little mushy from the copious amount of beer he’s consumed in the last few hours.

“i think so. or at least, i hope.”

billy looks over at him, surprised to find that he’s shifted just a bit closer. his big eyes are still zeroed on on billy, warm and earnest. the desire to lean in and kiss him hits billy the same way it always does - like a punch to the gut.

“is it someone i know?” billy dares to ask after a moment of consideration.

“oh, for sure,” steve tells him. “real good looking. kind of a hothead, but better about it now than in the past. directs it only at assholes who deserve it. drives a really fucking cool car, too. rolls up in that camaro all smooth and shit, and it makes my insides feel all funny and warm. makes me laugh like no one else, jesus christ. i think about him all the time. especially when he’s not around, but even when he is.”

billy’s mind and heart are both racing. he doesn’t - he hadn’t planned for this. hadn’t had any time to brace himself, or thinking of something to say, or figure out how exactly he wants the situation to go.

his heart? it wants billy to pull steve into his arms and kiss him until his lips are numb. but his brain knows that this is dangerous. he’s still in that fucking house with neil, still in this shitty small town where he sees god hates fags written in any given bathroom stall. still terrified to accept that he’s never going to feel for a girl the way he’s always felt for men.

he can’t think clearly. billy stands, trying to clear his head, but being upright just makes him realize how drunk he actually is. he stumbles a little farther down the hill. falters after a moment, flopping down and putting his head between his legs, taking deep, steady breaths.

a moment later, he hears steve stop a few paces behind him before sitting quietly. neither of them say anything for a long time.

“are you okay?” steve finally asks, his voice soft. tentative.

“i don’t...” billy trails off, looking skyward. cursing whatever god may exist for putting him into this world like this, all screwed up and broken. “i can’t do this.”

“that’s okay.” steve’s voice is still soft, gentle. but it’s tinged with sadness, breaking billy’s heart right in half. “if you don’t feel the same, billy, that���s okay. i understand, i promise.”

billy whips around, setting his jaw. “what? that’s not - steve. no. i fuckin’ - you’re all i think about. all day, all the time. i’m - i mean, shit. i’m crazy about you.”

the look on steve’s face is so relieved, so bright and joyful, that it makes billy’s heart ache to reach out to him.

he doesn’t.

“thank god,” steve sighs, laughing a little hysterically. “thank fucking god. but i don’t...i’m not understanding the problem, then.”

“christ, steve, be realistic. how would you suggest we do this?” billy asks. “it’s not like i can be with you the way you want all the time. it’d - we’d be a secret. i couldn’t hold your hand in public, or kiss you in the movie theater. i can’t take you to dinner, or even carry your fuckin’ books to class. we’d have to hide, from everyone. you deserve better than that.”

“billy,” steve starts, looking at him with sad eyes. “it doesn’t matter to me who knows. that’s not why - i want to be with you because you make me happy. just. knowing that you’re mine would be enough.”

“but for how long?” billy is begging him to understand, to see the issue here. it’s not sustainable. “how long will it be enough for you? eventually, you’ll get sick of the hiding. and the secrets and the pretending. if you - if i ever lost you, because of that, i don’t think i could handle that.”

“billy, i don’t...” steve trails off, then sighs. “i get it. i do. i’m sorry i made this harder for you. i just - i wanted you to know how i felt. that every time you look at me, like i’m - like i’m something special, or important, i’m looking at you, too. even when you don’t see it.”

billy makes this soft noise of distress. steve looks like he’s about to break into a thousand tiny little pieces, and billy can’t handle that.

he literally crawls up the hill, getting rid of the distance between them. sits on his knees in front of steve.

“i don’t think you fully understand, just - fuck. just how my much i want to give you everything you need,” billy pleads, willing him to understand why he can’t. “but you - you’re good, steve. you should be with someone who can actually be with you.”

“but i don’t care about who i should be with. i want you. i’m in love with you. we could just - we could go. somewhere else. somewhere we could be together.”

“where would we go?” billy asks, quietly. “we’ll always be freaks to them. wherever we go, it doesn’t matter. they’ll never treat us like we’re normal.”

“then why not just say fuck it, then?” steve demands, suddenly determined. “if they’re never going to accept us, then why keep trying? why not just fucking do what we want?”

steve makes a very good point. so good, in fact, that billy feels a bit dumbfounded.

“i...” billy trails off, his brain firing on all cylinders.

“you don’t have to. if you don’t want to.” steve reaches out, hesitating for a moment before taking his hand. “but we could. say fuck it, i mean. i don’t care what anyone else says. as long as i have you - as long as we have each other, we’ll be alright.”

billy squeezes his hand in his, then finally, finally nods. steve practically sobs out this desperate cry of relief, flinging his arms around billy and burying his face into his neck.

billy’s arms go around him immediately, holding him tight. he breathes in steve’s scent, letting it wash over him and calm the rapid beating of his heart.

“i’m sorry,” he mumbles into steve’s hair. “i’m so sorry.”

steve pulls back, shaking his head. his cheeks are tear-streaked and billy wants to lean in and kiss away every last one. but steve beats him to it. he presses his lips to billy’s. kisses him a little desperately, practically climbing into his lap for better access.

billy doesn’t have any complaints. he lets steve hold him close, lets steve kiss him until he can’t remember what it feels like to be apart from him. he lets steve kiss him until he has to pull back to breathe, resting his forehead against steve’s.

steve toys with one of billy’s curls, looking into his eyes, almost going a little cross-eyed. he giggles and pulls back a bit. “want to keep watching the stars?”

billy just shakes his head, pressing a soft kiss to steve’s jaw.

“nah. i’ve got the perfect view right here.”

[the-kings-tail-fin]

Can I get you thoughts on what happened during the time period between when lightning left radiator springs for the race, and during the race where doc and the rest of the RS crew show up?

Doc sits under that traffic light for nearly twenty minutes, thinking about how he might have just made the biggest mistake of his life. He looks around the town and realizes that everyone is just going to sit around and watch it decay without a reason to do otherwise. Lightning was that reason. 

He thinks about the fact that his closest friends had no idea who he’d been. He drives slowly back to his garage, and looks at those old newspapers and the tarnished finish on his Piston Cups. He finds himself growing angry. He hasn’t been this upset in a long time, and last time, he ran away from it. He wasn’t going to hide this time. 

He grabs an old photo of him at a race and rushes over to Ramone and Flo’s house. After a few loud knocks, they raise the garage door and give him tired, disappointed looks. Doc knows they’re upset, but it was time for action, not moping. 

He throws the picture down in front of Ramone and asks “How quickly can you get me back into this paint?”

Ramone blinks a couple times and looks between the picture and Doc and back again. “Uh, I dunno. An hour maybe?”

“What is this, Doc?” Flo asks, confused. 

“There’s a lot I need to tell you, and everyone.” Doc answers. “We’re going to California. Ramone get your shop up and running. Flo, round up everyone you think can make it to Los Angeles by morning. We’ve got a race to win.”

It’s nearly midnight by the time Ramone finishes painting Doc. The rest of the town is buzzing with energy, confused, but excited. All they know is that Doc wants to follow Lightning to California to help him, but they don’t know why. Then Doc rolls out of Ramone’s shop and into the street lights. 

The townsfolk stare at him in silence. He’s embarrassed to reveal himself like this after living around them for so long, but he’s determined to set things straight.

“Alright, listen up.” Doc starts. “We all owe Lightning something for helping the town out. He needs a pit crew and a crew chief. Guido, Luigi, you’re on tire duty. Fillmore, Sarge, fuel. Everyone else who wants to come, come for moral support. We’re gonna make sure he wins this race. Sheriff, a police escort, if you would?”

“Wait, wait.” Luigi is shaken with disbelief. “Doc, you were a famous racecar?”

Doc takes a breath and sighs. “Yes. A long time ago. But that’s unimportant now. We’ve got a ten hour drive ahead of us. We need to get moving.”

At the race, Sheriff’s authoritative persistence and Doc’s presence alone allowed them access to the pits. No one was going to argue with The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and it dawned on the townsfolk he indeed must have really been something special.

The first thing Doc saw was Lightning swerve off the track. He frowned and saw the kid’s hauler sitting alone in the pits. This was worse than he thought. He led the crew over and approached Mack.

“Got another headset?” Doc asked.

“Oh, hey, I recognize you guys.” Mack said, surprised to see them. “Yeah, there’s one over there.”

Doc put it on, climbed the stand, and announced his presence to the world. 

“I didn’t come all this way to see you quit.”

[aslan744]

My dudes, I am going to rant about a topic that is talked about a lot in the media. It is a topic that concerns me, as a Latino and as an immigrant. Ya see, I live in a lovely place called Wisconsin. If ya don't know much about Wisconsin, then lemme tell ya. We got them farmers my dude. We got a shit ton of farms and cheese and cows and shit. We number 1 in cheese production but not milk, which is weird. We are second. California is first I believe. ANYWAYS. So since there is a lot of farms here, my good ol Hispanic ppl come here and work in farms. Cause most of us had unos pinches ranchos, ya know. Con las pinches vacas and shit. So we familiar with these farms. (Sort of. We good with working with the animals. The machinery is something that we don't normally do, but we learn to use it, in hopes of getting payed and helping our family be healthy and live in a nice home.) Now that we got that shit outta the way, lemme tell u bout the actual shit that's going on here. Today, there was a Day Without Latinxs, Immigrants, and Refugees march in Milwaukee. This march began cause of the county sheriff, David Clarke. Now my dudes. I don't know much about this dude, but this is what I found. This dude pledged to "crack down on undocumented immigrants." He wants to partner up with Immigration and Custom Enforcements (ICE). He wanna do dis so the local police force can have the same power as the ICE, to be able to arrest and detain undocumented people. This dude wants the POLICE FORCE to have this power. Like bro, no ty. Now, my friends. I know some of u might be like "yeAH GET RID OF THE FOOKIN SMELLY ASS TACO BREATHING MEXICANS U FILTHY SLUTS!" Now, whoever thinks this, gtfo my post. Get out. Didn't ask for yo damn opinion. Now. For the ones that are like "gimme a reason to side with u" then allow me to explain. Now you see, as a fellow Hispanic, Jennifer Estrada once said, "Immigrants are the backbone to the dairy industry in my area and without them, the economy would get worse for all of us. People should not be afraid of law enforcement, they should not live under the threat of their families being torn apart." Now. As she implied, many immigrants work in the dairy industry. In my area, there are several immigrants working in farms. A big farm company near my area, Holsum Elm Dairy, (I hope I spelled it right) they have so many immigrants working there. Like. I barely see any caucasians working there. There are a few but like I barely see them. And they are a very big company, lemme tell ya that. If we were to get rid of all those immigrants, then the company would go down my friends. They would have to try to find several people who want to work. (Now this is gonna me my input in this, this isn't accurate shit, but this is what I see and I'm going to state it cause I can) Now, white ppl seem very fookin picky to me. With a lot of things including jobs. A lot of white ppl I know would say stuff like "Ew! I ain't gon' work at a place full of filthy, disgusting cows that shit everywhere! That's gross! I can just go work at Starbucks or Subway or something." Now I know of some people who would be totally okay with it but there's barely any :') So if all the immigrants left, it would be really bad for the company and the economy. And it's not just farms my friend. In Milwaukee, there is a big market that is run by Hispanics and many people in that area go to shop there. So if the Hispanics were taken away, then there would be no market. Now my doods, we also got them authentic taco trucks, the little carts that sell corn on the cob, Mexican candy, and ice cream. And remember my doods, it's not just Hispanics who are in risk either. There's a bunch of other races and ethnics and all other shit. Now on the other shit. As my girl Jennifer Estrada also said, many people are in fear of being stripped from their families. Personally, I don't really care about this economy shit. This isn't my country. I came here because my parents wanted a better life and we wanted to escape poverty. My whole entire plan was to be here, make enough money to actually stay alive, and perhaps go back and live our nice and quiet lives. If I really wanted to, I could try and stay. So economy isn't really important and it's not my problem if the economy goes down. Y'all are the ones who allowed this to happen. We warned you ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyways. The only thing that really, really scares me is the fact that families are being split. That is THE biggest fear most immigrants have. Lemme just put a picture in ur head my doods. Imagine just causally driving towards the grocery store with your mom and siblings. (Or dad. Or guardian. Or whatever. And if u don't have fookin siblings then friends and if u don't have friends then by ur fookin self ajdjwjjsj Ima stop here) So y'all going shopping and shit and then the police stops you. Why? Your mom was driving correctly and shit. She didn't do nothing wrong. But ya know, the po po just pulls her over and asks for documents. She says something like "I don't have them with me." And then the police says "you're under arrest ma'am for [some dumb shit that I dunno I'm not a cop jfc djjwjw]" So now. Your mom is arrested and you're never going to see her again. Cause she's being deported. And now. You're living in a foster care cause you don't got any other family member. That right there my friends. That is something that could happen to ME. THAT right there is my biggest fear. Having my mother deported. I lost my pops man, don't gotta get my mother taken away man. Now imagine all the kids that are being affected. Kids like me. I am only 15 years old. Going to high school. Got a sister that's almost a freshman. Having a loving mother who works her ass off to take care of me and my sister. I don't really know what is to happen to me and my sister. I have papers to be able to study here, but not my sister since she is not old enough to get them yet. And my mother doesn't have documents either. In this situation I am the only one who will probably stay here, but I'll be parted from my family. That is my biggest fear. And I'm not the only one dealing with this shit. Other families are living in fear. This is why the march started. Because the sheriff doesn't want just criminals removed. He wants ALL undocumented immigrants to be removed. Now I'm okay with criminals being removed. When I say criminals, I mean people who have broken the law SEVERAL TIMES or someone who did some really bad illegal shit besides being undocumented. NOT someone who has to use fake documents. Because listen here my doods, lots of us use fake documents. The lady from Arizona was deported because she used a fake social security number. A lot of people have those man, and that social security number was given to us by the DACA program or the DREAM program. (I don't know much about the DREAM program cri) Now people are deported yearly. Like all the fookin time, but they are usually criminals. Families are still being separated but like it's the persons fault for breaking the law several times and for not being careful. (Not tryna be rude but it's true) Now listen. We are not threats to your beloved country okay. Several refugees and immigrants help this economy. We do the jobs that other people don't want to do. We all have our own reasons for being here. Some of us have no reason to be here, but they still here helping ya know. This country was made by immigrants. LET ME REMIND YOU THAT THIS COUNTRY WAS MADE BECAUSE Y'ALL LEFT YO KING TO PRACTICE YOUR OWN RELIGION AND BE ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU WANT FREELY. AND Y'ALL ALSO KICKED OUT NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE LAND THEY ALREADY OWNED AND LIKE Y'ALL RAPED AND KILLED THEM SO LIKE..... Anyways. This country btw, has no main language. It is not English. There just isn't one because there is so much diversity in this country. So like. Wake tf up. And realize that we aren't criminals and rapist. LOOK AT THE CHARTS AND INFO MY DOODS. MOST AMERICANS WERE KILLED BY AMERICANS. We barely did any killing my doods. We probably killed our own tbh. But like yeah. Also. I'm like okay with being deported. Like I can just go study in Mexico now like it's fine by me. Same sex marriage is legal in Mexico now and I, as a gender queer little lesbean, am totally okay with that. Except I don't wanna be deported just yet. Like. A bunch of drug lords are running around and killing each other in the streets of Mexico and it's crazy shit. I wanna at least finish schooling before I go back. Alright bitches. Lemme tell ya something. I love me some Barrack Obama. But lemme tell ya. He was one of the presidents who deported the most immigrants while he was in office. But he did this in a safe and sane matter. He got rid of the criminals. He still parted families but like, as I said before. The criminals decided to be pinches pendejos and like fuck shit up for themselves and they didn't watch themselves so they have a criminal record and then they got deported. Obama got rid of those criminals. HE DIDNT GET RID OF THOSE WITH FAKE DOCUMENTS. Why? Because he is the one who created DACA. He is the one who said something like "Alright, my fellow Americans. I'm gonna do a president thingy and make a program that allows the good immigrants that want to study and work here and make a living and shit. They allowed to apply for this good shit and take one step towards citizenship." And that's what my man Obama did. He helped us and warned us. He did some good reasonable shit unlike DONALD DUMP TRUCK. Also known as Donald Trump. Now. He needs to chill tf out. Like. Give him a beer. Take a fucking sip, babes Anyways. The point of this post is that I finished ranting and I hope I educated u guys and I hope y'all educate ur fellow white friends.