#I technically have an extra day BEFORE the tour starts

[youngpettyqueen]

my tour site and the Edinburgh castle site: we recommend booking your tickets just a little in advance so that you guarantee your entry!

me, booking my ticket for August in April: got it

[lipstickmarks]

Steven to the Rescue

Pairing: Steven Grant x fem!reader Category: Hurt/comfort, fluff, domestic fluff Warnings: none Content: Hurt/comfort, fluff, domestic fluff, kissing, making out in public, reader has a terrible horrible no good very bad week and steven is there for her, Steven’s love languages are acts of service and physical touch, reader getting princess treatment, reader is kinda corporate girlie coded, steven being smooth, steven can cook, steven might be slightly ooc bc he is my silly putty and i am bending him to my will

Steven loved his job. He loved going into work everyday to consume any and all things related to egyptology. It’s what makes him able to withstand the abuse from Donna– which is lessened now that he’s been promoted to tour guide and she technically isn’t his supervisor anymore. But today, he simply does not want to go. 

He’s been watching you pace around his kitchen nervously for the past five minutes, checking your phone, watch, and laptop in quick succession. It had been… a less than stellar week for you.

Firstly, your job has been stressing you out by offloading duties onto you that weren’t in your job description because someone else had quit unexpectedly. Then, there was an error with your bank and your paycheck wasn’t deposited so you had to wait an extra 3 days to pay your bills. On top of it all, your phone service provider was having some sort of nationwide glitch so you barely had any service. 

Not only did you have twice the workload but you weren’t getting any of your work emails on time. Plus, you had to be in constant contact with the bank to sort out their issue. It’s why you’d come over to Steven’s flat before work, to use his internet and hopefully get a better signal. Plus, you two wanted to see each other. 

Steven had made some cranberry muffins and vegan egg bites for the two of you but your plate remained untouched while you paced around, waiting for a bar. 

“Love,” Steven murmured, reaching out to grab your elbow. You looked up from the laptop you were cradling in your arms and Steven nearly sighed out loud at the sight of your eyes. Beautiful, but so so tired. The universe has been running his favorite person ragged and it hurt him to see you so downtrodden by life. “You really should eat something before work.” 

You sighed and sat down your devices, trading them for a muffin. Steven cracked a smile at how your demeanor visibly changed once you took a bite. You always swore Steven put some kind of happy elixir into his food because it never failed to bring your spirits up. You gobbled up one muffin and reached for another. 

“Thank you for breakfast.” 

Steven leaned over and kissed the side of your forehead. 

“You’re welcome, darling. Hate to see you so out of sorts.” 

With you finally eating, Steven finished getting dressed. He had to go into work earlier than you did so he let you stay and finish doing what you needed to do. Before he left, he wrapped his arms around you and gave you a soft kiss. 

“I’m off then, darling. You’ll be okay here?” 

You gave him a reassuring nod as you swallowed a bite. 

“Yeah, I’m gonna finish up in a little bit. I have a feeling today is going to be better.” 

Steven beamed at you. He kissed you once, twice, three times and he knew if we went for a fourth, he’d cave and stay home with you. 

“Right, I’d better get going before I lose my job again.” But Steven made no move to leave. He was staring at you with that dreamy look, the one that had been perpetually fixed on his face ever since you two started dating two months ago. Steven was the perfect boyfriend. Gentle, thoughtful, and he adored you so much. 

“Go,” You told him. “I’ll be fine, really.” 

Steven gave you one last squeeze before walking out the door. 

—----------

Steven was finishing up a tour with a school field trip and he was buzzing from how well it went. Usually, preteens were their own unique breed of nasty– making inappropriate noises, laughing obnoxiously, and just generally being awful but a boy and girl had been asking tons of insightful questions, spurring Steven on and letting him flex his breadth of knowledge. And if there was any snark, the teacher shut it down expeditiously so Steven could continue. 

It was probably the best tour he’d given since he started working there. 

Plus, earlier in the morning, the curator had pulled him aside and said they were looking for someone to give virtual tours that they could record and post online. If he got it, it would mean a pay bump and more benefits. 

Things were finally going his way!

The group was just starting to shuffle off for lunch when Steven spotted you, standing off to the side of the museum entrance. His whole face broke out into a grin and his heart skipped a beat, but that elation faded when he saw your eyes. 

You had been crying. 

As soon as everyone was gone, Steven crossed the room to you. You both reached for each other. His hands fell to your hips and you clutched his bicep. 

“Love, what’s happened?” 

You tried to smile but your eyes were bloodshot and puffy. You were holding back tears and you looked like you were on the precipice of a complete breakdown. Like if someone pricked you with a sewing needle, you’d pop. 

When you spoke, it came out small and broken. 

“I tried to call you but my phone—” Your voice died on the word and Steven’s grip tightened around you. 

“Darling?” 

“I came to ask for a favor. My apartment… they called me while I was at work. A pipe burst.” Your lip quivered. “All my stuff is ruined.” 

Steven’s eyes widened. 

“No.”

You nodded, fat tears spilling down your cheeks. 

“They said it’s gonna take three weeks to fix it.” You started wringing your hands nervously and took a steadying breath before you spoke again. “I was hoping I could stay with you.”

Steven’s answer is an immediate yes. 

“Absolutely, love. Anything you need.” 

He couldn’t stand it anymore and he pulled you into a tight hug. Your head fell lamely against his chest and he felt your tears soaking through his shirt but he didn’t mind. Not one bit. You peered up at him, face hot and flushed with tears.

“You’re sure it won’t be a problem? We haven’t been dating that long and I don’t want it to be…” You floundered, searching for the right word but Steven knew exactly what you meant. He caught your hand with his and brought it up to kiss the back of it. 

“It won’t be. It'll be like a slumber party, yeah? We’ll bake cookies and watch films. It’ll be fun.”

You nodded but Steven could tell you weren’t convinced. After the week you’d been having, what reason did you have to believe anything else was going to go right for you? You looked like you were a single moment away from shattering entirely. 

“Do you want to leave now? I can take the rest of the day off. I can find someone to cover my afternoon tours.” 

You shook your head and wiped your eyes.

“No. No, I have to go back to work. We have an important meeting.” You sniffed. Steven’s heart broke seeing you like this. You just looked so defeated. 

Steven thought hard for a moment. How could he make this better for you? How could he lighten your load? 

“How about this? I’ll pick you up after work. We’ll stop by your flat and get anything we need and then we’ll go back to mine, hm?” He brushed the falling hair out of your eyes. “We’ll get a takeaway, watch your favorite show, I’ll even let you braid my hair if you like.” 

You chuckled a bit. 

“Can we get dessert?” 

Steven kissed your forehead. 

“Anything you want, love.”

You nodded and a genuine smile returned to your face. 

“Alright, well I better get back. I’m on my lunch break and it’s gonna take me 15 minutes to get back across town.” 

Steven stopped you before you could leave.

“Darling, have you eaten lunch?” 

You looked sheepish when you shook your head. Steven wouldn’t be having that. Wordlessly, he laced your fingertips with his and lead you down to the employee lockers. He opened up his where the only contents were a book of Egyptology, his spare glasses, a Tawaret funko pop, his lunch box, and a picture of you taped to the inside. 

He pulled out his lunchbox and placed it in your arms.

“Steven, no.” You gasped. “I can’t take your lunch.” 

You took his lunch. 

No matter how much protesting you did, Steven insisted, waving off your concerns with a promise that he would get something from a food truck at lunch. He hailed a taxi for you before you could argue any further. 

“Steven, I don’t have cab fare.” You said with wide eyes as the taxi pulled up. “Remember? My bank–”

He pulled out his own wallet and handed the driver his bank card. 

“Can’t have my beautiful girlfriend going across town on public transport. Someone might steal you away from me.” 

You flushed. Your stomach was doing happy flips from feeling so taken care of. Steven took his card back from the driver and tucked it away. You were full on crying now as you wrapped your arms around him and weeped into his chest. 

“It’s alright, love.” He murmured in your ear. 

You pulled back to kiss him. It was eager and much too sloppy to do in broad daylight on the steps of his place of work but you couldn’t help yourself. 

“Thank you for going to all this trouble for me.” You mumbled as you pulled away. 

“It’s no trouble at all, love.” He opened up the cab food for you and didn’t shut it until you were inside. “I’ll pick you up at your office at the end of the day, okay?” 

You nodded and Steven leaned his head through the window to give you one last kiss. 

“Last chance to play hooky with me for the rest of the day?” 

You giggled and shook your head. 

“Tempting, but no. I’ve got to go be a grownup.” 

Steven smiled at you and mouthed a silent “okay.” He stepped back onto the curb and once the road was clear, your cab pulled out into the street. 

Once Steven was out of view, you opened up his lunchbox. He had a habit of overpacking in case he was stuck on the bus for a while and needed a snack, which came in handry because you were starving. You ate his sandwich, chips, soda, half a bag of grapes, and a cookie. 

At a red light, your driver turned back to you. 

“Your boyfriend is so sweet!” She swooned. 

“You don’t know the half of it.” You giggled. “This is his lunch.” 

She gasped.

“Shut up! That is so cute! Oh my gosh, you’re so lucky.” 

You grinned.

“Yeah. I am.” 

—-----------

The rest of the afternoon went painfully slow for you.Thankfully, you got so busy with work that you temporarily forgot you were broke, without a phone, and temporarily homeless. 

When it was finally time to go, you headed toward the front desk, intending to use the landline to call Steven but when you stepped into the hall, he was already there. You had to do a double take at first because you thought you might have been dreaming or seeing things. But no, this was real life. 

Steven Grant, your nerdy, sweet, perfect boyfriend was chatting to your office receptionist with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. 

“I never realized the museum was free! I always thought it cost money, that’s why I haven’t brought my kids.” The receptionist said, embroiled in a conversation with Steven. 

“Loads of people think that, actually but yeah it’s free entry. It only costs money for tours. Though, if you’re bringing your little ones, I can’t recommend the tours enough. You get loads of extra information that just reading the pamphlets won’t give you. Not to toot my own horn but I give a pretty educational tour if I do say so myself.” Steven said with a relaxed smile. Ever since he’d been promoted to tour guide, he’s been so much more sure of himself. He’s still the goofy, sweet, bumbling nerd he always has been but the constant exposure to his passion has cushioned him in a cozy little bubble of Egyptology, vegan baking, and you. How could he not feel content? 

“I think I’ll take them next weekend.” The receptionist said as you arrived at the desk. “I’d like a tour with you as well.” She looked up from scribbling the museum information on a Post-It note and saw you. “Oh, here you are, darling! Does this sweet man belong to you?” 

Just as she asked, Steven held out the bouquet to you. Red roses, pink tulips, white calla lilies, and some hydrangeas to fill it out. 

“He does.” Your cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. You took the bouquet from Steven and smelled the flowers. Steven gently pulled your purse strap off of your shoulder and took his lunch box out of your hands, holding them both and holding his free hand out for you. 

“Are you ready, love? The cab’s waiting.” 

Do not cry. Do not cry in your place of work. Do not cry because your boyfriend is being so sweet and you’ve never felt this cared for in your life. 

To avoid your voice coming out high and squeaky, you nodded and took his outstretched hand. Bidding goodbye to the receptionist, he led you out the doors and into the cab, leading you home. 

*****

It feels strange.

You’re not sure why. You’ve spent the night at Steven’s flat before, had dinner, read books, spent all night in his bed, but this felt different. 

You were standing in Steven’s bathroom, hair damp from your shower. The second you got back to his flat, you’d made a beeline to the shower, eager to scrub all of your misfortune off. And you felt so strange, so out of place. 

It was a little more intimate knowing that you’d be here for three entire weeks, which put a decent amount of pressure on a fairly new relationship. You and Steven would be seeing each other in undesirable states, have to give each other space, and somehow maintain the dynamic of your relationship despite these new circumstances. 

You unloaded the grocery bag of toiletries that you picked up from your flat on the way here. Thankfully your hygiene essentials and skincare weren’t damaged. The same couldn’t be said for your clothes, though. 

At least it was the weekend and you didn’t have to worry about outfits for work. You could just lounge around in the sweater and boxers Steven had given you, or nothing if you preferred. Steven certainly wouldn’t mind. 

“Love?” Steven’s voice came through the bathroom door. “The food just got here. I’ll queue up a movie for us.”

“Alright.” You called out. “Be out in a minute.”

“Take your time, darling.” 

What on Earth did you do to deserve that wonderful, wonderful man? 

After changing, you stepped out into the living room where Steven had arranged the takeout boxes, poured you a glass of wine, and queued up “Tangled” on the TV. 

“Steven…” You plopped down on the couch next to him. “We could’ve cooked, you didn’t have to order out for me. I don’t want you going to any trouble for me.” 

Steven looked at you with a glimmer in his eyes that only love could be the catalyst for. He took your chin between his fingers and angled your face to meet his lips in a sweet, slow kiss. 

“Darling, why would it be any trouble to care for you?” 

And just like that, as quickly as a match burns out, all of your anxieties and apprehension faded away. You didn’t feel out of place in Steven’s flat or mistreated by the universe. Here, in Steven’s arms, you only felt loved.

[kaliforniahigh]

Request: "Matt Dierkes x wife reader smutty one shot where they get caught on the tour bus or other random places?" Thank you so much for the request!

Warnings: cursing and a steamy make out session but no actual smut (they get caught before the act)

WC: 1.6k (not proofread yet!)

Requests are closed for now.

You loved going on tour with Matt, specially since you worked together. You were a lighting engineer for the band and you met Matt when you started working for the band a couple of years back.

The attraction was instant between you and everyone could notice. The way he never got mad at you - quite the contrary, the boy always seemed to have an extra soft spot for you - and the way you always worried if he was well - tour could be pretty hectic and take a toll on your health - were a dead giveaway that something was blossoming between you.

Despite everyone rooting for you to get together, there were the people who warned you about working with your partner. They told you that it never worked, and that you would fight all the time.

But you always told them that if it ever came to it, you and Matt could separate your professional lives from your personal ones, because you were adults, after all.

Now, a couple of years later, you and Matt not only established a relationship, but you also decided to get married not too long ago. Most days it didn't even feel like working with your husband, because you just went about your routines as per usual.

It was rare that Matt got angry with anyone really, he was pretty chill overall and used to dealing with things going wrong, so you felt like nothing really affected him anymore.

Today, though, was one of those days where everything seemed to be going wrong. First, the tour bus broke down on the road because of the cold, which made you guys late for the concert. Then, some of the sound equipment decided not to work and the panels were off and no one could figure out how to get those damn things working.

You could hear the fans outside waiting to come in and the stress of being late already and not having things ready were weighing on his shoulders. You could hear him in the distance him talking on the phone with the venue manager. Something about how the hell was he not here to help with the technical difficulties that most likely were being caused by his shitty venue.

You left him to it, and since your lighting equipment was already set up - thank god this one thing worked out tonight - you went to help the other guys. Everything seemed to plugged in in the right places and still, nothing was working. Even Noah, Jolly and the Nicks were helping at this point.

"Guys", Matt approached you all with a sigh. "The venue manager told me everything was working accordingly just a couple of days go, which is obviously bullshit", he rubbed his forehead, a clear sign of stress. You wanted to smooth out the creases yourself, but refrained from it.

"How are we gonna perform without our equipment?", Jolly asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"That's the thing, I don't think we will", Matt answered. Every band's fear was becoming a reality right before your eyes.

"Are we gonna have to cancel?", Noah voiced what everyone was thinking. Matt only nodded. "What about the fans waiting outside?"

"I'm really sorry, this is really not what I wanted to do, trust me. We could try and find another venue, but we gotta be in another city tomorrow. We might have to reimburse the people who paid for tickets for today", you could tell he was disappointed in having to do this. Matt was a problem solver kind of person, and having to deal with a problem he couldn't solve was killing him.

After a little more debate, everyone agreed that canceling was the best thing to do due to the circumstances. Noah and the guys went back to the green room talking about how they're gonna sue the venue manager.

"I'm gonna go out there and tell those people that the band they love is not performing tonight. You guys can start loading the things back in the bus", he started to turn around, but you went after him.

"Hey", you called out and he looked at you. "I'll go with you. You don't have to do this alone", you took your hand in his.

"You don't have to do this, baby. I'm used to it, it's part of the job anyways", he reassured you, rubbing his thumb on the back of your hand.

"I know that you can handle yourself. But I wanna go with regardless", he only nodded, knowing it was useless arguing with you, and you followed him outside.

The annoucement was met with complaints, angry remarks and a few crying faces. Matt knew this wasn't directed at him, but it broke his heart regardless. All these people with the hopes of having an unforgettable night would have to go back to their homes without watching Bad Omens perform.

He said sorry one more time and rushed back inside the venue. You said sorry yourself and followed him. You looked around you and saw that your lighting equipment was already being loaded back in the boxes and decided to check were Matt headed to.

You asked around and a few people told you they saw him going in the direction of the bathrooms. You made your way down the hall and knocked on the men's restoroom door, hearing him answer with a "yeah" on the other side of the door. He was probably wondering who the hell was bothering him when he was in the bathroom.

"You alone in there?" you asked him. Recognizing it was you, he opened the door and you made your way inside, closing it again behind you.

"You just ran off, I got worried about you", you told him as you took his face in your hands.

"I got so angry when I saw all those people out there, just waiting", he huffed in frustration.

"I know, baby. But this isn't your fault, and it probably won't be the last time you'll have to cancel", you tried to reason with him.

"I know, I'm just so fucking mad at that fucking venue manager who told me 'everything is working perfectly, are you sure it's not your equipment that's low quality?'", he used air quotes to tell you what the venue manager has the nerve to tell him. "He obviously ripped us off because he wasn't even here, he knows his venue is fucking shit", he spat, in anger. You waited a few seconds to say anything, just in case he needed to vent some more. But he just took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry, you don't deserve to hear all this", he apologized, resting his hands on your hips. You let a little smile grace your lips. You knew how to make him feel better.

"It's kind of hot when you get all angry like this", you said with a low voice and a hint of playfulness. He finally cracked and smirked a little at your remark.

"Yeah? You like it, babe?", you nodded and pressed yourself closer to him. "You know, you're my silver lining in all of this, right?", he said, lips inches away from yours, eyes travelling between your eyes and lips.

"I think I don't. Will need you to show me", you teased him and in a few seconds, his lips crashed on yours, pushing you backwards with the force, your back hitting the marble countertop behind you.

The kiss was fervent, an indicator of his mood and how this bathroom rendezvous was gonna go. You both moaned into the kiss, your hands tangling in his hair as he hoisted you up on the counter.

His hands traveled up your torso under your shirt and you lifted your arms for him to take it off, you skin prickling with goosebumps from the cold air.

His mouth immediatly moved to kiss your shoulders and down the valley of your brests.

"Fuck, you're everything I need right now", he hummed into your skin and you only moaned in acknowledgment.

"Take your shirt off, please", you said, voice sounding a little breathless, and he moved away from your body to peel off the layer of clothing.

"C'mere", he helped you down from the counter and turned you around, pushing your head down and making you bend your back, ass up in the air.

He kissed your spine and ran his hand over the fat of your ass, delivering a spank that made you yelp in surprise. His clothed crotch was pressed into you, and you could feel how hard he was under his pants.

He was about to yank your pants down your legs when the door swung open, both of you whipping your heads to the side, only to meet the shocked expression on Ruffilo's face.

You were still bend over the counter when you heard Matt tell him to 'get the fuck out', and Nick muttered a few apologies before closing the door behind him.

You looked at Matt through the mirror in front of you and you both started to giggle at the situation. Eventually, you stood up straight and turned around to face him. It was like Nick's entrance popped your little bubble entirely.

"Probably not the best idea to fuck in the bathroom, huh?" you asked in a teasing tone.

"That's you pushing me to make bad decisions", he smiled and gave you a peck on the lips. "As much as I loved our little almost escapade, we should probably get back out there", he stated, in a little disappointed tone.

You agreed with him and you both made your way out of the bathroom.

"We'll stay at a hotel room in the next city and then I'll make sure to bend you over the counter and fuck you good", he whispered in your ear, making you stop in your tracks, mouth agape.

He kept walking and laughed at the state he just left you.

[graciegoeskrazy]

they’re just girls

Matty Healy + Teen!Sister!reader

warnings: sad, fluffy, some language ig??

a/n: HI HERES MATTY THING

The both of you made a point to call each other a few times a week, not wanting the distance between you two get in the way of the brother-sister bond. It was usually after school. It didn’t matter if he was in the same city or on the other side of the world in a completely different time zone. He always made a point to call. You got grounded for two weeks starting yesterday. Something about coming home drunk on prom night. (You couldn’t remember all the details because you were too drunk) You didn’t want to mess with your mother so you let it be. You make sure to fill Matty in on your endeavors that night.

He took a puff from a cig as you spoke. “How come Mum is forbidding me from going to parties meanwhile you and all your friends went out everywhere all the time.”

He let out a smile. “She never let me go anywhere. Me and the lads always snuck out.”

You rolled your eyes. That made much more sense. “When will you come to visit?” You asked, voice pleading.

His smirk of a smile quickly faded. “Hard to say, my love. I’m on tour right now so things are a bit complicated.”

“You can’t even come for my birthday?” Your voice pleaded.

“I don’t think so, love. I’m afraid i’m stuck here.” He felt really bad. He really did. It didn’t matter how old you were, you were the baby of the family. His baby. He felt bad enough missing out on you growing up, practically leaving by the time you could babble. He was determined not to miss out on your life. And he didn’t. Despite the enormous age gap and expectations from others to not be the normal sibling type, he made efforts, and the payed off. “Hey.” He said. You slowly looked back at him. You could tell he was sorry. “I’ll find my way home soon. Just takes time, right?”

You looked outside the window next to your bed again. “Yeah.” His heart ached seeing you like this. It became quiet between you two. You sat still looking out, biting your nails. Until, “I gotta go. I have a test I need to study for.”

He sighed, taking another smoke. “Alright.”

“Bye.” You said, turning back to him showing a smile. One he could clearly see through.

“Goodnight, sissy.” He said.

“Night.”

…

Cut to a few days later. Your friend texts you and says that her sister has 2 extra tickets for a 1975 show in London and asks if you want to go. You were technically still grounded so you knew your mom wouldn’t love the idea of a 4-hour road trip with your friends, even if it was to his son’s concert. You recalled the conversation with your brother from a few nights ago. You have barely spoken since then, other than when he commented on a post you made and when you told him to ‘stfu�� when he posted something stupid on his story. You remembered him telling you that he snuck out, and snuck out often.

You were a good girl. As bold and ruthless as you were, you never spoke back, never got in trouble (until now), and you were a straight A student with a stellar GPA. Besides there were other thing your mother and father should be worrying about other than you sneaking out frot a night.

You thought about it for a few minutes, pondering your decision, before eventually texting back your friend and telling her you were in.

You packed your bag in a rush the next day. packing just an outfit for the concert and another comfy one for the late night ride back. As you walked out the front door, not worrying about your mother because she was still working, the realization hit you. You still hadn't told your brother.

…

Hours later, at the actually barricade, situated in the perfect spot between where you brother and Ross would be, you still didn’t. You pondered how you would do it, teasing your friend that you wouldn't tell him at all and wait for him to come out. But, there were too many people in the crowded area and you didn’t want to take that chance. You opened up his contact and texted him a picture of the blue curtain right in front of you. To no one's surprise, he called you immediately.

“Y/n Healy.” He said, as soon as the Facetime connected.

You payed dumb, your friend letting out a laugh as you spoke. “Yessss?”

“Where to fuck are you?” he said.

You played dumb, in hopes of pissing him off more, “Um…at a concert!”

“Who’s concert?” You could hear the band laughing in the background. Matty must have filled hem in.

You shrugged before looking at the camera. “This shit rock band.”

He rolled his eyes and you could hear George let out a laugh beside him. “Does Mum know you’re here?” Your demeanor changed as you tired your best to hold in giggles. “Y/n!” He said.

“What? I missed you!”

“That does not give you an excuse to lie to our parents and take a spontaneous road trip to my gig!” People around started paying attention to the man on your phone screen, realizing it was the man they had come to see.

You smiled. “Well, nice to see you too!”

“Oh my God.” He said, yet again rolling his eyes.

George took the phone from him, knowing his best friend was getting nowhere. “Hi, munchkin.”

“Hi, George!” You smiled. It had been an even longer while since you’ve seen the band.

“Snuck out, did you?” He asked.

“Maybe?” You said, smiling. Even more people started setting whispers. You didn’t care.

“Hm. You at the barricade?”

“Yep! I’m watching the show tonight whether my brother likes it or not!” You replied, smiling once more.

“Nice! I’ll give you a stick.” He smiled before your brother cut it short.

“Stop incoraging her. Give me the phone-“

He reluctantly handed the phone back. “I’m texting Mum. I’m telling her you’re here.”

“Oh, so when you snuck out and did things it was fine? Dude, It’s a 1975 concert. There are more dangerous places to be.”

“You’re 16. You can’t even drive yet, love!”

“Hey! I have my permit.” You said defending yourself.

“Your permit not a license!”

You thought for a moment then rolled your eyes. “It’s fine.”

He sighed. “I’m texting Mum.” He hung up after that.

…

Mum | Go have fun. Give him a big hug for me, alright?

y/n | I’m sorry for sneaking out and driving several hours and lying to you.

Mum | I knew you left, my love. It’s okay.

Mum| I told him to take care of you tonight and send you off in the morning. Be nice and be careful please🩷

y/n | yes maam.

…

Mum | Take care of my girl or you’re grounded.

Matty | I’m 35 mum

Mum | I mean it.

Matty | Love u too

[something-tofightfor]

On Deck Part 3: Ducks on the Pond

Pairing: Jack Daniels x Female Reader Baseball AU

Word Count: 7,433

Rating: NSFW - smut, language, feelings (maybe. just a little)

Summary: Having Jack in your house is more than a little overwhelming - but when you realize that it's what he really wants, everything changes.

Author’s notes: 

This chapter was a hell of a lot of tun to write. Trying to strike a balance between what I know happens and what is happening here was a struggle; hopefully you enjoy.

(On Deck universe masterlist for all the extras!)

While there are a lot of baseball references within this story, you only need to know the basics to enjoy it and understand what's going on - we're not getting overly technical here.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out.

“Ducks on the Pond” is another term used to describe runners in scoring position. To be considered “in” this position, a player must be on either second or third base due to previous play action. When this happens, any batted ball that results in a hit is likely to score one - or more - of the runners. These players are ready and waiting for the current batter’s action.

He parked in the driveway next to your car, turning his head to look through the window and at you. Did I actually invite him back to my place? Jack waited to get out until you were standing in the driveway, motioning for him to follow. I did. Shit.

There was no other way to describe it: you were nervous. But you were also excited - and you hoped that that emotion was the one that would win out. I didn’t think it would get to this point. I never really believed I’d get the chance to have him here.

He was quiet as he entered your house, but by the time you’d set your bag and keys on the counter, Jack was talking again - and you liked the way that the sound of his voice filled your home. “I like this place.” He’d stopped to take his shoes off by the door, glancing up as he undid the laces. “Smells nice.” He straightened up, looking around at your front hall and into the living room. “It’s real lived in.” 

“I moved in when my uncle offered me my job.” You crossed your arms over your chest, stepping back toward him. “I don’t … plan on staying here forever, but it’s worked out for me so far.” Shrugging, you gestured with one hand. “It’s just me, so it’s all I need. I’m sure it’s smaller than yours, though.”

“I actually just have a condo here.” He sniffed, reaching up to scratch the side of his neck. “It’s nice, but it’s nothin’ fancy. Not real big either. My place back in Texas?” Jack groaned. “That’s home. And it’s a hell of a lot bigger.” You’d seen the pictures he posted online - nothing seriously revealing, but still enough to give you an idea of what his houses looked like.  “And I’ve been livin’ out of a hotel while I rehab, so this is much bigger.” He winked. “You gonna give me the grand tour?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah, I… come on.” You gestured for him to follow you, wincing as soon as you turned your back. Of course he doesn’t want to stand around and talk. He came here for a reason. No matter how much fun you had with him that day, Jack’s interest in you was likely purely physical. He’s not here to be a friend. “Bathroom’s right here.” You pointed, clearing your throat. “And my bedroom’s -”

Jack said your name, the sound of it freezing you in place. As he spoke, asking you to turn around, you felt his hand on your back before it slid over to your hip and was joined by his other one on the opposite side of your body. What is… He waited until you were facing him again to continue, his tone softening. “Are you nervous?”

“A little.” There was no point in lying to him, and you figured things would go smoothly as long as you were on the same page to start. “I’m not … this isn’t something I do often, and especially not with someone I just met.” 

“Can I make it a whole lot easier for you?” He stepped closer, his hands still on your hips. “No pressure. I didn’t come back here with you because I expect anything, even though it was implied.” He smirked at you, but the expression wasn’t unkind. “I would like to kiss you again, though. And since we’ve already gotten the first one out of the way, I figure the second will -”

You moved quickly, leaning in and tilting your head - and when you met Jack’s lips with yours, some of your nerves dissipated. His hold on you tightened, Jack groaning - but then he pulled away, his eyes wide. He looks shocked. Should I not have … oh, no. “Jack?”

“Didn’t seem too nervous there.” He winked again, straightening his shoulders. “Good. That’s real good.” You agreed, your eyes flicking over to the side and then back to him, your smile growing. “Do you want to keep going and show me that bedroom, or go back to -”

“I’ll show you the bedroom.” You bit the inside of your lip, eyes locked with his. “We’re already pretty close.” He laughed quietly, his fingertips brushing against yours when you turned away and started walking down the hall. “It’s a little messy, so -”

“You should see mine.” He entered behind you, Jack’s voice low. “I hate puttin’ clothes away, so I always have two baskets: one clean, one dirty.” You huffed out a laugh, scanning the room for anything embarrassing while Jack kept going. “And my underwear drawer? Pfft. Nothin’s folded. Socks either.”

“I figured you’d have someone doing your laundry for you. Maybe a housekeeper.” You leaned against your dresser, crossing your arms and watching as Jack took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Your schedule has to be really busy, and I’m sure the last thing you want to do is clean your kitchen or the bathroom or -”

“I do have a housekeeper.” Jack winced. “But she doesn’t touch my bedroom or my laundry.” Interesting. “You got me pegged, huh?” 

“It was just a guess.” You uncrossed your arms and pushed forward, heading for where he sat. “But… yeah, maybe I do.” He smiled at you, the expression genuine and reaching his eyes. “And Jack?” He hummed, waiting. “Laundry sucks, so I can’t say shit about the two baskets thing.” 

Jack’s laugh filled your room, and before you realized it was happening, he reached out for you and hauled you into the bed with him, both of you rolling onto the mattress. You braced yourself with both hands, ending up on your back. When you felt Jack’s weight atop you, you gasped, the sudden realization that Jack Daniels was in your bed flooring you. 

“You alright?” You nodded, staring up at him. “Good.” His eyes moved over your face, Jack’s smile locked in place. “I made you a promise at that park, an’ I think it’s time you let me follow through.” 

“I do too.” Swallowing, you cautiously reached up, putting your hand on his shoulder. “If you can.” He rolled his eyes before taking a breath, and then Jack was closing the distance between the two of you. Why am I challenging him? I already know he’s going to live up to it.

Your heart thumped in your chest, the beat slightly erratic. When his mouth met yours, your lips were already parted, giving him the perfect opening. He took it, the tip of his tongue poking out to meet the fullest part of your lower lip - and at that feeling, it was you that reacted, your hold on him tightening. 

And you moaned when he pushed it between them, your mouth opening wider to accommodate Jack’s. His response was to deepen the kiss further, his tongue stroking along the edge of yours, one slow drag after another. He was right. There’s nothing disappointing about this. 

You raised your hand from his shoulder to the back of his head, but when you pushed your fingers into the silky strands of his hair and pulled, he broke away, backing off with a grunt. “That’s what you like?” I mean… yeah. “Me too.” 

“Jack, you -” You didn’t get to finish the sentence before he was kissing you again, that one slightly messier and nowhere near as deep. It was followed by a series of shorter ones, each of them purposeful. 

In all of the fantasies you’d had about Jack, none of them included the fact that he liked to make out. You’d assumed that he would have just gone for it, uninterested in foreplay and wanting to get right to the main event. But I’ve never been happier to be wrong. 

You combed through his hair again when he moved his lips from your mouth to your cheek and then down over your jaw, his mustache dragging over the thin skin it met. And you angled your head so that he could move even lower, Jack’s mouth trailing down the column of your neck until it reached your shoulder. He paused there, sucking gently, but you didn’t even attempt to speak until your felt his tongue moving over the same area, leaving a damp trail in its wake. Before this gets too far, I need to … 

“Jack, wait.” You pushed him away, and he let you - propping himself up on his good arm and giving you a chance to collect your thoughts. “I don’t want to get carried away. Do you have…” You trailed off when you felt his fingertips moving along the inside of your forearm, though this eyes remained on your face. Unfair. This is unfair, he … “Do you have a condom? Because -”

“I do.” He nodded, his expression serious. “Not specifically for today, though. I just carry ‘em with me.” That didn’t surprise you - but his next words did. “And if we’re gonna do this, I’ve got a couple rules.” Oh. Rules? What … “No pictures or video. You left your bag in the other room, so I’m not worried about that.” You nodded, deciding to wait before you replied. “Anything that can be seen when I’m in my jersey … you can’t make marks there - nothin’ from your mouth or your hands.” That made sense to you, too, and you nodded again. “I’m not gonna stay over.” He looked apologetic at that revelation, Jack licking at his lower lip briefly and then giving you a tight smile. “That’s just for tonight though, it’s not a general rule. It’s because I’ve gotta be up early tomorrow to go to the stadium, and then I’m drivin’ back before the game, so I need time to pack.” 

“OK.” Your voice was quiet, heart still beating wildly. So it means he stays sometimes. Just not this time. “OK to all of those. What -” 

“And one more thing.” Something else? “I’m gonna need you to keep pullin’ on my hair as much as you want to, darlin’, because I like that a hell of a lot.” Good. I like it a hell of a lot, too. 

That made you laugh, but it was a short sound as you leaned in closer, nodding your agreement. “You got it, Jack.” Slipping your fingers back into his hair, you pulled on the strands, which earned you another low groan from him. You liked the sound - maybe a little too much. Detouring from another kiss, you turned your head to the side and craned your neck so that you could speak into his ear. “Take off your shirt.” 

He froze at the sound of your voice, but it only took seconds for him to push his weight off of you, Jack sitting up on the edge of your bed and taking a long breath. “You gonna do the same?” He tilted his chin down, the smile creeping back across his lips. “Now’s a good time.” 

You sat up, too, but you didn’t move your hands. 

Instead, you waited to watch as Jack used his left one to grip the bottom hem of his t-shirt before pulling it over his head in one smooth motion. Holy shit, I’ve never seen anyone do that in real life before. “Jesus, Jack. That …” He grinned and then stood up, giving you the opportunity to stare as he positioned himself in front of you. 

He was gorgeous  - even more so than you’d imagined he would be. You let your eyes roam from where his jeans sat low on his waist, up and over the slight curve of his belly. Jack put both hands on his hips, which made his muscles flex again. As your eyes continued their journey upward, you bit down on your lower lip. “You see anything you like?”

“You know I do.” Humming as you eyed his broad, freckled chest, you shook your head slowly. “Can’t believe they make you cover all this up with a uniform every night.” 

“I try to show a little skin.” He shrugged. “Always keep a couple buttons undone.” That made you laugh again, and when you realized that Jack was the type to joke in the bedroom, you shivered. I’m going to enjoy this. “I think it’s your turn to do the same.” He was right. You’d stalled slightly, enthralled by the sight of him. But in order to actually take the night further, you’d need to remove your clothing, too. 

“I can do that.” You didn’t stay seated, though. Standing in front of him, you also pulled your shirt over your head, letting it drop beside your feet. He reached out, both of his hands sliding over your sides, and at the first contact of his palms to your bare skin, you gasped. “Jack, y-” You didn’t get to finish. He urged you closer, hands moving over your body so that one could settle against your lower back, the other traveling up to stop between your shoulders. 

Both of yours found their way to his stomach, your fingers curling inward. “I forgot somethin’.” He spoke quietly, tilting his head so that he could kiss your cheek. His facial hair tickled your skin with each word, Jack continuing to speak the closer he got to your mouth. “Probably don’t need to say it, but my shoulder’s still not at 100%, so we also need to be careful with that.” 

“Of course.” You agreed, and your hand slid lower, fingers catching the button of his jeans. “The last thing I’d want to do is hurt you right before you’re set to come back.” You popped the button and then moved your hand to the zipper. As you undid it, he dragged the edges of his nails across your skin. It made your back arch and pushed your chest against his, which is what Jack seemed to be waiting for. 

Things moved quickly from there, both of you impatient to rid each other of your remaining clothing. 

You undid the zipper while Jack unhooked your bra, both of his large hands sliding apart so that the could grab the straps. By the time you were pushing his jeans down and over his hips, he’d eased the material over your shoulders so that it dropped down your arms, the elastic catching on the crook of your elbow.

Being so exposed in front of Jack after such a short time should have scared you. It should have worried you, especially after the other women he’d likely been with throughout the years… but it didn’t. Instead, his touch thrilled you, and when he stepped out of his jeans and kicked them to the side, you opened your mouth to tell him - and were cut off with a searing kiss. 

He wasted no time, mouth locked against yours, his lips parted and the tip of his tongue prodding against the seam of your lips and waiting for you to give him access. Oh, Jack. It didn’t matter to you that what was going on was likely a one time thing, It didn’t matter that within a few hours, he’d be dressed and gone. 

Because for the time being, he was there, with you. He was in your bedroom, with his hands and mouth on you - and yours were on him. And he started this. The kiss continued, Jack deepening it as his fingers curved around the back of your neck, keeping you close. 

You broke away with a gasp, letting out a shuddering breath. I need to focus for a second. Jack’s eyes were wide, but before he could question you, you reached down and undid your only remaining button. Here goes nothing. You glanced down to watch as your pants followed the same path his had taken, sliding down your legs before you could step out of them. You caught a glimpse of him then, the material of the trunks he wore straining to contain a sizeable bulge. Ok. That looks … 

Almost as though he could tell exactly where you were looking, Jack reached up with one hand to adjust himself. At the sight of his hand against the dark material, fingers curled around himself, you sighed, licking your lips. I want to know how he tastes. “Can I -”

“No.” Jack cleared his throat and then said your name, waiting until you were looking up at him again to say anything else. No? What did I - “We don’t know each other well enough for that yet.” Yet? Does that mean he wants to know me better? “Hey.” He used one finger to tip your chin upward, his mouth lifting in a smirk. “That’s my own rule, but that doesn’t mean it applies to you too.” The tip of his tongue flashed between his lips, his eyes locked on yours. “I’d like nothin’ more than to -”

“No.” You backed away, your own smile growing. If I can’t go there, neither can you. “We should play by the same rules. Make it fair.” He looked surprised at that, both eyebrows shooting up, but Jack didn’t question it. Instead, he bent over and reached into his jeans pocket for his wallet. 

Flipping it open, he pulled a condom free and then turned away from you, setting it - and the billfold - down onto the tabletop next to your bed. You used the opportunity to stare at his back and the way his muscles flexed with each movement, his skin smooth. 

There was a smattering of freckles over his shoulders that you knew you’d think about each time you saw him on the field, but after only a few seconds he turned to face you again, one brow arched. “Bed?” You couldn’t speak, and so you just nodded in reply, forcing yourself to turn away from him and climb back in. Ok. Ok, it’s happening, and he’s going to … 

You felt his hands on you before you could get settled, Jacks’s fingers sliding beneath the waistband of your underwear and then tugging. He eased them down, and when you straightened your legs and laid down on your stomach, folding your arms beneath your head, he removed them completely. 

Jack was silent for almost too long, and when you turned your head further to see what was wrong, you gasped. He was standing next to the side of your bed, staring down at you - but instead of both hands hanging by his sides, the fingers of one of them were curled around his length, the man as naked as you were. 

Jack stroked himself slowly, and when he saw that you were watching, one side of his mouth crept upward in a sly smile. “Found somethin’ I like lookin’ at, too.” 

You were fine until he winked. At the sight of that, you breathed out his name, both eyes closing. He laughed quietly, and when you felt the mattress dip a few seconds later, followed by the brush of his knee alongside yours, you knew what he was going to do. 

He swung his other leg so that he was straddling your thighs, and then Jack leaned forward, one hand flat on the bed next to you to support his weight with his uninjured arm. He touched you with the other one, fingertips trailing over your curves and then up, and your eyes flew open at the feeling of his mouth following those fingers, pressing kisses to the exposed expanse of your back. 

You would have been content to let him kiss his way up the entire length of your body, but only moments after you felt him run the tip of his nose up the line of your spine, Jack spoke again. “Roll over.” He nipped at your skin, the edges of his teeth dragging, and before he got out the next word - a quiet please - you were moving, slowly flipping over so that you were on your back and staring up at him. 

There was a warmth in his eyes that surprised you - and you wanted to take advantage of it. “C’mere.” You brought both hands up, one of them resting against his shoulder and the other urging him to move his face toward yours. “Let me k-”

“Not yet.” Jack nipped at the heel of your hand and then ducked down, zeroing in on one side of your chest. His lips closed around your nipple and when he sucked, your back arched, fingers tightening against his arm before you gasped and muttered the word sorry, moving it down and toward the space between his shoulders. But he didn’t pull away. Instead, he sucked harder and then released your skin, flicking his tongue against it a few times before you felt the graze of his teeth. 

You moaned then, wanting him to hear how turned on you were, and it was the right decision. 

He switched to the other side of your chest, mouthing his way across your sternum. When he reached your other breast, you groaned out his name, hips rising from their place on the mattress to meet his. He swore at the contact, but Jack chased your movement with his own, even as he lapped at the curve of your skin. 

You felt how hard he was - the length of him hot against your lower abdomen, a warm, sticky smear dragging against your belly with every short thrust of Jack’s hips. “Jack.” You whispered to get his attention, heart thrumming in your chest. “Jack, hey.” He raised his head at the sound of your voice, but he didn’t sit up, instead staring at you with his chin pressed against your heated skin. “You’re too far away.” Using your free hand as a demonstration of your words, you slipped it between your bodies. “I can’t reach you.” 

“That what you want?” Jack wet his lips, taking a deep breath. “You wanna get your hands on me?”

“Yes.” Dropping your hand, you pressed it to your belly. “As a matter of fact, I do.” Jack straightened up then, sliding both knees forward and then settling back so that his weight rested on his calves. Your gaze dropped from his face to his chest and then lower, and before you had a chance to talk yourself out of it, you were using both hands to push yourself up and into a sitting position, widening the spread of your legs just enough so that you could bend your knees and plant your feet to help you balance. “What do you like?”

“I’m gonna like whatever you do.” He leaned in, voice low. “So don’t you worry ‘bout that.” Those words were all you needed, your eyes closing as you met him in another kiss. That one was slow, and it was you that slipped your tongue between his lips first, the sound Jack made almost too quiet to notice. But you liked that, didn’t you. 

You wondered if he could hear - or feel - the thudding of your heart, the beat of it traitorously quick. He knows. He’s gotta know. You reached out slowly, your fingers closing around Jack - and when you stroked him for the first time, the thrust of his hips toward you was immediate, Jack’s kiss turning hungry. He held you close, one arm wound around your shoulders, the other hand pressed flat against your lower back. Wait, though. Wait a second … 

Releasing him, you pulled your hand away slowly, and when Jack mumbled your name, backing up, it was your turn to wink. “Just a sec.” Averting your eyes, you looked down, hoping that he would do the same. Am I really going to do this? The sight of him - so close to the apex of your thighs - made the decision for you. Yes, I am. You slid your fingers between your own legs, coating them. 

“Oh, fuck.” You heard him - and knew that he was watching. Good. “Can I -”

“Yeah.” You let out a shuddering breath and moved your hand back to him, your slick fingers gliding up and down his length. “Yes, Jack.” He scooted back a few inches, and though you never broke your rhythm, it changed the angle, making it easier for you to pause at his tip to swirl your thumb around and over it a few times before giving him another firm stroke. 

He rested his forehead against your shoulder and stared downward between your bodies, Jack’s breathing quick. And when he touched you for the first time, it caught you by surprise - the press of his thumb turning into a slow circle of the digit. Then it was you that cried out his name, hips jerking forward and your grip tightening around him. Fuck that feels good.

He couldn’t do much else with the way you were positioned, but when Jack lifted his head to meet your eyes again, he grinned at the sight of your face - mouth hanging open and both eyes wide. “Lay down.” He swallowed, closing his eyes and shaking his head briefly. Wait, what? “Lay down.”

“But I won’t be able to -”

“I know.” He moved his hand, letting it rest against the crease of your thigh. “Lay back.” You stroked him twice more and then did as he asked, reluctantly pulling your hand away as you settled against the blankets and pillows. You wanted to bring your hand to your mouth and pop your thumb between your lips - tasting even the slightest bit of him. But he said no. He said not this time. And so you didn’t, getting comfortable and raising your hips as you waited to see what Jack would do, both hands resting by your sides on the blankets.

He repositioned himself, too, moving so that he was kneeling beside you before urging your legs further apart with one hand. It had only been a few minutes since you’d climbed into bed together, but time slowed as Jack twisted his wrist and slipped three fingers between your legs, two of them spreading you open and the other pushing slowly into you. 

He focused on what he was doing, the smile never leaving his lips, and even though you wanted to watch, you couldn’t. Your eyes closed and you turned your head to the side, mouth open as your hips rocked forward and into his touch. One finger inside of you turned into two, each thrust of them a little deeper than the last. 

He knew what he was doing - that much was clear - but Jack wasn’t trying to make you come. Instead, he was focused on pleasuring you, opening you up carefully. Because he’s big. Swallowing, you opened your eyes and forced out a breath, turning your head to watch him again. 

For a brief second, you considered saying fuck an even playing field and telling him you wanted his mouth. Jack would have done it without question - you could see the look in his eyes, watched the way he licked at his lips while his fingers pumped in and out of you. Even just the thought of it turned you on, and you wondered if he could tell. 

You wanted to know what it felt like to have him between your thighs, and could very clearly imagine how good the rub of his mustache against your sensitive skin would feel. Not tonight. Not this time. Not - 

“I need to fuck you.” His voice broke you out of your thoughts and when you met his gaze, Jack’s chest was heaving. “Grab the condom.” You groped for it without looking away and when you handed it over, he accepted it with one hand, the other still on you. “I can’t…” He groaned, closing his eyes and pulling his fingers out. You inhaled through your nose at the loss of contact, but Jack didn’t keep you waiting. The sound of the condom opening was followed by a quiet hiss as he rolled it on and then held it in place, squeezing himself. “I can’t hold myself up.” 

It hadn’t even occurred to you. Of course he can’t. Holding himself up would be … “Ok.” Nodding, you moved to push yourself up again. “Ok, so I’ll get on top, I -”

“No.” Jack stroked himself once, pushing his shoulders back. “I’ve got a better idea.” Gesturing with his free hand, he pointed. “Lay down on your side.” 

You thought about it for a few seconds and then did just that, rolling onto the side that would allow him to keep his injured arm free. Jack got into position behind you, his body pressed against yours. One arm slid between you and the mattress and then bent at the elbow to cross up and over your chest. He wants me close.“Wh-”

“Relax.” He kissed the back of your shoulder and then squeezed your arm. “I’ve got you.” Reaching down, he gripped your thigh and then eased your leg up and back, urging you to drape it over both of his. “This alright?”

“Yeah.” You nodded, a smile on your face as your eyes closed. “It is, Jack.” He squeezed your hip and then reached between you, guiding himself into place. You held your breath in anticipation, and Jack didn’t keep you waiting. Nudging his hips forward, Jack slipped partway in - and your body did the rest. 

Rocking your hips back at the same time he pushed forward ensured that he was buried in your heat in a single, smooth stroke. You gasped at the feeling, but that reaction was nothing compared to Jack’s. He didn’t speak, instead turning his head and then ducking it so that he was pressing his lips to your throat, breath leaving him in rapid pants that warmed your skin further. 

He only gave you seconds to adjust and then he pulled back slowly, hips easing away from you before he urged them forward again, setting the pace. He gripped your hip hard, fingers digging into your skin, and for a few minutes, you let yourself get lost in him - in the way he felt and sounded and the way he was touching you, the hand on your chest sliding down so that he could cup one breast in his palm, squeezing just enough that you could feel it. 

He groaned against your neck and then bit down - not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to make you whine. While you reacted to that, he moved the hand from your hip down, returning it to the space between your legs.  

That angle was better - and Jack wasted no time in zeroing in with his fingertips, circling against you with quick, precise motion. It felt good - better than good, if you were being honest - and your body fell into rhythm with Jack faster than you anticipated. But something’s… Opening your eyes, you frowned. Something’s missing.

It was just sex. You knew it was just sex, and you understood the need for the positon; Jack’s health and well-being the most important things to consider. But … “Hey, you alright?” Murmuring the words into your ear, he slowed the motion of his hips and hand, though he didn’t stop either of them entirely. “You got real… stiff.” 

“Yeah, I …” Closing your eyes, you reached up with one hand, wrapping your fingers around his wrist. “I’m fine, I just …” Moving your hips backward to meet his as he thrust forward, you sighed. “I’m not used to not doing anything, and I feel like I should b-” 

“How ‘bout this?” He kissed the underside of your jaw, saying your name as he sunk back into you. “Next time, you’re in charge?” Next time? So that means… He circled his hips slowly, but didn’t pull out, leaving you completely full of him - and waiting to see what he’d say next. “How’s that sound?” 

Twisting your upper body so that you could look up at him, you took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. That sounds … acceptable.” He laughed at you, the corners of his eyes crinkling. It was just a natural reaction - Jack’s response to a humorous comment - but it made your chest tight, nonetheless. I want to make him look at me like that again. You reached up then, your hand sliding along the side of his neck and then further back and into his hair, the roots damp with sweat. Jack got the hint, leaning forward until he could kiss you again. 

That time, he bit down on your lower lip, taking it between his teeth and tugging before he released it, mouth sealed over yours. It was a familiar kiss - much more familiar than you’d expected with him, but it helped to put you at ease. You nodded slowly as you kissed him back, fingers tightening in his hair as Jack’s hand resumed its previous pace - and so did the pace of his hips. 

You wanted to prolong things - wanted to extend the time you’d get to spend in bed with him, but your body had other ideas. In the space of only a minute or two, you felt the heat gathering low in your belly, your breathing quickening by the second. Jack’s hips snapped against yours, and when he groaned, you felt the vibration before he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against the side of your face. 

He was sticky with sweat, but it was the sound of his voice you focused on. You weren’t even sure that he knew he was speaking, but each word went straight to your core, your fingers closing around his forearm as your mouth fell open. “Feels amazing. So fucking good. Wanted you all week.” You did? He groaned and tilted his head so that he could kiss the top of your shoulder, and you moaned at the feeling of the edge of his nail as it grazed your skin, the motion of his hand slowing. 

That got to him. 

Jack’s hips stuttered, and when your eyes opened, you realized that it wasn’t going to be you that came first. “Oh, fuck, Jack.” Lifting your hand again, you threaded your fingers through his hair, pulling harder than you had earlier. “You’re right there, aren’t you? So fucking close.” He nodded, each of his exhales hot against your sticky skin. “Let me feel it.” You sighed again, turning your face away from him to press it against the blankets and biting your lip as you arched your back, forcing him in deeper. “Feel you.” 

He came without warning, a low, almost strangled moan erupting from his lips as his hips slowed, the muscles in his thighs tensing along with the ones in his abdomen. You felt the heat through the thin latex, Jack filling the condom as the pressure of his fingers between your legs increased. “Feel that?” He groaned the words out, his voice uneven. “Made me come fast because I wanted you so goddamn bad.” He grunted, continuing to move. “‘S’your turn now.” 

“Yes, I -” You stopped when he latched onto your shoulder again, the pressure of his teeth firm. Your hips jerked backward and toward his, the combination of everything he was doing too much to hold off your own orgasm any longer. 

But unlike Jack, you were vocal about it, his name tumbling from your mouth over and over even as your muscles seized around him, the heat uncoiling and spreading through your body as your hold on him tightened. Oh, fuck. 

Jack’s hand slid back down your chest and settled over your heart, and when he released your skin from between his teeth, you felt him smiling against it, even as the movement of his fingers stopped and his hips slowed. “Fuck you feel good.” Yeah, so do you. Both of you were breathing hard, but it was Jack that moved first, swiping his fingers in one more slow circle against you and causing you to jerk backwards and press against his body before he pulled his hand away. What is … 

You got your answer moments later when his damp fingers trailed over your thigh and then your hip before moving between your bodies to steady himself  as he withdrew. Humming as he pulled out, you brought your hand up to rub at your face while you caught your breath, already steeling yourself for the loss of him behind you. “Jack, I -”

“Shh.” He eased free, a long exhale hitting the back of your shoulder. “Can you move?” Move? You want me to get up? “Face me, I mean?” The question shocked you, but you did what he asked, moving your leg first and then carefully turning in his arms. “You good?” 

“Good? Yeah.” Fighting the urge to lift your hand and push the hair away from his forehead, you narrowed your eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be good?” 

“Donno. That was pretty quick.” He swallowed, the tip of his tongue emerging to wet his lips. “Didn’t mean for it to be.” You didn’t? “Sorry abut that.” He used his right hand to touch your shoulder, his eyes dropping to the skin and his lips turning downward into a frown. “I know I said you had to be careful, and then I just -”

“Don’t apologize.” You did reach up then, fingers brushing over his temple and easing the hair away from his face. “I liked it.” His eyes widened and then Jack laughed, ducking his head to kiss you quickly, his hand gripping your hip. “A lot.” Instead of backing away after the kiss, Jack stayed put, his mouth hovering just above yours. You wondered what he was waiting for - if he wanted you to say something else or if he was about to speak again, but instead of giving you too much time to consider, he acted. 

It caught you by surprise when he kissed you again, his tongue licking over the curve of your lower lip. You didn’t keep him waiting, though, angling your head and opening your mouth for him. If you only had a few minutes left before he was gone, you were going to make the most of them - and if Jack wanted to kiss you like he had no intention of leaving your bed, you sure as hell weren’t going to stop him.

Eyes closed, you kissed him back, one hand absently moving over the curve of his shoulder and then down, trailing along the muscles of his bicep. You would have liked to continue exploring his body, but Jack broke the kiss with a sigh, shaking his head.

“I’ve gotta go.” You knew it was coming but it still hurt, the sting of knowing that he was just going to leave canceling out some of the elation you felt at being in his arms. “I fucking hate to just …” Jack trailed off, taking a deep breath. “I wish I could stay.”

“You don’t have to do that, Jack.” Bringing your hand to the front of his body, you spread your fingers against his chest. “I get it.” You repositioned your shoulders, nodding. “Places to go, suitcases to pack, baseball games to play.” His eyes darkened briefly, lips falling back into a frown - but Jack recovered, smiling as he nodded at you. 

“Can I use your bathroom?” He got up as soon as you gave him permission, one hand holding the condom in place while he rolled away and then got out of the bed. You watched shamelessly as he crossed the room and then left it, pushing the door all the way open and disappearing into the hallway. As soon as you heard that door close, you sighed, rolling onto your back and covering your face with both hands. 

“Holy fuck.” You needed to get up, too. You needed to get out of the bed and get dressed, so that when Jack came back into the room, he didn’t find you laying where he’d left you. There would be plenty of time to think about him and about the time you’d spent with him after he was gone. I wonder if he’ll think about me, too. 

That question motivated you enough to get you on your feet. 

After you’d used the towel from your shower earlier to clean yourself up, you pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts, glancing at yourself in the mirror after you were dressed. He’s going to need to come back in here, and he’s naked, so… 

You padded down the hallway and knocked softly on the door, letting him know that you’d be downstairs. But you didn’t wait for a reply, heading briefly into your second bathroom and then into the kitchen, pulling two bottles of water from the fridge. You downed most of one before he appeared in the doorway of your kitchen, once again dressed, though his hair was still somewhat unruly. I like it like that. 

“That for me?” He pointed at the second bottle and you nodded, sliding it across the counter. He drank from it, keeping his eyes on you. It was awkward, but only slightly, and when he finished with his water, Jack swiped a hand across his mouth and grinned at you. “Thank you, darlin’.” 

“Of course.” You sipped, shrugging. “A bottle of water is the least I can do.” 

“No, not for that.” He scratched at his cheek, keeping his eyes on you. “For today.” He’s thanking me for sex? Your expression must have fallen enough that he saw it, because Jack immediately circled the counter to where you were standing, reaching out to wind an arm around you. “No, not like that. I’m not thankin’ you for … shit. I sound like such an asshole, don’t I?” He paused, glancing up. “It was real nice to not feel like this was just a hookup because of who I am.” Oh. Oh, that’s different. 

“You’re welcome.” You reached for his hand, linking your fingers together and squeezing. “I had fun today, too.” His smile widened at your words and to your surprise, Jack pulled you into a tight hug, letting go of your hand to hold you close. You hugged him back, turning your head and pressing your cheek against his broad chest. “Maybe we can do it again sometime.” 

The words slipped out before you could stop them, but Jack agreed, taking a step back and saying your name quietly and looking directly into your eyes as he continued. “I’d like that.” There was nothing left to prolong his leaving, and when Jack turned away and toward the hallway, you followed, though not closely. “I’ll be back up here later this week, if everything goes well.” He put on one shoe and looked up at you, nodding. “Can I call you?” 

“Sure.” Crossing your arms over your chest, you bit the inside of your lip. “That would be great.” You wanted to say more, but chose not to. And when Jack stood up, patting his back pockets to make sure he had everything, you leaned against the wall, watching. I have to lock the door, it’s not like I’m hovering. “Drive safe, Jack. You’re gonna be on the road a lot this week.” 

“Yeah, I am.” He reached for the doorknob then, fingers closing around it. But before he pulled it open, Jack spun back to face you and crossed the small space, crowding you against the wall. “I know I have to go, but …” He trailed off as you tried to process what was happening, but before you could get your bearings, he was kissing you, the wall at your back and his body pressed to your front. 

Is this fucking happening? He pushed his tongue between your lips, letting out a quick breath through his nose, and then Jack’s hand slid beneath your shirt and up. His fingers splayed wide against your side, though they curled inward when you nipped at his lower lip, tugging on it. It is. And he started it and… 

You broke apart with a quiet gasp, and after Jack pressed another kiss to your mouth, he said your name, tone serious. “No maybe about it. I want to do this again.” 

Straightening up, Jack winked at you and then moved to open the door, lips curving up into the smile that you were all too familiar with. Ok. Ok, yeah. Yeah, me too. 

“Yes.” It was all you could manage - one word in a breathless exhale - but it seemed to be all he needed, because you got another grin before he stepped outside in the the still-warm darkness of the mid August summer, closing the door behind him. 

---

[mixtmedea]

shadow puppets

fluff | megumi x non-sorcerer gn reader

(technically it is? but no actual romance happens..? mostly wholesome flirting? if this even counts as flirting)

cute little moment about megumi teaching someone how to make shadow puppets

cw | none, not proof-read

♡‧₊˚‎₍ᐢᐢ₎⋆｡°✩♡‧₊˚‎₍ᐢᐢ₎⋆｡°✩‎‎♡‧₊˚‎₍ᐢᐢ₎⋆｡°✩‎♡‧₊˚‎₍ᐢᐢ₎⋆｡°✩‎

the summer sky is painted with bright orange and pink as the sun begins to set.

megumi, yuuji, and nobara are perched on a wooden bench in the middle of a public park. Surrounded by greenery and roaming pedestrians, they wind back as they listen to the sound of children playing in the distance, the flapping of airborne kites, and faint chatter from anyone who passes by.

"ugh, i'm beat." yuuji huffs as he leans his head back on the bench.

nobara sifts through her tote bag to find the water she unfortunately had to purchase at a vending machine earlier when she'd forgotten her water bottle at the dorms.

"can i have some?" barely lifting his head, yuuji tries to reach for nobara's water bottle before she slaps his hand away.

"no." she says with a straight face, twisting open the cap.

yuuji sits up in defiance. "why?! it's so hot!"

"i didn't even get to drink it yet!" she hisses at him. "just get your own, there's a vending machine right there."

"it costs money!" he whines.

as usual, a bickering match begins between the two, which results in a mild cat fight for a half-finished water bottle.

megumi is too tired and warm at this point to care about how much they're thrashing around next to him with what little space they have on the bench. for the entire day, he had led the trio through an extensive tokyo tour, basically acting as their guide the entire time with his memorized facts. megumi isn't sure how many more times he can play tour guide when they constantly ask him to search up restaurants and landmarks to visit.

momentarily tuning out the noise, megumi takes a look around him, observing the way the setting sun casts shadows across the park. in front of him, his own shadow is elongated as the sun sets behind him.

combating his exhaustion and boredom, megumi raises his hands and clasps them together to form a shadow of his divine dogs. he makes sure not to accidentally summon them since they're in public.

he opens and closes the mouth of the dog so it appears to be barking in sync to nobara and yuuji's verbal jabs at each other. it's definitely entertaining for a few seconds, but after a while he starts losing interest.

until megumi notices something in the corner of his eye.

he turns his head, and notices someone sitting in the grass on a raised hill in the park, close enough to see, but far enough away that he wouldn't be able to hear them clearly if they said anything. behind them sat another small group of what he assumed were their friends, but distracted in their own conversations.

you meet megumi's gaze, having just caught him making dog shadow puppets over the concrete walkway, and he caught you watching.

before megumi can react, he watches as you grin and raise your own hand to make a shadow puppet of a dog, except with one hand, and more simplified. you wiggle your pinky to make the dog bark.

megumi raises a brow at your shadow puppet, and raises his hands to show you how to make his two-handed version of a shadow dog.

you observe, and imitate his hands, successfully creating a more sophisticated dog.

from your place on the hill, you smile at megumi, happy about a successful new shadow puppet learned. but now you start quietly questioning how many he knows.

you fan out your hands and cross your thumbs to make a bird, and flap its wings at megumi. instead of copying your version with your palms outwards, he overlaps his hands, and then crosses his thumbs so his palms face inwards.

wow, you think. a little extra, but admittedly a little cooler somehow. not sure about the logic behind that, maybe he's just cute.

once again, you try your shot at another puppet, only this time it's a bunny, and the only way you know how to make a bunny is to make a peace sign with your right hand and turn it sideways. so that's what you do, and for extra theater points, you bend the ears a few times and move your hand up and down so that the rabbit can "hop."

and to your utter amazement, that damn spike-headed stranger outdoes your peace-sign rabbit with the most complicated hand gesture you've ever seen (it's not that bad, but your mind is blown).

once again, megumi is using two hands for his shadow puppet. you don't even know where to begin, and when you try to copy his gestures, you just end up confusing yourself even more. your hands are overlapping incorrectly, controlling your fingers suddenly doesn't feel right, some fingers are out of place.

when megumi sees you poorly attempting to copy him, he stifles a laugh. softly smiling at you while he tries to suppress his amusement, he raises his left hand and points at it so that you know which hand to raise first.

you raise your right hand before remembering the difference between right and left, and you switch to your left hand. you can see him grinning in the distance.

megumi makes a claw with his left hand, but with all his fingers connected. he positions his left hand in front of him, and raises his right hand. he glances up to make sure you're following along.

in the distance, you nod at him to continue.

with his right hand, he connects his index and middle finger together, and his ring finger with his pinky, forming a V shape.

you copy him.

he turns his hand so his palm faces towards him. you copy. keeping his fingers in the same position, he bends his index finger to make the head of the rabbit.

up until that point you were following along really well, but tripped up when his fingers bent to form the head and the ears. you fidget with your hands a bit before something clicks in your head and your eyes light up, but before you can finish the rabbit, one of your friends call your name from behind you.

megumi notices you turn to say something back to your friends, and disappointment seeps into his stomach when he sees you stand up to leave. but in the distance, you turn back to face megumi. you smile as you wave goodbye, and mouth "thank you," for the new little tricks he taught you. feeling his face heating up, he gently waves back, and watches you and your friends disappear from behind the slope of the hill.

megumi takes a deep breath before sighing and turning back to his friends, who, to megumi's surprise, are very close and in his face.

"...what?" megumi hesitates

"what was that?" nobara raises her brow at him.

"what was what."

"megumi was flirting with someone!!" yuuji bellows.

"no, i wasn't."

"is that how dorks flirt?" nobara snickers.

"you'd teach strangers how to make shadow puppets but not your own friends?" yuuji dramatically but jokingly complains.

megumi snatches nobara's now-empty plastic water bottle from her hands and thwacks it over yuuji's head.

♡‧₊˚‎₍ᐢᐢ₎⋆｡°✩♡‧₊˚‎₍ᐢᐢ₎⋆｡°✩‎‎♡‧₊˚‎₍ᐢᐢ₎⋆｡°✩‎♡‧₊˚‎₍ᐢᐢ₎⋆｡°✩‎

[louisisalarrie]

hey I think my ask got eaten by tumblr but if you've seen it and were planning on answering later or something just ignore this lol. I was asking what owning the name means for the boys. like legally. and what would it mean for sc to own it, what rights would he have

hello my love, it probably did get eaten lol this app has been closing randomly and telling me im unauthorised sometimes… truly bizarre.

anywho, 1d owning their own name is HUGE for them, and im sure SC will put a clause in to own the name of the next “big boyband” he’s trying to put together, because he is pissed off hahahha. I already figured they owned the name, but it’s nice to have it confirmed and watch that man beg to own it to make some more money to get more Botox.

without all the legal jargon and carryons, essentially, if SC owned the name, he could still exploit it to this day. it’s a brand. so he could, as he said in the interview, “make an animation” which yikes, but could also still be selling merch under the name, release idk a picture book, any kind of merch or content etc., like, we probably would’ve gotten special 1d 10 year anniversary t shirts and exclusive mugs and tea towels and every item under the sun, and that little cash grab would be going into SC’s pocket.

Back in the day, after they signed the contracts, 1d also created 1D Media Ltd, which is a company that they were directors of, to be able to share the profits evenly (there are also lawyers appointed to it obviously), and then commission is paid out to SC/everyone else who earns a % off their cash. So that’s a massive bonus, right? It goes to them and then it’s shared.

If SC owned the name, it would go to him, and then he would hand out the % to the boys & others. It leaves a lot more room for exploitation (the bad kind), SC pocketing extra cash, and all the other yucky things that can happen from a label/manager/whoever is not the actual artist, owning the name.

On top of this, if SC owned the name, he would be able to… uh… well… it would’ve been fucking awful and I hate thinking about it, but he could’ve replaced Zayn once he left. He could’ve introduced a new member to the band. When 1d called it quits/hiatus, he could’ve continued to use the name for a new boyband and idk… call it a legacy or something, ya know? But this way, if 1d tour, they (ot4) have to all agree to tour.

I believe Z backed out of this Agreement when he left initially, but still gets profit shares/royalties, but doesn’t have the right to use the name/has any ownership over it. Because like… imagine you’re in a band, right? And your guitarist leaves and it’s a bit of a bad breakup. If you don’t amend the ownership of who owns the name, your guitarist can start a new band under that name and technically get away with it (depending on the Agreement, they’re all so different, but it’s happened before, and Z wouldn’t even wanna do this because he wanted to pull away from the brand big time).

So that’s basically and very roughly put, what it is. If SC owned the name, he could continue to put out 1d branded merch/cartoons/whatever the hell, and make money off of it. But 1d own the name, meaning they choose what to do with it.

[steddieas-shegoes]

meet your new best friend

for @strangerthingsocweek prompt 'party time'

rated t | 1,612 words | cw: mild language | tags: modern au, future fic, the party, dustin/erica getting married, marriage proposal

💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍

“So you were friends with them when they were children?” Meg asked everyone in the room.

“I was their babysitter technically. And then they just kinda became friends,” Steve said. “We went through a lot together.”

Meg shared a look with Robin. This was the thing they weren’t allowed to talk about, then.

“Okay. And they had to plan this wedding the day after your biggest show of the tour?” Meg asked. “They can’t move it out an extra day?”

“They’ve had this booked for longer than we’ve had the tour dates. When they tried to move it, the venue threatened to cancel entirely,” Eddie said.

“And I’m guessing another venue is out of the question.”

“Bingo,” Robin said. “If we rent a private plane, we can all get ready on the flight over. We’d land with time to spare, even.”

“You guys do understand this is a big ask. A private plane isn’t cheap, and this is for a personal matter. The publicity team will have to explain why the hell you guys are using a private plane.” Meg sighed. “Why am I even trying to change your minds?”

“You’ll love Erica. She’s a blast,” Gareth smirked.

“That feels like sarcasm. What have I told you about using sarcasm?” Meg pulled her phone from her pocket and sent a text to the only person who wouldn’t give her an immediate no. “So Dustin and Erica are your favorites or what?”

“We don’t have favorites,” Robin said before getting interrupted by Steve.

“Yes. And Eddie and I are both his best men, so we have to be there.”

“I don’t understand why all of you are going,” Meg said as she typed furiously on her phone.

“Gareth’s gonna be the flower girl,” Eddie said, alarmingly serious.

Meg looked up and blinked at Gareth’s very serious face. “You’re joking. You’re fucking with me.”

“Why would we joke about that?” Gareth asked.

“Because you guys joke about everything. You choose this to be serious about?”

Gareth shrugged.

******

They were not, in fact, joking.

Gareth was wearing a suit, but had a tiara on his head as he walked down the aisle with a basket of rose petals, sprinkling them every foot or so.

Meg watched from a middle row, Robin already in tears next to her.

“I cannot actually believe this,” she whispered.

Robin smacked her arm. “Erica bonded with Gareth once Eddie, Jeff, and Freak all graduated. This is important for them.”

Meg rolled her eyes, but smiled when she saw a small boy start walking down the aisle whispering to himself as he carried a box in his hands carefully.

“That’s Lucas and Max’s son. He just turned four and takes this job very serious,” Robin supplied without Meg even having to ask.

“And Lucas is Erica’s older brother?”

“And one of Dustin’s best friends.”

“That must be…awkward.”

Before Robin could respond, the music started and Erica was standing at the beginning of the aisle with her father.

She was beautiful, wearing a ballgown fit for a princess, but with a presence fit for a queen.

Everyone was crying.

Meg turned to look at the guys and saw them all wiping tears themselves. Steve was the worst about it, sniffling loud enough for almost everyone to hear. But it seemed like Erica’s presence was enough of a distraction that no one was bothering to stare at him.

As she walked down the aisle, the photographer snapped pictures from multiple angles while trying to stay out of the way. They were good at it, and Meg leaned over to make a comment when Robin smirked.

“That’s Jonathan, Nancy’s ex-boyfriend. He’s good, right?”

Meg looked at Robin, who had insisted on wearing a sundress for the wedding, her hair wavy from the braids she’d slept in last night to prepare. She was never one for a lot of makeup, but she’d still used some lipstick and mascara for today, and her blue eyes seemed brighter because of it.

She was always beautiful, but today she was glowing.

“Do you think he’d do our wedding?” Meg whispered.

Robin was still staring at Erica as she made it to the front. “Hm?”

“Jonathan. Do you think he’d be willing to do our wedding?”

Robin’s eyes shot to hers. She let out a strangled squeak, which drew attention from the people in front of them and next to Meg.

Meg whispered an apology on her behalf and then everyone sat so the ceremony could start.

“Did you seriously just ask me to marry you at Erica and Dustin’s wedding ceremony?” Robin hissed out of the side of her mouth.

“Not in so many words, but kind of.”

“I almost want to say no just because you couldn’t wait until the reception,” Robin was squeezing her knee so hard, she was certain she’d have fingerprint bruises on her skin.

“But you’re saying yes,” Meg smiled.

“I’m saying yes and to not even look at me until Erica and Dustin have said I do because I will ruin this wedding with my tears,” Robin said before letting go of Meg’s leg and folding her hands in her own lap.

Meg mirrored her, mostly so she wouldn’t lean over and kiss Robin until neither of them could breathe.

As she watched the ceremony, she thought about what it will be like to be sharing vows with Robin, while all their loved ones got to witness how much they loved each other. It hadn’t even really occurred to her how much she wanted that until she’d asked Robin about Jonathan being their photographer.

But now that it was out there, she realized she’d actually been thinking about it for a while, maybe longer than she should have been.

She couldn’t focus on the ceremony, but she knew it had to be perfect because there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

******

The reception was surprisingly casual after the elegance of the ceremony. Meg immediately ran to the open bar for a rum and coke and grabbed Robin her usual white russian with chocolate syrup drizzled in the glass, not mixed in.

Robin was standing with Nancy and Jeff at a table already, laughing and relaxing into the evening.

Meg came over to hand Robin her drink. Robin took it and chugged it.

Nancy cleared her throat. “Everything okay, Robin?”

“Mhm. I’m great. Meg proposed to me during the ceremony so I felt that was deserved,” Robin said casually.

Nancy coughed. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I sort of accidentally proposed. And Robin said yes even though she wanted to kill me. Which really just kinda seems fitting for our entire relationship,” Meg said.

“Oh my god!” Jeff cheered. “This is amazing! I won the bet.”

“Bet?” Robin glared at him. “What bet?”

“We all had a bet going for who would propose first and when and I said Meg would propose by tomorrow.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Everyone welcome, Mr. Dustin Henderson and Mrs. Erica Sinclair-Henderson!” The room went wild and the discussion was dropped, but Meg knew it would be brought up again later.

The bride and groom made their rounds as everyone settled with drinks and appetizers were brought out. When they made it to Meg’s table, Dustin pulled her and Robin into a hug.

“So glad you could come! Gareth said it would be a close call. Thanks for making it happen,” Dustin said. “This is my wife, Erica.”

Erica rolled her eyes. “He’s said it about 84 times since we stepped into this room.”

“And I’ll say it 84 more, honey,” Dustin teased, pinching her side. “You seen Steve since we all came in here? He owes me a beer.”

“It’s an open bar,” Meg said, monotone.

“Oh, I like her,” Erica said. She reached out a hand to shake Meg’s. “You’re Robin’s girlfriend I’ve heard so much about.”

“Well, as of an hour ago, I’m her fiance.”

“Oh?” Erica glanced over at Robin, who was gesturing wildly towards where Steve had last been seen while Dustin rambled about something. “Bold choice to propose at a wedding.”

“It wasn’t on purpose.”

“Even better. Come on, I need a drink before I finish making the rounds. I’m leaving the worst for last,” Erica tugged on Meg’s arm. “Tell me all about how you keep those idiots from doing stupid shit all the time. They never give me the good stuff.”

“Oh that’s because they’re embarrassed. I can make them do just about anything and they hate it,” Meg laughed. “Watch.” She nodded towards Gareth. “Gareth Emerson, is that a beer in your hand?”

Gareth immediately hid the beer behind his back.

“No!”

Meg turned to Erica with a smirk. “There isn’t even a no drinking rule for them at this wedding.”

“As you were!” Meg called to him.

Erica’s eyes were wide as she looked at Meg. “You’re the coolest person at this wedding besides me. I’m definitely more impressive, though. Watch.”

Erica’s face fell from the smile she’d had to something bordering on murderous.

“Gareth!” Gareth dropped his beer. “Why are there no flowers at my table?”

“I didn’t know you wanted them!” Gareth replied.

“So now that you do, you should probably go put the petals from your basket in there.”

“Yep!”

Gareth rushed to do it and Erica turned to Meg with a smile. “I don’t know how it still works. I haven’t even been demanding like that since before they got famous.”

“You and I could do amazing things together,” Meg said.

Erica wrapped her arm around Meg and started leading her the rest of the way to the bar. “Oh, we have so much to talk about.”

[lookedlikethebins]

dh2 launch in ta matty universe!!! he is SOOOO proud

[oops! this accidentally turned into a little bit of a blurb...]

OH you bet that ta matty is dh2's biggest and most obnoxiously proud fan (when he is not on campus and required to be "professional" lol). by the time of the announcement george is just so relieved that it's Posted and Live and Official he feels a bit exhausted the day of, meanwhile matty is so proud and thrilled, standing behind george and holding him by the shoulders as they both are scrolling through comments and responses to the post. matty stops george every time he sees a positive one (which is often) and makes sure to read it out loud to make sure george hears it. (and every time a comment is a heart emoji, matty just squeezes his shoulders...)

george had been thinking about the idea for a while: an official imprint not only for his own music but all the other guys too as they slowly shift from studio musicians to touring backing band to all that plus solo artists with solo endeavors and passions. by the time george starts being serious about it, starts getting in meetings with execs and lawyers and marketing, he and matty have been dating for almost a year. george always valued matty's creative opinion on things, even if he was coming from a completely different, non-musical world of expertise, but now that they were all but living together (and matty had let george see him during two finals seasons) george felt like things weren't right unless he had matty's input. final decisions were george's of course, but he knew it wouldn't just be his life going into the label. it would, technically... hopefully... be theirs. matty's smile and nod, or thumbs up while downing another cup of coffee, was all george ever needed.

george finds matty, draft logo designs in hand, sitting on the floor with his elbows resting on the coffee table, fingers holding his head up by the temples. george loiters at the edge of the rug, waiting for matty to turn a page or stop to sip his coffee, before interrupting. eventually matty looks up at george, pinkies lowering his glasses on his nose (and making george laugh--the desired effect, george learns) and asks what he needs; he's busy but never too busy for george.

george sits down on the couch beside matty and begins to spread the pages out on his lap--because there is no room on the table with all of matty's work. matty rests his chin on george's knee and looks at the designs with a bit of confusion before asking what exactly it is that he's looking at. george hadn't told matty about any of the logo or naming/branding ideas and had waited to show matty the most complete and finished product.... which was this. which was now. which was what matty was making such a confused face about.

matty takes one page (the one george liked the most but had put at the bottom of the pile on purpose) and places it over his open book on the table. george still hasn't answered him but george also knows sometimes matty asks questions to indicate that he's thinking, not that he wants anyone to tell him.

"does your label's name have... roman numerals?" matty asks, laughing. he turns to look at george over the top of his glasses. again.

"i thought it would be more dignified than the number. or spelling it out. all the extra letters and space--"

"dignified... you mean pretentious." matty turns back to the multi-colored logo. george had asked for muted primary and secondary colors. something basic but not childlike. simple but so it was easy to remember. colors george felt were familiar to everyone. colors he knew were familiar to him. found easily around the house...

"i-i think i have one that doesn't--"

"are you kidding? george, darling, i love it. love it." matty says. george looks up from the other designs (beginning to wrinkle in his clammy palms) to see matty grinning. beaming. grabbing george's arm to emphasize his approval, as if pressing the praise into his skin. "it looks very smart. very, very clever. and you're right, there is a dignity to it. a sort of... classical antiquity to it, almost. it's brilliant."

george laughs at the sincerity of matty's compliment. the utter and (george thinks) ridiculous joy matty is clearly fighting to restrain: there is an full, open mug of black coffee surrounded (and resting on) piles of crisp white pages--and one very excited boyfriend trying to climb out from under the coffee table, without spilling a drop, to wrap his arms around george.

[astro-b-o-y-d]

Yet another Boyd Drake Propaganda Post from yours truly, specifically for the @eggcrackerbracket​​ tournament this time:

First of all, he’s a robot Pinocchio allusion who decided he was a definitely real boy and then he WAS one. We all know robots and Pinocchio allusions are so trans of gender, and so being both makes him extra trans of gender!

Literally uses the phrase ‘I’m Boyd, a Definitely Real Boy!’ to introduce himself. 🥺🥺🥺

The entirety of Astro BOYD involves him fighting to be seen as a regular boy rather than a killing machine. He even fights against the programming of an evil scientist trying to use him as a weapon and MAKES THE CHOICE to be a real boy. His transgenderism is so strong, he can even fight against evil programming that is trying to control him and WIN.

Astro BOYD as a whole could very well be an allegory for what it’s like to be neurodivergent, in addition to being an allegory for being transgender. Him and Huey Duck are clearly autistic-coded, and the phrase ‘He’s a kid like me, just wired a little differently’ is used. 

They’re also best friends and spend a chunk of the episode taking a tour of furry Tokyo to do research for a shared special interest. (Also I like to imagine it doubles as a date for them, because cute 🥺).

Huey also spends the entire episode reaffirming Boyd’s desire to be seen as a real boy. He’s the best triplet for this reason alone.

Less happy fact about the episode, Boyd’s creator ends up misgendering him as ‘it’ for a spell and reject his claims of being a real boy because of some stuff that happens within the episode. 

But it’s fine because he’s going up to bat for him by the end and his reaffirmation of Boyd’s chosen identity is what ends up saving the day in the end. (Also Gyro is pretty trans-coded himself so we’ll let it slide but it still took me a while to come around on him as a character 😒).

Even before this episode aired, I already had such a soft spot for Boyd. I literally only started watching the show because I saw GIFsets of a previous episode with him, and he was just so PRECIOUS (and gave me Angus McDonald vibes) so I knew I had to watch the show just so I could get to his debut episode. And then Astro BOYD came along and cemented his place as my absolute favorite character in the show, and probably one of my favorite characters of all time.

Anyway I was lightly dipping my toes into a they/them enby identity before this episode dropped, but after months of having Boyd as a comfort character after the episode aired, a LOT of things began to click for me internally. And now here I am, a he/they transmasc with one of my chosen names being Boyd. (Listen I know technically I was already not-cis before that, but he still absolutely played a big part in delivering the final blow to my egg and helping me settle comfortably into a transmasc identity).

Also one final fact; Scrooge McDuck inspired Astro Boy, the first anime character. And then Ducktales made Boyd, an homage to Astro Boy as a whole. So Boyd is technically only a few steps away from the invention of anime. He deserves some respect for that fact alone from those of you who got their egg cracked by an anime character.

Okay I’m done now. Vote for the boy who cracked my egg because he is so polite and sweet and a definitely real boy and he deserves to at least get past round one 🥺🥺🥺

Also also if you want, watch Ducktales 2017 because it’s pretty fun. Or just watch Astro BOYD, because it’s the best episode. Sorry DWD fans, I know where my loyalties lie.

Also ALSO ALSO in case a DT fan who doesn’t know me might ask why I said Boyd DRAKE:

(Okay now I’m really, REALLY done for now, promise. Mainly bc this post is getting super long and I have a few others drafted before the contest has even started. #BOYDSWEEP)

[harryfeatgaga]

every time i’m Thinking Thoughts it always involves working on harry’s team & touring w the love band and becoming super close w all of them & getting to explore tokyo with bestierry and see it from his pov 😔

so throughout the tour you and harry become inseparable and he’s finally like okay please let me take you on a proper date! and you want to say yes because obviously you have feelings for him but given your work dynamic and how incredible your friendship is, you’re scared to jeprodize that if things go wrong when dating. you have a whole conversation about how much you both mean to each other and that you wouldn’t want to date if you weren’t pretty serious about your feelings already. you’re facing each other on the couch and he knows you talk with your hands a lot esp when you’re nervous so he’d hold onto one of your hands for reassurance and the eye contact 🥹 after establishing that you’re on the same page he gives you a little smooch and you’re just blushing & giggling w each other bc you both know you’ll be Official soon but you set the technical first date for next week when he has more time off

the whole crew planned a get together at the end of the leg to celebrate in tokyo before everyone separates for a bit & when harry gets there you kinda just 🙂 at him and he’s a little sad you weren’t more excited to see him. when he finally gets you alone he jokingly says “are you avoiding me” and you’re like “actually yeah kinda” and he says your name with a little frown ☹️ and asks what’s wrong, so you say “am i supposed to act like i didn’t see that video??” and his face immediately drops and he starts apologizing but bc you’re kinda pissed you cut him off and say “it doesn’t really matter it’s not like we’re dating right” before rejoining the rest of the group bc you still feel like being a little petty and he’s like no it does matter :( because it’s not like you’re some random girl he was about to go on a date with, you’re his best friend who he could actually see himself with long term and he feels so bad that he made you question your relationship and get jealous over a silly drunk hookup.

when the night is winding down he’s begging to go back to your room with you so you can actually talk & you’re like fine 🙄 bc he’s hot when he’s desperate tbh & after a long discussion debating whether you should even go out or not and he’s like please it was nothing, i love being around you, you make me feel so safe & happy but i understand if you don’t want to ☹️ and how can you not give into that and you give each other the biggest hug and he’s all nuzzled into your neck and you fall alseep cuddling on the couch🥹 but when you wake up 😏😏😏 smash time & you end up staying in tokyo the whole month break instead of a few extra days & it becomes such a special spot throughout your relationship

OHHHHHHHHH MY FUCKING GOD PLEASEEEEEEEEFNJIFNVJIFNJFJNJ WHAT THE FCKKKKKFNJVFJKNJK

[borderlinemediocre]

My Maynard & Trent Manifesto:

I’ve been wanting to put this all together for a while. Basically, in my mind, there’s a hidden love story between these two and it’s complicated and messy and angsty.

First, they met in the mid-90s when Billy Howerdel introduced them at Trent’s New Orleans studio:

They clearly vibed because they’re both so hard working and technical and not afraid to get their hands dirty. Sweet.

They pretty much immediately started making music together, under the name Tapeworm, along with Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser, and eventually Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder. Although when Maynard talks about the project he only talks about Trent. So that’s a thing.

These Tapeworm pics are from 2002:

They definitely made a lot of music up until 2004 when Trent announced the end of the project. Interestingly that’s also when APC went on a 6 year hiatus. Tapeworm never officially released anything.

Trent says it’s because the music was “mediocre”. He says the whole project was just a distraction to “waste time” because he was afraid to write another NIN record.

Maynard says no one in Tapeworm was “ready” to make music together and that everyone had big egos that “polluted” the project.

So Trent totally abandoned the music they made, but Maynard didn’t. He started to play a Tapeworm track, “Vacant”, live with APC in 2000. Trent was kind of pissy about it, especially since Maynard was extra ballsy and debuted it while on tour with NIN.

Speaking of that tour, before playing 3 Libras in Phoenix, Maynard said that “2 of the 3 Libras are here tonight. If this song sounds bitter, it’s because it is, and I am.” Like??? He’s so directly calling out Trent here and letting it be known that he’s still angry about not getting to be with him. Also makes me think he debuted Vacant to purposely piss Trent off. And 3 Libras is bitter, and sad:

Maynard eventually released a reworked version of Vacant, called “Passive”, with APC in 2004, right before their hiatus.

He also recorded “Potions” with Puscifer and gave it to Trent as a wedding present in 2009 before releasing it on the Puscifer album that year. Which seems like a sweet gesture until you look at the lyrics:

He chose this song to give to him on his wedding day for… reasons, I’m sure. Wholesome friendship reasons.

Then after Trent had his first kid in 2010, Maynard changed the lyrics to “Passive” during a live set (this is the worst sound quality in the world but you get the point) to “Trent just had a baby/ the doctor tells me/ but I just can’t believe him”. So. Upset that Trent is moving on? Or just him being supportive? Who knows? (We know)

Earlier this year, Maynard did an interview with Rick Beato and mentioned Trent’s influence on his music, while dragging him at the same time:

“Trent on The Fragile; he’s stealing shit all over that album, but I’m stealing from his stolen goods.”

“Weak and Powerless is like a metronome right through your head. Again, stolen from Trent. Shh. Don’t tell him. Don’t watch this, Trent. Prick.”

And having Trent on his mind while he wrote this is certainly a thought:

So clearly, 22 years after he said he was bitter, he still is. But, I think he’s done some moving on as well. He just released a reworked version of “Potions” with Puscifer but with one small yet impactful lyric change- instead of “I want you”, it’s “I don’t want you.”

He’s said that he won’t keep singing songs about things he’s moved past (like the song Prison Sex with Tool, that they haven’t played in over 20 years). So when I saw that he rereleased Potions I was like Ohhhh he’s still not over Trent. But with this lyric change, maybe he is? Maybe he wanted to tie up a loose end that’s been hanging out there. Maybe he gave the new version to Trent beforehand.

I want to end with a quote from Maynard himself: “No one is gayer than I am, but some come dangerously close.”

🫡🙏🏻

[ggukkiedae]

my international legality 🦊💜

weverse 221213, 11:20pm

yoonmj goes live real quick for her birthday

italics are spoken in english

not proofread, i'm recovering from finals and those two ot7 photos from today 😭 but just wanted a little birthday snippet for my girl

the live starts with her smiling and checking herself in the camera

"give me a minute, guys, then i'll start"

she hums an unfamiliar tune for a few minutes before she puts on a smile

"hi, guys! long time no see on weverse, huh?"

bestie you've been on here constantly

"i know" she laughs "i meant on live. i know i said i was on hiatus until i graduate, but i thought it would be nice to come on here and celebrate my birthday with you guys, even just for a bit"

she silently reads through the comments, greeting hi to a few different comments in different languages

a small shake of the camera made her let out a small laugh while she hit someone off camera

why are you in a car?

"well, i'm on the way home because i spent the day with the tannies. kookie oppa is driving, and jiminie oppa is holding the camera for me. we're gonna have a midnight dinner at my place. maybe i should play midnight rain"

she turns the camera to the two sides, showing off a driving jungkook and a wrapped up jimin.

"you are not playing a sentimental song when we should be celebrating," jungkook gave her a quick look before turning back to the road

"i believe our aegi deserves a happy greeting song," jimin coos before starting to sing. "even if she is now considered an adult all over the world."

jimin and jungkook started singing happy birthday, both going extra and making riffs while she just laughed and covered her face in amusement. they finished one round of the happy birthday song in korean then one in english then again in korean

jungkook held up a finger in front of her, which she blew. he quickly folded it over, imitating a candle going out

you look tired. are you okay?

"i'm fine," she smiled, "finals just ended, and today was quite emotionally draining. for now, i'm on break and get to watch my friends perform"

she sat back a little, probably remembering the different stages she's watched from home recently rather than from in the venue like she was used to in the past how many years

how was txt in manila?

"how did you guys know i was there?"

jimin laughed off camera. yoonmi looked over at something, probably jimin showing her something on his phone. she chuckled and shook her head while grabbing the phone from him and showing it on camera"

"remind me to put this on my instagram story"

there were four photos. first was a selfie she was taking while seri and beomgyu squished their cheeks to hers. second was one of her laughing at yeonjun who had her in a headlock. third was her doing a "chic model" pose with the soobin and the maknaes. fourth was a decent photo of all seven of them, the last photo being them with the banners from the manila concert. the caption read "happy birthday to the most supportive sunbae who flew to her hometown for our last stop on tour. txt's honorary 7th member, happy birthday!"

"you guys should have tweeted this and tagged the bangtan account," she laughed, "but thank you. i love you guys. as for the concert, it was amazing, of course. txt are amazing performers, and they've grown so much. i honestly can't wait to see the distances they'll reach with how talented they are. and, before you ask, i have an nda that keeps me from spoiling anything about their comeback"

"apparently that doesn't work for bangtan content," jungkook snorted.

she leans back with a sheepish smile on her face "i'm not technically under an nda for bangtan things, they just trust me"

"more like they trust us to keep you from spoiling," jungkook shot back playfully

"yeah, yeah, don't start, it's my birthday"

do you have a birthday wish?

"i got part of what i wanted," she smiled. "i spent the day with the tannies, and i'm about to have a midnight dinner with the oppas, my brother, and his family. i just kinda wish i could see channie oppa and our family. my boyfriend... i really want to see mark oppa, too, but we haven't seen each other recently because we've both been busy"

her fingers lightly tugged at her hair while she spoke

"it's just been kinda... bittersweet? yeah today's been strange, but i'm glad i get to spend time with people i love. you guys included, of course!"

she laughs to herself "gosh, i've gotten so bad at lives"

a hand reaches into frame, stopping her own from tugging her hair. she smiles down and squeezes at it, smiling at the side jimin was sitting on in thanks for comforting her

yoongi marry me

she bursts into giggles while jimin and jungkook are just laughing. it takes a good few minutes for them to calm down before she speaks

"i'll be sure to pass the message on"

the members' greetings for you were so cute!

you really are still bangtan's baby

she looks up at jungkook and jimin "yeah, it was pretty sweet. i just didn't think they were doing anything specific these past few weeks when they kept telling me to pose certain ways with them. how they came up with recreating our first photos together, i don't know. i cried, but when do i not cry?"

jungkook's voice cut in "you should have seen her, it was like someone played the saddest video on earth"

there was a smack and jungkook crying out in pain. yoonmi laughed while some bickering played out in front of her of jimin telling jungkook to stop picking on yoonmi while jungkook justified that that's how their friendship works

"this is what i deal with on a daily basis" she pretended to roll her eyes "this is my reality, guys"

if you had the chance to teleport and pause time today for as long as you want and choose who to unfreeze with you, what would you do?

"i'd visit channie oppa and my family," she smiles to herself, "i'd ask for a lazy day with them because i know channie oppa needs to rest. then probably hang out with mark oppa. finally, i'd have all the tannie oppas with me for a nice meal. all of them. and maybe we could talk about old memories for a bit before we move on with our lives again."

"that actually sounds really nice," jimin noted. jungkook hummed in agreement.

she zoned out for a bit before a notification from her phone popped up. she read it and smiled.

"the bighit 01s are coming over for midnight dinner, too," she smiled before looking up. "we're getting pretty close, i think, so i might have to end this live here. thanks for the birthday greetings, luvs. i appreciate you all! see you when my hiatus is over, i'll be freshly graduated with some new things in store for you"

with that, she began waving at the live, moving the camera forward so if caught jimin in shot as well. he waved, too. "bye, army! take care!"

there was a shout goodbye from jungkook, making jimin and yoonmi laugh. she moves closer to the camera, crossing her eyes slightly before laughing and moving back

"thanks for spending this international legality car party with me. sorry i didn't prepare much. love you, army! see you when i see you!"

-end-

taglist: @sunflower-0180 @seaoffangirling @yourwonderbelle @1-800-enhypennabi @kamiiyou @strwberrydinosaur @uraveragefangirlsposts @caratinylyfe @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @toriluvsfics @billboard-singer @stopeatread (taglist/s open! just drop an ask or a dm <3)

[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

And thus, Lunara and Solstaire discover the ultimate joy in life: tickling Lunars. They both know what tickling is, but neither one has actually done any tickling before. Or been tickled. Peanut is their very first victim. Clipsy’s gonna have to stop them before they (mostly Lunara) accidentally tickle Peanut unconscious.

Piper is getting snuggled until Pyroclasm gets bored. They’re feeling talkative enough to mention that they usually drop kids off at the Daycare, because human kids are too delicate and breakable. But other DCAs are free game! Especially the dirty ones, (in this case referring to whatever’s probably leaking out of Clipsy’s broken ray) those ones are clearly homeless and up for grabs!

Sun awkwardly offers to help with the broken ray again. Clipsy gets told that he and Peanut can stay as long as they want. They can take the room they were making for Eclipse and Solar Flare, who have been bunking with Moon and KC. (Earth and Bloodmoon were sleeping in the theater, and Lunar’s been bunking with Sun and his cats).

Kidclipse can’t wait to introduce Peanut to his best friend and their sorta-step-brother-but-also-not-really, Gregory!

Torp just registers Clipsy and Peanut to the system, points at where the main console is, and then goes back to his day.

Good. For Antumbra, anyone who can tolerate his shit is getting attached to very quickly (yay abandonment issues and trauma). He’ll start doing little nice things for them, like covering Clipsy in a blanket if he looks tired, or leaving Peanut’s favorite snacks lying around. He’ll even be downright soft if they seem to be having bad days.

Just regular Eclipse stuff : ). Not that they’d recognize her as an Eclipse since she’s the one who looks like Eclipse and Glam Freddy had a kid together. Brief house tour before bed, including the warnings: -Don’t go downstairs because Monty lives there. -Everything they say is potentially being recorded because Vanny likes to bug their house. -Be careful because Circus Baby keeps potions in the fridge, including a thicc anime girl transformation potion and a human potion, and one of the water guns is loaded with a potion of forgetting. -Don’t touch Ennard’s Doritos or Baby’s icecream.

I forgot Honey! Honey Bakely and KC would adopt Peanut and Clipsy immediately. The Bloodmoon twins will be a bit grumbly and bully them a bit, and Eclipse will get jealous of Clipsy and be in denial about it and be extra mean to him and Peanut.

Peanut is just turned into hysterical giggly paste by them. He’s going to be a limp noodle by the time it’s over with. Clipsy finds it hilarious

Clipsy brings up that while it was technically right about them being homeless, they had literally just arrived so they had like zero time to acquire a home. Piper says that trying to apply logic is pointless.

He’d accept suns offer to fix the ray, since it’s definitely something that should be fixed even if it’s not super painful. It’s still rather annoying and overly sensitive in it’s damaged state.

Peanut gives Gregory a little pat on the head. He finds it cute they’re friends with a human!

Torp treats this as if it’s a typical Tuesday lmao

Ah yes the reverse psychology. If you can deal with the toxic shithead behavior then he will vibe with you. Like a tsundere XD

Clipsy doesn’t even want to know why they have a thicc anime girl potion. It’s honestly for the best he doesn’t, the answer would only scar him more.

Clipsy is not going to appreciate this other eclipse and will return his rudeness with his own snark and sarcasm, doing little things to annoy him. Like the petty shit he is.

[kaz-oooo]

Peak behind the fic writing curtains time because I’m re-reading my notes for As Above and thinking about it lol.

So fun fact about the tapes! I wrote a draft for Wilbur’s tapes before I properly finished outlining Tommy’s perspective. I was kinda struggling to piece together Tommy’s story and I needed Wilbur’s outlined first and well… What this means is that I wrote the tapes in order of events, not in the “random” order Tommy found them.

I thought it’d be fun to share that order with y’all, plus it offers a bit of a new perspective on the events of As Above. I put it under the cut because it does contain spoilers for As Above So Below, just in case :)

Also for extra funsies, idk if it’s possible but since there is an order you might be able to figure it out on your own. So if your ARG brain is tingling then feel free to have fun with this, the answers are below. Just note some early tapes got skipped because they were just Wilbur reading notes to the open air which isn’t fun to read or write.

Without further ado this is the order I wrote Wilbur’s story in (along with brief summaries of each tape cos fuck! even I forget what I wrote sometimes lol)

1a - technical difficulties.

Wilbur’s introduction, both to himself his work and everything wrong with Lostfield

1b - unnamed interview 2.0

Wilbur’s interview with an unnamed resident at Lostfield, who we know is Ranboo! Wilbur learns very little information here, just makes Ranboo freak out!

2b- another unhelpful anecdote

Wilbur’s rather unhelpful interview with Technoblade, where he receives a nice long list of missing persons who just happened to show up on Lostfield.

3b - possible progress

(fun fact I nearly called this one research and crimes… probably should have tbh, it’s funnier) Wilbur gives an update on some of his personal findings about Techno’s research, and explains his plans to sneak into Lostfield and speak to the owner himself.

4a - interview with the owner

Wilbur does a little house tour and speaks to the owner of Lostfield AKA Dream. Their interview gets weird quickly and Wilbur feels like he’s panicking / losing control of himself.

4b - untitled (ch10)

Wilbur starts recording because he’s just woken up from his visit to Lostfield and he barely remembers what happened.

5a - if I don’t make it

Wilbur decides he needs to go back to Lostfield, he records a note for himself — or whoever finds the tape — incase he doesn’t make it back this time.

7a - courtesy of Lostfield apartments

Tapes that Wilbur is later given (mentioned in 6b goodbye) that detail his experience in Lostfield. The first tape is Wilbur talking to a voice that we cannot “hear”

7b - untitled (first half of ch12)

Dream’s mock-interview with Ranboo for Wilbur. Basically a repeat of 1b unnamed interview 2.0 but Ranboo actually gives answers this time.

5b - don’t go back

Wilbur, or something pretending to be Wilbur, starts recording the follow up for 5a before letting the real Wilbur wake up and have a full blown panic attack

6a - the last 3 days

Wilbur summarises what little he remembers from the 3 days he spent in Lostfield, mostly a recap of how he broke into Lostfield.

6b - goodbye

Wilbur recives a package containing a tape (7a and 7b) and he comes to the conclusion he’s in too deep and can’t escape. He uses this tape to say his final goodbyes

8a - untitled (second half of ch12)

Wilbur breaks into Lostfield with the tape recorder in hand. He gives some live insight as to what is down there before he spots something in the middle of the room and Dream appears.

[thatsohkai]

howdy all! kip here, am i re-introducing myself to you, not really. but kai's my main blog so hi, i'm them. hehe, anyways here is a post tour, organized and updated intro for infinite's bad, baby boy! you can find his profile, kprofile, and pinterest linked and all the updated information is bellow!

 —— welcome to infinite entertainment! it's MALACHI 'KAISO' SOH, who is a SOLOIST. i’ve heard whispers that the 23 year old is pretty CHARMING but lowkey DISQUETED. also, doesn’t he remind you of CHOI YEONJUN?

pre-debut

malachi was born to single mother soh jimin (jaime soh) in daegu. she moved to a suburb of chicago before he was even able to talk so he was raised there. 

he grew up in a south suburb of the city that wasn’t the greatest place, malachi knew night sirens and metal detectors at the doors of his school the next morning. 

his mother struggled with addiction most of his life, and kai often found himself surviving and gathering his basic needs on his own.

he has a love/hate relationship with his mom she was very much not a great woman but she tried.

they didn’t have a lot of cash and kai had to start working at a young age he excelled in school and this allowed him to go to a nice “private” school on scholarship later in his school career, with the extra resources he was able to really excel in the things he loved (art, poetry, music, etc).

with the help of the school and the community around him they budded his love for music and comics and things of that nature, helping get him the things he needed.

while at his new school he met his new gang of friends, and a shared love of music pushed them to form a small little band that took off by being just really really talented kids with a lot of spunk. (side note: fell in love with a girl in said band and well…he’s self destructive.)

but his time there was short lived as the moment he was scouted at a talent competition, (along with another band mate), as their front man he took the first flight they offered to korea and joined a pretty big, though relatively new company. never looking back and getting as far away from jaime as possible.

he came to korea subsequently alone as he does/did his best to cut all contact with the only family he had.

he never got to finish high school in a normal high school and despite being incredibly smart he finished at his performance school with subpar grades, mans was extremely depressed during his trainee days.

at debut

unlike a lot of idols malachi had the opportunity to technically debut 3 times. 

his first debut was in 2013, he debuted as the producer, leader, main rapper and center of epik at starglass entertainment. 

his time in epik was terrible to say the least, his social anxiety began to manifest in its full form. and of course like most companies back then they hadn’t really care and made little efforts to keep it at bay. instead they pushed him to be the face of the band as the only english speaker and member with performance experience and malachi, fighting his own demons was forced to take care of 6 other boys.

epik was the type of group with a boyish sound (i cannoned their disco to being nct dream and seventeen), they were known for their bright colors and fresh concepts and hard hitting, synchronized choreography. 

they were known as a ‘clean group’ absent of scandals and korea’s pride but even in that malachi was not happy.

he did give his all and was granted the third gen ‘it’ boy, title shortly into his debut

even writing and producing most of the groups disco there were seldom any moments he was deliberately proud of the sound and style of the group, on top of his failing mental health and worsening depression. this pushed him to fall from his quiet but entertaining and personable idol to a more reserved, background character of his group even as the leader. while he was a popular member, the decline in his interacting directly led to the slight decline in his popularity.

to add to his work load he was asked to write and produce for his companies girl group at the time (canoned ex-iz*one) later in his career and helped produce a few of their hits

personally he felt as though because of this the company started to ‘neglect him’ a bit more. almost as a punishment for causing fan backlash from his change in ambiance as well as popularity, and eventually decided to prematurely terminate his contract with starglass in 2017.

during his time in epik he’d ground close with their manager, who essentially followed him into the purgatory that was being without a company. he stayed with that manager from the moment he left the epik dorm all the way through his trainee days in the new company.

it was also during his darkest times in epik that he became close with fellow soloist fleur, who resparked the fleeting flame of the job he use to love. she pushed his production career further by allowing him to write a few songs for her, resulting in his very first industry collab as a soloist later dien

during career 

in  the same year malachi found himself slightly homeless but at a new company (PSYCH Ent.)  who was also pretty new themselves. they had two groups under their belt a girl group and a boy group who were popular but not as much (i guess the vibes of like??? g-idle before recently and maybe like stray kids in the very beginning?) but with his faith in them he re-debuted with a new concept, a new sound and something that was unapologetically him.

by 2018 he released a single, under a new name ‘kaiso’ and beneath the new company and it went viral as the ‘ace of epik’ was finally coming back to the industry

it took him a while to get fully back to it and for awhile he simply released one ep and a few singles and collabs before disappearing for a little. and he would continue to do that for awhile. 

though he was hardly in the spot light between releases he gained popularity for a lot of things, and one of them was his ‘big change.’ the dopey leader had become stone cold, he showed his tattoos and faked smiles, he kept his fans close and very few other idols in the industry closer. leaving him with the reputation of being a ‘bad boy.’ backs would straighten and gazes would lower as kaiso entered the green rooms at music shows.

it was a rumor he didn’t care to clear up and honestly enjoyed how people would often not talk to him, leaving him in his little bubble with his fans and company. (think namjoon of bts or eric nam when it comes to fans).

after awhile, with malachi being psych’s biggest money pit, and sent him only on the first infinite tour. it was during this time that malachi met his current girlfriend, officially, and began to open up a bit more to the industry even as they used his past as the ‘biggest reason’ to his success.

but ultimately after the original infinite tour, kai’s company decided to participate in the acquisition for kai’s benefit,. he was their top earning artist and felt like a bigger company would do him good. they decided not to take the two former, veteran groups and while the boy group disbanded, the girls were taken on by a bigger company.

he still likes to refer to himself as a part of PSYC Ent. as the idea of being a part of a bigger company puts a foul taste in his mouth.

as he got bigger he began sending jaime money every month to make sure she was situated and also as an incentive to literally never talk to him again.

infinite tour

during the infinite tour as stated above kai had grown a lot. he acquired space in his friends lives and began to let them take up space in his.

at his current manager’s request he began therapy during the original tour and it had been helping.

he came out with tons of music both years, the constant moving keeping him in the writers room even if it meant he was over worked and overwhelmed.

during the first tour he began to struggle with his idol identity, wondering if he was doing himself a disservice to abandon his years of idol training to become this pariah of low eyes and low energy.

he essentially began retraining and trying to become the idol he was in epik, while staying true to himself unlike he was able to back then.

this led to a lot of uneasiness and malachi scrapping albums after albums over again and putting out more dance oriented tracks, attempting to fall in love with stage again like he’d had in high school.

with the help of some push from friends and a great choreographer (thanks mei) kai released tracks like ‘birthday’., ‘eye on you’ and even was recruited for an all soloist co-ed group by the company (called re:gn) as well as a subsidiary of said group (K!NG)

he quickly became infinite’s only in house producers who was also an idol and has written, produced and composed at least once for every group except tidal. he works the most with braveheart and indigo as their sound(s) are the closest to his style. he’s also the only producer for FLEUR (Kim Seonhwa) and has worked on/produced a lot of the solo releases for a lot of the idols in the company.

with the infinite tour gaining popularity and more idols were beginning to interact with him, he is now known pretty much to be a bit dark and mysterious and unapproachable, but he’s deadass just a ball of shy anxiousness.

during this time he also had come to the conclusion that he loves making music, but detests being an idol but takes the fame anyway because he likes what he does

notable moments include, an incident at a 'kick back' in his home town that would have brought his entire world crashing down. him breaking down into uncontrollable sobs on stage in chicago, and his mother showing up randomly at his seoul town home during a break in the first tour, forcing them to 'revive' their tumultuous relationship. and pre-maturely introduced her to his now current girlfriend.

canons/personality tidbits & quirks

you can call him malachi or kai, though mostly close friends (which he barely has) call him kai

his korean name is soh duri

he’s a scorpio (sun), aquarius (moon) and a taurus (rising)

If you ever work with kai on a song, it’s going to be a masterpiece. not saying it’s bc of his talent as a writer and producer but he’s super particular about music and how it makes people feel

some general aesthetics about him - think of him as, “the feeling of neo soul, marijuana smoke wafting around the studio, the neon lights of the city, the bad boy with a sweet smile, 90s-00s r&b”

he’s the type to be in the studio all night and run off of red bull and cigarettes for the next day

is a pot head and no i’m not sorry about it

if you manage to get close to him he WILL take care of you, always at all times. You well be fed, clothed, and loved through and through

can talk about music all day every day

loves fashion

loves tattoos has drawn all the ones he’s gotten

bi-sexual king, loves him some men and some ladies. 

loves loves art so much

has so much respect for idols before him

quiet boy

give him sweets he’ll become your personal puppy

he’s a brand ambassador for dior but is wanting to possibly change that

he loves anime, manga and comics, fave superhero is spiderman, fave anime is one piece, fave manga is chainsaw man

overall kai is the resident bad boy with a heart of gold. his upbringing makes dealing with his anxiety and anger hard, and his shyness is just something he's working to over come. he's had a hard life in general but the addition of his hard time as an idol has really thrown in him in a hole he's struggling to dig out of. he finds tranquility in the smoke of marijuana or in the arms of the chair in his studio whether he be working on music or art and uses his life experiences to navigate his life in the future. he'll hang on to your every word even if it seems like he's not listening, take in all the little details about you and every gift you receive will always be special...you just gotta...yah know be let in first. so fingers crossed he talks to you!

updates post tour

not much has changed post tour, kai is still pursuing the merging of all the different versions of him, his chicago boy, his global superstar, and who he’s become now.

since coming back to seoul he’s brought on his girlfriend to live with him.

he plans on releasing more music for himself and with various artists by the end of the year

he’s strongly considering changing up his sound and experimenting a bit more out of his r&b wave.

he’s wanting to branch out a bit more, get in with some idols he hasn’t really talked with as well as mend some relationships he’s broken a bit.

also loathes the reality tv idea but is happy they’ll be stationary for awhile.

will add more as post tour goes!

connections/wanted plots

 motive - kai notices that you’re  getting close to him. he can feel the lingering eyes and notice the soft touches but you’ve always been some sort of loose canon. he can’t tell if this bad boy/girl/person demeanor is real and if it is what are you motives with a shy and quiet being like him? (open to anyone)

first love - kai’s relationship with music is something that can be admired, he gets accolades from interviewers and other artists and thats the thing you bond over. you often find yourselves sharing earphones or in some studio. whether you’re dancing, creating or singing its easy for night to turn into day just in each other’s presence. now your friendship goes beyond music. you’re each others confidants in your most stressful moments. (danbi)

pretty little fears - he’d grown a crush on you from afar, but after a chance encounter he seems to be infatuated. his shy and bashful demeanor battles with his want to play cool. and he finds himself lost in watching you speak and aching to hold your hand, wanting to sweep you off your feet but...his anxiety just wont allow it just yet. (dae)

midnight sky - malachi and your relationship was one full of electricity. but one thing he couldn’t handle was feeling small. you’re older than him and in the midst of the rendezvous he felt as if he was a baby toddling after you at all times. maybe it was the way you treated him or maybe it was his own insecurities, but sometimes he finds him self missing the security of your arms. breaking up was some form of rebellion in his eyes and he pretends to feel liberated but he’s not sure if his pride got in the way of something good, or if he dodged a controlling bullet.

nonchalant - to say you have a feud in the industry is maybe an overstatement but the boiling blood is still aroused. you’ve been an artist of your caliber for awhile and you think malachi is gimicky. his transfer from being in such a big idol group to kr&b was a large leap and the inkling that he’s riding on old fame with a fake image is a prickle in your mind. kai respects you too much as an artist and often finds himself trying to prove to you that he’s where he should be. even if that means muddling disses into his music. 

best friend/patonic soulmates (can be plotted) (seungho)

industry friends ( 0/3 would be kind of like a clique of friends that are known in the industry similar to the third gens ‘97 liners )

produced for you/your group

smoke buddies (hanuel a friend he often takes care of/babies (ren)

older sibling figure (seonhwa)

old bandmate that he got scouted with (angel)

manager (ilsu)

mother figure (islu)

and literally anything else pls just love him

muse overviews and analysis & extra links

✘ character study #1 - 'a good boy's bad habits' ✘ character study #2 - 'the stage' ✘ the muse as zodiac signs ✘ favorite stage outfits - 2021 / 2022 / 2023 ✘ general task #1 ✘ character study #3 - 'the idol': photoset 1 / 2 / 3 / analysis & viral moments ✘ playlist #1 - 976 E. 132nd Pl. Chicago, IL (subject to be replaced/updated) ✘ komca credits ✘ through the eras - malachi ‘kaiso’ soh ✘ muse tag