#In-home haircuts for seniors

[herespaaa]

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[soupofmushrooms]

Karasuno Hair Salon!AU headcanons

I went to get a haircut a while ago and my hairdresser had silver hair like Suga's and it inspired this whole mess. Also, I don't know much about the hair salon business so take this with a huge chunk of salt?? Mostly assessing based of the qualities of the characters. Do not look too closely because there will be gaps.

Characters: All of your Karasuno volleyball team favourites + Yachi, Kiyoko, Ukai, Takeda

Sawamura Daichi

He takes on a senior/ manager role, has plenty of experience under his belt.

Makes small talk with the customer

Knows the regulars by names

Assigns shifts

Trains the rest of the staffs and is fairly good at all the roles

Covers whoever who can't make it

Used to give his siblings haircuts while they were growing up

I feel like he'd be open to going around to elderly homes and giving them free haircuts

Man's a guy who serves the community!!

Sugawara Koushi

He is so loved by all grandmamas and children.

Man can butter up ANYONE

and he lays it on thick

He's respectful, cheerful, and a good yapper

Children thinks he's kind and friendly

Generally pleasant guy

Will bribe children with candy so they stay still

Azumane Asahi

He knows the way he looks may scare kiddos away, so he uses his long hair to his advantage and styles it with lil' butterfly clips, pigtails and other accessories.

Has won a couple of hairdressing awards

Mostly the go-to person for more experimental styles

Has contacts in the modelling and fashion department which brings in a ton of money for the salon

The less shy children would go up to him and demands he lifts them like a lil' plane

He will never say no

Man makes a mean matcha though

Shimizu Kiyoko

Handles the makeup and photography should anyone come in with needs for bridal makeup services and other events.

Works closely with Asahi

Sometimes, they'll be out in the city together for side quests

She's a woman of many talents so pre-booking required!!!

Has a popular Instagram account dedicated to the bridal looks, mostly spread through word-of-mouth

Ennoshita Chikara

The hair salon prides themselves on incredible service as how they were trained under Ukai Sr.. So expect a nice lil drink while getting your next hairdo. The person behind the delicious coffee? Ennoshita.

Personally handles the coffee stock and orders

Has a good working relationship with the roasteries in town

Ensures each cup of coffee will brighten up your day

Does some cute doodles sometimes on the cups

WILL NOT GIVE OUT PHONE NUMBERS!! MAN'S KEEPING IT PROFESSIONAL

Cakes and other drinks are served too

Kinoshita Hisashi

Don't tell me this guy isn't the biggest gossip in this place. He easily encourages his customers to talk more, and is good at giving advice and reacting in an affirming way.

Him and Suga is always on top with the neighbourhood tea

He isn't a snitch but will act dumb about the drama

Narita Kazuhito

He plays a regular hairstylist role but helps out with Kageyama at the hairwashing station on busier days.

Has an adaptable personality so Daichi pairs him with new customers to have a feel for their personality

Tanaka Ryuunosuke

What many don't know about him is that he is a rather creative and artistic guy.

Paints nails and does incredible nail art

Can get eerily focused unlike his usual loud self

Practices new skills on Kiyoko (HIS WIFE!!)

Kiyoko ofc gets compliments and directs them to her incredible husband

And he recommends his WIFE'S makeup and photography services

SUCH A COUPLE

BUSINESS IS BOOMING

BIG MONEY BIG MONEY

Will also rock some sick nail designs, man does not care

The team also enjoy getting their nails done by him

Hinata's down for whatever's brightly coloured and funky

Kageyama doesn't do colour but does a clear coat

The team usually play with colours and designs but no rhinestones for them since it can get in the way

Nishinoya Yuu

When you need a dye job, he's the man.

Gets very excited when someone needs his services

Will talk you through the process, how to care for your new hair, and recommends the right shade for your skin etc

Does a very thorough job in explaining it all

Has a little steppy stool

I feel like he will change that dyed part of his hair quite often. Different colours. Same part. It's kinda funny.

Is very patient throughout the process

Will send a complimentary cake your way as a thank you for the many hours it takes

Hinata Shouyou

Makes light conversation with the regulars when he gives them a haircut.

Daichi also sends new customers his way since Hinata has a certain knack of interpreting someone's requests

Loves it when customers give him free reign

Usually uses that opportunity to film those blind pick challenges

Nails it usually

Kageyama Tobio

King of scalp massages

Gives a killer scalp massage

And a neck massage

Is very attentive to his customers and will always ask if the pressure is too hard or too soft

Instantly relaxing

Plays an assistant role to Noya, incredible eye for colour mixing

Approaches every task with dedication.

Man's also turning to Asahi for advice on creating the next big look

Star employee!! Despite being a little socially stunted

Is working on that though!!

Yamaguchi Tadashi

Apprentice under Ennoshita and handles social media with Yachi

Appears in their TikToks

Likes making different latte art designs. His current go to is a bear since it appeals to everyone. The peacock is a challenge though.

Brainstorms a lot of the content ideas with Yachi, but he's usually the face of it

Has a strong online presence though despite being a little shy in real life

Occasionally, he goes to Suga to ask for tips and learns from him. Suga's more than willing to share his knowledge!

Tsukishima Kei

I see him as taking this only as a part-time job though just for the money.

I see him working together with Daichi to go around giving free haircut to the community centres

He's being paid for it and that's fine by him

It's not the ideal part-time job but it's near his college, pays decently and fits his schedule

His best friend works there and enjoys it, so that's a little bit of a bonus too

I can imagine his brother being the type to be quite fond of caring for the community, so it rubs off on him a bit too

Daichi is understanding of his frank personality. In the end, it really is just a job so no big deal.

Yachi Hitoka

Handles marketing and social media.

It started as a kind deed to help the small business grow but ended up liking the team and stayed on.

Is definitely why they're blowing up online

Usually films the TikToks but plans the content with Yamaguchi

Very on trend, very quick on trends

Also knows who what the people want to see

Ukai Kenshin

Runs his mother's store but spreads the word about the hair salon.

His grandfather started hair salon, and when his dad married, his dad didn't realise that tending to the farm would be incredibly demanding and it was impossible to hold on to both businesses.

The hair salon went to his uncle for a while until he fell ill.

Somehow it fell into the hands of the Takeda family.

Completely entrusts it to the new team to run it.

Is very fond of the new team.

Takeda Ittetsu

He grew up going to the hair salon.

His grandfather used to hang out there with Ukai Sr. all the time.

They'd sit outside and have a smoke, next to lil Takeda who would be doing his homework.

Has many good memories with his grandfather at that hair salon.

So when it was struggling, he struck a deal to run it instead.

Now he's out building opportunities for them, getting them signed on with new businesses and partnerships.

He has a meeting with Shiseido next week.

[askbensolo]

Moving Sale! (Theed Area)

Yooo what up it’s ya boi. Due to Circumstances™, I am moving back in with my parents. My move date is December 21st so I’m trying to get rid of all this stuff before then.

I am local to the Theed area on Naboo.

In-person pickup is preferred, but if you are willing to pay for shipping we can negotiate.

Serious offers only.

Will autograph any item upon request.

FOR SALE:

Twin mattress: Only three years old, comes with a bed frame. Emits a slight aura of depression and male virginity, but it’ll air out, maybe. Asking price: 200 credits.

Desk: Black mockwood, in good condition, has some mild tearstains that seem to have become permanent but I think they give it character. Has served me during many a study session, and borne many poorly-written yet impassioned poems. Asking price: 100 credits.

Set of drawers: Shiny dark red plasteel. Three drawers. About an arm’s length across. At absolutely no additional cost to you, I will also throw in the figurine of General Jar-Jar Binks that my old roommate buried amidst my underwear as a joke. Asking price: 50 credits.

Assorted databank chips: My old college textbook files. Subjects include writing, government/galactic policy, galactic history, philosophy, nonhuman studies/species relations, and traditional Gungan theatre. Datareader not included (I broke mine). Why the hell did they force us to buy chips and datareaders and make that the only way to access the assigned reading instead of putting it on the HoloNet??? Oh yeah—because academia is a FREAKING SCAM—anyway— Asking price: 50% of each databank chip’s original price.

Graincooker: A good little graincooker. My mom has one already, so I don’t need mine anymore. Has a weird habit of splattering starch-water everywhere but I always found that oddly charming—she’s broken, just like meee! Asking price: 20 credits.

Possibly cursed WorldTrekker sneakers: Men’s size 11. I found these shoes on campus near the Philosophy building in senior year. They were exactly my size and looked brand new so I took them home. I wore them to my midterm oral presentation the next day for NHS 212, and when I was up at the front of the lecture hall I looked at my speech notes and the file had been corrupted and replaced by my grocery shopping list. My mind went blank. “Eggs sardines blue milk refresher paper bacta cream,” I said. “Uh…thank you.” Failed the midterm. Other effects of the cursed sneakers: buying said groceries only to find out while putting them away that every item was already spoiled (even the refresher paper somehow), becoming the hit-and-run victim of a freshman on a speeder bike, and receiving the second-worst haircut of my life. Don’t recommend wearing these yourself but do recommend weaponizing them against a suitable enemy. Asking price: 15 credits.

Many unused paper journals: I hoard these like heck. I have like—over twenty of these with various cover designs and I have come to accept that most of them will never be written in. A few of them have randomly used pages, so you might flip through one of ‘em and discover something weird and cryptic I wrote in an anxious haze. I consider that a bonus. Asking price: 10 credits per journal.

FOR FREE:

Various sweaters: They fit me when I was seventeen. They do not fit me now. Why do I still have them? Sentiment, maybe. They will probably fit you, if you are not 6’3 and not 220 pounds. I have like ten of these in the following colors: black, purple, dark green, dark blue, dark red. Sorta pilly, but comfy and soft.

Various food items: Dried starchroot noodles, tinned Naboo sardines, canned tipyip noodle soup, etc. Come over to my apartment and you can just straight-up raid the half of the pantry that’s mine.

A skein of Bantha’s Bounty brand yarn in the shade Naboo Lakeside: This was originally going to be a gift for someone, but it would be awkward now, I think. I don’t know crap about yarn (I had to look up what a “skein” was), but I think this one is supposed to be pretty high-quality. It’s a very pretty shade of blue—almost as pretty as the person I was gonna give it to. (Not that you ain’t pretty, pal—I’m sure you are.) Anyway, I am giving it away for free.

“Our First Life Day” ornament: This was also going to be a gift for someone. I will actually pay you 2 credits to take this off my hands, because every time I go to throw it away, I start crying and it’s a problem. Please remove it from my presence. It is dealing me psychic damage.

Thank you for your time. Please reply to this post if interested or if you have any questions.

[lostinthewalls]

TLT Chapter One

Internally Lost.

TW FOR THIS CHAPTER: Pills mentioned(anxiety meds and anger issue meds, only one is taken), slight panic attack, swearing.

Story under the cut!!

It was sometime close to noon when Evan Laurel finally rolled out of bed. He had almost had a panic attack when he checked his alarm clock near his bed, then quickly realized he wasn’t even a full month into summer break. His junior year was officially completed, and that hell had been left behind, so now he had a whole three month to prepare for the inevitable senior slump of his final year of school.

He threw his blankets off, trying not to let the concept of school bother him too much as he reached to the side, snatching his glasses off his nightstand, sitting up in his bed and pushing them atop his nose. He stretched and swung his legs over the bed, figuring he had to be quiet since his mother was most likely still sleeping.

His heels hit the carpet first and he stabilized himself as he stood up, crossing the room to his dresser, rummaging around the top drawer for a decent shirt to wear. Clothes were scattered around his room, and he figured he would have to clean it today but...that would come later.

He found an old, pale pink turtleneck he had stolen from his mother's closet almost forever ago and decided to wear that, pulling it over his head and combing his fingers through his sandy blonde hair. Lunch was in order, because he was starving.

He tried to be quiet as he flicked on the lights of his home, walking through the hallway to get to the kitchen in their small, single-story home. Peeking into the Livingroom, his mother was asleep, snoring softly, still in her nurse outfit. She seemed so peaceful...so strong. He aspired to be like her one day.

He kept the Livingroom light off as he reached into the upper cabinets of the kitchen, grabbing a box of Cheerios and a bowl. He dumped the small, circular rings into the bowl, setting it on the counter as he walked to the fridge, opening it and grabbing the small carton of almond milk.

He unscrewed the lid while he walked back to the table, kicking the fridge shut and pouring the milk into the bowl, reaching behind him and grabbing a spoon from the drawer, sitting down to eat.

As he ate, he tried not to let the subtle sense of summer paranoia creep into his mind. That odd feeling that something was about to go wrong never left him, leaving his chest clenched with fear and his hands pulsing with nerves. He tried to focus on the cereal, drowning himself in the simple task of getting his body the fuel it needed, although still being cautious not to eat too loudly, like something was going to jump up and grab him from behind.

Footsteps from behind him startled him as he whipped his head around. His mother stood in the doorway between the Kitchen and Livingroom, the same stunned look he had on his face plastered on hers. She seemed to settle down more quickly than he did, though, and she walked over, brushing his hair from his eyes.

“Can you even see like that, Evan? We need to get you a haircut...” She muttered, her tone dead-tired but still having that musical lilt, just like always. Evan shrugged her off, looking away with a nod and a quiet ‘I guess.’

“Something bothering you...?” She pulled out the chair beside him and sat down, a concerned look on her face. Evan looked at her, his darker blue eyes meeting her own brown ones, before he shrugged and swirled the milk in the now Cheerio-less bowl with his spoon.

“No. Just- anxiety, probably. Like it usually is. I’ll be okay, mom. Don’t worry about me.” He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it only came out as a lop-sided, begging smirk. His mother just sighed, nodding and standing back up, kissing the top of his head.

“Alright. There’s some of your anxiety meds in the bathroom cabinet under the sink so if you need them, feel free to take them. Only one though, like usual.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she gazed at her son. To say Karley was a proud mother was a big understatement, she just wished she was able to spend more time with him. But, ever since his father was cut from the photo...

She was drifted from her thoughts when Evan gave her another quiet ‘okay’ as a response. She beamed at him before moving away.

“I’ll go change out of my scrubs. Then probably go back to sleep. I work at seven tonight, I want you in bed before midnight, okay?”

“Yes, mom. I know.” Evan sighed as he watched his mom walk down the hall and round the corner to her room. The door shut, and he was alone again. He sighed, dropping the spoon, which clattered on the rim of the bowl, pushing it away as he set his head on the desk, yawning widely. Clearly the morning grogginess still had him in a chokehold, despite it only being 1 PM. He had 6 hours to burn until his mother left...and his mind was left blank on what to do.

So, he tried to occupy himself with simple chores. Cleaning up his lunch, doing laundry, picking up his room like he had mentally said he would. The whole time, he felt eyes on his back, and shivers ran down his spine almost constantly. Eventually, he took his mother's advice, and stepped into the bathroom.

He flicked on the light, noticing the tissue box moved away from where it usually was. Strange...it was now balancing precariously on the edge of the shelf above the toilet. He sighed, trying not to think too hard about it as he returned it back to its normal perch, pushing it backwards to a more secure spot.

He crouched to open the cabinet under the sink, reaching into the boxes kept below, fishing out the small, bright blue Tupperware container where the Laurel family kept their medication. He sat down crisscross on the floor, setting the container in his lap.

He started rummaging through the box, managing to pull out a half-full container of Prozac. His hands twitched over the container, his eyes growing a bit wider as he stared at the bottle, moving his thumb aside to reveal the name on the bottle.

He gasped as he saw the name and almost tossed the whole bottle in the trash, pressing his palm to his forehead, trying to calm him as his shoulders began to shake. Images flashed in his mind and he shook them off like it was disgusting sludge coating his body. Hard to get off, permanently stuck to his form.

He just had to find the anxiety meds. He stuck his hand in the container again, managing to pull out a near-empty bottle of Buspirone, uncapping it and peering inside.

Four pills...he’d need to tell mom he was running out. He took out one of the pills and filled the empty cup by the sink with water. He took the pill with the water, staring at himself in the mirror. He looked so much like...like him...

He shook his head, pushing himself off the sink and putting the container back under the sink, shuffling outside of the bathroom with a long sigh. He defeatedly returned to his room, ignoring more things that seemed to be uncharacteristically off as he sat on his bed, pressing his palms on his shaking knee to keep his leg from bouncing, waiting for the medication to kick in. He huffed, thankful when his body finally gave in and stabilized itself, looking up to his door when his mother knocked.

“I’m about to go to work, honey. Remember what I said.” She said softly. The woman had her purse slung over her shoulder and had a different nurse outfit. Evan smiled, nodding and standing up, walking towards her.

“If you need anything at all, just call me or Atlas, got it?” She said, kissing him on the top of his head. He nodded, leaning against her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her.

“I will, mom. Don’t worry. Go- don't be late for work.” Evan pushed away from her as she chuckled and shook her head, leaving the room.

“Love you, mom!” He called after her, earning an ‘I love you!’ back as she slammed the door. He sighed, turning on his heel and shutting the door for another night to be cooped up in his room.

He walked over to his dresser, grabbing the laptop on top of it that was plugged in, almost turning around to return to his bed before he saw something strange.

His blue eyes met someone else’s shockingly smaller features, framed by a cloud of long, white hair. Evan blinked, his grip tightening on his laptop as he continued to stare at what he thought was a doll or at least a hallucination.

Until it moved, scrambling back to the wall his dresser was propped up against, dragging what appeared to be an injured limb behind it.

“Uhm-” Evan struggled to form words, or even thoughts for that matter, taking a step forward before a loud voice startled him from his trance.

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME.”

ENDING NOTES

Suuupper proud of this first chapter!!!! Getting into it with the foreshadowing RIGHT AT THE START :3. Don't worry though, our boys will be A-OKAY!!

[alfredsmanor]

This Ain’t Podracing

Anakin deftly spun the Vulture droid he was remote-controlling to target the last of the Naboo fighters. Once this one was dead, the threat to the droid control ship was over. Mom would kill the Jedi, the droid army would take care of the Naboo royal guard, the Trade Federation would win, Master Sidious would be pleased, and they could all go home. The Naboo pilots were good, and would have been more than a match for the vulture droid’s programming, but the Force was Anakin’s servant and no force-blind pilot could ever stand against him. “Now this is Podracing!”, the boy gloated, as he prepared to fire the droid’s quad laser canons. 

“The hell it is, you little runt!” The voice was coming from outside the simulator cockpit and Anakin couldn’t see the source. Anakin twitched, and his shot went wild.

Two unseen hands grabbed Anakin and lifted the boy bodily out of the sim-pit. 

“Ow, hey, hey, let me go!” screamed Anakin, as he thrashed around. He shook his head hard enough to get his helmet off and looked up at the grown-up who was holding him. His assailant was a man who looked younger than Mom, with brownish blond hair cut into the worst haircut Anakin had ever seen and a padawan braid trailing down over his right shoulder. 

The young man tried to adjust his grip on Anakin to hold him more securely by putting his arms through Anakin’s underarms and holding the boy against his chest. But Anakin kicked backwards and managed to kick the padawan right in the balls. 

“Owwww, fuck, that hurt, you little shit”, the Jedi gasped, as he let Anakin go and doubled over to clutch his family jewels. 

Anakin rolled away like Mom had taught him, drew his training saber, and ignited it with a snap-hiss. It sprung into magenta life as Anakin shifted into the Form I stance Anakin had been practicing for half his life. 

The trainee Jedi didn’t draw and ignite his own saber,  just sighed, got up, and held his hands low at his hips, palms turned out towards Anakin, and spoke. “I can sense that that’s a training saber kid. I really don’t want to hurt an eight year old, so why don’t you put that thing down and come with me peacefully.” 

Anakin had only contempt for Jedi weakness, and scoffed “Or I could kill you and take your crystal to make my first REAL lightsaber… And I’m ten NOT eight!” He stamped his foot for emphasis, attempting to convey a proper Sithly air of angry contempt.

The padawan sighed again, and drew and activated his own weapon, a blue one. He adopted an Ataru opening stance that Anakin had seen demonstrated by Mom and Master Sidious. Anakin hadn’t been able to replicate that move successfully yet.

Anakin remembered the time just after he and Mom arrived on Coruscant. Master Sidious gave him a huge bag of gummy worms and six year old Anakin promptly ate the whole bag at once. After that his stomach hurt and he ended up throwing up all of the worms. Threatening to kill this senior padawan was probably the same sort of mistake. Oops.

Anakin threw his training saber at the Jedi, who promptly swatted it away with his own blade. But that distraction gave Anakin the time he needed to run out of the sim bay and into the pilot’s ready room. 

[ofthecaravel]

But You Look So Cool

A Danny Wagner/Sam Kiszka fic

Summary: Danny has a crush on a familiar face.

Tags: Fluff, cutesy bullshit, IDIOTS ALERT, literally just the stupidest goofuses alive, NSFW shit AHHHH

Words: 10.8k

A/N: Just trying to keep my Sanny girlies fed. Heavily inspired by Crush by Ethel Cain, everybody go listen to Ethel Cain right now or I will explode you with my mind

Let me know what you think!

~~~

Danny Wagner knew there was no shame in ditching the typical post high school route of moving across the country to start college. Well, maybe it was more like an affirmation he said to himself begrudgingly in the mirror after coming home from work and getting ready to go to class at the local community college. He’d escaped his parent’s house, not that there was anything bad to escape from, and now lived in a crappy one room apartment that he paid for by working a job that he liked an average amount. Every other day, Danny took classes at the community college. He couldn’t help but feel like he was wasting his early twenties saving money and starting small, even though he knew it was the smartest option for him, considering he wasn’t actually all that sure what he wanted to do with life. There weren’t a lot of things Danny was sure of about himself quite yet, but he had faith that it would all fall into place. It had to. Right?

Danny wasn’t sure when things would start to become clear to him, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be during any of his classes. This was an endurance part of his life, he had decided. Get them done, get the associate’s degree, and THEN go from there. He was taking a pretty low course load so he could keep up with work and, well, his sanity, and this was a September where he was taking a whopping two classes. They were both pretty basic, a math course and a history course, and he didn’t expect much from them apart from taking the occasional nap and scurrying to do all of his homework last minute like he’d done his entire academic career. 

What Danny especially didn’t expect from his first day of classes was walking into his math classroom (only after double and triple checking he had the right room), taking a seat by the window, and then becoming acutely aware of the smell of cigarette smoke. As he dug his laptop and notebook out of his bag, he wrinkled his nose at the smell and prepared to meet whoever had drug this scent in with them. He could see someone had sat next to him while his neck was craned, and when he straightened, Danny looked to his right and was immediately seized by a cold jolt of surprise. The guy next to him was undoubtedly the smoker, but he was also undoubtedly someone Danny had gone to school with prior. 

It was Sam, Sam Kiszka, Sam Kiszka who had been on the robotics team and favored shadowing his older brothers over cultivating a group of friends. Danny had known him with a shaggy emo haircut, braces, and an arsenal of class clown cracks. He’d ultimately lost track of Sam during senior year, when news broke of his dad’s arrest and Sam had shrunk moodily into the shadows while his brothers disappeared into college life and made their own name beyond crime and scandal. 

Danny had a feeling that whole era of Sam’s life played a factor into the man he’d grown into. This new Sam sat slouched in a smoke soaked leather jacket with a ratty backpack and scowl playing on his face. It was weird to see him like this. Danny almost wanted to say something, but after Sam’s feline glare passed over him and quickly slid off, he decided not to. He was annoyingly aware of the effect it had on him, though. There was a nervous tremor in Danny’s hand as he opened up his laptop and logged in, staring at himself in the reflection of the dark loading screen and checking for eye boogers or frizz in a sudden attempt to smooth out his sleepy appearance. 

The smoke smell was dizzying now in such close proximity, equal parts overwhelming and delicious. Danny breathed it in and, instead of letting out an almost longing sigh, he let out a huge sneeze. In doing so, he knocked his forehead against his keyboard and scooted backwards in his chair in the same motion. Red faced, he looked up and saw almost every eye in the previously quiet room trained on him. Someone called out a ‘bless you’ and he thanked them with an embarrassed smile, finally looking over to see Sam’s assessment. Danny felt his face go hot all over again when he saw Sam was side eyeing him with an amused smile. When they made eye contact, Sam quickly looked forward again and his smile crumpled. For some reason he couldn’t pin, Danny’s heart fluttered.

His mind started racing as his anxiety made him more and more aware of Sam’s presence and every little move. Did Sam remember him? What the hell had he been up to the past two years? Danny had heard rumors that Sam slipped in and out of the county jail since his dad had been sentenced to death row, unconsciously mirroring his family legacy in some sort of effort to cope. But as far as Danny knew, that was just hearsay. As the professor started the lecture and Danny started to focus, his last thought was that maybe he and Sam would grow to be friends over the course of the class. 

--

Danny gave up on that hope after the third class. Even during icebreakers, Sam had barely spoken and seemed to daydream the entire class, taking bare bones notes and racing out the door the second the lecture finished. Still, Danny gave him well prepared smiles in the split seconds that Sam’s eyes would drift over him, considering that Danny’s eyes were now almost always on him. Danny himself was a little startled by how distracted he was by his silent classmate. They had exchanged zero words and yet Danny found himself driving up to the building with anxious butterflies as the days went on. He started fulfilling weird little compulsions he’d never felt before, like standing in front of the mirror messing with the way his hair fell, even though he always left it back in its wavy, brushed-out side part. Danny sat in class with his back straighter and his face hidden by his curtain of waves, using them as a cover to sneak glances at Sam’s frowning profile.

 In such a tizzy, Danny had spent the time after a family dinner to corner his sister and ask her for a second opinion on why he was feeling so crazy. He had scoffed when she’d begun to laugh in his face, looking at him like he was the stupidest person alive.

“What, you asshole?” Danny asked, shoving Josie’s shoulder as she stifled her laugh with a hand and used the other to grip his shoulder in comradery.

“You idiot,” she giggled. “You’re not being possessed by the devil. You have a fucking crush.”

Danny flushed and laughed at the accusation, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, okay, sure, right,” Danny mocked, leaning against the doorframe of his sister’s room. “We’ve literally never spoken.”

“You don’t have to talk to someone to have a crush on them,” Josie explained.

Danny paused.

“You don’t?”

“No? What, is this your first year on Earth? Are you experiencing emotions for the first time?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Seriously! Have you never had a crush before?”

Danny thought about it. 

“Yeah, in, like, high school,” Danny answered. “I had a girlfriend, thank you.”

“Oh, please, you only dated her because she wouldn’t leave you alone,” Josie accused with a creeping smile. “Sounds like this guy is giving you the real deal. Congratulations, welcome to feelings.”

“What do I even do about it?” Danny whined, sliding down the wood panel and sitting hard. “This shit sucks.”

“Ask him out!” Josie insisted, forming a little heart with her hands. “Follow your heart.”

“You’re a fucking cornball,” Danny countered. “I feel like I should probably talk to him minimum one time before I do that. I mean, I don’t even know if he’s…you know, whatever. Would even be into me.”

“Oh, I bet he’s totally into you,” Josie assured. “When you said he smiled at you after you sneezed? Totally into you.”

“You’re just feeding my delusion.”

“I’m making up for lost time you spent fake dating a weirdo in high school.”

“Yeah, this is some real sentimental bonding we’ve got going on right now.”

“Come on, you wimp,” Josie said, tossing a pillow at Danny’s head. “Do literally anything. Don’t let him be the one that got away.”

“You’re so dramatic, fuck,” Danny accused, but smiled. “Fine, okay, I’ll talk to him.”

--

Danny did not talk to him. Danny really did plan on talking to Sam during their next class, but when Danny pulled into a parking spot, he found himself next to Sam and his grungy motorcycle. Worse yet, it was one of September’s warmer mornings with a humidity left over from a storm the next before, which meant that Sam was shirtless and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He took off his helmet and shook his hair out, unaware of Danny’s jaw hitting the floor as he combed it through with one hand and dug a shirt out of his backpack. After allowing himself one more sidelong glance before he stumbled out of his car, Danny saw a scattering of tattoos on Sam’s wiry arms and hiding on his ribcage. The words died on Danny’s tongue and in his mind and he decided that maybe he’d wait another day, so he did. And then he waited for two more weeks after that, and even then, Danny couldn’t get himself to even breathe in Sam’s direction.

The only person keeping Danny accountable was Josie, and she regularly expressed her upset towards Danny’s lack of action. The siblings had a long standing tradition of raiding the convenience store by their house on Saturday evenings so they had a proper snack arsenal for movie night, and on the Saturday after the one month mark of Danny’s class starting, Josie followed him through the aisles and chastised him.

“Why do you even care so much?” Danny hissed at her as he absently looked through rows of crinkling bags of chips and pretzels. 

“Because this is the most exciting thing that’s happened to you since you graduated, you nerd,” Josie answered, plucking a bag of chips out of his hand and breezing by. “Plus, it’d be fun to have someone to razz you with.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a kind and gentle soul? Because they were lying.”

Josie laughed and they both continued a steady bicker as they swept the aisles. They settled in the candy aisle for a heated debate on what the “mood” of their candy should be that night. Suddenly, a raucous round of hissing and popping started up outside and they both startled, looking towards the sound. It was the sound of firecrackers, and the owner let out a disgusted sigh and stormed out from behind the counter. He’d seen the Wagner siblings in his store since they were little, and since they were the only ones in there, he quickly told them to not steal anything and then ran out the doors to investigate. The two of them exchanged an amused look and started a joking dialogue about how much stuff they could fit in their pockets when the bell on the door jingled again. They quieted, thinking the owner was back so soon, but Danny felt the wind get knocked out of his lungs when he looked behind him into the next aisle and saw a familiar helmet. He mouthed ‘shit’ and turned around again, Josie quickly picking up on the nervous twitch in his features and looking for herself.

“What?” she whispered, almost inaudible, following Danny as he scooted into the next aisle over to put an aisle between them. Danny gave her a look, and then jerked his head at the man once before widening his eyes. Instantly, her mouth fell open and she started peeking over the top of the shelves to try and catch a glimpse at Sam’s face.

“No way!” she breathed again. “He rides a motorcycle? Hot!”

“Shut the entire fuck up,” Danny seethed, feeling a chill run down his spine when he heard Sam’s boots in the aisle behind them. He moved quickly, a rustle of bags and wrappers as he did. Danny and Josie stood very still when they felt Sam stride into the aisle they were in, exchanging a look and then respectively picking up a snack and examining their wrappers intently. Danny took a brave look over at Sam and saw him pick up a bag of Skittles and then pocket it brashly in the joking way he and his sister had pretended to. Danny blinked in surprise; maybe Sam really was the criminal people made him out to be. Hopefully shoplifting was the worst of his crimes. 

Sam moved down the aisle towards them and looked up at Danny, the two of them exchanging a moment of tense eye contact before Sam’s dark eyes flickered over the Twix in Danny’s hands and then away again. Sam walked behind the two of them and then with a quiet ‘excuse me’, he reached his arm in front of Danny and plucked a Twix from the box. Danny stood frozen to the spot but leaned politely out of the way, trying to subtly stomp on Josie’s foot when she sneakily reached up and sank her nails into his forearm in a silent urge for Danny to say something.

However, Danny hardly got the chance to breathe before the owner walked back into the store with an annoyed huff, which caused Sam to startle and then hustle back past them and slip behind a display. Danny and Josie shared a confused look and tracked the top of Sam’s helmet as he sneaked around the perimeter of the store, clearly trying to make his way to the door without being seen. Unfortunately for Sam, they heard his boot knock loudly against a bottle and the owner looked up from his paper. His face immediately twisted into a fury.

“KISZKA!” he bellowed, slamming his paper onto the counter as Sam scurried down the first aisle and out the door, the bell banging loudly as the owner followed him out in a hurried jog. Danny and Josie quietly stood and watched the two men disappear around the corner in a flurry of yells. 

“Well,” Josie finally said as they slowly approached the counter and started piling their stuff onto it for when the owner returned. “He seems really nice.”

“Shut up,” Danny muttered, knowing his face was thoroughly flushed from both nerves and embarrassment. 

“No, really, I’m super excited for your prison biker wedding.”

“Shut up.”

--

On Monday, Danny was sitting at his table going over the Excel graphing exercise that had driven him nearly crazy the night prior when something was loudly dropped next to him. His reflexes were not as sharp from his lack of sleep and he jolted, calming when he saw what had been dropped on his notebook: a Twix. Danny immediately looked to his right and watched Sam fall into his seat, cracking his neck and unzipping his backpack like nothing had happened. Heart racing, Danny picked up the chocolate and caught Sam’s eye, holding it aloft with confusion crinkling his arched brows. Sam looked at the Twix like he was surprised to see it, sniffed absently and then reclined further in his chair. 

“It’s a bribe,” Sam finally spoke, his light voice betraying his cool, edgy facade. 

“Pardon?” Danny asked dumbly, trying not to stumble over his words.

“A bribe,” Sam repeated, looking at Danny like he was stupid. “It seems like you know what you’re doing in this class, right?”

“Barely,” Danny muttered, looking back at the admittedly correct graphs on his screen. 

“That’s better than how I’m doing,” Sam scoffed, loudly dropping his laptop on his table and pulling a bulky thermos out of his backpack. “I figured a little bribe would help to make alliances.”

Danny looked back at the candy in his hand.

“You stole this.”

“So, what? You and your girlfriend were talking about stealing.”

“That was my sister,” Danny clarified with a curl of his lip. “We weren’t actually going to steal anything, it was just a dumb joke.”

“Well, aren’t you a perfect angel?” Sam sarcastically batted his lashes at Danny and then rolled his eyes, cracking his knuckles aggressively. Danny bristled at Sam’s attitude, even though a small part of him was thrilled by it. 

“I don’t know how you think you make friends, but it’s not like this,” Danny snipped shakily, lifting his chin and looking back at his screen. He could feel Sam staring at him as he pretended to care about his homework. 

“You’re Danny, yeah?” Sam asked casually after a minute.

“Yeah.”

“I remember you from high school.”

Danny hesitated and met Sam’s eye again. Sam smiled, knowing he had Danny’s attention. 

“I didn’t do much in high school,” Danny laughed awkwardly, a little incredulous that Sam would’ve paid any kind of attention to him back then. Danny had friends, sure, but he coasted through classes and invested most of his time with the golfing team, playing video games and banging on the drumset in the basement. He and Sam had mutual friends but had never run in the same circles. 

“I remember you anyways,” Sam went on, picking at the skin of his thumb. “You weren’t the type of person to pass up the chance to help out. And I bet that hasn’t changed much. So, you know, if you could help me with an assignment or two, that’d be sick. Plus, I’d make it worth your while.”

“Will I continue to be paid in Twix?”Danny joked, flushing at Sam’s surprising comprehension of Danny’s character. Sam laughed, a sharp noise that sent chills down Danny’s spine. 

“You’re fucking funny, dude,” Sam grinned. “If that’s what you want, but I can get you whatever you need. Pick your poison.”

“Poison?” Danny echoed, blinking blankly. Sam’s eyes softened slightly as he realized Danny wasn’t picking up on what he was putting down. He looked almost endeared.

“Yeah, man,” Sam continued, his voice lowering as he leaned towards Danny. “Dope, coke. If that’s not your vibe, I’ll buy you a stupid six pack or roll you a blunt.”

“If I help you do your homework, you’re going to give me coke?” Danny hissed, leaning in as well. “You’re going from Twix to cocaine for trigonometry?”

“I have to graduate,” Sam hissed back, his voice urgent. “Not graduating is not an option for me. I’ve already flunked a class once and if I fail again my family will-”

Sam cut himself off with a groan and flopped dramatically back into his seat, crossing his arms and stretching his legs out. 

“Forget it,” Sam snapped, color rising to his cheeks as he let out a huff. “Forget everything I said. I’m fine, it’s fine.”

Danny paused as he watched Sam shift in his seat, his eyes clouding over as he stared down at his lap. If he didn’t know any better, he’d have thought that Sam might be starting to tear up. 

“Hey, man, I’ll help you,” Danny relented, his heart nearly hammering out of his chest as he said it. “Don’t worry about paying me back or anything, though. Actually, I’m more motivated to help you if you promise NOT to give me drugs.”

Sam stared silently at him for a moment, clearly waiting for Danny to pull the rug out from under him and tell him he was only joking. But Danny was sincere in his promise, and Sam’s tense shoulders loosened slightly. 

“Cool,” Sam said quietly, nodding once. “Are you busy after class?”

Danny was supposed to have lunch with a friend, but in a split second he decided to cancel. 

“No,” Danny answered quickly. 

“Wanna go to the library and, I don’t know, you tell me what the fuck is happening in this unit?” Sam suggested, his voice lowering as he got to the end of his sentence. Danny couldn’t help but let a painfully endeared smile cross over his face as he pretended to think for a second and then nodded. 

“Yeah, that works,” Danny agreed casually and Sam mirrored his nodding. 

“Sweet.”

“Yeah.”

They looked at each other for a moment, letting a few awkward beats pass before Sam cleared his throat and turned his attention back to his thermos. Danny watched him unscrew the chunky lid and take a deep sip, causing Sam to visibly hold back a wince as his eye twitched and he screwed the lid back on. He looked back at Danny, who was regarding him with another look of surprise.

“What?” Sam whispered.

“Dude,” Danny said simply, unsure whether to be concerned or to laugh. 

“Shut up,” Sam replied, narrowing his eyes like an angry cat. 

“It’s 9am,” Danny went on, a giggle at the end of his words.

“Shut up,” Sam repeated. 

The professor got out of her seat and turned on her computer, signaling the beginning of class, and both of them fell silent as the lecture flashed on the projection screen. Danny decided to try and sneak one more look at Sam before he tuned in completely, allowing himself to relish in the anticipation that they were going to be spending the afternoon together. When he looked, he saw Sam was looking back at him, and they both turned away quickly and didn’t make eye contact for the rest of the class.

After an admittedly awkward walk to the library, Danny very quickly learned the extent of just what kind of student Sam was. His eyes wandered, his questions branched into a myriad of tangents, and oftentimes his conclusions made no sense. A particularly hard problem had Danny making Sam slowly backtrack his process to how he arrived at his answer, which made Danny even more confused and further infuriated Sam as he was reminded of how lost he was. 

And yet, Danny was exceedingly patient with him. When the light outside started to fade and they gave up on making any more progress, Sam seemed genuinely shocked that Danny had stuck around as long as he had. Sure, when he got home that night Danny gave an extra little scream into his pillow from how hard he had fought Sam to try and help him understand the unit they were on, but Danny really hadn’t minded getting to spend some actual one on one time with Sam. Between tense discussion and slow calculations, Danny had actually had a lot of fun. 

--

Danny finally admitted to himself that he was completely and totally screwed after the next couple of study sessions with Sam. The issue was that not only was Sam even hotter up close, but that he and Danny got along famously. When he wasn’t cussing out his textbook (or Danny, on occasion) or staring off into space, Sam was funny and quick witted and a surprisingly good listener. He had this habit of cradling his jaw with both hands while staring wide eyed at Danny and the textbook he was working off of, nodding occasionally and scribbling down Danny’s process with his bottom lip sucked in between his teeth. 

“You’re really getting it now, man,” Danny said proudly one afternoon, watching Sam’s flimsy mechanical pencil work its way down his notebook page as he linked together a probability. 

“Maybe a little,” Sam mumbled, flipping a page to check the answer sheet. 

“Seriously, you’ve made hella progress,” Danny went on, motioning at Sam’s paper with his own pencil. “You don’t even need the cheat sheet, I know that’s right.”

“Still gonna check,” Sam insisted, seeming to shrink under Danny’s praise. Danny frowned, watching Sam grow somber in the way he always did when he scoured his homework for problems. Normally, Danny just let him take his quiet pause, but this time he felt himself  saying something before he could stop himself.

“You know that you’re smart, right?”

Sam looked up quickly, looking almost disgusted by Danny’s compliment.

“Yeah, okay,” Sam mocked, crinkling his nose. 

“You are,” Danny continued. “You were smart in high school, too. I mean, you did robotics and debate and stuff, right? You’ve gotta be clever to do all that.”

Sam blinked, his look shifting from unbelieving to almost shy.

“You remember all that?” Sam asked, his voice oddly soft. Danny felt his face flush.

“Uh, well, yeah,” Danny stammered slightly, shrugging like it was nothing. “I noticed lots of stuff in high school. It was a lot more fun than doing my own stuff, I guess.”

“You did cool stuff, too,” Sam said hesitantly, looking back at his page. “Golf is…cool.”

“No, it’s not,” Danny laughed, and a smirk slipped onto Sam’s face.

“Nah, it’s really not,” Sam agreed, the smirk growing to a cheeky grin. “You know what I mean. You were a cool person.”

“Oh, am I not cool anymore?” Danny teased, basking in the realization that at least once, Sam had thought about him back then.

“You’re still cool,” Sam smiled, his eyes boring into Danny’s own as Danny’s smile grew wide and dopey.

“Cool,” Danny replied dumbly, seeing Sam’s eyebrow raise in his peripheral vision as he pretended to start on another question. 

“Not good with compliments either, huh?” Sam accused lightheartedly.

“I guess I just don’t get them that much,” Danny answered honestly. Sam immediately let out a sharp, one note laugh that earned him a dirty look from the librarian and a confused smile from Danny.

“What?” Danny asked. Sam looked him up and down once with an amused smile, but once he realized Danny had absolutely no clue what he found so ridiculous, his smile quickly died. 

“Nothing, whatever,” Sam backtracked, letting out another much quieter laugh as if to make up for the brashness of the first one. 

“Nuh uh, tell me,” Danny insisted, quickly swiping Sam’s paper out from under his hand and holding it hostage under his forearm. “What’s so funny, funny guy?”

“Nothing!” Sam doubled down, his usually edgy tone taking on a brand new whining quality as he tried to yank his paper back. The annoyed knit of Sam’s eyebrows gave Danny a small thrill he didn’t quite understand. 

“You tell me why you laughed or I eat this fucking piece of paper.”

“Oh, I would actually love to see that, go right ahead.”

“Come on, Sam, tell me,” Danny all but begged. “Why is it so damn funny I don’t get compliments on the reg?” 

Sam still refused to meet his eye, half heartedly trying to slide the paper out from under Danny’s arm with his fingertips gripping furiously. 

“I don’t know, I guess it’s just weird considering you look, you know…” Sam trailed off, his tan cheeks rosy as he stumbled to his point. “Looking the way you do, I’d think maybe you’d be fending ‘em off ‘on the reg’. Your words, not mine.”

Danny blinked, still vaguely lost.

“Looking the way I do?” Danny echoed slowly, and Sam rolled his eyes. Danny looked down at himself, trying to decipher whatever Sam was getting at. “Is there a big sweater crowd here that I was unaware of, or…?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Sam mumbled, finally pushing Danny’s arm back with one hand and grabbing his paper with the other. “Nevermind.”

Danny spent the rest of the night trying to understand just what Sam had been telling him, but it didn’t hit him until that last second before he finally fell asleep. Danny had sat up abruptly when the thought settled on him, his adrenaline jerking him upwards like a puppet so hard that his knee collided with his cheek. He fell back onto his pillow with a prolonged groan, pressing the heel of his palm to his sore cheek, feeling his blood pulse as he blinked up at the ceiling with the realization spinning in his head: Sam thought he was attractive. And he had said it right to Danny’s face without him knowing. As he began to drift off again, Danny thought he might be the stupidest man alive. 

--

Danny certainly felt like one when the next time he saw Sam, he approached him with sheepish energy and a big, tender bruise on the plane of his cheek under his right eye. Sam’s mouth fell open and he immediately reached up to touch Danny’s face, his fingers softly grazing over the bruise as his dark eyebrows drew together in confusion.

“What the hell happened to you?” Sam asked, his eyes suddenly lighting up as a snarky comment generated in his head. “Oh my god, did you get in a fight?”

Danny, realizing there was no way he could explain the true nature of his injury without sounding like an utter idiot, quickly nodded in agreement and tried to look remorseful. Sam’s mouth fell open again. The sparkle in his eye paired with his ability to be so quick to believe made Danny’s stomach flutter in adoration.

“Yeah, no biggie,” Danny said coolly as he slid into his seat, shrugging off his bag as Sam landed on his seat harshly, his eyes still stuck to Danny’s face. 

“Who did you fight?” Sam gasped. “Did you fight a cop? Oh, please say yes.”

“Yep, you know me, big cop fighter,” Danny agreed, sarcasm edging his voice as he shot Sam a sly smile. Sam slumped in his seat as he began to scowl.

“Oh, fuck you, don’t lie to me,” Sam pouted, crossing his leather clad arms. “Seriously, what’s with the bruise?”

“It’s stupid, I’m fine,” Danny laughed. 

“Do we have to cancel midterms studying later?” Sam asked, looking concerned. Maybe even disappointed. “I don’t wanna, I don’t know.”

“Are you worried I’m going to strain my small bruise too much?” Danny teased, butterflies fluttering again at Sam’s genuine worry about his well being. 

 “I don’t know!” Sam spluttered. “I want to make sure my teacher isn’t being held back from teaching me.”

“Sure, sure,” Danny smiled, finding a random surge of confidence and channeling it by mocking one of the first things Sam had said to him. “Aren’t you just a perfect angel?”

Sam immediately fell silent, rolling his eyes deeply and lolling back into his seat, turning away from Danny for a moment before flopping his head back towards Danny. 

“Maybe I am,” Sam joked, giving Daniel a theatrical wink before scoffing and shaking his head, reacting so heavily that Danny figured that he must’ve been genuinely flustered by Danny’s accusation. It was hitting him again now, that Sam might actually like him back. It still felt like a reach, but Danny let the satisfaction of the possibility straighten his spine confidently while Sam continued to sputter. 

--

By the time midterms had come and gone, Danny was beginning to become actually convinced he might have a shot with Sam. A lot of this was attributed to Sam suddenly and consistently indulging in a habit Danny was well acquainted with: kleptomania. 

“Sam, you have got to stop,” Danny said defeatedly after Sam dropped yet another grocery bag of snacks on the table in front of Danny before collapsing in the booth across from him. This study session was at a coffee shop, which Danny thought might deter Sam from his now expected habit of bringing Danny bags of treats and the occasional other small, random items. 

“Why? It’s funny,” Sam insisted as he did every time Danny questioned why the hell he was doing this. “Come on, laugh.”

“I am not laughing, thank you very much,” Danny said haughtily, sifting through the bag with two fingers. “Aw, come on, there’s even more than last time. Those poor store owners you’re robbing are going to start to notice, you know.”

“Whatever, as if they could prove it was me,” Sam scoffed with pride, cracking his neck cockily. 

“Security cams, Sams,” Danny remarked, tying the handles of the bag together. “Seriously, it’s just not worth the risk. I don’t know why you think I’m so desperately in need of a couple hundred granola bars.”

“Totally worth the risk,” Sam argued. “I have a great time doing it, and then you have a great time not starving.”

“Why would I be starving?”

“You said you barely even eat during the days you work. Boom, problem solved, shut up and eat your damn fruit snacks.”

Danny’s heart suddenly began to slam against his ribs as the feelings that accompanied Sam’s shockingly sweet intentions jolted every nerve ending in Danny’s body. 

“You started being a full blown klepto because…you didn’t want me to be hungry?”

“So?” Sam’s voice was sharp and defensive, but when Danny blinked at him, he saw Sam’s eyes soften for a fraction of a second and he knew. 

 “It’s just…actually very nice of you,” Danny said, his voice petering out slightly at the end of his sentence. “Now I kinda feel like a dickhead for yelling at you. Even though I still don’t think you should steal.”

“I accept your apology,” Sam answered jokingly. “So, which homework are we going over today?”

“Oh, we actually don’t have anything due on Friday,” Danny said. “I’m slightly concerned you don’t remember her saying that, but, yeah, we don’t technically don’t have to work on anything.”

“Oh,” Sam said simply, tensing and then relaxing in the same second. “So, we’re just…like, hanging out?”

“I guess,” Danny replied, masking his nerves by taking a sip of his drink. “I mean, we can look ahead in the book. Or you can, like, go if you want.”

“No, no, it’s whatever,” Sam said hurriedly. “I mean, I already ordered a drink, so.”

“Yeah, I mean, then you gotta stay,” Danny teased, still a little surprised by his own ability to flirt so quickly lately. “Maybe we can even attempt a conversation without talking about trigonometry.”

“Sounds like pulling teeth,” Sam agreed, arching a dark brow in amusement. “I’m down.”

“Should I ask you how your day was?”

“Definitely not.”

“What about your childhood?”

Sam bristled but somehow twisted it into a weak smile.

“I don’t know, you were there for a good chunk of it,” Sam smiled, and Danny melted a little. “You weren’t super involved or anything, but you probably know the gist of it.”

“Mm, I guess,” Danny shrugged. “Not enough to know how you went from being such a nice little nerd to…wherever you are now.”

“Is there something wrong with me now?” Sam snapped, giving Danny the stink eye.

“No, no, but you’re definitely a lot different than you were 5 years ago,” Danny went on and Sam swallowed, his eyes traveling in the air next to Danny’s head uncomfortably. 

“True,” Sam agreed sullenly. 

“I didn’t mean to, I don’t know, drag up anything,” Danny said nervously, taking note of the dark cloud settling over Sam’s head. “Just making conversation. I mean, I admit I am curious, but you can change the subject.”

“It’s…fine,” Sam sighed, shifting in his seat and finally taking off his jacket as he talked. “I mean, you know all the shit that went down with my family. I guess it’s just kind of a weird thing for an angsty little teenager to deal with, and doing spontaneous, adrenaline rush inducing shit is a lot easier to do than dealing with emotions. Way more fun, too.”

“I get that,” Danny said softly. “I was worried for you for a while in high school. You didn’t come to school for like a week straight once and I totally thought something bad had happened.”

“Really?” Sam asked. He looked surprised that Danny had remembered that, and he also looked a little guilty.

“I mean, yeah,” Danny stammered. It was true; it had been a little hard not to be on the lookout for Sam after his dad’s mugshot had been plastered on every newspaper in town.

“Well, I was fine,” Sam insisted, guilt still gracing his features. “With everything going on, I figured nobody would care if I stayed away for a little while. I was pretty much just taking tabs in the woods and eating at drive throughs and stirring up shit at random bars.” 

“That sounds like it sucks,” Danny blurted, and Sam looked startled by his candor.

“It did suck,” Sam answered plainly. “But it could have been worse. I mean, I only got arrested once.”

“That’s a miracle,” Danny joked and Sam laughed. 

“Honestly, yeah,” Sam agreed with a feline smirk. “I’ve gotten up to some pretty crazy things in my time.”

“I’d love to hear about them,” Danny smiled, cupping his chin in his hand in an effort to look tuned in completely to Sam. Sam laughed again and mirrored Danny’s cheesy motion with a higher notch of dramatics, making both of them chuckle before Sam launched into a highlights reel of the craziest things he’d experienced in the past couple of years. With every new anecdote, Sam loosened up more and more, his eyes staying round and playful as he gesticulated often and laughed between his words. Even though his stories painted him as some kind of a wild thrill seeker, the Sam sitting in front of Danny was exuberant, sweet, and kept collapsing into fits of giggles that made him snort and giggle all over again. Danny couldn’t help but stare.

-- 

   Suddenly it was November, and Danny and Sam put their heads together to work through the review packet they’d been given. The truth is that the review packet had all the basics of the units they’d gone through, and the professor had said that the final was going to be a collection of all the simplest concepts so there was no reason to unnecessarily stress, but Danny and Sam began to study like it was the bar exam. At this point, both of them were quietly aware that Sam would be able to pass this final without Danny’s help, and that their studying sessions didn’t actually involve all that much studying anymore. They’d go to the library or a coffee shop or any kind of quiet establishment, pull out their folders and pencils and calculators, and then not touch them for the next couple of hours while they chatted. On a few occasions, Sam would shut down when the conversation got too close for him, and Danny knew that during those times he was waiting for Danny to go, but he never did. He’d pick a new topic, broach it carefully, and wait for Sam to warm back up to him. That unthinking kindness was a big part of why Sam actually started to feel comfortable opening up to Danny, even if it was only a little bit. It was also why Sam started to feel like he would do anything to get alone with Danny, such as feigning that he absolutely needed them to start meeting up twice a week more than once. Right before the actual test, Sam even considered inviting Danny over to his place to…not study, he wouldn’t get away with saying that’s why he wanted him over. That’s why he never ended up offering. Part of it was shame, honestly. He didn’t like the imagery of Danny, bright and clean, standing in the basement he called home and pretending to like it. Or even actually liking it, seeing as he seemed to like everything Sam pitched to him, even when it was a tale of arson or getting an unseemly tattoo in an unseemly place. 

What it was, really, was that Sam wanted Danny alone because he had a big, fat crush on him. When he’d first seen Danny in class, he’d recognized him from school, sure, but his first thought was that he was absolutely drop dead gorgeous. So gorgeous that he looked entirely out of place hunched over his laptop in a stained t-shirt that he assumed doubled as his uniform for work. Sam wasn’t stupid, he knew that his look attracted his stares, and usually he loved the attention. But he felt uncharacteristically nervous when he began to notice that Danny’s eyes couldn’t stay off of him during class. In fact, even after becoming friends and becoming arguably close friends, he still felt nervous under Danny’s gaze. He wanted to keep his eyes on him at all times, and as the last day of class drew near, he was worried he was going to lose it. Sam knew he had to make a move. He just wasn’t sure how.

--

“Come over.”

Danny blinked.

“Hm?” Danny asked with a closed mouth, looking up from his paper to see that Sam wasn’t even looking at him. Sam was regarding the motor oil under his nails with great intensity.

“Come over,” Sam repeated, slowly and theatrically. “After the final tomorrow. We’ll party and lay a semester of unrelenting torment to rest.”

“Oh,” Danny replied dumbly, suddenly feeling very warm under the collar of his green sweater. “Yeah, sure, sounds fun. Should I bring anything?”

“Nah, I’ve got enough liquor to be deemed a public fire hazard,” Sam grinned, finally looking at Danny to flash him his teeth. “You’ll probably have to crash for the night, though. We’re going to get pretty fucked up.”

“Oh, are we?” Danny challenged with a smile of his own. “I don’t know how wild a two person party can get.”

“I’d invite other people but they wouldn’t understand the true heart of the party like we do,” Sam explained dryly. “You can pick what we watch.”

“Sweet,” Danny sang, his knee bouncing from jitters under the table. He couldn’t stop thinking about the prospect of sleeping in the same room as Sam. “Do I get to sleep on the couch, or is it a pillow and a blanket situation?”

“Whatever you want, bro,” Sam answered coolly, looking back to his nails. “All I know is you don’t get the bed.”

“You must be so proud of your twin size mattress.”

“Hey, she sees plenty of play,” Sam purred, blatantly lying. He winked and Danny rolled his eyes, landing his attention back on his paper.

“If ‘she’ saw plenty of play, you wouldn’t still have a twin,” Danny accused, his stomach turning at the thought of anyone other than him in that bed with Sam. Sam scoffed.

“Hey now, mattresses are expensive as fuck,” Sam argued, reaching a defensive headspace where his arms crossed and his lip curled. Danny loved it.

“True, true,” Danny humored him. “So, do I get to ride home with you on your big scary motorcycle or do I have to follow you in my car?”

“We’ll see if your excuse for a car can keep up with my Harley. I’ve been meaning to ask you to drag race, anyways.”

“My sheer spite would make my car go faster than your tricycle.”

“Tricycle?!”

Danny laughed as Sam flew into a sputtering tirade of defending his motorcycle, counting out bullet pointed arguments on his fingers as Danny sat there with a dopey smile on his face. Danny wondered if Sam had caught on to the fact that he fired him up just so he could watch him fizzle down. At the same time, Sam wondered if Danny knew how much he liked that he did that.

--

Danny’s nerves began to run wild about halfway through his final. Not because of any uncertainty at his answers, but because as time passed, he realized just how soon he’d be at Sam’s. He was worried about what he’d be like after a few drinks and finding himself completely alone with the man he’d begun to fantasize about more and more every day. Actually, he hadn’t thought of much else but what he was going to do about this hangout time with Sam, or rather, what he wanted to do. A gentle, almost innocent crush had morphed so quickly in such a short time, and his feelings were quickly developing in a way that kept his head filled with images of his hands on Sam’s hips and how Sam’s neck might look when covered in bruises. As one of those thoughts started to drift into his mind, his thoughts whispering about how it was a very real possibility, Danny’s pencil began to fly over his paper as he hurried to finish as fast as possible.

Sam didn’t keep Danny waiting for very long after he did finally turn in his final and hurry out into the hallway. Sam had dressed pretty nice for once, in his own uniquely Sam way. He had on a rumpled white shirt with a dark green leather jacket, paired with dark jeans that boasted only a few scuffs and minor rips. He stomped after Danny down the hall in heavy workmans boots.

“How was it for you?” Sam asked, his body language bordering on giddy as they burst out the doors into a chilly, biting breeze that immediately reddened both their cheeks and noses. 

“Honestly? It was kind of easy,” Danny said brightly and Sam immediately let out a laugh, kicking an icy stick as they approached where they’d parked their respective vehicles nearby. 

“I knew you’d say that, ugh,” Sam complained. 

“What, was it hard for you?”

“No, it’s just more annoying when things are easy for you,” Sam explained. “‘Cause everything’s easy to you, so, like, duh, of course you thought it was easy.”

“Sorry for being smart?” Danny laughed apologetically.

“Yeah, you better be.”

Danny scoffed and Sam laughed, brushing a few stray leaves off the seat of his bike and straddling it. Danny’s breath caught slightly when Sam adjusted himself, his back arching for a few seconds before he settled down, fiddling with his gloves while Danny dragged his gaze away from the seat of his bike. They weren’t even at Sam’s yet, and he started to become really worried about his capacity for self control.

-- 

Danny worried again when they arrived at Sam’s grungy apartment building and he watched Sam flip his hair over his shoulder as he fumbled for his keys. 

Danny worried some more when Sam insisted on standing sideways in the doorway to dramatically present his living room to him, so that Danny felt his chest drag against his upper arm as he squeezed past. 

Danny worried the most in the moments right after the door closed. Sam pressed his back against the wood coquettishly while grinning softly at Danny, and Danny sort of floated out of himself when he felt his body turn on his heel and march right up to Sam. Sam’s eyes widened and his goofy introductory remarks died on his tongue as he looked up at Danny in puzzlement right before Danny gently palmed the side of his tattooed throat and brought his lips to Sam’s. And Sam, the rough edged, chain smoking, eye rolling, pain of a man immediately buckled at the knee and sighed into the contact, his rough hands grazing Danny’s neck before diving into his hair. Danny felt his entire body go blindingly white hot with nerves as he gasped and went in for another kiss, his jaw angling perfectly against Sam’s as he held him firmly against the door. Sam arched against the wood and into Danny’s touch, melting against whatever contact he could find on the taller man. After a minute of Sam writhing and Danny nearly blacking out from the pleasure of Sam’s soft lips on his own, Danny finally pulled away for a deep breath of air, maintaining frenzied eye contact with Sam as he watched him paw lightly at his neck and take gasping breaths. 

“Hey,” Danny breathed, his voice raspy and shaking. “I’m sorry, I should have-”

“Took you fucking long enough,” Sam cut him off, his shining lips splitting into a wild smile. “I mean, fuckin’ A, man. I was starting to think I was reading into nothing.”

“Definitely not nothing,” Danny replied quietly. “A very nervous something.”

“Well, the something is mutual,” Sam grinned, giving Danny a proper up and down with his eyes and chuckling softly. “Very, very mutual.”

“Cool,” Danny said shyly, dipping his head to try and hide his smile, as if he hadn’t just slammed Sam against a door to steal a kiss. 

“Come back,” Sam whined softly, grasping Danny by the collar of his corduroy jacket and pulling him back into his embrace. “Come on, don’t be a tease any more than you already are.”

“I’m a tease?” Danny asked with delighted disbelief, smiling into the contact of Sam beginning to kiss along his jaw and neck. “You were the one who was going to make me sleep on the floor tonight.”

“Oh, baby, you were never going to be sleeping on the floor,” Sam whispered in his ear, kissing his jaw and working his way up to giving Danny one, long kiss on the lips before speaking again. “I always get what I want.”

“You want me?” Danny asked against his lips, getting lost in the wide expanse of Sam’s dark eyes. 

“You don’t know the half of it,” Sam purred, cupping Danny’s jaw and pulling him into a series of slow kisses while Danny’s mind continued to reel at Sam’s reciprocity. With Sam biting his lip and kissing it better in succession, along with his willowy fingers tracing down Danny’s chest, Danny was honestly beginning to find it hard that this wasn’t a miracle from the universe. Or maybe some kind of dream that he’d fallen into without realizing. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend that this scenario was exactly what Sam had been picturing for their evening the entire time. 

Once Sam’s tongue made its way into Danny’s mouth, adding warmth and licking smoothly, Danny started to hurriedly shrug off his jacket and toss it blindly behind him before starting to work Sam’s off of him. It exposed the patchwork of tattoos along Sam’s arms, tigers and daggers and snakes in the traditional style popping against the white of his shirt. To his surprise, Sam’s hands left Danny’s cheeks and boldly slid up under his sweater, causing Danny to flinch and yelp at the feeling of Sam’s ice cold fingers on his warm skin. Sam giggled, still keeping their lips locked together as he grabbed at Danny’s waist and sides, his hands unable to stay in one place. Matching Sam’s reckless abandon, Danny suddenly bent at the knee and hooked his arms around Sam’s thighs, boosting him into the air. Sam hummed into his mouth, crossing his legs behind Danny’s back and snaking his hands out from under Danny’s sweater to tangle back into his curls.

“My bedroom is the door behind you to the right,” Sam mumbled breathlessly, fidgeting slightly against Danny’s firm front.

“That’s awful forward of you,” Danny flirted, taking a moment to breathe and appreciate the weight of Sam in his arms, holding him up with very little effort. This could come in handy.

“Well, do you want to fuck me or not?” Sam scoffed, a further blush flushing his face as he said it. His pupils completely swallowed up the warm brown of his iris as he stared expectantly at Danny, who had to take a second to concentrate on not cumming in his jeans right then and there.

“Yes, god, yes,” Danny answered quickly, immediately starting a slow, backwards walk towards Sam’s bedroom as Sam grinned wolfishly and descended on Danny’s mouth hungrily again. 

Eventually, they fumbled their way into the bedroom, Sam closing the door behind them before Danny dropped him on the bed and climbed over him. Danny considered continuing with his conquest, but he found himself looking up to observe his surroundings. Sam’s bedroom was small, with wrinkled posters and flyers for basement shows and concerts peppering the gray walls. There were clothes all over the floor, along with the butts of cigarettes and a myriad of worn out sneakers and boots. Sam watched Danny’s expression carefully as he assessed the mess that was his room, his eyes tracking the pattern on his quilt before smiling at Sam again. 

“It’s cute in here,” Danny declared, looking at a string of lights taped to the borders of the walls while Sam blinked in surprise at his words. 

“No, it’s not,” Sam muttered, looking around his room and seeing only the disregard for his own environment in the mess he’d created.

“Nah, it’s all very you,” Danny explained, looking at the room and seeing the person behind it all. He imagined Sam wobbling on a stool to paint the walls their moody gray, or pulling his quilt out of a box and smoothing it lovingly over the sheets, wondering if it had been made for him by a relative or hand picked from a thrift shop with a curated eye. It was all painfully adorable to him. It was all so…Sam. 

Sam saw the adoring shine in Danny’s crinkled, hazel eyes and felt all his seductive confidence fly out the window, only able to bat his lashes up at him and marvel.

“You really don’t think I’m a scuzzball, do you?” Sam asked with a note of amused realization, his sentence lifting into a slight one note laugh. 

“Never have,” Danny answered honestly, cocking his head at Sam while smiling warmly. “I mean, you can pretend all you want, but I know you’re not who you pretend to be. You’re just…”

“What?” Sam challenged, slightly defensive of the persona he’d worked hard to maintain over the years, and also slightly embarrassed that Danny had seen through it so effortlessly.

“You’re just you, I guess,” Danny shrugged as best he could while holding his weight on his elbows, still hovering over Sam’s reclined body. “And that’s not very scary to me.”

Sam was silent for a minute, unsure of what to say to that. Initially, he’d been annoyed that Danny was so nice to him, figuring the other shoe would drop at any time and he’d reveal his worst intentions. This was a pattern Sam was accustomed to. But Danny really meant what he said. He didn’t just see through Sam, he saw him fully, and Sam realized with a relieved jolt that he had never really been annoyed about it. He was grateful. 

But Sam was still very much in a certain state of mind, and his body reminded him of it when he looked down and saw how his crotch had lifted to press against Danny’s without his realizing. He figured maybe there was a certain way he could show Danny just how grateful he was. 

“Why don’t you show me just how scary you can be?” Sam invited lowly, his hand returning to Danny’s cheek as his thumb swiped over Danny’s bottom lip. This small action seemed to remind Danny of how they’d ended up here, and Sam watched with restrained delight as Danny’s eyes glazed over slightly. 

“What do you want?” Danny asked quietly, adjusting and hovering further over Sam, his look of genuine caring slowly morphing into something almost predatory as he smiled. His hair fell around them, the rest of the world falling away.

“I already told you,” Sam pointed out haughtily. “I want you.”

“I’m getting kind of tired of your attitude,” Danny fired back. “You know I want specifics.”

“Is that what you want? Specifics? Not me?” Sam grinned cheekily, enjoying pressing Danny’s buttons even more now that he was getting the idea that he’d be rewarded for it. Danny rolled his eyes and shook his head at Sam.

“Be that way,” Danny hummed, straightening and sitting hard on Sam’s lap, causing him to let out a strangled whine as Danny pulled his sweater off. “Guess I’ll just call the shots.”

Sam really wanted to conjure up a fiery retort, but his mind went fuzzy and blank at the sight of Danny with his shirt off, his broad chest exposed and his smile cocky and triumphant as he watched Sam flounder wordlessly. Sam became even more aware of the strain in his jeans when his eyes traveled downward and he caught sight of the trail of dark hair just over the waistband of Danny’s pants. 

“Do you even know how much I like you?” Danny started, casually undoing the clasp of his watch and leaning to the side to drop it on Sam’s bedside table while Sam propped himself up on his elbows. “I literally thought I was going to flunk the class because you were so distracting.” 

“I didn’t even talk to you,” Sam said simply, barely audible. 

“Didn’t need to,” Danny affirmed. “My mind did most of the distracting stuff.”

“Like what?” Sam prodded, tipping his chin up to stare unrelentingly at Danny in a pathetic attempt to regain control. Danny, taking advantage of this surprising burst of dominance that Sam seemed to give him, gently grasped Sam’s chin.

“Well, initially, I had all these ideas of how we’d end up kissing for the first time,” Danny explained. “Shockingly, none of them ended up being how it went, but I’m glad I had options. And, I mean, those ideas just sort of developed over time. I’d wake up and be all surprised that I’d cum in my pants and not on you.”

Sam’s jaw hung open and Danny shut it gently for him, his body pulsing with heat as his adrenaline raced in his veins.

“You gonna teach me some more, hm?” Sam finally managed to say, straining to try and steal a kiss. “Or do you want me to lead?”

“I’d like to see you try,” Danny grinned, pushing Sam onto his back. Sam, breathless, watched Danny move his hands down to Sam’s aching groin and begin to undo his pants, fingers shaking with anticipation. Sam pushed his hair off his forehead and pressed his covered dick into Danny’s hand after his pants had been tugged down to his knees, not speaking but letting a needling whimper escape that made Danny smile. 

“What are we going to do with you, Sam?” Danny teased, running his thumb up and down Sam’s concealed length.

“Danny,” Sam choked out as Danny took his hands off of Sam and began to unzip his own pants. The lack of touch was almost unbearable at that moment. “Come on, fuck me, please.”

“That could look like a lot of things,” Danny said absently, freeing his dick and palming it casually, letting out a slow sigh of relief. Sam stared unabashedly at Danny’s impressive and admittedly intimidating length. He’d fantasized about what he might expect, but the real thing was almost overwhelming. But he knew what he needed.

“In me,” Sam whispered, his tone bordering on longing. “Please. I can take it.”

“You can?” Danny questioned, trying to keep up his domineering tone despite the wind being knocked out of his lungs at Sam’s request. “Have you been getting ready for me?”

“Maybe,” Sam admitted quietly. He took a dangerous leap with what he said next. “But those randos don’t even hold a candle to you.”

Danny flinched, jealousy immediately rolling over him in cold waves as his mind started to conjure up disgusting imagery of Sam on his back for anybody other than him. It must have translated into his expression without his knowledge because Sam’s open mouth twisted into a smug smile, arching an eyebrow at Danny. It was a dare, and Danny dared to prove himself. 

“Shut up before I make you,” Danny snarled, challenging Sam to call him out for being all bark and no bite. But Sam obediently shut his trap, lowering himself slightly on his elbows and spread his legs ever so slightly, inviting Danny in without a word. 

--

“So…was I better than those other ‘randos’ stretching you out?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I was joking.”

Sam’s whole body was in absolute, delicious agony, his face buried into the crook of Danny’s neck. He attempted to even out his breathing, his throat raw and his chest tired after all the pornographic moans and whimpers that had escaped him when Danny had driven into him with varying amounts of mercy over the course of what felt like hours. Sam’s shoulders were already blooming with a score of bruises where Danny had left teeth marks, anchoring himself to Sam in animalistic moments of passion when he threatened to finish far too early. Danny’s body was aching too, his abs and hips tense and his shoulders in their own pain from holding himself up for so long. It had been worth it to keep the sight of Sam’s gasps and fluttering eyes, and he was certain he had enough material in his mind's eye to keep him satisfied in his own personal endeavors for weeks. Danny brushed his fingers lightly up and down Sam’s spine, his lips pressed to the crown of Sam’s head as they laid in silence, recovering. 

“Do you want to hear something crazy?” Sam said, his voice muffled by Danny’s scorching hot skin. 

“Sure,” Danny replied, giving Sam’s hair a quick kiss after he said it.

“I used to have a crush on you in high school.”

“What!” Danny blurted, attempting to push Sam’s shoulder up so he could see his face, but Sam buried his head even further into Danny’s neck. “Explain!”

“I just did!” Sam laughed, his voice still muted. “It wasn’t anything serious but, yeah, I guess you were kind of my hallway crush. It’s no big deal.”

“Wow,” Danny said dreamily. “And look where you are now. How exciting for you.”

“Shut up!” Sam groaned, finally lifting his head and giving Danny a fake frown, his face glowing and flushed. Danny mocked his frown back to him, laughing at his expression and tucking a sweaty strand of hair behind his ear.

“I definitely thought you were cute,” Danny smiled. “I was super into emo haircuts.”

“I hate you,” Sam deadpanned, looking unamused.

“Is that why you just let me cum in y-”

Sam pressed his palm over Danny’s mouth, muffling his subsequent laugh. Sam let out an exasperated sigh and leaned over to reach into an opened drawer of his bedside table, items rattling out of sight until he emerged with his prize: Marlboro Reds. Sam bit down on a cigarette and slid out another to offer it to Danny, who wrinkled his nose at it initially but took it between his fingers anyways, studying it while Sam pulled free the lighter and rolled onto his back next to Danny.

“You ever smoked?” Sam asked, lighting his cigarette and taking a deep inhale while Danny shook his head no. Sam blew out a thick cloud of smoke before rolling onto his front, taking the cigarette out of Danny’s hand and sticking it in Danny’s mouth himself. Danny wanted to protest, but froze when Sam leaned over and pressed the tip of his lit cigarette to Danny’s, both of them silent save for the crackling of the paper and tobacco as Danny’s cigarette began to glow. He took a hesitant inhale, letting the heady warmth settle on his tongue before he began to cough, sitting up sharply and choking on a cloud of smoke while Sam chuckled and patted him on the back.

“You’ll get there,” Sam assured him through laughs.

“I don’t know if I wanna get there,” Danny wheezed, letting the cigarette fizzle between his fingers instead of taking a second drag. 

“You don’t have to, just figured I’d give you a taste of the wild side,” Sam grinned, the cigarette dangling attractively from his bottom lip.

“You’ve given me more than a taste of that,” Danny said with a wink. Sam chuckled again, blowing smoke out of the side of his mouth as he stared with glittering eyes at Danny.

“I like you,” Sam said simply, conjuring the innocent butterflies in Danny’s stomach. 

“Thank you,” Danny answered shyly and Sam immediately slapped his arm.

“Say it back!”

“I like you!” Danny laughed, slapping Sam back. “You knew that!”

“Yeah, but I like hearing you say it,” Sam hummed proudly. 

“You’re weird.”

“You’re weirder.”

“You’re the weirdest,” Danny teased, taking another more careful inhale of his cigarette and releasing it with only a mild clearing of his throat. “Ooh, look, I’m learning.”

“Maybe I had something to teach you after all,” Sam smiled. “I guess I never really needed to bribe you into helping me, huh?”

“Not at all,” Danny said. “But I’m enjoying the reward of just you.”

Sam’s smile widened and Danny smiled right back at him. It suddenly seemed so ridiculous that there had ever been a time when he was afraid to speak to Sam. How could he have looked at his puppy dog eyes and cute shaggy hair and not dragged him into his lap right then and there? Danny figured he had time to rectify that, doing just that and catching Sam in a smoky kiss, suddenly thrilled about all the things that they could continue to teach each other.

--

[sillyname30]

I just listened to the latest episode of and that's what you really missed on Glee.

Jenna said there may have been a hick-up. We may have thought there wasn't gonna be time, but we made it.

Darren: I didn't want to. But now that we're sitting here I admit that this is a re-do. This was supposed to happen last week and it just slipped my mind. I feel so bad. It was the last week of my run of  Little Shop of Horrors. And there was this deluge of people reaching out. Family and friends coming from all over the place. I spent my entire day doing like schedule tetris, ticket tetris. I'm sitting all day doing this and there was that one Wednesday afternoon that seemed to like subside and  I look on my calendar and I'm like 'I don't know how but there is nothing on my calendar here' and it felt really strange. I was watching Curb You Enthusiam (with Mia) and I felt weird because 'I'm supposed to be doing something. Something isn't right with it.'

Darren: The summer before senior year (college) I decided to visit friends in Los Angeles. Through a series of circumstances I met some agency people, casting director people that sent me on an audition for that would be the pilot of Glee.

After senior year Darren moved to Los Angeles and booked a TV show named Eastwick.

Later Darren put a video for something like an open call for Glee on My Space.

Darren used to go by his full name „Darren Everett Criss“. But in Starkid he was just „Darren Criss“ and he kept it that way because of the popularity of Starkid. (that was new for me)

Darren on the auditon for Blaine: I'm blindly aware of the importance of this audition. The idea of a new character being Chris' love interest was being picked up. I'm the kind of guy – like any audition I get I stalk every person involved. I learn everything about the casting director, everything about the show, trying to learn everything I need to know to maximize my chance of being involved in it. The breakdown of the person was Tom Ford. I got a haircut. I wore a prep school outfit for the audition.

Darren: I booked this huge thing. I didn't even watched the show a lot, but my then girlfriend now wife loved the show and watched it.

Darren: They flew me first class to New York to record this record (Teenage Dream). And I got to see the girl I was dating who lived in New York. There wasn't a guide track. So I kind of decided what to do, how I wanted to do it. I made suggestions. There were a lot of choices in it that were very deliberate from me.

Darren: I even didn't like the recording that I had and ended up recording at home with a buddy a redo of the vocals for one of the songs.

What I got from the first part: Darren had a totally different experience than Kevin and Jenna. Different audition process, different recording experience for most of the Warbler songs.

[oldiesstationlover11607]

Neighbours - Josh Dun x Reader

Pairing: Josh Dun x Reader and Tyler Joseph!Best Friend x Reader

Warnings: None! Super fluffy <3

A/N: This is my first writing post ever! This came from a writing prompt where the reader ends up with Tyler but I was having a Josh day when I wrote it so it's more focused on Josh! Hope you enjoy and feedback is appreciated!!

It was early winter, two weeks from the end of the school term and our short winter break. Driving to and from school were some of my favorite moments during the week. I got to listen to anything I wanted as loud as I wanted to, which included some of my friends’ music. Parking outside the house, I got out and unlocked the door, letting my dog out. A small golden cockapoo who always jumped up on me whenever she saw me. 

“I missed you too Liberty,” I laughed and grabbed her leash, heading out to take her for a walk. My neighbor and classmate Josh always met me and took his dog Jim for a walk with us. Liberty led the way as we walked over to his house, but before we could knock on the door a white car drove past us. 

“Hey!” It was Josh, running late from school. Josh was almost never late but looking close at the car I noticed another boy was in the car, a basketball player in their year above us.

The car parked and Josh got out running over and giving Liberty a good cuddle. The other boy got out of the car, he was wearing a white basketball jersey with red writing on it, number 3. 

“Oh yeah, this is Tyler,” Josh turned back to look at the boy. Tyler. He gave me a shy wave. I’d heard about him through the grapevine, he was one of the best highschool basketball players in the region. 

“How did you guys meet each other?” I asked, knowing full well that Tyler was probably trying to use Josh for his grades. While Josh was considered cool by the jocks, he would never be seen hanging out with them. 

“Tyler came up to me in homeroom and showed me a demo he made a few weeks ago. He wanted me to play something on the kit for him.” Of course it was a music thing. Josh couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play music with people, even if the person was a jock. “I’ve actually got to set up the kit inside. Tyler, do you want to go around the block with y/n?” Tyler nodded and Josh went inside. 

“Josh has told me a lot about you,” Tyler looked forward at Liberty as she led the way. 

“Oh really?” I mutter. 

“Yep. He told me you hate jocks,” Tyler tugs on the collar of his jersey. Of course Josh told him that. It wasn’t that I hated jocks, I just didn’t trust them. Tyler was no exception. “You do know I only started playing basketball because I had no one to hang out with, right? I’ve always liked music. I’ve seen you and Josh hang out together at the music store before, you’re both so talented.” He was trying to make me like him. Tyler was a quiet boy. Yes, he was popular and a great sportsman but there was something different about him. Music was that something. Tyler wasn’t the tallest of the basketball players at our school, he didn’t have the average build, nor did he have the normal haircut of a basketball player. I’d seen him in middle school with grown out hair before he buzzed it off once he became a senior. The buzzcut worked for him, to some extent. 

“I’ve seen you too. You’re a good player Tyler, not that I care much about sports.” He laughed at that. We turned the block and started to walk back towards Josh’s house. I was alway tired the moment I got home from school. Josh and I normally talked out the day together, I wished he was there with me. 

“Thanks, y/n.” We turned into Josh’s driveway and I waved goodbye. 

After a couple months of Tyler spending Fridays and weekends at Josh’s place, we’d all become good friends. Even Tyler and I had spent some time alone, Tuesday lunchtimes we hung out in the library and worked on our projects together. 

“Y/n! You won’t believe this,” Josh ran into the library with Tyler following close behind. Josh had picked me up and spun me around in excitement. 

“What?” I laughed once I felt my feet back on the ground. This had to be good. Tyler had caught up to Josh and stood next to him with a smile on his face. They both stayed quiet. 

“What?” I urged further. 

“Do you want to tell her?” Josh turned to Tyler.

“Hmm, do you?” he responded. 

“Just tell me!” I laughed, shoving Josh away as he wrapped his arms around me once again. 

“We got a record deal,” Tyler beamed. 

“No. No way!” I looked up at Josh, who was still holding me and smiling down at me. “I told you Tyler, I told you you’re talented!” I could feel the happiness flowing through my veins. “What are we gonna do to celebrate?” 

“I’ve got work tonight but you and Ty should definitely do something together,” Josh suggested. Ty had a basketball game after school which would probably end around five and Josh started working at 4:30. The plan we’d made was for me to hang with both of them at different times that day and the next we’d all get together and listen to their tracks for their sophomore album. The perfect plan. We all sat down for lunch, hiding the food under the table so we’re not caught by the librarian, and worked on our assignments. 

“Wait, so are you guys going to drop out?” I asked Josh. Tyler was playing his game while Josh and I were sitting in his car. 

“I don’t think so. We’ll just record during the semester and then once we graduate we’ll probably tour,” he responded. Josh and I were sitting in the back seats, before we met Tyler that was where we ate lunch, in Josh’s car in the school parking lot. 

“I’d miss you if you went on tour Josh,” I sighed. He ran a hand through his curly hair and looked at me with a look I couldn’t entirely understand. “What?”

“You’re beautiful. You know that right?” I still didn’t understand what was going on. “Come here,” Josh opened his arms and I moved so I was sitting right next to him. “No matter what happens with this record deal, I will always be here for you. But I promised myself that if anything ever happened with my music I’d tell you how I really felt about you.” I stared blankly up at his hazel eyes. 

“I like you too,” I grinned before he could say anything, “if I didn’t like you I wouldn’t have let you hug me like you do.” He let out a sigh of relief and rested his forehead against mine. 

“Good. I’m gonna kiss you now.” I nodded as he placed his lips gently against mine. They were soft, warm. He cupped my jaw and tilted my face up towards his so he could reach down and kiss me. I placed my hand around the back of his neck and tangled my fingers through his curls. He groaned when I pulled away, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” Me too Josh, me too. 

“Games over!” Tyler opened the passenger door to find us still cuddling in the back seat. 

“Did you win?” I asked, still leaning against Josh. 

“Yup,” Tyler grinned.

“Of course you did,” Josh laughed as we both got out of the car hugged, him sneaking a quick kiss on my shoulder. We’d agreed to wait till the next day to properly tell Tyler what was going on, let us enjoy it for a wee bit. Ty and I walked to his car, he threw his bag in the trunk and got in the driver’s seat. 

“Where you wanna go?” he asked, pulling out of the parking lot. 

“The lookout?” Tyler and I had our own spot in Columbus, a little lookout about 10 minutes away from school. Ty nodded and handed me the aux cord. 

“So, what was up with you and Josh?” He asked as I scrolled through my phone to play some music.

“Huh?”

“You guys were acting all funny in the backseat,” he raised an eyebrow. 

“No we weren’t.”

“Dude yes you were!” Tyler laughed, “I know he likes you Pip.” Damn it Josh! Of course you tell Tyler everything!

“He kissed me,” I had to bite my lip to avoid smiling like an idiot. 

“No!” Tyler reacted like a teenage girl, “I knew it!!” I nodded excitedly as we pulled into our usual spot. “I knew you guys would end up together.”

“Sure you did Ty. But you can’t tell him I told you because we were gonna wait till tomorrow to tell you.” 

“I can’t believe he held himself back from bragging to me,” he scoffed. Tyler’s reaction was better than I thought it would be. “I can’t wait till you guys name your son Tyler.”

“What?!”

//

Please submit any requests y'all have! I love to write so let me know if you've got any!

[chibivesicle]

You just can’t win; how K.K. is a great example of a professional woman in the 21st century

This is the second in my character analysis for Kekkai Sensen, focusing on the senior female member of the team, K.K.  I absolutely love her character; she is incredibly well written and I find her to be an excellent example of the situation that many working women find themselves in as their careers advance.

K. K.’s character design is obviously inspired/derived/variation of that of Vash the Stampede with a gender swap and the willingness to kill.  I find her unique as she is a taller than normal female character, much like Milly Thompson from Trigun but with the tall and skinny versus tall and stocky (Klaus).  She has a blonde bob haircut and striking blue eye while she wears an eye patch over her right eye at all times, even at home with her family.  We don’t know when she lost/injured her eye but very much like Steven, she has a visible sign of her job as a fang hunter since they are both over thirty.  I really appreciate that Nightow visibly shows us the toll that their job takes on their physical body as well as their minds.

K.K. was first introduced when Klaus went to go play prosfair against the Beyondian mob boss who absorbs the brains of his defeated opponents.  We find her in a parking garage surrounded by a literal pile of foes defeated by her single handedly, and we also learn that her vehicle of choice is a motorcycle.  Which makes her even more cool.  Zapp has his moped, Leo has an e-bike/motorized bike, Zed a skateboard and Steven drives a standard sedan car for the most part.

Nightow makes is quite clear that according to Klaus, she is one of the strongest people he knows but of course he’ll defend her because she’s a lady.  But at the same time, she’s the person he brought with him and Gilbert.  Which in a way puts her on the same level as Steven one of the two senior Libra members whom he really does trust.

We learn that she smokes clove cigarettes when stressed out and is one of the more emotional though mature members of the team.  What I mean is that she’ll make a statement or observation that is emotional, but she isn’t overreacting, she’s instead expressing her feelings on the usually sub-optimal setting.

Our next introduction to her is with the Libra social event, where we get her first observation on the workplace.  She runs into Zapp on their way into the after work/after hours social gathering.  It seems there is some sort of power dynamic between the two of them were K. K. has the advantage over Zapp.  However, it is clear that she is in part reacting to the male dominated cabal.

By holding Zapp physically back, she is preventing him from joining the inner circle of Klaus and Steven.  Her observation is 100% for many workplace environments where men will form groups, frequently not even aware of it and create smaller groups where key decisions are made and women are absent from them.  A sort of backroom deal situation but without a backroom but maybe X activity at Y location.

Steven laughs it off (in the Darkhorse translation) calling her pugnacious which only annoys her more, but it is a losing battle.  Of course, Steven laughing at her doesn’t make it work and she drops his common nickname of scarface and notes that he’s not just a scheming bastard - but the most scheming.

Interestingly, the entire time Steven seems nervous with little sweat drops and she states that she’s the bad guy today after noticing Chain’s crush on Steven.  These entire two pages are so honest and realistic - even though this is a fictitious vampire hunter organization.

However, the party comes to an abrupt end when Leo confirms that he saw a Blood Breed and Lucky Abrams comes calling.  Hilariously, since both of them avoid him, the end up together at the 23rd Street Station.  Of course, K.K. voices her annoyance about being teamed up with ‘this’ schemer.  The anime uses ‘black-hearted’ instead and I am too lazy to determine which is the more accurate translation.  It is clear that K.K. has reservations about Steven and he is always replies with a level headed and logical reason to work together.

It is clear that K.K. has some sort of revenge/rationale waiting for the return of the Blood Breeds while Steven would rather not even have to do these sorts of things.  However, each time you go back and read or listen to their dialogue the more and more it sounds like old friends bickering and not two people who hate or dislike each other.  This is further emphasized, and will continue to be depicted this way where the two of them move completely naturally with each other as a team.

This is our first two page spread in all of Kekkai Sensen with them. Just - ah.  So good.

Two professionals at work, completely serious.  Notice how they went from their standard bickering to non-verbal actions.  Time and time again, we will see this with the two of them.  When the Blood Breed from the India Gate comes to HL, it is K. K. who first spots the possible vampire and Steven is the first one to the scene by car.  K. K. saves the girl and her mother and Steven is able to freeze everything in the last second.  He remarks he was cutting it too close while she snarks back he was looking to make a dramatic entrance.  His reply that it wasn’t like her praise dripping with abuse.  These two have a long history of working together.

She’s annoyed that they ended up together again (this has to be super common outside of the story on the pages) and we get the standard Steven line of “Now, now/ まあ,  まあ” trying to deescalate/console someone.   Yet, after their short bickering, they are down to business.  Can we just state that this entire dynamic is just awesome?  K.K. goes by the information Steven relayed to them via phone as they nervously decide how to proceed.  And even though K.K. is incorrect in her assumption, Steven isn’t a jerk about it.  They both pull out their mirrors without actually discussing it.

Teamwork.  I like good teamwork.

What is interesting is the first time that K.K. doesn’t end up with Steven.  When Leo and Chain are looking for the arms dealer who stole Zed’s special breathing apparatus, the rest of the team had to fight villains.  In that instance, K.K. is teamed up with Zapp.

At first she is thrilled to be working with Zapp.  He does an excellent job (but we all know that Zapp is 100% on the job when he’s on the job) and she praises him for a job well done and that she feels lucky to work with him.

Since this is a great way to transition to speak to him as a parent, she has concerned about his recklessness.  She’s being very honest and contemplative about this positive interaction with Zapp, when Zapp totally bales on her!  Zapp literally sprints off and thanks for taking charge and working with others to continue the clean up and she’s pissed!

What does this tell us?  That despite all of her verbal complaints and bickering, there is no way Mr. Anal-retentive would leave.  Instead, Steven would be there giving exact directions to them for the clean up while she could leisurely hang out of even take off to see her family.  This short two page spread shows us that she likely appreciates working with Steven more than she’d verbally admit.

Since after this chapter, I can’t think of another time where K.K. was paired up with anyone besides Steven in fights.  Though I can’t be 100% sure since I haven’t done a full re-read of the series yet.  But all of the big scenes in the Calamity Auction arc, they are teamed up together.  We don’t know what would have happened win the Noctova Smile arc b/c K.K. wasn’t present for the entire incident.

Another interesting short page that gives us more insight into her character is from the “Lunch” chapter where Leo, Zapp, and Zed struggle to decide where to eat.  While they are bouncing around the city failing to agree on a place to eat, Steven and Klaus are in a back alley meeting up with Inspector Daniel Law.

Law makes a dumbass mistake (again going back to her workplace gender dynamics observations) of commenting on K.K.’s physical appearance and her age.  He makes it clear that the HLPD is actively trying to snipe K.K. and he gives her a terrible misogynistic backhanded compliment that she’s got no boobs but a great shot.  Which immediately causes K.K. to fire a warning shot next to Daniel’s head.

You can’t cover that up by stating it was a compliment as Steven simply smiles and that K.K. still was able to keep it to a warning shot.  Funny how Steven is using her skills as a way to press their own advantage implying that K.K. could have simply shot him and there wouldn’t have been any recourse - since the HLPD can’t track her.

What this also shows us, is that K.K. is playing a critical support role for Klaus and Steven.  Yes, they are very powerful together, but they didn’t go into that location alone and without backup.  Since K.K. is providing it for them.  The level of trust between these three characters is amazing.  Klaus wouldn’t go to play prosfair without her nor would he meet up with the HLPD without her in a sniping position.

An important part of K.K.’s character is that she is slowly revealed to be a mother, but that it is not the key aspect of her as a character.  When writing decides that a woman needs to be primarily framed as a mother it makes me cringe since that woman should not be defined by if she has children or not.  She should be defined by her whole self and different aspects combine into this.

The first major instance of this is towards the end of volume four of the manga.  The last one shot chapter is about K.K. trying to find a birthday card for one of her sons.

Leo has been roped into trying to help her find this super obscure and random card with a character who is very popular in the K.K. household but apparently no place else.

She adorably sings the theme song for the obscure series and Leo, the most ‘normal’ of the Libra crew has absolutely no idea what she is talking about.  Even though this is a joke on her that her kid has weird taste, it also demonstrates that K.K. knows what her kids are into, showing that despite her taxing job, she gets them.

The convenience store instead becomes a set up for an awesome shoot out between K.K. and a bunch of nefarious gunmen while she smooshes Leo out of the way.

The two page spread of her flying through the air above the aisles is just great as she deadpan makes her marks.  Looking to use the mirror to see where all her opponents are etc etc. 

I just love K.K.  We also have her getting emotional and even though Leo is trying to console her, again, he isn’t judging her as she expresses her frustration.  She still needs to maintain that straight calm face but and is already concerned at how he’s growing up and wants to give her moments of childhood joy.

I really like how she regains her composure as she puts everything in context.  She knows she’s missing part of his childhood and society already puts enough pressure on her to somehow be a mom and a fang hunter and DO ALL THE THINGS.  Which, obviously, she can’t.  This single chapter is laying the groundwork for the last chapter in volume 9, Bratatat Mom, where we get a slice of her life outside of Libra.

The chapter starts with a meeting of the in house SWAT/tactical team with Libra led by Steven.  K.K. looks awkwardly nervous as she slowly admits that she can’t support the tactical team that day.  Stating personal business to not get into the specifics.

The team is annoyed since it is clear that they rely upon her and highly value her skills. She comes clean admitting that it is for parents’ day at her younger son’s school and due to work, she’s never made it to any of their open houses!  She’s upset about this and also afraid that it will impact her role in their family as being a mother.  Think about this if it were a male character.  There is no way he’d be under the this type of pressure - furthermore, there is the judgement of parents upon their peers at those who are involved in the PTA and who is too busy etc etc etc.  The parent-school dynamics haven’t changed as much they should have; with the transition of women to the North American workplace in the 1970s.  And it isn’t even that, it is also the fact that she’d like to do something for her children since they are her kids.

Steven then steps in to diffuse the situation as we’ve grown to expect from him by this point in the manga.  He looks disappointed and admits that it isn’t ideal but she can go.  She cheerfully turns to excuse herself from the meeting when Steven then turns his personal manipulation to the max and guilts her that the other men may not make it and not see their children as well.  It is amazing that the most well known bachelor of Libra is able to achieve this so well.

It works and K.K. snaps threatening to kill Steven herself.  This is his ‘black-hearted’ nature at its finest.  Thus, K.K. comes up with a compromise - she pulls out all of the stops to coordinate with Patrick to get her all the weapons possible that she could remotely operate.  We get a scene of K. K. with her loving and adorable husband who is comforting her when she told her son that she’d be at parents’ day.  I love how this entire scene shows us that despite all that she does, he chose her, and also wanted to build a family with her.  K.K. knows how to choose them!  Win for healthy relationship!

He’s the best support spouse, and one of the best examples of a female led family/household.  That man is the house husband doing support and it is little elements like this that I love how Nightow writes female characters and their close relationships.  Despite the chaos of remotely supporting Steven and his tactical team, she gets to have hard hitting emotional moments watching her son with his classmates.  He may not understand it at that time, but it means the world to her.

This also sets up another mission that is a K.K.and Steven partnership.  Yes, she’s only doing remote support until she isn’t.  She realizes that one of the other parents is a Blood Breed standing right next to her.  Just like Steven does in Day In Day Out as he looks out into the night, K.K. berates herself for trying to enjoy herself in the moment.  Living her life like a normal person.  This shows that the two of them have much more in common than they don’t - both wanting normal lives, and not allowing themselves a break or the ability to forgive themselves for turning their fang hunter brains off for a second.

Yet, she returns to her senses and gets down to business.  Her original motivation is to protect the children.  She was able to inform Steven and his team of the Blood Breed at their location but then had to deal with the one she was chatting with . . . however, this is the only time that we’ve seen Steven fighting a Blood Breed solo and he’s getting his ass slowly handed to him.  The man knows he’s at a disadvantage and so does his opponent.  Steven is always either with Klaus or K.K.

And that is where the writing for this chapter is amazing as K.K. makes her move on the Blood Breed.  She is confused when he refers to her as ‘also’ being a fang hunter giving us the clue that he’s currently fighting Steven at the moment.  Right before he’s about to engage with her, his daughter finds him wanting to bring him down for lunch with her in the cafeteria.  This lapse in his concentration gives Steven the advantage he needed to break the head off of his remote robot.  There is a nice touch of the ice on his neck where it broke it as he collapses unable to fight back in front of the children.

Thus, even though they were not aware of it, the K.K.-Steven team succeeds in the most unlikely way possible!  I really wished that the two of them would have later been shooting the shit, bickering about something, like Steven being to relaxed and K.K. ready to go and this pops up.  And then the two of them realize it was their teamwork that allowed the mission to succeed.

I think it also goes to show how much Steven relies on/appreciates/needs K.K.’s talents for him to help complete Libra’s mission in HL.  K.K. may complain about his requests but ultimately knows that he’s a solid organizer and makes good, well thought out plans for the entire team to execute.  They also know how to both annoy and motivate each other which is another asset to them as partners in missions.

I already mentioned it in my previous post about Steven and the woes of running a secret organization, it is K.K. who gets him to stop his course of action with the escaped human-nonhuman fused being from the evil pot.  No one else is able to make him pause as he lets the team argue it out until K.K. calls him out.  That look on his face - he knows she’s right and K.K. is, I think, the only other member of Libra who can get Steven to change his mind.  That speaks volumes for how much he actually respects her.  This than comes back full circle to her shooting that warning shot at Daniel Law and Steven can only laugh at Law, rubbing salt in the wound since he’s one of the few people who understands her besides her amazing husband and Klaus.

So where does all of this leave us in regards to K.K.?

K.K. is a character who fills several different roles in the series but they do not define her or make her one dimensional.

K.K. as a fang hunter - she was first introduced as clearly powerful when she was chosen to be Klaus’ escort.  One of the few members of the team who has long range strikes and therefore, support she fills a niche that no one else can do with her 954 Blood Bullet Arts.  She frequently snipes able to disable enemies and does a great job as a distraction in Get the Lock Out! Though she did almost cause Steven to lose it when she was ready and willing to break into the main office. 

With the birthday card in the convenience store shoot out, we see first hand that she’s incredibly talented. 

I’ve also pointed out that other than acting as a support sniper, the rest of the time, she’s almost always working with Steven as her teammate and it again leverages the best of their abilities.

K.K. as a professional mother - much of the anxiety and drama around her has to do with her role as a professional and a mother.  How she’s worried that she isn’t there enough for her family; that she can’t do the same things that other parents can do.  The stress of likely being judged when she does meet other parents.  Yet, we know that one of her major motivations to do her job is to protect her immediate family and the future and all other families.  And that she has a husband who feels blessed that she chose him is top tier mature adult relationships and communication as a couple.

This even comes out when Leo thinks back to all the advice the team gave him if he were in danger and alone.  She joked that she’d snipe a barista if he threatened Leo at the local coffee shop, meaning that she isn’t just a mother to her own children but that the younger team members could use a little maternal love in the absence of their own parents.

K.K. as a female professional - this is slightly different than her as a mother, though the two are intertwined.  There are different aspects of the workplace that women have to navigate and they are never easy.  If a woman is single than she pays the tax of “Oh, since you don’t have a family you can do overtime.”  if she has a family than she gets the loss of skin in the game “Oh, since you have a family, you won’t be as committed to the organization’s success.”  As you can tell there is no way to win, it is more dammed if you are or dammed if you aren’t. When she shows up for the work party, she immediately realizes that she’ll be cast as the bad guy, noting the boys club which Zapp immediately tries to join where Steven and Klaus already are.  And as intelligent and gentlemanly as Klaus and Steven are, both are completely oblivious to this dynamic that leaves her on the outside.  Thankfully, this isn’t a frequent issue within Libra itself and I will continue to state that the ability of K.K. and Steven to work as a pair only improves as the manga progresses.  That speaks volumes as to their mutual respect of each other. 

Interestingly, we don’t see a lot of her interactions with Chain - I think this is a reflections of both their age differences with Chain being in her early twenties and K.K. being in her thirties but also the fact that Chain has a female friend group in the Werewolf Bureau.  In contrast, K.K. has her family outside of Libra.  Additionally, both women have different ways of expressing their emotions as Chain likes to keep hers a bit more distant (or so she thinks) while K.K. is more likely to let them out.  It may also feed into that bit of strong women workplace dynamics where it is sometimes best to leave each other a wide birth to avoid conflict.

Lastly, K.K. as an older female character who isn’t uwu-cute - Yep, there are no uwu-cutesie-waifu women in Kekkai Sensen.  And I as a reader like it that way.  She’s an honest character, living an interesting life, contributing to protecting the balance and has all these different unique aspects to her life.  All of this comes together to make a very human character in a series where totally zany shit happens all the time.

[knightofpisces]

"love is the beauty of the soul"

tfem!thoma x ayato

in which thoma has always longed for something he's never been allowed to indulge, and ayato is the one to heal his battered heart.

. . . hurt/comfort, angst, fluff, transphobia

Thoma wanted to be beautiful from the day he was born.

He was born to be beautiful, actually. Thoma was born the prettiest little boy the small Mondstadtian town had ever seen. Really, he was the local miracle–a little bundle of joy and with bright green eyes that made your heart stop. When he looked at you, you were blessed. When he smiled at you, all your troubles went away. Everyone wanted a chance to see the little blonde missile, whose tiny feet stumbled wildly through the tall grasses of Windrise, chasing after crystalflies and Barbatos knows what else.

The day he got his first haircut, he cried. Oh, he cried and cried. He looked in the mirror and positively broke down into tiny little sobs, blubbering about how he couldn’t be the princess anymore when he played knights with his friends in the square. Thoma’s father, on the other hand, said ‘good riddance’ to that and never let him grow it out again. No son of his would be parading around as some damsel in distress. 

All Thoma could remember was running all the way up to the chapel with some clippings of his hair and breaking down in front of Barbatos’ statue until Diluc came skidding around the corner. He nearly lost his bearings. Diluc was one of the older boys he was friends with, his senior only by a year or two, and they usually played knights with his little brother, Kaeya.

Diluc knelt by his side for a few minutes, trying to make sense of things before Thoma forced his words out through itty bitty hiccups and gasps. Diluc still couldn’t seem to understand what the younger boy’s fit was about. 

“I think that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Diluc asked honestly. “You don’t have to be the princess anymore.”

Thoma just stood up quietly, brushed himself off, wiped his eyes, and left. His own strands of hair fell loose from his palm, drifting gently into the wind. He would never forget those words. If Diluc and his father said it, then they were probably right. He didn’t have to be the princess anymore, and that was a good thing.

It was a good thing, so why did it make him so sad? Why did it crush his little heart? Was it so wrong to want to be the princess?

It was, and Thoma wouldn’t indulge himself like that again for a long time to come. 

The blonde grew older, and as he did, so did his beauty. Women swooned, as did men, and the steps outside his front door were always filled with gifts of love, much to his parents’ dismay. He would always be the town’s little miracle, even as the times seemed to change, even more so when tensions between his mother and father grew tumultuous. 

Their split happened on a normal Tuesday, Thoma holed up in his room sorting herbs from his satchel, planning to go sell them at the market, when his father mounted the stairs. A few simple words, as if he were merely announcing tonight’s dinner plans, and that was that. He was leaving. He was taking his things and returning to Inazuma in a week, and Thoma was to stay home with his mother. 

Thoma asked why, of course. He stood up and stumbled down the stairs after him just to try and wrap his head around what the hell was happening. He was barely a teenager, after all. What was he expected to do when the man of the house left?

“Why not take me?”

The words slipped out, and Thoma’s father only looked at him with contempt. 

“I will not live in a house with that woman, and I will not live in a house with a son who thinks he’s my daughter.”

The words utterly blindsided the poor, confused boy. A son who thinks he’s his daughter? Thoma just stood there frozen as his father turned on his heels and left.

But why?

How?

Thoma had been so-.. so good. So why was his father saying these awful things? Thoma wasn’t a girl, he would never be a girl, he would never want something like that. It was wrong, it was insulting, but why did it hurt his heart so much? Thoma really had been good. He hadn’t wished to be a princess in a long time. He dreamt about it, sure, he thought about it, but he would never want something so… utterly ridiculous.

Boys shouldn’t want to be girls.

Thoma didn’t want to be a girl.

So why would his father ever say that?

Why was it his fault as much as his mother’s?

Thoma thought about it for a long time. News traveled fast in the small town, and it was almost like the townspeople knew of his father’s departure before he did. The boy’s chest felt heavy for a long time, though his mother seemed to shine brighter than ever. It was like a side of her he’d never seen, one weightless and free from restraint. Thoma, on the other hand, tried to forget about it all. He was admired there, he had a life, he had his friends, he had his mother. Why would he dwell on something so baseless his father said in a fit of anger? Something so stupid? Just thinking about indulging himself–about being that beautiful princess–had driven his own family away. Why was it so wrong? Why was even just thinking about wanting something so taboo?

Thoma had washed himself up on an Inazuman beach trying to find answers. A wrecked rowboat, bloody face, spinning head, and it was some kind of blessing from the archons he’d made it there alive. It was definitely one of the lower points in his life; eyes bleary and burning with salt, breaths labored by his waterlogged chest. He barely made it halfway up the hill to Kamisato Estate before his vision went spotty and he passed out in the sand. 

Thus began a friendship with a kind man, one insistent on nursing him back to health, on finding his father, on satisfying his every need. And when he couldn’t do that, he offered him a job.

Kamisato Ayato was a kind man. He was a man in possession of the same kind of beauty Mondstadtian townspeople fussed over for years. He carried himself with grace, with vigor, and a certain type of kindness Thoma yearned to witness every day for the rest of his life. Over time, Kamisato Ayato made him feel… beautiful.

And beauty was a terrifying, terrifying thing. 

Whenever Ayato neared, he clammed up. He dismissed himself, made excuses not to see him, only cleaned and tidied his room when he knew the other was out on business. He went out of his way to avoid him every day for weeks until the Kamisato couldn’t stand it. Oh, he could strangle his housekeeper for being such a slippery little weasel. It was impossible to find him, even harder to pin him down, and it was driving the man insane. 

Thoma felt like he was being driven insane by Ayato in turn. Ayato spurred on awful thoughts that made him utterly restless; awful thoughts he could never, ever indulge himself in. Ayato made him feel pretty, made him feel safe, made him feel like some princess saved by her knight in shining armor, and it made his skin crawl. Thoma couldn’t choke back those thoughts when he was around the other man. He wanted to be pretty, wanted to be beautiful, wanted to be his gorgeous princess and never leave his side. All were thoughts that instilled him with fearful nausea. Every time they spoke he felt less and less self control.

Ayato couldn’t box Thoma in until he accidentally walked in on the housekeeper in one of Ayaka’s pretty dresses. Thoma hadn’t seen him at first. Ayato was standing frozen stiff in the doorway, and he couldn’t even will himself to breathe. The sight in front of him was so… gorgeous. The long, deep red dress was an uncharacteristic style for Ayaka, but it fit Thoma’s tall, slender frame so perfectly Ayato could cry. He wanted to say something, to reach out and touch, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment. He didn’t want to scare Thoma away before he inevitably spotted him watching like a creep. 

Thoma felt so at home in that dress. Every time he so sneakily put it on he felt like his heart was mended and stitched back into his chest. He just felt so… real, so pretty, and he hated himself for it more than anything. When he finally turned and saw Ayato standing there, it was like his entire world shattered. Oh, Archons, he wanted to lay down and die right at that moment. He felt defensive, like a caged animal, and he tried to stop himself from tearing up. Fuck, it was awful. He would be kicked out, wouldn’t he? Wearing his sister’s clothes and enjoying it like some freak? He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out.

Ayato saw his silent, pleading expression, and he couldn’t even think to feel bad about what he had seen. He just stepped forward, reached, rested his hand on Thoma’s shoulder, not even hesitating when he flinched back.

“You look beautiful.”

He said breathlessly; something Thoma would never forget, but this time for good reason.

Ayato spoke those words and his eyes shot up, searching his face for any hint of hatred, any signs of disgust or resentment. Nothing. None at all. Just… pure love, reverence, like he couldn’t believe the perfect sight in front of him. Thoma felt his shoulders slouch and his body slump forward, body instinctively relaxing like he knew Ayato would be there to catch him. He was. Ayato’s palm found his cheek, his other arm wrapping around his waist as he drew the other’s trembling body close.

“I mean it, Thoma. You’re the most breathtaking princess I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

The Kamisato whispered, and Thoma just broke. His face scrunched up like he was desperately trying to will something back before he leaned against him and broke down into teary sobs. Ayato made him feel so pretty. Ayato made him feel so seen and loved it hurt.

If Ayato was here holding him, whispering sweet nothings, kissing his head, holding his face, maybe it wasn’t so wrong. 

Maybe it was okay to be beautiful.

[herespaaa]

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[freebooter4ever]

ok i shouldnt be picking on geno's 2000-2010 era photos without laughing at a few of my own...

my under shirts were all black. because i was emo or something. but yes that shirt says something about cute witches and features a pumpkin.

my favorite oversized sweatshirt that i wore everywhere in the seattle winter drizzle. im knitting bc of course.

my other sweatshirt with the school logo because i was one of Those seniors. nuri is in the center - unlike me she grew out of the fandom life though sometimes she reminisces. note my bobbed hair. i hated this haircut but my mom would nag me and tell me how terrible my hair looked long until i cut it. maybe this was her idea of being a mother without actually living with us anymore. I stopped cutting my hair the year i finally was brave enough to cut her off.

another one with nuri. im the bright blue pj bottoms that were 100% silk and i have had since i was very very young and still have to this day, i love those things. my hand looks about ready to tackle my bff there who hated photos so is hiding behind a blanket grandma sewed. note the vhs tapes in the cabinet back there. im so fuckin old.

abby and jelly bean with their 'nut sacks'. im pretty sure every kid our age in america had those jump rope for heart tshirts. rite of passage.

fast forward to 2008 painting the fence at carne*gie, i still have this jacket, i still wear it regularly. i think this is telling me i really should update my wardrobe and stop dressing like its 2010.

if you happened to go to flagstaff hill across from the burgh conservatory sometime in may 2009 and discovered a tree covered in a 10 story tall knitted scarf....i had nothing to do with that

absolutely nothing.

this red coat was My Thing. i was the red coat girl all through college. it was the first 'real' coat i ever bought because would you believe it was actually cold in pittsburgh and i couldnt just wear sweatshirts like i did in seattle. if you know where this photo was taken you also probably grew up very wealthy in connecticut like my college 2007-2009 bff who i used to go home with during the holidays and who i was very much in love with.

i cannot believe i actually left the house while wearing this outfit. and to a concert no less. a fitz and the tan*trums concert at club cafe before the band was popular and Cool. my outfit here probably brought down the general Coolness factor of the concert. I knitted that blue sport weight lace hat which maybe saves it a little. i normally did not get invited to Cool things like concerts so this particular outfit is me Trying Really Hard (and failing). I still have that blue shirt.... i use it for running now.

this attempt at layering was less atrocious than some of the others. i matched the under shirt to my earrings at least. and next to me is my favorite person from college <3 a day after this was taken my mother visited for graduation and forced me to cut my hair into a bob, subsequently ruining all my graduation photos. i also will never know if my mothers appearance at graduation made my dad decide not to come or if he truly just didnt give a shit. i would have rather had my dad there.

[eternalsimsstories]

The Pack

Previous | Next

Chapter: University

Keep on Reading.

Well, you might never know when the full moon is going to rise, even in Britechester. Five out of the six werewolves actually turned into their alter egos, except for Panagiota. I guess all werewolves are not the same. However, only Adna and Jacob can control their emotions in wolf form; Kristofer, Cornelia, and Rory can't (but they, along with Macie Pruitt and the Sanderson twins, will be mentioned in future stories coming soon).

But guess who graduated from Britechester University? It was Veronica's and Jakob Denny's oldest daughter, Adna, and her boyfriend, Jacob Volkov. Right after the graduation ceremony, Jacob got down on one knee and proposed to the future Queen of Moonwood Mills. Obviously, she said yes, and they both had to tell all of their roommates the news, starting with their son, Adrian. He was so excited that both of his parents were finally making it official. Soon, they had to tell her brother and two sisters the news, as well as everyone else.

But before they could do that, they had to get jobs. Of course, her parents were going to pay for the wedding, since her mother is the Queen. But they wanted to prove that they can be responsibile adults. So, Adna got a job at an art gallery, while Jacob became a banker.

Adrian got his haircut and proudly showed it off to his family a day before the wedding.

The wedding itself took place at Denny Castle, first in the backyard and then in the banquet hall on the top floor. Everyone was there celebrating, from Kristofer Volkov to the King and Queen of the Spellcasters. All their roommates were also there, along with all the adult werewolves in human form, Adna's mother, and her youngest brother, Zsolt. The only ones in wolf form were her father and brother, Jakov. However, they were in control of their urges and did not ruin the wedding.

Everyone had a good time. At the end of the night, before Queen Veronica presented them with a title and a new home, Adna surprised everyone by announcing that she and her family would be moving back to Denny Castle in Moonwood Mill. She had a good reason: her parents are now seniors. She and Jacob Volkov decided that they would take a honeymoon later and help out her parents with royal duties.

Adrian was glad to be back home because he missed playing with his uncle Zsolt and Grandpa Jakob.

As for Adna's and Jacob Volkov's titles, that is to be continued...

Note: There will be a poll at the end of this story about the Royal University students. I would like to know which of these sims to follow in future plots. That will be later. I would also like to encourage you to help me figure out a future storyline for these characters. Sometimes, I draw a blank when it comes to that. I do really appreciate the help from you readers.

To Be Continued...

Keep on Reading.

[eugesounds]

A Saxophonist’s Journey

I have been a full-time musician for most of my adult life. I have not gone more than a few days without playing an instrument of some sort since the summer between my junior and senior years of high school.... and that was...gulp, about 50 years ago.

I am not famous and I am not rich, but I have a lifetime of amazing memories, many fantastic friends and colleagues in the industry, and a long history of great students that I feel very fortunate to have spent time with, and have hopefully helped along on their own musical journeys.

My earliest memories are almost all related to music. My parents had an old RCA Hi-fi in our living room. It was a magical box that would come to life with a warm glow, a comforting hum, and an enticing "electronic" smell. It emitted sounds that made the whole family smile and I was a big fan of all of it. When I was 4 years old I stood in front of that console imitating Louis Armstrong. I even kept my dad's handkerchief in my front pants pocket as a prop. Hello Dolly always brought the house down for the aunts and uncles.

Growing up Italian in NJ, it's only natural that Frank Sinatra's voice became the soundtrack of my childhood. I once asked my mom if we could "turn the volume down" as Sid Mark's radio show "Friday with Frank" blared from the living room at dinner time. She looked me dead in the eye, pointed down at the floor and said "Go eat in the basement". True story, but I digress.

My mom and dad loved to dance, so their record collection was full of great LP’s from the Big Band and swing eras. I would spend hours listening to old 78’s by Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and others. And if there was someone my father admired slated to be on late-night television, he would wake me up so that we could watch them together.  I can still hear my mom saying "Arnold, just let him sleep!”. Those moments were so very special and they made a huge impact on me.

I was constantly trying to make music on anything I could get my hands on, from pots and pans to toy instruments. I'd tap out melodies on glasses full of water that were left on the table after a holiday dinner, trying to imitate something I saw on Ed Sullivan no doubt. I remember watching a half-time marching band show and then seeking out an old Maxwell House coffee can with a plastic lid to drum along.

I constantly asked my parents for any sort of toy instrument they might find and they provided me with a steady supply of plastic trumpets, small keyboards, slide whistles, and harmonicas. They made the mistake of getting me a snare drum one Christmas, but later came to their senses and allowed me to order a beautiful wooden Hohner recorder with a few leftover books of Green Stamps (look it up kids). By the way, the snare drum is long gone, but I still have the recorder.

There is one event from my childhood that looms larger than any other and accounts for why I chose saxophone as my main instrument when I had the chance. When I was 7 years old my mom sent me to get a haircut at "Uncle Lou's". Lou Cipriano was my godfather and a barber by trade. I'd walk over to his shop that was about a half mile from our house and he'd cut my hair. On this particular occasion I was walking home with a "fresh do" and happened upon what must have been a Memorial Day parade. 

As I made my way closer to the marchers, a magical sound caught my ear. I inched closer to catch a glimpse and stood mesmerized as a line of army veterans wearing period fatigues, complete with the flattish, "dough-boy" helmets, and brown boots laced up to just below the knee, approached. They were playing (what I now know as) curved soprano saxophone and I still get chills remembering that moment. It was as if the Universe was saying "Oh, you like that? Well that's just fine because you will be doing that exact thing for a very long time".

The distinct sound of those horns leapt into my ears and traveled directly to my core. I vividly remember how stunning, interesting, and beautiful I thought the saxophones were, and I knew instinctively that I could play that instrument if given the chance. I'm sure I stood in awe for many minutes until the men passed out of earshot. But that sound, on that day, has stayed with me my whole life.

A few years later my family moved from New Jersey to Massachusetts and the public school there had a robust music program. So mom, dad and I visited Robinson's Music on a Saturday morning to pick out an instrument. Mr Robinson pointed out the trumpets, clarinets, French horns and his favorite "The slide

trombone!". But there was not a chance in hell that I was leaving the store, on that day, without a saxophone.

I had wonderful teachers and mentors along the way and I enjoyed my time in concert band, marching band, and jazz band. They are some of my most cherished musical memories and I remain in touch with many buddies from those days, some of whom still make music an integral part of their lives. That's a huge testament to our teachers who encouraged us at every level.

As I mentioned up front, there was a short time between my junior and senior year of high school that I just put the horn down and was unsure if I wanted to play any more. But who was I kidding? My academics were woeful (I still don't get math) and music was one constant in my life. I distinctly remember my dad taking me aside that summer and saying "You want to quit? It's up to you. But God gave you a gift." And that really struck a chord with me as I was reminded of those soldiers marching by all those years ago.

I decided to attend the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. I never desired to teach in a school system and instead opted to teach privately and pursue a playing career. You've probably never heard of me and that's fine. I have a wonderful studio full of students and get to play with a bunch of great musicians in and around the Dallas area where I make my home. 

With all of the distractions available today, I am happy to report that people of all ages still have the desire to learn saxophone, often after experiencing a musical moment like the one I had. I have a small YouTube channel where I post videos about once a week. I don't edit or add any special effects and almost every one was done in “one-take” so you’ll hear some goof ups now and again. I simply try to present that same, pure sound that I heard when I was 7 years old outside of Uncle Lou's barber shop, with the hope that I might encourage folks on their own musical  journey. 

[withahappyrefrain]

sending you lots of love, abby. i'm in college right now, a year behind my original batchmates (i'm supposed to be in 4th year/senior year right now, but stopped before 12th grade because of the pandemic). Some of my former batchmates already have their own businesses, got engaged, have/are expecting kids, are studying in better unis than be, etc. etc.

and here i am in a city-run college, studying my ass off for a degree i didn't even expect to take up in the first place. i don't pity myself a lot but sometimes, seeing their facebook posts and stories makes me just wanna sigh.

i also kinda envy them for being so... carefree. over here it's typical for one to stay with their parents until they graduate, or have their own job, and my parents are pretty strict so i don't go out very much, and i've never really experienced like... i know it's weird, but i never experienced what it's like to go to a club, or a party-party, or like a birthday party without my parents in the same venue.

it's kinda draining to be thinking about what i've missed in life, but sometimes thinking about it and having a good cry makes me feel even just a little bit better every day.

i hope you get a big hug and lots of love, and that your pillow's cold when you sleep, and that you can get your favorite food tomorrow. lots of love <3

Awww thank you! We really are going through it huh 😭

You have plenty of time to experience things! There was a lot I didn't do until I was out of college.

I did get a big hug from my husband when he came home from work (he also told me next time I find myself in a similar spiral, to just wake him up and he'll take the day off from work). I also got to have some chicken tenders and get my haircut soon, so it's shaping up to be an okay day!

[pics-and-fanfics]

@iamlokisgloriouspurpose I JUST GOT HOME!

I had so much fun, and my feet hurt and I don’t think I’ll have a voice tmrw.

Can’t believe I almost didn’t go bc I started my day out shitty bc of a fucking haircut

Anyways, I would send a video, but no thanks bc all you can hear is me screaming 😭

I was dancing the whole time, and I made a new friend and one of my senior friends won a dance off!

I had so much fun, it was totally worth it