#May is motorcycle Awareness Month

[ijustwant2ride]

Steal these Memes! May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

May is Motorcycle Safety Awarness Month! It is important to get the word out to your non-riding friends and family!

[jensthwa]

i was made for lovin' you (PSH x reader)

part of the love's an uncharted path universe ★.

SUMMARY:

In an attempt to grasp at his youth, Seonghwa buys a motorcycle despite not knowing the first thing about them. When it inevitably breaks down, he has no other option that to ride it to a mechanic shop and, after following a sweet hum, he’s faced with the life-changing (and predictable) fact that, maybe, what he needed after all was not a motorcycle. Maybe, just maybe, what he needed was you.  

PAIRING: new bike owner!seonghwa x afab mechanic!reader.

GENRE: strangers to lovers.

WORD COUNT: 20k.

WARNINGS: SMUT ☽ (MINORS DNI) attempt !!! at comedy, dual pov (both seonghwa's and reader's), wooyoung being a little shit for the umpteenth time + jongho, yeosang AND hongjoong (omg), that feeling you get when your youth is ending, midlife crisis! (or so yunho says), a loooot of work related/motorcycle plot, flirting, seonghwa losing his rizz, reader is adopted so that may count as a trigger warning for some of you, shitty exes, crying a bit but not really, pet and nicknames (ghost, dear), they almost get caught in a thunderstorm, lots of tension, making out, oral ( f & m reciving ), descriptions of the female anatomy, floor AND protected sex ( wrap it up pls ), the ending leads straight up to the next story on this universe so be aware of that.

NOTES: hello everyone! after almost a month in the making, here you have it! THIS IS PART OF THE SHOW AND TELL UNIVERSE but can be read as a stand alone, although there's some characters and scenarios you can understand better if you read the last three parts (you can find them in my masterlist). this really didn't need to be so lenghty but it turned out that way for some reason (i'm the mayor of yap town). this is 100% self indulgent, as all fics should be, and i think i've re-read it so many times that if you find a typo or something that just doesn't make sense, you can blame it on english not being my first language i guess lmao. i hope you enjoy it and if you do feel free to send to my askbox/reblog/type in any feedback or thoughts! <3

POSTED: september 02 2024.

permanent taglist: @hotteokkay, @potatomountain, @fairylover68, @e3ellie, @alsomimi

masterlist.

Seonghwa is proud to be the type of person who can just tell what's going on after assessing a situation for a few seconds. 

His intuition is something he can rely on and he almost never misses the mark when he makes predictions that he doesn't share with anyone else in case it brings anyone down. 

As he watches San kissing his girlfriend's cheek and then stare at her like a lovestruck idiot, his mouth quirks up a bit and he quickly hides it behind the soda can he's been nursing for the past couple of minutes. 

He's happy it finally happened. 

He's also a little butthurt that he didn't get the chance to fully get to know her first. 

They've been together for a few months now, maybe four if he recalls correctly. Back then, he danced with her at Wooyoung's and San’s apartment like he didn't know one of his closest friends had been in love with her since they both were in highschool. 

He didn't tell anyone, but a part of him did it to see if it would prompt a reaction. And, from what he was told by Wooyoung, it did. 

She is his type of person, though. And when he texted her a few days later and she sent in a non-detailed voice note briefly explaining what went down after they all left the party and she stayed behind to help her drunk best friend, he told her he understood and that he kind of already knew. 

Or at least, he expected it. 

He also explained to San that, although his intentions with his girlfriend (before she was his girlfriend) were mostly genuine, he’s obviously not in love with her. 

After all, they only met that one time and now, back in San and Woo’s shared apartment for what feels like an overdue reunion after months of busy schedules and adult life, he can assure them both with a nod and smile that he is, indeed, happy for them. 

He treasures admiration for those who are able to find love in this modern age, anyway. 

Now there's two couples in the group. Seonghwa has never been the type of guy who chases relationships and has a goal set on when and how to get married. He simply exists and welcomes the opportunities life gives him as they come. 

That's how he got his job at Room for More. His professor gave him a recommendation letter after finishing the last presentation of his career and suggested he try his luck at his colleague’s company. 

And now he's actually doing what he studied to do and he's loving it. Working in interior design and fighting minimalism while he's at it? 

Incredible. Life could not be better. 

Kind of.

As rare as those types of opportunities are, he truly believes it is way easier to find a niche profession people are actually comfortable with than it is to find love in modern society. 

Life might give you your dream job out of nowhere, but it can also take away the opportunity of finding a partner you can celebrate your success with. 

He never even told his friends when he got the job. Only Hongjoong, who then passed on the word to the rest of the group and, after they all congratulated him for it, they quickly moved on to their tesis and focused on not letting their last year of university eat them up while they were at it. 

Except for Jongho, he very much had a few months left to ignore the unavoidable adulthood period he was about to suddenly enter his senior year. The rest of them, minus Hongjoong, had the right to grasp as much as they could of the freedom of only being weighed down by exams and not by other obligations like rent and bills. 

Wooyoung and San’s lease is being paid by their parents, so they don't really count. 

And Hongjoong lives with his bandmates in a little apartment above the rehearsal space provided by a lovely grandma who treats them all like they are her sons, so he doesn't really count either. 

Seonghwa feels like, in the span of a year, he took a whole step forward while everyone else is still enjoying their youth. Now, he has presentations and meetings with clients he needs to worry about. 

Love is not his top priority, not that it ever was, but now it barely crosses his mind. 

He just wants to stay cool and young for a few more years before giving in completely into feeling like an adult. 

So, naturally, what's the first idea that popped in his mind a few weeks ago when thinking about the inescapable passage of time? 

That he should definitely be a little more irresponsible with his finances. Why not? He's in the perfect period of his life where he's allowed to make a mistake without the fear of eternal judgment by a superior being. 

The superior being happens to be his mother, of course. Who else would it be? The woman could make a God shake in their shiny boots and silence them with a single scowl. 

She's all the way back in his hometown, though and she's really rooting for him to make it big in the city. 

Surely, she wouldn't mind if he bought a motorcycle to help him commute faster to his appointments, right? 

Well, he's about to find out any day now.

Looking out of the window that looks to the street, Seonghwa can see his new acquisition parked and sparkling under the streetlamp and the smile that it brings to his lips it's big enough for Yunho to bump him with his hip and lean against the window sill as well. 

“Who's making you smile like that?” he asks, looking away from Seonghwa and following his line of sight till it reaches the beautiful Bonneville he just got on a great deal with a guy who wanted to get rid of it. 

The auction post said that it was because it looked too vintage and the owner wanted to upgrade to something more ‘modern looking’. 

A fool, he thought. 

Because to him, this bike checks all his marks: it is modern enough that in case he needed to get any parts for it, it wouldn't make him lose his mind in the process. But also, it has that vintage, nostalgic, old film feel and look to it that is just right up his alley. 

He loves it. 

Huh, maybe he did find true love after all. 

And after breaking open his savings, Seonghwa managed to get a hold of it without financially ruining himself. Only a bit. 

He didn't tell any of his friends about it, maybe that's why Yunho whistles after he checks it out. 

“Now who's riding that baby?” 

“Me,” Seonghwa smiles, turning to his friend who, as the response dawns on him, drops his jaw and lets out an amused chuckle “What? That's my bike!” 

“Are you being serious?” 

“Why would I lie to you?” He returns, softly. 

A bit passes and then Yunho turns to everyone else scattered around the living room. 

“Guys, Seonghwa is having an early mid-life crisis and bought a motorcycle!” 

Yeosang gasps “Ain't no way…” 

“Hwa? A motorcycle?” Wooyoung hollers, louder than everyone else “What's next? Tattoos?!” 

Oh, for the love of God. 

Maybe there's a reason he didn't tell anyone until now. Everyone gathers around the window to look at it like children at a zoo and he takes a step back, sitting on the arm on the couch, a subtle smile on his lips. 

The only person that turns to him is San’s girlfriend, smiling proudly like he just won the lottery or something. 

Damn, she really is his type. 

“Are you happy?” She asks and it tugs at his lonely heart strings like crazy. 

He pushes through, nodding and shrugging a bit, dismissing his feelings for the final time. It's not really her, he reminds himself. It's the thought of having someone in his life that treats him the way she treats San. 

“Sure am,” he murmurs “My bank account? Not so much.” 

She laughs and Jongho turns to him at that “Are you an old man with debts now? Noooo,” he pouts “Who am I going to ask for bail money now?” 

Gyuri, Wooyoung's ex-girlfriend who somehow manages to stay friends with him, scoffs “You've never been to jail, kid.” 

“But he's the first person on my emergency contact list for that!” 

And just like that, they all pull away from the window and back into their seats to discuss the reasons why Jongho would end up behind bars. 

Being annoying seems to be winning. 

Seonghwa is glad to take the attention off of him. This way, he can't be caught staring at the way Mingi’s girlfriend sits on his lap and nuzzles her nose against her boyfriend’s neck. This way, the sigh he lets out when he catches San whispering sweet things into his girl’s ear gets lost amidst pointless banter and giggling. 

He shouldn't feel envious. 

But somehow he ended up wearing a green short-sleeve today, so it checks out. 

“Important client. Wants to renovate their whole space, his apartment and his office.” 

His boss is excited. It makes him smile as he stares at her with his hands behind his back, like he usually does when he receives instructions. 

“He loved your work, I showed him the photo studio you helped with last month and requested you specifically. He said that he feels trapped in a box every time he gets to work and everytime he returns home, so… He wants you to lead the project,” she smiles, tapping her manicured nails against her desk and cocking her head to the side “Congratulations, kid, you got your first big commission coming.” 

“Thank you so much,” he bows, his body bending out of pure gratefulness and instinct “I'll make sure to run everything by you accordingly, boss.” 

“Well, I'm expecting a report in two days.” 

“Two days?” 

“Mhm. He wants to meet with you this afternoon… In four hours, exactly. I already sent you an email with the details,” she gets up from her desk, extending her hand towards him and he rushes to shake it “You're doing the initial assessment today, alone. Everyone else has something going on.” 

Fuck. 

“Of course,” he's worried and anxious, but he makes sure none of it shows as he gives her hand a firmer shake before letting it go “I'll do my initial research in the meantime, then.” 

She nods and dismisses him with her hand. 

He stresses the whole time he looks up the name and company of this new client. It seems like a serious business, not the kind that wants to reject minimalism especially when the nation's professional aesthetic runs on it. 

It’s a modern tech silicon valley run by, what he's able to gather, a very rich family his new client is part of. There's a picture of them, smiling at an event, looking like the nightmare of working class people. 

He tends to keep his opinions on chaebol’s at bay (Yunho is his friend and he’s rich, so he can't really voice what he thinks so freely anyway) but the fact that they contacted his company, an interior design business with barely any recognition amongst their competitors, is both surprising and concerning. 

He clicks an article where his new client is featured. He's the heir of his family's empire, a tech savvy himself and he can tell, from the way they framed his answers, that he is well media-trained. 

Seonghwa has no name for himself. Why would he request him? He's not so sure the ambiance he helped to create in a mere photo studio is what is granting him this opportunity. 

His intuition is telling him, as he clicks for his initial research to print, that there must be an ulterior motive. 

But he's going to embrace the chance of securing his rent money either way. 

He just hopes his hair is presentable enough when he gets there. The helmet he bought is really not helping, the wind that somehow gets into it as he cruises through the streets doesn't help either.

Wanna know what else adds up to his problems today? The engine sounds weird. 

It sounds fucking weird. 

At a red light, Seonghwa lifts up his visor and tries to figure out what the hell is going on as much as he can. 

He's too green for this. Too new to this world. 

Would his mother scold him if she finds out he lied about doing a thorough research about the bike world before investing in one? 

He looks at his watch. He has time to spare, an hour and a half before the meeting takes place. 

Before he can fully make a decision, his body weight is making him turn into a street he doesn't know that well. But he's sure he saw a repair shop on the way to work today. 

Or was it just a body shop? Maybe he imagined it and the sudden panic he feels rising and darkening his cheeks under the visor is convincing him he's right. 

When he sees the floatable mascot waving in the wind, he lets out a sigh of relief. 

Pulling up, he sees a few cars with their hood open and a few new, modern bikes to the side, so he parks a few meters from them and when he turns off the engine and gets down from his -apparently- damaged new acquisition, he feels like he can finally breathe. 

No, scratch that, he takes his helmet off and then he's able to breathe. 

When he scans the place, there's not a soul in sight. 

Until he hears someone humming. It's a song he heard before, he can't quite put it together by the melody but it sounds like something he used to enjoy when he entertained the idea of joining Hongjoong's band all the way back in first semester of college. 

Something with heavy guitars, which kind of fits the place’s vibe. Looking around, he swears to himself he's trying to find the source of the humming.

After all, he doesn't have much time to take in the place.

But he does anyway. 

When he steps deeper into the shop, he feels like he's been teletransported into a decade he never got to experience, into a culture that is not his to experience in the first place. 

It's like a Sons of Anarchy set, something he would see in an indie two thousands movie, maybe. There's a lot of stuff laying around, an organized chaos he guesses he can attribute to the nature of this kind of job. 

But there's also a lot on the walls, aside from the usual tools hanging from it that look worn out there's posters and the Harley Davidson logo plastered at least five times in shirts, hats and jacket applique patches. 

He thinks the walls can be painted a new, muted color instead of the sort-of bright blue and beige they have going on. 

Focus. What the hell. 

Shaking his head, he follows the sound of the voice until he reaches the back of the shop. There's what it looks like an office, maybe a reception? With a door that's wide open and seems to lead to a storage he doesn't need to get in to. 

There, on her knees, he sees the source of the sound: A girl. 

A beautiful, beautiful girl. 

With her hair out of her face and overalls that seem too loose on her frame. 

Is his heart okay? It feels like it stopped beating. 

And then the beating comes back in full blast, goosebumps on his skin reminding him to speak up. Clearing his throat softly, he does. 

“Hello?” 

“Oh, shit,” she drops whatever she's working on, stops writing something down on a notebook that looks like it's about to run out of space “You fucking scared me!” 

“I can… see that. I'm sorry.” 

“Did you float all the way down here? Fucking Christ,” she mumbles something under her breath, getting up from her position and leaning into the desk in a way Seonghwa will probably remember forever. He gulps “What can I help you with, Ghost?” 

She's breathtakingly beautiful and he, who's usually smooth with words and random interactions, stammers out his response “H-hey, yes I… I'm Park Seonghwa,” he starts, smiling a bit “I was hoping there was someone here who can help me with my bike?” 

She looks around and he assumes she's looking for someone until he sees the corner of her lip curving up a bit “As I said, what can I help you with?” 

Did he already fuck this whole thing up? 

“Oh! I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't— I mean that's not what I…” her smirks widens, he suddenly remembers he's running out of time so he gets it together “I just bought a motorcycle and I'm sure the engine is not supposed to sound the way it's sounding so I thought I could use someone taking a look?” He gets out as fast as he can and the stranger claps her hands in a way that makes him take a step back. 

She intimidates him. Just a little bit. 

“First time owner?” She asks but he's sure she already knows. 

Chuckling nervously, Seonghwa nods “What gave it away?” 

“Your gear,” she simply states, getting out from behind the desk and into the garage space, moving swiftly through it like she owns the place. Damn, does she own the place? “You're barely wearing any. I get it, it's stuffy,” she turns over her shoulder to smile at him “It'll grow on you.” 

“More like I'll get used to it, I feel like.” 

“Yeah,” she rounds a car, tapping the hood of it and taking a pause as she scans the front of the place “That's what I said.” 

That's definitely not what she said. 

He's not sure if she's being rude or merely sarcastic, but he shouldn't be enjoying it the way he is. What drags him out of it is the way laughs when she sees his bike “This one?”

Concerning. Danger. Why is she laughing?! 

“Y-yeah.” 

“I don't get to see this type of bike often. Damn, she's beautiful.” 

He smiles, taking down his worries a notch “Yeah, I got a great deal for it. The guy said he wanted something like that instead,” he points at the one right next to his “Said he wanted something that looked out of Terminator. I didn't have the heart to tell him that they used a Harley Davidson for the movies.” 

“I'm guessing he meant Robocop?” 

“Maybe.”

“What an idiot,” she sighs, inspecting his bike closely “Not you, Park Seonghwa, the guy who sold you this. Key.” 

Key? Oh, right, the key. He tosses it to her and she catches it with expertise. 

“Well, thanks for clarifying that.” 

She laughs again, taking his helmet that's resting on the seat and putting it down on the floor as she straddles the bike “You're welcome,” she starts it, revs the engine a few times and then grimaces in a way that makes Seonghwa’s heart drop to his ass “Okay, Ghost, please tell me you have time to spare today.” 

“I actually don't,” he takes a few steps, worried frown on his face that prompts another sigh from her “I have a very, very important appointment in…” he checks his watch “In an hour that I really, really need to get to and— Is it that bad?” 

“No! No, not at all, I'm just better with cars than with bikes but, uhm… My brother is coming back in around fifteen minutes?” She offers and with the scowl on his face, she seems to backtrack “Listen, Park Seonghwa, why don't you leave your number with me and we can get this fixed by the end of the day. You can come by to pick it up or we can drop it to you early, tomorrow.” 

“Would you? Oh, my God,” he lets out another nervous laugh “That would be amazing, actually.” 

“Yeah, it's probably just the chain tensioner that needs an adjustment. Nothing's wrong with the engine as far as I can tell but that's why I want the guy who specializes in this type of thing to check it out.” 

“Your brother.” 

“Exactly,” she nods, turning it off and getting off as quickly and if Seonghwa was a little less concerned that he might've waisted his money on an expensive motorcycle, he would've noticed the proximity and the way she looks him over  with a curious glint on her eye “So, Park Seonghwa, what's your number?” 

She takes a step to the side and offers him her phone after unlocking it. He reacts to that. 

“Oh, yeah, sure.” 

He doesn't notice the big smile she offers him either. He doesn't have time. He enters the digits fast and checks over them two times before saving the contact information and returning the phone. 

Checking his watch once again, he curses under his breath and looks at his baby with desperation, begging, praying that he doesn't have to spend a fortune on it. 

“I really have to go.” 

“I can see that,” she returns his words from before, smiling and leaning to rest her weight on the hood of the car she tapped earlier “Good luck with your, uh…” she looks him over one more than and this time he notices it, blushing like a teenager for some reason because of it “Business meeting?” 

The crossbody bag he's wearing probably gave him away, huh? 

“Yeah, yes. Thank you so much for all your help… Ian?” He reads the nametag on her overall and immediately thinks it is an unconventional name for a girl, but doesn't add anything about it “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

“I get it, you're grateful, now leave.” He catches on that she's pretending like his presence bothers her so he can hurry, which he's actually grateful for. 

It occurs to him that he could stare at her forever like an idiot if she didn't. 

“Okay, bye. Please tell me if I have to, uh, rob a bank or something to cover the cost.” 

She laughs again and it sounds pretty this time. 

What the fuck. 

“Sure,” she nods and he takes a few steps backwards until he's about to turn and then he hears her voice again, so he doesn't but he keeps walking “It's Y/N, by the way.” 

“Huh?” 

“My name is Y/N, Ian is my brother.” 

His heart beats loudly and he can't help but smile as wide as he possibly can “Ah, that makes more sense.”

“Goodbye, Park Seonghwa!” 

He finally turns and then screams back “Goodbye, Y/N!” as he's hurrying to raise his hand and call on a taxi who just passed the entrance like divine intervention, placed perfectly just for him. 

He misses the sudden blush on your cheeks because he's already in the cab by the time you reach the garage’s door to glance at the beautiful man one last time.

Seonghwa is right on time. With a few minutes to spare, actually. 

The building looks even more modernized than in pictures. He can even see some workers remodeling an office he passes on the way to the… third? Main desk he has to go to. 

It's a very big company and he can see the silicon valley aspect of it all once he notices the few different uniforms everyone is wearing. It seems like the building is one big, creative space and he likes it, but it does feel a little cold in a sense. 

“I'm looking for Mr. Kim? I have an appointment in… five minutes with him, I was sent from—”

“Room for More. Park Seonghwa is here.” The lady at the reception doesn't spare him a glance as she talks through her headset and he has to blink a few times, bowing briefly when she points towards the elevator to his right “Floor sixteen, the only big office on the floor.” 

“Thank you—” 

“Next!” 

Turning back, he sees there's some people lined up behind him and he quickly moves out of the way and towards the elevator that drops him, two minutes later, into the sixteenth floor. 

As he walks towards the big doors at the end of the hall, he feels so out of place his armpits start sweating even though it is a cold day and the heating is barely on. 

There's a few cubicles, glass separating them from the hall and, in consequence, forcing him to glance a few times out of curiosity. The uniforms and creativity that he saw downstairs is lost and all he can see is the nightmare he had once, when he thought he would end up working in a similar space: men in suits and women in pencil skirts typing away and printing reports he is never going to understand. 

Maybe that's why he's a bit surprised when he gets to Mr. Kim’s office and he's waiting by the door with a kind of ironed three piece suit and a few hairs out of place, toothy grin and open arms. 

“Mr. Park Seonghwa, thank you so much for taking the job!” 

He moves in to give him a brief hug he doesn't really get to reciprocate before he's moving away and into his office. 

“It's, um, a pleasure,” he stammers out, following him “Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Kim— Wow.” 

“I know, I know,” his client sighs as he takes a box and throws it to the side of his desk. The space is a mess and both of them grimace at the sound of something breaking inside the cardboard “This is why I recruited you. I tried to do something myself and ended up with… Whatever this is.” 

Looking around, Seonghwa is able to see what he means. The walls are mismatched and there's an unfinished design on the one to his left. Someone started painting a tree and gave up after sketching out a few branches. 

“And please call me Soohyun. Everyone here already calls me Mr. Kim and it makes me feel like my father,” he adds, sitting down on his desk chair and pointing to the one in front of it “That's my sister’s work. She tried to help me but broke one of her nails trying to get the cap off a painting tube so… She left me with this mess.” 

Seonghwa smiles, sitting down in front of him and getting his sketchbook out of his bag. Seemingly excited, his client rests his arms on the desk and grins at him, expectantly. 

He seems a little childish, not like the guy he studied earlier today. He looks younger than what he actually is like this, in a space that mimics what Seonghwa picks up like impatience and boredom, maybe the desire of breaking free of a corporate jail. 

Now, he understands why he contacted Room for More. 

“So, Soohyun… What do you want me to do for this space?” 

He spends the rest of the day in the middle of the mess, getting to know Soohyun’s vision and learning about the company as he helps to pile up the boxes laying around and drawing different ideas down. When he tries to talk about a possible budget, the man silences him and tells him not to worry about it. 

The pretty girl he met earlier crosses his mind one time, when Soohyun asks him if he can stay later than anticipated to give him an excuse to get out of what he says it's about to be a very boring and pointless meeting. 

Her image, your image makes him smile and he wonders, for a second, what the hell are you doing with his bike. 

And if he gets to see you again. 

Your brother comes back like a whole two hours later, so you're grateful you didn't push your new client to waste fifteen minutes of his, apparently, very busy day. 

“He said he got a great deal for it?” you nod “This one is not even that old, I'm sure they still make them!” 

You shrug and your brother sighs.

“Maybe he got scammed.” 

“I didn't ask but I think it started making that noise today because he seemed… alarmed,” you tell him and Christian pushes his hair back before taking the key out of your open palm “He didn't stay because he had a business appointment or something. He looked very laid-back, though, not rich at all, so don't you dare overcharge him for this.” 

“Oh, so you liked him.” 

Rolling your eyes, you turn to open the hood of the car you're supposed to be working on instead of giving away information he should've listened to if he didn't tend to walk out mid-shift “Yeah, we're actually getting married next week.” 

“Well, that means I can dispute getting the whole garage once dad goes away.” 

You let out a groan but you smile a little as you try and remember where you left off last night. 

“The only way he can go away is if he's dead, Christian,” you remind him “And he's going to outlive both of us.” 

“Of course he is.” 

You're not sure if your dad has a will at all. You're not his real children after all, so If he does you're not sure you're included either. 

It's not hard to tell you're adopted, but you've known Christian since before it was decided you two would share a family and even a last name. 

You grew up together, the adoption home treated both of you decently enough so you two never struggled as much but the children your age were a different story entirely. They used to tug at your hair and push you to the ground during group activities and the only one who was brave enough to make them stop was Christian.  

So, when your dad showed up at the adoption home and picked him out of the hundred children, he told him he didn't want to go anywhere without you. 

Sure enough, your dad took one look at your frightened little face, hiding behind Christian like a coward, and filled out the paperwork twenty minutes later. 

You remember gaping at the director, waiting for him to do something about this six feet tattooed guy in his late thirties wanting to take you both away from the only home you ever knew, but you're grateful the system didn't give two craps about children back in the day. 

Not that it gives a crap about them now, but at least they're a little more careful with just handing out kids like that. 

Because it could've gone terribly wrong. You were sure, at eight years old, your hand grasping the seatbelt on the back seat of your new dad’s car, that it was about to go terribly wrong. 

But he turned out to be nothing but a kind, hardworking (with an amazing credit score, no criminal record and steady income), widowed man who was looking to fulfill his late wife’s dreams of having a family and someone to leave their business to. 

After all, she was the one who built the shop from the ground up. You desperately needed to know more of her and your dad made sure to let you know how amazing she was in every aspect. 

She became someone you looked up to, even if you never really knew her, maybe that's why you ended up working at the shop as well. 

And yet, you still don't think it belongs to you. Ian is the one your dad wanted to begin with, you're just an added bonus. 

You're not sure you want it, either. 

But there's not much you know outside of it. Your time in school was great, no one bullied you anymore and the tough skin you developed out of nowhere cushioned the typical jokes that kids and teenagers are apparently programmed to make. 

You never made fun of anyone with ill intentions, so you're not sure how true that statement is. 

Either way, you kind of know where they were coming from. You weren't particularly exceptional at any subject but you never got in trouble for anything either, so you just kind of floated in everyone's orbit until you graduated, never belonging to any specific group of people or participating on any extracurriculars to help you maintain your barely there friendships after graduation. 

This shop is truly all you got. And the family that comes with it, of course.

Your dad coughing in the back and the sound reaching your ears even when the sound of Park Seonghwa's damaged motorcycle is right next to you, reminds you that the spending every second of your teenage years and early adult life learning all you could about how to fix a car was worth it. 

“Fucking chain tensioners.”

Smiling, you turn your head to your brother and he's already working on it “So it was the chain tensioner?” 

“Yeah,” he wipes the sweat off his forehead “it's always the fucking chain tensioner with these things.” 

You don't tell him you already knew that. 

“So you could get it fixed today?” 

“Yeah, yeah. He said he's coming back tonight?” 

“Oh, I kind of suggested dropping it off tomorrow so I'm not sure…”

“Y/N!” he scolds immediately and all you can give him in return is an innocent smile “I'm not dropping off shit tomorrow.” 

Turning back to the car, your smile grows into a cheeky one. 

“I never said you would do it.” 

He scoffs “If this is your way of flirting with people, I can see why you never got far with anyone befo— What the fuck?” 

Jaw slack, holding the greasy towel you sent flying into his direction a second ago, he throws it back and it lands by your feet. 

“Did I lie?” 

“Stop being an ass or the next thing I'm throwing your way are my bedazzled pliers.” 

Your dad’s voice behind you puts a stop into the petty and pointless bickering “Well, don't, I worked hard on those,” you smile at him and Ian all but sulks before returning to the task at hand “I expect you both to be done on whatever you're working tomorrow, by eight. We have dinner with the Lee’s.” 

Ah, dinner with your dad’s closest friends. Usual Tuesday shenanigans, of course, but it doesn't stop the nervous bubbling inside of you. 

You pray Deokhee can't make it (he rarely shows up) but you mutter out an okay in response even if you don't feel like going anyway. 

Nodding, he quickly looks over on what you're both doing before disappearing into the back of the shop again. You look down at your toolbox and find the bedazzled pliers your dad gave you as a part of your fourteen birthday gift with a tiny, grateful smile. 

The eternal loop of working in the same usual five, fixable problems on the cars that people drop off at the shop sets in afterwards. And, for the rest of the afternoon, you keep stealing glances at the Bonneville and wondering what type of man its owner is. 

You've always been drawn to pretty faces, even if it costed you your sanity only a few years back. Not that Christian or your dad or anyone else knew about it. 

The little secrets you keep give you some sense of identity, it sets you apart from the oil changes and calluses on your hands and they remind you of the brief aspirations you once had outside of all of this. 

When you dreamed of belonging to someone else and not just this family business, someone who you thought used to get you before he shattered your heart into a million pieces.

Deokhee thought cheating would not affect you.

Why? Oh, maybe because your edges were worn and rough and you've been through worse stuff before. 

What's worse that getting abandoned and picked out as an afterthought later in life?

Being abandoned and treated like an afterthought by the guy you wasted your teen years obsessing over, probably. 

Nothing breaks like a heart or whatever the song says. 

And, to his advantage, he knew you'd keep calm and collected and accepting of his ways because he never promised you the life you imagined for the both of you, even after giving yourself to him multiple times. 

Even after he told you how amazing you were. 

Even after he whispered how lucky he was to have you, hushed and hurried at the backdoor of his house that last time before he broke it off. 

Before he told you he found someone else. 

So you know wondering is a bad idea. You should not wonder about a client, at that. How unprofessional of you, how immature. 

But there was a spark this afternoon you never felt with anyone else. He was brave enough to joke around, even when you did try your best to intimidate him and lost tragically at one glimpse of his pretty smile. 

What's so wrong in indulging in a fantasy no one will ever know about? Heavens know you need one to keep you from smashing the wrench on the windshield of this old, ungrateful, misbehaving Chevrolet that's proving to be more difficult than any other car you've ever worked on before. 

It's only at ten after seven that you're allowed to think about Park Seonghwa without the guilt brought on by delusion. 

“There, fixed,” your brother says and, after starting the bike again, the noise is gone “Call your future husband and tell him to pick it up, I want to meet him.” 

Huffing, you reach for your phone and look at the recently added contact before shaking your head. 

Indulging in a fantasy it's fine, as long as you keep it to yourself. 

You get a chance to prove yourself wrong if you allow yourself to see him again. 

“Not a chance in hell.”

Couple of minutes pass and you fidget the whole time. You're hoping for a yes, so it can all die down tonight. Seonghwa’s lack of transportation and your fantasy included.

He doesn't respond the way you need him to. 

You hate that it makes you smile a bit. 

You glance at your brother and scrunch your nose in disapproval. Would it be nice to not go wherever he is and have time to actually get ready for dinner tomorrow? Yes. 

Do you want Christian to meet Seonghwa? No. That meeting would solidify everything else as a reality, it would pull you out of your little fantasy and you don't want that. 

You want to keep it (Seonghwa) to yourself for a while longer. 

You shouldn't be flirting, you really shouldn't. 

His flirting back puts you in a dangerous zone, a territory you desperately want to explore but can't. Shouldn't. 

Is it dumb of you to re-read the conversation at least eight times before going to bed? 

Probably. 

But you do anyway. 

When Seonghwa is finally walked downstairs by his new client, he's promised a meal by Hongjoong, only if he buys some beer on the way to his apartment. 

His roommates are apparently out and he didn't feel like going, although he didn't explain why. And when he gets there, Yeosang is also splayed out on the couch and with his laptop on his belly. 

“Hwa’s here!” 

“Oh, man, finally,” Hongjoong walks out of his room with wet hair and a towel around his neck “The takeout is getting cold. Come on!” 

He seems… Off. 

Seonghwa eyes Yeosang for an answer but the youngest just shrugs and sits straight on the couch as he closes his laptop. 

“Is everything alrig—” 

“I'll explain it to you when the time is right. Something's up with the band but it's nothing we can't fix.” 

“Okay…” Seonghwa sits down on the tiny table that somehow fits the three of them, the beers and the takeout with a tiny smile, knowing not to intervene until he's told to. 

Eating with his friends is like second nature to him. Everytime it happens, it's like a family dinner and everyone knows what to do and what to serve to everyone so, soon enough, they all have their chopsticks helping them get food into their mouths while they talk about their day. 

Seonghwa is nodding along, not sharing a lot because, well, work is work and he just tells them how excited he is for the new project and what he's planning on doing, he even shows them the mockups and drawings he spent the whole afternoon making, gaining supportive praise for it a second later. 

Yeosang looks up from his meal to him “So it's like a lot of little companies inside one company?” 

“Sort of,” Seonghwa smiles “I don't really get it, either, but that's okay. It doesn't seem like I have to get the concept of the company to plan this whole thing out, only what my client wants and that's… Very different from the company image.” 

He plans on saying something else but all train of thought gets interrupted when his phone dings right besides him. 

And he almost spills his beer on his pretty mockups trying to get to it fast enough. 

Only to end up disappointed, because it's not you but a discount notification from the food app he normally uses when he has the money to order in.  

It had to show up in his face, because what he hears next has the color draining from it “Oh?” 

Oh, God. 

It's like Wooyoung's spirit possessing Hongjoong, he sees it happen in real time and the wicked smile his friend sends in his direction is enough to know where it's all going. 

Yeosang sighs and eyes him with a tiny smile that says I'm on your side, but not really. 

“Hwa… The motorcycle, the looking at your phone waiting for something or someone… Are you seeing anyone?” 

“He obviously is!” 

“Yeosang! Stop feeding his delusions!” 

“So?” Hongjoong places his beer down, cocking his head to the side inquisitively and eyeing him up and down, like he can figure something out that way “Are you?” 

“No! I just… I met this girl today and—” 

“At the company?” 

“No! No, uh… My bike broke down and—” 

“Already?!” 

“Let him talk, hyung!” 

Letting out a sigh, Hongjoong sets hips lips into an straight line that makes Seonghwa huff out a chuckle of disbelief “Thanks, Yeo. Anyway, my bike had a weird sound this morning and I took it to a shop, so the girl who's… In charge?” he frowns a little, because he's still not sure “Of the shop sent me a text a while ago saying that it's fixed, I was just checking if she sent anything else.” 

“And you like her.”

It's more than that, really. He can't even explain it, the smile tugging at his lips a dead giveaway of the whirlwind going inside his head at the thought of you. 

“Ye— No! No, I don't even know her.” 

He shouldn't feel so flustered, really, but the things he felt while looking at you earlier were weird and confusing and he needs to think straight before he lets it consume him. 

It felt a little too freeing for his liking. 

Free from what? He's not really able to pinpoint it. But it looks like he's going to have to. 

The way his friends are staring at him like they know something he doesn't it's annoying, but telling. 

“Okay, maybe I do like her a little.” 

Yeosang hums “Like her, like her or just… You know.” 

“I'm not sure…” 

“Well, figure it out!” Hongjoong is excited, almost jumping in his chair at the prospect of Seonghwa getting with someone “You have her number, ask her to… Meet you somewhere or whatever people do when they like someone.” 

“Ask her on a date, hyung. That's what this idiot is trying to say.” 

“Hey!” 

Seonghwa closes his eyes because he can't believe his friends are entertaining the idea, feeding the growing feeling inside his chest “I just met her today, though.” 

“And?” Hongjoong bites a piece of meat and shrugs, dismissively “Timing is never off when you like someone. Do something about it because I swear if I have to hear anyone else complaining about not getting with the girl they like because of timing I'll—” 

“Wait, who complained?” 

The table falls quiet as Seonghwa looks between his friends to find an answer but Yeosang just shakes his head and he gets it.

Not the time to talk about it. 

Hongjoong points at him with his chopsticks, threatenly “Do. Something. About. It. Anyway!” He gets up from his seat, points at Yeosang this time “Guess who almost got kicked out of college for messing around with the wrong crowd today?” 

“That's not what happened!” 

And Seonghwa swears he's focusing on the story Hongjoong is so eager to tell, on Yeosang’s ears turning pink at the mention of a girl he's never heard before, too. 

But all he can think about is you. 

The next day, after briefly stopping by his office, Seonghwa is back with a few coworkers who help with measurements and put their input in the assessment. He spends all day with it, too and, once again, serves as an excuse for Soohyun to get out of some meetings he's not interested in attending. 

As the day passes, he wonders how Soohyun maintains the important position he's in. Nepotism can't do everything for you, right? 

Right? 

But his new client seems down to earth enough to be aware of his advantages in an industry that's quick and cruel and doesn't hold too much space for laziness. 

So he lets it go because, well, he tends to judge but he can't really do much for people who actually deserve to be in charge. 

It's close to seven and Soohyun bidded him goodbye only a few minutes ago, saying sorry he can't walk him out because, at this time, he actually has an international call to make that can't be excused like the rest of his afternoon schedule. 

Seonghwa doesn't make it out of the office before getting stopped by a manicured hand to his chest. 

After the texts last night and Hongjoong's threats, he was practically ready to sprint downstairs to meet you (or whoever you sent) and get his bike back, maybe apologize for panicking and sending a whole ass sticker as a response instead of keeping the conversation going. 

And to see you again. God, he wants to break his Bonneville one more time just to get to see your pretty face again. 

He already idealized you in his head, which is bad and very amateur on his side, but no one needs to know that. 

But now he might have to keep all of that waiting for a few more minutes because there's someone staring at him like just committed a crime. A crime he's unaware of. 

“Who are you?” 

Her scowl tells him she's trying to get a read on him and he thinks he's transparent enough for it to be easy. If he really thinks about it, though, it looks like she wants to scare him a little bit. 

It doesn't work. 

“Um, Park Seonghwa,” he says and then points over his shoulder, to Soohyun’s office “I’m working on renovating Mr. Kim’s office?” 

“Oh, for fucks sake. Why can't no one in this family keep normal people around?” She peeks through his shoulder, the high heels she's wearing helping her with the task. Groaning, she turns around and starts heading for the elevator, mumbling something under her breath. 

The only thing he can make out of it it's something about supermodels and a it's not fair. 

She turns around briefly to look at him again and scoffs, clearly annoyed. 

“I feel like I know your face from somewhere else.” 

Seonghwa feels a little lost, but steps into the elevator when she does. Now he's afraid, maybe she's a crazy person but then it clicks. 

Clearly, he knows her from somewhere else too. 

“I'm sure the only place I've seen you before is on the news, Miss Kim,” he replies with a sheepish smile, shrugging a bit and hitting the main floor button on the panel “That's a nice tree, by the way.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“The one on Mr. Kim’s office?” he offers, turning to her “He told me his sister painted it and as far as I know, he only has one sister.” 

That brings a smile to her face and Seonghwa counts it as a small victory, for some reason. 

“Ah, so you did your research,” she nods “Please scrape it off the wall if needed. It made me bleed.” 

“He omitted that part.” 

“Of course he did, it was his fault. Anyway,” she shakes her head, stepping out of the elevator and walking ahead without waiting for him. She looks like the type of person who knows everyone else will follow and he does, but only out of curiosity “my brother has your number, yes, Mr. Park?” 

“I'm assuming he does or, at least, my company's numb—” 

“I'm not interested in your company, I'm interested in you.” 

She's also very forward. How could he not guess that from the way she carries herself around? 

“I don't usually do freelance work, Miss Kim.” 

As they both reach the main entrance, she turns around gracefully and with a, for what he can tell, very rehearsed smile tugging at her lips. 

“I'm not interested in your work either, Mr. Park.” 

That, he did guess, but it's disappointing either way. 

“Then what good am I to you?” 

Her grin widens “You'll see.” 

The sound of his Bonneville pulling up it's what gets him to turn away from the mischievous glint in the chaebol's eyes. 

And when he sees you take off a helmet that's not his and wave your hand at him, she blends into the background completely. 

You look good, hair down and probably freshly showered because there's a few droplets falling down from the ends of it to your shirt and leather jacket. Your hands are gloved up and all, like you've been riding bikes your whole life. 

He wonders if that's the case. God, he wants to get to know you so bad. 

“Oh God, not another one, I— Is she your girlfriend, Mr. Park?” 

His head snaps back, eyes wide and cheeks turning pink “N-no, I just met her yesterday, she… That's my bike, I had to get it fixed.” 

Pulling her bottom lip in with her teeth for a second, she nods and then takes two long strides into the direction of a car he didn't see until now “Perfect, then. She looks pretty cool,” she waves at you and he doesn't get to see if you wave back, too focused on getting the color out of his cheeks “Tell her I said that. Goodbye for now, Mr. Park.” 

Seonghwa wants to ask a million questions. What does she want? What does she mean goodbye for now? But he doesn't get to. She gets into the car and drives off and that leaves space for you to drive his bike again and pull up right in front of him this time. 

“Hope I didn't interrupt anything there, Ghost.”

A nervous chuckle abandons him and he manages to shake his head “No, no, she's… my client’s sister?” He offers and you smile, turning off the bike and getting off a second later “She said you're, um, cool.”

“And why would she say that?” 

“Because you look cool? I don't really know, don't question me,” he's sure the efforts he put on making the blush disappear were pointless, cheeks burning when you laugh at him “Thank you, Y/N.” 

“Don't thank me, Seonghwa, I didn't tell you how much it'll cost you yet.” 

He gulps. 

You take mercy on him and the way his eyes glisten with worry, laughing again “It's not too bad. It was the chain tensioner and my brother worked on it pretty fast, don't worry.” 

Relaxing, he takes his helmet and key off your offering hands with a tiny smile, touch lingering on your skin for a second too long “Did you enjoy seeing me suffer just now?” 

“A little bit,” you shrug and mutter your apologies although he can tell you're not sorry at all “I'll text you the invoice with the account you can send the money to?” 

No. 

He wants to say no and make you go with him to an ATM so he can pay in cash just to keep you around for a while longer, he doesn't want this interaction to be over. 

And he's usually very good at communicating things of this nature but something about you makes him giddy and nervous and his charisma is not able to keep up. 

It dawns on him that it's very weird to want to keep a stranger, someone he only met a day ago, in his life for as long as possible. 

Do you feel the same way? He wants you to feel the same way.

The unexpected desire sits on his chest heavily, making him take in a breath more shakily than he intended to. 

“Sure,” the words taste bitter on his tongue, his tone gives away that he doesn't really mean it and then said desire takes over, making him stammer the next words out “Do you want me to take you somewhere?” 

Surprised, you blink a few times and then look down at your own helmet for a second. He feels like he screwed up by asking you that. 

Of course, you don't feel the same way. Of course, you must have someone waiting for you already. 

Of course, of course, of fucking course. 

But just before he can backpedal on his offer, you're looking up, your mind made up and the same teasing smile you've been wearing ever since he saw you yesterday “It won't save you from the debt I'm about to put you through with that invoice but sure.” 

Seonghwa lets out a huff and chuckle all in the same breath, straddling his bike a second later “Ha, ha. Count it as a tip, Y/N.”

“Oh, I'm so telling my brother that,” you beam when he returns the joke and he moves a little, making space for you at the back “Somehow, I don't feel safe with you riding this bike, Ghost.” 

He ignites it and the whole thing shakes a bit before you can even put on the helmet, so he can't really refute that. 

“Do you want to ride it?” 

It's a second too late when he realizes the double meaning behind his own words, unintended, but there they are floating on the air around you both, electric and maybe one sided. 

But you don't back down, taking a step into his space and crowding him, almost towering over him even if he's on the bike and even if that makes him taller than you. It feels that way, so he welcomes the sensation and the pang of his heart against his chest when you lean in just a little. 

“Do you want me to ride it?” 

Breath caught in his throat, Seonghwa takes in your smirk as a sign that, maybe, it's not one sided at all. 

“The bike,” you clarify a second later, like it's necessary “It would be easier to get us to where I need to go, anyways.” 

Planting his feet on the ground, he keeps the Bonneville stable enough to slide back to the space he created for you a minute ago, and if you can feel his heart beating with an unfamiliar, yet exciting song when you take a seat, put your helmet on and press your back against his chest, you sure cover it up when you turn to look at him. 

“Does your fancy job provide you health insurance?” 

He lets out an amused huff “Yours doesn't?” 

“I never asked,” you shrug, taking the handles and looking forward again, leaning in slightly so now he's not that close to you but he feels you everywhere still “Just making sure in case I break you.” 

When you start driving him, handling the Bonneville in a way he never would even with the years of experience ahead of him, he wants to tell you that he wouldn't mind that. 

In fact, he finds himself wanting it. 

As he holds tight to your waist, he finds himself on the verge of telling you to break him apart piece by piece so he can do the same with you. Explore you, not physically, but in the way it truly matters. 

He wants to know your soul, he wants to understand the reason he feels attached to you after a brief meeting and little more. 

You lean back to rest your back a little at a stop sign and he suddenly doesn't care if the way he squishes your waist for a few seconds gives his intentions away. He has your number, he's going to make a move eventually. 

What he does care about is the way you don't tense up and just lean into his body a little more before resuming the task of getting both of you wherever you're going

This? The way he feels so free as you move through the highway, make your way in between the cars at stop signs and the wind hitting his arms? This is the grasp at his youth he's been waiting for. Even if it's just for the night. 

Even if it's over too soon for his liking. 

You stop in front of a house that looks empty. He wonders if it's yours for a second, but then again he's going to find out any minute soon. 

“That wasn't too bad, was it?” 

Getting down from his Bonneville, you take your helmet off and offer him your hand. He slides up his helmet so you can see his face, about to reply, but you beat him to it “Thank you so much for the ride that I technically gave myself, Park Seonghwa, it was a pleasure to meet you.” 

Why are you saying goodbye like you're not planning on seeing him ever again? 

Suddenly, he's planning on ways to mess up his bike again just to get an excuse to see you again. 

No. 

He has to be braver than that. 

Taking your hand, he pulls you in a little bit and you let out a surprised noise that looks like it embarrasses you. 

Your cheeks turn red under the streetlight and he thinks you look beautiful like that. 

“Y/N,” he starts in a whisper, gathering his courage up “Would you like to—” 

“Y/N.” A voice interrupts him and your eyes widen in panic while you look at him, slowly turning your head to the person as he does the same. 

Not before he notices how the pretty blush and all colors drain from your face. 

A guy, with blonde shaggy hair and tattoos covering his neck and hands is standing on the sidewalk with a grocery store bag and a weird look on his face. Beside him, a girl who’s smile fades away when she seems to recognize you scoffs. 

The guy smiles and Seonghwa wonders why you don't say anything back, your grasp on his hand tightening before letting go. 

“There you are, your dad said—” 

“Ghost?” 

Seonghwa doesn't like the way your voice shakes when you say the nickname he's grown used to in such a short amount of time. 

“Yes?” 

You don't bother putting the helmet back on, simply dropping it to the ground and turning back at him “I trust you to ride this bike now, yeah?” 

He doesn't have to be told twice. Making space for you again, you hop on and hug his waste. He slides his helmet back on. 

The guy takes a few steps but Seonghwa stops him with the sound of him revving his Bonneville “Come on, Y/N…” Is what he says when he starts to drive off, accelerating just a little bit before the houses start fading and the busy highway welcomes you both. 

Deokhee has some nerve. 

The fact that he does boils your bloodstream and you wish you could say that the warm sensation spreading through your body is caused by the guy who you're currently holding to. 

Seonghwa has checked in with you once and, after confirming you were okay to keep going, he has held your gloved hands at every red light and stop sign. 

You have no idea where you're going, but you're sure you can't go home and deal with this alone for now. He can't take you home, either (he doesn't know the address) but even if he could, you wouldn't let him. 

The nameless girl that was with Deokhee is the same girl he cheated with. A girl who, by judging her expression, probably knew about you. 

Mind going as fast as the Boneville, you ask yourself how many times she made fun of you for grasping a fantasy, a make-believe story with her now boyfriend. 

What did you lack that she obviously has? What prompted him to hurt you this badly? 

Is he stupid enough to not realize that the sight of them together would tear you apart all over again? 

The scene replays in your head again, after all these years of trying to get over it: Him, holding your hand and telling you how amazing you were to him but that, in all honesty, he didn't see himself going out with someone like you. 

You were too much, too proud, too loud. 

Which doesn't make any fucking sense because although you never held back a jab or a sarcastic comment if needed, you knew the time and place to speak your mind. 

It also didn't make any fucking sense because he knew you would keep his little secret from your father and your brother and, in consequence, keep the relationship you both had and the cowardly way it ended from his family as well. 

You were too much, composed of many flaws and adorned with rough and burnt edges, but you would never in a million years tarnish the happiness of the people who love you because of a rookie mistake. 

Falling in love with Deokhee was a rookie, horrible mistake. 

Falling in love in general? You doubt it. 

Because the way Seonghwa takes his time to slow down the bike on a lookout you were too distracted to notice you were climbing up to, pulls it to a full stop and then immediately reaches for your hands again, makes you believe there's good people out there after all. 

He took you away without asking any questions and you're suddenly welcomed with the same grateful feeling you have towards your family. 

Had you stayed there, you're not so sure you would've kept your words to yourself anymore. Your pain, your anger. 

Getting down from the bike, Seonghwa takes his helmet off and drops it in front of you, on the seat, before leaning in a searching for your glossy eyes. 

You can see him hesitate through the fog your tears form and you don't let them drop just yet. You're angry, but there's no way you would let Deokhee make you cry again in this lifetime. 

You should get down from the bike, but it doesn't move under your weight even if you readjust your position on the seat and you fear that, if you do, you would only plop down into the ground and let it swallow you whole. 

You should say something, too. Thank him, probably, but the tall man lets out a breath before opening his arms and pointing at the view. Gladly, you take the opportunity to take in your surroundings and wipe your eyes with the back of your hand. 

“Didn't know where else to take you, so I brought you to my breaking point.” 

“Hm?” frowning a bit, you peel your eyes from the city lights to him “Your breaking point?”

“Yeah, that's what I call it,” he smiles and you do too, halfheartedly “Here's where I come to break down and let everything out. There's a playground back there too,” he points behind him and you scoff, amused “If you want to climb up somewhere and scream. The neighbors don't mind it.” 

“I take that as a I've done it before.” 

“Once or twice,” he shrugs “It's good for the soul.” 

“God,” you cover your face with your hands “I'm so embarrassed you had to see me like that.” 

“Like what? You didn't do anything.” 

“Running away and acting all weak in front of…” you fake gag, but it's kind of real “Some guy.” 

A bit of silence passes in between you and your savior. 

And then Seonghwa laughs so hard you're forced to uncover your face and stare at him in disbelief “I'm serious! That's like… top one most embarrassing thing I've ever done.” 

His laugh comes to a stop and he doesn't step closer even if you want him to, just puts his hands in the pockets of his pants and looks at you for what it feels like forever. 

You don't mind it one bit. 

“I've known you for a day, Y/N, but even I can tell that's not the most embarrassing thing you've done.” 

Sulking, you turn to the beautiful view one more time and pout like a child. You want to tell him he's right, but your pride doesn't really allow it just yet. 

It's quiet for a minute or two. You move around, throw your leg over the Boneville and sit on top of it as you stare at the city. You feel Seonghwa move around, pace behind you until he finally reaches around takes a few steps before stopping on the railing separating the street from the hill. 

He's looking in your direction instead of the view. You realize he's giving you space to sulk, to take in everything without pestering you with questions about why the hell you both just bolted instead of facing the situation. 

Your gratitude towards him rises a bit more. 

So your word vomit is justified, you think, because you don't want to leave him in the dark any longer. 

The fantasy you indulged yourself in earlier might just grow into a reality you have to embrace, a reality you want to embrace. 

“He's my ex-something and the girl he was with is the one he chose over me. I was supposed to have dinner with them— Well, no, not really,” you sigh, looking at Seonghwa who, in the deem light, just nods and waits for you to continue “He's my dad’s best friend's son and we have dinner with them every Tuesday. Their family, I mean. Deokhee… He never shows up,” you shrug “And when he does, he's alone and it's towards the end of it all so I never get to see him that long. But this?” you shake your head, disappointment written all over your face “I never thought he would do this to me.”

Finally getting off the bike, you walk slowly towards the railing as well and feel Seonghwa's eyes follow you as you do “He cheated on me with her, for Christ sake.” You whisper once the metal of the railing stops your step. 

“How long ago?” 

“Does it matter?” 

“No,” from the corner of your eye, you see how he shakes his head and leans in slightly “I'm wondering because if I was your dad or your brother or your friend, I would've done something to, at least, ensure something like this never happens to you.” 

“Yeah, about that…” A bitter chuckle abandons you and you shrug one more time “They don't really know what happened between us— They don't know something happened in the first place,” ashamed, once again, you turn to him “He asked me to not tell anyone when we started… Ack, whatever, it doesn't really matter.” 

“It does if it's affecting you,” he insists “It does if you go pale at the sight of him, Y/N. Did he do—” 

“No,” you cut him off, the corners of your lips lifting a bit “He didn't do anything weird besides breaking my heart.” 

“Good.” 

“I would've killed him if he did, by the way.” 

“As you should,” he returns right away and finally, for the first time in the twenty minutes it took both of you to get there, you laugh sincerely. That prompts a smile on his lips “Good to know he's an idiot but not that type of idiot.” 

Huffing, you turn to the city before you again “The only idiot in this situation is me.” 

“For loving someone? Y/N,” his hand reaches your shoulder and you close your eyes in defeat, surrendering your heart to the weird emotion it brings you “He cheated on you. He's the idiot, the dumbass, the—” 

Laughing again, his rant comes to an end and you open your eyes to find him staring at you in delight “Park Seonghwa,” you start, putting a hand over his on your shoulder “You, sir, don't know me.” 

The reminder does nothing to stop him from looking at you with stars in his eyes “I'm a great judge of character, Y/N.” 

“And if you're wrong?” 

“Then let me be wrong,” he shortens the distance a bit, the warmth on your shoulder leaving as he lowers both of your hands, not letting go “But let me get to know you first.” 

The emotion grows bigger, it swirls around your heart and spreads around your body in a way you never felt. It feels good and you hate to compare it to what you felt for Deokhee but where it once was filled with regrets and doubts and a need to hold on tight to whatever that guy made you feel now sits something that you can only describe as excitement and thrill. 

Peaceful, too. 

It steals your breath in a beautiful way. 

Squeezing his hand a little, you inhale slowly and let go of the air when you speak “I don't really do dates, Ghost.” 

“I didn't ask you on a date,” he counters immediately and your cheeks darken “I asked if I could get to know you. We don't have to go on dates, talking to you is enough.” 

“O-oh, I… I thought—” 

He seems to get it right away because he takes another step, your arm pressed to his by now, your hands still tangled in the middle “I one hundred percent meant it that way,” he assures you, chuckling a bit “But I don't really do dates either. Asking you out to a restaurant or a movie or whatever it is people do on dates doesn't really suit me.” 

“How so?” 

“There's this… Weird intention laced into it, into the prospect of a date that I don't particularly enjoy. I want to get to know people and see where it takes us without pressuring ourselves into anything romantic or sexual.” Your heart picks up at that. Not at the image it paints, but at his explanation as a whole. 

It shows he might be interested in you beyond something physical and it's a beautiful thing to note when, all your life, you have felt like people only wanted you for one thing and one thing only. 

You intend to tell him just that but the way he's looking at you makes you forget everything else. Brown eyes scan every inch of your face and stop at your lips for a second. 

Now your heart beats for a different reason. 

“No matter… How bad I want to kiss you, though.” 

Words fall short. They do when for the first time in a long time you entertain the possibility of letting yourself want to kiss someone else, too. 

Leaning in and straightening your back fully to give you the possibility of almost standing face to face with him, you silently communicate your desire. 

It's not enough. He's too respectful. 

Fuck, you like him a lot already. 

“If you want to kiss me then just kiss me…” you whisper, teasing smile in full display “Dummy.” 

He fakes a gasp at your jab as he leans in, his pretty nose bumping into yours for a second and making you giggle, part your lips and close your eyes while buzzing with expectation. 

The sky has other plans, though. It roars above you and you both look up. 

It's been cloudy, a couple of days of unusual humidity throwing off everyone but you guess the steam gathered up in the clouds just in time to knock some sense of reality into you. 

Or pushing you further into the craziness of this one day alone. 

Seonghwa groans a little and then a phone starts ringing in someone's pocket. 

Not yours, you made sure to hit the not disturb button as soon as you got ahold of it. 

You should probably tell your brother you're okay. 

But Seonghwa is still close to you, his lips a breath away from yours, so you put it aside when he shows no intention of picking up his call either. 

The tension builds up again, both of you ignoring the thunderstorm approaching and everything else. 

There's many things from today you're not going to be able to explain any time soon, the magnetic pull Seonghwa had on you the first time you laid eyes on him is one of them, the freedom you touch with your fingertips when your mind is finally off your duty, off your family… 

It's so dangerous you quickly become addicted to the recklessness of it all. 

And then his phone starts ringing again, so you welcome the reality that washes over you with a sour face and pout on your lips. 

“The universe must be against us being a thing, huh?” You whisper and he clicks his tongue in disapproval, resting his forehead on yours for a second before pulling away completely, pulling out his phone from his pocket. 

“I don't think the universe has much to do with this one, dear,” he frowns and misses the way you flush at the sudden nickname. You swear on your life, normally you would be pretty disgusted at the endearment. Now? You want him to call you that again “I should take this and we should probably go somewhere else. There's not much to cover us up if it starts raining.” 

“Sure, uh…” You fish your phone from your pocket as well, grimacing when you look at the missed calls and texts “I have to make a call, too.” 

He seems to understand immediately “Go right ahead.” 

Putting even more distance in between both of you, you faintly hear a what's going on from Seonghwa and then tap your screen to return your brother's call. 

He picks up right away. 

“Are you okay?!” 

His tone forces your eyes closed. Rushed, you picture him in the backyard with a cigarette in between his fingers, trying to get ahold of himself without worrying everyone else too much “Yeah, I'm okay. I'm with a friend and—” 

“Then why don't you pick up the fucking phone?!” 

“Calm down,” taking in a breath and letting it out, you hear him do the same before continuing “Is there a way I can explain all of this to you tomorrow? I'm fine, Deokhee is a dick and I don't ever want to see him so I ran away like a—” 

“What did he do?” 

“No, nothing now, it's just… Listen, I'll explain tomorrow, alright? I'm staying with my friend tonight and everything will make sense tomorrow. It's really dumb, like… Teenage drama dumb,” you sigh, hoping that the minimal information you're giving him can help him figure it out “Just tell dad that I'm fine and if he asks I'm with a friend who is a girl and she's staying over at my place because there was a… Boy emergency or whatever.” 

“Are you with—” what seems to click is something else and your brother gasps “Y/N!” 

“Can you help out this time?”

The silence on the line seems to extend forever and guilt licks your throat, giving you the feeling that it's about to close up. 

You want to grasp what you felt a minute ago again, the freedom of this, of doing too much, of unnecessarily putting Christian through it because he already did so much for you growing up. 

Just tonight, at least, you owe yourself the feeling of not proving your place in your own family. 

But the silence hurts and you wonder if you could ever, truly, be free from it. 

“You owe me an explanation. Take care and text me goodnight at least, yeah?” 

“Okay,” you whisper back “Thank you, Ian.” 

“Yeah, yeah. I love you, kid.” 

His words fill your eyes with tears again and you don't get to reciprocate them before he hangs up. You know he knows, but it still hurts when you remember how unlovable you felt before you met him as a child.

It hurts when you remember that you allowed Deokhee to make that feeling return. 

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. 

And the more it hurts, the more the sky rumbles and you fear that, if you break down here and now, it would not only embarrass you in front of Seonghwa but also strand him on this hill with you. 

It doesn't matter that he calls this his breaking point, it's not yours to use. 

So again, your tears stay at bay and when you turn around you catch Seonghwa looking at you with an unreadable expression on his face. 

He wants to hug you, his body language gives him away as soon as he steps closer to you but a storm is about to soak through your clothes any second, so you pass him and grab his hand to pull him to his bike in the process. 

When his fingers intertwine with yours, you know he understands. He doesn't make any questions, he doesn't press any information out of you and just allows you to climb his motorcycle. 

“We need to leave.” 

“Where do you want to go?” he asks, getting on the bike as well and goes in for his helmet but your words stop him. 

“Do you want to stay the night with me?” 

Turning his head, he blinks at you a few times and you smile a little before the curve fades away. 

“I have my own place, we can order something in and just talk. Seonghwa, you…” biting the inside of your cheek, you try to approach this the right way “I don't expect this to go anywhere but can't you… Do you feel it too?” 

He stays silent and you fear you might've taken it too far. But it doesn't really matter. Willing to take the risk, you take his hand on yours again and hold it close to your heart. 

The sky roars again in response. 

And you catch when his breath hitches because of it, too. 

“Do you feel it, Seonghwa?” 

A bit passes and then some, his eyes searching for something in yours and then dropping to where your heart beats again.

“What's your address?”

It's already raining by the time you both get into your building’s garage and park his Bonneville. 

The entire ride was a bit long. It had you resting your head on his back while his fingers tapped against yours with impatience. 

But when you make it to the safe space that is the elevator, clothes showing the evidence of the droplets falling from the sky and all, you finally get to breathe. 

Until Seonghwa steals that breath away again. 

He stares at you through the mirror, steps closer until he can take your face with his hands and swipes under your eyes where the makeup has run a little. 

“Ghost…” 

‘I didn't answer before,” he murmurs and wet his lips with his tongue. You can't help but stare at them, the moment somehow more intimate now, under the fluorescent glow of the elevator, than with the city lights and lighting above you “But I do feel it. I stand on what I said before, though.” 

“No dating?” 

He chuckles “No, not that,” shaking his head, he steps away when the elevator gets to your floor “I want to get to know you either way.” 

“Ah. That,” you feel silly for assuming he didn't want to date you, but given your history you're not sure you can blame yourself too much “Well, you're about to see my cave, so we're both halfway there.” 

As soon as you open the door and turn on the light, you can see in his face that he sees what you mean. 

It's a one bedroom apartment that doesn't leave too much to the imagination. Your bedroom’s door is opened, the bathroom door is closed and the kitchen is an American style one that's separated from the living space by a small counter you can barely fit your mail on. 

There's a lot of old furniture that you remodeled, painted over the cracks and stuffed where you needed the most. Your fridge is also old, the couch is somehow the only modern looking item in the living room and it stands out a bit because its material is not as worn out as everything else. 

There's posters on the walls, unframed and placed randomly because, here, you don't have to be put together. The only people who come over are your brother and your dad, so it's okay. 

It's not even an old building, but your apartment makes it look like one. 

“Hope you don't mind the mess, Grandpa.” 

“Oh, I'm not Ghost anymore?” He asks with a breathy laugh, taking his shoes off as you place yours by the entrance and shrugging his jacket off too “It's not messy, it's… Kind of like the shop, really.” 

Mirroring his actions, you take off the leather jacket and welcome the warmth of your apartment “Greasy?” 

“Cool,” he corrects and you walk through your space picking up a few things from the floor and putting them by the living room table “Is it yours, by the way?” 

“The shop?” he nods and you walk to your fridge to fetch you both some water bottles “It's my dads. Why do you ask?” 

“You seemed to own the place, with the way you walked around it,” shrugging, he takes a seat on your couch as he takes in the space “I just wondered…” 

Walking in front of him on purpose, because you could've easily rounded the table and sat at the opposite edge of the couch, you sit right beside him and offer him a water bottle that he takes with a whispered thanks “You wondered…” 

“A lot of stuff, actually,” he admits and you smile “Like your age, for example. Your last name, how did you end up working as a mechanic, if you were studying something, if you…” he pauses and turns to the side, resting his shoulder on the couch “If you liked me the way I liked you.” 

Choking on the water you're gulping down, it's very evident you didn't think he was about to go down that lane again. 

So directly, too. 

He laughs, leaning in and wiping your chin with a familiarity that has you even more breathless than his confession. No, scratch that, it's all of it. All of him. 

“Don't make me get on that bike again tonight, dear.” 

That goddamn endearment again. You might risk it all and kiss him, chin wet and all. 

“Whatever for?”

“You clearly almost choked to death,” he exaggerates, probably an excuse to stay that close to you longer than he needs to “And it was my fault, too.” 

Smiling and shaking your head, you push him a bit until he falls back into his previous position, smugness tugging at his lips in a way that has your insides jolting up with excitement “I do like you, Ghost.” 

“I know that now, but earlier I did wonder.” 

“Wondering is such a dangerous thing, isn't it?” 

His smile settles with a softness that melts you, your hand back in his with ease “Not necessarily.”

Squeezing his hand in unspoken agreement, you nod and then try to remember the topic of conversation before… Well, before he distracted you. 

“Well, you were kind of right with your assumptions then. It's not my shop, but I grew up in it,” you shrug, letting go of his hand to grab your phone “We should probably wait to order something.” 

“Yeah, until the monsoon dies down,” he says, looking outside your window that does little to conceal the thunderstorm outside “You grew up fixing bikes?” 

“Cars,” you correct with a nod, connecting your phone to the speaker that lies under your tv “Is my day to day playlist alright?” 

“Yup,” he crosses his legs on the couch and you see from the corner of your eye how his follow your actions, heat rushing to your cheeks at how attentive he is “Did you always want to be a mechanic?” 

The question takes you by surprise, but you cover it up as you set the volume to the perfect percentage to let you two have a proper conversation without raising your voices “Kind of. It's all I'm good at, really,” you shrug “Also, my dad’s wife looked very cool in pictures growing up and I wanted to be just like her, so.”

“Your mom?” you shake your head and he frowns “Your stepmom?” 

“No, uh…” clearing your throat, you get ready to reveal a piece of you that you rarely share with other people, even if it's obvious to everyone else “I'm adopted. Me and my brother we, mmm, we used to live in this sort of… Group house, I guess, and dad just picked us one day,” word vomiting again, once that you open the dam you don't know how to stop “I mean, he's not… We're not blood related, either, he just brought me along like when you adopt a dog at a shelter and they give you their favorite blanket, you know?” 

Seonghwa is full on frowning at that and you think that, for the sake of just agreeing with you, he's going to nod and let it go, but he doesn't “I don't think you're just something your brother brought along with him. Adopting two kids is a big decision, isn't it?” 

Reluctantly, you nod. 

“Well, there you go.” 

“I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him, though,” you shrug and sip on your water bottle again, gulping the liquid to send that lump on your throat down “But it doesn't really matter because it was a long time ago and now they're both stuck with me.” 

He shakes his head but laughs a little at your sudden shift and, this time, he does let it go. 

But you don't. 

“Thank you, by the way.” 

He smiles, a little confused “For what?” 

“Helping me when I needed you to. We don't really know each other and yet…” 

“It feels like I know you, though.” 

Sharing the sentiment, you nod “I know, it's weird but, uhm… You didn't need to do what you did for me tonight. You even took me to your breaking point!” you let out a puff of air, making it a bigger deal than what it sounds. It's a bigger deal for you, anyway “And then drove me all the way here. That's a lot.” 

“It's not much. It was my fault, really,” he shrugs and shakes his head at the confused look you give him “I kind of… Asked the universe for an excuse to stay with you, so…” 

“Ah, so it was your fault Deokhee showed up,” the lighthearted joke lands the way you intended because he laughs with a sound so beautiful it makes your heart pick up “Got it.” 

“Do you feel better? I mean, after seeing him, are you feeling better?” 

“Not really, it sucks,” you say with a bitter laugh “But I hold grudges like that. It's not…” you raise your hands in self defense suddenly “I don't want him like that anymore, it's just that I can't help but…”  

“I understand,” he whispers and you let out a sigh again, grateful that he interrupted your rambling “People believe that forgive and forget is the way to go when you're resenting someone but human beings don't really work like that, hm?” 

“Yeah…” 

Staring at him, that weird emotion that you felt at the top of the hill comes back. That dangerous warmth that makes you want to take his hand in yours and place your lips at the back of it with a familiarity you haven't really earned yet. 

So when you catch him staring at you the same way, you change the subject. 

“What do you do?” eyebrow raising, you eye him suspiciously and that makes him giggle “Meetings all day, past normal shift hours…”

“I renovate spaces, Y/N,” he laughs again “You made it sound like I work with the mafia.” 

“Do you?” 

“No. I have a buddy that does, though.” 

“Oh, so I was kind of right then?” 

“Yeah, yeah…” you both laugh again and then he looks around your living space like he did when you two first got in “You were right about the whole getting to know you just by looking at your apartment.” 

“I know, it says a lot about a person.” 

“It does!” He's excited now, sitting straighter and turning ever so slightly, your knees bumping now “There's only a few people that I trust who have those… Beige, white and black houses or apartments and that's only because I got to know them before I saw where they live.” 

“So, you have rich friends?” 

He stops and thinks for a second “Yeah, they all have a lot of money. I mean, the people I'm talking about, not my friends,” you raise your eyebrow again and he chuckles “Alright, I only have one rich friend. The rest of them are broke musicians and college students. He was actually the one who called earlier and, uhm…” 

“Interrupted us?” You offer, smiling. 

His cheeks gain a little color, maybe from the memory “Y-yeah.” 

“Everything's okay?” 

“Yes! Yeah, he wanted me to go pick him up from something but I told him I couldn't because, well—” 

“You were with me.” 

“Mhm,” you see him gulp and the mood shifts a little bit again. His face falls down as he eyes your parted lips, leaning in again ever so slightly, like he's not really thinking it through “Couldn't leave you stranded and he has a chauffeur.” 

Unconsciously, you start leaning in a bit too.

“Do you like it?” 

“Yes… D-do I like what?”

You chuckle and he breathes out a laugh, too “Renovating spaces…” 

Pressing his hands into the fabric on the couch, at your sides, he invades your space a little more now “I do… Do you like fixing cars?” 

Nodding, your nose is a whisper away from his now “I do…” 

He breathes and it lands right on your mouth, making you pant as well. 

“That's good.” 

“Mhm.” 

Eyes closing, your lips tremble a little as you wait for him to close the distance. 

“You're so fucking pretty—” 

You close the distance instead, pressing your mouth into his and letting the tension deflate your posture because you're finally tasting him. 

Your little fantasy is not a fantasy anymore. 

And it feels so fucking good. It feels good to have someone you desire, so suddenly, so unexpectedly, reciprocate your emotions and pull you closer to make acquaintance with your taste as well. 

Seonghwa makes a noise you want to engrave into your brain the second you grab his shirt and pull him to you as well. And then you move. 

The couch is stuffy, your bed is a mess and the cold from the thunderstorm makes its way to your living room even if you feel your entire body lit up from the swipe of his tongue against yours. 

So you stand up. 

You give him a teasing smile when his mouth chases after yours once you pull away “Where are you going?” 

“Another thing you should know about me,” you start, breathy, your thumb swiping your bottom lip on instinct and his eyes follow the motions “Is that I have very noisy neighbors. The woman in that apartment over there,” you point at the window right in front of yours, the building separated by the street but still close enough to tell everything that goes inside your neighbors apartment if you wanted to “Once made a complaint against me because I walked out in my underwear one time.” 

“Is she blind or bitter or something?” he asks, amused by your sudden storytelling, chest heaving as you pull your curtains closed “Or both?” 

“She's old,” you tell him, turning around “And you haven't seen me in my underwear to make that a point, Ghost.” 

“Yet,” he smirks slyly and you blush at the implication. Seonghwa reaches for you as you pass in front of him again and slip right through his fingers a second time “Now where are you going?” 

He sounds whiny. 

You like that. 

“Another thing you should know about me,” walking to the door and turning off the big light, the living room goes dark except for the lighting that illuminates it as you're making your way back to him, getting on your knees on the couch and reaching behind him to turn on a lamp that doesn't do much but, this way, at least you can see each other “Is that I don't invest in new shit. Can't afford it, so those curtains are useless during the day… And when the lights are turned on.” 

“You don't want people to gossip about you kissing a hot guy?” 

“Wow,” his cockiness is clearly a joke but you won't let the opportunity of making fun of him go “Is the hot guy in the room with us?”  

He beams at you. 

“Oh, shut up, Y/N.” 

Humming and feeling a lot more comfortable now that you know that, in fact, the spotlight won't be on you when you keep kissing his lips raw as you intend to, you loop your index finger in the collar of his shirt and tug with minimal force at it. 

He acts like you put a lot of strength while doing it, his lips a breath from yours again as a consequence.  

You're about to let out a witty remark, something to keep the teasing and flirting going but then his eyes actually light up like the sky when the song playing on the speaker changes. 

“That's what you were humming yesterday!” His hands fall to your waist and you all but get whiplashed at the quick change in attitude. 

He looked like he was about to risk it all a second ago and now he's letting his back fall into the couch and taking you with him. 

“Huh?”

“I didn't saw anyone when I came into the shop yesterday and then I heard you humming this song.” 

“Oh,” you laugh, braising yourself on your forearms as he moves his hands up your back “Is one of my favorite songs by them.” 

“By who?”

Eyes wide as saucers, you gape at him in disbelief “Kiss?” 

“I don't know them like that!” 

“You don't know this?” he giggles under your scrutinizing gaze and you follow, still in disbelief. You don't really know what possesses you, but you start singing along to the lyrics “I was made for lovin’ you, baby. You were made for lovin’ me.” 

Seonghwa's laughter dies down at that and you notice it too: How the words somehow seem fitting even though you is day two of knowing him. 

The way his heart beats under the palm you place right above it, on his chest, feels intoxicating. 

So you descend again, your front colliding with his and your mouth grazing his beautiful one as you sing the song to him. 

“And I can't get enough of you baby, can you get enough of me?” 

“Fuck…” 

You laugh “That's not really how it goe—” 

His tongue probing your lips open shuts you up for good. 

Seonghwa's hands hold you close, tracing the curve on your back slowly with his thumbs until he finds that spot where your shirt rode up a little, goosebumps on your skin letting him know what he provokes on you. 

There's never been a point in time where you let yourself wonder if you're moving too fast. 

For you, someone who had to take every chance they got in life to get something, out of fear the opportunity wouldn't show up again, this thing you got with Seonghwa feels like it's going at the right pace. 

You both like each other, that much is clear. 

Nothing dramatic has really happened to bond you two together, but it feels like it has. 

Like you're bonded. 

Like it was fated, somehow. 

Like his motorcycle had to break down and he had to walk into the shop when you were the only one there to assist him. 

Like he had to see you breakdown, take you away from the despair Deokhee brings to your soul, in order for you to finally let go and move on to greater things. 

And there's nothing greater than feeling his hand travel down and absentmindedly grab your ass, a noise of satisfaction slipping through your lips and landing on his at the feeling. 

“I'm so—” 

“I liked it,” your smile blends with his as you peck his lips and he does it again, gaining a pleased hum from you “Come here, Ghost.” 

“Where?” 

Disentangling your limbs from his, you follow your original plan and slip from the couch to the floor, your knees hitting the soft carpet you have under the coffee table you're grateful is not that in the way.

Seonghwa sits on the couch again, opening his legs to accommodate the new position you're in and you see the image get to him before the suggestion hits your head. 

You see him gulp when you lick your lips and then it's your turn to gulp, trying to understand if this is something he wants as much as you want it.

Because suddenly you want it. You want it so much. 

It doesn't take much to gather up the courage to touch him, his thighs inviting you to caress them with your nails, teasing, testing him “Is this okay?” 

“Yeah,” he breathes out, hooded eyes and a soft, whiny, trembling tone making fidget on your knees “More than okay.” 

It makes you smile. But there's things to clear up before you go any further. 

“I don't want you to think I brought you to my house just to get on my knees in front of you, Seonghwa.” 

“I don't… I w-would never think that,” you nod and he releases a shuddering breath “I don't want you to think that this is all I want from you either, Y/N.” 

“I don't think that,” you whisper “but thank you for making it clear.” 

“Mhm, I… Oh.” He stops when your touch trails higher and you take your hands away. 

“You wanted to say something else?” 

“N-no.” 

Squinting your eyes at him, you press “You sure?” 

“I was going to say that I want you… S-so please touch me, please.” 

Who would've thought that a man begging would turn you on so, so much? 

You catch on to it immediately. Lowering your hands again, this time around his calves, you pull him a little so he can sit on the edge of the worned out couch. 

He follows suit. 

“You want me to touch you?” you murmur and he nods “Where?”

He closes his eyes, blush beautifully creeping up his neck “Y/N…” 

“You asked me to touch you, but I already was…” you say, like it's the most obvious thing ever “So where do you want to be touched, hm?” 

Straightening your spine and angling yourself upwards, your nose hovers just below his chin. Hands starting to go up again, you hear his breath hitched when your palm grabs into the fabric of his pants before letting it go, the sound of it hitting the skin under making you and him release a noise. 

“How do you want to be touched?” 

Looking down, Seonghwa's mouth barely brushes your nose when he says “So it's going to be like this?” 

“It's working for you,” you whisper back, the pad of your fingers pressing on his inner thighs and, when you look down, the tent in his pants curves your lips with pride that shows when you turn to him again “Isn't it?” 

Pupils blown, he bites down on his lip and you see, for a slight second, a switch in his demeanor that makes you want to drop the teasing just to ask him to take you right there, on the floor, on the couch, wherever he wants to. 

But, as soon as your fingernails trace the outline of his cock, he switches back “P-please...” 

He doesn't have to beg you anymore. 

Desperate to have him squirming under your touch, you push a little with your thumbs and he whines, a sweet sound you can't treasure as long as you want to because hand grabs your neck and his mouth crushes yours in want. 

In a few seconds, the button of his pants is off and the fabric is pooling at his ankles. You help him out of them, his mouth never leaving yours except when you two break apart to pass sweet moans in between kisses and barely there bites. 

Boxers succumbing to the same fate as his pants, you get him needy and panting into your open mouth as you finally take him fully into your hand. 

Pumping one and then twice, you finally pull away to look at him and the sight that welcomes you is beautiful, big and oozing at the tip. 

Eyes connecting with Seonghwa’s again, you make sure he's looking at you before gathering spit and letting it fall into your hand. 

He moans. 

And then he moans a little more when you start working his length, butt connecting to the carpet once again to give him attention fully.��

It feels invigorating, the control he gives you makes you float into an intimate space you never had the opportunity to explore before and that just adds up to the list of things you're grateful for. 

You take in his reactions, the way he's having a hard time keeping his mouth shut when you get close to the tip and tease it before going back down, the way his breath catches in his throat when you lean in and blow some air on it before letting yourself have a taste of him. 

Licking around the tip and eyeing him as you do so, you get to catch him throw his head back in bliss. Then, you indulge both of you a little bit more: hollowing your cheeks, you move forward to take him in your mouth. 

And then you moan around him at the feeling and he shivers under the palm you placed on his knee to keep steady as you suck him off. 

“Your mouth feels so fucking good, dear,” he encourages and you bat your eyelashes at him teasingly, making him chuckle before whining again. Tangling his fingers on your head to guide you to the right speed, he closes his eyes and curses under his breath “So fucking good.” 

It only makes you want to hear him again. So you do your best to stay on him, breathing through your nose and continuing your ministrations as you moans above you, filling your living room with sounds you want to plaster across the walls, encapsulate in a bottle to hear them again when he's not with you. 

You take him deeper and his grasp on your head tenses before you release him with a lewd sound you didn't really intend to make. 

Breathing hard, you let out a whine when he tilts your head back. He looks at you with indescribable desire, want and a little smile that prones yours. 

“You have no idea,” he starts, leaning in to take you mouth with his again, tongue swiping at the saliva that gathered under your bottom lip “How bad I want to ruin you now.” 

Oh, so maybe he's not as submissive as you thought. You should've guessed it, the slight switch and the little glint earlier would've hinted you his true intimate nature if you weren't so busy trying to get the act up. 

“Only if you want to, of course.” 

And yet, he's such a fucking gentleman. You can practically feel yourself getting wetter at his words. 

Your whisper is sweet, a confirmation on what you want and what he obviously wants to hear “Come here, Ghost.” 

You make space for him on the floor and he doesn't question why the both of you are not on the way to your bed right now. 

He seems to like it, even, so you giggle into his mouth at his eagerness to lay you down on the soft carpet and hum appreciatively when his hands bypass your shirt and grab your bare waist to accommodate you both into a comfortable position. 

With his leg in between yours and his chest pressed against you, he kisses you until you're pliant, needy and janking him down to earn some sort of friction. 

Mouth descending down your cheek, into your jaw and then your neck, Seonghwa scatters kisses in the soft spots like he already mapped you out with his mouth. 

His hands touch you where you like, his knee bumps into your core to keep you there as he works his way through you like he had you like this before and it's addicting. 

It feels right. 

He mouths at the valley of your breasts and softly sinks his teeth into the flesh through your shirt and it makes you dizzy, letting out a moan that makes him smile. 

Touching him too, you give his back some attention before sinking your fingers on his silky hair and tugging at the strands. 

He kisses down, down, down until he reaches your belly and then bites you the same way he did seconds ago “Ghost…” 

“Say my name, Y/N.” 

“Hm?” 

“I love when you call me Ghost,” he starts, breathing hard and you watch his nose disappear under the fabric of your shirt, raising it a bit more when he moves to be eye to eye with you “but I want you to call my name if I'm making you feel good,” kissing the sense out of you for a few seconds, he talks against your mouth “Can you do that for me, dear?” 

“Yes,” you barely nod, opening your eyes to find his “Seonghwa.” 

The way you whisper his name, needy and teasingly at the same time, seems to wake something else in him. 

Because in a second, he's asking you to raise your body a little so he can take your shirt off. You help him with his and he moves to undo the clasp on your bra after asking for permission one more time and you shouldn't really find his insistent questioning of consent so hot but you do. 

He takes his time with you, exploring you with his mouth as you do your best to keep still under him. He kisses your chest, rounding your nipples with his tongue and taking them into his mouth after.

Lightning illuminates the room and electricity runs through you and settles into your core. 

“Seonghwa…” 

The sky roars when he gives your legs attention over the fabric of your pants, moans blending into the thunder and the sound of the raindrops against the window when he pulls back and raises your left leg to kiss a path from your ankle to your thigh. 

You buck your hips at the feeling, asking for more without really saying anything and he smiles before moving to your right leg and giving it the same amount of attention. 

“You want me to touch you?” He asks and you're about to call him out for being mean and clueless, but his smirk proves he's only teasing “Where do you want me to touch you, Y/N?” voice low and dripping in honey, he unbuttons your pants and you're not too fucked out yet to know he's returning the way you tortured him earlier “How do you want me to touch you?” 

Your pants end up meeting with his somewhere under the coffee table and you smile when he zeroes on the wet patch your arousal has formed on your underwear. 

And, unlike him, you're not actually humble in asking what you want “Don't you want to taste the mess you've made, Seonghwa?” 

When he eats you out, he makes sure to taste it real good. Open you up with his fingers, learn the right pace and pressure until heat pools on your lower abdomen and you're incoherently babbling praises under your breath. 

When you come undone on his tongue, you make sure to repeat his name like a mantra. Over and over again until he's sated with his meal and leaves the remnants of it in wet marks as he makes his way up to your mouth. 

Tasting yourself on his tongue is heaven. 

“Sound so pretty for me, you're so… Fuck, Y/N.” 

Taking him into your hand again, his dick twitches at the sudden attention it's getting and you explore the skin on his neck, lap at his collarbone and nuzzle against it because you just can't get enough. 

“I want you inside me, Seonghwa,” you whisper against his skin and you see him close his eyes when your other hand joins you on his chest, thumb against his nipple “Ruin me like you promised, hm?” 

He grabs your chin, eyes dark with passion and affection in a way you never want to forget “Your filthy mouth might be the death of me.” He whispers and you giggle, bratty.

“Good, I never want you to forget it,” you whisper back “I never want you to forget me.” 

“Never in a million years, dear.” 

Happy at his response, you kiss him and feel the warmth of his hand leaving you to try and grab his pants again. You giggle when he curses lowly, letting go of him so he can take a condom out of his wallet with a smile on his face. 

He looks back at you in the process, shaking his head in amusement at the way you're taking the tender pause and he's smiling when he rolls on the condom as well as when he lowers himself so he can kiss you senseless again. 

When Seonghwa enters you, the whiny mess he was when you first touched him makes its comeback and you welcomed it as you sink your nails into the skin of his waist, accompanying his slow movements as he eases you open. 

Soon, you're a whiny mess too. He whispers sweet nothings into your ear and kisses your shoulder while you hug him tight to you and let yourself get lost in the buck of his hips and the way he slows downs to make the moment last, like you're not planning on keeping him in your life and making him see stars whenever he wants. 

When he picks up the pace, the living room is warmer than it was when you first came in and the cold from the storm outside it's forgotten as his sweaty forehead rests on yours and his hips snap into yours with vigor.

“That’s it, dear. God, you feel so good…” 

Ruin you he does. Because this time, as he flicks your clit with his thumb and you come, it solidifies the fact that there's no one else you want. 

Is it crazy and a little rushed because you just met him? Yes. 

Do you give a damn? No. No you fucking dont. 

He ruins you for good and for everyone else, as well. 

“Seonghwa! Fuck, fuck, don't stop.” You beg, overstimulated and hips aching, but wanting him to reach his high so badly none of that matters. 

When his hips stutter, you take his ass with your hands and keep him in place, buried deep inside of you and walls pulsing around him as he comes with a beautiful cry and a rasp of your name in his throat. 

Panting, you take the opportunity to kiss his face as he comes down, nose slowly caressing his with affection and gratefulness and emotion you can't express because it's not the time yet. 

“God, Y/N.” He breathes out with a chuckle and you reciprocate it, kissing his mouth once more before deflating against the soft carpet under you. 

“I know,” you look at him, at his fucked out expression and the cute way he kisses the hand you use to wipe the sweat out of his face makes you feel giddy and in love, even if you know you're aren't in love with him yet “God bless the fucking thunderstorm.” 

Laughing, he nods in agreement “God bless the fucking thunderstorm.” 

He kisses you again and then pulls out, making a quick work on the condom and asking for the bathroom so he can dispose of it before making his way back to you. 

When he does, you're already sitting down, still naked, but sipping at your forgotten water bottle. Sitting down next to you, he places a kiss on top of your head.

The carpet is definitely going to use some cleaning after tonight, but that's okay. 

There's a bit of comfortable silence as you both recover from the amazing sex you just had. He takes a sip of your water bottle as well and then there's another thunder that shakes your window and all, making you both jump a little. 

Seonghwa “Do you… Mind if I stay over?” 

You snort “I wasn't planning on letting you go anywhere, Ghost.” 

He smiles, getting close to your face again “Even if it stops raining?” 

You nod, pecking his lips “Even if I have to go and clean up my room just for you.” 

“Oh, wow,” he whistles loud and you push him in feign annoyance, looking around for your underwear “You like me, like me.” 

“Shut the fuck up!” 

He attempts to hug you but you push him away again and stand up, making a quick job of putting your panties back on “Say that you like me and I'll let you kidnap me if you want.” 

“That's not how kidnapping works, idiot.” 

He gets up as well, taking his underwear and putting it on as he follows you around your apartment. 

You quicken your step, but he catches you right as you enter the mess in your bedroom. He hugs you tight, you back against his bare chest and his chin on your shoulder a second later “I'll honestly let you keep me even if you say you hate me, Y/N.”

Is sweet and it should make you cringe but you all but melt against his touch. There's no really a need to tell him you like him when you place his hand on top of your chest so he can take in the way your heart beats for him for the second time tonight. 

“Good,” you turn a little, smiling at him and then turning to your room again “Do you want to help me clean this up just to make it messy again?” 

“Y/N!” 

Seonghwa doesn't help you clean your room. He, in fact, makes it a lot messier as soon as you two get into bed and when he falls asleep he dreams of a life where he can be by your side every night. 

The only thing that disturbs his sweet dreams is the way you squirm in his hold and he can't quite place the reason for it until he hears the loud, banging alarm ringtone he has set at six thirty so he can get ready for work. 

Murmuring and still half asleep, you slap his chest so he can tend to it “Turn it off, Ghost.” 

He does and he checks the time and the screen of his phone to find a message from his boss. It reads something about taking the opportunity to take the rainy day and work from home or something like that and Seonghwa can confirm, looking through your bedroom window, that the rain falls softly against it still. 

He smiles, grateful to have his laptop with him so he can work on his report if you decide not to kick him out first thing in the morning, and then rolls back to you so he can cuddle you and sleep in for the first time in months of commuting to the office. 

Then his phone rings again. 

Both of you groan at the sound and you sit up, the big t-shirt you put on after taking a shower gathering messily around your waist and he almost forgets about the call at the sight of you. 

You're so beautiful. 

“Pick it up and tell them to go fuck themselves for calling you so early. What the fuck.” 

He smiles “Bossy.” 

“You like it.” You say, smiling back and falling on top of him as he answers the call from an unknown number, your cheek resting on his chest. 

He makes sure his voice sounds extra sleepy when he does “Hello?” 

“Good morning, mister Park!” It's a woman on the line, a voice he recognizes but can't quite place yet “I'm sorry to wake you up, but yesterday you asked me what good you're to me… Guess what? You can find out today!” 

She sounds sarcastic and tired and like she drank seventy energy drinks to stay awake. Seonghwa scavenges his brain until the memory hits him “Miss Kim?” 

You look up at that, curious. 

“The one and only. Now, tonight you will accompany me to a party and—” 

“Miss Kim—” 

“I'm not finished,” you cuts him off, annoyed “At the party, I need you to pretend to be my boyfri—” 

“No.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“No, I will not go to the party with you and no, I will not pretend to be your boyfriend.” 

Now, you sit up on the bed again and frown at him. He shrugs and sits up as well.

“This could be a really great opportunity for you to gain connections and—” 

“Miss Kim,” he starts and, after taking in the sudden desperation on her voice, he sighs “I'm flattered you have taken me into consideration for this… Particular, uhm, job?” He offers, feeling awkward as hell “But my day is taken and I'm not single anymore, so I can't do it.” 

He watches you as you break into a little knowing smile and he smiles back, not even the disappointed sigh Miss Kim lets out on the other side of the line can break him away from the spell you so easily put him under. 

“This is very inconvenient for me but I hope you and the cool girl I saw yesterday are happy together… Even if it ruins my happiness forever!” She sounds like she doesn't really mean the last part but it's trying hard to make it seem like she does “God… Ugh. Don't mention this to my brother and please cover that stupid tree up, okay? Goodbye.” 

She hangs up before he even gets the chance of saying goodbye or asking if she'll be okay. He has friends who wouldn't pass the opportunity to fake a relationship and go to a party, anyway. 

“So,” you start, getting on your knees and making your way back to him “What the fuck was that?” 

He reaches for your waist without really thinking about it, like he's been doing it his whole life and you sit on his lap like this is a morning routine you two crafted with years of experience. 

“I don't really know. Remember my client's sister?” you nod “She wanted me to be her fake boyfriend at a party tonight, I think.” 

“And you told her you're not single anymore to save face because you didn't want to go?” 

“I told her I wasn't single because I'm not,” he says, honestly “Even if you're not my girlfriend right now… I don't really want to see anyone else but you, so…” 

You fake a gasp and he rolls his eyes, smiling like an idiot when you lean in to leave a peck on his lips “And I was about to kick you out ten minutes ago!” 

Pouting, he holds you tighter “Why?” 

“That stupid alarm almost made me.” 

“I turned it off!” 

You laugh at the way he pretends to be offended and you're about to say something else before his phone starts ringing like crazy. 

It's not a call, it's a message notification. 

He turns to it and sees that Yunho is spamming the group chat with emojis. 

“Oh, God,” he sighs “What now?” 

“Is that your friend from yesterday?” 

“Mhm.” 

When Seonghwa scrolls to the messages to find something that can indicate what the hell is going on, he reads something a little alarming. 

Does anyone want to skip town tonight? 

He blocks the phone and tosses it into the bed, turning to your worried form with a smile “Do you want to meet my friends tonight?” 

You seem to get it immediately. 

“I would love to, Ghost,” you lean in to kiss him again, softly “Only if you introduce me as your girlfriend and not your mechanic, though.” 

Heart beating with a wonderful song, he agrees with soft yes and kisses you dumb for the first time today. 

He almost misses the deadline for his report, too. 

It's not really his fault that he can't get enough of you. 

If you read all the way down here: THANK YOU SO MUCH. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

© jensthwa, 2024.

[mochinek0]

Family Secrets

Damian couldn't believe his eyes. He had seen pieces of that costume when he lived in the League, but never did he expect to see his mother, disguised, in Paris! He carefully kept an eye on her as she walked into a bakery. He felt his own breath hitch as a young girl came and hugged her.

"Nonna!" she cried.

'Grandmother?'

"Hello, My Leetle Fairy." his mother replied, hugging her back.

"Are you having fun on your travels?" the girl questioned, "Where did you go this time?"

"Egypt." his mother declared.

The girl smiled, "Did you see the pyramids?"

His mother brought out a keychain of a pyramid and handed it to the girl.

"It's great!" the girl smiled, "I'll keep it on my desk so when I see it, I can think of you."

"I wish you could come with me." the disguised Talia declared.

"Maybe when I'm older?" the young girl answered.

Talia tapped the young girl's nose, "Possibly, but we know very well how hard you work."

"Mom!" announced a man, who seemed the size of Bane, "How are you?"

Damian watched on in shock. He was aware that his mother was much older than she appeared. Hearing someone around his father's age, refer to his mother as a maternal figure was unsettling.

"I'm fine, Tom." she answered.

"Would you like to put your bag down and rest?" he asked.

"Nonsense." his mother replied, "I may look older, but I'm fine. I wanted to see if Marinetta would like to take a ride around the city with me."

"Yes!" the girl cried.

Damian watched as they both got on a motorcycle and drove off.

It took awhile, but Damian finally spotted them near the Seine, eating ice cream. The girl was looking down at something, in her lap. His mother's eyes connected with his and he knew he had made her.

"I'll be right back." Gina spoke, kissing Marinette on the head.

Gina walked in Damian's direction.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Do you plan to kidnap her, Mother?" Damian questioned.

"Of course not!" Gina snapped.

"Who is she?" he asked.

Talia sighed, "Your niece; she's your age."

"So the man who called you mother-"Damian began.

"Your grandfather wanted me out of the way. He was looking for a male successor to take over." Talia began to explain, "He kicked me out of the League, briefly, and I had some semblance of a normal life. I fell in love with a baker. Tom is our son, before I ever met your father. Essentially, he is your older brother."

She sighed, "Everyhting was fine and I was happy, until he sent someone to exterminate us. Before I killed him, I learned my death was a test. Kill me and become successor to the League. I returned with his head and threw it at your grandfather's feet. He looked at me and said he would allow me back on one condition."

"What was it?" Damian asked.

"I had to leave my family." she admitted, "I said I understood and would be back in three months. I knew he would never stop coming after us."

"Why three months?" her son questioned, "You were already there. Did they not know of the League?"

"Tom was getting married and no, my family knew nothing about the League. I returned and told my family I would be 'traveling in my old age'. A few years after he got married, I came back to a three year old granddaughter. Your grandfather found out and forbid my return."

"Grandfather is dead." Damian spoke.-changing subject

"I've been stopping in more." she declared, "They aren't like us. They're not like your father. They know nothing about my past, aside from divorcing a man, who made me happy. I tell them I'm traveling around the word. I wear a wig and makeup. At some point, I will have to stop visiting all together since anyone else will grow old and pass on. The League........you lose sense of time when there. Two years ago, I thought she was still three. She was turning fourteen."

"What about the man?" her son asked.

Talia smiled, "Reminds me of your grandfather, actually. He's all about 'traditions', so perhaps it was for the best."

"Nonna!" Marinette cried out.

"Please, Damian, leave them alone." his mother whispered.

Damian watched as his mother walked away. He had never known her to beg for something.

"My Leetle Fairy, are you ready to go back home?" Gina asked, "Do you have new inspiration for your designs? I can't wait to see the clothes you create this time."

Damian watched as the girl put her sketchbook away.

'Clothes? Designs?'

He smiled softly. She was an artist, like him. He watched as his mother got on the motorcycle with his niece. What surprised him was seeing his niece glare at him. Damian chuckled.

'Mother may not see it, but she is a lot like them. A little fairy.'

"Damian, a Fairy is someone who helps people who are lost in the dark. It's not always in a literal sense; it can be figurative."

The young Al-Ghul turned and walked in the opposite direction.

'Fairy is a suitable name for my niece. I wonder how Mother would feel learning her true nature? A Fae who lures in her prey.'

TAG LIST: @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus @missmadwoman @meira-3919  @princessdaisysolosyourfaves @blep-23 @fangirlingfanatic @darkhinauniverse @ravenr22 @im-a-satanic-ritual @ravennm84  @bianca-hooks123 @a-slytherinish-gryffindor @starling218

[allpiesforourown]

Speaking of disabilities in danmei…what if we had a disabled love interest,, that didn’t have his disability “cured” (honestly my least favorite troupe in all of fiction, I don’t mind prosthetics route bc it’s an aide not cure but when they actually cure the disability)…anyways that fish mpreg and Prince Jing <3 I actually bought tdtbppf because it was may and that’s disability awareness month (alongside the moon on a rainy night, pretty good manga imo)

I really need to read tyrants pet fish fr. Xiao xingchen and shen qiao need to be friends they can be uptight together.

I love when a character has a disability and the writers we'll do something so ridiculous this will literally not a problem. My fav example is bronya from hi3 who can't walk, so to make her model navigate open world/fights, her "running animation" is riding a motorcycle. Like yeah she can't walk so let's give her a magic motorbike she can ride instead. Absolutely genius

[foxes-that-run]

have you seen the whole niceboy ed saga? Any theories on who he might be?

i feel like he is doing it for attention and promotion taking advantage of the swifties…. i read all the theories but was wondering if there is a chance for Harry to be behind it.

Ed…Harry Edward Styles….all the polaroid pictures, and now the clip with a motorcycle, I don’t know just wondering if there is something with real meaning behind it.

Niceboy Ed

I think the most likely theory is that Taylor is Niceboy Ed and it is using it to announce/promote the re-records. Before 1989 TV it used the 1989 TV colours, referred to events in the 1989 era (Kentish Town, polaroids) and the ice cream emoji 🍦like the this photo.

The provided explanation is that Niceboy Ed is a friend of Joe's, but frankly that makes no sense at all. Especially now 2 years have passed and nothing came of a pretty successful campaign for a Sony artist. Taylor has met a lot of people who want to be famous that aren't (see The 1975 in 2014😂) yet never helped them like this.

To recap/expand

16 September 2022 - A Joe stan account (no, really! 😂) posted to Twitter that Niceboy ed was a friend of Joe's, where they got this info??? The account kept posting about Joe until a month after the break up, so it seems likely it was connected to Taylors team.

17 September 2022 - The same account posted an explanation where they said he was part of Joe's 'frosty crew' and posted a much since shared photo of Joe with some guy as 'proof':

19 September 2022 - Taylor used the Niceboy Ed sound of Life you Lead in the 'Making midnights' Tiktok., then liked 100+ posts using the sound, she wanted us to all notice the sound. I am not aware of Taylor using someone else's music to post before, (especially to promote hers!) It's 15 seconds long, it was the perfect opportunity for a snippet of the upcoming album. I don't believe Taylor would do that to promote anyone, especially not an unknown artist that was friends with or was her boyfriend. At this time people were already speculating they were ending, if not already broken up from. The YLM date and TTPD has supported that they were not on good terms at that time. This was a year before 1989 TV was announced, but we don't know when Niceboy Ed actually started. The lyrics hint at Taylors re-records:

Taken twice You're still a part of me There's still some harmony In my deepest rights On and on and on

24 September 2022 - Niceboy ed posted to Instagram soft yellow posts with a blond baby boy promoting Life you Lead (1/3) hinting that there would be 3 songs/posts, and there now are

4 October 2022 - Niceboy ed went live with a soft pink screen and posted that Heaven would be 2/3. The songcredits only refer to Niceboy Ed and music is copyright Niceboy Ed and no label or licensing deal.. the way Taylor Swift appears.

5 October 2022 - Niceboy ed's first 2 songs are on Spotify and the lyrics seem to reference Taylors masters. The Spotify visuals are a field and a train line in Kentish town.

On Google Maps you can see that the photo posted looks to have been taken at the rail overpass and across the road in 2022 was a bar called "the Rabbit Hole" (right black awning here) which may be a longbow, but given the amount of 1989 vibes from Niceboy Ed I associate this with Wonderland. Kentish Town is also home to Kenish Kebabs that appears in End Game, the owner said that it was "a certain ex boyfriend lived nearby", that quote (and the music video) were during her relationship with Joe, he is not the Ex. The kebab shop is similar to one in the 1D Midnight Memories MV and the area is both near Harry's current home and where he and Ed Sheeran couch surfed with the 1D guitarist in Tufnell Park while Harry dated Taylor. (Joe also grew up in Tufnell Park)

3 February 2023 - Moonlight appeared, this one with a pale blue, it was removed soon after but is on spotify now.

22 March 2023 - April 2023 Life you Lead by Niceboy Ed was track 5 (1989 is TS5) on the Eras Pre Show playlist. There are internet rumours it was removed after the break up, but I can’t find any evidence of the playlist changing till Europe a year later which is also after 1989TV came out.

4 April 2023 - Niceboy Ed posts 10 underdeveloped polaroids. Fans could sign up for emails and revealed polaroids with messages, the emails had Sony Music UK as a street address, (but on Spotify Niceboy Ed, and unknown new artist seemingly signed to Sony owns full rights to the songs with no licensing.... OK, sure, Harry's work is licenced to Sony, but Taylors is now owned outright.) and a sign up for discord

April 2023 - The spotify canvas's are also updated to a blue sky and lights on a road, reminiscent of 1989 and Style

22 April 2023 - Niceboy ed posts a photo of a piano, (that is still there October 2024) and 'live from somewhere, wherever you are' that phrase was used

August 2023 - 1989 TV announced. the vinyl variant colours that match NBE announced then

27 October 2023 - 1989 TV released.

5 October 2024 - After 17 months of silence Niceboy Ed posted this video of a motorcycle, went live and updated his socials for a black and green grab from it. Harry of course rides a motorcycle. He used and ice cream emoji🍦(think back of 1989 TV) before and a circus now. 🎪 (I assume back of Rep TV)

7 October - niceboy ed shared This motorbike and piano https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGdJVbHYt

ASCAP

The writer/produced of the songs are niceboy ed and Merru and they are published by Sony Music. In the BMI database "Edward Thomas Oliver Green" is the writer/composer of all songs:

Mick Green / Mick Greenberg being Harry's most well known alias, which he has said he used to book hotels and published I Love You under.

Colours

Would you look at that ... and polaroids.... OK.

Photos of the kid

There is all sort of speculation about this kid being Taylor, Joe, Austin Swift, Ed Sheeran, Aaron and Jack. I'll add that Harry was a blonde toddler, but this kids face is too long for any of them IMHO. I think these photos are AI generated, composite or a model.

Notes on them others have noticed is that there is a reflection, (they are a photo of a photo), the glasses appear edited in and the apron is Postman Pat who was big here and in the UK but I gather not the US.

[dogbunni]

(shakes my head like a dog flinging rainwater all over the kitchen cabinetry as it's owner yells in despair and grief) (several nendo headcanons fall out)

anyway

-nendo wears lynx africa. he sprays it liberally after every P.E lesson and saiki has actually teleported himself out of the boys locker room in full view of the whole class before because of this. no one noticed.

-he and kuboyasu engage in underage drinking once a month. kuboyasu has a good alcohol tolerance because of his delinquent past and nendo's tolerance is obscene because of his sheer size. they keep this a secret from the others because they don't want to be bad influences <3 (nendo cares about his buddies a lot and kuboyasu would rather die than see anyone else go down the same path he did)

-in a similar vein. kuboyasu is the one who has to buy the illicit alcohol, even though nendo could easily pass as being in his mid twenties. this is because the one time he tried buying the booze, he showed his real ID (unprompted) to the cashier instead of the fake one.

-despite the above blunder he is actually good at keeping his illegal monthly drinks night a secret. actually he is just weirdly good at keeping secrets.

-one by one everyone else realises that hey, nendo can actually keep a secret! and thats how he becomes the group confidante. kaido uses him like a therapist and he loves it bc his pal is getting all those hard feelings out and developing as a person and nendo gets to help!!!!!

-speaking of. nendo loves feeling helpful. he is aware that he's not the brightest so he likes when he can actually be useful to someone. sometimes this backfires and he accidentally makes a situation worse, but he makes up for it by being helpful without even trying to be. he probably should stop trying so hard. he does fine as he is. but everyone has their insecurities.

-he loves hanging out with saiki the best because he never feels pressure to be smart or a good conversationalist. sometimes he and saiki just lay on saiki's bedroom floor and eat a share bag of crisps each while staring silently at the ceiling. it's like a mental reset for nendo (for saiki it's about the level of socialisation he can just about enjoy before it becomes overwhelming and bothersome)

-he likes watching animal documentaries

-he does not like riding on kuboyasu's motorcycle, queasy-drunk and full of bad ramen, going 20 over the limit (kuboyasu was sober, he would never drive drunk, they just overestimated how much alcohol they had and nendo drank it all)

-nendo spends a lot of his free time Practicing Things. not things like doing his homework or niche skills but things like. how to cook. how to clean a bathroom without creating chlorine gas. how to fix a washing machine that's making a clunk sound. how to take care of house plants. how to start a herb garden. how to put together ikea furniture. how to do a weekly grocery shop without breaking the bank. he knows he won't be able to get a smarty-pants job, and that's fine, because he doesn't want one. he wants to be a house husband. and he takes his training seriously.

-he loves cute things like hello kitty. he doesn't own any sanrio stuff because he is a little embarrassed about liking it. but sometimes if he sees a hello kitty plush in a shop he will stand there and hold it gently for a while.

-he wants SO MANY kids when he grows up. he wants to be a soccer mom. he wants a mini van full of mini nendo's. the world may not survive it.

-he loves ramen the same way saiki loves coffee jelly. he lives and dies for ramen. so sometimes when it's just saiki and nendo alone they'll look at each other and just get up. go their separate ways. buy their respective foodstuffs. come back. feast. all without exchanging a word. they're kindred spirits that way. boys who love their favourite food in a diagnosably autistic way.

-i do also headcanon nendo as autistic and adhd. he got diagnosed very young and his mother has told him, he just immediately forgot.

[randomoranges]

i've had this idea marinating in my head for - 4 years? maybe. eventually i got around to writing it. then it took 1000 other days to type. but, yknow, here we are now.

teacher au

Vroom Vroom

Then

Étienne stands outside the school building and waits for Edward. It is one of the first nice days of spring and being out is rather nice after a cold long winter. His friend has promised him a lift home and so, when he’d walked by Edward’s classroom and hadn’t seen him, Étienne assumed his friend would be outside.

He peers in the direction of the parking lot, trying to spy Edward’s car, but he can’t find it. He hopes Edward hasn’t forgotten about him and curses himself for not reconfirming over lunch. For all he knows, Edward may have gotten stuck in some conversation with another of their colleagues and he figures he’ll give him another five minutes before sending him a message.

Just in case.

He busies himself observing the multitude of parents and guardians picking up their charges and waves at whichever student wishes him a nice end of day. He is just about to take out his phone, when he notices a motorcycle come down the street. He knows of a few parents that have a motorcycle, having seen them at the start of the school year, and he pays closer attention to see if there will be any excited ruckus over it. For some reason, a parent with a motorcycle always stands out more than the regular sedan.

However, the motorcycle goes past the pick-up gates and instead stops by the main doors where Étienne is waiting.

“Need a ride, stranger?” The rider of the motorcycle asks and then pushes up their visor, effectively short-circuiting Étienne’s brain.

For starters, his brain reminds him that he knows that voice.

Actually, that is Edward’s voice, his brain supplies.

But Edward had never ever mentioned riding – or even owning – a motorcycle.

Not that he needed have told him. But – they’d been hanging out for the better part of the past seven months now. Surely, it would have come up in a conversation, or something.

Still.

Even though he knows that Edward has a significant other, he can’t deny that his friend is quite attractive and that under different circumstances, he would have totally asked him out. But, seeing as he tries to be a decent human being and that despite his many shortfalls, he’s not one to ruin other people’s relationships, Étienne’s kept his little crush to himself, buried it deep down and focused on being a friend. (That and he has no idea if Edward is even into men and given the nature of their jobs, it’s best if he keeps this to himself. But again, details.)

Also, there’s something about a motorcycle that’s so very hot and so very masculine and it’s doing things to Étienne’s insides. He’s only human. And he’s not perfect. The eroticisation of the motorcycle is something he is very well aware of, but he’d never thought it would be something that would appeal to him until now.

Regardless, he’s a good friend and not a monster so he’ll keep all his naughty thoughts to himself and instead deal with them later, when he’s home alone with the internet at his finger tips, thank you very much.

However, he has to admit that he likes this side of Edward. Likes that there are multiple sides to Edward’s personality. Layers, really. (He wonders what else he doesn’t know about his friend.) After all, he must admit that even though he fights against the expectations of the stereotypical teacher, he may have made an assumption or two about Edward based on his job and the way he dresses. Yet, at the same time, when he gives it some thought, he must admit to himself that the motorcycle aesthetic also fits with Edward in its own way and he’s totally here for it and whatever else Edward is into. (And, he hopes that with time, he’ll get to find out more.)

“Why yes, I wouldn’t mind to ride, actually.” If there is any inuendo to his words, he means it as a joke, even if it could be flirtatious. Luckily, Edward only laughs and hands him a helmet as he makes his way towards the bike.

“Sit close, but not too close and hold on to my waist.” Edward instructs him.

Étienne keeps his bag on his back and now it makes sense why Edward had asked him if he had many things to bring home. He tries not to think too much about how this is the first time he’s touching Edward in more than a pat on the shoulder way or when they sit on the old couch in his classroom to watch movies over lunch and their thighs sometimes touch. He still finds himself sitting close, (but not too close) and tries to focus on the briefing Edward gives him, before they’re off to a roaring start.

He holds on tightly, surprised by the speed at which they cover ground and it is absolutely exhilarating. He laughs as the wind wipes through him and he wonders briefly if this is what freedom feels like. If this is why Edward’s fallen for the motorcycle, he may just understand why.

“Do tell, how did you manage to get your bike if we drove in your car this morning?” He asks when they’re at a red light and it’s quieter than when the motorcycle is at its full roar.

Edward flips up his visor and grins at him and Étienne’s body goes warm all over. This man is a menace and he will not survive until the end of the school year if his friend keeps giving him lifts on this damned motor bike, it seems.

“Took last period off, went home to drop the car, took the bus to the garage to pick ‘er up and then came to pick you up.”

“Such dedication,” Étienne gently teases, but he likes that Edward made time for something he clearly likes.

“Listen, I’ve been looking at the weather app for the past three weeks trying to figure out when would be a good day for the first ride. At least the season’s longer here.” The light changes and their conversation comes to an end for now. Étienne busies himself with the patches on Edward’s jacket and makes a mental note to ask about them later. He holds on and does his best to keep his mind busy until Edward drives up to his street and parks the bike in front of his building.

If he’s a little bit shaky dismounting the motorcycle, he blames it on the adrenaline of his first ever ride and not because of the sight Edward paints with his leather jacket, his riding boots, his tousled hair when he pulls off his helmet for a moment and the bright smile on his face.

“Same time same place tomorrow?”

Étienne wishes he meant something else by that, but nods instead. “Will you be coming by bike, or…?”

He wants another ride. Wants to chase the freedom with Edward again. Wants – many other things he keeps to himself because he’s a good friend.

Edward gives a sad shake of his head, “Unfortunately not – they’re predicting rain.”

“Oh, bummer.” He means it, but maybe there’ll be other rides in the future and – maybe he’ll have calmed himself by then.

Instead, he watches as Edward mounts his bike once more, pulls on his helmet and then drives off after waving goodbye at him. Étienne takes a moment to breathe, before he makes his way to his apartment, already on one of his many hookup apps.

--

Now

Étienne stands outside the school building and waits for Edward. It is one of the first nice days of spring and being outside is rather nice after a cold long winter. His boyfriend is meant to give him a lift home and so, when he’d walked by Edward’s classroom and hadn’t seen him, Étienne assumed Edward would be outside.

He peers in the direction of the parking lot, trying to spy Edward’s car, but he can’t find it. He hopes Edward hasn’t forgotten about him even though that would be a little strange, considering they live together and have done so for a few years now. For all he knows, Edward may have gotten stuck in some conversation with another of their colleagues and he figures he’ll give him another five minutes before sending him a message. Just in case. (The years have taught him that there are times when Edward can be quite distracted.)

He busies himself observing the multitude of parents and guardians picking up their charges and waves at whichever student wishes him a nice end of day. He is just about to take out his phone, when he notices a motorcycle come down the street.

He knows of a few parents that have a motorcycle, having seen them at the start of the school year, and he pays closer attention to see if there will be any excited ruckus over it. For some reason, a parent with a motorcycle always stands out more than the regular sedan.

However, the motorcycle goes past the pick-up gates and instead stops by the main doors where Étienne is waiting.

“Need a ride, stranger?” The rider of the motorcycle asks and then pushes up their visor, effectively short-circuiting Étienne’s brain even after so many years.

For starters, his brain reminds him that he knows that voice.

Actually, that is Edward’s voice, his brain supplies and he knows it quite well.

Yet somehow, he had completed forgotten that it is the start of spring and that it means that Edward itches for the day he can take out his bike.

He knows Edward mentioned it offhand over the past few weeks, he just – never clicked that it would be today.

Still.

Even though he’s been with Edward for years now, he can’t deny that his partner is quite attractive and that the little motorcycle number still gets to him. (At least now he gets to ogle all he wants, no shame and no guilt.)

But, seeing as he tries to be a decent human being and that despite his many shortfalls, he’s not one to ruin both their good reputations, Étienne keeps his running thoughts, and hands, to himself, buries it deep down for when they will be alone together. (He has it on good authority that Edward likes that he has a thing for the motorcycle getup, so really, it’s win-win all around.)

Also, there’s something about a motorcycle that’s still so very hot and so very masculine and it does things to Étienne’s insides. He’s only human. And he’s not perfect. The eroticisation of the motorcycle is something he has exploited to his benefit over the years, even if he’d never thought it would appeal to him until recently.

However, he has to admit that even these many years later, he likes this side of Edward. Likes that there are multiple sides to Edward’s personality. Layers, really. (The beauty is that he now knows more of Edward’s sides now and he cherishes the time it has taken him to get to know them and looks forward to many more years and such.)

After all, he must admit that even though he continues to fight against the expectations of the stereotypical teacher, and even if he may have made an assumption or two about Edward based on his job and the way he dresses once upon a time, he admits to himself that the motorcycle aesthetic also fits nicely with Edward in its own way and he’s totally here for it. (Something about being a rebel in his own right and doing things his own way, and such – it always resonated with Étienne.)

“Why yes, I wouldn’t mind to ride, actually.” If there is any inuendo to his words, he means it less as a joke now and he’s being as flirtatious as he can given the fact that they’re still on school grounds. Luckily, Edward only laughs, far too used to his shenanigans, and hands him his helmet as he makes his way towards the bike. (Because yes, Étienne has his own helmet for such occasions. His own jacket too for when Edward takes him out on longer rides. It’d been a gift, a few years back now, after Edward had gotten fondly tired of Étienne perpetually stealing his and refusing to get one himself.)

“Sit close, but not too close and hold on to my waist.” Edward instructs him. It would be redundant, but Étienne is a fiend for close contact and no matter the number of reminders, he always somehow manages to “forget.”

Étienne keeps his bag on his back and settles in behind his beau. He sees Edward roll his eyes as he sits just a little bit too close for a split second – long enough to get the reaction he wants, before he does as he’s told.

Now that he thinks back to it, it makes sense as to why Edward asked him this morning if he had many things to bring home. He should have seen it coming – knew that it was a matter of time before Edward took out the bike, but it flew over his head as it nearly always does every year.

He doesn’t really mind though; the surprise is always nice.

He’s used to Edward’s touch now, but he doesn’t think he’ll ever tire of Edward’s body or his warmth. He makes it a point to get in as much casual touching as he can when they hang out together in his class to either have lunch or watch movies instead of grading, but it’s still nice to sit close (but not too close) to Edward, almost as if it’s something this side of illicit and illegal. Still, he thanks his lucky stars that the kids (and parents) are slightly too naïve to think too much into it. It’s irritating, but it serves its purpose.

Étienne shakes his head and tries to focus on the briefing Edward gives him, before they’re off to a roaring start.

He holds on tightly, still somewhat surprised by the speed at which they cover ground and it is absolutely exhilarating. He laughs as the wind wipes through him and he understands that freedom might be a little bit like this. He now knows why Edward had fallen for the motorcycle, years and years ago, and if it wasn’t for the easy access to free rides he has, he may have gone out to learn himself, if only for the sensation of it all.

“You’ve gotten sly with old age, Murphy,” He says when they’re at a red light and it’s quieter than when the motorcycle is at its full roar. “You didn’t even mention anything about getting the bike today.”

Edward flips up his visor and grins at him all wicked like and Étienne’s body goes warm all over. This man is a menace and he will not survive until retirement if his boyfriend keeps giving him lifts on this damned motor bike, it seems, (but he knows he’ll come back for more and wait for the next ride, since he is just as addicted as Edward is.)

“Wanted to keep it a surprise,” Edward mentions casually, “Went home to drop the car, took the bus to the garage to pick ‘er up and then came to pick you up.”

“Such dedication,” Étienne gently teases, but he likes that Edward still manages to make time for something he clearly likes. He then presses himself just a little bit closer for the fraction of a second – because he can – and then sits back before Edward can once more gently reprimand him to hold himself correctly.

“I’m surprised you didn’t clue in when I started compulsively looking at the weather app for the past three weeks trying to figure out when would be a good day for the first ride. The season might be longer here, but the rain hasn’t helped at all this year.”

The light changes and their conversation comes to an end for now. Étienne busies himself with the patches on Edward’s jacket and easily recalls what each one of them means. He holds on and does his best to keep his mind busy until Edward drives up to their street and parks the bike in front of their home. He’s still a little bit shaky dismounting the motorcycle, and he only partially he blames it on the adrenaline of his first ride of the season and not because of the sight Edward paints with his leather jacket, his riding boots, his tousled hair when he pulls off his helmet for a moment and the bright smile on his face.

“Same time same place tomorrow?” Edward asks him with a wink.

Étienne fishes the keys out of his bag and nods, playing along to this old and ancient game of theirs. “Will we be using the bike, or…?”

He wants another ride. Wants to chase the freedom with Edward again. Wants – many other things he no longer keeps to himself, because Edward knows him too well and quite frankly, Étienne hasn’t written it off completely that his boyfriend doesn’t do it just a little bit on purpose to rile him up for fun.

Edward gives a sad shake of his head, “Unfortunately not – they’re predicting rain, again.” He says with a little mournful sigh.

“Oh, bummer.” He means it, but he also knows that he’ll get another ride soon anyways, regardless of the weather and it’ll be consolation enough. If anything, he’ll still get that delicious proximity he likes so much.

Instead, he unlocks the door, while Edward puts the bike away. He waits for him, before they both make their way inside and then, finally, when they’re safely behind closed doors, Étienne pulls Edward to him, hookup apps no longer necessary.

FIN

[totesmgoats01-published-author]

This is my precious baby boy, Lucius.

He has been a grumpy old man since he was 6 months old.

Is currently 10 years old.

Has the 'tism. ("Routine. Is. Routine!")

Has 2 modes (names come from the breeds of his parents):

Min Pin mode, aka "it's too fucking hot out for you to not acknowledge my fabulousness"

Pomeranian mode, aka "OMG YOU GUYS HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED FETCH WITH A SNOWBALL??? YOU GET TO EAT IT WHEN YOU CATCH IT!?!!"

Is the "Designated Pervert™" in the anime of our life (steals and hoards his humans' clothes, but has a particular fondness for underwear, apparently)

Puts humans in one of the following categories:

One of His Humans

Not one of His, but still family/pack

Not family/pack, but welcome in the house

Not welcome in the house, but delighted to see in public

It's On Sight, Motherfucker

Despite what the previous line may lead you to believe, is a massive coward.

Things which I was barely able to convince him (if I could at all) that they were not Threats™ include but are not limited to:

Curly beards- no, not the people who have the beards, the beard itself. A certain friend of the family was clean shaven when he first them; instant friend. Next time he saw this guy, he had a bushy, curly full beard. Instant suspicion/apprehension. Third time, guy still had a beard but the beard was covered with a face mask: happy to see friend, yay fun times, till the beard showed up (aka, the mask was taken off to eat something), then back to apprehension

The eye on a particular toy turtle

A plastic bag caught in a tree in the backyard

Motorcycles (but only while in a car)

Cords

Anything that even vaguely resembles thunder/fireworks (aka; car backfiring, ice breaking, some loud thumping bass)

Loves to have his picture taken and if he knows that's what you're doing, will pose for the camera. My partner is the only one who can consistently get candid shots of him (yes, all 3 of these he was aware of the pic being taken)

And last but not least; enjoys watching anime, YouTube and cartoons (the more singing, the better)

Sorry for rambling so much lol

Ah. Thank you so for indulging my request. I like seeing cute creatures and hearing about their personalities.

I love your little man. What a lovely creature. Look at those big ole eyes. I want to pet him and give him kisses. Thank you.

[anotheruserwithnoname]

What we know about Jackdaw so far

(EDIT Jan 21, 2023: This piece has been updated to include a little bit of new information as Jenna Coleman made her first media confirmation of the new movie in her recent Telegraph interview)

So, as Jenna Coleman begins what will hopefully be a successful run in the play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (stream please, National Theatre Live) my thoughts turn to a rather mysterious project she was involved in just before Christmas - somehow as she was in the midst of rehearsals for the play. Jackdaw - as the project has been referred, though this may not be the final title - has had only scant regional media coverage and I admit that if not for that scant coverage I would be starting to wonder if this project was real or some sort of nethoax like a certain alleged lost film Tumblr was on about for a while in the fall.

Since there have been numerous posts on the topic here in recent weeks (mostly by @oswincoleman who has done an amazing job keeping track), I thought I’d try and distil what major information is known (or not known) about this film so far. Spoiler break for length.

1. As I said, it is not known if Jackdaw is the official name, or a working title, or some sort of cover title like “Blue Harvest” disguised the filming of Return of the Jedi; but that would have to mean “Jackdaw” is connected to some major enterprise, which it doesn’t appear to be. Although I saw someone ask if maybe this was connected to Sandman coming a few months after its renewal by Netflix (and Netflix allegedly being connected to Jackdaw, not to mention a comics-accurate hair-colour change by Jenna), there’s no sign of any connection to Sandman or any other franchise (Mason Alexander Park of Sandman said the other day they don’t expect to resume filming till the summer); and despite the director having worked on Doctor Who before, there’s been nothing to suggest it’s related in anyway to that either (and they’d be talking Disney+ or BBC not Netflix if it was).

2. As of mid-January, all we have heard about it is from social media posts and a few “what are they filming?”-style stories on local/regional news sites, plus a casting call for extras that was posted in December. Recent major media coverage of Jenna - including about her hair colour change - have made no reference to the project.

3. Jenna herself has only made reference to this production by way of a couple of enigmatic Instagram Stories posts, one showing a motorcycle, another showing camera equipment. According to social media, she filmed her role over the course of about a week or so in mid-December. Despite this, people purporting to be insiders on the production have claimed she has a major role in it. Speculation is she might go back to film more after the play wraps. But social media reports filming on Jackdaw wrapped in mid-January. Filming apparently took place in the north of England, including Hartlepool.

3.5. Interestingly, Jenna has made no reference to the film in recent interviews, including the one with Graham Norton who surely must have been aware of the social media reports if nothing else; even when she was under her NDA for Sandman back in 2021 she was at least still able to acknowledge she was filming “something” recently even if she couldn’t say what. Jackdaw does not seem to something on the scale of a Marvel movie, so I can’t see her not being allowed to at least acknowledge the film - unless maybe the producers of the Lemons play asked her not to, perhaps so as not to take away from the play. To be fair, if you’re promoting a specific event it wouldn’t do to spend the limited time available talking about Jackdaw, Wilderness, Sandman S2, Klokkenluider, War Rooms... right?

5. Who is involved in Jackdaw? Other than Jenna, it appears the lead actor is one Thomas Turgoose, known for the This is England films and TV series in the UK (an unknown to me; he was in one of the Kingsmen films too; I see Jenna also began following him on Instagram at some point). A casting call for a scene suggested Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Jenna’s co-star in the upcoming Wilderness, is also in it but I haven’t seen much more on that. And Jenna reportedly has a stunt double. Personnel from The Sandman are also involved such as the cinematographer as well as the director is reportedly Jamie Childs, Jenna’s current boyfriend who directed her main episode of SM. If reports are accurate it makes this an interesting hybrid of her most recent TV projects.

6. Around the time of filming, as we know, Jenna dyed her hair a bright blonde, a look she debuted at an event she found time to attend just before the holidays. It is not yet known if she did it for the film, for the play (as she’s kept it and yellowish hair for a play called Lemons, etc., makes sense), or both. Or maybe she just decided to go blonde. The fact she’s still dark-haired on the posters for the play suggests it was a decision made after the initial publicity photo shoots for the play were done.

6.5 Surprisingly, Jenna didn’t make an Instagram post about changing her hair colour. Indeed, except for a couple of play-related posts and one set of pics taken while preparing for a pre-blonde event, she was all but radio silent on Instagram during December (she didn’t do a year in review for Instagram Stories either, nor did she post anything related to the event she attended where she unveiled the new hairdo). Which does make sense if she was shooting a movie, commuting, preparing for the play, etc.

7. There’s apparently a rave sequence in the film with police (including apparently riot cops, at least based on the casting call), for which some photos from the set have emerged. Jenna, as noted, apparently has a stunt double possibly related to motorcycle riding?

8. Social media have said this is a film being made for Netflix, but Netflix has yet to make any announcement regarding such a production. Obviously, no hints of a release date have come out (and remembering the long wait for a release on Klokkenluider, scenes for which Jenna filmed 2 years ago, it may be a while). According to the social media reports, this is a feature-length film, not a short, intended for cinemas.

I’m sure I missed a few (and likely made some mistakes too) but these are the major bullet points as I understand them. Despite claims of Jenna having a major role in the show, I’m a little skeptical given how little time she appears to have spent filming (and the fact she squeezed this in while in the midst of rehearsals for the play). The fact we have a pretty clear indication of when she went blonde (between her event in early December with dark hair, followed a couple weeks later by her attending an event with blonde hair), I don’t think it’s a case of her having done more filming earlier that we don’t know about (unless she changes hair colour during the film ).

My gut is telling me it’ll be the same as Klokkenluider, for which Jenna indeed plays a major role but according to reviews does not actually appear throughout the film. In Jackdaw, Jenna could be playing a major role - but one that only involves her in a few scenes. Time will tell. And until or unless someone - production company, one of the actors, Netflix - actually releases some sort of info, we’re stuck for now with speculation, guesswork and Instagram posts.

Update: January 21, 2023: Jenna Coleman was the subject of a major interview with the Daily Telegraph magazine. The article is behind a paywall, but it does confirm that Jenna did film a movie called Jackdaw, dyed her hair for the film, and apparently plays a “pixie punk biker” in the movie. The plot thickens!

[ivebeensetonfire]

I am not a wealthy man, but I am a rich, rich man.

I’ve spoken to many people who have a deeply saddening and often reductive view of relationships in general, but especially friendship. This view is often expressed through a surprised or sometimes horrified response to an anecdote of how I choose to love those around me. Some examples include:

“Your roommate only pays you a hundred dollars a month in rent?? Why??”

“Where is your car? Wait, ~insert name here~ is still borrowing it? And you’re okay with that?”

“Why are you cooking for your friends and hosting all the time? Do they at least pay you for the food?”

These examples are just a few of what I’ve heard within the last few months. They show me a glimpse into the mind of my inquirer, and it’s something that breaks my heart. It says to me that they do not understand what it means to love those around you will all you have.

Too often we are told to look out for el numero uno, and let those around us figure it out for themselves. And yes, I understand and am well aware that there is a difference between loving those around you, and being a very convenient doormat with which they clean their boots.

However, because of our intense societal indoctrination toward individuality, we can quickly lose sight of the fact that love works on an inverse economy. That is to say, the only way to be rich in love, is to give more of it away.

I love those nearest to me often, and loudly. I tell them that I love them, tell them what they do well and what their strengths are. I encourage, uplift, listen, and empathize. I hug! I bring trinkets and small gifts to those who would enjoy them. I serve and assist those who would appreciate it, and I spend quality time with others. These are the core of what I do for those around me, and most will agree that they are wonderful and necessities for healthy relationships, provided they are reciprocated.

But my love does not stop there.

My roommate pays me a hundred dollars a month in rent. For reference, I own my home, and it is a good size space. I hear over and over again, from others and even my roommate that they hope I’m not being taken advantage of! I appreciate their concern, but they do not understand, that this life to me is so much more than money and savings. I am able to provide not only a shelter for my friend, but a home. A space to call his own, and to take comfort in. The rent helps, but ultimately is not necessary for me to be able to afford it. The true good in the situation is that I may spend more time with my friend, and can help him on his path through life!

When a friend of mine had a terrible car accident, and her vehicle was totaled, she was unable to find another due to low income, bad credit from an insurance screwup, and a famine of cheap cars.

What most people would have done is offered sympathy, maybe a few bucks toward saving for a new one, and a “Such is life, dear friend, I am sorry.” Not me. Not in my world. Due to life circumstances, I’m blessed to not really need a car. I drive my work truck mainly, have my motorcycle for recreational transport, and live near/in a small city that allows for walking. So, I lent her my car. For 6 months she drove it, and paid me monthly for the privilege (what she could to help with the payments). I was amazed at how those who knew praised me at the beginning, and then rapidly turned to confusion and even ridicule as the weeks turned into a month. From “that’s so kind of you!” to “is she taking care of it? She’s not trashing it is she? Is she even looking for another car?? Be careful she’s not taking advantage of you!”

These were people who know both me and this friend of mine, mutual friends! They were so focused on the material possessions and the idea that I might walk a mile up the road in the snow, that they lost sight of this fact: someone would have been walking up the road in the winter to the grocery store, and I would rather it be me than my friend.

I feed my friends. I live on a tight budget, and shop carefully to be able to feed myself for a week. When friends come by, I do not know if they’ve eaten yet, and if anyone sets foot in my home, I do my best to feed everyone, regardless of my situation. Despite how often I end up feeding my meal prep to a host of friends who’ve turned up for quality time, I always seem to have enough money and food for the week.

I do not tell these stories to brag, or boast on my own kindness, but to illustrate that this is how I believe each should love those around them. Love with your actions, your words, your time. Love with all you have, yes, even if it’s your possessions.

Because of this attitude I carry, the values that I hold, and the actions that come from them, I confidently say that those whom you love well may not always return the favor. That, however, is no reason not to try. Have I loaned money and never seen a cent in return, and even been scorned by the person to whom I lent? Yes. Have I fed someone or helped them and then learned that they had betrayed my trust or friendship? Yes. Have I given everything to one, and had them spit on it and abandon me? I have.

Nevertheless, I have kept trying. I love, I love as hard as I can. And when my life came crashing down around me because of aforementioned abandonment, those who truly mattered, the ones whom I had loved and asked nothing from in return, they came flooding to me. They saw a chance to repay the love I had given and shown them, and they jumped at it. They poured out time, effort, money, food, care, and love. I was overwhelmed by the support I saw when I needed it most. This is opened my eyes to the fact that I while I do not make very much money, I am an immensely rich man, simply in love.

All because I chose to love with everything.

I would ask you: do you love with everything? Or do you withhold?

As you consider, Remember: loving is not licking boots. Be assertive, set and maintain boundaries, and care for your immediate needs first. Once that is done, then look and find a need you can fulfill in another.

Love fearlessly my dear friends.

[vridetv]

May is motorcycle awareness month and this campaign really hits home with me. To help bring attention to Motorcycle awareness month, I've designed this logo using my own x-ray. If you want to learn more about my near fatal accident you can read more here. http://www.vridetv.com/accident.html 🏍🎥😃👩👍 https://www.instagram.com/p/Crs_kxMrxfw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ijustwant2ride]

Boost Road Safety with a Fun Motorcycle Counting Activity for Kids

A game where kids count motorcycles instead of "punch bugs" can foster early recognition of motorcycles, benefiting their future driving habits.

During Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May, promoting awareness among children about watching for motorcycles is crucial. A game where kids count motorcycles instead of “punch bugs” can foster early recognition of motorcycles, benefiting their future driving habits. This effort aims to enhance overall safety on the roads, emphasizing that safety gear and motorcycle technology alone are…

[godblooded]

"this is the third time this month, selina." it should sound like admonishment coming from the bat. it should sound like many, many things, all of them infinitely less resigned (or — shockingly so — reservedly amused), but the flatness of his tone makes it hard to sound half as biting as one may believe it should have been. he doesn't bother looking away from the computer as he types away at it. "if you want a motorcycle, you could simply ask."

it is less of a boast of his riches and more of a joke, truly. the vigilante is well-aware the cat only does what she wants and much of it is done either for the thrill or for the skill attached to it—at times, both come as a package deal. getting her pastime gifted to her wouldn't mean she'd stop her antics. in fact, bruce suspects she'd just make a point to up the ante and while that's not quite harmful, he doesn't want to give her incentive.

"how was the ride."

she practically pitches the helmet off her fingertips, launches in bruce’s direction. he’ll catch it, she knows. he’ll grab it without batting an eyelash. her smile is tremendous, pooling across her face like a cat so cheshire she’s delighted. it bounces with all her movements. her eyes dance, sparkle, light up. she stretches her arms high above her head while she takes long, casual strides to the batcomputer.

“ oh, baby, i don’t want a motorcycle, i want your motorcycle. ”

she winks cheerfully and tosses her hair, fluffed recklessly by the wind’s whipping fingertips. her grin never dissipates. she perches herself to the side, peering up curiously at what he’s working on. she’s breathless, still thrumming with the adrenaline high that’s racing in her veins. bruce knows selina’s vices are surprisingly few, but this is one.

it’s the thrill; it’s the skill it takes to crack his coding. she has as much fun getting into his shit as she does using it. he can’t get one over on her, and if he ever wanted the cat not to get her claws on something he’d have to hide it in another country. she hasn’t worked her way up to the bat just yet, but she’s only biding her time to steal a whole fucking plane. she laughs, dazzled.

“ great. filled the tank, changed the oil. ”

she fishes into the pocket of her leather jacket, grabbing a piece of paper she tosses onto bruce’s desk. it’s half crumpled, a little sweaty, mostly crinkled and creases.

“ got your inspection done. i know a guy. — if i’m gonna take the bike, i’m gonna take care of the bike. treat her better. you handle your women like you handle that thing? no wonder you can’t get laid, brucie. ”

she blows a kiss in his direction and moves again, restless. she’s carried by long, long legs in a long, long stroll. she clicks a key on his keyboard just to click it. it clacks satisfyingly, but doesn’t bother the screen. she’s always touching everything. she stops to glance up at him, leaning on steel heels. speaks softly, nudging him with her foot the way one might a shoulder — selina uses her legs like most people do their hands.

“ you in for the night? ”

[ikshvakudiary]

Vehicle Loan 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Financing Your Car Purchase

Purchasing a vehicle is a major financial decision, and for many, securing a loan is the only way to make it possible. Whether you're buying your first car or upgrading to a newer model, understanding vehicle loans is crucial to making a smart financial choice. In this guide, we'll break down everything you need to know about vehicle loans so you can finance your car purchase confidently.

What Is a Vehicle Loan?

A vehicle loan is a type of installment loan designed specifically for the purchase of cars, trucks, motorcycles, or other vehicles. The lender provides you with the funds to buy the vehicle, and you agree to pay back the loan over a set period, typically with interest. The vehicle itself serves as collateral for the loan, which means if you fail to make payments, the lender has the right to repossess the vehicle.

Key Components of a Vehicle Loan

Understanding the main elements of a vehicle loan is essential before signing on the dotted line. Here are the critical factors to consider:

Principal Amount: This is the total amount of money you borrow from the lender to purchase the vehicle. It’s based on the price of the car and your down payment.

Interest Rate: The interest rate is the cost of borrowing money, expressed as a percentage of the loan amount. A lower interest rate means you’ll pay less over time, while a higher rate increases your total loan cost.

Loan Term: The loan term refers to the length of time you have to repay the loan, often ranging from 24 to 72 months. While a longer term can lower your monthly payments, it increases the overall interest paid over time.

Down Payment: A down payment is an upfront payment made when purchasing the vehicle. The larger the down payment, the less you’ll need to borrow, reducing your overall interest costs.

Monthly Payment: This is the amount you’re required to pay each month toward repaying the loan, which includes both the principal and interest.

Types of Vehicle Loans

Vehicle loans typically come in two forms: new car loans and used car loans.

New Car Loans: These loans are for brand-new vehicles and often come with lower interest rates due to the higher resale value of new cars.

Used Car Loans: Used car loans may have slightly higher interest rates, but they can still be an affordable way to finance a pre-owned vehicle.

How to Qualify for a Vehicle Loan

Lenders consider several factors before approving a vehicle loan. Here’s what you need to be aware of:

Credit Score: Your credit score is one of the most important factors that lenders evaluate. A higher score usually results in better loan terms and lower interest rates.

Income and Employment: Lenders will also look at your income and employment status to ensure you have the means to repay the loan.

Debt-to-Income Ratio: This ratio measures how much of your income goes toward paying off debts. A lower debt-to-income ratio improves your chances of securing a favorable loan.

Pros and Cons of Vehicle Loans

Before jumping into a loan, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons:

Pros: Vehicle loans make it possible to purchase a car without paying the full price upfront. You also build your credit by making consistent, on-time payments.

Cons: Loans come with interest, meaning you’ll end up paying more for the vehicle in the long run. There’s also the risk of repossession if you default on your payments.

[trafficticketdefender]

May is motorcycle awareness month. Be aware of your surroundings and watch for motorcycle riders.

[brookston]

Holidays 5.5

Holidays

American in Space Day

Arbegnoch Qen (Patriots’ Victory Day; Ethiopia)

Arbor Day (Dominican Republic)

Bevrijdingsday (Liberation Day; Netherlands)

Bonza Bottler Day

Bus Worker Support Day (UK)

Carpet Weavers’ Day (Azerbaijan)

Children’s Day (Japan, Korea)

Cinco de Mayo (Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla)

Cinco de Rhino

Comfrey Day (French Republic)

Day of Remembrance Against Violence and Racism in Memory of the Victims of National Socialism (Austria)

Dutch Heritage Day (Canada)

Europe Day (EU)

Ferret Day (UK)

Folly Festival

Give Local America Day

Global Big Day

Hand Hygiene Day

Hidirellez (Turkey)

Hug a Shed and Take a Selfie Day

Independent Living Day (EU)

Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)

Inko de Mayo

International Dowsing Day

International Midwives' Day

International Roller Derby Day

International Sri du Chat Awareness Day

International Uyghur Doppa Day

Kodomo-No-Hi (Children's Day; Japan)

Liberation Day (Denmark, Netherlands)

Lost Continent of Mu Day

Lusophone Culture Day

Martyrs’ Day (Albania)

Museum Lover’s Day

Nail Day

National Astronaut Day

National Cartoonist Day

National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women

National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (Canada)

National Devin Day

National Dildo of Consequence Day (UK)

National Ferret Day (UK)

National Library Legislation

National Make-Out Day

National Silence the Shame Day

Orininal (Children’s Day; South Korea)

Panopoea Asteroid Day

Parasite Awareness Day

Patriots’ Victory Day (Ethiopia)

Perfect Game Day

Press Day (Belarus)

Proserpine Asteroid Day

Revenge of the Fifth (Star Wars)

Save Lives Clean Your Hands Day (UN)

Scopes Arrest Day

Senior Citizens Day (Palau)

Significant Other Day

Sleep Apnea Awareness Day (Australia)

Tamil Tigers Day

World African Heritage Day

World Asthma Day

World Environment Day

World Fives Day

World Hand Hygiene Day

World Labyrinth Day in Schools

World Math Day

World Portuguese Language Day

World Pulmonary Hypertension Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Burgundy Day

National Enchilada Day

National Hoagie Day

National Mayonnaise Day

Oyster Day

Totally Chipotle Day

Independence & Related Days

Atovia (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan)

Hope Kingdom (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

The Netherlands (from Nazi Germany, 1945)

Pangration (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Transterra (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

1st Sunday in May

Children’s Sunday (Tonga) [1st Sunday]

Humane Sunday [1st Sunday]

International Baby Lost Mother’s Day [1st Sunday]

International Bereaved Mothers' Day [1st Sunday]

International Dawn Chorus Day [1st Sunday]

International Family Equality Day [1st Sunday]

International Permaculture Day [1st Sunday]

Kanamara Matsuri (Japan) [1st Sunday]

Lemonade Day [1st Sunday]

Mayday for Mutts [1st Sunday]

Mother’s Day (Spain) [1st Sunday]

Motorcycle Mass and the Blessing of the Bikes Day [1st Sunday]

National Infertility Survival Day [1st Sunday]

National Miscarriage Awareness Day (Australia) [1st Sunday]

National Ride A Bike Day [1st Sunday]

Randwick Wap Cheese Rolling (Gloucestershire, England) [1st Sunday]

Rural Life Sunday [1st Sunday]

Understanding Day (Northwestern Cross-Quarter; Aretéanism) [1st Sunday] (Science)

Unmother's Day [1st Sunday]

World Hickory Golf Day [1st Sunday]

World Laughter Day [1st Sunday]

World Meditation Day [1st Sunday of Every Month]

Weekly Holidays beginning May 5 (1st Full Week)

Arson Awareness Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Be Kind to Animals Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Catholic Education Week (Canada) [1st Full Week]

Children’s Book Week (thru 5.11)

Choose Privacy Week [1st Full Week]

Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Drinking Water Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Flexible Work Arrangement Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Goodwill Industries Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Holocaust Remembrance Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

International Building Safety Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

International Clitoris Awareness Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

International Coaching Week (thru 5.11)

International Compost Awareness Week (thru 5.11)

Kids Win Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Children’s Mental Health Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Correctional Officer’s Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Eastern Box Turtle Week [1st Full Week]

National Family Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Herb Week (thru 5.11) [Week before Mother’s Day]

National Hurricane Preparedness Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Pet Week Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Postcard Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Raisin Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

National Travel and Tourism Week [Sunday of 1st Full Week]

National Wildflower Week [1st Full Week]

North American Occupational Safety and Health Week Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Public Service Recognition Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Root Canal Appreciation Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Salvation Army Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Stewardship Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Sun Awareness Week (thru 5.11)

Updates Your References Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Week of the Classroom Teacher Week (thru 5.11) [1st Full Week]

Festivals Beginning May 5, 2024

The Big Nosh (Columbia, South Carolina)

Chili Cook-Off & Craft Brew Festival (Thousand Oaks, California)

Columbia VegFest (Columbia, South Carolina)

Heritage Fire (Austin, Texas)

Sly Fox Bock Fest & Goat Race (Pottstown, Pennsylvania)

Taste of the Town (Santa Clarita, California)

West Tennessee Strawberry Festival (Humboldt, Tennessee) [thru 5.11]

Feast Days

Angelo (Christian; Martyr)

Angelus of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Aventinus of Tours (Christian; Saint)

Avertin (Christian; Saint)

Blessing of the Ships (Ancient Crete)

Chicken Lickin’ (Muppetism)

Day of Adoration of Anubis (Ancient Egypt)

Door-Banging and Window-Tapping Conference (Gremlins; Shamanism)

Edmund Ignatius Rice (Christian; Saint)

Fabián de la Rosa (Artology)

Fairy Ring Day (Receiving; Shamanism)

Feast of al-Khadr (St. George; Palestine)

Ferret Day (Pastafarian)

Frederick the Wise (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)

Hidirellez (Balkans, Turkey)

Hilary of Arles (Christian; Saint)

Judith (Christian; Saint)

Jutta of Kulmsee (Christian; Saint)

Kakava Spring Festival begins (Bulgaria, Turkey) [thru 5.6]

Mauront (Christian; Saint)

Old Faith Rain Ceremony (Mexico & Central America; Everyday Wicca)

Oshun’s Day (Pagan)

Pius V, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Polybius (Positivist; Saint)

Slender Three Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Søren Kierkegaard (Writerism)

Stanisław Kazimierczyk (Christian; Saint)

Start of Ramendan (Pastafarian)

Store Bededag (a.k.a. Great Prayer Day; Denmark) [4th Friday after Easter]

Tango no Sekku (Iris Festival; Japan)

Tiberius Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Viktor Hartmann (Artology)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Yom HaShoah (יוֹם הַשּׁוֹאָה; Holocaust Remembrance Day; Judaism) [27-28 Nisan]

Orthodox Christian Liturgical Calendar Holidays

Easter (Orthodox Christian) [1st Sunday in the Julian calendar following the Full Moon that occurs on or just after the Spring Equinox] (a.k.a. ... 

Agdgoma (Georgia)

Coptic Easter (Egypt)

Fasika (Ethiopia)

Orthodox Easter

Pascha (Greece)

Pashkës Ortodokse (Albania)

Pashkët Ortodokse (Kosovo)

Paste (Moldova)

Pastele (Romania)

Tensae (Eritrea)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Perilous Day (13th Century England) [16 of 32]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Bad Moon Rising, by Creedence Clearwater Revival (Song; 1969)

Barnyard Egg-Citement (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1939)

Buddy’s Trolley Troubles (WB LT Cartoon; 1934)

Carnegie Hall (Music Hall; 1891)

Country School (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1931)

Donald’s Fire Survival Plan (Disney Cartoon; 1966)

Droopy’s Good Deed (MGM Cartoon; 1951)

Foundation, by Isaac Asimov (Novel; 1951)

French Kiss (Film; 1995)

From the Choirgirl Hotel, by Tori Amos (Album; 1998)

Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (WB LT Cartoon; 1956)

Gladiator (Film; 2000)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Film; 2017)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Film; 2023)

Hare Trigger (WB MM Cartoon; 1945)

The Hidden Persuader, by Vance Packard (Book; 1958)

Hoot (Film; 2006)

Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice (Novel; 1976)

Jagged Little Pill (Musical Play; 2018)

LinkedIn (Social Media App; 2003)

The Love Boat (TV Series; 1977)

Mission Impossible III (Film; 2006)

The Mouse Comes to Dinner (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1945)

Nim (Video Game; 1951)

Odd John, by Olaf Stapledon (Novel; 1935)

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez (Novel; 1967)

One Man Band (Pixar Cartoon; 2005)

The Pentaverate (TV Series; 2022)

Planet Earth (Documentary; 2006)

Puss ’n’ Boats (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1966)

Silo (TV Series; 2023)

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John le Carre (Novel; 1964)

Steel and America (Disney Cartoon; 1965)

Surf-Bored Cat (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1967)

Them Not-So-Dry-Bones (Science Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1979)

This Is America, by Donald Glover as Childish Gambino (Song; 2018)

To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf (Novel; 1927)

Watch Me (Whip/NaeNae), by Silento (Song 2015)

Woody’s Knight Mare (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1969)

Yankee Doodle Donkey (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1950)

Today’s Name Days

Florian, Guido, Valeria (Austria)

Cvijeta, Cvjetko, Florijan, Iskra, Silvije (Croatia)

Květoslav (Czech Republic)

Florian (Denmark)

Roosi, Rosalie, Saale, Saali, Sale (Estonia)

Roosa, Rosa, Ruusu (Finland)

Florian, Sylvain (France)

Florian, Guido, Valeria (Germany)

Melia, Pelagia (Greece)

Flórián, Mónika (Hungary)

Ada, Ciriaco, Efisio, Porfirio, Silvano (Italy)

Flora, Florians, Viola, Vizbulīte (Latvia)

Dargailas, Florijonas, Mintautė, Monika (Lithuania)

Mona, Monika (Norway)

Florian, Grzegorz, January, Michał, Monika, Paulin, Strzeżywoj (Poland)

Pelaghia (Romania)

Florián (Slovakia)

Florián, Godofredo (Spain)

Mona, Monika (Sweden)

Alvina, Eunice, June, Palahna, Una (Ukraine)

Jodi, Jodie, Jody, Judie, Judith, Judy, Terrell, Tyrell, Tyrese, Tyron, Tyrone, Tyrrell, Tyson (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 126 of 2024; 240 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 18 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 22 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 27 (Ji-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 27 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 26 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 6 Magenta; Sixday [6 of 30]

Julian: 22 April 2024

Moon: 8%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 14 Caesar (5th Month) [Alexander]

Runic Half Month: Lagu (Flowing Water) [Day 11 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 48 of 92)

Week: 1st Week of May

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 16 of 31)