#Thank you Santa Monica for this gift

[nonndrawz]

KRATOS IS HITING THAT SHIT‼️‼️🗣🗣🔥🔥

Song: Lose Control by Missy Elliott

(Feat. Ciara and Fatman Scoop)

Credit to Santa Monica Studios

[darksigns-exe]

whatever a sun will always sing is you - noah sebastian x f!reader

warnings: none

word count: 2.1k

note: birthday fic for our birthday boy <3 title comes from the poem i carry your heart with me by e.e. cummings

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Noah’s relationship with birthdays is tricky. 

Not just because he doesn’t like big celebrations, he’s also impossible to gift to. Instead of agonising over which art book you’d give him this year, you’ve decided to do something different. While he has scaled down his work schedule quite a bit, you can still tell that he’s so very restless. 

You watch him pace around your living room, while he talks to god knows who on the phone. 

You know that forcing Noah to slow down doesn’t work, you’d tried that and in the end all it had brought you was an argument so bad that you thought that you’d ruined it all. Instead, you’ll bribe him into a slow day. 

Over the weeks leading up to his birthday you’d gathered all sorts of things including bath bombs, facemasks and a brand-new sweater for Noah that you had discovered while you were out shopping. It felt so nice and soft that you simply couldn’t leave it in the store.

When the day finally rolls around, you get up before he does. As a first order of business, you turn off his alarm, before getting a few more things into order. You slip back into bed with him, fitting yourself against his side again. Noah is deep enough of a sleeper for him to remain entirely oblivious. You allow yourself to doze off for a little while longer. 

Eventually, Noah stirs next to you. He shifts and moves, stretches like he always does before he lets out a yawn that almost deafens you. You’d previously joked that he was already making dad noises, when you’re nowhere near that step in your relationship. 

You sit up next to him, trailing your fingers across his skin.

He blinks up at you, still looking rather sleepy. His lips turn up in a soft smile. 

You lean down to kiss him. Noah’s hand curls around the back of your neck, keeping you close to him. You stay close to him when you part. 

“Happy birthday, baby.” 

For a second you think that he’ll roll his eyes as he does so often. Instead, he gives you that pretty smile of his. 

“Thank you, my love.” 

He pulls you down for another kiss. 

“You have the day off today.” You inform him, “And that’s not a suggestion.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” he lifts his hand to his forehead in a mock salute. 

“Good.” you press another quick kiss to the corner of his mouth, “Two options. We can go out for breakfast or we stay in.” 

He thinks for a moment, “What’s the out option?” 

“I found a cute place in Santa Monica. I’ve booked us a table, but I can always cancel it.” 

You show him the menu and Noah scrolls through the page for a moment. 

“Does sound really nice.” he still sounds as if he’s trying to make up his mind. 

“We still have a bit of time.” you reply, settling back down next to him, “Just in case it helps you decide, I have made a loose reservation for dinner.” 

You end up having breakfast at home. Noah hovers behind you the entire time – or at least until you banish him to the counter. But even then he keeps finding reasons for you to come over to him. 

After breakfast, you find yourself on your knees for him. It’s as much for you as it is for him. You take your time with him, savouring the different sensation that come with this. You try your best to replicate the devotion Noah showers you with when he’s between your thighs. And judging from the sighs he lets out, you’re doing a pretty good job. You’re pulled up into his arms afterwards. 

For a while you rest like this, curled together, just enjoying the others' presence. Conversation is light, but comfortable. 

It’s nice to just have a day to yourself with him. 

Your fingers trace across the bare skin of his chest. Noah lets out a breathy laugh when your fingers brush against his side. You let yourself soak in his presence for a little while longer, before you decide that it’s time for the next step of your plan. 

You sit up enough for you to be able to look at him. Noah’s hand remains on your side, fingers toying with the hem of your shirt. 

“Thought we could have a little self-care day. You always say that you want to join in when I do this, so I planned a little day for you.” 

His eyes soften then, “I don’t know what to say.” 

“You’re good. I’m more than happy to do this.” you place your hand against the side of his face, tracing your thumb across his skin, “Have to treat my boy right, don’t I?”

You swear that his cheeks turn a little pink then. 

“You work so hard, and I just want you to know how proud I am of you. You rarely ever let me do things for you, so I’m forcing you.” you say with a smile that he reciprocates so easily. 

“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you – or this.” 

You know that, by now, he’s saying it in jest. 

“You just do. Accept it. You’re not getting rid of me, and that means that you’ll have to live with me doing nice things for you.” 

Noah lets out a dramatic sigh, “Horrible fate. I don’t know if I can do that.” You lean in to kiss him again, “You’re so brave.” another kiss, “I’m gonna pop upstairs for a moment, okay? I’ll come and get you.” 

Noah’s hand remains on your body for as long as possible. He looks after you with a soft smile playing on his lips, and it makes your heart beat a little bit faster. 

You try to be quick with your preparations. You’ve already placed towels in the dryer and made sure that you have everything you need tucked away in a cupboard. To create a real spa experience you’ve loaded the diffuser with eucalyptus oil. The speaker you’ve placed on the counter fills the room with soft music and with the mostly dimmed light your bathroom feels rather cosy. Once you’ve started to fill the tub with water, you head back to where Noah is waiting for you. 

He’s typing away at his phone, smiling to himself when you enter the living room. He looks up when you sit down next to him. 

“Nick texted.” he announces, before turning his phone towards you. 

The happy birthday text is accompanied by a photo of Nick’s cats. The little party hat he put on Jerry doesn’t incite too much excitement in the cat, but it does look rather adorable. 

“That’s cute. Tell him I said hi.” you drop your head against his shoulder, “You wanna come upstairs with me?”

Noah leaves his phone on the coffee table when he gets up to follow you. His hand finds yours before you reach the stairs. You love how affectionate he is when it’s just the two of you. He’s slowly thawing, allowing himself to be affectionate with you when you’re around other people. He’ll reach for your hand when his chest starts to feel too tight, finding comfort in the way you squeeze his hand. 

You lead him into the now steam filled bathroom. 

Between all of the things you’ve just added and the plants that already were in your bathroom, it’s feeling rather comfy. 

Noah wraps his arms around your middle, pressing his chest against your back. He presses a kiss to your shoulder. 

“I don’t know when I have taken a bath for the last time.” he says quietly. 

“I know.” you drop your head against his chest, “I got a bunch of bath bombs too. Bath salts, whatever you want. Bubbles.” 

You’ve arranged the various products in a little woven basket. Noah inspects it so carefully, picking up different things to smell them. You think that he almost looks a little timid, unsure what to do with the array of things in front of him. He eventually settles on the cloth wrapped bath oil you’d already loved in the store. 

“How does this work? Do I just drop it in?” he asks still sounding a little hesitant. 

It takes him a long moment to really relax when you’re finally in the tub. After a little bit of re-arranging you had managed to convince him to sit in front of you. Eventually, he allows himself to rest against your properly. His head drops back against your shoulder, while you run your fingers through his damp hair. Your other hand rests, entangled with his, on his belly. You tell him about some insignificant gossip from your friend group, about the call you had with your cousin a few days ago and their new puppy. Noah’s laugh rumbles through your body when you tell him about the puppy chewing up the shoes of your cousins partner. A partner neither of you really like. 

When the water starts to cool too much, you ask him to get his hair wet. Noah gives you a perplexed look in response. 

“It’s a bit easier to wash hair when it’s wet, no?” 

He’s a little reluctant to actually let you do it. The only other time he’d let you take care of him like this, he’d been sick as a dog. To make things easier for yourself, you’d climbed out of the tub and sat on the edge of it, wrapped up in your robe. The somewhat stiff posture of his back has eased up a little, and you think that he actually enjoys the affection you shower him with. You gently tilt his head back a little, allowing you to swipe a drop of suds away from his forehead. Noah blinks up at you with a soft smile playing on his lips. You lean down, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

“Almost done.” you announce, “Just have to rinse this.”

You usher him into your shared bedroom a while later. When you’d gone to fetch the warmed towels from the dryer, you’d placed the new sweater you bought for him on the bed. 

Noah doesn’t even notice it at first. 

Only when the wrapping paper crinkles under his back, does he sit up again to investigate. 

“What’s that?” 

“Present. For the birthday boy.” You crowd into the space in front of him, coming to stand between his thighs, “Go on. Open it.”

“You already did so much.”

“Noah, we had a bath, and you let me put moisturiser on your face, that’s not a lot.” you say, placing your hands on his shoulders. 

He carefully picks at the tape keeping the paper together. You’ve never seen him tear into wrapping paper, and it always seems as if he’s savouring the moment of unwrapping it as much as he does the present itself. 

“I saw it in a store while I was out getting stuff for today and it just looked so comfy.” you explain while he unfolds the sweater. 

It’s a nice deep blue, but the selling point had been the soft fabric. Sure the price tag had made almost made you reconsider, but your boy deserves only the best. 

He examines it with an adorably focused face. 

“Thank you, my love. I love it.” 

You bring a hand to the side of his face, allowing you to gentle steer him closer to you. You meet him in a soft kiss. Noah lingers with you for a bit longer, letting both of you bathe in this moment. 

When he eventually lets himself drop back onto the bed, you follow, fitting yourself against him so comfortably. You have one thigh draped across his and an arm thrown across his chest. His skin is so warm and soft beneath your palm, and you can’t stop yourself from kissing every inch of him that is within reach. 

Noah lets out a sigh, “Thank you for all of this.”

“Of course.” you place another kiss against his chest, “Doesn’t have to stay a special occasion thing, you know? You’re more than welcome to join in.” 

“Maybe I will.” he hums out in response, “Felt kinda nice to be taken care of like that.” 

“Good because you deserve it.” You shift until you can look at him, “This and so much more.” 

You swear that there’s a little bit of damp gathering in his eyes, but he quickly blinks it away again. 

“I love you so much.” he says eventually, bringing you somehow even closer to him. 

“And I love you.” 

Hours later, you decide to skip out on the dinner reservation. You still have store-brought pizza dough in the fridge and every thing else you need to make dinner at home. And if you’re honest with yourself, you’d much rather spend the rest of the day tangled up with him in your own home than anywhere else. And the content smile on Noah’s face more than enough proof for you. 

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[thebearer]

Anything with lip Gallagher and your four babies on Christmas morning pls I’m so soft thinking about them

lip has been chain smoking in the garage all night putting their toys together. he thought boy toys were hard to put together until he had amelia and had to put a dream house together.

at least he has cookies he gets to eat.

"leave one, lip." you whisper. "take a bite out of it so they know santa took a bite."

he's rolling his eyes, but does bc he'd rather die than have that christmas magic ruined like frank and monica did. when santa came, and it was rare, it was clear it was frank. he would give it to monica that she at least tried.

on christmas morning, lip's slept a total of three hours but he's woken up by excited screeches, jumping on the bed.

you and him are drinking coffee, letting jude pass out all the presents. he always grins when one extra is in your lap, one you didn't know about. you give him a look and he shrugs.

"we said no gifts, phillip."

"c'mon," lip snorts, shaking his head lightly. "just be polite and say thank you."

you give him a soft smile, opening whatever it is this year- a small necklace with four birth stones on it that has you emotional.

[translatemunson]

thought of calling you, but you won’t pick up • ttfd

chapter four of the tortured firefighters department

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cw: fem!reader, afab!reader, no descriptions of reader, banter (because i love it), reader is a math and science nerd, chris is here, mentions of food, hints of mental issues, proofread by my bye-lingual ass (let me know if i forgot anything)

You checked your phone again. Last night, Eddie texted that Carla would be joining you and Chris on your small field trip because he forgot he had booked her for the day. You never met the lady, but you were sure it was gonna be fine. With an extra adult ticket in your pocket, you waited.

Fifteen minutes and no sign of them. Maybe you should text Eddie and get Carla’s number? She was probably stuck in traffic, but that information would ease your worries — and you could help her avoid the even worse routes the apps were giving these days. At this pace, you’d wear off the soles of your white Nike Dunk and pull every single thread of your maroon sweater.

You were about to text Eddie when you saw the black Jeep Wrangler parking not a few spots down to your left. No fucking way, you thought as you marched into its direction.

“Let’s go, Chris, we’re gonna be late!” Buck helped the kid out of the car and picked up a small paper bag before closing the door.

“Hey, Chris! Are you excited?” You hugged him and kept your hands on his shoulder, finally looking at the one person you’ve been successfully avoiding. “Thanks for dropping him off, Buckley. Is Carla joining us later?”

“Actually, I’m on babysitting duty today.” He extended you the paper bag. “Peace offering?”

“What is this?”

“The reason why we were late.” He insisted you accept the bag. “C’mon, aren’t you curious?”

“He said you’d like it,” Chris added. 

You accepted the gift, peaking it before opening the bag and finding one of your favorite cupcakes from your favorite bakery. The one from the incident that set the whole “we could be friends” situation on fire.

“Can we call it a truce for today?” It was implied, but he was definitely saying this for Chris’ sake.

“Ok, just today. But this doesn’t make things magically disappear, Buckley.”

“Why do you call him Buckley?” Chris asked you, his head tilted in your direction. “I call him Buck!”

“She’s mad at me, little guy.” He took a step closer to you two, probably testing the waters. “Did you get the tickets?”

“Who do you think I am? But give me one second, I can’t enter the museum with food.”

“Take your time. Wanna see if we can get to the museum before Brains, Chris?” And off they went.

You were almost sure Eddie planned this out. Leaving you to babysit his son and his annoying friend, who everyone under the 118 roof knew you were avoiding. One hundred percent intentional, right? And of course he would be late because he drove all the way to Santa Monica to buy your favorite cupcake — someone gave him a tip.

You started to feel a bit sad for ignoring his calls and texts all week long. But you pushed it away while you ate the cupcake and watched the boys walking to the entrance. With your clean hand, you gave Buck the tickets and told them to go ahead and go all the way back after the main hall: it was smart to take advantage of the morning weather on the Nature Gardens outside and explore all the fossils and animals later on. 

You were just a few steps behind when you caught up with them in the outdoor gardens. As a newcomer to this whole Chris’ babysitter duty job, you left to Buck to finish the small walk around the main paths. It was a good opportunity to text Eddie and say that, even though you offered to take Chris to the Museum, you were only assigned to take care of one kid, not two. In his best single-father in the middle of a shift style, he texted you a ‘thumbs up’ back. Oh he was so hearing about it later.

The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles was definitely packed with exhibitions that could keep a child and adults entertained. You’d been there once, as soon as you moved to LA, almost a year ago now, and the featured exhibitions were different back then, but still a pretty good curating work after all.

However, the moment Chris saw the Dinosaur Hall and the Dino Lab, you knew it was over for any other exhibitions. And could you blame him? The dinos were pretty badass and Chris was a very curious kid, so he kept asking you all the questions you could’ve imagined — and a few more you weren’t prepared for. You acted like his own private tour guide, proud of spending some time researching and studying about dinosaurs the last few days.

You almost missed all the attention Buck was giving to you while you talked. To be honest, you couldn’t tell who was more focused on you: the kid or the annoying adult.

After all that talking, you for sure were starting to feel a little tired and overwhelmed. Even with short breaks for some water, you still felt like you needed a reset. You signaled to Buck that you’re going to the restroom for a second, he kept reading Chris the charts about butterflies and insects.

You washed your hands and used some of the water on your neck, trying to calm yourself down. How did you go from wanting Buckley’s head on a plate to babysitting with him? Life was fast and unpredictable by the Pacific shore. One lady entered the restroom and stopped by the sink to your right, trying to get rid of the chocolate and ketchup in her hands. You saw her a few minutes ago, when you stopped to grab some water.

“Can I just say you are an adorable couple? And your son is so sweet.” Her tone was sweet and definitely meant well. But she was so wrong about everything.

“Oh, he’s not our kid,” you rushed to explain the situation. “We’re just babysitting for a friend while he’s working.”

“Well, just like my grandparents told me once: sometimes you’ll have a taste of what your life could be with a special person at the moment you least expected.”

You smiled at her through the mirrors. “Did they give you any advice on how to know if it’s the right one?”

“No, but you look like someone who knows how to find that answer.” She threw the paper towels away. “Sorry for being so cryptic. Have fun!”

She left before you could even thank her for… well, the advice. Not that you asked for it, but it did show up in a nice time. Or maybe not. You weren’t sure. Did that truce mean you could let yourself feel everything you were repressing for the past few weeks? Not just regarding Evan Buckley and his lack of manners, but about everything in your life.

After all the dinosaurs and lectures about natural history, you decided to wrap up and move on to the next stop on your list. Buckley helped Chris get down the entry steps and you took the directions back to the parking lot close to the museum.

“Thanks for your services, Buckley. You can just,” you motioned your head to his car. “Ok, Chris. What do you wanna do now?” You opened your Uber app to get a ride to the next destination.

“Not necessary.” Buckley took the phone out of your hands and stored it into his jacket pocket. “I’m also the designated driver for the day.”

“What happened to you getting out of my hair?” You crossed your arms over your chest.

“I thought we were in this together.” He gave you the classic — and a little bit sassy — Buckley smile. He paid for the parking. “C’mon, Chris, we have places to go.”

The three of you walked to his car, but you were still not convinced. It was your idea to babysit Chris for the day, all your plans were picked towards your goal: having a nice and chill day with him. You didn’t need Evan Buckley and all his golden retriever energy to disturb your perfect equation.

While you were hating on him, he made sure Chris was comfortable and safe on the back seat. 

“Why are you ruining my plans?” You didn’t move from the driver’s door. Maybe, if you were warned beforehand you’d had to deal with him, you'd grow some patience. But not today, not this fast.

“I’m not. Still your plans with Chris. Tell me where to go next, I’ll drive us.”

“Give me my phone back.”

“Are you letting me be your driver today?” He leaned against the car.

“What choice do I have, Evan?” You rolled your eyes.

“Hey, I’ve told you I’m sorry.” You stepped aside, finally letting him grab the door handle. “Also, none of my friends call me Evan, by the way.”

“And since when am I your friend?”

“Since now. Hurry up, he’s gonna grow impatient and snap at us.”

“He would never do that.”

“Wanna test your theory, future doctor?”

“Not at all.”

He closed the door. You went around the vehicle, still pissed at him for taking your phone from you. You jumped into the car and checked Chris.

“Ok, are we hungry already or can we check out this cool place before that?”

“Pancakes!” Chris shouted from his seat. “Please?”

“Sure! Ok, let me just,” you instinctively reached out for your phone, but it was still being held hostage by Buck. “Phone, please.”

“Here,” he handed it to you, an aux cable attached to it. “Put the address in the GPS, and please play something kid friendly, ok?”

“Excuse me? What do you think I listen to while I’m driving to work?”

“With that sassy attitude of yours? I expect the worst.”

Just to prove him wrong, as soon as you entered the address on the GPS, you blasted one of your personal favorites. “I stay out too late, got nothing in my brain. That's what people say, mm-mm,” you sang.

“That's what people say, mm-mm,” and Chris, in the back seat, joined you.

You were definitely getting under Buck’s skin. The fact that you picked a song Chris knew the words too left him in disadvantage because you were sure he wanted the taste of saying “Told you so” as soon as he proved his point. But he should’ve known better than to provoke you.

“And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate. Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake. I shake it off!” You sang it right by Buck’s ear, dodging his hand because he was trying to get you out of his hair. Well, how does it feel now, Evan?

Your queue was really impressive: it looked like you were up-to-date with what the younger generation was listening to — not that you didn’t enjoy the same songs occasionally, but you never kept your options too narrow. There was just one scary moment where you thought you added an explicit song, but you deleted it in time. 

Buck was too busy following the GPS directions. You were stuck with him for the rest of the day, which was a nightmare by itself, and kinda stuck into the endless LA traffic. Chris didn’t notice the animosity between you because you both toned it down — for him, only for one day. Most of it sounded like some friendly banter.

Under the upbeat pop song you were playing, you could hear him singing another tune, barely familiar, but still unrecognizable.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, nothing.” He made a left turn, but kept on singing it. “If you could see it… been here all along… how could you not know baby.”

Without a warning, you typed the name of the song in your library and gave it priority in your queue. His fingers started tapping in the beat, and he started following the lyrics, saying the right words this time.

“If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along. So, why can't you see? You belong with me,” you two sang along together. But you really kept your poker face because you couldn’t give him any reasons to be even more annoying.

“Looks like we’ve arrived,” he announced, breaking the spell of one song.

Buck pointed to the restaurant you found a few months ago. It was located south of Santa Monica, a few blocks from the beach, but with the rooftop seats, you could definitely say you were eating by the beach. You parked not far from the entry, and you rushed upstairs to get one of those special tables, telling Buck to help Chris because you didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

On the very edge of the roof, your favorite table awaited you: closer to the corner, with a huge light blue umbrella over your head, the four seat table had the perfect view and vibes. You pulled a chair for your bag and greeted the waiter. She didn’t get why you were in a rush until she saw Chris on Buck’s back.

“Could you just pick a place with an elevator next time?”

“I thought you were the muscles, Buckley. Hey, Chris, let me help you.” You held him tight, removing him from Buck’s embrace and putting him on the floor. “I had to make sure we had the perfect table.”

Three stores of stairs, in a rush, were justified once you got to see the smile on Chris’ face. You could catch your breath later.

+++

Chris ate way too many pancakes. You’d have to do a lot of explaining to Eddie, but hey, if the kid was happy, how could that be a problem?

You had to cancel the last plan of the day — a trip to another museum — and settle down at an arcade close to the restaurant before ending your babysitting duty. Just buying you enough time to Eddie leave the firehouse and be home. So you were watching Buck and Chris playing some games while you tried to schedule some study breaks between classes and shifts.

“What’s wrong?” Buck sat down to your right. Chris was just in your sight, in case he needed more coins or any help.

“Nothing.” You turned off your phone screen, ignoring your packed schedule.

“It doesn’t look like nothing.” He gave you a little smudge on the shoulder. “C’mon, Brains, talk to me.”

“I’m just a bit tired, it’s fine.”

“You know, you can go home now, I’ll take him to Eddie’s. You look like you need a good night of sleep.”

“To be honest, I can’t go back home now because I’d feel guilty. My brain is all mushy,” you pointed to your head, “and I wouldn’t be able to study or relax. I would rather stay here, where my mind is focused on something else.”

“I know what you mean,” he leaned his body back, his eyes staring something beyond what you could see. “I support you distracting yourself, but this won’t go away just because you’re ignoring it, you know? Are you sure you’re ok?”

Being ok was a concept you weren’t sure about the past few days. You wanted to be ok, to look ok to everyone around you, but it was hard. You were just faking until you made it. The PhD program was starting to wear you off, and even though you loved it, the thoughts of giving up were taking every single inch of your notes and books.

But what would be your excuse to leave it unfinished when numbers, probabilities and hours of understanding the impossible things were half of your life at this point?

“Did I hit my head or something? Do you have a fever? Why are you being nice to me?” You swiftly tried to change subjects.

“We’re on a truce, remember?”

“Maybe we could be on good terms again,” you suggested. “I mean, if you ever eat my cupcakes again, Bobby will need to hire a new firefighter.”

“So we’re good?”

“We’re good.” Your screen lit up with a notification. “Eddie is gonna be stuck with an emergency, but Carla is on her way to the house. Should we just go?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll go get him and then we drop him off.”

“Great.”

Chris black out as soon as Buck started the drive back to the Diaz house. The radio volume was low, and the orange and pink tones of the sunset were being replaced by the dark blue of the night. You found it hard to keep your eyes open for too long, and only noticed you took a nap when Chris was calling for your name, wanting to say goodbye before going inside.

“Thank you for today, Brains!” He hugged you, and it made everything worth it. “Can we do this again soon?”

“We’re gonna chase all the dinosaurs in LA, I promise.” You gave him one last huge and walked back to the car, watching Carla and Buck talking by the front door.

And there you were, back in the car with Evan Buckley. If he wanted to make a comment about how he was right, he let it slide. You connected your phone and entered the address to your house on the GPS. He took your phone from your hands, declaring “Now that everyone in this car is over 18, we can play the good stuff.”

“Are you sure you are old enough? Give me that back, Evan!”

“Hey! I’m driving. And you challenged me. I’m gonna show you what I usually blast in my car.”

You expected anything from Evan Buckley, even the worst genre of music, but nothing prepared you for when you listened to the introduction of ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ blasting through the speakers.

The playlist had completely changed and moved away from what you played when Chris was in the car. Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, even a little of Led Zeppelin, just to enjoy some classics you never thought Buck appreciated. But he was more than just a firefighter with a sassy attitude, some wrongs and lots of muscle.

You look around, panicking a little when you notice you’re entering your building’s garage. You were definitely expecting to be dropped off at the front of the building. What the hell was going on?

“What… How did you get the access?”

“So, funny story. Maddie told you about the place, right?” He turned his head to check your reaction. “Well, I was the one that mentioned that a unit was available when I was complaining about my ex neighbor… So yeah, we are neighbors.”

“You’re annoying, you know that, right?”

“I thought Maddie told you.”

Well, she almost did, but she was interrupted by your neighbor himself that night. Shit.

“For how long did you know this?” You pointed to the garage and between you two.

“For a few weeks, when I saw your car after the cupcake incident.”

“I pledge the fifth.” You disconnected your phone from his car. Well, it would only get awkward if you walked to your apartment in complete silence, so you asked, “Wait, so you were texting and calling me from across the hall? You’re unbelievable.”

“What? If I knock on your door, you’ve got a restraining order against me.”

You left the car at the same time, and walked to the elevators.

“I bet I could convince Sergeant Grant to arrest you.”

“You’d make her dreams come true.”

Same elevator, same floor. You took opposite directions: his place was to the left, yours to the right, on the corners of the building, just one unit between you. You waved him goodbye and entered your home. To your right, your kitchen and dinner table. The glass doors to your balcony were opened — your mistake when you left in a hurry that morning — and it felt more like home than you expected.

Under the stairs, your notes and books were scattered. Sundays were for studying and writing the thesis. Your gray couch held the books you were searching the other day, too busy to put them back in the high and long bookshelves you had on the wall. Your television was the least used electronic in the place.

You walked upstairs and threw yourself in the bed. Maybe you should’ve picked up his calls before, but now it wasn’t a problem anymore.

author's note: are we watching the beginning of their friendship? I THINK SO! yes, i love a slow burn, but i swear it's gonna be worth it, ok? hope you're enjoying this series as much as i am. also: i published a blurb, so check the series masterlist bc i kinda loved it, not gonna lie. ALSO, my lovely friend, casey, made a playlist for the series. just check the masterlist! see yall next week!

[turneradora]

Here is a new press article concerning "Rivals", with the new pic of Aidan as Declan O'Hara !

Thanks to Emma Jones for the written version 🙏🥰 ❤️🌹

EXCLUSIVE The secrets of autumn's biggest bonkbuster Rivals: Why Emily Atack ended up giggling through the sex scenes... and Jilly Cooper's inspiration for the real-life Rupert Campbell-Black

By Sarah Oliver For Weekend Magazine

Published: 06:52 EDT, 4 October 2024 | Updated: 06:54 EDT, 4 October 2024

Hard as it may be to imagine anyone eclipsing the sex appeal of Ross Poldark by being darker, sexier and even better with horses, someone has. Yes, ladies of Great Britain, Rupert Campbell-Black has landed straight from the pages of Jilly Cooper’s 1988 bonkbuster Rivals on your screens here in 2024, and you are all in trouble. A lot of trouble.

Rupert gives the best riding britches and bronzed biceps since Aidan Turner was seen scything topless. He’s hot hot hot, joining the Mile High Club on Concorde and serving up a scorcher playing naked tennis in the sun. Even dressed as Santa come Christmas, he’s the gift that keeps on giving.

So hat tip here to Alex Hassell, whose swarthy looks and CV as a serious Royal Shakespeare Company actor (he was garlanded for his Henry V) don’t immediately suggest him to play a blond-haired, blue-eyed, tabloid headline-hogging love rat. ‘I was slightly concerned at first,’ says Jilly, ‘because my Rupert in the book is blond and blue-eyed, and Alex is very dark-eyed and olive-skinned. But he’s such a good actor.’

From the moment he strides out of the loo having had supersonic sex (he makes Mach 1 at the same time as the plane) with the Daily Scorpion journalist ghosting his memoirs, Alex Hassell owns RCB, as Jilly fans call him. ‘I always believe in laying one’s ghost,’ he sighs as he swaggers back down the aisle, and the millions of women who grew up fancying the rotter know they’re in safe hands.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Alex though. ‘Some days I’d be quite intimidated because the scene would describe Rupert walking into a room and everybody stops and looks at him and swoons,’ he says. ‘I was nervous about that, but everyone was told to act as if I was Harry Styles, and then my day turned into a wonderful day.’ So what does he think of Rupert? ‘While he is in many ways a s***, he’s not a bad man.’

Rivals is a riot and a romp, faithful to the book but with some sinuous updating to make what was the ultimate 80s tale of wealth, power and corporate backstabbing more nuanced. It is shagtastically good fun and if you’re old enough to have properly enjoyed the 80s, you’ll be drowning in nostalgia for those brash, optimistic champagne-fuelled years.

There are chaps in pinstripes and scarlet braces; women in power suits with root perms and earrings the size of a bin lid. Desk toys have an un-ironic place on boardroom tables and chintz runs amok in the English country house. Everyone is somewhere between slightly tight and completely plastered a lot of the time and can get up to mischief without being found out by their phone. The soundtrack alone will make you cry with longing.

‘We do it lovingly, but as the series goes on we address feminism, racism, sexuality, homophobia and snobbery,’ says showrunner Dominic Treadwell-Collins, who sees Jilly Cooper as a social commentator on a par with Austen or Dickens. ‘Rivals is a raucous party that gets darker. We keep our moments of joy, but the party gets a bit more warped.’

That’s not to say this new Disney+ eight-parter is any less fruity than the book. ‘If you had that copy you borrowed from your friend and it fell open at various pages – we’ve done all those bits,’ he acknowledges.

That classic Cooper sauce is still in there too. ‘How long do you spend on a cock?’ one guest asks Lady Monica Baddingham at a pheasant shoot. ‘Well, generally speaking, I can finish one off in 15 minutes or less, but my hands aren’t as quick as they used to be,’ she replies.

Or when TV technicians prep Rupert for his interview with TV journalist Declan O’Hara (played by Aidan Turner, yes, he of the topless scything). ‘The make-up artist is going to touch you up,’ they tell him. ‘I’d love her to,’ says RCB, ‘but I’m just about to appear on national television.’

There’s lashings of this since we are back in the (imagined) county of Rutshire, deep in the (real) Cotswolds, the setting for Jilly Cooper’s multi-million-selling Rutshire Chronicles series of novels. Riders, the first book, introduced Rupert as he chased Olympic showjumping gold. In Rivals, the second, Rutshire’s commercial TV station Corinium is up for franchise renewal and RCB is again at the heart of the action. ‘In bedroom and boardroom,’ promises Jilly, ‘the fight to capture the Cotswold Crown is on.’

Lord Tony Baddingham is Corinium’s boss. He’s on Concorde too, locking horns with Rupert, now a rising star in the Thatcher government, two of the ‘rivals’ of the title. He is played, with just the right amount of aristo-executive villainy, by David Tennant, persuaded to take the role by his wife, Georgia, also an actor and a huge Jilly Cooper fan.

‘I had my research fellow, who I live with, who could tell me anything I needed to know,’ laughs David, adding his casting caused a frisson at the school gate. ‘It’s a certain generation of women who go a bit giddy at the thought this has become a TV show. I just hope we can meet everybody’s fantasies…’

Well, if those fantasies include seeing Aidan Turner’s bare bottom you can tick that one off the list though he is, unusually for Rutshire, bedding his own wife at the time, rather than someone else’s. Declan O’Hara is Lord Baddingham’s star hire, married to fiery Maud, a man-hungry former actress.

Maud is played by Victoria Smurfit who really, really wanted the role and went full ‘Rutshire’ to get it. ‘I made this big decision where I thought, “Go big or go home.” It was December: freezing cold, ice on the ground, snow coming down through London. And when I arrived at the audition space, I had my coat on, and I walked in to meet the team who were in hats and gloves because it was even cold in the studio. I said, “Hello, I am Maud. You’re all dressed for London in December and – I threw my coat off and had this flimsy dress on underneath – I’m dressed for summer in the Cotswolds, darling!” Going home was quite chilly, I’m not going to lie, but it was worth it.’

In Rivals she specialises in making an entrance: do enjoy the scene with the camel.

As for Aidan Turner, with an absolute whopper of a moustache, Day-Glo yellow socks and a battered old Mini Cooper, he’s more workaholic dad than sex god. ‘That car, it’s got four gears but only three work,’ he groans. ‘The floor has holes in it. I think we maxed at 42mph. It was like driving a go-kart.’

Like all the actors, he knows his Mini isn’t the only bit of Rivals that could have looked clapped out in 2024, if not for the clever screenwriting. ‘I think we’re saying, “These are examples of the problematic behaviour that was acceptable at the time,”’ he reflects. ‘Some of it still does exist, but a lot has changed. It’s interesting to watch a show like ours and think, “We’re still doing that, maybe we should have left it in the 80s.”’

That said, ‘people having sex’, as David Tennant gleefully points out, ‘is timeless’ and all the characters are still aboard a classic Jilly Cooper sexual carousel. Baddingham is having an affair with his brilliant American TV producer Cameron Cook (now a black character), and Rupert is fending off Maud while falling in love with the eldest O’Hara daughter Taggie (played by Sex Education’s Bella Maclean), who’s only 20.

Electronics mogul Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer) and his wife Valerie are the nouveau riche trying to crampon their way up to social acceptance, but Freddie has feelings for novelist Lizzie, whose husband is Corinium’s ghastly news anchor James Vereker. Then there’s disgraced deputy PM Paul Stratton, newly married to his mistress Sarah (Emily Atack), who we first meet playing naked tennis with Rupert.

It’s a legendary Rivals scene (inspired by the tennis court at Jilly’s own house in the Cotswolds) where the tennis ball isn’t the only thing bouncing over the net. ‘The tennis scene was probably one of my favourites,’ says Emily. ‘It was a beautiful sunny day and I’d been exercising, I’d been – I wouldn’t say dieting, I love wine and pasta too much – but I’d been doing my sit-ups and my squats, and I was ready to do this naked scene!’

So it really is Love All, even among Rutshire’s lusty teenagers, for whom ‘I’ve got some Malibu upstairs’ is still a winning pick-up line. And this only takes us to the mid-point of the series: there are four further episodes and a lot more bed-hopping and dastardly boardroom behaviour to come.

It’s hard to overstate the scale, complexity and gleaming polish of the show, with its ensemble cast and Cotswold locations crammed with pale gold mansions, buttercups, bluebells and red phone boxes. (You might recognise 16th-century Chavenage House near Tetbury, which becomes the O’Haras’ home, The Priory, because that too was in Poldark.) There are sweaty horses, bounding hounds and huntsmen in their pinks.

Dinner parties start with pheasant and finish with pavlova, and guests disco dance until it’s time for a Survivors Breakfast. Picnics are enjoyed out the back of a Land Rover – green, what else – and Rupert Campbell-Black is secretly so lonely he shares his bath with his favourite black Labrador, Beaver.

The original book was 720 pages long and they’ve done it proud. Some days, according to Alex Hassell, there were 42 main characters on set at the same time, making it, he thinks, the biggest film unit in Europe.

Vintage Ungaro and Laura Ashley were sourced for the women, 80s-style suits handmade for the men. A safe had to be brought in to stash the 80s watches which are now worth an eye-watering amount. Someone’s mum knitted a bunch of pre-divorce Diana jumpers, Nafessa Williams, who plays Cameron Cook, modelled her ponytail on Sade’s and Danny Dyer drew on his own experience of snobbery as he, a working-class untrained actor, fought to break into theatre.

Emily Atack took to watching reruns of Top Of The Pops in which her own mother, the actress and singer Kate Robbins, appeared, by way of research. Everyone is wearing Wayfarers. Cadbury’s Fruit And Nut still comes in paper and gold foil while Wham!, Roxy Music, ABC and The Communards are on the radio. You can virtually smell the Elnett extra strong hold hairspray, the Drakkar Noir aftershave and the garlic chicken vol au vents warming through in an Aga somewhere.

Like the rest of the cast, Nafessa Williams knew what she was getting into with her sex scenes (Cameron has relationships with first Lord Baddingham and then Rupert). ‘I mean, we all knew what we were coming to do, so there were no surprises. I think it’s a matter of making sure you’re comfortable with each other and you’re listening and asking questions: is it OK to do this? Is it not OK to do that? It is a dance, so you essentially have to practise that dance before going on the dance floor.’

Plus, because Rivals is a bonkbuster – a label which has both supporters and critics among the cast – there was safety in numbers, as Emily Atack explains. ‘When we were doing all these scenes, we flocked to each other to talk about it, and support each other and really big each other up and we laughed about it. They were such a huge part of our bonding as a cast and as friends. It really interested me to see what nudity does to human beings – we were all like giggling teenagers, hugging each other, high-fiving each other, going, “Oh my God! Yes! You did it!”’

That said, they were all rigorously policed by not one but two intimacy co-ordinators, something which would not have happened had Rivals been turned into telly closer to the time the book came out. The intimacy team placed a partially deflated fitness ball between some of the actors so they could rock and create rhythm while having a physical barrier. Others were encouraged to use a tap-in tap-out psychological technique, clapping their hands before a take to signal to themselves they were in character, and then clapping at the call of ‘Cut’ to signal they’re themselves again. ‘We’ve been equal opportunities with sex,’ says Dominic Treadwell-Collins. ‘You will see an awful lot of willies.’

It was the only way to film the lovely, unbridled sort of sex synonymous with Jilly Cooper and the author, now a venerable 87 years old, is characteristically relaxed and happy about the outcome. ‘I trusted Dominic like mad,’ she says, ‘I knew it would be all right!’

A superstar writer since the 60s, made a DBE for services to literature and charity in this year’s New Year Honours, she wasn’t at all bothered when one of the actors, Lara Peake who plays Corinium PA Daysee, failed to recognise her at a read-through. ‘She came over and said, “Oh, you’re the lovely Daysee,”’ Lara recalls. ‘I said, “Yeah, I’m so excited. Who are you playing?” She was like, “No, darling, I’m Jilly…”’

‘Rivals is my favourite novel,’ confirms the author ahead of the series dropping later this month, ‘because I love the characters so much. Even the most ruthless display moments of vulnerability and the shyest show courage and integrity as true love blossoms.’

But can you believe it, RCB almost wasn’t in the book. ‘Originally, I intended to leave out Rupert, my hellraising hero, because in Riders he was cruel both to women and his horses,’ says Jilly. ‘But I missed his glamour and humour.’ She belatedly wrote him back in as a lead, reinforcing his place as one of the most lustworthy men in British fiction.

She says she loves the ‘ruthless glamour’ Alex Hassell brings to her creation, while admiring the greater vulnerability and tenderness the Rivals writers’ room has imagined for RCB today.

His casting has been the subject of heated debate everywhere from Mumsnet to The Tack Room, the online chat area of Horse & Hound. The actor almost withdrew from the first audition because he couldn’t see himself making everyone swoon but, by golly!, to borrow a Jilly Cooperism, he does. So much so he was sad when the shoot was over. ‘No one was looking at me like I’m the most sexy man on the planet any more,’ he says. ‘It was tough.’

Anyway, if you’d like to watch him make your screen melt, are old enough to remember the 80s, or young enough to think it must have been cool to be there, then clear eight hours in your diary because you won’t be able to stop watching Rivals.

But start early or you’ll be late to bed, and that would never do, not in Jilly Cooper’s world.

All episodes of Rivals are exclusively on Disney+ from 18 October.

[jungle-angel]

Tis The Busiest Season (Rhett Abbott x Reader)

Summary: It's the day after Thanksgiving and you and Rhett have yet another holiday to prep for

The day after Thanksgiving in your house was always the best which meant leftovers for the next week and a half. Rhett had awoken after Royal to go and make sure that Abigail didn't need to be milked and that her calves were fed while you and Cecelia had begun hauling out the Christmas decorations from the attic.

"You good there Grumpy?" Cecelia asked him.

"Never better Ma," Rhett answered, finally able to dig into a piece of the pumpkin pie from the night before.

"Where's your father?"

"Can't a man eat his lunch in peace?" Royal called from the kitchen with a mouthful of his after-thanksgiving sandwich.

Cecelia rolled her eyes. "Didn't your Ma teach ya'll not to talk with your mouth full?" she asked.

"She taught me alot of things Cece," Royal chuckled. "But unfortunately that wasn't one of'em."

Royal gave her a playful peck on the lips, you and Rhett laughing a little bit. "How's Abigail lookin son?" Royal asked.

"She's good," Rhett answered. "Calves nursed this mornin which makes less work for us."

"Damn right it does," Royal answered. "Stuck four good buckets full of milk out on the back porch for the farmer's market next week and a few bottles I can give to Ten Horses after he helped us with that house downtown."

"Aw hell, you guys are still workin on that place?" Rhett groaned.

"Oh yeah," Royal answered. "Shoulda known what I was gettin into when Beth bought it at the police auction last spring. Place was a fuckin dump. John, Thomas, Mo and I all went in there and it was a floor-to-ceiling hoarder nightmare."

"Eeew," Rhett chuckled.

"Alright lets see what's on here for movies," Royal said, sinking down into the recliner.

"Everything's done for the day, so what else are we gonna do?" you chuckled, helping Cecelia with the decorations.

Royal switched on one of the streaming services and chose National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, a favorite of yours and Rhett's and one that he and his father had quoted frequently around the holidays. Thank God the girls were with Kayce and Monica for the day and that Tatum and Tanner were napping upstairs, otherwise Hannah would be running around repeating it all.

You and Rhett thoroughly enjoyed yourselves while you helped his mother decorate the house, letting Royal relax for a while after a long week. You found the little needle-felted gnomes, fairies, angels and little Santas you had made four years ago when your now fifth graders, had been in first grade along with the little mitten ornaments that had Rhett's name and date of birth on it, the little banner reading Rhett James Abbott b. 1/29/1993 and a little teddy bear in Marine Corps. dress blues which had been a gift from his grandpa River.

"Oh my God look," you squeaked. "Remember this?"

Rhett laughed a little but his eyes softened when he saw it, a little red, gold and green baby rattle ornament that had been from Amy's very first Christmas along with a Winnie The Pooh and Piglet in their little stocking caps. You both found the little bluebirds and the little wood-carved Santa head that looked more like a wizard than anything else, both having come from Switzerland with Rhett's grandmother.

But the one that you couldn't wait to put out was the one thing that you and Rhett wanted to keep in the family. It was a wooden Nativity scene that Royal had made in his woodshed with John, the figures and animals painstakingly hand painted. It had been a wedding gift for you and Rhett since you had gotten married close to Christmas and the memories it held were more precious than all the gold in the world.

"You ready for the Christmas chaos?" you asked him.

"Hell no," Rhett laughed. "But with you? Hell yes, sweetheart."

[chessalein]

five songs & three outfits - Nori

I was tagged by the wonderful @theviridianbunny. Thanks Bunny! ♥

Rules:Post 5 songs associated with your OC, followed by 3 outfits they would wear.

I will do it for my one and only Nori!

🎵 songs 🎵 (I stole this because its cute and I don't know how to do them)

1 ♥ Grace Potter - Something that I want 2 ♥ Reinaeiry - Sway 3 ♥ Samurai - Never fade away (that was a surprise for everyone in the Welles house) 4 ♥ Mariah Carey - All I want for christmas is you (extra festive) (Yes she listenes to it the whole ear long and Vincent HATES it) 5 ♥ Anguy & Julia Stone - Santa Monica Dream

Wow that was hard. Today is really not my music day.

Lets come to her outfits!

Noris style is very elegant and cute and light colored. She doesn't like to show too much skin, but what she loves are bows and frills! She mostly wears dresses because she was raised like that and she looks almost like a little doll sometimes because of her upbring as well.

She loves flowers and bows so she has no dress that hasn't one of these things. She used to wear ones with LOTS of layers like back in the days, since she lives in NC she had to tune the layers down or she would die from the heat. She isn't good with heat at all.

She gets often weird looks when she is out, so she tries to go for dresses that are more normal in NC but still have her style over time.

Yea, thats it :) Tagged is everyone who wants to play!

More outfits under here because I want to show off what Nori wears during the night and whetever! Looking for her outfits was so much fun, now I'm in full outfit mode!

At night!

Later when she is more adapted and has a lazy couch-potato day, she wears thick socks, leggings and a way oversized hoody she got from Misty. Its one of Jackies old ones that smells after one of his old colognes, but didn't tell her. When Jackie saw her with it, he asked her where the sweater comes from. She told him its from Misty and that it smells really good. He could imagen that she gifted it to her as a sort of "Comfort hoody", knowing that she would love it, so he hadn't have the heart to tell her or else she would have given it back to him, embaressed that she held on to it so much. Plus he thinks it's cute how she almost dissapears in it.

When she is somewhere cold, she wears one of these:

I don't know more yet! But the more you know, you know? Also I got tired. Thanks for sticking around.

The End

[mortifying-macaroni]

4. 10. 47. 51. Sorry if that's too many

BABEZ! I'm so, so, so incredibly sorry for not answering for days. There was a lot going on and I was mainly focused on both my art and my social life, but regardless, thank you so much for ur ask! ILYSM! Anyway, without further ado:

4.Which one is more protective? Who needs to be ‘protected’?

Gretchen and Andrei are both pretty deadset when it comes to protecting each other through whichever means necessary, even if it means jumping into fire. They're perfectly capable of handling themselves individually as well. Neither of them are damsels in distress in their relationship, although since Andrei is a powerful elder with centuries worth of experience when it comes to dealing with danger, he'd often chide Gretchen about being careful before she'd go on a mission. He has faith that his beloved is strong on her own merit, but he couldn't help but worry.

10.Describe their first date.

The first thing they did was go hunting in one of the nightclubs; specifically Asylum. Gretchen had a bone to pick with Therese after being sent into a Malkavian dream realm ( am refering to the Tremere-centered quest in CQM). After disposing her, Gretchen and Andrei were free to turn the club into a gory buffet for two, but not without her teaching Andrei how to bust a move. Finally, they went to the closed off part of Santa Monica pier to unwind a for a little bit and have deep and intimate conversations. They grew closer as the night progressed and Gretchen connected with Andrei so much to the point where she wanted to perform the romantic Tremere ritual known as Le Sangre de l'amor, which requires both participants to feel the same amount of desire towards one another in order for it to work. Obviously, it did and after the ritual, they spent some more time getting to know one another, even allowing themselves to talk about their mortal lives despite both of them rejecting humanity, but it felt somewhat "right" to share these details with one another. Neither were afraid of taking a moment to expose their vulnerable side.

47.Does either of them have a secret that could potentially ruin their relationship?

Nope. They're open about everything and neither really mince words whenever something serious happens or if they have something on their mind. Besides, Andrei's freaky professor X mind can pick up on most things about Gretchen, which she considers an invasion of privacy ofc and sometimes really dislikes that ability.

51.What’s a non verbal way they say I love you?

Gretchen's way of expressing love is mainly done through sharing things, whether it be: blood, playlists, knowledge, possibly weapons and even her own secrets. She's not usually a giver, but when it comes to Andrei, she wouldn't hesitate. Another way she expresses her feelings is through singing and playing music for him, especially when he's in a sour mood and that always lifts his spirits immensely.

Andrei's way of saying "I love you" involves him being physically affectionate. He can get quite handsy and would find any excuse to touch Gretchen, no matter how brief and no matter where they are, he'd find a way to sneak tender caresses her way. He's actually a very clingy bastard. Besides sex, cuddling her in bed is one of his favorite things to do with her. Additionally, he loves buying her gifts. Considering he's an Eastern European noble, money isn't an issue for him at all and would spare no expense when it comes to spoiling Gretchen.

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

California Dreams Christmas Romance Collection by Talya Blaine

Five heart-felt, steamy, later-in-life short stories

Five women

Five dreams

Five Christmases

With some wishes

And then

…

Each story begins with a steamy dream a woman wakes from as she then thinks about her life and what will happen on the upcoming Christmas holiday. The stories are all short with immediate connection between the main characters and the potential for a happily ever after for all involved. These are feel-good Hallmark worthy shorties that can be read over coffee in the morning or with a nightcap before bed and all will put a smile on your face, provide Christmas cheer, and leave you with a smile on your face.

Thank you to BookSirens and the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

BLURB

A spicy and heartwarming Christmas romance short story collection Spend Christmas in the California sun with these feel-good, later-in-life contemporary romance short stories. Five standalone short stories. Five sultry dreams. Five hot, sweet Santas whose gifts can’t be wrapped and put under a tree. The California Dreams Christmas Romance Collection includes: Santa & Anna When a divorced baker-to-the-stars bumps into Santa, their meet is anything but cute. Crumbs and icing fly—until Santa makes a deal and delivers not one but two sweet gifts. Santa & Clara When a workaholic Silicon Valley IT consultant reluctantly takes on the role of Mrs. Claus at her client’s corporate Christmas bash, a B-list celebrity Santa coaxes her to reveal her fantasy holiday wish. Santa Cru Sofia practically pops a cork when the Santa she hires for her winery’s big party cancels last-minute—until his stand-in’s earnest plea restores her Christmas spirit. Santa & Monica Stuck together in a luxury beachfront vacation rental, Santa and Monica’s slow-burn connection and dark humor transform loss into found. Santa & Barbara When ex-pat Barb returns home to spend Christmas with her ailing grandfather, Santa helps her reconnect in ways she will always remember. Full of twists on your favorite tropes—enemies to lovers, forced proximity, second chance, slow burn, fake relationship, mistaken identity—with touching, happy endings. Standalone short stories. Mature language, themes, and situations. M/F romances. Heroine POVs. No cheating between characters. No cliffhangers. At Christmastime, these five California dreams just might come true.

[vintagebitchgifts]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: ❤️DONATED❤️ SYNAPSE DANCE THEATRE Woman’s Black & White Jogger Sweatpants NWOT.

[writer-updates]

Sebastian Knight

Chapter 7 - Sebastian

While Liliana left to help Deigo, I was being interviewed Emily for an article when something unusual caught my eye. She was wearing a wire and trying to hide it from me, but I could tell she was nervous. I had to be careful of what I said around her, as I didn't want to give away any information.

Her flashy hazel eyes did nothing to throw me off my guard. I could tell she was disappointed, but there was nothing more I could do.

Just as I was about to speak again, I heard someone tapping a microphone and interrupted my train of thought. I turned to see a man at the front of the room, dressed in a crisp suit, addressing the crowd.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, before we start this auction off, I want to thank everyone for coming."

I glanced over at Emily who nodded in agreement with him before turning back toward me in time to hear him continue. "As some of you may already know, tonight's auction is being held by Mr. Blaine Worthington himself."

The crowd around me grew cheerer as they knew we worked together on previous auctions, he was a great auctioneer and had an eye for the most valuable. He knew I gave the best parties, he would bring in famous celebrities or even just wealthy people and have them show off their wealth by donating items like expensive cars and houses for charity auctions.

My eyes darted to the left as I saw Liliana escorting Mr Blaine to the stage as he was of course an old man. Mr Blaine has worked with my family for years and was a dear friend.

"Ladies and gentlemen, would anybody here tonight like to take a holiday? By show of hands, how many of you are planning to take a vacation this year?" Mr Blaine asked not wasting another second.

Mostly everyone in the ballroom raised their hands in to air to the question. Liliana headed back over towards me, reaching out for her. I gently grabbed her hand once again. Leaning into her ear, I whispered.

"Emily has a wire attached, keep normal. Let the others know later."

Liliana nodded, scanning the room once more. Trying to see if someone was nearby she could speak too.

"Well, have I got good news for you lucky folks! For tonight's live auction, the Lakewood Rotary Club has acquired two amazing vacation packages from Winspire, the nation's leading provider of unique travel experiences," Mr Blaine spoke again.

"The first is a 'dream-come-true' for the lady in your life: a weekend shopping spree at Bloomingdale's in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, plus a $1000 gift card and the services of a personal shopper. These assistants are at-the-ready to offer fashion advice and attend to your every shopping need."

The crowd of guests grew more excited at the description of the holiday. Liliana leaned against my arm.

Mr Blaine continued, "And, if that wasn't enough, our second package is an all-inclusive, two-week-long tropical adventure! Pack your bags and imagine exploring two exotic destinations; first, to a secret beach in Costa Rica, with days spent in pure tranquility and romance, and then a stay in a top-of-the-line Caribbean resort!"

Liliana squeezed my hand in anticipation as Mr. Blaine went on to describe all of the amenities included in the package. The auction began, and before long the bids for each of the packages rose steadily. Finally, when the bids had reached an unprecedented level, the crowd erupted with excitement and she looked up at me with a glimmer in her eye. I could see that she had already chosen which package she wanted. We bid aggressively and ultimately secured the Caribbean resort vacation.

As the night contuined each item that was given had be brought and only one was left. It seemed to be a cheap item but the more money for the childrens hospital, the better.

"And our last bid of the night is this is this luxury spa gift pack with a gift voucher, do I hear 100?" Mr Blaine asked.

The room was quiet for a few moments until a voice rang through, "150."

Mr Blaine nodded and contuined until he got up higher, at this point. The bidding continues, with the auctioneer calling out higher and higher bids. The room is filled with the sound of voices, all competing for the item.

Finally, Mr Blaine calls out the winning bid. "Sold to the gentleman in the back for $500!"

Vendors began passing out food once the auction was finished, meanwhile I looked at Emily taking a drink from a glass of champagne I had in my hand.

"Ready for our interview?" I asked, a slight smirk on my face.

Emily smiled warmly, "Yes." She fiddled in her bag getting a pen and paper out, huffing as she finally looked back up at me. "Thank you for allowing me to interview you, on such short notice."

"That's fine, as you can see from over there a lot of reporters are here," I replied.

"So Mr Knight, what made you want to do a charity for children?" Emily asked.

"It's always been a dream of mine to help the less fortunate out with more research and more places for sick children to stay with their families. We have raised over half a million dollars so far to build a brand new location which will also have a hospital and the best cancer doctors and nurses out there to help these children. It will have over 500 apartments and will be free of charge for everyone battling this horrible desaise. I honestly can't wait for the day when cancer is cured," I replied, I was passionate about this project.

As children are the future, what's a future without children. No one likes cancer. Emily finished writing everything down before looking at me.

"Who is/was your role model?"

Looking at Emily, I took a second to think before answering this question, "My mum. Unfortunately my mum had passed away a few years ago but honestly she had such a kind soul. She was always there to help people and those who are struggling a lot. She opened our home to many strangers over Christmas, thanksgiving and Easter. It hurt her to see so many people without families over the holidays. She even had a regular night once a week where she would invite anyone off the street to our house and we would hold a massive feast."

"Wouldn't there be risk of theft?" Emily asked.

"Actually most of those we brought to our house for meals and warmth and just family are actually working for us as well and we've never had an issue. Even Liliana is starting to do the same, helping those who can't help themselves. She's managed to get 35 percent of those on the streets a job at one of her father's pubs as either hosts and packers."

"What projects are you presently working on?" Emily queried while tucking her hand behind her right ear.

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, I knew what she was trying to get out of me, "Well, I am actually really proud of Liliana, she has a open show coming up soon which I'm very proud to be by her side for." I didn't say much more than that because I promised her I wouldn't.

Emily looked disappointed at my answer, she probably thinks she has me fooled but oh no. I can smell a rat when I see one and I'm not letting out any vital information, who knows who could be listening. "One more question Mr Knight. How do you balance your work and private lives?"

"It is the most difficult thing to balance your work life and your private one. I try to take one month out each year so that I can just run away from it all with my family. I try not to work over the weekends unless I have a commission that is not in the city where I live. Somehow, this arrangement works," I snarled, hating where this conversation or 'interview' was going.

[socialbrewcoffee]

Java for change: Half of this coffee company’s profits go to help sex trafficking victims

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) — Mid-Pacific Institute graduate Simone Ispahani believes that a good cup of coffee can connect people and ideas.

That’s the reason she started Social Brew.

“It’s an online e-commerce coffee company. I primarily source from the Hawaiian islands because I used to live there,” she said.

Her coffee’s made from beans grown on the Big Island that are roasted in Hawaii.

Coffee lovers from across the U.S. order her product.

“I’m pretty biased, but I think it’s amazing,” she said. “We have 100% Kona single-origin coming from the Big Island, which is one of the top coffees in the world.”

But Ispahani is in business for more than personal gain. She donates 50% of her profits to non-profit organizations that help survivors of human trafficking. One of them is Ho Ola Na Pua.

“For me, it was really important to speak about the rehabilitation process because I feel like with the issue a lot of people speak about the rescue and that hard bit, but they don’t talk about the aftermath,” she said.

According to global statistics, 50 million people are forced into labor or sexual exploitation.

Ispahani came face-to-face with it while working alongside survivors in India.

“When you hear these big numbers, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But once you put a face to that statistic, how can you not want to help?” she said.

She now lives in Santa Monica, where she oversees her online company and looks for more ways to combat human trafficking.

“One day I’d love to have a physical coffee store where I could employ survivors and be able to create sustainable job opportunities,” she said.

You can buy her signature brand of coffee at the Kahala Hotel & Resort gift shop and online at SocialBrew.us

“You can follow along with our journey @sipsocialbrew on Instagram. I’m always happy to hear from potential customers or people that just want to get involved in this cause and educate themselves,” she said.

Thanks For Reading

[monicahar]

Hello there, Monica, this is your secret santa! For your wishlist, I wanted to ask if you're comfortable with a fem!reader or if you'd like a gn!reader instead? It's not any trouble since I can write for either, just wanted to know if you have a preference for your gift!

Thank you and I hope you have a good day!

I'm a girl so both are completely fine!

[kaunis-sielu]

Sidelines: Christmas Time is Here

Thank you @andahugaroundtheneck for the prompt

When you get to practice everyone is gathered in the studio. Not something that normally happens since you rarely practice as a whole team in the studio. There’s never enough room, so when you find a full room you’re concerned.

“Monica, what’s going on?” You whisper and she glances over at you.

“They’re picking new specialty teams. Apparently there’s been too much drama with the current two.”

“Drama? On a team of all women? Color me shocked.” You deadpan and she snickers,

“What color is shocked?”

“I always imagine it as an electric blue.” This gets a full snort from your friend and puts the two of you on the receiving end of a Maria Rambeau glare.

“Alright, so there will be two teams, A and B. We have tasks for both, there’s no real difference between the two. Just different events. There are going to be a few that will use both teams. We’re going to have five on each team. So team A is Wanda, Sharon, Monica, Elena and Melinda. Team B is Natasha, Jane, Sarah, Bobbi and Cat.” You blink in surprise, did she just say you were on team B? Monica gives your hand a squeeze and squeals softly.

“Cat! Yay!” She says and you grin back over at her.

“Don’t get so excited,” Peggy sneers, “We all know it’s because you’re fucking Steve.” Your heart plummets but Natasha steps in front of you.

“Fuck you Peggy.” She snaps and you roll your eyes. It’s so dramatic. Peggy storms off and Nat turns to you with a wide smile, “Congrats on making a special team!”

“Thank you.”

“I can’t wait to force you to spend more time with me.” She says with a laugh throwing her arm around your shoulders.

“Oh darn.” You deadpan and she laughs again. “I am curious why Peggy wasn’t put on a special team.”

“You, wait you don’t know?”

“Obviously not?”

“You.”

“What?”

“She’s been attempting to stir up trouble because Steve wants to get into your pants,”

“Do you have to be so gross?”

“It’s true!”

“Nat!”

“Okay, fine.” She huffs, “Peggy is pissed that you and Steve are an item so she’s been talking mad shit about you.”

“Great. I told him this would happen.” You grumble, you’re going to have to stay away from him.

“It’s her problem not yours.” Nat says but you change the subject.

“Can I run my secret Santa gift by you?”

“If it’s Steve just give him a lap dance or something.”

“Natasha!” You cry punching her in the arm, she laughs, “Seriously I wanna run my idea by you.”

“Okay fine. Who do you have?” You glance over your shoulder to make sure she’s not around before whispering,

“Yelena. I was thinking of getting her a nice bag and embroidering on it.”

“Something with a shit ton of pockets and you’re golden.”

“Okay cool, I thought she’d like that but I didn’t want it to be lame.”

“Hey, Team B is needed in the office.” Jane calls. You and Natasha follow her there and when Carol tells you that you’re going to a Christmas charity event at a local kids hospital in two hours you’re super excited. Less exciting is the fact that some of the football players are coming too, including both Steve and Brock.

“This is going to be so fun!” Sarah says, “Sam is going to be so annoyed that I get to go hang out with the kids at the hospital and he doesn’t.”

“I think he’s more mad that you’re gonna flirt with Bucky the whole time.” You tease and she laughs.

“It’s all harmless, it’s more to piss off Sam than anything. Wanna ride together?”

“Should we see if the other girls want to too?”

“Sure.” You, Sarah, Natasha and Bobbi end up riding together. Jane lives only a few miles from the hospital so it doesn’t make much sense for her to ride with you.

The four of you sing Christmas carols as you drive to the hospital. When you get there the football players are already there. It’s Scott, Bucky, Steve, Brock and Peter Parker, who everyone just calls Parker.

“Who has the list of partners?” Sarah asks and Jane raises her hand.

“You’re with Bucky, I’m with Parker, Nat you’re with Scott, Bobbi is with Brock and Cat is with Steve.”

“Hi, I’m Darcy, I’m the outreach coordinator here. We have how many teams?” A brunette woman asks as she bustles toward you.

“Five. Each has a football player and a cheerleader.” Steve tells her with a smile.

“Perfect. Thank you all for doing this, come with me.” You watch as everyone pairs off, Bucky offering his arm to Sarah who takes it with a smirk. Brock glares at Steve as he walks passed him, Steve ignores Brock as he waits for you.

“You alright?”

“Yep.” You say with a wide smile, he’ll probably see right through it but you don’t care.

“Cat,”

“Peggy.” You whisper and he clenches his jaw. “Please just let it go okay?”

“What did she do?”

“Nothing.”

“Cat,” he warns his voice low. You call this his Captain voice.

“Steve it’s nothing okay?” You’re not exactly lying, it is fine. You don’t give a shit what Peggy Carter thinks about you. He goes to open his mouth to argue with you when you catch up to the group and he closes his mouth with a smile.

You do your best to avoid being alone with him again. You take a ton of pictures with the kids and Steve, it’s a good time, Steve is so damn cute with the kids. Which you shouldn’t be surprised by, he was so good with your nieces and nephew, but there’s something about seeing this big football player being tied into a chair with yarn by two laughing little boys that just melts your heart.

“Cat,” Steve says softly and it snaps you out of your head.

“Sorry, what’s up?”

“We’re doing a group picture downstairs.”

“Oh, thanks.” You tell him before following him to the elevator, it’s not until you’re in the elevator that you realize you’re alone with him.

“I’m sorry for whatever she said.”

“Steve,” you sigh and he tucks some of your hair behind your ear.

“You don’t deserve this.” He whispers, “You deserve to be happy and choose who you want to be happy with.”

“Steve,” you breathe, he’s so fucking perfect. How are you supposed to keep turning him down? The elevator doors slide open and you move away from him quickly joining Natasha who glances between you and Steve but when she sees the look on your face she doesn’t tease.

You gather together for a photo then hurry out of the building. Nat is talking to Steve when they exit the building, he laughs and you bury your nose in your phone. You take one last glance at him, you’re not doing this.

🏈🏈🏈

This is a series of one shots, the series isn’t posted in order. If you have ideas for Steve and Cat please let me know.

Tag list:

@memyselfandmaddox @thefanficfaerie @patzammit @dsakita @dramadreamer14 @killcomet @thesassmisstress @sophham @andahugaroundtheneck @loving-life-my-way @thefridgeismybestie @dumblani @im-just-another-monster @mywinterwolf @giggleberts @biskwitmamaw @geeksareunique @paintballkid711 @lumar014 @also-fangirlinsweden @connie326 @inkedaztec @eralen @valsworldofcreativity @strangersstranger @dontbescaredtosingalong

[12loona]

[FAB] 220803 | Yves update - Yves 🦢

🔑 Keyrings that I bought in Santa Monica, the owner collected bank notes from each country and the manager unnie gave them a new bill as a gift, the owner was so moved that they told me to pick another keyring of my choice for free (unnie, store owner, thank you ❤) so I was thinking of picking the princess can opener. I bought a keyring when I went to Hungary for filming during yyxy era too, I wonder if I want to buy it 😮? Takeout that I ate in the waiting room〰️❤ Closing it off with these pics, I left my sunglasses in Uber… To be exact, I dropped itㅜ Right thankfully my sunglasses came back safely, happy ending

English translation © ot12fb

[caw4brandon]

What Linkin Park Was and Always Be

When I was just a boy, I used to visit this neighbor and church friend of mine who plays video games and has older brothers. (unlike me) His name is Gary and he’s a middle child. Whenever I visit him, I would find this corner of his gaming room with this pretty looking stack of albums, arranged neatly next to the disk player. These albums were all named;

The American boy band that, instead of making fun love songs, have girls swoon and make guys to roll their eyes hard. Produced music that makes you want to scream and punch somebody...IN THE FACE!

I...may be getting a little too nostalgic recently. With my Animorphs talk and all. But anyways, I wanted to take this moment of trip down memory lane to talk about Linkin Park. About how their music affected me and the mark they left behind for a generation of teens and adults based on what I have observed.

 - It Starts with Meteora -

I’ve tried so hard, and got so far

Formed in 1996, The sound of Linkin Park is described as a fusion of heavy metal and hip hop and was later transitioned into more electronic and pop-influenced music. In their early years, the band was founded by three high school friends: Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson under the former name; Xero.

After a long and difficult journey of finding a lead singer while struggling to get a singed record deal, Xero became Linkin Park; an homage and play on words to Santa Monica's Lincoln Park, now called Christine Emerson Reed Park and on October 24, 2000. <Hybrid Theory> was released, earning the status of best-selling album of 2001 followed by is successors <Reanimation> and <Meteora> on March 25, 2003.

Things went from quiet to eleven very quickly as the band gained major stardom for their unique sound mixture of genres with lead singer; Chester Bennington's dynamic vocal range and screamo. Backed up with Mike Shinoda's raps and very occasional singing.

Very quick personal story. The actual first album that introduced me to the band was the Extended Play, <Collision Course> a collaboration with Jay-Z when I was just eleven years old. Given that there was a whole stack of albums at Gary’s and given that he’s my friend with good taste. I decided to give it a try, loving it since then. Linkin Park was not the only thing the bandmates worked on though. On the side, Mike worked on Fort Minor while Chester went on stage with the likes of DJ Letha and Dead by Sunrise.

- What They’ve Done -

Put to rest, what you’ve thought of me

At this point, I REALLY got into Linkin Park. The songs I’ve heard on that poor disk with no cover (which could have been my dad’s or uncle’s), on the radio or on good ole MTV had me headbanging, rapping and screaming in the car like a mad man which probably annoyed my mom who had to send me to school every morning. (Sorry mom)

At around this time, LP made a comeback in <Minutes to Midnight> The album that I used my hard earned pocket money to purchase and listen to. So much so that I can recite <Bleed It Out> with ease. Even till this day.

But, I won’t lie. At that time, I was moving on to other stuff like Japanese music; UVERWorld and The Back Horn or listened to something a lot more religious; Planetshakers and Everfound. All banger bands might I add.

Of course, LP never left the little corner of my angsty heart and I was surprised but listened with interest to their album <Recharged>, <Living Things> and <The Hunting Party> about a year or two later in college thanks to a fellow churchmate of mine who selflessly bought the albums to me as a gift. Which I played, in the middle of the night at my college house! (Now that I think about it, I'm a terrible housemate.)

But, eventually...I had to grow up and all that screaming had to stop one way or another. I placed my albums at a safe place in my childhood bedroom and never looked back since. But every now and again, that angsty corner would send those earworms to me and I would begrudgingly search it up and sing along with little to no problem. 

THAT was just a week ago when this post goes up.

Needless to say, Linkin Park is a name that lingers in the air and its something I like to revisit then and again. Every time I revisit, still a hell of a band!

- Why is Everything so Heavy? -

I know I'm not the center of the universe...

From my teen hood to adult hood, The sound of Linkin Park speaks a different tone now. The songs are no longer just headbangers but felt like fragments of the struggles that bleed into words from heart and soul of Mike and Chester. Accompanied by the pure talent of the great musicians of the band.

So, after all this talk. What was Linkin Park’s legacy? It surely must have created a generation of angry monsters right? Well...No. At least from what I can see. It has created a generation of people who are empathetic, a little bit intense but thought-provoking, with a layer of kindness to them and their music even saved someone from their lowest point thanks to a fan. [Story Here]

While I don’t have a music degree or anything. I could feel that no matter what form the band took in the past seven albums they’ve made, its prove that Linkin Park is not bound by genres and themes. While other parts of social media loves to use songs like “Crawling” and “In The End” for meme reasons I can’t completely understand. I get a sense that as artists, LP is far more versatile and adaptable than others while maintaining an ethos (character) of themselves.

By the time I was done with college and nearing my final year. On July 20, 2017. The news broke out that Chester Bennington lost his life by committing suicide and while I am very much more of a casual. The loss was felt and there was not much to say. It truly was a dark day.

And then, Here WE are...2021

 What Linkin Park Was and Always Be to me is STRENGTH. Even when it its hard to get up. Even when no one cares. THEY say, “we do” The themes in most of Linkin Park’s songs deals with topics that are (no pun intended) Heavy like, frustration, depression, loneliness and fear but it also builds on empathy, taking back control and allowing one’s self to occasionally tell the world to go screw itself sometimes which can be quite cathartic. (At least for me)

They also remind me of veterans. Fighters and survivors from some kind of war whom are now lowering their megaphones and taking a more gentle approach with storytelling and messaging. Change is a frightening thing, especially for a band that’s all about the angsty, rebel, punk style but change could also mean, they’ve grown, matured or developed into something new compared to their yesteryears.  

It has been FIVE years since the band and the community lost Chester and FIVE years since the band went silent after but from what I’ve heard, Mike and Linkin Park are in the works for a comeback.

What I will leave with is this, there truly is nothing like Linkin Park the themes, the lyrics or even the iconography. While it definitely won’t be the same and would certainly take time, it would surely be good to have them return.

- To Chester and to Linkin Park -

Thanks for Reading

- B -