#and get to the venue early enough i can be in the front!

[applysome]

I’ve now been lucky enough to see Miles Kane with my own eyes (and ears) twice in two days and have been able to form more coherent thoughts (though this will still be a massive ramble!). Long post warning split up by sections so you can skim to whatever interests you!

For ease:

N1 = Night One Thursday

N2= Night Two Friday

Note: all of the below are my observations, perceptions, and speculations, I could very well be wrong about some or all things.

Crowd

Both nights I arrived fifteen minutes before Miles was due on. N1 the crowd was sparse, apart from the venue floor there were large tiered steps and a balcony, and everyone seemed to be spread out. N2 was much busier, the floor, tiered steps and balcony were all packed out. I suspect this may be to do with the Thursday / Friday and 8pm / 9pm effect. Both nights I got myself three rows back from the barrier, stage left (N2 took a little more manouvering!).

The crowd on both nights was a good mix of teenagers/early twenties, people my age (thirties) and men in their fifties. Most of the older men were back on the tiered steps and from previous experience at shows, aren’t as vocal as the younger fans (I’ve observed this over the years watching Maximo Park, I’d recommend checking their music out if you haven’t already!).

N1 Miles takes to the stage greeted by a few cheers and applause and starts to play. Not much singing along or dancing on my side apart from a few of us. Muted cheers at the end of the song. A few songs in and I’m disappointed by the crowd’s reaction; although Miles is giving his all, I feel like I can see a little disappointment on his face too. This is his homecoming show, everyone here should be really up for it. A few people on the barrier in front of me talk to each other frequently right in his eye line. It takes about two thirds of the set list for the crowd to properly warm up and bringing out Dave McCabe from The Zutons gets the loudest reaction and sing along of the night. I tried to be as responsive and loud as I could but I’m only one person.

N2 Miles takes to the stage greeted with thunderous applause, cheers, screaming, the full works. Thirty seconds in he already looks much happier than he did on N1. At several points between songs when Miles stops to catch his breath the crowd is so loud all he can do is stand there and take it in. He was visibly emotional at several points throughout at the crowd’s reaction and a few spontaneous chants of “Miles Fucking Kane” really put a smile on his face. Much more singing, especially in the call and response parts of his songs. Definitely the homecoming show he deserved.

Also noteworthy, I didn’t see anyone from N1 on N2. Although a small sample size of where I was stood in the crowd, I expected a few people would go to both shows. Perhaps there were some people more central or on the steps/balcony.

Appearance and Performance

We all love Miles primarily for his talent but let’s be honest, the man is also stunning. But I wasn’t prepared for how attractive he would be in real life up close. It was a little distracting at times on N1 😅. By N2 I was more prepared! Miles looked great as always and certainly knows how to work those boots. As someone who can’t wear heels at all I must admit I’m a little envious!

N1 his moves were still there and he was giving his all as always, but N2 he really went for it, obviously spurred on by the crowd’s reaction. Cardio is sometimes overlooked I think but is so important for singers, especially ones who dance or are very active on stage. Again from experience watching Muse a lot over the years, I could tell when Matt Bellamy had let his cardio slip, struggling to hold notes for as long, singing more in chest voice than belting and so on. Miles had none of these issues which is impressive given his asthma and being a heavy smoker. Obviously the boxing is working!

Performance wise, I have high expectations and can be quite critical because a lot of my favourites (again - Muse, Maximo Park) are spot on live. Across both nights there weren’t any vocal issues, missed notes, absolutely nothing. Just pure passion, excitement, dedication, determination, even when the crowd wasn’t as vocal on N1. Flawless, faultless performances.

Setlist

The set list was the exact same across both nights which I was a bit surprised at, even down to Dave McCabe with Miles on bass and the support act Ellis Murphy playing harmonica in Come Closer which was a nice addition. I wondered if the choice to keep the set list the same will be something going forward for the rest of the tour or if it was just so everyone in Liverpool had the same experience. Regardless it was a good mix of songs with Come Closer, Coup de Grace, Cry on My Guitar and Inhaler getting the biggest reactions of the night.

It was great to hear Shavambacu live though I don’t think everyone gave it the appreciation it deserved! As others have shared, the set list choice of Shavambacu - See Ya When I See Ya - Colour of the Trap was… a choice. Also nice to hear Counting Down the Days which is such a platonic song… Might have been nice to hear My Fantasy or Kingcrawler one night instead but overall no complaints! Forever holding out hope he will play Ransom or Wrong Side of Life!

Other Notable Moments

During Never Taking Me Alive on N2, Miles seemed particularly amped up proclaiming “From day one Liverpool, been doing things my own fucking way”. Maybe he’s here amongst us following yesterday’s discussion (see my previous post) 🤣 but in all seriousness it was amazing to see Miles happy, rocking the stage and getting the reception he deserves, being unashamedly himself with his heels, leopard print amps and turtle plushie.

During Come Closer on N2, someone threw a turtle plushie onto the stage and Miles proceeded to balance it on his head for the last call and response of the song, quite impressive whilst singing animatedly!

Miles on bass during You Will You Won’t on both nights was really quite something (petition for more of this please) and I could tell he was genuinely excited to be playing with Dave McCabe.

One of the teenage girls in front of me excitedly proclaimed to her friends a few times that Miles had looked at her. Well we all know really he was actually looking over her head at me 🤣 a tiny part of my delusional brain feels like he saw me both nights and “recognised” me on N2, as I was wearing the same jacket in the same spot. But really I think this is just the Miles Kane effect; his ability to connect with the audience on a personal level, making you feel like he’s playing just for you even in a room of hundreds of people.

At the end of N2, Miles lingered on stage for longer and jumped down into the crowd for handshakes and hugs (sadly not on my side!) and generally soaked up the overwhelming response from the crowd which was truly deserved.

Overall Thoughts

If you’ve made it this far you’re a trooper! Be rewarded by my very poor quality photographs (I am short and there were a lot of heads in the way!)

Miles is a born performer who gave everything he had both nights, even when the crowd wasn’t as receptive on N1. I’ve been to a lot of shows in the last twenty years and these are genuinely some of the best I’ve seen. You can just tell how much he loves music, performing and being on stage, I had a huge smile on my face throughout both shows. I know this isn’t always the case as some artists become tired or jaded and see it as “just a job”.

Best of all, I didn’t hear anyone so much as mention TLSP or anyone affiliated with them anywhere around me. Everything on both nights, but particularly N2 was about Miles Fucking Kane, as it should be.

I’m so grateful I got to see him live at all, let alone twice for his homecoming shows and I’m so happy Miles got the overwhelmingly positive reaction he deserves on N2. As a new fan (April 2024) I just hope he continues to gain momentum and grow in popularity from here.

Hopefully for Miles, The Best is Yet to Come.

[lee-by-thy-side]

Mr. Vessel, sir, PLEASE, you're an undiscovered element.

[ozzgin]

I love your reader insert stuff!! The yandere yazuka series was vvvv entertaining, I wish I had a big scary gangster to scare away my stalker lol

If you are open to requests, how about Idol!Reader x Yandere!Bodyguard. I love the trope so much, and I'm interested and what you'd do with the idea. No worries if you're not interested tho!

Best wishes

-🌟

I just finished writing it and you've got me punching the air with your prompt. It wasn't really my thing but I'm now sold. Thank you for the trope idea. :’)

Yandere!Bodyguard x Idol!Reader (I)

Short scenario featuring your bodyguard that takes his duty a little too seriously. Not that you’d mind…

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

TW: violence

(Cover from the manga “A girl and her guard dog”)

"Fantastic show tonight!"

The older man guides you in and closes the door behind him. You smile warmly and seat yourself on the sofa. He quickly follows, although at a terribly uncomfortable proximity. His legs are pressed against yours and he extends an arm behind you, pretending to stretch. You shuffle awkwardly and lock your hands in your lap. You can already tell where this is going.

"With your talent, I'm confident we could triple the number of attendants. We just need a bigger venue." He nods at you and taps your thigh with his other free hand as encouragement. You notice the wedding band digging into his skin. 

"Alas, let us not waste the evening with business talk. I'm sure a stunning lady like you has better things to do." He laughs at his own compliment and ponders for a minute. "In fact, why don't we have dinner together? I know a great restaurant in the area."

You open your mouth to speak, but are distracted by the sudden, mild pressure on your leg. Somehow, his greasy fingers have wandered further up in the time you listened to his shameless offer. You've been in this career for long enough to guess what such proposals entail. If you say no, best case scenario he presses further, calling you a stuck up bitch and reminding you who has the power in this partnership. Worst case scenario, he leaves the room and the calls and invitations to perform will gradually drop. 

Yet your situation is special, benefitting from an additional possibility. A loophole, if you may.

Should you scream? Oh, he always gets so angry when you act scared. It's an immediate trigger. He really has a soft spot for your glistening, frightened eyes. You glance up one final time at the perverted smirk silently disregarding you. If you are to be honest with yourself, you'd very much enjoy seeing it wiped off forever. Why not? You're feeling particularly mean today.

So without hesitation, you release a high pitched yell of help. The door bursts open and the hinges creak. A tall, toned man walks in, and without a word he lunges at the manager, pulling him by the collar of his cheap dress jacket. You hold your cheeks dramatically, and bat your eyelashes at your bodyguard.

"H-he tried to molest me..." you mumble between sobs.

That's all he needs to proceed. Now the real fun begins. You can hear the muffled screams of protest. The bones crack and the flesh bends under his iron fists. Standing before your bodyguard, they all end up looking like ragdolls. Comically limp and weak, folding and breaking with no resistance. It amuses you greatly.

When did it all begin? You can't remember anymore. You were in your early years and this scary looking stranger entered your little backstage room. His explanation was brief and to the point: as your fame increases, so will the threats to your safety. He was appointed as your bodyguard. You couldn't care less, so you just shrugged. 

You've always been on the playful side. Not necessarily rude, just some innocent tease and banter wherever it's well received. Seeing him so quiet and stoic, you couldn't help but try to push his buttons: changing in front of him and requiring his assistance, occasionally asking him to pick you up and carry you because you could no longer walk. Naturally you would've stopped at the first complaint, but that's the strange part: no reaction ever came. He went along with everything. You assumed it's part of the job. Celebrities aren't known for their good manners, so hiring someone that loses their temper easily would be a fast ticket to termination.

Then you had your first encounter with one of the unpleasant fans you've been warned about. You could only stare in terror at your bodyguard's feral, unhinged reaction. The unfortunate fan's face was so disfigured, you wondered if anyone could ever manage to fix it back into shape. The bodyguard was panting and you could see the sweat coating his face and chest. You were rather confident there were many other ways to deal with it and this wasn't on the recommended list. Thus you felt compelled to ask the million dollar question:

"You act like a jealous spouse. Do you have a crush on me or something?"

You kind of regretted your audacity towards a man that had just nearly killed someone. But his features softened instantly and he turned to you, wiping his forehead and straightening his collar. 

"I suppose so. Is that an issue?"

As you stared ahead, processing his unbothered act, you sensed your cheeks feverishly burning. Uh oh. You hadn't anticipated such a nonchalant confession. You thought back to all the times you stood before him, bare and flirty. Was he merely holding back his urges the entire time? Or was he finally paying you back for all the teasing? Then again, his face didn't betray any hint of humor.

"I've never heard you joke before", you decided to test the waters.

"I'm not. Why would I joke about something like this?" He gazed at you incredulously. 

As somber and honest as ever. Well, that would indeed explain why he'd let you get away with the cheeky behavior. The more you considered it, the more entranced you became with the idea of indulging in such a relationship. As a famous idol, you couldn't be seen dating anyone. One rumor of you having a boyfriend and the agency would've had your ass suspended. But no one said anything about messing around with your bodyguard. He has to be with you all the time, so no one would suspect a thing. And you could definitely expand his list of responsibilities. You'd been terribly stressed lately, after all, and an outlet to release your frustrations would be most welcomed. Your bodyguard would never refuse pleasing his beloved.

You chuckled and pulled him towards your dressing room, giddy with excitement. Something about his imposing presence, like a wild animal that had just escaped from the leash, aroused you to no end. You've had your share of crazy fans, but this was the cherry on top. 

"Should we leave?"

You're jolted out of your daydreams by his low, rough voice. Ah, you missed the grand finale. Too bad. The bodyguard approaches you, with the shirt wrinkled and the top buttons popped open under the shuffle of his vicious attack. You can feel the knot forming in your stomach.

"Not yet. You know how I get when you act like this..." You pout and look away. "You need to take care of me first."

He grins at your last statement.

"Of course. Is the sofa okay?"

You nod.

"Then let's get you undressed, miss."

Is this what they call a scary dog privilege? 

[pinkie-quinns]

rocker eddie/actor steve | exes to ????? (yearners?) | fame au p5

p1 p2 p3 p4 interlude p6

Steve says he's flying out to New York for meetings. That’s what he tells everyone. That’s what he does. He's courteous, even lets Eddie know he’s in the city, that he can maybe, maybe stop by his place later.

But he doesn’t tell Eddie he’s coming to the show.

He gets there late, hangs at the very back of the venue, the nosebleed cheap seats. He’s in uniform, black jeans and scraggled tee. Bit of liner under his eyes, baseball hat and shitty prop wig he stole from set. It should be enough for most people to not look at him twice.

It’s the worst spot he’s ever had at one of Eddie’s gigs, but he couldn’t take the “I’m with the band" seats Eddie had offered him. Like he’s still some kind of accessory. Couldn’t take the c-list celebrity box seats either. Cause, well– he’s not supposed to be here.

Eddie’s a blip on the stage from where Steve’s standing, but it makes his idiotic traitorous heart swoop all the same. He’s only been on tour for a month. Steve wasn’t supposed to miss him this bad.

He’s really not supposed to be here.

Eddie's solo stuff has always been too wordy, too raw. Like he’s Dylan in the body of a metal star. It makes Steve's gut sore.

It’s mostly songs from his latest album, at least. Seemed like Eddie had a bad run in with benzos last year. Which also kinda makes his gut sore.

Eddie plays the hits. It's been years but the ones from "Penitence" cut like fresh wounds. The crowd goes wild for Dead Weight. But Pavlov's got the one-up on Steve. Those first three chords still make him want to crawl out of his skin.

It’s nearing the end now and Eddie drops the band, walks up to the front of the stage with just the spotlight on him. He’s holding Lucky, the old pawn-shop acoustic Wayne got him when he was twelve. He used to strum it between joints in the back of the van.

He’s– he’s nervous.

He coughs into the mic. “Hey uh, um, I've got something special for tonight. I don’t really do covers and uh, especially not ones that–” He cringes, grits his teeth, “Well, this isn’t exactly my sound.”

It was unsettling how nervous he was. Steve could fill journals full all of Eddie’s fuck-ups and flaws (and he has, many, many times.) But performing? That was undeniable, coded into his DNA. Eddie was a great performer. He was never nervous on stage.

Eddie's hands tremor at the tuning keys. “But uh, someone couldn’t make it tonight- a um, well. An old friend.”

Shit.

“–And he really used to really love this one.”

Shit shit shit shit.

“So, uh, yeah. Sing along if you know it.”

Steve knows it. One chord in and he knows it–

It’s Dave fucking Matthews. Eddie hates Dave Matthews. He's the total opposite of anything Eddie considered worthy art. His sound, his look, his ability to fill stadiums with every guy that wears sandals in a 50-mile radius, everything.

More importantly, Eddie’s fans hate Dave Matthews. If they don’t, they keep that close to their chest. Hell, not even– Steve spent enough of his early twenties bopping around dive bars with Eddie's crowds. They'd take that shit to their grave.

Eddie's already on thin ice with most of them.

Steve knows most of them resented the experimental sound of the new album, knows sales are low. He’s heard enough of Eddie's 3 AM pillow talk bitching about it.

There’s multiple audible groans. Someone in front of Steve whispers, “What the actual fuck.” in total disbelief.

But Steve doesn’t register it. Not really. Not over the blood rushing in his ears. Over the sound of Eddie crooning, “Who’s got their claws in you, my friend? Into your heart I’ll beat again."

Truth was, he hadn’t listened to that song, that whole album, in over a decade.

Steve would start up the car, like always and “So Much to Say” would play, like always. But there were no loud puking noises from the passenger seat, no pile of empty, over-dramatic threats. Just dust in the sunlight where someone had loved him, once.

And he couldn't stomach it.

He can't stomach it now. Eddie in front of 13,000 people. Shaky and vulnerable and too-himself for them all to bear witness.

It’s– fuck. Steve’s nineteen and the bimmer’s out of gas and Eddie’s cursing this song out, but his hand is under Steve's sweater and it's warm.

The third verse now and Eddie's crooning about forgiveness, about begging and haste and “Holding you so, boy.”

"Boy". Not "Girl". Unmistakable.

Steve wonders if anyone noticed. Eddie’s not out, not really. But he dedicated a love song to an old friend. Maybe he is now.

Then it’s all too much. Too big for him to hold. The love and hurt and longing and bullshit and near-two decades worth of sludge dredging up his throat and crashing down, pulling him under.

Steve doesn’t wait for the song to end. He keeps his head down and skips out before the encore.

[astroismypassion]

Astrology observations 🎉🧡🎉

Credit goes to @astroismypassion

🎉Sun conjunct Saturn in Synastry chart is great if you are an Earth Sun or have Saturnian, Uranian influence. But you can find it quite restrictive and controlling if you are a Water Sun sign.

🎉 If you are born during Waning Crescent Moon phase, you are likely passionate and hard-working, but you often feel restricted by your own emotions. You feel like they are holding you back sometimes when you want to take action and achieve in more things.

🎉I think you can really end up struggling with long-distance partnership if you have Moon in the 1st house Synastry with someone. This is this one overlay that I think really requires for the both of you to cuddle, hug as much as possible and to see each other often since it create emotional connection for the two of you and you feel emotionally stable, satisfied and content.

🎉If you are the Mars person in the 8th house Synastry, you really gotta be mindful of not draining the 8th house person, especially their resources, items or finances.

🎉I think it is not said enough how Virgo Venus and Venus in the 6th house change for their partner as well not just Virgo Venus/Venus in the 6th house native wanting to change their partner. They are an Earth Venus, much like Taurus Venus, they are accomodating (even Capricorn Venus if they truly like you), they want to see you comfortable.

🎉People with Taurus over the 5th house really see shopping, going to the grocery store as a workout. They love just go into a store and window shop or buy little things. It's one of the favourite activities to do when they have free time or a day off. Their hobbies could also include leisure walks in the nature, going to the market, arts and crafts, watching films, eating sweets or indulging their sweet tooth in any other way, baking and cooking. They get so much joy from doing these things.

🎉Mars in the 12th house in Synastry screams missed opportunities. You might often run into each other without talking, speaking or interacting with one another. You might just be constantly thrown into each other's energy by the universe. You might formally introduce to each other much later in the connection.

🎉 The native who has Sagittarius Lilith or Lilith in the 9th house in the Natal chart might marry a college dropout or at least partner up with them (committed partnership).

🎉Mars in the 7th house overlay in Synastry chart is either you two have personalities with slight differences or different lifestyles, habits, way of doing things, behaviours, mannerisms and how you act, take action.

🎉 Pisces Moon natives are prone to fake cry in front of other people or they exaggerate the crying in front of another person. They are numbing themselves out usually when they actually feel like they are starting to cry in front of someone. These people always cry and process properly their feeling when left on their own alone, therefore never in front of another person.

🎉 In Synastry in Moon in the 6th house overlay, the house person might make more money than the Moon person.

🎉When you have your Saturn in someone's 1st house or aspecting their Ascendant, you are this person's mentor, guide. They teach from you a lot.

🎉With someone's Ascendant falling into your 8th house in a Synastry chart there was a sexual undertone to your meeting or in early stages of getting to know each other. You could have even seen this person's body or they wore very tight, fitted clothing. But other than physical appearance, this is a very deeply emotionally transformative connection. This overlay reminds me of Prince William seeing Princess Catherine in sheer dress during college fashion show.

🎉I noticed that whenever someone has Aquarius Mercury in a Natal chart they really crave a partner that is their intellectual equal. That's why they love other Air signs, such as Gemini or Libra Mercury or even yet another Aquarius Mercury. They have hard time feeling like a person with Cancer Mercury or Pisces Mercury is their intellectual equal.

🎉You feel incredibly supported when someone's Moon falls on your North Node and vice versa. There is soulmate vibe to this connection and you basically feel "nurtured" into the right direction where you are going. So it's very supportive, sweet, caring and nurturing overlay.

Credit goes to @astroismypassion

[kuromochimi]

Of weddings and what ifs

sakusa kiyoomi x wedding organizer f!reader

♡ You loved your job and the joy of being able to bring to life the weddings that couples could only dream of, before they had met you. The only downside to it was that your job sometimes reminded you of a certain ex fiancé. Fortunately, he hasn’t made an appearance in your life since you broke the engagement off. But with the red string of fate connecting you and your ex fiancé not being totally severed yet, it was only a matter of time before it brought you back into each other’s lives. Only this time, he’s tied to another.

Content Warnings: ONE SHOT, angst, little fluff and comfort, no closure break ups, not proof read, a small hint for an open ending, lmk if I missed any!

With the final arrangements settled, you finally felt free enough to take a breath and appreciate the (once again) perfect event you’d managed to organize. It was exhausting to say the least, but the happy couples who would often tear up out of joy while thanking you? Yes, it was definitely worth it. And it was a job that paid fairly well too. Moments after you’ve had the time to look around the venue, a notification from your phone caught your attention. It was a notice from your secretary about new clients. She reminded you that you had to meet them the following day. You then made sure to set up alarms and reminders as you were sure you would oversleep otherwise, after all, the current event would definitely last til the late hours. And that it did.

The following day, you tried your best to make yourself look freshened up and awake. You arrived at the meeting place quite early. You double checked all the files and documents which you might need. Thankfully, not long after you finished fixing your papers, the client arrived. She approached gently before speaking “Hi! I’m keiko. You’re yn, right? I saw your picture on the pamphlet” she smiled shyly. You noticed just how soft spoken and beautiful this lady was. She definitely has that “soon to be married” glow. “Hello, yes! It’s me. I’m glad to finally meet you, keiko!” You stood up to shake her hand. You both settled down after the introductions. “Will it be just you for today?” You asked her before you started discussing anything. “Oh my fiancé will be here soon. He just suddenly had to run an errand for his mom. He’s..” she grabbed her phone to check on something, probably a message. “Oh he’s just parking his car now” you gave a nod of acknowledgment at that. With your seat facing the entrance, you could clearly see the people who walked in and out of the cafe. Which meant that when sakusa kiyoomi walked in, your eyes immediately gravitated towards him. He started looking around, eyes landing on you. Or at least you thought they did, before keiko looked back from her seat, immediately getting up to hug sakusa once she was made aware of his presence. She guided the man back to your table. You tried your best to mask whatever feeling was forcing its way out of you. “Yn, this is my fiancé. You can just call him k-“ . “sakusa, you can call me sakusa” he cut her off. Keiko was a bit taken aback by her fiancé’s interruption but she was quick to ward off the confusion. While the discussion went on, you couldn’t help but feel anxious and even more tired. You weren’t sure if it was because of last night’s event execution or if it was because in front of you was your ex-fiancé, asking you to organize his wedding. The fiancé who was too busy for wedding planning. The fiancé who thought he couldn’t give you what you deserved. The fiancé who left.

The world felt like it was nothing but air. You couldn’t feel much at all and you were probably only functioning out of pure muscle memory acquired from all the times you’ve done this pre-planning orientation for engaged couples. Your consciousness was jolted awake when keiko stood up. “Yn I’m really sorry but I’m being called in for work. One of my patients had an emergency. Please just settle the rest with kiyoomi, I’ll see you again soon!” She hurriedly left. Her absence immediately making way for the awkward silence filled with all of the unspoken thoughts you and sakusa tried to keep in for the last hour or so.

“I’m sorry”. The words felt unreal. They felt empty, and fake though you were sure kiyoomi would never say something he didn’t mean. “What are you sorry for, sakusa?” He visibly flinched at the name he suggested you called him by, not even an hour ago. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be.. all this for you” the moment made your ring finger feel heavy despite the absence of the ring that used to wrap itself around it.

His words brought you back to the day he left after he’d had enough of your complaints about having to plan the wedding all by yourself. He was starting off as a doctor back then, a new resident who wanted to do all that he could to establish his career. You were both fairly young back then, which was probably why you both thought getting married at that point of your lives was surreal. For some, maybe it was so. But for you two? Apparently not. Because not long after he proposed, he soon found that the demands of being a surgical resident wasn’t something to take lightly. While you were also working, you never failed to make time for wedding planning. Of course, you knew that his schedule was much more taxing than yours but it still pained you to make invitations on your own, taste test cakes by yourself. “I want whatever you want” was what he’d said as compensation for his absence. But when you were trying on dresses and you looked at yourself in the mirror gown and all, the weight of keeping everything in came crashing down because “he should be here” was all you could think. Sakusa wasn’t superstitious so he certainly wouldn’t give a fuck about seeing you in your wedding dress before the wedding day. Heck, he even said he’d love to pick one out with you. But he wasn’t with you. So when he came home from work, tired and not thinking straight, he was met with your equally tired looking figure, sitting on the couch, crying. He didn’t even get a word out before you spoke your mind and while he did understand, he didn’t have the energy to argue further. Because in his head, you should’ve understood why he couldn’t be there. And even when you both reconciled that night, nothing had changed. The same cycle continued until neither of you found enough reason to keep the promise of getting married. Though you wished he would’ve at least said goodbye instead of leaving a shitty sorry note on top of your counter, along with the apartment keys.

“It’s fine. Let’s just forget about it” you tried your best to sound sincere but you couldn’t exactly lie your way out of a confrontation with someone with whom you literally intended to spend the rest of your life with at some point in time. “Do you.. do you want me to find another planner? I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was gonna be you, yn. I promise I never intended to-“ he stops as you held your hand up to signal your request for silence. “Sakusa, it’s fine. Like I said, let’s just forget about it. I promise not to let what happened get in the way of your wedding planning.” The day went by very slowly, both you and kiyoomi moving and speaking like virtual characters merely accomplishing tasks assigned to them. “Well, that’s about it. Please let your fiancé know about the details she missed and… congratulations for the engagement” you chimed before briskly walking out of the cafe where sakusa was left dumbfounded and extremely confused as to how he was going to address this wild turn of events.

Throughout the planning, you’ve come to learn that keiko was an amazing person. She was passionate about her work advocacies, she was kind and soft spoken, extremely understanding, and though you didn’t mean to have such thoughts, whenever she spoke of kiyoomi, you never seem to miss the times she’d tell stories about how busy the man was and that she understood him anyway. Because she loved him. Because she was the same way sometimes. Something you weren’t able to do for him during such a challenging time in his life. It caused conflict in your heart to learn all of those things. Because it warmed your heart to see such a happy bride to be. She radiated happiness and everything in between whenever she was with kiyoomi and kiyoomi looked at ease whenever he was with her and that’s something because kiyoomi rarely looked at ease. They were happy but as much as you wanted to take that happiness as a sign to let your hurt go, it just didn’t work that way. To be quite frank, until now, you still harbored a little (or more) hurt from the fact that someone you had initially agreed to marry, was capable of leaving you without even saying it to your face. Before you came home to an empty apartment with his goodbye note, you were even going to propose the idea that maybe you guys should just postpone the wedding and maybe wait for things to settle in before you resume planning. Instead, you were met with your ex-fiancé’s absence. His clothes missing from the closet, medical books out of the shelves, even his favorite mug was nowhere to be found. It was as if only the note he left behind could serve as proof that you were once in a relationship with him. You tried contacting his family and closest friends but most of them ignored your calls and those of them who answered obviously tried their best to dodge answering your questions. You were at your lowest then. You took a long leave from work, barely ate, barely showered, was often sick, and would constantly wonder how things could have been had you just kept your mouth shut instead of nagging a tired kiyoomi.

It wasn’t helping that you were thinking about all of this a few minutes before the couple’s consultation with you. The wedding was moving closer and closer and you’ve been spending more and more time with them and it still honestly feels like the world is caving in every single time. It’s an unexplainable feeling. You wanted nothing more than to see them get married, sincerely congratulate the couple, let go of all that’s been bugging you in the past, and finally move on with your life, something you haven’t been able to do since you and kiyoomi broke things off. Your thoughts were cut short when someone entered your office. It was keiko and she was alone. “Yn? Hi, I just wanted to talk to you real quick” “quick? but we have so much to do” she smiles gently before taking a seat across your desk. “I don’t know how else to put it but… I know about you and kiyoomi. I didn’t know when I first met you but he told me everything and I just want to tell you that it’s okay if you want to talk to him about it. You both need it, yn. I know it’s none of my business but I hope you think about it. Don’t worry, I understand.” Ah. You see it. This is the woman he fell in love with. This was the woman worth the change and this was the woman able to match him perfectly. There’s no fighting that. “Keiko I don’t know, you don’t have to” she softly reached for your hand to hold it in both of hers. “You deserve an explanation, yn. Kiyoomi might have changed since then but I’m not about to marry someone who’s able to leave someone just like that. If you feel like you don’t need to speak with him, I respect that. But if you want to talk to him, let him know, it’s okay, don’t worry about me.”

You took up the offer. Maybe if keiko didn’t come up to you to say that it was okay to look for closure, you would have spent the rest of your life swallowing your need for an explanation from your ex.

“Thank you for agreeing to talk, yn.” You only gave him a light nod as you looked far into the expanse of trees ahead. View from where you were seated at a nice private little cafe. “Kiyoomi I just want to know. Why did you leave like that?” With fidgety hands, you tried to calm down. “I just felt like I didn’t deserve you anymore. I hurt you after I asked you to marry me. I didn’t deserve that ‘yes’ anymore” after a nod, you responded “So you just? Wrote a note then dipped? Kiyoomi I still wanted to marry you then. I was going to postpone it but I still wanted to marry you.” He knew that. “It’s exactly why I left. Because you still wanted to marry me even after what I did. I didn’t deserve you anymore.” “Kiyoomi, for the longest time, I wanted to tell you that I was willing to wait for you and that I was sorry for nagging you that day. Then I was obsessed with trying to find out which one of us was at fault. I wanted someone to be at fault because how does it happen that two people love each other so much but still end up separating just like that? But it’s been a while now and I think… I think maybe we should forgive each other now. I honestly felt bitter lots of times even til only recently but seeing you with keiko.. she’s a great girl and she deserves all the happiness. We should close this part of our lives now, shouldn’t we?” Kiyoomi stood up and you thought he was about to walk out but he pulled your arm to get you to stand up before he gave you a tight, warm, and sincere hug. One unlike any other he had given before. It wasn’t an I missed you hug but not a goodbye one either. It was one of acceptance and peace. Though it didn’t feel familiar, none of his embraces have felt as warm as this one. After pulling away from the hug, you grabbed your purse, as you got ready to leave. “Omi, I sincerely wish you and keiko the best” this time, you said it with utmost sincerity.

Wedding day

With flowers and good food and genuine smiles, the wedding went by without a hitch. Much to your relief. You decided to stay a little but longer for the reception, snack on a fee things before leaving. With a glass of champagne in one hand and your purse in the other, you walked around the venue, checking on things here and there. Well, not until someone bumped into you knocking the glass of champagne off your hand, spilling champagne on your dress, shattering the glass on the pavement, and causing you to fall on your bum all at once. “Hey, you okay? Come here” the tall man gently guided you to stand up. He immediately removed his coat to wrap it around your frame to hide at least a little bit of the stain. “You hurt anywhere?” It took a while for you to respond. “Oh- oh yeah I’m okay, no worries, sir” “it’s Suna. Suna Rintaro”

[saerins]

#001 SUDDENLY, COLORS 𖧧 NEXT: #002 PLAYING DOMINO ꒰ series masterlist ꒱

꒰ঌꨄ︎໒꒱ — sae gets more than he bargained for when he decides to entertain you. and then suddenly, maybe he isn’t so indifferent to everything after all.

content: itoshi sae x female reader. bllk guys here are all pro players now. profanity, complicated relationships, reader is a working adult, implied ex-fwb situation with otoya, minorly questionable work ethics, mention of infidelity. word count: 3.8k.

༝༚༝༚ first chapter ! (bear with me because we’re gonna be in the early stages of sae & y/n getting to know each other) i hope you guys like this one as much as infy >_< the dynamic between yn & sae here is slightly different heh :) if you’re reading this: ily <3 + will add little mini extra facts at the end of each chapter ^_^

lights flashing, red carpets, familiar faces that feel so out of reach.

there’s an entire life out here that people like you, should you have been without connections, won’t get to experience in your lifetime. it’s eye-opening, and more than you bargained for. sure, when you heard that this is a party thrown by one of the japan’s national soccer team’s sponsors, you expected a lot of a-list names, but to think it’s this many.

beautiful, handsome people litter every corner of the destination, enough to fill anyone with a year’s worth of anxieties just simply looking at them. to think, this is the kind of life they live in the regular; photographed by everyone, welcomed and greeted like royalty by staff and strangers alike.

it’s nothing you can ever get used to. luckily, you don’t have to.

you stand at the top of the stairs in the venue, looking around as you try to spot your friend. on the ground floor, you see many people huddled in different groups, smiles plastered together as they catch up with one another. all you can hear are everyone’s voice and laughters muffled together and melding into one giant mess. many movie stars, models, athletes all gathered in one place, commanding the attention of everyone in the room as well as those who are watching the livestreams from home. that’s to be expected though, considering this is a party thrown by the top sports brand in japan—surely supporters and fans alike are tuning in from all over just to see their favourite celebrities.

you bet the chat is getting blown up with comments about how the captain of the soccer team looks absolutely handsome when he cleans up, or how the up and coming setter in the volleyball team is a quiet assassin if looks could kill.

there’s a vibration in your purse, snapping you out of your thoughts, and you fish your phone out to see that it’s from eita.

you slowly make your way down the stairs, carefully so that you don’t accidentally catch your heels against the bright red fabric under you. it’s not everyday you get invited to events like this, and it’s certainly not everyday you get to wear something this nice—you don’t want to end up falling face flat in front of all these important (and famous, or infamous) people.

you make a mental note to yourself to thank eita again for getting you this dress.

as you look around the floor, trying to spot whatever private booth eita’s in, your eyes flick across the top of someone’s head. somebody that could catch anyone’s attention. those alluring eyes and that tall frame. you catch your breath.

eita can wait. maybe you should take a detour first.

as you’re drawing closer to him, you can’t help but think how much more handsome he is in person; all you’d been able to see of him thus far is whatever you saw through the screen, or in paper from the photoshoots he’d been a part of. now that you’re looking at him in the flesh, you don’t think they do him justice. not by a long shot. he’s still handsome as hell in whichever form of media he’s in, but in real life, they have nothing on his actual person.

his lips look soft and pink right there in front of you, and his lashes frame his eyes just perfectly that you’re almost envious.

in all fairness, you’re not used to talking to mega huge celebrities like him. he’s a pro-athlete, but his popularity is in the millions, his talent for being japan’s best offensive midfielder skyrocketing him to fame at the young age of eighteen.

nearly ten years later and he’s somehow still topping the lists for most popular male athletes from japan.

opportunities like this don’t come easy, especially for people like you—you’re not stupid enough to not take it. with a deep breath, you put your game face on; he doesn’t know you, he doesn’t have to know the real you, just the you that you want to show him.

somehow, he manages to make your heart beat faster than anyone else in the room, and he hasn’t even looked your way. half of you is telling yourself you’re doing this for a friend, but the other half of you is selfish, it wants to see what this is all about.

“what are you having?”

the moment you set your purse down on the bar, choosing to stand beside him instead of being a normal person and settling in front of the bartender to get his attention for your drinks, sae finds himself perplexed.

there are many reasons people would want to talk to him for. if you’re from the sponsor’s team, then you’d want to run a collaboration idea by him. if you’re another celebrity, then you’d probably be asking for a picture. if you’re press, well, your occupation is an answer in and of itself.

for the first time, sae’s eyes land on you. on that smile, on your eyes.

dim lights, violets and pinks bouncing off the disco ball, and somehow you do look pretty in spite all that. he’s never seen you before, but then again, he doesn’t pay attention enough to anything in the media for him to be able to know all the celebrities in japan. you have to be one, right? he doesn’t see the press card around your neck.

your dress hugs your body nicely. it’s all black, and a one-shoulder. your thin gold necklace holds a feather charm at the end. the way you tuck your hair carefully behind your ear unveils your matching earrings. you’re pretty, very pretty. but he thinks you’re about to be a pain soon enough. and that probably cancels it out.

“water.”

maybe if he’s boring enough, you’ll leave him alone. maybe if he’s rude enough, he’ll drive you away. that’s the whole point of why he’s here anyway, to escape those pointless conversations with these media… acquaintances, and oliver and the others were being nuisances in the booth anyway. so much so that he needed a breather.

unless you’re offering an escape, he won’t entertain anything.

“do you have a game tomorrow?” you ask, setting your phone down on the tabletop. a measly excuse for a conversation starter but he supposes it wouldn’t hurt to see where you’re going with this.

is that why you think he’s drinking water? he shakes his head, “no.”

what do you want with him?

“don’t tell me you’re a lightweight,” you guess, smirking at him.

sae can’t figure you out; where other people are easy to guess, he can’t make heads or tails about you. why hasn’t he asked you to leave him alone yet? better yet, why hasn’t his own two feet walked away like he intended to before you came and smiled at him?

“just didn’t feel like drinking,” sae tells you. (you actually guessed right, but there’s no way he’s going to admit to that out of the blue.)

you hum in contemplation, your head resting against your balled fist as you look at him, pursing your lips like you’re thinking of something. he finds himself wondering exactly that: what the fuck are you thinking?

right now, you’re a mix between being interesting and annoying and he’s kind of leaning towards the latter.

all of a sudden, you fish a coin out of your purse, grinning.

“you look like you want me to leave you alone,” you tell him, sighing, though you’re probably not so much disappointed or affected as much as being playful, like one of those children that like to test the limits of their parents. you’re perceptive at least, he’ll give you that. “how about a deal? i’ll toss this coin, and if it lands on heads, you’ll do me a favour, no questions asked. if it lands on tails, i’ll do the same. then you can tell me to go away.” 

to be fair, sae could just walk away and you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

“fine.”

so why? why is he agreeing to your terms?

you flick the coin into the air with your thumb, and sae watches your face as you anticipate the results. you’re staring so intently at such an inconsequential coin that he finds it both comical and troublesome. there’s something both alluring and childish about your presence.

“aha! heads!” you shout excitedly, and sae tries to keep his head down to avoid any unwanted attention. if you cause anyone to come over and pull him aside for some small talk he’s going to kill you. you look so blissfully ignorant of that fact, though. lucky for him, almost everyone around you seems too self-absorbed to care. “looks like you owe me something.”

sae sighs. “i have the feeling i’m gonna regret this,” he mumbles to himself, though you’re blatantly beaming at him, excited at your little win. you shouldn’t be; if it’s too troublesome sae would still shoot you down. he reminds himself that he doesn’t even have to follow through with the bet—who are you to him? “what do you want?”

“i’ll tell you later,” you answer, not missing a beat, ordering a shot of vodka and having it slid over to you. you down it in a second, looking even more invigorated.

does alcohol wake you up even more?

something tells sae that he’ll get nothing out of this conversation, so the gears are already turning in his head on how to slip out of this situation, make a break for the bathroom or something. “this sounds like a hassle, so i’m just gonna leave—”

“is soccer all you care about?”

“huh?”

yeah, you’re definitely leaning more towards annoying.

as he expected, you continue speaking without even listening to him. still, that’s not the kind of topic he thought you had in mind. soccer? you don’t seem like a fanatic.

“i mean, do you do anything else outside of soccer? like play games? or, i don’t know, have some secret hobby like sewing?”

sae deadpans at that last one. what do you want to know? his secrets? he’ll definitely stick with his plan of being boring. you’ll probably give up sooner or later. “no. just soccer.”

you press your lips into a firm line, like you know he’s full of it but you don’t immediately call him out. “no hobbies outside of soccer? okay.”

“yes, i have no life.”

he nearly smirks at the horrified pout that graces your lips. your scepticism nearly makes him laugh, but he holds it in. you’re probably messing with him, but he can do just the same.

“heard that your little brother scored the winning goal at the champion’s league game, how do you feel about that?” you down another shot.

sae snorts at your obvious discontent at his disinterest, though it goes over your head because maybe you’re a little lightweight too.

“yeah, i was there. i mean, i’m proud of him if that’s what you’re looking for,” he tells you—something so generic and so bland that you can probably form the answers in your head yourself.

your line of questioning continues despite sae’s half-assed participation. maybe he’s only entertaining you because he doesn’t feel like entertaining anyone else. and maybe because he probably won’t see you again so he wouldn’t feel the need to be cautiously polite around you (and so his manager won’t nag him about keeping up an image). from what he gathers, you’re probably not a celebrity—call it his gut instinct. you sure look like one, but you don’t act like them.

there’s the incessant vibrating of his phone in his pants pocket that he ignores. meanwhile you’re accepting his lacklustre answers left and right.

“actually i’m curious, itoshi sae, who’s your best friend? some say it’s ryusei shidou and others say it’s oliver aiku. what do you say?”

he leans an elbow against the table, staring you straight in the eye. you’re looking right back at him, a smugness in those irises.

“who are you, by the way?” he asks, because despite him entertaining you for—he checks his watch—nearly half an hour, he still doesn’t even know your name. and clearly, you know all about him. or at least, what the internet can provide.

you inch closer, grinning despite the scowl on his face. “let me change the question,” you propose, because you’re always so adept at switching subjects when it benefits you, pupils scanning your immediate surroundings briefly before you lean in to whisper in his ear. “people like to say you’re hard to get, is that true?”

(because that’s what it seems like—from press coverage to girls, it doesn’t look like it’s easy to garner his interest and thus consequently his effort. if there’s one thing everyone can agree on about itoshi sae is that he screams exclusivity.)

he clenches his jaw when he feels your breath hit his ear, and he hates himself for staying this long because the moment you see his ears go red, you’re smirking.

“is there anything wrong with not wanting to waste time with people who won’t matter in a matter of days?” and that’s probably the only completely honest answer he’s given you for the night—because he doesn’t waste time on people he doesn’t see making it into his future. he can’t say that for work purposes since it’s his team who manages everything, but as far as his personal life goes, that’s all you have to know.

that’s all he’s going to give you.

from the corner of his eye, he sees a familiar face, the light in their eyes going dark when they realise you’d been taking up his time.

“heading off already?” you ask, sensing his restlessness.

“yeah, well, i gave you a lot already, so…” he trails off, just hoping you’ll get the hint and leave him be.

you nod, taking your phone off the table, fishing something else out of your purse but sae’s too preoccupied looking at someone else to notice.

and just like earlier, you inch even closer, finally commanding his attention. sae catches a whiff of your perfume, a hint of sweet mixed with a little spice. you’re so close now that all he sees is you, and for some reason, he’s not moving.

you’re so close he can count the lashes on your eyes, can tell your lipstick’s not really pink but more mauve, can see up close that ever-growing smirk of yours when you catch him off-guard. and he expects you to stop, just like you did earlier, but you’re coming even closer and for some reason he can’t help but close his eyes, long lashes briefly brushing your face before he feels it go away.

when he opens his eyes, you’re not smirking anymore. that playful smirk is gone and replaced by—he can’t really tell—bashfulness? is he hallucinating the heat that built up to your cheeks?

“thanks for wasting some time on me,” you whisper, slipping something into his jacket pocket before walking away, a wave of your fingers all that you give.

and sae’s left wondering if he really was just about to let you kiss him if you didn’t move away.

he watches as you head off in the direction of the booths, a surprise washing over his face when he sees a familiar face taking your hand at the top of the first flight of stairs. that head of white with a hint of green—you know otoya?

sae takes out the piece of paper you slipped in his pocket—a name card. your name is y/n, apparently, and you work for a magazine. he scoffs, realising the intentions behind your earlier attempt to get him to talk. behind, you’d scribbled really quickly: the favour: approve this interview please? :D

you really are… something. by the way you questioned him, and your questions by itself, you must not have done this for very long. it’s a nice attempt though. still, sae has no reason to play along.

he can’t help but wonder, though—that last question: was it for the magazine, or your personal curiosity? his eyes linger on the phone number at the bottom of your card.

“hey, who was that?”

sae turns his attention to the girl he saw earlier, now in front of him, curious eyes following you as otoya walks you to their table. he quickly slips the name card back into his pocket. “dunno, she was just asking where otoya was.”

as the girl drags him away by the hand, he looks back, catching a glimpse of you staring at him before otoya guides you to the table, his hand on the small of your back, and then you fade out of view.

maybe, just for once, he’ll play along. again. because there’s something inexplicable about you, about your existence.

“look who made it back in one piece,” oliver exclaims as sae makes his way back to their table a couple of hours later, taking a seat next to the man himself. “what did bianca want you for this time?”

shidou puts down his glass of champagne to wince at sae, a pitiful glance thrown his way. “she's kinda territorial, bro. blink if you need help.”

snickers are heard around the table, most of them knowing how exasperated sae can get sometimes, even if he never actually says anything.

“you know if you guys are dating, you can just tell us right?” karasu teases, joining in the conversation.

sae rolls his eyes, ignoring them entirely. the topic about him and bianca had gone completely stale for him. honestly, if his manager didn’t convince him that he absolutely had to attend till the end, sae would’ve left halfway. maybe he wouldn’t have attended at all if he had a choice in his own schedule. then again, if he didn’t come tonight, he wouldn’t have met you.

is that a good thing?

speaking of, there’s a lack of your presence here that just mildly disappoints him. mildly.

“where’s your friend?” sae asks otoya, who’s busy typing away at his phone.

his fingers stop, and he cocks a brow at sae’s question, more confused by the fact that sae is bothering to ask such a thing. “she had a thing so she left earlier,” he says, brushing it off. “why? did you need anything? saw her talking to you just now.”

it’s like they both can sense the sudden interest of everyone around the table.

sae shakes his head, leaning back against the chair. “nothing.”

sensing something amiss, oliver leans forward, looking the most interested he’s been all night. “oh? sae of all people asking about a girl? don’t see that often,” he mocks, and sae sighs internally, immediately regretting opening his mouth.

“gotta hand it to you, though,” karasu says, nudging otoya on the elbow. “she’s pretty.”

“isn’t she that girl you said that slapped you so hard back in high school that you cried?” yukimiya joins in, his statement making the guys burst into laughter.

otoya groans, shrinking in his seat. “shut the fuck up. she was being annoying.”

“nah, she was just keeping eita in check after she heard he cheated on his girlfriend,” karasu fills in the gaps for everyone.

sae listens quietly to them divulge bits and pieces of you that they got from otoya back when you were still there with them.

apparently, you’ve known otoya since middle school, and you’ve been friends all the way till university until you drifted apart for some reason (that otoya won’t share). sae thinks it probably has to do with that “we used to fool around” statement of his. at least, unlike any of the girls he fools around with, otoya never entertained lewd questions regarding you.

were you special to him?

“tell us more,” yukimiya taunts, fully enjoying the tinge of red he sees on otoya’s ears.

“she’s just a girl who likes to clear out my fridge all the time. annoying pest i can’t get rid of,” otoya says, though everyone knows that it’s just his sharp tongue at work. he looks like he’s close to malfunctioning, a sight that sae has never seen before, fully earning his intrigue.

thankfully for otoya, oliver shifts the attention (unfortunately) to sae. “no, what i wanna know is, how a girl like y/n managed to catch this guy’s interest,” he says, pointing to sae, a cocky grin on his face. “so spill, are you interested?”

that must mean that you and otoya have nothing going on then? not that he’s curious. and not that he would put it past oliver to suggest that he steal you from someone else.

he’s not even sure why all these thoughts are in his head in the first place. sae puts on his best poker face, raising his brows as if in silent denial. “i’m not.”

oliver’s grin mirrors that of the cheshire cat, and it’s all sae has to see to know that he’s about to suggest something that will earn a ripple in the timeline.

“otoya, phone,” oliver demands, and otoya nonchalantly slides his phone over. a quick few taps of his fingers and he finds your public profile before sliding otoya’s phone over to sae. “there, follow her then, if it’s nothing.”

despite seemingly doing this all for fun, oliver is betting on much more than that. if he gets to see what the whole big deal is, why not? on the one hand, otoya is refusing to say anything about his real feelings about you. on the other, sae is refusing as well to admit that maybe he’s a little bit charmed by you.

sure, asking sae to follow you is like sending a whole army of girls chasing after a baby with a very prized candy but oliver barely knows you, so it’s fair game where he stands. besides, he’s not forcing sae to do it. he just knows he will—sae never bothers showing interest in anything, let alone a woman. he’s not following any girls either apart from other celebrities, and that’s because they cornered him to it. if he does this, you’re the only comparatively normal girl he’ll follow. sae might not be aware of the implications and whatnot, but oliver sure does. it’ll take a while for it to show, but he’ll wait patiently.

the only reason otoya hasn’t been subjected to that same problem for following you is because his popularity doesn’t come close to sae’s. not even oliver’s comes close. neither are their fans as rabid as his.

and when sae scoffs and takes out his phone to do just what oliver expects him to, oliver’s eyes flick over to look at otoya, a certain unsettled look in his friend’s eyes. neither guys are ever straightforward with their feelings—he leans back and relaxes, waiting for a show.

whoever you are, y/n, whatever you have going on, good luck to you.

extras !

sae and bianca go way back, but so do y/n and eita! the latter more so than the former.

this is y/n’s first time ever attending an event like this in her x years of knowing eita.

sae’s group of friends consist of: oliver, otoya, shidou, karasu, yukimiya and sendou. (sendou has a conflicting schedule so he wasn’t there that night.)

taglist! @yuzurins @raphsimp @mxplesyrvp @lust4rin @saeskiss

[mysunshinetemptress]

Couples Costumes

Warning: Bad writing

leah Williamson x Beckham!Reader

You huffed racing around your room trying to find where you had last left your gold necklace trying to set the finishing touches to your costume, for the annual Halloween party your parents hosted as your girlfriend sat in the bathroom trying to get her hair just right. “Darling have you seen my rope necklace.” Leah let out a soft hum letting you know she couldn’t quite hear you as you turned to walk towards the en-suite bathroom before leaning against the doorframe “my gold rope twisted necklace my love I can’t find it” Leah watched you through the mirror as she finished setting her fringe just right “try my night stand Angel and do me a favour relax we have plenty of time.” You nodded walking over to Leah’s nightstand picking up your missing necklace before walking into the en-suite and standing behind her as you put it on. Leah smiled up at you through the mirror before reaching over and grabbing her video camera “my girl all dressed up for Halloween looking Stunning as ever.” You bent down resting your head on her shoulder as you smiled at the camera through the mirror “and my love looking as fine as ever with my surname on her back.” You laughed winking as Leah made a face “not forever, only for tonight then I’m back to being Williamson and you can wear mine.” You laughed bending down once more kissing her before talking lips still pressed gently together “someday we shall share a name.” Leah sighed not pulling away “we will mine.” You laughed pulling away nodding “I’m happy whatever name comes after my first as long as I get to spend the rest of my life with you.” Leah smiled up at you once more before shutting off the camera “enough fluffy content for one video I think you looking gorgeous Posh already to go.” You smiled grabbing her hand as she stood “ready when you are Becks.” You both left the house before making your way to meet the rest of the gang in London.

Your family had been throwing Halloween party’s ever since you where a kid and once you and Leah had become official you started bringing her to along with her family and some close friends it had turned into a tradition you loved often choosing couple costumes but this year with the release of your dads new documentary and all you both had decided to dress up as younger versions of your parents when they had started dating, You dressed as your mum because although you played almost exactly like your dad except left wing you looked almost exactly like your mum when she was younger expect for a few features that where so obviously your dad, and Leah dressed in an England Beckham jersey from your fathers years of playing for the country (you had no chance of getting her into a different club jersey anyway) and a pair of black trousers and boots she had also decided to utilise her fringe styling it to create the curtain bang look your father wore in his early years of professional football.

Arriving at the party you smiled to the few paps that had taken to waiting outside before making your way into the decked out venue smiling and thanking the bouncers on the door before looking around for the two people you wanted to your costume off to most. Holly Leah’s cousin was the first to spot you both as you waved before starting to strike up a conversation “omg you guys win this is incredible best idea ever like wow guys.” Leah smiled down at you pulling you into her front wrapping her arm around your waist “it was this one’s idea.” You blushed at Leah’s statement before talking to Holly some more before spotting your two younger brothers, squeezing Leah’s hand to signal you where moving she released you watching on as you walked towards Romeo and Cruz before turning back to Holly “I mean wow Leah you guys really pulled it off.” Leah laughed “thanks she was stressing over what we where going to wear for weeks before we decided and how we where going to make sure everyone knew what we where dressing up as as well.” Holly nodded “no seriously tell her again amazing.”Leah smiled at her older cousin content in knowing you where loved by her nearly as much as she loved you “although I have to say it will be weird having to call you Leah Beckham when you finally get married.” Leah’s head whipped around to her cousin “what makes you think I’m going to be Leah Beckham.” Holly laughed “your wearing her name on your back le.” Leah shook her head “nope just a costume she’s taking Williamson when we get married she’s already promised.” Holly looked at Leah shocked “omg so you asked.” Leah shook her head once more “no Holly shush soon just not right now I have it planned.”

Romeo laughed watching you throw popcorn into Cruz’s mouth. Cruz had dressed up with his best friend Will as Step Brothers and Romeo and his girlfriend Mia had dressed up as Shark boy and Lava girl. “So Y/n I’m not fully getting your costume who are you meant to be.” You laughed turning to find Leah before spotting her and waving her over. You turned laughing at your brother’s reaction your guys couple costumes “no way you dressed as Mom and Dad for Halloween that was so smart.” You let out a laugh as you put you hand behind you back for Leah to grab “cool no” the boys nodded smiling before your older brother and his wife appeared dressed as cowboy Barbie and Ken. “You guys look amazing best costumes of the night by far.” You where never one who liked getting compliments so to hear so many about yours and Leah’s costume had you a blushing mess looking to hide in your girlfriend. “Nearly a full Beckham now Leah.” Brooklyn amidst your girlfriend winking “for one night and one night only.” Brooklyn shook his head “that’s all you will need before you become a Beckham permanently” Leah shook her head “I’m afraid it’s the other way around I plan on signing this Beckham over here to join the Williamson’s team in the future.” Your brothers laughed as you all began chatting once more.

Making your way towards the dance floor you spotted your parents dressed as Gomez and Mortica Addams playing the part as they waltzed about the dance floor. “Mum hey.” The older pair turned towards your waving hand as their faces lit up in pure surprise at your costume instantly getting the reference “oh my dear god you pair looking amazing.” Smiling once again you thanked them “when did you guys come up with this.” Leah smiled watching your parents reaction happy you both pulled it off “for weeks honestly had to find a jersey this one would wear and then all the little accessories you have with this outfit mum is crazy but I’m so happy after getting that reaction.” The pair smiled before your mum turned looking over your shoulder at your brothers and sister who was dressed as Anne Hathaway in the Princess Diaries “right family photo so, you too Leah your a Beckham now after all.” Leah shook her head before smiling at you as you spoke up “only for tonight I’m afraid she doesn’t want my last name.” Your parents laughed understandably as Leah had talked to them a few days previously of her plans to propose. Your entire family (brothers their girlfriends/wives) and your girlfriend all squeezed in for the family photo shouting Halloween before you all broke apart mingling for the rest of the night.

Leah let out a sigh as she followed you into the house tired after a long night of partying with both your families and friends “god we have our work cut out for us next year if we are to top this darling.” Leah hummed walking up behind you before pulling you into a searing kiss. “Hey what’s gotten over you.” Leah smiled down at you “nothing your just absolutely breathtaking.” You laughed hiding your head in her neck before kissing it and pulling back slightly to look at her face “Marry me.” You looked at Leah slightly shocked at the statement “what.” “Marry me.” You smiled running your fingers through her hair “your going to have to take your top off then my love cause Beckhams not your surname and after I marry you I plan on changing mine.” Leah laughed “so yes.” You nodded bring Leah’s face into your hands pulling her into another kiss “in this lifetime and the rest my love.”

[noahsmuse]

second chance?

✮ PAIRING: noah sebastian x reader

✮ REQUEST: “Can I request a second chance romance one shot? Like in 2020 - 2021 the reader and Noah were dating and they break up for [insert reason] but they run into each other at the BMTH concert in 2024 or something and one thing leads to another suddenly they you know, hooked up and Noah doesn't want it to be a one night stand with her soooooo you can go from there.”

✮ A/N: sorry for the recent inactivity but now, i’m BACKKKK! continue sending in requests for me to write & hope you all like this fic ≧'◡'≦

everything seemed picture perfect between you two. the makeshift dates and the candle-lit dinners that would be hosted in his dining room with dinner that you both made, and just when you thought that the pair of you were full from dinner he was usually still hungry….but for something else (you). in a world of what seemed to be chaos, you found solace within each other.

until, the time came that heavy pandemic restrictions were slowly being lifted and Bad Omens was scheduled their first tour back to be openers for In This Moment and Ice Nine Kills. going from seeing noah almost every single day to barely hearing from him was a very intense switch that put a strain on your relationship since communication was such a huge trait for the two of you.

knowing this would probably only get worse as they’re gonna get busier and continue going on tour. even though you two loved each other to the ends of the earth, when he came back you both made the decision to break up but still remain friends to avoid any heartbreak or miscommunication.

this brings us back to present day, it’s been three years since you’ve broken up with noah. you both talk occasionally and send the usual happy holidays and birthday messages but haven’t actually seen each other face to face since the break up.

one day you hear your phone going off like CRAZY, you managed to find out that one of your girlfriends was able to get pit tickets for a Bring Me The Horizon concert happening in your city. prior to these messages from your friends, you had zero idea they were coming to your town and who would be with them, but decided why not go and have some fun!!!

the day that you and your friends have been so estatic about finally comes around, you’re all dressed to the nines, wearing your sexiest but comfortable attire that perfectly matches the mood for the concert. since the adrenaline is pumping throughout your friend groups veins, all of you decide to make it to the venue just early enough to secure the merch that you’ve had your eye on and your spots for barricade.

after waiting for a few hours, the doors of the venue open and everyone runs while holding each others hands to make it right in the center of barricade with a perfect view of the stage.

around an hour goes by, you still have no idea who the openers will be until the crew of the band lowers down a tapestry with a name that sounds very familiar to you….’Bad Omens’, and that’s when it clicks in your head that your ex boyfriend’s band is an opener for the tour. obviously you don’t wanna seem like an obsessive person to him but you’re literally sitting front row, right in the center, so there’s definitely no way that you could hide.

as soon as you start trying to think up of a plan to make sure noah doesn’t see you in the crowd, the lights abruptly go dark and small vibrations rumble through the ground of the arena with jolly, one of noah’s best friends and roommates comes out right in front of you playing the riffs of a song that you learn is called artificial suicide from their newest album (one that you also learn you were the muse for a couple of songs on the record), ‘The Death Of Peace Of Mind.’

even though you didn’t really know the words to their newer work since you’ve only really heard the demos and songs from the band’s first two records, you can help but feel proud for how far they’ve come knowing that noah had expressed some doubts for the record with you during your time together.

while watching the show, you constantly had a feeling that you were being watched…but when you looked up at the stage, you found the front-man of the band gazing off in your direction.

nothing really happened between you two when they were performed besides noah staring at you while singing a couple of songs which you presumed were about you. the rest of the show goes on, you and your friends have the time of your lives screaming your favorite songs on the top of your lungs. when the show was over just as you were about to leave ash, noah’s trainer and bad omens new security caught your attention saying they’d like to invite you backstage so you decide why, not ! after all you and noah are still friends even though he was the only love you regret breaking things off with.

ash guides you in the direction of the Omens’ green room when you notice someone standing in the distance. as you both get closer to the room, you soon realize that this person is actually just noah who asked ash to bring you backstage so the two of you could “catch up.”

which led to noah bringing you back to his hotel room and ending up laying beneath you, fiercely rolling your hips against his with some help provided by him thrusting into you. moans and grunts spill from you guys’ lips, getting closer and closer to your release….right when you grind on his dick hitting your sweet spot perfectly, feeling pure ecstasy wash over the both of you as he holds your hips down so he can fill up your pussy with his cum.

just as noah wakes up in the morning, he remembers everything that happened last night. looking down at you still asleep with the sun peaking through the blinds and shining on your gorgeous face is when the realization hits him…he can’t let you go again.

meanwhile, you just woke up, not really remembering where you were or what happened but when you looked down to see you wearing one of noah’s shirts and then back up to see his smiling handsome face. which brings back all the memories from a few years ago, it felt like nothing changed…”we should talk” breaks you away from your thoughts (aka, regrets for even breaking up with him)…

the conversation ended with you two walking out into the lobby of the hotel they were staying in, holding noah’s hand with the biggest, lovesick smiles on your faces to hear someone yell “FINALLY!” in the distance. (it was a combination of jolly and matt who were celebrating seeing you two together)

[strongbabe2907]

God i’m still buzzing.. Read on for more of a dir en grey live report!

So we got there early to get tickets for buying merch and our numbers were pretty good. After that we killed some time i and kept getting so nervous on and off?!

When it was time to buy merch i was nervous again but it all went very smoothly. We did some trading and everyone was so nice and sweet and i got most of what i wanted 😭.

After that more time to kill so we went to eat and MORE NERVES. And then it was time to queue. We all had different numbers to we split and i had 601. I was very proud of myself for hearing when i could go right haha. Once in the venue i was about half way, but was already warned there would be a push and YEAH. It was intense. It was really an experience to get soooo squished yet there’s a vibe of everyone looking out for each other.

So onto the good stuff.. when they came out i was just mesmerized by Kaoru!! He had extensions in and had all his hair curled and the extensions reached till his shoulders. He wore a fancy long jacket (kinda pirate/vampire feel) with black shorts with a gold trim and black leggings. Black and white polka dot blouse he’s worn before ontop with the corset waistcoat over it. He had a black stripe over his eyes for make up and later for the encore he had blood on his face. He also had a little oil lamp on his stand thing?! 😭 so cute?! He went wahwah in the beginning. He went over to play with Die at somepoint and Die also came ro his side, but nothing too exciting haha. He seemed to have a good time but again, first show.. and he seemed to hold back a little maybe? I think they all were in a sense. He also had a blue? Cup he drank out of and whenever he did he wiped his mouth with a little towel after lmao. I think he had a mouth and a sweat towel. How sophisticated.

(Oil lamp if u squint)

I saw most of Kyo and Kaoru, Die was far away and there was a guy right in front of me that blocked my straight ahead view of Toshiya most of the time lol.

Also shout out to the guy next to me who shouted their names SO LOUD i could feel his body vibrate lmfao.

Kyo has hair. Kyo has a face tattoo.. assuming it’s not eyeliner. I wasnt close enough to see what it actually was. He was wearing no make up, a black tshirt and very wide/lose high waisted trousers with a belt that had a metal ring on it. Sneakers bit i couldn’t see his feet most of the time. His voice was good, but definitely got better as the show went on and he warmed up. He really got more lose near the end of the show with smiling and letting the crowd sing and talking etc.. it was nice to see. He did a little dance but he wasn’t super energetic. Again, maybe just cos it was the first show? They all did seem to have a good time though. He wore the love bracelet and small golden hoop in his left ear and i could see the sparkle from his teeth gems haha. It was nice to see him all fresh faced and without contacts 🥹

Kaoru had a really cute little moment where he was looking at the crowd before starting Vinushka, where he tilted his head. And he was very in sync with Kyo who came up from sipping water i think to start the song together.

Also HELLLOOO shokubeni was AMAZING. kyo did a part of it acapella. On my fucking knees.

What i saw of Toshiya was him suddenly popping up without his shirt on lol, apparently he threw it into the crowd.

Im still buzzing. I hope the vibe can only go up from here, it has too!!! Onto the 13th we go🤘

[redocity]

ooo what about buck & reader at maddie and chimney's wedding and buck's trying to coax reader into dancing but they're a lil shy and it's soft and cute and you can decide whether they're already together or not!!

TAKE MY HAND - E.BUCKLEY

buck has an inherent knack for involving you in absolutely everything even if you’re happy to sit on the sidelines, and sometimes you question whether it’s just coming from a place of friendship.

WARNINGS: alcohol, swearing

evan buckley x gn!reader || fluff || 1.7k || requests open!

a/n: now this is what i’m talking about 🤭 thanks for the request ml <33

₊ ⊹ masterlist!!

The porch light you’re sat under serves as both your respite and your downfall.

It’s strong enough to light your phone screen and make your prosecco glitter in a way that makes your tipsy brain extremely satisfied, but it also lights you up like a glowstick as you avoid the terrace turned dance-floor like the plague.

You’re more than content to sit with your sparkly drink and watch as the rest of the team joke and dance under Maddie and Chimney’s lead, their house transformed into the perfect reception party venue with the help of Hen and Buck’s manual labour.

It really was something to celebrate, two people you’d come to consider as family being joint together under an eternal promise of love and sole devotion to each other.

But apparently your form of celebrating wasn’t ‘celebratory’ enough for a certain someone.

“Come on, time to dance,” Buck plucks the flute glass from your palm, replacing it with his left hand instead to pull you to your feet.

“Oh no I’m good-” You shake your head with a small laugh as you tug a resistance against his hand, intent on remaining firmly sat in your chair.

It did not matter how much you’d had to drink, the idea of dancing in front of a group of people, your honorary family or not, made you want to dig yourself an early grave.

“Come on, we’re at a wedding reception, we’ve gotta dance,” Buck had decidedly had at least a few more drinks than you had, although you’re sure you’d be in a similar situation even if he was stone cold sober.

He always made an effort to include absolutely everyone, which mostly meant you.

Actually it always meant you.

It wasn’t like you were being left out or anything, you just didn’t have the outgoing nature of the rest of your team when it came to being out of the fire station, which often left you in your own little bubble off to the sidelines.

It wasn’t like you weren’t content with that either, and that was something that Buck knew.

But he still made an effort to get you directly involved anyway.

Buck’s gotta Buck you suppose.

He gives a soft tug on your hand to try and prompt you to stand again, and you give it another bout of resistance with your lips pressed into an awkward line. “You can go and dance if you want,”

“No no,” Buck takes it upon himself to finish your glass by tipping the whole thing into his mouth, to which to gesture outwards in mild exasperation. “We are going to dance,”

“I am not drunk enough to dance in front of a group of people, and you just downed the possibility of that happening,” You shake your head in feigned disapproval as he puts the glass back down on the table, and he mirrors it himself, completely undeterred.

“We can get you another drink,” He gives your hand another tug, a little harder this time, his usual boisterous behaviour only amplified under the low buzz from his alcohol consumption. “You gotta have fun,”

“I am having fun,” You allow him to pull you to your feet this time, making a show of exaggeratedly sighing as you meet his eyes with your own.

“Not enough fun in my opinion,” Once you’re standing upright, he takes it as an open invitation to pull you onto the makeshift dance-floor, taking both of your hands in his own to ensure that you don’t try to slip away on the way there.

It’s innocent enough, and not exactly revolutionary in the land of Evan Buckley’s casual affection, but under your slightly alcohol-induced haze, the brushing of his fingers against your palms makes a warm feeling shoot up your arms and settle in your chest.

“I don’t even know how to dance-” Your tone comes off as mildly self-deprecating, something that Buck does not take lightly as he wedges the two of you into a small area that hasn’t yet been taken over by your drunken coworkers as they sway and jump around to the pop-rock song playing in the background.

“Dancing is subjective,” The way he furrows his eyebrows suggests that he’s offended at you even suggesting that you’re not good at something like being able to dance, and he tugs and pushes at your arms gently in alternation to put the two of you into a rhythm that matches the beat of the song. “As long as you are having fun, it doesn’t matter what you look like,”

The motion is enough to break a small smile onto your face, a short chuckle escaping your mouth as you entertain his musings by returning the push and pull motion of his arms with your own.

“Plus,” He bends his elbows to bring himself a little closer to you, leaning to speak against your ear over the music. “I think everyone’s too drunk to tell you have sloppy dance moves,”

“Hey-” You open your mouth in feigned astoundment, a sharp laugh joining the gasp that leaves your mouth.

“You’re so stiff,” Buck finds great enjoyment in laughing at your inherent lack of ‘grace’ when it comes to dancing, his hands sliding up your forearms to hold your elbows and try to loosen up your joints by massaging his fingers into your skin. “Relax,”

“You are way too excited,”

“My sister just got married to one of my closest friends, of course I’m excited,” Buck tilts his head to the side slightly, the warm overhead lighting hitting his eyes in a way that makes them look like he’s standing in front of a sunset.

“And you’re also completely shitfaced,” You can’t say much considering the four glasses of prosecco you’d had yourself, but you could just tell that Buck was going to have a hangover tomorrow.

“So?” He tilts his head downwards ever so slightly. “I’m having fun, drinking, eating good food, dancing with my best friend, just— soaking up the good vibes you know?”

You can’t really argue with that.

“Uh huh, right,”

“I am right,” Buck gives you that over-confident smirk, the one that’s become his trademark, and the one that has so much more of an effect on you right now than it ever has before this moment in time*. “All just good vibes*,”

You can hear the song fade out underneath Buck’s rebuttal, with the next song being remarkably more calm although still just as bright as the one before it.

“Here’s what I’m talking about,” Buck gives a nod in satisfaction at the new tune. “Let’s teach you how to dance,”

“What?” The word leaves your mouth more as a laugh than a question, and it’s like Buck ignores you completely as he lays your hands onto his shoulders and slides his down to rest gently against your sides, right over your ribcage.

It truly was remarkable how he was always so gentle despite himself, and it was not helping the way you were already perceiving him tonight.

“Now, dancing is really just swaying if you think about it,” He uses his hands like an example for his conclusion as he guides your movements with them, literally swaying your weight between your feet as he mirrors you in doing the same. “That simple,”

He chuckles like he’s just told you some revolutionary secret. and you honestly can’t be sure whether it’s the alcohol talking or just Buck being himself.

Either way, it’s enough for him to break out into a soft smile, one that washes over his features like waves on the shore and settle into his muscles like water into sand. “See? You’re doing great,”

“I’m not doing anything,”

“Sure you are, you’re letting me push you out of your comfort zone,” He tilts his head forward towards you a little, smile ever present on his face. “That’s something,”

You let out a small breath, lowering your head to rest it against his shoulder momentarily. “Whatever you say,”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” His eyes chase yours for contact once you pull back enough that he can see your whole face again. “You should let me do this more often,”

“How about no?”

“You know you can’t resist me,” Buck chuckles at your denial. “I always get you in the end,”

“I suppose you do,” You let your head tilt to the side as your expression slowly mirrors his in the content smile you have washing over your face. “Maybe I’m just a pushover,”

“Or maybe,” He leans forward a little, halting your swaying for a second so he can put emphasis on his words. “You just like spending time with me like this,”

“That too I guess,”

Buck chuckles at your response, something you reciprocate yourself as you rest your head against the curve of his shoulder once more with a sigh.

He was right. Dancing is fun. Although probably only because he was the one you were dancing with.

Either way, you knew you were going to be leaving this reception party wondering exactly what you meant to Buck, and more importantly, what he meant to you.

But right now, all you needed to focus on was the gentle pressure of his fingertips against your sides and the gratified look in his eyes.

Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

[smol-n-smol]

Odd One Out: Chapter 1

A/N: Finally banged out the first chapter for this story based on this idea I came up with a little while ago. I hope y'all enjoy! I'll make a proper blurb at some point

Also I'm gonna be so fr, I've never done a tag list for a story before, so I'm just pulling this based on people from comments/tags who sounded like they wanted an update? If you want to be added or removed, just let me know :)

Tag List: @axolotlsdreams @seasonschange32 @tthevoic3s @kgonbeiden @coffehbeans

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With its multilevel Roman-inspired buildings and wide cobblestone paths, the Kingston Academy campus is practically a work of art in and of itself. The early morning air carries the scent of prestige and erudition along a crisp autumn breeze.

Eriel stands before the glimmering gates of the academy, building up the nerve to walk through. He’s intimidated by the size of it all, though probably not for the same reason as most new students. It’s less that he’s afraid of getting lost in such a large place, and more that he’s scared of accidentally crushing something beneath his feet.

As the first giant to attend Kingston, it’s obvious that the school was never designed with his kind in mind. Most of the three story buildings don’t even reach the height of his shoulders. Even the monumental clocktower in the center of the courtyard just barely passes his 46 ft frame. 

If Eriel really wanted to, he could probably  jump right over the entrance gate in front of him. Not that he would ever do such a thing of course!! The thought alone of accidentally damaging something (or worse, someone!) is enough to send a wave of goosebumps down his spine.

Thankfully or unfortunately — Eriel is still trying to decide whether his enrollment here is a good or bad thing — the gilded gates part, at last inviting him onto the campus. There aren’t many students out yet, which makes sense. It’s barely past 7 AM on a Monday. Given the choice, Eriel wouldn’t be up this early either. Even so, the giant’s eyes stay focused on the ground as he navigates to the gymnasium on the other side of campus.

Usually students receive their orientation packets inside the administration building, but given his impressive size, there are only a handful of buildings that Eriel can fit into at all. The gym doubles as an auditorium and a venue for special events. The high ceilings were probably originally meant for improved ventilation and added elegance, but now the only benefit Eriel cares about is that he can at least sit inside without feeling overly claustrophobic.

He enters the building through a modified loading dock door. While he still has to crouch to fit through, it’s much better than having to crawl on his hands and knees like the first time he visited the building for interviews and psychological evaluations. Now that was a humiliating experience. He had been poked and prodded, and asked the most demeaning questions. Eriel shoves those memories back into a mental box. He needs to stay focused on the present moment.

Once he reaches the main area of the gymnasium, Eriel is finally able to sit down properly. The sunlight from the windows warms his skin. While he may not feel hot and cold the way that humans do, it's  a comforting sensation nevertheless. If he closes his eyes, he can almost pretend that he’s back in the forest with his family.

He misses them, despite it only being the first day. If the integration program goes well over the next year, maybe his little sister will be able to join as well. She’d probably learn much more easily in a school than from the limited knowledge that Eriel is able to share with her every so often. It was difficult enough to teach himself most of what he knows — his knowledge a hodgepodge of information from the occasional abandoned books that sometimes wound up in the forest.

He doubts that Lora will keep up with his studies while he’s away, but a big brother is allowed to hope, right?

Just the thought of the young girl falling asleep while poring over a human textbook is enough to make Eriel chuckle aloud.

“I’m glad to see you in bright spirits today,” a voice says, bringing Eriel back to the present moment. 

Mr. Leeway, the head administrator and school guidance counselor, now stands on a walkway that wraps around the walls of the room. Eriel meets his gaze nervously, though less eye-to-eye and more eye-to-full-body. Thankfully with a giant’s enhanced vision, Eriel has no trouble with making out the details of the man before him.

“Good morning, sir,” Eriel greets in response, his back straightening as he now sits in a human’s presence. “Thank you again for allowing me to attend school here.”

The counselor  waves a hand, brushing aside Eriel’s politeness. “No need to be so formal now,” Mr. Leeway responds kindly. “You’ve more than earned your spot here after all.”

Immediately, the giant’s shoulders drop. In retrospect, those were the words he’s been hoping to hear. The ones he needed most for today.

He’s grateful that Mr. Leeway is so accepting of him. Hopefully the rest of the staff are as well. Eriel has yet to meet any of the professors at the academy. While it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be this friendly, hopefully no one is too afraid or mean. 

As Mr. Leeway patiently talks him through the school handbook, the dorm system, and the giant accommodations scattered across the campus, Eriel can’t help but feel like maybe things will be okay.

“Any other questions?” the counselor asks, pausing long enough for Eriel to shake his head before continuing. “Perfect. Well in that case, I’ll let you get a head start towards your first class. Best of luck, kid.”

Eriel sits still until the human leaves before at last rising stiffly to exit the building.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

The campus is much livelier now than it was less than an hour ago. Students walk in small groups to different destinations — some dressed in uniform and heading to classes, while other folks are still in pajamas, clearly in search of their first meal.

Eriel is one of the less fortunate folks, his first class starting at 9 AM. He’s always been a bit of an early riser, as most giants tend to be, but part of him wishes that he opted for a schedule with a later start time. He’d appreciate a bit more time before having to face his new peers.

Mr. Leeway assured him that all the students received a special training and information session on interacting with giants. In theory, everyone should be prepared for this transition. And yet, as Eriel rises to a standing position, stretching slightly to relieve his back of some of its stiffness,  it’s as if the whole world holds its breath.

Everyone stops whatever they’re doing once Eriel reaches his full height. The slight crack of his joints resounds throughout the quiet air, unintentionally drawing even more attention to the giant. 

The poor students closest to him quickly back away, and one especially frightened soul even faints. Eriel winces at that. The reception makes sense, and honestly, it could be a lot worse.

Slowly, the giant takes a step, just a small one in the direction of his class. Immediately, a group of nearby students begins to run away, despite the ample space Eriel makes sure to leave between himself and any humans. The giant sighs but continues on his way. What else can he do?

It takes only a couple of minutes for Eriel to cross the campus to his destination. The English building stands before him, just barely reaching his chest. There’s no chance that Eriel is going to be able to squeeze into the building itself, much less one of the classrooms inside. For pretty much all of his classes, he’ll have to sit outside and listen in through the windows. 

Eriel follows the instructions in his handbook packet to find the window for his first class. A large awning has been set up along that side of the building — big enough for Eriel to be able to sit beneath for protection from the weather. He’s used to sitting outside for prolonged periods of time, but he appreciates the cover anyways. It will certainly help to keep his notes neat at least.

With the few minutes he has before class begins, Eriel puts down his backpack and digs out his notebook and pencil. The set was a gift from his mom — the pages were re-usable and the pencil was designed to provide more or less endless writing. Once he settles down in his dorm, he’ll be able to type everything up on the computer that the school provided him with, but this combination is much more efficient for carrying between classes.

Intro to English Literature, Eriel writes on the first page, taking his time in making the headline look pretty. It gives him an excuse to keep his head down and avoid the watchful gaze of the other students around him.

It’s only when the bell rings that he at last looks up, positioning his face so he can clearly see the blackboard through the window.

“Good morning, class,” the professor says as she enters the room. Her brown hair is done up in a bun and a pair of quirky glasses accentuate her wide grin. Her smile falters as her eyes meet Eriel’s, but props to her for managing to keep up the expression at all. The same can’t be said for the other ten or so students sitting in the classroom, who look back at him with expressions ranging from fear to disgust to cold interest.

“I’m Professor Dockerty,” the teacher continues, her introduction regaining the attention of most of the students. One boy is a bit slower to turn away, his blue gaze unabashedly staring right at Eriel. And then, the boy — Ashton, based on his response as Professor Dockerty takes attendance — smiles at him.

Okay, it’s more of a smirk, but even that’s better than the other looks.

“Did I miss anyone?” the professor asks.

Eriel gulps but shyly raises a hand, limbs tense and heart pounding as he draws additional attention to himself. A few of the students flinch as his fingers come into view of the window, and upon seeing that reaction, Eriel immediately puts his hand back down. Hot shame rises in his chest and his cheeks burn as he realizes the fear that a simple one of his actions could cause.

“I don’t think I heard my name, ma’am,” the giant all but whispers, desperately wishing for this moment to be over already.

Professor Dockerty laughs nervously, glancing down at her papers again. “Oh my, I must have missed it. Eriel, correct? Our giant student? Great! Well, if that's everyone then let’s start by going over the syllabus.”

Eriel doesn’t get a chance to say anything throughout her ramble, but the professor is already handing out paper packets to the students.. There are just enough for everyone in the room. Eriel doesn’t even bother asking if there are any extras for him.

[dollfacedsl1ut]

Her first concert

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compendium : Karina and her friends decided to go to a local concert before college the guitarist caught her eye but to no avail she couldn’t get her number the next day when she moved into the college dorm a familiar guitar was found outside her neighbors door, when you walked outside she noticed why it looked familiar you were the guitarist she met at the concert maybe this would be her chance to finally talk to you or maybe even more

dynamic : !fan Karina x g!p guitarist reader

warnings : alcoholic drinking, heated make out session, mentions of vomit, tipsy driving

word count : 1.5k

a/n : made 10/11/23 let’s see when this’ll be posted HAHAHAHAHHSH okay enough I hope you guys enjoy if you say anything about the band name you will be found

Band name: Barrack Beetles

There will be made up characters Lalala idc hush there’s

Y/n : Guitarist

Eleanor : Drummer

Chloe : Vocalist/Singer WTV helps you sleep

Luna : Pianist

☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆ ☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆ ☆ ★

“Come on please it’s the last fun thing we can do before college tomorrow” winter one of karinas friends begged, karina still resisted shaking her head “why not it’ll be fun I swear” Giselle pitched in of course gi would know it was one of her favorite bands “fine…but if I don’t like it I’m coming straight back” Karina got off her bed rummaging through her of her many suitcases under her bed she pulled out a pair of black ripped jeans and a beige crop top that hung off her shoulder (spicy era outfit inspo) “simple enough” she groaned standing up before putting on her clothes matching with a pair of black dr martens.

“Are you finally ready we’re gonna be late” Karinas youngest friend ningning whined “yeah yeah hold on” spraying a bit of perfume on her neck and wrists Karina walked out her room making sure to grab an emergency whistle, her phone, and pepper spray for protection of course..

The car ride to the concert was filled with cheers and excitement Karina never seen her friends this happy to see a rock band before maybe she underestimated their excitement. The venue was crowded with loud music being heard from the outside “I’m totally gonna make luna sign my boobs” Giselle giggled “as if…” ningning glared at the older friend who just kept a smirk on her face Karina heard the girls talk about which member they were gonna make do what whether it’s sign their neck, face, tongue, back maybe if the band members liked them enough maybe their boobs like Giselle suggested, winter parked the car a few feet away from the entrance at this point the line was wrapped around the building.

“see I knew I should’ve stayed at the dorm” Karina groaned hitting her head against the window looking at the line “unless..I preordered virtual tickets so we can get her early access in” Giselle snickered pulling out her phone showing the tickets “seems legit….already let’s go” winter was the first one out the car whilst Karina was last the smell of cheap perfume from the girls in the line filled their nostrils, once they reached the beginning of the line Giselle showed the bouncer the tickets as he let them in through the red rope a bunch of “Day 1 fans” protesting and yelling profanities.

Walking in the club a rush of sweet booze filled their nostrils the sound of music rang in their ears as they shuffled their way to the front of the stage seeing a host pick up the mic he was a tall guys with long curly hair he had a few visible tats and a deep voice that made any girl go weak “Our next performers are a very popular band we Have Barrack Beetles(omg I hate this name)” the crowd cheered as a group of 4 women stood tall on stage with their punk clothing, mix dyed hair and tattoos and piercings the usual rebellious look

Karina gawked at one member the guitarist, the lights changed into a purple tint as the music started the song started with you aka the guitarist. Karina watched in awe as you balanced the pick in your hand strumming the guitar she was starting to regret not seeing you much sooner, she looked at her friends seeing them scream and giggle whilst dancing aggressively to the song.

After your band finished with a few songs on your latest album the 4 of you gathered together holding any handheld instruments in hand before introducing yourself to your fans, waving and winking to anyone who caught your eye even the blonde headed girl wearing the beige crop top she seemed like a new listener you couldn’t deny she was very beautiful, better than any other fans you had quick make out sessions with, After the time was up you walked backstage “I seen the way you looked at her dude” Chloe the vocalist said nudging you “she’s probably crazy like other fans…but she does have a pretty doll like face I dig that” you loosened the guitar strap tossing it over your shoulder before tightening it back around you “you say this about every fan that makes your dick hard y/n” Chloe glanced at you “maybe you’re right but still she’s pretty” after your band finished packing the equipment your manager piled it inside the car “you guys have 30 minutes until curfew have fun” your manager said getting into the drivers seat…

You guys scurried off into the club immediately going to the vip section, you turned down the bottle service only taking shot by shot you didn’t wanna be too hungover to go to school tomorrow but you didn’t wanna be too sober so that you didn’t get laid, After your 4th shot your body felt tingly but you still could function the blonde haired girl you seen earlier was in the booth across from you guys she noticed you and gave you a small smile, waving your hand you ushered her to come over with shaky legs the girl sat next to you..

“Hi I’m karina what’s your name.?” Her voice was quiet but you were close enough to hear her speak “hey I’m y/n” you looked her up and down taking in her pretty features “I can tell you’ve never been to one of our concerts before did you enjoy it” Karina nodded as her pale face heated up “you were really pretty on stage y/n” her confession made you chuckle slightly “thanks you’re pretty too I noticed you mumbling along to our lyrics but I didn’t mind” she looked at you with wide eyes as she laughed leaning her head against your shoulder her heart was beating fast..or was that yours it didn’t matter but you could tell she was nervous.

You cupped her face placing a gentle kiss on her pointy nose “you’re so fucking pretty doll face wanna’ kiss you all over” she smiled at the compliment before leaning forward and planting a kiss on your lips, you cupped the back of her head deepening the kiss her soft whimpers were muffled as she clawed at your shirt, you pulled her by her hips on your lap she moaned feeling your dick harden under her, before the kiss could get anymore intimate your band mate Luna yelled your name before telling you time was up, you groaned loudly placing Karina back on the sofa “sorry doll face maybe another Time yeah” you sat up trying to hide your bulge before walking with Luna back to the car.

Karina sat on the sofa horny and upset before she could even get her mind focused Giselle pulled her up “we gotta go winter threw up on a random girl while dancing…seems like she won’t be able to make it to school tomorrow” Giselle started to realize karinas disheveled state “you got laid??” A smile formed on her lips “almost..” Karina began to start to walk out the club with Giselle beside her “really?? Before me but with who??” Her questions started to give Karina a migraine but she still answered “the guitarist uhh y/n” Giselles eyes widen as she stopped in the middle of the parking lot “you’re serious?? What that’s wow-“ she couldn’t form sentences but she was happy for Karina if it was true “yeah we were making out then a girl came in and said her time was up and her manager was waiting” Karina sighed opening the door of the passenger seat and then flopping in the car, she glanced back seeing a sleeping winter and ningning on her phone “I’ve never seen her this wasted” Ning said still looking at her phone “well she’ll obvious gonna miss school tomorrow so I’ll just try to get her classes and cover them that’s if we have the same ones” the 3 nodded as Giselle drove back to their dorm apartment..

Parking the car near the elevator Giselle carried winter on her back as ning pressed the button for the top floor, the walk down the hall seemed long to their tipsy bodies as they walked to their room their neighbors door was wide open the trio gave each other looks before walking into their apartment before showering and heading to bed…

THE NEXT DAY

Karina sat up in bed stretching her limbs before putting on her slippers she walked to the bathroom brushing her teeth then doing her morning skincare she picked up her phone cheeks the time “7:57” her screams seemed like they could be heard blocks away “fuck I’m gonna be late” she quickly pulled out a simple outfit she knew the bell rung at 8:10 and after that you’d have to get a slip to access the building she checked the other rooms seeing Giselle and ningning gone but winter was still asleep she groaned grabbing her backpack and her dorm keycard before rushing out the door, as she locked it from the outside she noticed a familiar looking guitar on the ground and her neighbors door still open she heard their footsteps walking closer to the door but who see seen walk out was beyond her belief but before she could speak up you did “hey doll face long time no see how you been” the way you spoke made it seem like you were childhood friends, s’not like you and her weren’t practically gonna have sex in a public club but Karina didn’t get upset she just waved….

Prologue

[publicaccessgirl]

Top 5 taboo fantasies you’ve imagined doing in front of an audience?

I don't have the sort of sense of shame that taboo requires, so I'm just gonna list my audience fantasies and you can judge them yourself

Being at a bar/pub and there's a stool for me with a dildo attached. Everyone at the venue knows and they all watch me slide myself slowly onto it. People who chat to me will bump into me and make me wobble so I have to clench down and get my balance. People will buy me drinks and hold them out of reach so I have to stand up to accept it, then sit back on the dildo. That sort of thing

Getting assaulted on the train and keeping quiet cos I'm embarassed, but some people do notice. Some look disgusted and judge me, others join in and grope me. I end up coming on my rapists dick in front of everyone, trying so hard to stay quiet. There's definitely anal in this fantasy

I want to have a hook up back at his place but I don't know he's streaming it online. So like, I'm not performing at all. But he's taking requests I don't know about and there's hundreds of strangers arranging how we fuck. He doesn't take no for an answer so he's not asking, he just suddenly starts spanking my ass while I ride him or he shoves my panties in my mouth or at some point he fucks my ass dry and like I'm not into all of it but he's barely paying attention and doesn't stop and I'm into enough that I don't question things and I never notice we're being filmed

Being in a semi professional setting, like a work Christmas party or a conference or something, and an ex is there. He's telling a group all sorts of shit I'm into, completely embarassing me and exposing my secret kinks. I leave the event to preserve my dignity and a few colleagues follow and group rape me in the car park. I'm the office free use slut for them, so long as they can keep it secret from management

I love medical inspection stuff that's not intended to be sexual, like, being strapped down for a pap smear when my doctors like "oh my students are here early, I'm just gonna invite them in to learn" and they all get a chance to try inserting the pap smear spreader thing and some a really rough and haven't done it before and I get so fucking turned on by it. They decide to learn about breast exams next and every one of them feels my breasts so roughly and I'm just a mess and trying not to be obvious about it

Tit pic for a top 5 ask xx

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The Broken Piano In 1975 by Marti Leimbach

My favourite piece of music is Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert, an hour-long piece improvised, as all of Jarrett’s concerts are, on a solo piano in front of a live audience. You know the story, right?

For the concert, he’d requested a particular piano, a Bösendorfer. The Bösendorfer originated in Vienna early in the nineteenth century. It is said to be the first concert piano able to stand up to the playing technique of the young virtuoso, Franz Liszt, whose tough, unforgiving treatment of the pianos he played destroyed them in short order. Perhaps the Bösendorfer’s durability was the reason Jarrett requested one for the concert. The 29-year old jazz musician was known for his eccentric stagecraft, his improvisations played with enormous athleticism and physicality. It’s fair to say he is tough on an instrument, that he plays unconventionally, even wildly, racing over the keys, standing up, sitting, leaning, panting, moaning. His performances move him—and anyone listening—through the disorder and miracle of creative endeavour.

Watching him is watching genius itself, that raw work that is cleaned up only by its imitators.

In short, he needs a good piano.

January 24, 1975. Jarrett arrives to the venue the afternoon of the concert, He is presented with his Bösendorfer. He stands with Manfred Eicher, the man who will one day found ECM Records and who arranged Jarrett’s sell-out concert tour. The piano he has been given for the concert is a Bösendorfer, all right, but it is puny, ancient, totally unsuitable.

Jarrett taps a few keys and finds it is not only the wrong size, incapable of producing enough volume for a concert performance, but also completely out of tune. The black keys don’t all work. The high notes are tinny; the bass notes barely sound and the pedals stick.

Eicher tells the organizer, a teenaged girl named Vera Brandes, that the piano is unsuitable. Either they get a new piano for Jarrett, or there will be no concert.

In a panic, the girl does everything she can to get another piano, but she can’t find one in time. She manages to convince a local piano tuner to attend to the Bösendorfer, but there isn’t much they can do about the overall condition of the instrument.

In the end, Jarrett agrees to play. Not because the piano was fixed up to the extent that he felt comfortable performing, but because he took pity on poor, young Vera Brandes, just seventeen years old and not able to shoulder so great a failure as losing the only performer on a sold-out night.

So he performs on the dreadful instrument. He does what he has to do, not because he thinks it will be good, but because he feels he has no choice.

Tim Harford [described it best], “The substandard instrument forced Jarrett away from the tinny high notes and into the middle register. His left hand produced rumbling, repetitive bass riffs as a way of conveying up the piano’s lack of resonance. Both of these elements gave the performance an almost trance-like quality.”

Jarrett overcame the lack of volume by standing up and playing the piano very hard. He stood, sat, moaned, writhed, and pounded the piano keys. You can hear him on the recording, the agony of the music, his effort at creating any sound at all. He sweated out what must have been an excruciating hour, and he triumphed. The Köln Concert has sold 3.5 million copies and is perhaps the most beautiful, transformative piece of music I’ve ever heard. It makes me cry to hear it, especially if I recall the courage it took for him to perform in front of a live audience on an unplayable piano with that desperate girl in the wings, wringing her hands, hoping beyond hope that he didn’t rise from the stool and walk out.

Hoping nobody noticed her great failure to produce the right piano for this most important occasion. [...]

Keith Jarett later said, "What happened with this piano was that I was forced to play in what was — at the time — a new way. Somehow I felt I had to bring out whatever qualities this instrument had. And that was it. My sense was, ‘I have to do this. I’m doing it. I don’t care what the piano sounds like. I’m doing it.’ And I did.”

[youcouldmakealife]

Raf/Grace, Bryce/Jared, various; solemn occasion (pt 1)

For the prompt: A collision of worlds at Raf and Grace's wedding: Bryce and Jared, David and Jake, maybe throw in Robbie and Georgie too…

Pre-wedding for now. We all know this thing is going to end up being 15,000 parts long.

On the drive home after Chaz and Ash ask them to be in the wedding party, Bryce says, offhand, “You know Raf’s asking next.”

“Yeah,” Jared says through a yawn. It's still early, so he thinks Chaz and Ashley’s perpetual exhaustion might be contagious.

“No, I mean, he’s going to ask you to be his best man,” Bryce says.

Jared snorts and shuts his eyes.

“I mean it,” Bryce says.

“I’d be a terrible best man,” Jared says. “Raf’s too smart to do that.”

*

Jared clearly overestimated Raf’s intelligence.

“Um,” Jared says. "Wait, really?"

Raf blinks back at him.

“Bryce said you were going to ask me that,” Jared says.

“And you said ‘good because I’m definitely going to say yes’,” Raf says. “Right?”

“Is that what you want me to say?” Jared says.

Raf shrugs.

“Are there like, responsibilities involved?” Jared asks. “Or is this a symbolic thing?”

“A few,” Raf says. “The bachelor party, I think, though obviously it’s not going to be, you know. Traditional.”

“No strip club?” Jared asks.

Raf vehemently shakes his head, and Jared relaxes.

“There are a couple other events,” Raf says. “Rehearsal dinner and the like. I think most of the logistics typically end up being handled on the bride's side, but Grace and I want to make this equitable.”

“Of course,” Jared says. “Naturally.”

Raf narrows his eyes. “You tried to make me write your vows.”

“You’re never going to stop bringing that up, are you?” Jared says.

“Your vows,” Raf says. “The words you use to express your love for and devotion your husband. You asked me to write them for you. And then you asked Chaz.”

“Okay, but I wrote my own in the end,” Jared says. Well, made a bullet pointed list, and then ignored all of it to embarrass himself in front of everyone he loved, but semantics.

“Because Chaz and I said no,” Raf says.

“Which was bullshit,” Jared says, and Raf smirks.

“You really don’t need to do much,” Raf says. “I’d rather handle everything myself, frankly.”

“You’d end up taking over even if I tried to do it, wouldn’t you?” Jared says.

“Probably,” Raf admits.

“And you don’t want me to write your vows,” Jared checks. Vows are not his forte even when they're his own.

“I actually want Grace to marry me,” Raf says, and laughs when Jared kicks him under the table.

“When’s the wedding?” Jared asks.

“Next summer,” Raf says.

“Uh,” Jared says.

“Don’t worry,” Raf says. “We’re coordinating with Chaz and Ashley so nothing overlaps. And I already gave Arvan a heads up.”

He gives Jared a look then, like ‘remember the time you forgot to tell Arvan you needed time off to get married?’. One of the drawbacks of knowing him so well is that Jared knows his looks mean, and a good number of them are withering.

*

Jared didn’t know being a best man would involve so many logistics. Like, sure, he asked what was involved, and Raf said he’d handle most of it, and Jared’s pretty sure he is handling most of it, but there are so many moving parts it makes Jared a little dizzy. And this is only two months in. Jared dreads the remaining ten if this is any indication of what’s coming.

In the movies it’s mostly funny speeches and bachelor’s parties, and he was already dreading that enough — Jared is not good at speeches or events, and he continues to be grateful Raf has absolutely zero interest in going to a strip club because Jared is way too gay to deal with that particular form of locker room talk. But they’re basically planning an event for over a hundred people, and even from the sidelines Jared can tell it’s a lot more complicated than ‘book a nice vacation house, get expensive catering, don’t forget a cake’ like his own wedding was.

There’s the venue, which they had to book a whole year in advance. The catering, but on a whole other scale. The wedding party’s been picked, and they’ve all got to match for some reason. Flowers are a thing. A big thing, apparently. Thankfully Jared doesn’t have to hear that much about them firsthand, but he knows from calls, texts, and in person venting — many of them — that they are stressing Raf out. Even at the spitefullest peak of Jared’s wedding planning he didn’t give a shit about flowers.

And all that’s not even getting into the invitees, which is what Raf called to bitch about. Jared didn’t think Raf had this many friends. Like, Jared pegged them as having a pretty similar philosophy on friendship — quality over quantity all the way — and there were like, a dozen people at Jared’s wedding.

And to be fair, there would have been more if it wasn’t for the whole ‘secret relationship both of their teams wanted to keep hidden’ thing. His mom’s side of the family hasn’t stopped giving him shit about not knowing who Jared’s husband was before it was trending on twitter. At first he thinks they were genuinely upset, but now it’s become the new running joke, like Erin getting shit about her hair constantly changing colour, and his dad getting shit about being the lesser Don in the family, and his mom gets shit about absolutely everything.

The problem, apparently, is that Raf and Grace booked a venue for two hundred people, and that’s somehow not enough.

“You seriously know hundreds of people?” Jared asks. That sounds like a nightmare. "How?"

“I mean,” Raf says. “My family. Her family. The Caps, Grace’s university friends, some former Hurricanes—“

“You still keep in touch with your teammates from the Dub?” Jared asks. “Seriously? Why?”

“You’re currently babysitting for your old captain,” Raf says.

Jared looks over to where Maia’s sitting in Bryce’s lap, both riveted by whatever show Chaz told Bryce to put on if she got cranky. Apparently blue dogs are timeless entertainment.

“That’s different,” Jared says.

“Okay,” Raf says.

“You’re friends with him too,” Jared says.

“I am,” Raf says.

“We’re babysitting specifically because your fiancée and his fiancée are currently shopping for wedding shit together,” Jared says. Well, they said ‘brainstorming’, but considering they’re brainstorming at a mall, Jared stands by describing it as shopping.

Raf was supposed to be having a day to himself, which doesn’t seem to be going well, judging by the fact he’s talking to him right now. Jared has no idea what Chaz is doing, because all he did was mumble something about ‘freedom’ and ‘go crazy’ when he dropped Maia off, and Jared felt it might be best to just leave the man alone, especially after he practically hissed after Bryce offered him a drink.

“This is only supporting my point, you know that, right?” Raf says.

Jared is unfortunately aware of that.

“Do you think it’d offend people if I kept the hockey players separate from everyone else?” Raf asks. “I know it’s not time for the seating plan yet, but —“

“I think it’d offend people if you didn’t,” Jared says. “Because hockey players are obnoxious.”

“Hey,” Raf says, then, “Good point.”

“Put them all in the corner,” Jared says.

He swears he can hear Raf taking notes.

Bryce raises his eyebrows, and Jared raises them back, then has to bite down a laugh when Bryce raises one of Maia’s pudgy little hands in a wave.

“Okay,” Raf says. “Next on the docket.”

“Is there a docket?” Jared asks. "Do you have a list in front of you? There better not be a list.”

It’s impressive that silence can sound so guilty.

Jared groans and wanders over to the couch, letting Bryce tuck him under one arm. “Okay,” he says. “For the record, I’m babysitting now, so you’re just going to hear ‘yeah’ and ‘uh huh’ to everything you say.”

There’s another silence, this time considering.

“Okay,” Raf says, and Jared ‘uh huh’s through far too much detail about ideal seating arrangements until Ash and Grace arrive to rescue them.