#and why do that when you can just make people barbecue for you instead?

[underwhelmingalchemist]

When you find out your neighborhood block party is actually part of a program by cops where they encourage people to throw block parties so they can use them as an opportunity to "build community relations"

[0mg-bird]

Sister’s Mister ~ B. Bradshaw x Seresin Sister Reader

Summary: When Jake’s little sister pays a visit, Bradley gets himself into a sneaky situation where he might want to be the sister’s mister.

Warning: 18+ content ahead, language.

A/n: Very Nickelback coded, argue with the wall.

There was a feeling of uncertainty among the men in the locker room as they showered and cleaned up. Jake left early to pick up a package, that package being his dearest little sister. You.

“He’s bringing her to Payback’s birthday party.” Fanboy states and he pulls a clean shirt on.

The rest groan, asking Payback why he’s allowing it. He just shrugs. “Dude, I felt bad, alright? She’s coming to stay for a month, I don’t want to start off on a bad foot.”

Bob, who was currently pulling his civilian shoes on, shook his head. “Hangman’s enough, what are we gonna do when a second him is going to be hangin’ around?”

They moan about that, all making claims about what you must be like. Things like spoiled, arrogant, and self centered all came up.

Bradley runs his hands through his hair a few times. “Which sister is this anyway? He’s got about five of them.” He asks.

“Big families are common in the south.” Bob reminds.

Coyote is there to answer his question. “I think it’s the one born after him? They’re the closest ones out of the seven kids.”

“Seven!” They all exclaim, cursing with wide eyes.

Bradley shuts his locker. “Six siblings might be the reason Hangman’s a head case.” He claims, making the others laugh.

“Yeah, let’s just hope the sisters not the same way.” Omaha chuckles.

~~

At the airport, you look for the tall head of blonde hair that is your brother. Suitcase rolling along behind you, you pass security and immediately see him.

Jake leans against a pillar, looking rather bored until he sees you approaching. Then, he’s walking to you with a smile.

“I was hoping you’d accidentally board a flight to Mexico instead.” He teases as you hug him.

“Oh c’mon now, don’t act like you haven’t missed me.” You smile, air getting squeezed out of your lungs as his strong arms grip you.

He pulls away and takes your suitcase and backpack. “Hard to miss someone whose face is plastered on magazine issues. But it’s good to see ‘ya, sis.”

The two of you leave to get a bite to eat, then Jake drops you off at the small house you rented.

“We’re going to my buddies birthday party tomorrow night.” He tells you as he checks the place.

You roll your eyes at his effort to make sure no crazy people are hiding behind the curtains, then open up your backpack to unpack some things.

“Which buddy is this?” You question.

“Just someone on my squad.” Jake explains.

You let out a heavy sigh. “Yay, a barbecue in the park.”

Jake glares at your fake enthusiasm. “It’s not a barbecue, and I feel personally victimized by that stereotypical statement.”

“Ooh, Jakey’s using big words.” You fake gasp.

He isn’t amused.

“We’re going to a club, okay? You know all about those, huh?” He teases, making your brows furrow.

“Is that what you think I do all day? Go to clubs with rich people?” You ask, to which he shrugs and nods. You scoff. “I do have an actual job, I just happen to know how to party.”

Jake sits at the kitchen counter. “So do we. Look, it’ll be fun and you can meet the crew.” He says, making you give in.

“Fine, I’ll go.”

He hums. “You never had a choice but I appreciate your cooperation.”

You roll your eyes. “Get out of my house, Seresin.”

~~

“Where’s Hangman?” Phoenix asks as she greets everyone in the parking lot.

They all wait to go inside the club, ready to get drinks down and watch Payback get wasted, but the only problem was they were waiting for the last two to join.

“Fashionably late.” Bradley huffs, checking the time. They agreed to meet at ten, but the minutes continue to tick by.

“Hey, what’s this chick’s name?” Phoenix asks, looking down at her phone with a face of confusion.

They all rattle off names until one clicks.

“Yeah! That’s it.” Coyote agrees, looking at the faces of surprise. “Why?”

She shrugs. “I’m Facebook stalking her.”

Though they want to call her crazy, they huddle around the phone as she scrolls through the profile. Bradley rolls his eyes at the antics.

“You guys are being ridiculous.” He states.

“Holy shit…” Fanboy exclaims.

“She’s gorgeous…like insanely gorgeous.” Payback finishes the thought.

Just as Bradley turns to look, Jake’s truck rolls into a parking spot. Phoenix scrambles to put her phone away, trying to act natural as Jake gets out. He walks around the truck and opens the passenger side door.

Two long legs step out, they all watch with anticipation. The door is shut to reveal you in full.

Long, curled hair, a short black dress. You smile as you approach, it reflects in your blue eyes.

Bradley stands in a daze as you get introduced to everyone. He’s trying to think of a time when he’s seen someone more beautiful than you but he just can’t.

“This is Rooster.” Jake finally gets to him.

Bradley snaps out of it and smiles, shaking your perfectly soft hand.

You let your eyes rise from his shoes, all the way up his jeans and white tank top under his unbuttoned shirt. When they meet his eye, you take in a small breath at the way he gazes at you.

“Hi, Rooster.” You speak with a subtle southern accent, introducing yourself.

Then, you’re pulling away from him, his hand falls back at his side and he sees you turn to Payback.

“Happy birthday.” You say and hand him a small gift bag. “Jake helped me pick it out.”

He reaches into the bag, thanking you and saying that you really didn’t need to get him anything. He takes out a velvet box and opens it to reveal an expensive looking watch. The crew lowly whistles at it.

“Damn…my birthday’s next month by the way.” Coyote tells you, making you laugh.

Inside the club, the group of you gather in the reserved booth with a first round of drinks. Bradley sits directly across from you, watching you intently as you answer different questions.

“What do you do for work?” Phoenix asks, making Jake cut in.

“Stripping.” He says with a serious face, making you slap his arm.

“Stop telling people that.” You scold before looking back at Phoenix. “I model.”

That sparks a roar of interest, the whole time Bradley just watches your movements. Your fingers toy with the skinny straw in your glass as you tell a story about being in a rock music video or of doing an issue for Vogue two months ago. He sees your pouty bottom lip get caught between your pearly teeth when you laugh at something and his mind is flooded with thoughts he cannot speak out loud.

Here he was, worried you’d be a stone cold bitch when he should have been worried that you were gonna make him grip the table to ground himself. All you were doing was sitting there and he was already getting pulled in.

You’re Jake’s sister.

He has to remind himself of that as you are dragged into the swarm of clubbers by Phoenix and Halo.

“So…we’re just going to ignore the fact that she was a bunny?” Coyote mentions, making Jake cringe.

“Hey, asshole, let’s not talk about that when I’m sitting right here. Besides, it was like one issue, and she wasn’t buck naked.” He corrects, chugging his beer at the odd topic this has come to.

“You seen it?” Fanboy cringes.

“Our mom sent it to the family group chat! I was horrified.” Jake gags.

Bradley laughs at his reaction, then shifts his eyes to Coyote who finishes his drink. He sees the smirk he has and knows that there’s gonna be a comment to follow.

“She was hot, dude. I feel a little star struck, actually.” Coyote chuckles.

Jake points an angry finger at his friend. “I love you man, but say anything like that again and I’m putting you through this table. Got it?” He spits.

Bradley looks at his glass.

He better just keep his mouth shut, because if Jake hears the things he’s thinking, he’s as good as dead.

“What do you mean she was a bunny?” Bob questions, defusing the tension. “I thought she was Jake’s sister?”

The guys let out a sigh, Jake races off as it has to be explained to the pilot.

Lights and music pulse and as you dance along, Bradley’s jaw is ticking back and forth. You appear like a phantom, arms up as you laugh with Phoenix.

“I’ll be back.” He tells the guys before heading for the bathroom.

He locks the door behind him and leans on the sink, trying to get himself together. Then, he pulls out his phone and Googles your name.

Hundreds and hundreds of photos appear on the screen, all in which you look sinfully good.

How could he not know of you before? He feels like he’s lived in darkness this whole time.

Bradley splashes water on his face and tells his reflection to get it together. With a deep breath, he goes to the bar, trying to get his head straight.

Things with Jake were finally fine, there was a truce made. The last thing that Bradley needs is to start another war by getting too close to the miniature Seresin.

Leaning on the bar, waiting for the bartender to get to him, he’s suddenly joined.

“You weren’t gonna offer me a drink?” You ask with a playful smile.

He turns his head, looking down at you and he internally curses. Of course you’d find him, life was never easy for him.

“I figured you were a big girl and could get yourself something if you were thirsty.” He states, swallowing hard.

You let out a small chuckle, then wave the bartender over.

“Whatcha’ need sweetheart?” The bartender asks, leaning forward with a wink.

“Vodka with a diet redbull, if you wouldn’t mind.” You order, then turn to Rooster with an expectant look.

“Oh, uh, just whiskey on the rocks.” He mutters.

The bartender gets right on it, leaving the two of you alone once more.

You run a manicured hand through your hair and look up at him. “So, Rooster, you got a real name?” You ask.

He nods, avoiding eye contact. His fingers flex into fists and back out again because you smell like cherry and vanilla, it makes him feel woozy.

You laugh. “Yeah? What is it?”

Blowing out a breath, he tells himself he’s stronger than this and looks to you.

“Bradley.” He says, aching as you hum and try the name out for yourself.

“Bradley. I like that.” You nod, taking your drink as it is given to you.

Your lips wrap around the straw and slowly sip as he drinks his whiskey, focusing on the taste of it washing down his throat.

You watch the veins in his arms and the way his adams apple bobs. He’s the perfect picture of fine, the wheels are turning in your head as you establish that he’s what you want.

“You want to dance with me, Bradley?” You ask as he finishes the drink in silence.

He shoots his brown eyes down at you, but doesn’t answer. Your straw slurps as you reach the bottom of your glass. “It’s a simple question.” You state.

“No.” He shutters.

“No?” You clarify.

“I do but no, I won’t.” He says weakly.

“And why is that?” You question, lips pursing.

The way you squint your eyes makes him want to drop dead. He clears his throat. “You’re off limits, sweetheart. The last thing I need is your brother ripping my head off.”

You smile. “I’m a big girl, I can make my own decisions.”

He turns to fully face you now. “I don’t think that matters to Hangman.”

You let out a dramatic sigh. “Well, I’m standing here talking to you and he hasn’t come found me. I don’t know about you but to me, that seems like it’s okay for you to continue talking to me.”

You were being extremely difficult.

He sits on the chair behind him, motioning for you to do the same. Slowly, you sit, crossing one leg over the other. Your thumb nail gets caught between your teeth for a moment before he reaches out to pull it away. You lightly gasp at the action, then fold your hands together in your lap. “Wanna talk? Let’s talk.”

The two of you exchange friendly chatter, both very aware of the space shrinking between you. The sound of your voice is addicting, the longer you talk, the longer he adores it. All those silly things they guys assumed about you were entirely false. You were smart and kind, you were actually hilarious.

“You still don’t want to dance with me?” You ask after a breath, your fingers running over his thigh.

He sucks in a breath. “You just want me to be killed, don’t you?”

You look at the mass of people. “If I know one thing, it’s that my brother is probably all over some little blonde right now and way too distracted to worry about me.” You state, moving your fingers now to the back of his hand, slowly tracing shapes on his skin.

“What about the others?” He asks.

You shrug. “There’s a swarm of people, I doubt they’ll notice.”

He fights his inhibitions, then decides he’s aching to feel the silk of your dress under his hands way more than he is scared of getting caught.

Bradley grabs your hand, it’s strong as it guides you off the seat. You smirk to yourself as you follow behind him. He strategically places the two of you in the crowd, the lack of space makes you press yourself to him. Your arms hook around his neck, you feel the warmth of his palms on your lower back.

The different colored lights make the silhouette of you sharp and enticing. Though the two of you start out calm, your movements aren’t subtle. One hand in his hair, the other smooths up his chest. You’re hot, blame it on the people around you but the way he’s looking at you isn’t helping. The size of his hands on you, the way his hair gets messy, it has your knees feeling wobbly.

One movement forward, you’re pressed right against him, giving a delicious contact to the crotch of his jeans. His fingers grip your hips tightly, he leans down to press his lips to your ear. Your eyes widen as the heat of his breath washes down your neck.

“Don’t.” Is the only word he utters.

And you aren’t used to being told no.

You do it again, creating that aching friction as you rub against him. “Why not?” You whisper back.

Bradley shuts his eyes, trying to stay strong in the war he is not winning. “Don’t start something, sweetheart.”

You reach down to grab both his hands and slide them behind you. He grabs your ass instinctively.

“What if I want to?” You ask, anything but innocent.

He pulls away from your ear, shaking his head at you like it’ll change the situation. He’s saying no because it’s the smart thing, but really all he wants to do is slide his hand under your dress.

Your hand braces one side of his neck while you lean to the other. Slowly, like you aren’t sure if he’ll push you off or not, your lips press to his skin.

Bradley wants to curse, the way your tongue tastes the salt on his skin has him grinding you against him on his own accord. You make your way up to his jaw, then pull back. His eyes are entirely dark, you open your mouth to speak but he’s kissing you roughly.

You sigh contently as you start to feel like you’re buzzing on more than just alcohol. It only lasts a few seconds, like he just needed a taste. Bradley pulls away with a huff, you feel like you’re going to fall over.

“Still scared of Jake?” You ask him.

He shakes his head. “This isn’t smart.”

“But you want it.” You say, hand sliding up his chest.

He wants it, fuck he wants it. You can see it in his eyes, that’s why you take his hand and pull him out of the crowd.

In the secluded hallway of the bathrooms, in the low red lighting, you’re grinning as you’re backing him into the wall. You inhale deeply, fighting with his lips as he holds your waist. It’s feverish as you kiss, the way you gently press against his waist has Bradley biting back moans. Suddenly, he’s pushing you back, walking you until you hit the opposite wall.

“Don’t be a tease.” He warns lowly, hand gently squeezing your jaw.

Your smirk is victorious. “I won’t be a tease if you take me back to your place.”

He tightens his grip slightly before swooping down and devouring your lips. His strained jeans rub against you. “That’s what you want?” He asks, pulling away again.

You bite your bottom lip, nodding. “I’m up for anything you want to do, actually.”

His thumb pulls that lip down. He looks at it in awe as he makes his final decision.

“Text your brother, tell him that you called an Uber home.” He says.

“Jake already said he was taking a girl home and sent me the cash for a ride.” You breathe.

It’s all a sudden blur, the way Bradley’s dragging you out to the parking lot, helping you into the passenger seat of his Bronco. He’s definitely breaking traffic laws as he races to his one bedroom house.

He struggles to get the door open as you suck at his neck. Once he does get it open, he’s tugging you inside and slamming it shut.

Down the hall, you’re shredding his layers. His button shirt is thrown over the couch in the living room, his belt lands on the coffee table. As you pull his white tank off, your breath catches.

“Fuck.” Is all you can say, looking at how toned his upper body is. His biceps make you want to wrap your hands around them and squeeze.

Bradley smirks, feeling good about himself. “This is what gets you to shut that mouth of yours?” He asks.

You run your eyes over his abs. “You’re like…insanely hot.”

He grips your waist, then backs you up into the kitchen counter. “Says the one with the million dollar body.”

Your fingers dance over his bare skin. “Art appreciates art.” You shrug before devouring his kiss again.

At this point your lipstick is gone, Bradley wears some of it on his skin like you’ve branded him. His hands brace under your thighs, easily lifting you to sit on the smooth kitchen counter. You sit with a huff, spreading your legs wide enough for him to slot between them. The smooth material of your dress bunches on your hips, giving him a perfect view of the pretty pink thong you wear.

He breathes heavy in excitement, gazing down at the lace like it’s a prize. That’s before he’s tilting your head back and kissing down the column of your throat. You mewl softly at the feeling, how he dances down the tops of your breasts that threaten to spill out of the dress.

Then he’s sinking further down, you watch him slowly lower himself to become eye level with your core. You gasp softly as he grips your thighs and places warm kisses to them. It stimulates you, the way his lips feel. His hot breath fans over your aching center, he’s kissing the lace fabric like he’s praising it before he grips the top of it.

“You still sure you want this?” He checks one last time. “Because I don’t know if I can stop after I start.”

You grow impatient, flexing your hips to move your heat closer to him. “Bradley, I don’t want you to stop.”

That was enough for him to yank the panties down your legs, letting them hang on one ankle. He keeps your heels on, enjoying the way they press against his upper back as your legs drape over his shoulders.

His tongue comes to run up your center, you take in a sharp breath. He tastes your arousal, immediately becoming intoxicated off of it. Fingers pressing into the flesh of your thighs, he keeps you spread open for him as he dives in, eating you out in a way you haven’t experienced before.

Your head falls back, hand wringing in his hair, holding him close to you. A moan tumbles free from your throat. “Oh fuck, you’re good at this. Fuck! Like that.”

He can’t help but grin wildly, stimulating your erected clit before stretching two fingers inside of you. Your hips buck at the feeling, you’re humming out, panting at the feeling. He eats it so good, you don’t even think to muffle the sounds you make.

“Ah, Bradley.” You breathe, making his cock twitch in his jeans.

“You like it, pretty girl?” He vibrates against you, making you cry out.

His eyes lift to look up at you writhe. You’re perfect, open mouthed and grinding against his tongue, reacting when he curls his fingers.

“Yes.” You encourage.

The sound is wet and lewd as he sucks on your sensitive skin, your eyes widen as you feel your finish coming on.

“Rooster, I’m close.” You whine slightly, it only makes him focus more and get you closer.

“You want to cum? Do it, finish for me.” He encourages.

Your chest heaves, you tighten your grip in his hair as you clench around his fingers. You curse loudly, feeling the orgasm build and build until you finally snap. You shudder, your thighs clench around Bradley’s head as you feel the wave wash over you. He’s there through it, cleaning you up with his tongue, sucking his fingers clean.

You lick his lips, tasting yourself on him before kissing him.

“Come on, pretty girl.” He coos, helping you off the counter, chuckling at your uneasy legs as he guides you to his bedroom.

The door is clicked shut behind you and Bradley’s pulling you against him, cradling your face in his hands as he clashes his tongue with yours. His pants are pushed off by your greedy hands, then he’s watching you crawl onto his perfectly made bed. Your eyelashes fan perfectly as you stare at him, slowly pulling your dress off and dropping it to the floor.

Fuck.

You’re perfect.

Sitting pretty for him, he lets his eyes roam over your perfect skin, how great you look in his bed.

He’s in trouble.

Your leg extends out, lifting your foot up expectantly. With a pleased smile, he comes forward to the foot of the bed, unbuckling the heel, then the other. He tosses them carelessly behind him, they hit the floor with a clatter.

“Those are expensive.” You warn as he tugs at your ankles, making you gasp and fall onto your back.

“Yeah? I’m sure you have five more pairs just like them.” He states, crawling up the bed to hover over you.

Slowly, the two of you share the same air. You lay, looking up at him. “Come on, Bradley, I won’t tell if you won’t.” You tease.

He could devour you.

“You do this often? Target your brother’s friends?” He jokes back.

Your nails run down his scalp. “I can’t stand my brother’s friends. You on the other hand, you’re different.”

Tongue in your mouth, he’s moaning, sitting up to pull open his nightstand drawer. The foil of the condom is cool in his fingers, he pulls back to sit on his knees as you sit up. You pull his boxer briefs down his toned legs, breathing heavy as his full erection is freed. It aches against his stomach, the tip dripping with precum. You swipe your thumb over it, making him groan.

Completely infatuated, you pump your hand over his length as he rips open the condom package.

“I’ll cum if you keep doing that.” He grunts out, pulling your hand away so he can roll the rubber on. “Get on your stomach.”

The direct tone of his voice has you a mess between your legs, you roll over, legs spread, yelping in surprise as he tugs your hips, positioning your ass in the air.

“Is this okay?” He asks, warmly rubbing your back.

Hair falls in your eyes, he moves it away. You look back at him and nod. “It’s more than okay.”

His dark eyes gleam, then he’s positioning himself at your entrance. You feel the tip of him run down your folds, nudging your clit, making you mewl lowly and grab the pillow.

He pushes halfway in before you gasp, he slowly enters your walls to make sure you’re relaxed enough for him. The pressure his size gives you has you breathing hard already.

“I’m almost there, sweetheart.” He says lowly, letting his head fall back as he finally bottoms out.

Adjusting, you can feel how good he fills you. “Oh god.” You pant, squeezing your eyes shut as he slowly pulls back and pushes into you again.

“You sound so perfect.” Bradley says, slack jawed.

He kneads your ass, gripping it as he sets a pace. The way you lay out on front of him, arched back and taking him so good, he wants to cum inside of you in that moment.

“Mm, like that.” You guid. “You’re so fucking deep.”

Hearing those dirty words from your perfect lips, his vision threatens to go blurry.

“Yeah? Is this what you wanted the whole night, my cock buried inside you. Fuck, you’re so tight, it’s amazing.” He says through gritted teeth.

Pulling your hips, he fucks you back into him. As you meet his thrusts, broken sounds are coming from your throat.

You’re picture perfect, he’s going to be getting off to this image for weeks.

Mind completely cloudy, you mutter your words, they slur together. His fingers snake down to rub your clit and it has you choking on a sob, burying your face into the pillow at the build up inside of you.

“There you go, baby.” He breathes, picking up his pace. His hand stretches to gently tangle in your hair, his thrusts are hard, jolting you.

His name is muffled as you chant it, warning him that you’re oh-so close. You can’t even turn your head to look back at him, you just lean your head back and cry out as you clench around him.

“Holy shit- I’m almost there, hang on.” He grunts, edging himself closer and closer.

Your body shakes. “Bradley.” You whimper out, then you’re coming all over him.

The shout of him is what makes him push fully inside of you one last time and release. He bucks against you, riding his high out.

You’re collapsed onto the mattress now as he pulls out of you, mouth open as you pant, face and hair a mess.

“Holy fuck…” He runs a hand over his face, moving to lean back against his headboard.

He looks down at you, thinking you’re utterly spent. His gentle hands pull you up to him, slowly kissing you, trying to comb your hair down.

You learn how affectionate he can be. Especially after another round, where you’re watching him fuck up into you as you ride him, and genuine tiredness overcomes the two of you. You both clean up, then you try to decide what your next move is.

Hookups weren’t something you were too familiar with, you’ve only ever slept with your previous boyfriends.

Were you supposed to go back to your house? Did he expect you to leave?

The answer is decided when he shifts to his worn side of the bed.

“Come back to bed.” He says, watching you stand in the doorway, looking at your shoes.

Your eyes lift back up to him and his heart stops for a moment, you’re wearing a genuine grin.

Tangled in his sheets, not bothering to get dressed, the two of you talk until you eventually are lulled to sleep. You tried to fight it, but he’s so warm as he holds you, his voice is such a perfect tone, he’s rubbing your head and doing everything a hookup doesn’t do.

He’s well aware of this.

And when you’re snoozing peacefully, tucked against his chest, he curses and looks up at the ceiling.

He was already in too deep.

Part 2 here

[bveckers]

Risk

"You can just talk and I'll stare at your mouth"

Morgan cheli x fem! oc

Synopsis: when genos granddaughter moves in with him abruptly she forgets that he was going to throw a barbecue for them she wanders downstairs and meets a certain tall brown haired girl

Warning: none

Word count :1071

oc: james auriemma

Not proofread but enjoy!

It was a relatively hot day today but she had no plans of leaving the air conditioned home so she slipped on some black wide leg sweatpants that she realized were getting too tight for her though she didn't want to throw them out yet and grabbed the matching black long sleeve shirt for the set while simultaneously slipping on her mini platform uggs.

Mornings were never really a James thing. She was aware of the fact it was almost noon by now and she had yet to get out of bed. Rolling over and grabbing her phone she quickly confirmed it was noon before texting eve to come over. Almost immediately her phone buzzed with a reply confirming she was on her way.

Making her way downstairs she did her best to be as quiet as possible. Ever since she had moved in with her grandfather she had felt like a slight burden. She knew she wasn't and that he would never think of her like that but the move had been so sudden and necessary that she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty.

Geno had always preferred to spend his summer days quietly reading or watching TV in the living room but as she got closer to the stairwell she heard laughter coming from the backyard. She realized that geno had people over. Peering over the ledge so she wouldn't be noticed she saw around fourteen girls spread throughout the living room to the backyard.

She quickly ducked so that she wouldn't be noticed. Instead of making her way downstairs she went back into her bedroom and made her way towards the bathroom. She had previously skipped brushing her teeth and doing her skincare telling herself she would do it later because she wanted coffee. Now that that option was out of the picture she quickly brushed her teeth and did her skincare.

Her hair was one of her favorite things about herself but right now she found herself wishing she was bald so she wouldn't have to worry about it. She figured her best bet was to put it in french braids so it would be out of her face. Suddenly she heard the doorbell ring and she realized she had forgotten that Eve was coming over so she quickly ran to the stairs before stopping and walking quickly instead in order to appear more nonchalant.

She winced as she opened the door forgetting that she would have to introduce herself to the girls downstairs and would most definitely be expected to hang around downstairs for a little by geno. For now she brushed that thought aside and hugged the only friend she had here in storrs.

“Oh my God I missed you so much” eve said pulling her into a hug

“Are they looking at us?” asked James already feeling incredibly anxious

“yeah”

James pulled back and took a deep breath before turning around. She was met with almost half of the girls gawking at her like she was some circus freak. It seemed that they weren't aware that genos granddaughter had moved in.

“Hi” she said waving at them “do you know where geno is” she questioned feeling slightly weird about calling her grandfather by him first name.

A tall blonde girl answered her “yeah he's out back grilling”

James quickly thanked the girl before grabbing Eve's hand and walking outside. As she passed by the other girls she smiled at them as to not make a bad impression.

“Gramps” she said, calling for her grandfather. He turned around

“James I was wondering when you were gonna wake up” he laughs before hugging her quickly

She leans into him and whispers “who are all these girls”

“The girls from my team” he responds as if it were common knowledge

“Ohhhh” she says realizing that's why there were so many of them and why they were so tall.

She nods before pulling Eve towards the couch. She sits down next to a tall brunette with long hair. She smiles at her before realizing that they both have french braids.

“Hey we’re matching” she says enthusiastically pointing back and forth at their hair. The girl giggles before turning a slight shade of pink.

“Yeah we are” she replies with the same enthusiasm “ did you do them yourself” she asks tilting her head slightly

James nods in response “ I wish I could french braid that good” the girl says sighing

“I could teach you some day” James replies smiling at her

“I would love that” she exclaimed

“So” James said, pausing for a second before continuing “can I get your number?”

Of course you can” she replied blushing

James pulled out her phone and opened her contacts and handed her the phone. She quickly put in her number as well as her name and handed it back

“Morgan?” James said confirming her name

“Pretty name” she quickly added in a desperate attempt to flirt. Morgan looked at her and nodded

“I'm james”

“Pretty name”

They both giggled before Morgan pulled out her phone and gave it to James so she could put her number in as well. As James handed the phone back she said “it was nice meeting you but we're gonna go upstairs now” motioning between her and eve “you're welcome to come it's the first door on the right side of the stairwell”

“yeah maybe” Morgan replied leaning back and putting her arms behind her back, which James found far too attractive. She quickly nodded before turning about hoping that Morgan hadn't noticed the blush that crept over her face.

Before she walked inside she looked over at her grandfather who gave her a look and motioned at Morgan as if asking “what's all that about” rather than going over to talk to him she just shrugged. She figured she could tell him later.

She was pretty sure he wouldn't have a problem with her talking to or even possibly dating one of his players. She felt herself flush at the idea of possibly dating her. As soon as Eve and her stepped into the room they started jumping around.

“YOU GOT A HOT GIRLS NUMBER” eve screamed at at top of her lungs

“ I GOT A HOT GIRLS NUMBER” James repeated before her face dropped at the realization that they were screaming. She quickly shushed Eve before they both fell to the floor laughing.

[creedslove]

Hello baby!

What if our favorite cowboy organizes a date with his sugar, the man literally prepares everything alone or the best he can. He organizes everything in his ranch.

It was the first time he was so excited to receive her, prepared a meal, get ready, once he finally picked her up, he was like:

"Hell, sugar... you look so goddamn precious!"

Whisky being literally being a pleaser to his sugar, he teached her how to ride one of his favourites horses, his home, he doesn't know what else to do for her.

I hope you feel much better! I send you a big hug! ✨

Agent Whiskey (Jack Daniels) x f!reader

A/N: hi bestie!!! I love this so so so so much, this is such Agent Whiskey coded because he is a people's pleasure, and above all, he's a sugar pleaser, which means he'll please his sugar until the day he dies

• Whiskey is the king of date: he never lacks ideas, plans or any other thing to take his sugar on a date, he's got a wide range of creativity and money that helps a lot, so it's just a matter of picking up the mood for the day not to overdo himself

• he's definitely the kind of man who would drive you across town just so you can grab that one pie you had when you were PMSing years ago and you never forgot, or he would book you tickets for a weekend getaway if you complain about stress at work and stuff like that

• but even if he's great at pleasing, he's still a romantic at heart, so the best kinds of dates in his opinion, are the ranch dates, because he loves his ranch, it's a huge part of who he is, at his ranch, he's not just the tacky cowboy who talks funny and isn't afraid to pick a fight at places, but instead, he's himself, not Whiskey, just Jack, with his beautiful green fields, his horses, his simple life and his southern manners

• so you can expect a real weekend, because the cowboy isn't just going to invite you for a day, you're going to at least spend the night, have the whole ranch experience, all you gotta do is to say yes to it and he'll make it happen

• and he's a gentleman, let's not forget about that, so even if you insist you can drive to his ranch, chances are you aren't because he'll make sure to pick you up with his Bronco, he just wants you to take on a ride in it because he loves that car, it's pretty, comfortable, it's got status, and he's excited to be seen driving around with you in the passenger seat, just as he's excited to see you wearing your cute sunglasses as your hair flies loose at the window

• that if he doesn't gift you a cowboy hat the minute he picks you up, because yeah, he is gonna buy you a stetson, he just doesn't know when he's gonna give it to you, so why not in the beginning of the adventure, anyway?!

• and let me tell you: that cowboy's ranch is simply gorgeous! He will be so proud and happy to show you around, knowing exactly where to take you and what to do with you there, giving you a tour through the main house that's big and comfortable af obviously and then taking you to the stables so you can see the animals and play with them and all of them

• now, hear me: he loves horses, he's been riding them forever so if you know how to ride them, he will be glad to do so with your company, but if you don't, Jack will be thrilled to teach you from the very beginning, from how to actually get on the horse, to where to hold it and gentle guide it until you are feeling safe

• if the weather is hot enough, you can also expect him to take you swimming out at the lake, because let's face it: do you think Jack Daniels didn't grow up swimming in those waters around the ranch? He knows all the nice and pretty spots to take girls by the way, and you won't be different at all

• in the evening, you can expect him to throw a barbecue or just smoke some meat, but the thing is: it's gonna be outside, it's dark, warm and the lights will be on, making the ranch look so nice, although it's a little bit empty too, but it's a good thing since it's just the two of you spending time together; he'll serve you appetizers, the main dish, and the best liquor Statesman is capable of producing

• and yeah, he will roast marshmallows by the fire and tell you ghost stories about that land as if you two were in a summer camp together, and even if you know there's a big fat chance he's lying, you will still feel slight shivers down your spine and you will cling to him just a little bit tighter once the howling wind blows

• but once you two get back inside, it's sweet sweet love making with a sugar coated cowboy, where you can't have enough of him and he can't get enough of you, loving your body all night long and of course he'll greet you in the morning with breakfast in bed because he's a romantic at heart

• so chances are, you're gonna spend the morning in bed, enjoying the big breakfast and the cowboy's sugar and in the afternoon, he's definitely taking you for a picnic, with everything you're entitled to: a beautiful basket, a nice plaid towel, mini sandwiches and cake, all he wants is to spoil you

• watching the sunset together as you enjoy this romantic time is great, but as soon as the sun sets, he's gonna give you puppy eyes, asking you to stay the night once more, not ready to let you go home just yet 🥺❤️

____

[agentmarcuspike]

our secret moments in a crowded room

(or, "is there a reason you're naked in my bed?" part 4)

dbf!joel miller x f!reader cw: age gap, public fondling, mutual masturbation, semi-public, oral (m recieving) word count: 2.2k

part 1 + part 2 + part 3

It’s been three weeks since you last saw Joel Miller, ignoring the four times he’s been over to borrow your dad’s tools and you’ve only nodded at each other politely, both of you working hard to hide your flushed faces and grins at the memory of your night together.

It’s also been three weeks since your last date, and seeing as the date itself wasn’t very successful, even though the result was, you’ve decided to stay in this weekend. Which is why it’s extra annoying that your dad is planning to throw yet another boy’s night. But you glimpse a hope for the evening.

“Is Miller coming?” you ask him as you enter the kitchen.

Your dad gives you a suspicious look. “Why? Do we not want him to? Did he do anything?” 

“No, no, not at all!” you hurry. “Just wondering.” 

He nods, still squinting at you. “Okay…” He continues laying out the food for the barbecue. “Cause if he did…” Another break. “You’d tell me, right?”

“Dad!” you laugh. “Miller’s fine.” 

“Good, I agree. Anyway, he said he’d be working late and probably wouldn’t make it.”

Disappointed, you gather up as many snacks your arms can hold, dropping a bag of crisps on your way to the stairs. 

“Did you leave a single one for us, or…?” your dad shouts after you. 

At 9pm you’ve finished one book, two movies, and your snacks, and you figure it’s time to put something other than potato chips in your stomach. Knowing Joel won’t be there, and your dad’s other friends being too old and oblivious, and probably drunk, to care, you shuffle down the stairs still in your PJs.

You hear your dad’s loud laugh from the garden, probably still working the grill with someone, and as you approach the kitchen you realize there are people in there too. 

Four guys are occupying the kitchen chairs, deep in conversation, half full and empty beer bottles scattering the table. And one of them is Joel Miller. 

He notices you staring, greeting you with a smile and a quick look down to your decade old, and by now way too short, pajama shorts. You know he doesn’t mind. And you don’t either, finding the thought of him seeing you this unclothed in front of other people kind of exciting. Truth is he didn’t even get to see you this close to naked when you hooked up, as neither of you really got undressed for it.

You walk over to greet them.

“Hello, boys,” you say chipperly. They all cheer at your arrival, clearly one too many beers in, but they’re all your dad’s friends, and you only laugh. “How’re we doin’ tonight? Didn’t think you’d make it, Miller?”

He takes a long sip of his bottle, not breaking eye contact. “Finished on time.” 

You walk over to the kitchen cabinets to make yourself a bowl of cereal, and the men fall back into conversation about a recent fishing trip. 

You observe them from your stool by the kitchen island chomping on your Cap'n Crunch, amused by their ability to seemingly all be talking about different things and still keep a conversation going, when Joel turns around to look for you.

“Why don’t you join us over here, Missy?”

“Looks like all the seats are taken,” you smirk.

“What, you too old to sit in my lap already?” 

He winks at you and pats his thigh, mischief in his eyes, and you get up to join them. 

The feeling of his jeans against the bare skin of your legs throws you back to three weeks ago, when you were in his bed, and he was in you. It seems he remembers too, because you can feel him twitch slightly underneath you, moving the hand that’s not around his beer to rest at your hip.

While the men question you about boyfriends and school, you spread your legs a little further, challenging Joel’s hand closer to the inside of your thigh. He shifts slightly, but makes no move to relocate his fingers. Instead, you feel him squeeze your leg subtly. 

Once you’ve gulped down the candy flavored milk left in your bowl, you wipe your mouth, and reposition yourself in Joel’s lap, pushing your ass closer to his groin, where you can feel his bulge growing. He clears his throat, giving your leg another squeeze, and you help yourself to the beer bottle from his hand, taking a big gulp. You turn your head to look at him, and he gives you a quick cautioning look through his lashes. Taking the warning as a challenge, you’re about to grind against him again, when—

“Miller? A little hand out here, please!” 

Before your dad can even finish the sentence, Joel is up. He throws out a quick “sorry, princess,” over his shoulder, already on his way to help his friend out in the garden. You scowl after him, adopting his chair, and taking another gulp of his beer. 

A couple minutes and approximately a million fishing anecdotes from the men around the table later, Joel returns. 

“You’re in my seat,” he claims, grabbing a new beer from the fridge.

“This one’s free,” you say and pat your lap when he stands in front of you again. 

“I’m not gonna sit on you,” he sighs.

“I’m a big girl, I can handle it,” you dare. 

“Come on now, scoot.”

You only smirk at him, refusing to move. He rolls his eyes eventually, and gives in, situating himself on top of your bare thighs. 

You rest your cheek against his broad back, the rumbling of his voice making you comfortably relaxed and turned on at the same time. Resting your hand in the crook where his hip bone meets his thigh, you rub your thumb absentmindedly back and forth.

As you lean forward to borrow his beer again, you let your other hand slide a little closer to his crotch, and you feel him jump slightly, but he lets you. 

The group of friends are all absorbed in some story about a construction issue, you’re not really paying attention, so you go ahead and stretch your fingers to find Joel’s growing erection straining against his jeans. You marvel at the feel of his swelling cock under your hand as you massage it, and you can feel his breathing get heavier as he fights the urge to grind into your palm.

He leans back towards you slightly, more of his weight against your chest, giving you space to work him under the table. You press your hand against his now fully hard cock, dragging your palm up and down his length slowly, his thighs clenching over your own. Rubbing your thumb against the throbbing head, he coughs to hide the involuntary groan escaping him, but none of the other men are paying any mind to what’s going on right next to them. 

As you’re about to give him another stroke of your hand, the loud thumps of your dad’s boots shift everyone’s attention towards him. Joel quickly crosses his legs, trapping your hand between them and covering it with his own. He clears his throat yet again as your dad walks towards you. 

“The boys aren’t bothering you, are they?” 

He leans down to plant a kiss to your forehead, giving Joel a pat on the back, and you shake your head grinning. 

“Don’t break her, man,” he teases Joel playfully. 

Joel only mutters out a “sorry” in response, avoiding your father’s gaze as he leans forward, still clutching your hand and pushing it into his hardness. The warmth his back provided now gone leaves you to shiver slightly, and with your dad standing right there it feels too dangerous to continue your game, so you nudge Joel’s thigh with your free hand, making him stand up just enough for you to sneak out from under him without revealing the bulge in his pants.

He sits back down, elbows planted firmly on the table, shoulders high and clutching his beer like his life depends on it. His flushed face and intense eye contact with the table makes you force down a giggle. 

“Alright boys, thanks for the company, I’m going to bed,” you say, looking at Joel, hoping he reads between the lines. Your dad and his friends all yell goodnight, Joel quickly gulping down the last of his beer as you disappear out of the kitchen.

You only wait around the corner, and when he exits a few minutes later, clearly thinking he’ll be going upstairs to your bedroom, you pull him to the side and into the downstairs bathroom instead.

As soon as the door is locked behind you, your hands reach up cupping his face, pulling him down to press your lips to his. He’s momentarily taken aback by your hastiness, but quickly follows your pace, kissing you back hungrily, holding back the moans you pull from him as you feed him your tongue. 

You grab him by the waistband of his jeans, pulling him closer to grind yourself against his erection. With the same energy he pushes you into the wall, breaking off the kiss to burrow his nose into your neck, his hot breath against your skin making you literally weak in the knees. He feels you sliding slowly down the wall, and grabs you by the overarms to hoist you back up. 

When Joel’s mouth finds yours again, caressing your face with both hands, you reach for his belt, quickly unbuckling it. You shove a hand down his boxers to grab his desperate cock, and your other hand quickly moves to cover his mouth, holding back the obscenely loud growl your touch elicits from him. 

The stubble on his face tickles your hand as he leans into it, and you slowly pull him free from his jeans. With the tip of his cock nearly dripping with precum, you give him a few strokes, and you can see his eyes practically roll to the back of his head as he closes them, focusing only on your touch and not making a noise.

When he has gathered himself enough, he leans his forehead against yours, one hand exploring your chest, slipping the other one down into your shorts. He’s not surprised to find you already dripping wet for him, and you gasp as his fingers drag through your folds to circle your clit with your slick. 

You ache for him to fill you up, and as if reading your mind he slips two of his thick fingers into you, immediately hitting the spot that was screaming for him. You pull him back to your mouth, accepting his tongue, craving for him to fill you up wherever he can. 

Joel starts thrusting quicker into your hand, grounding himself with a hand clasped around your breast, and you speed up the strokes so your fist matches the pace of his hips. Your lips are sore from the wetness of his mouth, and his are red and swollen, parted lightly. He pulls away to work his fingers deeper into you.

Working your clit with his thumb, you bite your lip as he pushes a third finger in, stretching you open. The feeling is nothing compared to when he filled you up with his cock, but you’ll take anything he gives you, moaning his name over and over.

Your orgasm surprises you as much as him, and you hold your breath while you come down on his fingers. His big hand holds you up by your arm as your legs threaten to give out. 

“I got you, baby,” he murmurs, the feel of his breath in your ear sending a shiver down your spine to mix with the aftershocks of your high. His cock twitches in your hand, and he burrows his nose in your neck, sucking at your skin to cover his soft moans. 

“Let me taste your cum,” you whisper to him. He roughly grabs your wrist so you let go of him, your words turning him on so much he’s worried he’ll burst before you can get to it.

Kneeling in front of him, you only take him in your hungry mouth for a second before thick ropes of his salty come hit the back of your throat. When you look up, tongue softly licking up the last few drops leaking out of him, he’s biting his hand, eyes squeezed shut in pleasure.

His cock twitches for several more seconds before you feel him going soft in your mouth, and he sucks on his fingers, still covered in you. The view of him standing over you, dark eyes looking down, mouth slack in awe, sends a new wave of desire between your legs, and you reach into your shorts and send yourself over the edge one more time. 

A minute later you’re facing each other awkwardly in the hallway, both anxiously looking over your shoulders before he leans in to give you a quick peck on the mouth. 

“Night then…” he mumbles, suddenly shyer than usual. 

You laugh softly, taking a few steps up the stairs. “Night, Mr. Miller. See you soon.” 

Joel looks up at you, trying not to smile, before turning to rejoin your dad and their friends in the kitchen. You look after him for a second, before shuffling up the stairs, slipping into bed, where you ponder how to get your neighbor completely naked next time.

a/n: well... that happened! hope you enjoyed it?? i feel like it doesn't measure up to part 3 writing wise, but the concept is hotter imo, so hopefully you don't mind :^)

[lfghughes]

I recently found this song called Daffodil by The Future X and there’s a lyric that says “oh you look pretty as hell, wanna drown in your sundress. Let’s go get ourselves undressed” and I just know you could work wonders with it for Jack or Trevor. There’s no doubt that they’re the kind of guys that love seeing a girl in a sundress

a/n: it took me a hot minute to get to this one but its because i was so excited about writing it and wanted it to be perfect for you

warning: 18++

It wasn’t often that you found reasons to wear a sundress but Jacks family barbecue was the perfect time for just that. The two of you had flown in for the week and had spent most of it with family doing different things. Today everyone had decided that just doing an outside lunch would be perfect for the whole family including extended family and friends. When you had gotten dressed, Jack had already been outside with his family setting up.

But the second you walked outside it’s like he couldn’t peel his eyes off you. “Jack, give me a hand.” Quinn asked, tapping his brother on the chest to get his attention. Jack shook his head almost like he was shaking thoughts out of it before he went to help. In the meantime you finished helping Ellen get some things ready. It didn’t take long for family and friends to start streaming in but even in the midst of all these distractions you noticed that Jack continuously kept an eye on you.

You were in the middle of talking to some of his family members when you felt a hand go to your waist and when you turned your head slightly you caught Jacks features. “Hey beautiful.” He told you, pressing a quick kiss to your lips. “Want some lemonade?” He asked and you nodded your head thinking he was going to grab you some real quick and come back. Instead he tilted his head back towards the house. “Can you actually help me with it?” Again you nodded your head even though you weren’t sure why he would need help pouring lemonade.

Excusing yourself from the conversation you followed Jack inside and when he closed the sliding glass door he did a quick look around. “What are you doing?” You asked and a small grin grew on his lips. “Making sure people weren’t around when I said this. But we need to go up to our room right now.” His urgency only made you raise an eyebrow at him. “Why?” You asked and he let out a small awkward cough.

“Because I’ve been really turned on since you walked outside because that sundress looks amazing on you and I want to basically drown in you right now. That’s the easiest way for me to put it.” His words only made you turn completely pink as you looked outside. “Your family is all here.” At your words he just shrugged. “No one will come looking for us in the room and we’ll be quick.” You figured nothing would be a better yes than taking his hand and leading him up to your shared bedroom for the week.

Once the door was locked behind you, your fingers went to the strap of your sundress and he quickly shook his head. “Keep it on, I’ll be careful.” Before you could get another word out his lips were on yours and his fingers were bunching up the material of your dress, bringing it up your waist. His lips moved away from you as he turned your body carefully and his hand pushed on your back until you were bent over the bed.

His hands carefully pulled your panties off and he didn’t waste any time on getting himself free before he plunged into you. Soft moans left your lips and you tried your best to contain yourself just in case if someone did walk by the room. You felt him lean over you and his lips go to your ear. “You look pretty as hell in this sundress.” He whispered in your ear and his words caused goosebumps to grow on your skin as he continued his pace. “I want you to cum for me babygirl.” His words alone were enough to excite you but his hand moved around to your front, rubbing you right where he knew would make you wake.

You came on him, feeling your body burst into pure pleasure from him and shortly after you felt Jack reach the same climax, his hot breath still on your neck. “Damn…” He whispered as he took you all in for a second before pulling out. “You are so hot.” He told you as his hands went to your dress, helping you clean up and readjust the dress so when you joined the barbecue no one would know. “I can’t wait to get you undressed later tonight.”

[pumpkinsy0]

What's Going On in Haiti Rn

tldr: barbeque (leader of revolutionary gang, isnt a cannibal btw) says hes trying to liberate Haiti to free the oppressed groups in Haiti from not only the rich ppl who live in Haiti but also from imperialism so Haiti can get better, but moving along from that, theres canals being built in Haiti so Haitians can actually make their own food and won’t rely in others

alright, I’m making this post, not only because I dont see many people talking about it, but also because they just aren't really telling the exact full story and theyre only using what the western media is saying and not really using any haitian sources or anything like that, for this post Im NOT picking sides or anything of the sort, I just want people to be more aware of what's actually going on in haiti

so where all of this gang stuff is going down is in the CAPITAL of Haiti, this isn't going on all across the country, everything really violent is happening in PORT AU PRINCE. As you know, there's this man called Barbecue who is essentially running Port Au Prince with his gang or group or whatever you want to call it, no Barbecue didn't get his name because he's a cannibal or anything like that, he got it because his mom would sell bbq chicken for people in his neighborhood. The cannibal claims that were going all around on social media was spread by alt right twitter users like elon musk and some other famous alt right twitter users.

NOW when it comes to the gangs in Haiti, what Barbecue is trying to do is "liberate this country, once and for all"(in his own words not mines), and he's done that by trying to bring together all the past gangs of Haiti and they've formed this one big group called "Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies" or I'll just call them G9, and now they control 80% of Port Au Prince and many civilians themselves who live in poverty and terrible conditions are with them because they just want a life with rights to healthcare, education, and housing, things that are hard to get because of politicians and rich people oppressing them and taking away their resources and forcing them to live with the scraps. Another group of people who's followed him is this group of men he's broke out of jail. In this jail as far as I know, these people were never actually given trials or anything and they as well were forced into terrible living conditions with, lack of food, space, that kinda thing. When it comes to G9 getting the prime minister, Ariel Henry, to step down, the reason why they wanted him to step down (as far as i remember) was because he just pushing the election for a new president back and back each time, and people were/are under the impression that he just wanted to get more power. On top of that Ariel Henry was NEVER SWORN INTO HIS POSITION. Plus, after the Haitian president's assassination in 2021, INSTEAD of working with Haitian civil society groups that were open to give solutions to fix the situation, the US, Canada, France, and other places, put their trust into Ariel Henry, and saw him as the connection to the Haitian public. Henry is not well liked by the public of Haiti and he is now not in Haiti and is in Puerto Rico, essentially exiled from Haiti. Now dont take this as me putting Barbecue in this shining light, he did use to be a police officer, and he has closed off Port Au Prince from the rest of the country and people are finding it hard to get food, water, go to school, and much much more, Im just laying out what's happening and his goal as he says it. If you want more info, watch some interviews Barbeque has done.

When it come to the US intervening or ANY country for that matter intervening is because in the past, forcing interventions in haiti has only led to worse. There was terrible treatment to the citizens and they stole money, their only way of intervening was literally through weapons against innocent civilians. Many haitians do NOT want any country, especially the US coming near them AT ALL because theyre are scared for what theyre going to do to them and their livelihoods, and you can't blame them one bit, the US is quite literally a genocidal empire who only looks out for itself.

ON SOME MORE BRIGHTER NEWS, idk if you heard, but theres this canal thats close to being finished, that will allow Haitian farmers to grow and make their own foods so Haiti wont have to rely on other places of getting stuff like rice!! The canal gets water from the massacre river however, Dominican politicians dont like that and are claiming that the canal will weaken the water supply of the river, despite the DR having like 11 canals using the river and Haiti has 1 (the one being built rn). To slow down the water flow going into the canal, Dominican officals have these pumps that are constantly flowing to take away water from the canal, however the canal is still able to flow a good amount of water into Haiti, to Haitian farmers :)

on top of that, Haitian farmers in another part of Haiti has gotten inspired to take action to make their OWN canal (that has NOTHING to do with the massacre river before yall start) and are currently making their own canal so they can have water so WOOOO🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹

anyways pls share and make sure to listen to Haitian voices and media to understand whats going on, dont use media from the same niggas that assisted a Dominican dictator that committed a Haitian genocide :P

to learn more about whats going on theres this Haitian news source called Haiti Liberte that discusses whats going on in Haiti and they have a documentary on youtube that goes more in depth with Barbeque and his ideas/wants and some Haitian citizens

as for the canals, on tik tok theres this woman whos been at the forefront of it all, discussing whats going on with the canals, giving updates, and shes actually in Haiti, and you can see the canals for yourself, her @ is @bertrhude

[troublesomeknight]

You know, since it seems people liked my last post about this, I guess I'll do another one about how the Thunder Saga departs from the books.

Now in my last post I mentioned that Elpenor cornered Odysseus while he was in the underworld and asked him to go back to Circe's island and give him a proper burial. So they actually go back and do just that and while they're there, it's Circe who tells Odysseus about Scylla, but also about Charybdis.

Basically she tells him that the only way he was going to get home from here is to pass between them, but the problem is if ship gets too close to Charybdis' whirlpool then it'll get sucked in and destroyed, but if they sail too close to Scylla's cave she will grab at least six of his crew and eat them. She advises to stick closer to Scylla because it's better to lose six people than the whole ship.

Now, here's a thing. Book Odysseus actually objects strongly to this. He understands the alternative is worse, but he's like "Can't we just fight her instead so no one has to die?"

And she's like "No, that's a terrible idea. You won't be able to reach her to fight her. She'll just kill more of your crew if you try."

But Odysseus doesn't entirely listen to this advise. He resolves to try anyway, but once they actually do reach Scylla's cave, he realizes Circe was right and they really can't reach her despite her being able to reach them just fine. So they just gun it past her instead.

As for the sirens, I'm pretty sure most people already know it didn't go like it did in the musical at all, but yeah. They don't kill the sirens, they just sail past them with Odysseus being the only one who can hear them while tied to the mast and all that.

Even though he neglected to warn the crew about Scylla before hand in the book too, this does not start a mutiny, but what does almost start one is when he tries to just sail past Helios's island rather than stopping. Because the crew is tired and Eurylochus insists they should stop there for a bit to recuperate after all that crazy shit they had to deal with plus losing six more people and of course the crew takes his side, so Odysseus reluctantly agrees.

But only on the condition that they all swear an oath that they won't harm Helios's cattle under any circumstances. They agree, so they stop on Helios's island. But then they get stuck there for a whole entire month and the food supplies start to run low again.

At this point Odysseus realizes there will be trouble and leaves for like an hour to go pray to the gods/make sacrifices to try and figure out why they haven't been getting any wind and whether he can convince the gods to let them leave the island before his crew does something stupid.

Unfortunately, while he's gone, Eurylochus decides to convince the rest of the crew that they should just eat the cows.

It'll be fine. They'll just build Helios a temple back in Ithaca once they get home. Surely he'll accept that as an apology, right?

No. No he won't.

In fact Helios goes straight to Zeus and threatens to take the sun into the Underworld if he doesn't punish the mortals who killed his precious cows right this very second. Zeus tells him to calm down and wait until they get back on the ship to leave first, then he'll punish them.

Odysseus comes back to discover the on-going barbecue and is understandably pissed at his crew breaking their oath and dooming them all, but basically no one is listening to him at this point. But finally they have wind, so they decide to leave, having made sacrifices hoping that will stave off the gods' anger for a while. But of course it doesn't.

Zeus does not show up in person like in the musical. He doesn't try to hit Odysseus with some kind of sadistic choice deal. He just hits them with a storm as soon as they're out to sea and destroys the ship with a lightning bolt, killing everyone aboard except Odysseus.

And that's how the events from Thunder Saga happened in the Odyssey. You're welcome.

[alloftheimagines]

tess servopoulos | birthday

MASTERLIST | TAGLIST | KO-FI

words: 2.9k

warnings: 18+. minors dni.

smut with plot. fingering (reader receiving because we all know tess is a giver). hurt/comfort. apocalypse-induced depression, mentions of death, corpses, grief. reese's chocolate is consumed.

request: Can I request something for Tess?! Something domestic with hurt/comfort and I little bit of smut if you are comfortable with it, I just LOVE your writing and I know that you would do an amazing job 🥺.

You hate birthdays. There was a time, of course, when that wasn’t the case; a time when your family got together with gifts and cake and candles and songs, cameras flashing, barbecue smoking, sun setting over your garden so the banners you'd protested against glinted. But there is nothing to celebrate these days, least of all today. There are too many memories, too many ghosts following you wherever you go. Flashes of your first post-outbreak birthday, when your sister had tried so hard to find a cake that she’d been beaten for breaking curfew, and instead of a party you’d wiped blood from her face. Of course, that wasn’t the worst one. Not even close. The year after, she was gone and you were making your way from city to city alone, birthday all but forgotten until you’d arrived at a QZ and saw the date. Ever since, you’ve tried to ignore the passing of time, tried to avoid anything that reminds you of the person you were before all this began. It’s too painful. 

Still, it’s impossible not to be swallowed by grief each year. Impossible not to pay attention to that burning emptiness in your chest that was once reserved for good things. Normal things. To top it off, your day was awful. You’re exhausted, nauseous, and debilitated by a pounding headache that came on amongst the heat and smoke of the day. A day spent piling bodies up like they weren’t once people. You’d come across a kid who’d looked just like your late niece, and suddenly you were battling anxiety. You still are, eight hours later. You sit now in your apartment with the lights off, paralysed on the couch because you don’t have the strength to get up and collapse onto your bed. You’re afraid that sleeping will only bring more memories, and you can’t handle any more. 

It doesn’t surprise you much when the door opens, and you know without looking that the silhouette at the threshold is Tess. You close your eyes, dread seeping through you. You don’t usually let her see you like this, but since you spend most nights together these days, it's no longer easy to avoid her. 

“Hey. Why are you sitting here in the dark?” She flicks on the only lamp in your apartment, standing between the kitchen and the living room. When she sees you, she pauses in her tracks. “Y’okay?”

“Hm-mmm.” It’s the best attempt at a lie you can offer, and it seems to satisfy her for just a moment as she kisses your forehead. 

But then she frowns, her touch on your clenched jaw lingering as her scrutiny scorches your face. “Wanna try that again?”

“I’m just tired,” you say. “How’d the job go?” Considering she appears unscathed, you can only assume well. It’s another reason she’s here most nights; easier to sneak into your apartment after curfew than her own a couple blocks down. 

“Fine. Good as can be expected.” She shrugs and sits down beside you, still unwilling to look away. After kicking off her shoes, she begins smoothing your hair off your face. Her touch is gentle, which once surprised you but now doesn’t. 

Your breath hitches in your throat at the warmth it brings, even now. Instead of chasing all of your feelings away, though, it only intensifies them, and you find a lump building in your throat. 

“Hey.” She takes your hand and kisses your knuckles. “Talk to me.”

You can only shake your head, closing your eyes in fear that your tears will leak out otherwise. You know she wouldn’t judge you, but it still makes you feel weak. Tess has always just carried on, never buckling under pain or exhaustion. You… You have more nights like this than you’d care to admit, usually brought on by the corpses you carry day in, day out, and the faces you mistake for others'. You’ve tried to find a different job, but you’re still relatively young and able, and that means you’re stuck in manual labour until your back gives out or you croak. 

Tess sighs and pulls you into her chest, placing kisses into your dust-caked hair. “I know. Birthdays suck, right?”

You’re so surprised that the tears are staunched for a moment, and you pull away to glance up at her. “How’d you know?”

“Oh, c’mon. It’s on your ration card.”

Still, the fact she’d taken notice at all… well, for a moment, a flicker of something easier to cope with rushes through you. 

“I got you a present,” she said, digging through her shirt pocket — and pulling out a pack of your favourite chocolate, Reese’s. “It may or may not be two years out of date, but it’ll have to do.”

“Tess…” You take the chocolate, relishing in the way the plastic packaging feels against your fingers. You haven’t seen chocolate in a hell of a long time, and the sight of the bright orange and the promise of peanut butter cups inside makes you want to cry. “How the hell did you get this?”

Tess shrugs. “I have my ways.” 

You dare not ask what those might be, afraid of what and who she might have paid just to make you happy. Instead, you hug her, breathing in her musky night-air scent as your eyes begin to throb. You’re going to cry, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. 

“Thank you,” is all you can whisper shakily.

“Happy birthday, baby,” Tess replies, drawing circles at the nape of your neck. “D’you eat tonight?”

Warily, you shake your head. As happy as you are about the chocolate, you’re not sure you have the appetite for anything. Better you save it until you’ll really enjoy it. 

“It was a hot day. You need something to keep you going.” She pats your thigh before getting up and searching your cupboards. There isn’t much; you’ve been getting by on shitty rations despite all your work, and Tess is usually the one to stock up on food with whatever she gets from smuggling. “What are you in the mood for?” she asks now. “Spaghetti? Mac ‘n’ cheese? We’ve still got that bread I picked up yesterday, too.”

You don’t know how to tell her that you don’t want any of it. That eating something from a tin, or even a stale loaf of bread, just makes you remember those burgers your dad used to burn on the barbecue, or the cake your sister made special. For one night, you just need to not exist. You need to turn the light off again and forget. But with Tess here, you can’t, and you can’t ask her to leave now. Not during curfew. 

“I think maybe I’m just going to get an early night,” you decide on. “Is that okay?”

Tess turns from the cupboards, that same look of concern hardening her features again. She takes a moment before responding. “I hate it when you shut me out, y’know.”

Guilt eats at you, and you run a hand across your face — but you know it isn’t fair. Tess is honest, blunt even sometimes, but she holds her cards close to her chest too. “I don’t know what you want me to say.” 

“I don’t know either. I’m just… I’m worried, and I want you to let me in. I mean, is this about me? Do you not… want me here right now? ‘Cos I can leave—”

“You can’t leave, Tess. It’s past curfew,” you snap. 

“If you want me to fuckin’ go, I’ll go.” Her voice is suddenly hostile, and it takes a moment for realisation to dawn. She’s reading your behaviour as rejection, coldness. 

God, it’s been a long time since you’ve had to think about how your actions impact the people closest to you, mostly because you haven’t let many people near. But Tess wormed her way in, first into your bed and then into your heart, and… shit, she brought you fucking Reese’s. She deserves better than to think this is her problem.

“That’s not what I want,” you say, voice cracking as you realise how true it is. As much as you’d like to sit in the darkness, she makes everything better. Easier. You don’t want her gone. Not ever. “It’s just hard. You know that. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have anything left of me by the end of the day, and today of all days…” You swallow as the first tear falls, knowing it won’t be the last. “I always want you here, but sometimes I don’t know how to be here with you.”

A wrinkle burrowed between her brows, and she stepped closer to you like a deer she was afraid to scare off. “That’s all you had to say. I just need to know what you’re thinking, feeling, y’know?” 

“Okay,” you whisper. 

She pulls you close again, this time not letting go. Your arms curl around her solid frame as her fingertips move across the length of your spine, up and down. You let your tears fall then, and they dampen Tess’s hair, her shoulder. 

“You’re okay,” Tess soothes. “Tell me what I can do to help.”

“Can we turn the light off?” 

“Of course.” She moves slowly to the lamp. “Where’d you wanna sit?” 

You contemplate and decide to go across your apartment to your bed, climbing under the thin, moth-eaten sheets. The last thing you see is Tess’s kind face before the apartment is bathed in shadows again. She slips into a strip of moonlight to grab your chocolate from the couch and then joins you, her presence warming the cold bed. 

“C’mere.” She holds her arm out, and you snuggle into her chest, lacing your legs between hers. With her arms around you, she peels the chocolate wrapper apart and takes out one of the peanut butter cups. “Have to eat chocolate on your birthday. It’s the law.”

You let out a subdued laugh and take the cup if only to please her. “You have the other one.”

“They’re yours. Save it for tomorrow.”

“You have to share chocolate on your birthday,” you deadpan. “It’s the law.”

Tess rolls her eyes but takes out the other cup, nibbling the corner before letting out a groan. “God, I’ve missed these things.”

The sweet, nutty smell reminds you of old memories. Theatres and picnics and long car journeys. “My sister ate so many of these that she threw up once,” you confess, smiling at the thought of her aggressive sweet tooth. “Outside the movie theatre, too, with everyone watching.”

Tess grins. “Yikes.”

“She still got another three packs on the way home.”

Her chuckle vibrates against you, and for a moment, things don’t feel so heavy. You’re able to think fondly of that time, rather than with bitterness and loss. You can think of your sister, miss her, and yet still somehow breathe. You take a ginger bite of chocolate and another wave of emotion hits you, but you stay upright in the force of it. You have Tess to hold onto. 

“As good as I remember,” you admit. 

Tess only hums, stroking your hair with her free hand. 

“I’m sorry,” you continue, looking up at her. She has a fleck of peanut butter on her lips, and you use the pad of your thumb to wipe it away without really thinking about how intimate a gesture it is. “I know I seem cold and distant sometimes. It’s only because I’m trying not to break in front of you. We all have our shit, and you handle yours… so fucking well, Tess. I feel… guilty that I can’t always do the same. Like, if you can be okay, I should be, too.”

She lifts an eyebrow. “That’s the stupidest shit you’ve ever said.”   

You snort through another mouthful of chocolate. 

“I’m serious,” she insists. “I got why you’d close off on me before, when things were casual. But I’m not casual about this anymore. I need to know when you’re not okay. And for the record, the only reason I seem okay most of the time is because you make me feel okay. More than okay. I was so lost and empty before you. You reminded me how to live.” She wipes the tears from your face as you soak in the tender words. 

“Well, shit,” is all you can murmur for a moment.

Another laugh burbles from Tess. “Yeah, shit.” 

You shift against her to look at her properly, tracing the outline of her chin with sticky fingers. “I feel the same. Of course I do. You’re home to me now.”

Her smile falls slowly as her eyes glint, showing you all the things both of you are too afraid to say. It only occurs to you then, after twenty years of pain and suffering, that you’re allowed to feel something else. Something good. You want to, even. You lick your lips, putting down the chocolate to trace the outline of Tess’s stomach, right up to the swell of her breasts. Maybe you need the distraction. Maybe you just need to feel something other than fear. Maybe you need to show her just how much she means to you. Either way, your chest flutters and you adjust your legs between hers, moving higher until you feel the apex of her thighs against yours. 

She knows what you need instantly and kisses you, roughly and softly, slowly yet hurried. She tastes like chocolate and peanut butter and she is rewriting your tragic little life, your loss and your grief, so that now Reese’s is this, her. So that now the taste isn’t bitter, but sweet.

“Let me take care of you tonight,” she says. 

You can only nod, rolling over and arching your back as she begins to place delicate kisses down your neck, across your collarbone. It takes her eons to get to peel up your T-shirt and kiss your stomach, right down to the waistband of your trousers, but you bask in every moment because you know she’s trying to show you, too.

I love you, you want to say. I love you and it’s terrifying, because I could lose you. But you can’t, so you twine your fingers through her hair instead, pulling her back up to you to kiss her again. Feel her again.

“Please,” you plead, desperate for everything she can give. Anything to take you from the darkness. 

Tess doesn’t need you to elaborate. She slips her hand under your waistband and presses gently on your clit, causing the heat in your belly to coil like a spring. Your breath hitches in your throat, and she swallows it with another kiss. 

“I got you,” she’s whispering as she begins to circle that sensitive spot slowly. She sucks on your jaw, teeth nipping at your lobe as you arch into your pleasure. She draws your wetness up while sinking into your chest and caressing your breasts with her free hand, and you wish you’d had the forethought to take off your clothes. You’re in too deep now, too lost in the bliss to move an inch. 

“Tess,” you breathe, hands tangling in the sheets as she slips a finger inside you, using her thumb to keep rolling across your clit. You buck your hips, and her eyes grow bright as she watches. 

“Good girl. Take what you need from me.” 

“You,” you say. “I need you. So much.” You’re no longer just talking about this, not even when she plunges a second finger into your sex and you gasp roughly. You begin to roll your hips, desperate for more. A tear slips down your cheek, this time not born from sadness, but something else. Something you can’t put a name to. You only know it consumes you in moments like this, when Tess is here, giving you everything, every piece of her. 

“You’re so pretty like this,” Tess rasps, tugging your trousers down, down, until she can kiss your thighs. “So fucking perfect.”

You pinch your own nipple as you feel your climax build to bursting, moving faster, harder, against Tess’s fingers as they fill you up. Your walls clench against her when she nips at your skin. “I’m yours,” she’s saying. “I’m yours, baby.” 

The words tip you over the edge, and you cry out, legs shaking, as you come hard around her fingers, whimpering her name over and over as you ride out the high. When your hips finally slow, you realise your cheeks are damp with more than just sweat, but you grow limp and lack the energy to wipe away your tears. Tess places a final kiss just above your clit, causing you to spasm again, before she returns to the pillow beside you. Her features are honey-soft, and she uses the back of her hand to dry your tears when she sees them. 

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” you say softly. “Just…” It’s hard to say, but you force it out because you want to. Because you need her to know. “I’m yours, too, y’know. I…” You can’t, even now.

You don’t have to. Tess cuddles up to you, tracing the shape of your brows and looking at you like you might be the only source of sunlight in this endless night. 

“I know,” she says, and you know she does. Know she must see it on your face, too. “I know. It doesn’t need to be said.” 

Your lids are heavy, and you let them close as your breathing begins to even out. 

“I do, too,” is the last thing you hear before you dose off. A confession, an answer, a lifeline. 

Yours.

[steventhusiast]

I have a question about steve with ARFID—does he eat with the party at like gatherings and stuff?

yipee more opportunity to project onto steve!! i think that it would depend on how he’s doing. with ARFID there tends to be good and bad periods of time, sometimes food is impossible, sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s easy.

if he’s having a bad time, absolutely not. it would be hard to even be around so much food when all his thoughts are anxiety-thoughts about food, so when it’s really bad he and eddie take turns making excuses for why they can’t come to barbecues and party dinners until people don’t buy the excuses anymore.

maybe the kids get the wrong idea and try to stage an intervention thinking steve/eddie have a body image issue and that’s why they don’t want to come, and steve has to tell them a half truth. he ends up making it sound more of a physical issue than a mental health issue because he’s embarrassed, but after he explains that he gets periods of being really nauseous around food and doesn’t want to bring the party down or put himself through that, they relent. i think robin would know the food issues are deeper than that, and maybe dustin to an extent.

but when steve’s having a better time with food, i’d think he goes and is just ecstatic that he can go. there is absolutely nothing better than eating something and realising you enjoyed it. i think eddie would make sure steve doesn’t pressure himself to eat too much or too fast at these events, but steve is always just happy that the thought of eating isn’t filling him with absolute dread for some reason and indulges himself.

then i think for the in between periods where steve is eating okay but only safe foods, he’d probably bring his own snacks with him or eat before the event instead. there are workarounds, and he doesn’t want his issues to control him or limit him, so he tries his best.

[brighteyedbushybrowed]

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 It turns out that Mary isn't as experienced as you first assumed he was, but that's not the only surprise you're going to get. 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 First Kiss 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐩(𝐬) Mary Goore x GN!Reader 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 No smut here, Mary has long blonde hair in this one because I said so, Mary is inexperienced, first kiss (obviously), I made a bad pun about ghosting that I find absolutely hilarious (anyone who says it's not funny is wrong actually). 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 1439 words. 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 I'm still in pain from yesterday but don't worry y'all, I'm still giving you a Mushy may fic today. I've only briefly proofread this to make sure I don't use gendered terms or pronouns for reader but if I've missed any please let me know and I'll fix it! 𝐊𝐨-𝐟𝐢 𝐓𝐢𝐩 𝐉𝐚𝐫

Out of the two of you, you’d expected Mary to have been the most experienced when it came to relationships and sex. Not that you hadn’t had any experience, of course. You’d dated a couple of people in school, fooled around in college, and as an adult you’d had your share of one night stands and a couple of serious relationships. You’d assumed it had been the same for Mary, especially considering he was in a band and seemed to have fans throwing themselves at him regularly enough at the bar after gigs that would have been more than happy to share a bed with him. So, when you and Mary were actually talking about relationships one night at his apartment you were surprised to be told otherwise.

“That’s bullshit!”

Mary snorted. “Why? Do I seem like I’d lie about that kind of thing?”

“Of course not. You just… I don’t know. You’re hot, you’re talented, you’re cool. I’d have thought at least one person would have kissed you by now.”

“Well, they haven’t.” They shrugged, tearing off a corner of garlic bread and plopping it in their mouth before they continued talking. “I wasn’t all that popular at school, and I was more focused on the band and writing music and keeping a roof over my head. I didn’t really stop to consider when I wanted my first kiss or who it would be with.”

Smiling, you plucked a couple of fries from the greasy takeout box and dipped them in barbecue sauce. “Come on, there must be someone you wanted to have your first kiss with.”

“Nope.”

You caught the reddening of the tops of his ears and the blush just starting to creep into his cheeks. “Lies. There’s totally someone you want to kiss, I can tell. Who is it? Is it someone I know?”

Mary wrinkled their nose and looked away, long blonde hair falling and obscuring their face. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. Now shut up and eat before the food gets cold.”

Taken aback, you averted your gaze and stared down at the food laid out on the coffee table. You’d both pitched in to buy yourselves some pizza and other various bits of takeout for the night while you watched a movie, but even though your stomach felt empty your hunger had quickly dissipated at their tone. The blonde was almost never snappy with you. In fact, you were one of the only people that they hadn’t gotten into a spat with in the four years you’d known each other.

The tension that had emerged in the air was stifling as you forced yourself to eat your food, both of you remaining silent save for the odd comment about something happening in the movie.

***

You hated the bar. The people in there always leered at you, watching you with predatory eyes every time you visited. If it were possible, you’d have waited until Mary got off work and just called or texted them instead. However, you’d been given no choice when they left all your messages on read and let your calls go to voicemail for the past four days. This was the first time you’d ever gotten into an argument with the blonde and you weren’t even sure if this was a fight. It was less fight and more flight, Mary avoiding and ignoring you every time you tried to communicate.

And it fucking sucked.

Trying to shrug off the feeling of being watched, you approached the bar and were relieved to see Mary was on shift, their long blonde locks tied back into a ponytail. You waited until they’d served their current customer before walking over to where they’d just stood, hands on your hips.

“Huh. That’s funny.”

He frowned. “What?”

You made a point of looking him up and down, leaning in to pinch his cheek. “I thought you were dead seeing as you’ve been ghosting me. Assumed you were just floating around back here in spirit form, wailing and waving some spooky chains.”

Mary swatted your hand away, trying and failing not to smile. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“No. What’s ridiculous is you ignoring me for four days without telling me what I’ve done wrong.” You rested your elbows on the bar, looking up at him expectantly. “So, spill. I’m not leaving until you explain what I’ve done so I can apologise and try to make it up to you.”

The blonde bit his lip, glancing over at one of the other bar staff. “Wait here for a moment.”

Before you could say anything in response, they strolled over to their co-worker, and you watched them talk. The colleague glanced at you briefly, giving an awkward wave, before turning back to Mary and nodding. Mary looked over at you and gestured for you to follow them before slipping out from behind the bar and towards the staff only area.

The staff room was small and harshly lit, but it was also cosy. A couple of sofas, a little kitchenette, and some lockers took up a lot of the space. You felt a swell of pride when you saw the poster, you’d made for Repugnant hanging up proudly on the wall above the sofa that Mary plopped themselves down on, patting the cushion beside them.

“Look,” you started as you sank into the seat beside him. “I don’t want our friendship to be ruined because of what happened the other night, okay? I really like you and spending time with you, and I don’t–”

Your eyes widened at the soft press of lips against yours. Of all the possible outcomes you’d thought of for tonight, Mary kissing you wasn’t one of them.

It took a moment for you to respond, eyes fluttering closed as you shakily took hold of the front of his shirt and kissed him back. There was nothing sexual behind it, for you or for him. There was just the movement of your lips against his, Mary letting you take the lead as you tilted your head and gave an experimental swipe of his bottom lip with your tongue. He quickly leaned back, panting and staring at you with a panicked expression.

“Shit. Uh…” Their face turned a pretty shade of dark pink as they hastily looked away. “I probably should have asked first. Sorry.”

The full realisation of what had just happened struck you, hard. Mary gave you their first kiss.

You weaved your fingers through theirs, squeezing their hand. “Don’t be sorry. Please.”

Their eyes briefly flickered up to yours before darting away again. “If you don’t feel the same way for me then that’s fine. I didn’t really think I had a chance with you, but I’ve wanted to do that for a few months now and when you asked me the other night, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want you to get up and leave and our friendship be over just like that.”

Cupping their chin with your free hand, you gently turned their head so that they were looking at you once more. “And who said you don’t have a chance with me, hm? Because I know I certainly didn’t.”

“Oh, well, nobody did. I just assumed–”

“Yeah, you’re damn right you assumed.” You released their face and were relieved when they didn’t try to look away again. “You could’ve asked me out on a date at any point and I’d have said yes immediately. I trust you a lot more than I trust a lot of other people, especially the customers out in the bar. You treat me with so much respect and care and it’s so easy to talk to you. You make me laugh harder than anyone else does and you’re always there when I need someone to talk to. And just so you know, I’ve wanted to kiss you for some time now too.”

Mary nodded quietly, processing your words before he responded. “Okay. Well, in that case, do you wanna… go out sometime? On a date, I mean. Not like, go out in general. You go outside every day for work. And to do groceries. And to visit me at work. And–”

This time you were the one to surprise him and pecked his lips, beaming. “A date with you sounds perfect.”

Mary grinned and pulled you into a hug, arms crushing you in his embrace as he tackled you onto your back on the sofa and the two of you burst into a bout of giggles.

You couldn’t wait to take him on his first date.

[regionalpancake]

Character ask game!

For Seven:

What’s the lie your character says most often? What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

For Soji: What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?

For Seven:   What’s the lie your character says most often?

Any shade of “I’m ok / I’ll be fine / I don’t need help / I can do it by myself”, which makes sense not only in light of her past in the Collective, but also because of the people on Voyager who model that behaviour for her (cough Janeway cough)

What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

Had an amazing chat with @curator-on-ao3 and @procrastinatorproject about this one, and I reckon there must be some pretty dark xB humour. Something about humour making a shared trauma lighter, easier to process or less taboo to openly discuss. I (hopefully) looked at that in my Hugh fic Crow’s Feet :

“Hugh laughed.  // He laughed at the smell of barbecue from a dead man. He laughed at the bed he couldn’t sleep in it. He laughed at himself holding his face together in the shower and the fact that an arm that he didn’t even have anymore still hurt every day. // He laughed at the absurdity of the pain. // At the banality of the suffering. // And the laughing didn’t stop any of it hurting, but it did suddenly hurt less.”

One of the bits of (problematic sci-fi fav) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein that always stuck with me, was when the biologically-human-but-raised-by-aliens character laughs for the first time.

“I’ve found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much … because it’s the only thing that’ll make it stop hurting”

The whole section is here, and feels very 'Seven' to me. Seven and the other xB’s have been through so much, a lot of which would be just unspeakable levels of suffering to the average Federation citizen. Having a community of people to share and process that traumatic history with, to know that you’re not alone, must help. 

Please imagine an post-reclimation xB with a Starfleet doctor in Lower Decks animation style:

Doctor: Have you taken in any of the sights since you arrived? I recommend the Klingon opera - those costumes? I couldn’t tear my eyes away! xBs: Bet I could. Doctor: … Doctor: … Doctor: Well I Think We’re All Done Here For Today

For Soji: What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

Of course there’s the Data-head-tilt™️ but the more interesting and horrifying answer to think about for this one is MADDOX (*muffled screaming*). What it must be like for Soji knowing that her personality was handmade? Did Maddox programme everything or was there algorithms involved that he just sort of tweaked as he went? Poor Soji. I love this narratively, and I loathe that they threw it all out the window in Season 2.

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?

I think she might be invited to do a talk with the hope that she’d speak on Synth Experience, or the implications of the lifting of the Synth ban. But really Agnes would be a better candidate for that, and Soji’s only very new to her understanding of Synths anyway. I think instead she’d speak on her specialism/ her research from the Borg Reclamation Project:

“Reclaimed Identity - An Exploration of Emerging Romulan Folkways in the BRP” And I would have a front row seat 🤓😎

✨Send me a Picard character and I'll answer some of these WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS ✨

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

hello!! this may be a weird question but have you got any tips for replaying (the base game)?? even tho i make up a whole new mc and choose different things it still gets a bit boring..

Hello~!

It's not a weird question at all! I totally feel you sometimes because there are moments that can feel a little restrictive. Games will inevitably have limitations and that's why you've seen me do multiple Shopping edits from the MC's opinion on the snail they watched to being able to skip the magician and get a different scene to replace it. There are also some other edits I've neglected posting about.

What it comes down to, I think, is either changing your relationship with Cove, getting a different Cove personality (so if you've gotten a Warm one, go Cold, and same with Sporty/Studious) but also doing moments out of order.

For example, if you usually go from left-to-right, go backwards and see if there's any dialog you haven't yet seen.

When you say "the base game," I also assume you don't have DLCs or aren't interested in them (or maybe you mean you're avoiding the Derek/Baxter DLCs)? I'll still bring up some as they tend to be the best comparisons, but yeah, I'd say avoid moments that don't have notable diverging paths.

Smaller things are like... telling Cove about the deal in Sandcastle can also lead to a little conversation in Shopping if you ask about his dad giving people money, whereas larger are that you can choose not to tattle on Lizzie in Grown Up and get an entirely different scene that's shorter but where she's thankful towards you. In Wave, you can have an extra conversation with the moms about their relationship if you choose "You weren't sure what you were going to do; he was surfing and you didn't know how." and can choose to stay on the beach instead of surf or the reverse if you'd done that before.

In the Step 1 ending and Wave, you also can choose not to stick to Cove at all and get a couple scenes you might not've seen before. I'd never really recommend going for a full Indifferent one, but you can do a technical slow relationship by staying on Fond but not sticking close to Cove until later on (waiting until Step 4 to confess and propose to Cove is also hilarious if you have the patience for it).

Diverging paths are usually more reserved for the DLCs (examples being Barbecue when you can stay with the family instead of the kids and get a conversation with Cove about his fish on Fond/Cush, Runaway where you can stay/go with Cove which basically changes the entire moment, and Sleepover where you can either leave with Cove, let Cove leave himself, or convince him to stay on Fond/Crush), but there are still little things you can do.

I think it's also important to figure out why you're replaying the game if you're bored. If it's specific moments that you feel won't change much, then skip them or subvert the moment entirely (by not engaging with the plot, for example in Ghost you can choose not to investigate the noise and get a scene with the moms instead followed by Cove in the morning). I'd also recommend playing the Our Life: Now & Forever demo if you haven't already to get an experience similar but different (it also has more replayability due to how you can split/choose between Tamarack and Qiu).

I may be able to help further if I could understand your mindset for replaying even if you worry about boredom. Like, if you're doing it just to search for new dialog/scenes, you can use the Skip function, blaze through the game, and it'll stop skipping when it spots new text if you have it tuned to that in the Options.

[creedslove]

Bringing Pedro boys to meet your family for the first time. My heart is just melting thinking about those confirmed men being nervous and whispering to you in searching for some comfort and reassurance.

Featuring: Javier Peña, Joel Miller, Agent Whiskey, Javi Gutierrez, Dave York x f!reader

A/N: this is soooo cute I love it 💓❤️

Javier Peña: Javi would be nervous and praying that no one from your family has heard about his reputation or something like that. Of course once he's there, he's not gonna show it, throwing charming smiles here and there, he is able to make your mom giggle and even if he claims he is not good with kids, for some reason your little cousins are obsessed with him

Joel Miller: he's every girl's dream husband and every mother-in-law's dream son-in-law and yet he still manages to feel anxious? As if your family was crazy and wouldn't like him. Truth is: he is afraid of not being good enough, so he's worried you'd find someone better or your family thinking you could do better, but of course that would never happen because you love Joel more than anything in the world and your family knows that, and above all, they recognize how hard-working he is and how lucky you are for getting a man like himself. Also, he's very skilled at making barbecue and he also offers himself to help repairing a few things here and there. Oh, and the little kids from your family can see right through his grumpy face and beg him to bring Sarah over next time so they can play

Agent Whiskey: Jack used to be loved by his first wife's family, so meeting the parents, relatives etc wasn't much a big deal as he felt comfortable and at home with them, so he was very relaxed to meet your family too; he knows some people might like you and some might not and it's okay, no problems at all. When he gets there: driving the Bronco, cowboy boots, hats and aviators, everyone finds him kinda funny, but he is able to win them over as soon as he opens his mouth. He charms the ladies - in a respectful way, of course - impresses the gentleman with his polite and smart conversations and of course entertains the kids with his lasso tricks, he also brings your mom a bunch of fresh, sweet fruits he picked up from his own ranch and a bottle of the Statesman's finest for your dad

Javi Gutierrez: Javi G doesn't go to meet your family, he flies your family to meet him. He doesn't want to be pretentious he just wants to be nice and give your family some spoiling, because he knows they deserve it as much as you do. He would prepare the best accommodations for them, the best menus his employees could ever prepare and also yeah, he would rent an actual movie theater so you all could watch your favorite movies together

Dave York: sure, your boyfriend is an assassin and that might be a deal breaker for some people, so that's why you decide your family doesn't actually have to know that, instead, you just tell them your good, handsome government agent boyfriend is coming over on the weekend to meet them. Dave can be nervous, but he is definitely not showing it to you or anyone. He knows how to keep his shit together, so he will put on some good clothes, get his face smooth and well-shaven, and display one if his big and beautiful smiles and face the challenge. Your family likes Dave, he's very clever and nice and they are happy you found each other

____

[baelpenrose]

Project Praetorian 47: Planning Home

The team begins planning out their ideal space to live for their custom barracks now that the check has cleared. They get word of an approaching team, and Echo draws a a boundary. Beta-read and brainstormed by @canyouhearthelight.

Molly

“A space that lets me and Xavier practice music without disturbing Vergil, and maybe put on some kind of show - like room for an audience?”

“Maybe just a broader, sound-sensitive performance room. With mats.” Kimmy added. “I want to be able to use it, too, and you keep teasing me with the promise of a soundtrack for rhythmic gymnastics.” 

Molly blushed. Why did Kimmy talk like that, and why did she want to see Kimmy move so badly? 

“Uh…yeah. Right. Definitely a broader purpose room where you can do your tumbling and flips.”

Kimmy was doing a casual cartwheel, and Molly tried to focus on the diagram she was looking at. “What about you, Mia?”

“Garden. My mom kept one, and I want one.”

Casey bumped Mia’s hand when that was translated. “Yes.” 

“Okay, okay. Imperator says we have to have an exercise room, and an armory. Basically it still has to function as a barracks, so make sure we have room for that stuff.”

“Industrial kitchen though?” Casey jumped in. 

“Yes.” 

Jared was walking by. “Oh, barbecue pit out back. Or even just the space for one. I’ll dig.”

Xavier jumped in and Molly began feeling overwhelmed. “Oh, good, Molly already said it. Uh…den, and a more casual rec room for after missions. And we’re probably going to need some kind of motor pool for both civilian cars and armor.”

“Mass decontam showers. I do not want to have to wait in line with that much alien blood on me.” Mia’s eyes widened when Shiloh signed that, and even more when everyone assented, but Molly banged on the table. 

“YES! Oh, God, yes. We cannot go without that.” She had just remembered how gross the alien blood had felt drying in her hair last time, but…

Then she realized how eagerly she’d just agreed to locker room showers and blushed. It only got worse when she realized that Kimmy and Mia were both looking at her. 

Mia added something rapidly that she hurried to translate. “Mia says that she wants to make sure we still have private showers, that we just have massive ones for decontam, right?” She stammered to add, “I mean, obviously when we’re all covered in alien gore the priority is getting it off, but most of the time, we’re gonna want privacy…” 

Mia nodded, vigorously. 

Shiloh blinked, then signed in a fashion that, despite the generally deliberate nature of ASL, still managed to come off as though they were explaining something to a child, “I suggested it because I hate how gross it feels to have alien blood drying on me. I figure all of us showering that off together after a battle was the lesser evil, but yeah, most of the time, private showers.”

“Okay, but what else?”

Molly thought about it. “Some kind of chapel or like somewhere to pray? Non-denom, like I want it to be as comfortable for Mark or Micah or Casey as it would be for me or Mia…”

Casey blinked, then laughed. “Oh, you’re old school catholic.” 

“Yep. Went to Latin mass and everything.” 

Xavier waved a hand. “Comms center? I mean, I know we don’t like the rest of Imperator, but we’re gonna need to be part of the decisions…”

“Yeah. Conference room for the same reason: it’d be good to invite other people to us. Wouldn’t kill us to have our own mess either.” Mark replied, looking at it. “I know Casey already wants a kitchen, if we can get that we can get a mess.”

“This feels like we’re not arguing for a barracks anymore; but, almost like our own compound.” Echo noted, a bit dryly. 

“Do me a favor and try not to think about the fact that we’re designing our own autonomous, highly militarized group home, and try to focus instead on the possibility that when Imperator is decommissioned we may or may not buy whatever we have designed from the government as a permanent center for our corps to spend time together.” Mark’s response was almost detached. 

That comment brought the conversation almost to a halt. 

“Wait.” Molly said, slowly. “What do you mean?”

Xavier took the que. “It’s been a discussion for a while. Our goal is to make the world better, after the war. Leverage the credibility we get as war heroes, take on the system. But we also kinda…made peace with the fact that we’re not going to really…fit in with normal people, after everything. So a lot of us are making plans to stay close to each other, after it all ends. You know?”

Molly thought about it. She’d figured on performing with her fame, maybe using her powers to do things with music that no one else ever could, but….Hm. With what she could do…

She glanced over. Mia said something, something too quiet. Then Mia repeated herself. “After this is over. You guys want to deal with the cartel and the gringo companies that use them as heavies?” 

Echo chuckled. “I’d be down. But aim higher, sis, because by the time we’re done you’ll be able to do that on your own.” 

Mia laughed at that, and Molly high fived her, but Molly also shivered. She had seen Casey blasting away hundreds of Croaks at a time. It wasn’t a joke. 

Then Jared spoke. “Uh…Not sure what I want. Not sure I’m ready to have a goal, yet.” 

Xavier nodded. “Progress. You’ll get there. What about you, Kimmy? Shooting for the Olympics might be cheating now.”

Kimmy blinked. “Oh, shit, yeah, I guess you’re right, uh…Maybe disability advocacy? Weird, since I’ll never actually be disabled again - probably - but it was so fucking frustrating. There were so many places where I couldn’t go, and no one ever fucking just put a sign up or seemed to think about wheelchair access the entire time I was trying to travel or get anywhere. Fuck, even hospitals a lot of the time were like the most inconveniently laid out places if you couldn’t walk.”

Micah shrugged. “I mean, depending on where I wind up, and how - if it’s even still relevant - hey, Mark. Peace in the Mideast?” 

Mark doubled over, howling. “See, Mia? That. That is how you set a goal I’m 90 percent sure only a Praetorian can reach. Sure, man, if we’re both still alive, let’s give it a swing. Also if any of the governments there still exist.”

Molly sighed at that - she was still focused in on building somewhere nice to live. 

Then she looked up as Echo walked in the room, face grim. The hacker looked between Mark and Xavier and beckoned them both. “We need to talk. Meeting.”

“Officers only?”  Mark’s voice was tight. 

“At first.”

Mark said something Molly was positive she’d have gotten in trouble for saying with her parents; for that matter, something that Mark would probably have gotten in trouble for saying back when he lived at home.

Xavier

“Alright, Echo, what’s this about?”

“Leon and Curtis aren’t being honest. Look at the comm logs from the week the new kids arrived.”

Xavier froze. “What do you mean, they’re not being honest?”

Echo put down her laptop, and pulled up a set of communication logs. “Check this out. The ones from Franklin.”

“There’s more coming soon - from Esquiline Base…” Mark’s face went pale. “There’s a third Imperator base. Another location where they’re making more of us. And it’s worse. They’re expanding.” 

Xavier shook his head. “More than that, we were set up with this last wave - this was a test and they knew how we’d react, and they didn’t tell us. That’s why Curtis stood off and waited to see what we’d do.”  That was gonna be a whole-ass conversation unto itself. Yeah, he and Mark had figured it out and played it off like pros, but they’d had to be willing to put each other on the line for it more than either of them had liked. Just knowing it was a test up front would have made a difference. 

“Obviously a test to see if we’d be able to hack absorbing a bunch of challenges that we’re likely to see long term, right? Language acquisition from multinationals, AND personality clashes, AND someone we’d need to protect with Kimmy. I think we’re passing on all fronts right now, but damn. They really threw all of it at us at once to see if we’d fail and have any excuse to undercut our autonomous command.” Mark’s voice was clipped. “And Leon and Curtis didn’t warn us.”

Echo shrugged. “We do have evidence they’re still being monitored.”

Xavier waved a hand. “And we can take that shit offline on a whim. Come on, if they wanted to collaborate, they can do it at any time. No, those two are out of the loop til they decide they’re not their own faction but subordinate to us. They can say they’re looking after us, but it’s obvious that they think we’re children to be watched over rather than a formation to be worked with. In that sense, I’d actually rather deal with Franklin.” 

From the corner of his eye, he could see Mark nodding his assent - though he could already feel how uncomfortable everyone would be with cutting Leon and Curtis off without more information. 

“Esquiline though - I think Franklin owes us some reparations. We were promised no more secrets, and now there’s a whole base and two more siblings we know nothing about.” Mark’s voice would have come across tranquil if Xavier hadn’t heard him use that exact same tone to drop his death threat to Jared a week ago.  “And we’d still be in the dark if Echo wasn’t making Imperator’s bullshit irrelevant.” 

Echo broke in. “Exactly. So, I found where Esqualine is - and for the record, Aventine is out West. Esqualine is down south. But it’s more than that. I snapped a bit after all this and found a bunch more. There’s more bases - one in Europe, in Geneva, specifically. Two more in Asia, and they’re land grabbing to build more in Africa and South America. And pretty much all the plans are massive - hell, Palatine is looking at expansion. Our own barracks shouldn’t be hard in all this, but they’re making more and more labs. Whatever they’re anticipating, they’re planning on mass producing us to match it.”

Xavier felt light headed at that statement. Not that they hadn’t known it was coming, but…

Oh, God. Seeing the infrastructure plans that Echo had found to actually do it…

“Focus, focus. Okay. What do we know about the people we’re getting?”

“There’s two of them. One is a girl named Amaryllis, and the other is a boy named Dante. Boy has developed some kind of electromagnetic powers. Girl has some kind of hyper reaction times, being trained to operate a lot of vehicles? May well be our dedicated pilot if the Praetorian corps gets its own pilot.” 

“Anything about their personalities?” 

Echo paused. “I…Mark, they’re both from a really rough background from the very cursory notes that aren’t flagged confidential, and they’ve been in five months. I can take some guesses, but any real detail is going to be flagged confidential. I will breach that if Lieutenant Ascher orders because he believes it absolutely necessary to our survival to have that information as soon as possible.” 

Xavier did not believe anyone could have missed the emphasis she put on Mark’s military title, and she let it hang in the air for a moment before she continued. “But I know what it is to have nothing to my name but my secrets. I won’t do it unless it really is necessary.” 

Xavier shook his head and let out an amount of tension he hadn’t realized he was holding when Mark nodded. “Understood. No, we don’t need that. We’ll get them to tell us what’s happened like we have everyone else. Or we won’t. It’s not like Shiloh and Jonathan don’t have secrets they keep separate from everyone but each other.”

Xavier nodded. “Hey, wait. Do we have a schedule for their arrival?’

“Yeah. Three days from now, apparently.”

“Okay. Let’s let everyone know and make sure we roll out a hell of a welcome wagon. Make that a proper tradition too.”

[herrlindemann]

Metal Hammer - February 2010

The spectacle continues: Rammstein pull a fire trail through Germany with their Liebe ist für alle da tour. After Metal Hammer dedicated itself to three concerts in the previous edition, the journey now continues to Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg and to the home game in Berlin. Did only the stage burn on site or did the audience as well?

11.12. Frankfurt, festival hall

It's December 11th, 2009. The whole Rhein-Main area is infected by the Rammstein virus! The whole Rhine-Main area? No! But in order to make at least a small part of this diagnosis, you don't need a doctorate these days. Hundreds of party-mad Rammstein fans transform the extensive area in front of the magnificent Frankfurt Festhalle into their very own Christmas market. Here - punctually until the first chime - the merchandising bus is on the lookout for a gift for loved ones, people ask for admission to the Holy of Holies at the gates of (heaven) or at one of the countless stands the cold season with delicious mulled wine neutralized. The only difference to Nuremberg, the capital of Christkind: Here, instead of 'Last Christmas' or 'Jingle Bells', it's mainly these that get through.

Big hit from the Berlin scene institution from the Munich of the proud ticket holders. ‘Silent Night’ is definitely different.

In the circus ring-like interior of the location, the first thing to say is: wait for the Christ Child. Instead of shortening the whole thing with a speech by the Federal Chancellor, the industrial rockers from Combichrist try to heat things up today - which, however, meets with a similar amount of enthusiasm from large parts of the audience. Whether that's why the dedicated Norwegians chose their catchy tune 'WTF Is Wrong With You People?' as the official end of their tryst is anyone's guess.

After that, it's finally time for tonight's main attraction. With their spectacular debut, they immediately gave the term 'Freemasonry' a new definition. However, even such rock light figures as Rammstein - as in most tour stations before - need a two-part start-up phase ('Rammlied'/B******') at the beginning until the first decent cracker of the evening. Such explosive titles can be taken literally, because when the attack is blown with 'Waidmanns Heil', not only the pyro effect premiere heats the mood barometer up to the boiling point. Since the set list of the six capitals is identical to the previous gigs of the tour, the band's Die Hard fans are particularly excited about the 'polarizing' anthem 'Ich tu Dir weh' and the answer to the question 'How do Rammstein avoid the indexing this time? '. And how do the Neue Deutsche Härte initiators solve this problem? Actually as always: Namely with their very special sense of humour. Instead of singing about urinary canals, Till prefers to sing about other messes in the form of Frankfurter sausages, of which he immediately throws the daily turnover of a barbecue snack to the crowd for visual support.

Incidentally, such homage to Hessian cuisine is also lyrically spoiled at the foam cannon-laden closing party in the form of 'Pussy', since this time the charismatic frontman does not receive a visit from his Thuringian, but rather from an object whose current consistency resembles the hall cleaning staff will certainly be a lot of fun. Speaking of sensual pleasures: it should be clear that the audience, whispering close together in front of the stage, loudly want a second helping of the musical festive roast after this audiovisual firework. The hosts — who are now almost uniformly dressed in a 'topless look' — don't splash out either and let it rip with their colorfully mixed three-course dessert ('Sonne’/‘Haifisch’/‘Ich ‘will). that even the Christkind is hooked on the Rammstein stage spectacle. Or was it just Till Lindemann in the guise of an ‘Engel’? Doesn't matter! After such a mess, the visibly satisfied Frankfurt audience should have nothing to wish for anyway.

12.12. Stuttgart, Schleyer Hall

Saturday evening: People of all ages stream from everywhere — many in smart endured thread, others in metal gear. 'Holiday On Ice' takes place in the Porsche Arena right next to the Schleyer Hall, opposite on the Wasen the world Christmas circus stops - and then 12,000 people also want to see Rammstein. The search for a parking space is only unproblematic for those who know the area. It's cold outside, freezing cold even, so the anticipation of a warming pyro inferno increases even more. Although admission is from 7 p.m., there is still a very long queue just before 8 a.m. Everyone is shivering, teeth are chattering, deposit collectors are loading plastic bags and shopping carts full, the atmosphere is relaxed and peaceful. Wearers of glasses are also safe, because VfB-Wüterich Jens Lehmann is already in Mainz to prepare for the game against FSV.

Due to the barcode check of the tickets and precise scanning controls, progress towards the hall entrance is very slow. What seems annoying when queuing in the freezing cold turns out to be a stroke of luck. At least for those who no longer have to endure the entire Combichrist performance. The first few rows still seem to like it — it's all a matter of taste.

It gets dark at 9 p.m. sharp and Rammstein break through the stage decorations to greet the audience with 'Rammlied'. During ‘Waidmanns Heil’ — a real hit live — the first pyros take to the air. The interlude in ‘Feuer Frei!’ is also cool, when singer Till and guitarists Richard Z. Kruspe and Paul H. Landers form a triangle and spit fire with flamethrowers. ‘Wiener blut’ is disturbing. The stage is decked out with baby dolls on meat hooks. The babies burst, the lights go out and the relaxing sounds of ‘Frühling in Paris' ring out. So far it's an extremely atmospheric show, which unfortunately suffers a bit from the heavy, undifferentiated sound. This not inconsiderable shortcoming is eliminated from ‘Asche zu Asche’. Yes, that's right, 'Ich tu dir weh finally flies out of the set list in Stuttgart and is replaced by 'Asche zu Asche'. Good thing, because this song is better anyway.

From now on the guitars finally riff powerfully and vehemently with an overwhelming sharpness. Keyboarder Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz climbs into a container, onto which Till fires volleys from a pedestal several meters above the ground until said container explodes. Seconds later Flake gets up in a glittery silver costume and takes his place on a treadmill in front of his keyboard. Cool. 'Benzin', with a low-squatting and wildly banging Till, is another high point until the band march out of the retractable floor onto the boards in lockstep on 'Links 2 3 4'. In contrast to earlier days, Rammstein exude enormous joy in playing. The consistently agile musicians communicate on stage and, despite the tight, rigid choreography, present themselves in a relaxed and sympathetic manner. No sign of static. And that, although it certainly requires enormous concentration in order not to be charred by the pyros fired from all possible corners of the stage, which is multifacetedly illuminated.

During ‘Du hast’, the audience, who is becoming more and more euphoric every minute due to the increasingly dramatic show, ducks their heads to avoid a ‘boomerang arrow’ shot by Till. The well-known encores with Flake's rubber dinghy ride during 'Haifisch' and the brilliant finale 'Engel' end a rousing concert by what is probably the most entertaining and entertaining live band on the entire music scene at the moment. Richard Kruspe jumps into the ditch to shake hands. Rammstein are not as aloof and distant as they often seem. When Till finally says goodbye to the exhausted crowd with his first announcement, 'Thank you for the wonderful evening, Stuttgart', you don't have to be a mentalist to read the audience's thoughts: 'You're welcome. All ours.'

14.12. Hamburg Color Line Arena

The Hanseatic city of Hamburg has always been a good place for the heroes of German rock music. Like every concert on this tour, the Color Line Arena right next to the HSV stadium is of course completely sold out. A good 12,000 Rammstein fans - that looks like something. To use the time until the Rammstein gala sensibly, there are two options tonight: Either you watch Combichrist, or you refresh yourself with delicious local beer specialties. In Hamburg they are called Holstein. The bulk of the 12,000 rodent collectors agree to do both, although the interior space is still noticeably thinned out.

Quite different then at 9 p.m. sharp. When the protagonists 'sweat' their way through the papier-mâché wall and are illuminated from behind with an estimated 6,000 watts, the cheering in Hamburg knows no bounds - just like in every city. Rammstein know how to present themselves and are successful every time. Compared to previous tours, there is a little less fire and pyrotechnics at the start, but that's whining at a high level, after all there are few or no bands that can even remotely match Rammstein in terms of show.

And the sextet also has great songs. As with some concerts on the current tour, the sound had to be adjusted a little during the set in Hamburg, because Till's singing came across as a bit undifferentiated. However, those responsible for the Rammstein live sound have this under control very quickly. In this way, no questions remain unanswered, because the answer is always: Rammstein.

Although: That's not entirely true... Question one that he needs to clarify: Are Rammstein playing 'Ich tu dir weh’ again today? Answer: No, unfortunately not - but 'Asche zu Asche' is certainly one of the biggest songs in the Rammstein canon, so that there is only limited scope for complaining.

The following explanation on this subject was posted on December 12, 2009 on the Rammstein Facebook page: « From today on, the instrumental version of 'Ich tu dir weh' will no longer be performed in Germany, since access to the concerts restricted to persons under 18 years would otherwise not be permitted. » Question two, and that's also the case throughout the tour: Do eight (!) new songs really have to be in a 90-minute set? Sure, as a musician you want to play your new material specifically, but there's no denying that so many other hits fall by the wayside. No 'Moscow', no 'Americk’, no 'Mein ‘teil, no 'Mein herz brennt’, no ‘Du riechst so gut’, no ‘Heirate mich’ - the list could go on and on.

Keyboarder Christian 'Flake' Lorenz cannot be at the show today due to an infection. Till Lindemann speaks to the audience personally and does the customer service, but also says that the show was not to be canceled under any circumstances. Alf Ator (formerly Knorkator) was hired as a short-term substitute. Purely in terms of playfulness, there is no loss of quality, only Flake's famous 'dance numbers' are not part of the show today. But Hamburg gets over that too, because the grand finale with 'Ich will' and 'Engel' is exactly to the taste of the Rammstein Die Hards: big Rammstein numbers with an exorbitant hands-on factor. In general, Rammstein naturally convince with a first-class overall performance, even if a number of older hits have to be left behind due to the many new songs. This is still to be discussed. Otherwise, the same applies as before: Rammstein are the power!

18.12. Berlin, Velodrome

Home game! And four times in a row. At their last concerts before Christmas, Rammstein will be honored in the Berlin Velodrom. A difficult task for Combichrist — at least one would think so. But the Norwegians work hard to get the crowd on their side. And they succeed in large parts, they can even encourage you to sing along. Interaction, on the other hand, is not exactly what Rammstein is counting on. Rather, they offer a perfectly staged show. At 9 p.m. Rammstein start the spectacle, which tears the last Berliner out of the winter depression who had to stand in line at minus 7 degrees.

Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers smash their axes through the black stage wall, emerge from the glare of the background — towards the crowd. Till Lindemann bursts onto the stage from the middle of the wall. The beginning of the concert is like giving birth. In contrast to Hamburg, keyboarder Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz is part of the show again.

You can rely on Rammstein's game with fire and other effects. It has a martial effect when Lindemann squats down, as in 'Benzin', slaps his thighs, bangs wildly and spurts fire in the background. Instead of 'Ich tu dir weh’, the gentlemen in Berlin bring 'Rein Raus' - the audience thanks it and rages. As an ‘Engel’ with silver wings, Lindemann finally releases the visitors from the heat of the velodrome into the cold of the night.