#how funny would it be if i end up with one of the posters signed by keanu reeves. i dont think i will but can you fucking imagine

[bonestrouslingbones]

FRIEND WHO WORKS AT A MOVIE THEATER GOT ME A SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG POSTER THIS IS A CATEGORY 10 BRAINWORMS EVENT

[thelostconsultant]

Invisible string

pairing: Max Verstappen x reader

summary: Red Bull Racing has a new sponsor. You host a party as the head of that company to celebrate this agreement. Max has no choice but to attend, but the evening ends with a pleasant surprise after he meets you in person. Maybe he was wrong about you all along.

note: I'm everything but a scientist. If you are one, please, ignore the amount of inaccuracies. There must be a lot.

part two

“You're insane,” Robert told you for the hundredth time that day when he arrived at your place, although every time there was a little laugh accompanying the comment.

Maybe he was right. Deciding to spend over three hundred million dollars on sponsoring an F1 team did sound insane, but he did agree to do it, and you signed the contract together. Sure, sixty percent of the company was yours, it was mainly your call, but he was still your mentor.

But he didn't stand in your way, he knew how passionate you were about this sport, and your biotech company could use the PR and marketing opportunities that came with this partnership. And let's not forget about the political aspect, because there were lots of important people who loved the sport and supported a top team like Red Bull Racing.

Your assistant came up to you to ask a few questions, but once she was gone, you folded your arms and stuck out your tongue at Robert. “You’re just jealous because it was my idea. Jokes aside, it's a good thing. F1 comes to the US so many times these years, it's good to be a big sponsor of a top team. Have you seen what kind of people attend the races? Exactly who we need to charm.”

“You never had an issue with charming people without such a big investment,” he noted with a sigh.

You bit your lower lip and turned away to look out into the backyard that was by now full of party decorations. You wanted to celebrate the announcement with an elegant party at your place, and you invited board members, top employees, some important people to schmooze with, and people from the newly sponsored F1 team.

“We need some legislation changes to kickstart the new project, you know that,” you told him eventually when you turned back to him. “I wish we could afford to be patient, but we need to launch it as soon as we can.”

Robert put a hand on your shoulder and gently squeezed it. “You stress too much about that. Take it easy,” he said.

Easier said than done, but you didn't want to continue this conversation. “I need to get rid of my yoga pants and change into something red, so make yourself at home as usual,” you told him with a smile before rushing away.

“Oh, so you're still a Ferrari fan, aren't you?” he called after you, bringing up the elephant in the room.

With a laugh, you came to a halt and spinned on your heels to face him again. “Yeah, and my favorite team is a joke at the moment. This was purely a business decision.”

Max did his research. Well, it was mostly the team handing out dossiers about the host and her business partner, along with a couple of other important people who were expected to attend the party, but he did read every single page and memorized each and every one of them.

When he reached the gate of his destination, he found armed guards outside, and he let out a frustrated groan at the sight. It was ridiculous. He didn't even want to be here. But he had to be a good boy and attend to act as the poster boy of the team. Hopefully he just says hi, maybe says a few words about how great this partnership will be, exchanges a few sentences with a few people and that would be it.

“Loosen up a bit, you look terribly tense,” Adrian told him from the passenger seat.

Easy for him, at least he would have a funny story to tell at the party. The car he wanted to come with had been stolen from the hotel’s garage, and no one knew how anyone could take it. This gave him the ammunition to keep up conversations. Lucky bastard.

Meanwhile, what was he supposed to talk about? Driving? He talks about that all the time. His hobbies? These people probably weren't the target audience. “I’m not in the mood for this,” he eventually replied with a sigh.

“No one is, but sometimes we just have to play nice and schmooze with our sponsors. This is the first time they support an F1 team, I guess they're just excited.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Max replied with a roll of his eyes. “I just… I don't know, with all the things I've heard about our host, it sounds like she is some real life female Tony Stark. She already built such a huge company, she's responsible for big innovations, and she was on Forbes' 30 under 30 list… I mean, come on.”

Adrian watched him with a deep frown. “Does it have anything to do with the fact she's a woman?”

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. “God, no, it's because of her age. This isn't some app you can make in a college dorm, then sell for a lot of money. Building that company must have taken a lot of work, she couldn't have done it alone, yet every article the team cherry-picked for us failed to mention how she did it.”

“Well, from what I've read elsewhere, her partner really did help her with the administrative part of the project, but they talked to investors together. She's smart, and nice, and I one hundred percent believe she's capable of achieving this at her age. Might I add she's only a year younger than you? You don't seem to be in such a bad situation at your age either.”

Max took a deep breath to calm himself, but in the end he couldn’t hold back the painful grunt that's been waiting to come out. “I'm miserable,” he noted sadly as he parked the car.

But Adrian wasn't in the mood for this. “You're just whining now,” he pointed out patiently.

“Whatever.”

They got out of the car and walked up to the main entrance, passing by some people who looked like boring businessmen and their airhead partners. Maybe there was a politician among them too, at least one with a big voice sure made him believe that.

Inside the two of them separated, and Max took his time to take a look around. The house was impressive; four stories as he counted outside, modern, clean design, combined with a huge backyard that ended in a lake. It must have been peaceful when there was no crowd around.

After a while he went back inside but was soon intercepted by Christian. Crap, so much for a peaceful evening. “Oh, and here's Max,” he said happily as he put a hand on his shoulder and guided him over to their little group.

“Hi,” was all Max managed to come up with.

“Welcome,” you said with a warm smile. “And good luck for this year.”

“Thanks.”

You turned to his boss with a curious look. “And where's Checo? I thought he would be coming as well.”

Christian seemed a little uneasy, but he managed to explain the absence of the team's other driver. “He has a family emergency,” he replied curtly.

Max bit the inside of his cheek in order to keep back a comment. He didn't want to attend this stupid party either, but for some reason he didn't have a choice. He never had a choice.

To his surprise, you began to laugh at this, then took a sip of your champagne with a mischievous look in your eyes. “Oh, the real get out of jail free card,” you noted.

Max snorted at this, and there was no way he could hide the huge grin that wanted to break out. All right, you got a brownie point for this comment, that's for sure.

“I'm sure he would love to be here,” Christian assured you.

“Sure.” You remained silent for a while, but just when Max was beginning to assume an awkward break would settle into the conversation, you spoke up again. “Well, I'm glad you're all here. Thank you for taking the time. Please, just make yourselves at home, and enjoy the rest of the evening.”

At one point Adrian joined the little group and decided to become a part of the conversation with one last question. “Where's Mr. Hartford?” he asked.

You let out a thoughtful hum as you looked around. “I don't know, last time I saw him he was talking to a board member. But I'm sure he'll find and greet you too. Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to say hello to a few more people. Have fun.”

The three of them watched as you walked away, and Max couldn't help but appreciate the view. That red jumpsuit you wore tonight hugged your figure so perfectly it almost made him drool. Almost. He could easily push that stupid part of his mind to the side for now. He couldn't let himself be fooled into believing you really were oh so perfect, there had to be something that was wrong with you.

“Did it kill you?” he heard Adrian's voice, and when he turned to him, he saw a knowing smile on his face.

Meanwhile Christian looked a little confused. “Did what kill him?”

“Talking to her.”

“What, you had an issue with that?”

“No,” Max protested, sending a disapproving look to the engineer who only laughed at him.

“Sure? You sounded kin–” he began, but was quickly interrupted.

“You two are insufferable, you know that, right?” Max asked them with a sigh, then rolled his eyes and left without waiting for their answer. All he wanted was a quiet corner and another glass of champagne, maybe a few bites of those delicious sliders a waiter offered him not long ago.

“Are you planning to come up with something that can race against Neuralink?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake, not this again. But you forced a polite smile on your face and took a deep breath. “It's easy to come up with new, flashy innovations, but let's not forget that the root of the problem is always a bioethical one. Let's take them and their animal testing procedures for example. Whether you like it or not, euthanizing so many animals does raise ethical questions.”

“But it's for a greater good,” another man noted, earning a few nods from the people around him.

“I don't know, I believe we need to find a way to test new technologies without hurting anything or anyone first. That's one of the things we're working on at the moment. Also there's another bioethical aspect, and that's the fact these things would be expensive. The general availability is highly questionable, it would only help the rich.”

That one politician you had no choice but to invite despite every cell in your body protesting against it began to laugh at this. “And what's wrong with that as long as they pay?”

Oh, you son of a bitch, how could you be so dense? You took a deep breath and tried to calm yourself, but it was really hard at the moment. Luckily, Robert realized that this was a touchy subject, so he put a hand on your shoulder to calm you down.

“What she's trying to say is that it should be more than just a discussion about profit,” he began to explain. “Sure, that's important to finance our research, but science is supposed to help people.”

The man gave him a condescending look, as if he was disappointed that you would both choose to help people instead of earning a lot of money. What he didn't understand was the fact your company had highly profitable solutions, which gave you the opportunity to work on things that weren't as successful financially.

“For us,” you suddenly began, your finger moving in a circle as a sign that you were talking about the members of this little group, “going to a private hospital to get treatment and paying for our prescribed medication is normal. But let's not forget that almost 8 percent of the US population is uninsured. That's 26 million people. Let's say they start coughing. What do they do? They turn to home remedies because they can't afford the medical bill. Then things get worse as it turns into pneumonia and if they're lucky, they can go to a free clinic where they're prescribed meds. But can they pay for them?”

Robert nodded, then went on to add, “And it can be anything, really, even something contagious.” Clever. That guy was known for being a germaphobe, if anything, that could surely get his attention.

But he remained silent and a woman jumped in to drive the conversation instead of him. “What about different cybernetic implants? I mean, those are pretty impressive in movies, but how close are we to actually having them?”

You shrugged. “Depends on who you ask.”

A painful half an hour later you and Robert went outside, walking all the way out to the lake to build a little distance from the guests. “Thanks for backing me up there,” you told him before taking a sip of your cocktail.

“Anytime,” he said as he clinked his glass with yours.

Before he could say anything else, though, you heard someone clear their throat behind you. The both of you turned around and saw Max stand there with his hands in his pockets, watching you with a polite smile.

“You have a second?” he asked.

“Sure,” you replied as you took a few steps closer to him.

“I have to go, I just wanted to thank you for the invitation and say goodbye.”

You weren't used to guests you didn't really know coming over to say goodbye before they left. Most people usually just got in their cars and drove off without a word, but honestly, you were honestly grateful for that. But this goodbye was flattering, after all you could see it on his face that under the polite smile he just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

With a nod, you held out your hand, and he took it without thinking. “Thanks for coming. I hope you could enjoy yourself a little bit. I know it's not a fun kind of party.”

“It was okay. Well, except for that woman who was raging about people who want to replace real meat with artificial meat,” he added with a laugh.

You froze and your eyes slowly narrowed at him. “Wait a second.”

Max looked genuinely confused, and his hand was still holding yours without either of you realizing it. “What?” he asked you.

“You're a genius! Excuse me.”

As you dropped his hand and began to walk away, he turned to Robert with a confused look on his face. “What did I say?” No response, only a shrug. “Where are you going?” he called after you.

“To the lab,” you finally told him without looking back.

Once again, Max turned back to the other man. “She's leaving her own party?”

“She has a lab in the basement,” you called back to answer his question.

Robert’s lips curled into an understanding smile. “Send me a text if it's something worth looking into,” he said, then turned back to Max and held up his hands. “Usually it's better not to ask.”

Despite Robert's warning, Max was now way too curious to simply ignore your strange behavior. He wanted to know what was going on in your head, so he followed you to the lab inside the house. He first arrived in an office, but through the huge windows he could see the actual lab.

“Is everything okay?” he asked after he softly knocked on the open door.

“Hmm?” You turned around with a questioning look, but once you realized it was him, you nodded. “Oh, yeah, sure. What are you doing here?”

Max walked inside, feeling completely out of place. “You ran away so abruptly that I wanted to know what's going on.”

“You gave me an idea, that's what's going on.”

“Oookay… And what was the idea?” he asked as he watched you sit behind the desk and enter your password to unlock the laptop that was connected to several monitors.

“Using something artificial instead of the real thing. That way we can bypass a barrier that's been blocking us,” you replied without looking at him.

“You lost me.”

A sweet little laugh left your lips, a sound that drew him closer as if it was a siren’s song. “All right, can you promise to keep your mouth shut about what I'm about to tell you?” Max nodded, so you grabbed the chair next to you, then pulled it closer and pointed at it to make him sit down. “Good. So one of the issues with bioprinting is that we can't be sure whether or not the cells we're working with are damaged, meaning if there's a possibility of cancer showing up later on for example.”

You were so enthusiastic, but he was so damn lost. It was the result of an unfamiliar territory, and the fact his mind could mostly focus on the way your lips moved instead of the words that left them. “Wait, what's bioprinting exactly?” he asked, unsure if he had the right idea.

Nodding, you clicked on something and it brought up a video feed. “For example, this,” you said with a proud smile.

It looked like a 3D printer, that much he knew, but what it was printing was a mystery at the moment. “What's that?”

“A 3D printed heart that's being made from my own cells,” you replied with a wide grin. “Give it another few days and it'll be ready.”

“Is that real?”

“Yep. Although, and that's what I've just mentioned, I can't guarantee it doesn't have cancerous cells. But theoretically speaking, someone awaiting transplant could get it.”

Max let out a thoughtful hum as he looked back at you. “So what does it have to do with artificial things?”

“That's how we bypass the damaged cell issue. We just need to create artificial cells that we can then turn into whatever we want them to be.”

“You think it could work?”

After thinking about it for a short while, you eventually shrugged. “Maybe,” you said quietly as you leaned back in your swivel chair. “I need to put a team together and discuss our options, then we'll see. As of now it's just a wild idea.”

“Interesting.”

To be honest, he could spend the whole night doing nothing but listening to you talk about your work. Meeting you in person changed the way he had thought about you before arriving here, and now he wanted to use this opportunity to get to know you better.

He did a quick search after first talking to you, and he read an article from the end of the last year that stated you were single. That was two months ago, maybe that hadn't changed since then. But something told him you were way too in love with your career to worry about romantic relationships, so if he wanted to get your attention, he probably had to work hard for it.

Your phone's screen lit up on the desk and he didn't miss the wallpaper. It was one of those prayer circle memes with Charles’ photo on it, which made him realize something. “You're a Ferrari and Charles fan?” he asked you with a raised eyebrow.

“Yep, already getting ready for prayer circles as you can see,” you replied with a laugh as you showed him the screen. “That's their only hope, I swear.”

“Then why are you sponsoring us?” he asked.

“A business decision in its purest form.”

Was he disappointed? Maybe a little bit. In his head he was already making up scenarios, like the first time you went to a race to support him–yes, he was getting ahead of himself, so what–and now it felt like a bomb had been dropped on his plans. Sure, as a sponsor or his girlfriend you'd physically be in their garage, but your heart would be with the Italians.

Max let out a sigh as he nodded. “And here I was, thinking you just wanted to see your company's logo on a fast car. Didn't know you were actually watching the races.” He tried to keep a casual tone to make it sound like it didn't hurt him, but he had a feeling his disappointment was seeping through the cracks.

Because you remained silent for a while, and when you finally spoke up, your voice was soft and quiet. “Maybe there are a lot of things you don't know.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he responded as he rolled closer to you.

The sadness he felt slipped away as soon as it came, because it was like he got under your spell the moment he got close enough to you. Your pretty eyes were following his every move, carefully watching him as you waited for whatever was to come.

It only took him a minute to make up his mind, to take a risk and see if you were willing to play this little game with him. So he raised his hand and curled his index finger to signal you to move over to him with a playful smile on his lips. “C’mere,” he said quietly.

To his surprise, you didn't hesitate to do as you were told, you stood up and sat in his lap with your arms around his neck, meeting him halfway for a kiss. The need for something more grew inside him as the kiss deepened, and a small part of his mind shifted its focus to your jumpsuit, trying to figure out the fastest way to get you out of it.

“I'm going home on Sunday. Come with me,” he suddenly spoke up, pulling away a little to look you in the eye. “Stay for a few days. Or a week or two,” he tried with a cheeky grin.

You leaned back to reach for your phone that you left on the desk, but he had his hands firmly on your bottom to keep you in place. “I can't reach my phone,” you said with a pout. “I can't tell you if I can go without it.”

With a sigh, he rolled the two of you closer to the desk so you could get it, but he didn't take his hands off of you. As you checked your calendar, humming every now and then, he couldn't help but start and place kisses in the crook of your neck.

“How about the week after that?” you asked him as you lowered your phone. “We have meetings with the CFO, an important meeting with a certain someone that I can't delay or skip, and I want to put together the team to test my new idea. Next week's pretty crowded.”

Max cupped your cheek and made you look at him. “If there's one thing we learned from Covid is that you can do these things online. Come on, I have fast and stable connection back home,” he tried with a smile.

“But you'll let me work,” you told him sternly, to which he only responded with a laugh before kissing you again. “I hate you.”

“You don't, and you know it.”

[alotofpockets]

Roommates | Kyra Cooney-Cross x Gorry!Reader & Katrina Gorry x Sister!Reader

Where you start dating your sister's bestfriend after she becomes your roommate.

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.8k

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"You're still going to pick up Kyra from the airport and drive her to her introduction at the Arsenal training grounds, right?" Your sister has asked you this question at least ten times now. Her Matilda's teammates, and one of her closest friends Kyra Cooney-Cross was making the move from Australia to the UK, just like you had done two years ago, and your sister had asked you to look out for her there. 

"Yes Mini, don't worry. I will pick up Kyra and drive her to London Colney. You can go to sleep and stop worrying, I promise I've got her." 

Katrina seemed to finally relax a bit, "Okay, text me when she gets there? I told her to do that too, but she'll probably be too tired from the flight to remember.” Your sister loved Kyra like family, and it was sweet to see how similarly she cared for Kyra as she does for you. 

“I will text you when I see her at the airport, now please go to sleep.” You laughed at the slightly annoyed sigh that escaped her mouth. “Thank you again, and goodnight.” You hung up the phone after wishing Katrina a good night as well.

You finish your workday, and run some errands, before you head home. You made a funny poster to welcome Kyra to London before you head to bed for an early wake up call to head to the airport.

When you saw Kyra walk down the gate hall, she looked exhausted from the long flight, a feeling you knew all too well yourself. She was wearing a pair of sweats and a hoodie, combined with a messy bun. When she laid eyes on your poster her face lit up. Welcome to London, my favourite Tillie!

"Oh we're so showing Mini your sign." She greets you with a hug. “Yeah, let's send her a picture. I promised I'd text her when you landed.” The two of you pose together with the sign, while someone next to you takes your picture. 

“Are you hungry?” You ask while you take half of her bags. “I ate on the plane, but am in desperate need of a coffee.” In the coffee shop you catch up for a bit over coffee, and breakfast for you, before Kyra gets a call. She walks out of the shop to take the call, while you scroll on your phone.

“What’s wrong?” The panicked look on her face as she walked back in immediately grabbing your attention. “That was the landlord of my apartment, he just let me know that he accidentally double signed. In other words, I don’t have a place to stay anymore.” Without a second thought you had a solution for her problem. “I’ve got a spare room that I never use. It’s yours if you want it.”

The following week you helped Kyra get settled and went with her for her introduction meeting at Arsenal. Initially you would just drop her off and pick her up later in the day, but she had insisted you’d join her. Together you got the Arsenal tour, and you sat to the side for all her video and picture moments. All in all, it ended up being a fun day.

The two of you had gotten close quickly over the days that passed, sure you had known each other already, but now living together brought you on a whole new level of friendship.

Tomorrow would be Kyra's first training session at Arsenal, as well as meeting the team for the first time. Besides her Aussie teammates Steph and Caitlin, she didn't know anyone more than a familiar face. You had known she was nervous, but you didn't realise just how much until she knocked on your bedroom door.

“Hey Ky, what's up?” The usual smile the girl was wearing was replaced by a frown. “Were you homesick when you first moved here?” You had been so adamant that she was just nervous, that you hadn't taken the move to another continent into consideration. “Yeah, I did. Come here.” Patting the spot on your bed besides you, you offered her a place to sit. 

You talked for a while before you both fell asleep. The next day you drove Kyra to her first practice with Arsenal. You were just going to drop her off, but when you saw Caitlin get out of her car, you had to go say hi. You knew all of the Tillies from the many times you had met them in the family and friends hall after matches. 

“Y/n, hi, what are you doing here?” She greeted you with a quick hug. You point back to your car where Kyra appeared from behind the trunk. “Ky has been staying with me.” 

On queue Kyra appears beside you, and drops her bags to hug Caitlin tight. While the two of them embrace, another player walks up to greet you. You knew it was Katie, but as far as you remembered you had never properly met. “Hi, I'm Katie, nice to meet you.” She extends her hand. “Y/n, nice to meet you too.”

Katie inspects you, trying to figure out where she knew you from, until it finally clicked. “Oh you're Gorry’s little sister, aren’t you?” Kyra stepped out of her hug with Caitlin to defend you. “She's her own person you know.” It was really sweet, but you really didn't mind. “It's fine Ky, I am.” You rolled your eyes at her defensiveness, but behind that facade you secretly loved how she stuck up for you. 

From then on Caitin and Katie picked up Kyra for practice, since you basically lived on the route to the training centre.

Kyra joined you in your room on more days than not over the next few weeks, and you would be lying to yourself if you didn’t enjoy the moments you spent together. You were quickly falling for her, and every part of you hoped that she felt the same way. 

Then one morning you woke up with Kyra cuddled into your side, and her leg draped over yours. You lift your hand to gently play with her hair, she hums with enjoyment and cuddles further into your side. “Good morning to you too.” You were like a deer in headlights, caught by the fact that she had, unbeknownst to you already been awake. “Don’t stop.”

You release the breath you were holding and continue. You must have laid there for another hour before you got out of bed. “Can I maybe take you out for breakfast?” The way her eyes lit up at your question was enough for you to realise that she did indeed feel the same way. “I would love that.”

The two of you had been together ever since, just keeping it to yourselves to enjoy your time together away from prying eyes. Which is why you were stressed since your sister had called that she was coming to visit with her family, because she was meeting with the West Ham United team. You had offered your home as a place for them to stay while she had her meeting, and while her and Clara would be looking at homes for their family. 

“Relax babe, we never changed my room back to a guest room, so they won’t notice a thing if we act like just friends for a couple days.” Kyra tried reassuring you. You had talked about telling her, but ultimately you decided that you weren’t ready to tell her yet, and Kyra was fine with that. 

Kyra offered Mini and Clara her room, while she took the couch, and your niece Harper was overjoyed to be having a sleepover in your room for a couple of days. It was nice having your family around, and you were excited to have them closer after the move as well. 

Mini and Clara were out house hunting while you and Kyra spent some time with Harper. Harper insisted on some painting, and you could not stop laughing when the girl had started painting Kyra instead of her paper. While Harper was dancing and singing her little heart out to Frozen, you cleaned Kyra’s face. When you were done you placed a quick kiss on her lips. “All done.”

Meanwhile a few blocks over Mini’s mind was on something besides house hunting. “I think they’re together.” She stated to Clare, who was busy inspecting the kitchen of the place they were currently in. “Who?” 

“Y/n and Kyra.” This got Clara’s attention. “What makes you think that?” Mini went on and on about how Kyra’s room looked like it hadn’t been touched in weeks, that you looked so comfortable together, the glances she had noticed between the two of you, and just the general vibe when the two of you were in a shared space. “Well, if they are, what would you think of that?” Mini thought for a moment before ultimately deciding that she thought the two of you would be cute together and good for each other. 

Mini had not expected to get answers to her question on if the two of you were together or not, but when she put Harper to bed, her little girl snitched on you right away. “Did you have fun today?” The girl nodded her head enthusiastically before telling her mom all about the things that you had done today and finished her story with, “Oh and Auntie and Kywa was kissing.” Mini smiled to herself. “Oh did they now, sweetheart? I am glad you had a good day. Sweet dreams.” 

The next morning you head out to breakfast all together, before your sister and her family fly back for a couple more months. “This place is great, y/n. Where did you find it?” You’re glad that they are enjoying the food just as much as you do. “I took Kyra here when she was all settled in.” You were soaking in all the time with your little niece as much as you could, so you were helping her colour in her drawing while you were speaking to the adults at the table.

“Oh, did you go here for your first date?” Since you were so focussed on the colouring you didn’t think before speaking. “Yeah- oh.” Your head shot up at your older sister, though you relax when you see the proud smirk on her face. “You knew?”

Mini points to Harper, “We’ve got ourselves a little snitch on our hands, she saw you two kiss yesterday. I did also have a feeling already.” You felt relieved now that your sister knew, because she was the person you were most scared of telling, with Kyra being one of her best friends and all.

You drove Mini, Clara, and Harper to the airport with Kyra, where you said your temporary goodbye’s. Knowing that they would be back in two months to move to London. You couldn’t wait to have your family close again. 

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[loveinhawkins]

Steve doesn’t notice the answering machine for several weeks.

His time is split between the hospital and donating food and clothes; and when he’s not doing that, he’s helping put up missing posters for people’s loved ones.

It’s only when both Max and Eddie are discharged that he has a moment to even catch his breath—when, half-dozing on his feet, waiting for a microwave ready meal to heat up, he notices the blinking red light in the hallway.

He feels like he’s still in a dream when he presses ‘play’, hears his mother’s voice. There’s people talking in the background, the echoing, constant chatter of a hotel lobby. She’s laughing at something someone must have said before the answering machine kicked in.

She sounds… happy.

“Steve? Steve?” The rustle of the receiver getting briefly pressed to her blouse, a muffled, “Just a minute, hon, he might still pick up.” Then, clearer: “No, you must be out. All right, Steve, it was just to let you know that we’ll be home a little sooner than we—yes, I’m telling him, what do you think I’m doing?”

Steve’s thoroughly grateful that he’s listening to a message, and no response is required—can only stand there, jaw slack, at just how light his mother’s voice is.

“A couple of work things fell through,” she continues with a breeziness that probably means several major ‘things’ went disastrously wrong, work related or otherwise. But it doesn’t sound like she cares all that much; if anything, she sounds excited.

“So I thought we could—well, I don’t know how late we’ll be, but if you’re not too hungry, we could just order some pizza, lazy dinner? Plain cheese for you, right?” The distant ring of a bell on a counter. “Steve, darling, I know we haven’t been—” She cuts herself off with a sigh that’s gone too quickly for Steve to parse.

He hasn’t ordered a plain cheese pizza since he was 12 years old. But she’s trying, he thinks. She’s trying.

“Oh, we’re just checking out. What? No, I thought you had that bag. Oh, well, just—sorry, Steve, see you tonight. Love y—”

The message ends.

In a daze, Steve replays it once, twice—it’s on the third re-listen that he hears the mechanical voice intone what date the message was left.

See you tonight.

He inhales sharply just as the microwave beeps, and then he’s out the door, leaving the food to congeal.

-

He knows the route they would have taken. Plays it backwards in his head as he drives. Can see them in his mind’s eye taking the exit that leads into Hawkins—his mom berating his dad for not using his turn signal.

He finds the road. Stops. Gets out and presses his hand to the tarmac. He can feel it under his palm, like a scar.

The gates spread, at the end.

There’s no proof, nothing he can point to and say there, that’s what happened to them. Not a trace.

But he knows.

He knows.

-

“Okay, what’s up?” Eddie asks him three days later.

It’s almost funny, how little things have changed. Steve keeps waiting for a knock at the door, a just kidding! There’s no harried phone calls from their work, so they must have taken extended leave or—he doesn’t know.

He’s never going to know.

“Nothing,” Steve shrugs. “Just thinking if the kids want popcorn now or later.”

Eddie’s suspicion melts away with a snort; it’s too easy. “Stupid question—the answer is always now.”

“Yeah, yeah. Second cupboard on your left, Munson, knock yourself out.”

“What am I, the maid?” But Eddie’s already reaching for the popcorn, opening the microwave door with a clunk, and then there’s an abrupt silence.

Steve realises why a second too late. “Shit, I—sorry, lemme just—”

He picks up the plastic tray full of mouldy pasta and throws it in the trash—feels a prickle of shame as he does so.

It’s stupid that this is the thing that makes his breathing catch. So fucking—senseless.

“Steve,” Eddie says haltingly, like he somehow knows this isn’t just about being absent-minded.

“Don’t,” Steve says.

He knows that’s practically a signed confession already. But Eddie nods and even cleans the damn microwave without a word of complaint. Because the popcorn still needs to be done, and the kids are waiting, and they’re pretending, Steve thinks.

They’re all just pretending.

-

He loses himself in washing up, makes the water run hot and doesn’t wear gloves, lets his skin scald. They’d all ordered pizza, and Steve had hidden every slice he’d taken, torn them all up and stuffed them into a napkin.

He stops when he comes to a large plate with a floral trim.

Would she have picked this one? he wonders. The pizza would’ve looked pretty, served up on that.

And then, as quickly as that thought came, another takes its place. How dare she? How dare she think that a fucking lazy dinner would fix everything? Did she think he’d just forgive her, forgive them both, just like that?

But she never got the chance. He’ll never get the chance to—

A sharp, stabbing pain. Steve turns off the faucet automatically, sees that the plate has smashed in the sink. A shard of china in his palm.

Eddie’s voice echoes in the hallway. “Um, I called Wheeler? Uh, Nancy. She—she took them all home.”

“Cool,” Steve says, voice tight.

He knows that Eddie has entered the kitchen when he hears a shocked hiss. “Dude, what the fuck? You’re bleeding, wait there, just—”

It’s not a deep cut, Steve thinks numbly. He doesn’t know why Eddie is worried. But he lets him fuss, lets him gently pry the remnants of the plate away, lets him wrap a bandage tightly.

“Hey,” Eddie says. His voice is soft. “Whatever it is, we’ll fix it, ‘kay?”

Steve can’t look at him. Clenches his jaw.

“We will, you hear me, Harrington? I promise.”

Steve shakes his head. “Can’t fix—” he gets out before his throat closes up, and when he glances back, Eddie’s eyes are wide and fearful.

“What?” he says sharply, and he looks almost nauseous, like he suspects he’s about to be told that the monsters are back, that they have never even left. “What the fuck do you mean? You’ve got to tell me, man, just—”

Steve makes an anguished noise that feels like it comes from somewhere in his chest, and Eddie freezes. He considers Steve for a long moment.

“Okay,” he says, a wary placation. “Can you… um. Can you show me instead?”

Steve blinks. He flexes his hand, uncaring of the cut, and jerks his head to the hallway.

Eddie stares. Frowns. Then leaves.

He figures it out, of course he does. Steve just stands there, hears the click of the answering machine. He closes his eyes.

This is all that’s left; these are his scraps. A sigh he’ll never understand. An aborted, “I love you.” It had never come easily to her, but it had left her freely then.

Why?

A hand on his shoulder. Steve opens his eyes.

Eddie looks stricken. “Steve,” he whispers, then stops like he doesn’t have the words.

Steve can’t blame him. Neither does he.

“I didn’t—I didn’t know,” Eddie says. “Steve, I didn’t—”

“They were coming home,” Steve says stupidly, feels a bit like he’s twelve years old. “They were—Eddie. They were gonna come home.”

“Oh,” Eddie says, and it leaves him all in one breath. “Oh, Steve. C’mere.”

Steve falls against him, muffles something that’s half a cry, half a scream against his shoulder—and mourns the loss of a conversation he will never have.

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

I went to the UDGxRaincode collab in Tokyo (twice!) I thought I'd share some pictures here.

This super cute sign was outside! Good thing too, the restaurant was a little hard to find. (The only reason I, the ultimate v3 fan, am not going to the v3 event is because I won't be in Japan anymore when it starts). My favourite thing about going to these events is seeing the people who dress up or bring their themed itabags and plushies, and there were quite a few folks doing that here!

The first day I got Komaru+Yuma fries and red meat set, it's hard to see but the bowl had a deep grey-blue cheese sauce which was pretty cool. On the right is the Servant!Komaeda+Hellsmile shortcake, and the drink was Yakou iced coffee. Genuinely really really good!!

I went back again because I messed up buying merch the first time. You could only buy merch when you ordered food, and the waiter would bring it to you as if it was food. It was actually really funny, watching them bring out just tons of packages on a platter for the people around me who were ordering like at LEAST 40 buttons at the same time. I think they were trying to guarantee their favourites and were going to resell the rest, probably at elevated prices...

My limited Japanese did not help me realize this... Aw well, I wasn't too upset to get to go again!

The second time I got the Monaca+Zilch icecream daifuku and matcha swiss roll cake. It was small but really good! The drink was a Nagisa themed "Caramel blue hawaii" which, I dont really know what that means? It was slightly carbonated, and I don't think I could describe the flavour. Despite not really liking carbonated drinks it was pretty good!

The front of the restaurant had a display for all the merch, so I took some pictures to share:

A "Placemat" (poster) and coasters! The placemat came with the meal, the coaster proportional to how much merch you bought.

Standees and buttons! The holographic buttons are rare and random, mixed in with the rest.

The stickerset was the only piece of merch not blindboxed! It comes with one of all of them. And lastly the acrylic cards.

These are the ones I managed to get! I feel super, super lucky, because Yakou is my favourite Raincode character, Jataro is my favourite Warrior of Hope, and Monaca is just really cool. Literally the only thing I would've wanted differently would've been to swap one of my Yakous for a Servant!Komaeda, but because there's one in the sticker set, I'm still super happy with how my luck ended up!!

No spoilers in the tags! I have not finished Raincode or UDG

[red-hairshankswhore]

Lucifer x Photographer!Reader

•The reader doesn't really like physical contact (just a little nothing unbearable)

Summary: you have just arrived in hell and not knowing where to go or what to do you find "Hazbin hotel" you become their personal photographer and try to make the hotel known online. Until one day you meet the KING of hell and even though you don't like physical contact, it seems different with him, maybe it's different with him?

(Part 1)

Warnings: None

Word count: 1628k

Author's Note: WHOA OKAY, I laid the foundations for a story, I hope you like it because I would be interested in continuing it, tell me if you want another part <3

-------------------

you had just arrived in hell and being upset was an understatement, everything was too much and you had panicked for a moment until you found a safe place and calmed down. you told yourself it was all a nightmare but it was all so vivid it was impossible. you slowly began to walk through the streets realizing where you were and the signs with "welcome to hell" gave you a better idea of where you were. you don't really remember how you died, as if it were a blurry memory. while you were walking aimlessly you hit a pole cursing under your breath

"what the f..." you notice a large poster as if drawn by a 5 year old child who said that if there were sinners who wanted to redeem themselves they could go to the "happy hotel"

The name seemed very funny to you and you had some doubts. but if you decided to go since you didn't know what to do here in hell you might as well come and see.

After a while you arrive in front of this large hotel that was impossible not to notice. you approach the large front door and knock a couple of times, light footsteps are heard from inside and the door opens, a girl much taller than you with long blonde tied hair and a red tuxedo looks at you and then only a couple of seconds “oh… OH MY- very nice my name is charlie and I am the owner of the hotel what brings you here?” she says excitedly shaking your hand, you withdraw your hand slightly and rub it, you didn't like physical contact very much but you tolerated it. with a slight shy and confused smile you introduce yourself. “uhmm… my name is y/n, I saw some kind of advert about this hotel and… I'm honest I just arrived and I didn't know where to go” a little surprised Charlie looks at you and nods understandingly and invites you in and you nod thanking her “I understand so you just… ended up here yes- well if you want I can help you understand a little how it works here and maybe… redeem your soul if you like” you were walking towards the hotel lobby and it was a bit of a disaster but you try to don't say anything about looking curious about what she said you turn to her. “I would be happy but… redeem my soul?” from there charlie explains her happy hotel plan to you with a little song, after a while she also introduces you to vaggie who you are a little intimidated by but she is friendly.

months have passed since you were at the hotel and tried to help charlie with his plan, you were still a little confused whether to go to heaven or not because you didn't like that place but you're getting used to their company especially since he arrived angel dust with whom you got along very well. after a short time Alastor also arrived and at first he made you anxious

with his demonic presence and that disturbing smile, but even there after a while and some casual chatter brought him to be a calm presence, you shared a common pleasure for jazz and sometimes you found yourself listening to some old song humming it together at times calm down.

with husk you couldn't say you had a real friendship but he tolerated you being the most normal one in there, every now and then you tried to make conversation but you didn't want to disturb him too much due to his gruff character. A short time later Sir.Pentious also arrived and it was nice to be around him with his character and he entertained you with some anecdotes about his eggs.

everything was becoming a pleasure to stay there, much better than the life you lived on earth which was full of anxiety, here you felt more comfortable and slowly you began to notice that perhaps others noticed that you didn't like physical contact so they gave you your space. you didn't have a real role in the hazbin hotel until charlie gave you a phone you told her that when you were alive you were a photographer and you got away with doing small commercials, she was enthusiastic about that and that's why asked if you could make posters and online ads with their photos to attract the attention of the online audience.

with the photograph of the hotel and its staff you were trying to attract attention online but needless to say that no one was interested and you could also understand why, here you could do practically whatever you wanted so why abandon everything?

always a few months passed and one day Charlie told everyone that her father aka lucifer aka King of hell Aka THE FUCKING KING was coming to the hotel, you all started to get a little anxious and prepared the hotel for his visit with some banners like “wellcum” or sweets. When he arrived his character and appearance was everything you didn't expect, you thought of yourself as a tall and intimidating demon but he was a short king in elegant clothes with a nice hat and cane with an apple, he had beautiful hair as golden as the sunlight and his eyes shone like his smile, his cheerful and charming character attracted attention and how could it not, he was beautiful an ethereal entity that recognized the fallen angel… WOAH OKAY WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!

you realized you were lost in your thoughts and suddenly you find Charlie giving a general presentation of his friends. lucifer's eyes slowly moved over each of you and when he looked at yours he gave you a light genuine smile and brought his attention back to his daughter. after a few minutes he started arguing with alastor for charlie's attention and you were enjoying the show with some popcorn until a short blonde woman interrupted everything. after a while you see charlie beckoning you to come closer while she was talking to his father and Alastor, a little hesitantly you go "Dad she's our photographer but she helps us more to make the hotel known online" charlie introduces you and you smile shyly giving a hand wave to lucifer who looks you up and down with a smile “oh so you're good at marketing?” lucifero tells you jokingly a bit and you respond with a small laugh "it's not really marketing but I get by" lucifer laughs slightly until charlie waves him around the hotel and you go with them. while you're in the corridor we that Alastor is no longer there but you shrug and don't think about it, convincing Lucifer of the hotel was hard for Charlie and certainly the sharks attacking the structure because of Minzy certainly doesn't help his opinion but fortunately after the shark conflict ended and charlie and lucifer spoke to each other from the heart, forming again a sort of union that hadn't existed for many years, it was reassuring and also managed to find an agreement with heaven.

Before Lucifer left you proposed something to everyone with an amused smile "who wants to take a photo together? so sinners will be able to see that even the king himself approves of the idea."

everyone thinks about it for a moment, Charlie's reaction is obvious and she was enthusiastic and so everyone joins in front of the fireplace with Alastor who stands aside not wanting to take the photo. I position the phone well to get everyone in the frame. “Aren't you joining?” Lucifer asks you raising an eyebrow, you shake your head calmly "I'm fine like this, in the end you are the most important" he looks at you a little confused but shrugs "okay say heeeeell" you tell them and they do as you asked with a big smile and you take a couple of photos to make sure, it turns out pretty good too, you signal to them that it's gone and they can relax now.

while the others are having a chat, lucifer approaches you with a curious smile "how did it come?" you look at him smiling slightly and pass him the phone "well I think well, if you wants to do it again it's not a problem" he looks at the photo observing it and puffs out his chest a little with a proud smile "obviously, none of my photos have ever turned out badly" he was really proud and it showed but he chuckles softly and you follow him in this. “It's a shame you didn't join too, you would have definitely attracted a lot of people” you blush slightly at what he said but shrug pretending you don't care

“if that were the case then it's better that I didn't join, otherwise our king wouldn't have had the right importance” he snorts amusedly raising an eyebrow with an amused face “oh I really appreciate it then, now I'm sorry but I have to go back to my daughter now , I hope you can take more photos of me in the future” he gently takes your hand and kisses your knuckles before gently releasing it and walking towards Charlie. this time the contact was less annoying than usual and it surprises you as to what but then you realize that THE KING kissed your hand? you hope no one is noticing you because you were definitely blushing. fortunately Lucifer leaves shortly after saying goodbye to his daughter and you breathe a sigh of relief, you make up an excuse and go to your room and throw yourself on the bed. you think to yourself for a moment, lucifer kissed your hand what, maybe it was just gallantry even if you didn't see him approach in THAT way but you try to force yourself to believe that he is just a handsome gentleman, you lightly rub your hand where he has you kissed, you felt a little uncomfortable but it wasn't as annoying as the other times, you wonder if maybe you're getting better at this and maybe it will pass. you slowly close your eyes and sigh with a light smile.

[a-twistedheartslonging]

The recent Book 7 release has put Vil and Rook on the mind, so do you have any particularly interesting courtship or relationship headcanons for your nonhuman AU? Thank you :)

My god Rook would rizz you so hard, we already know how he is as a human, though I've seen headcanons that he might have some beastmen in his blood it just isn't obvious/is distant or something like that.

Anyway...

He's enigmatic with a passion for all things beautiful, something Rook very much views you as regardless of what you think of yourself. He's very enthusiastic about supporting those that he admires so be ready for him to be supportive and encouraging as fuck. Yeah, he's gonna be weird about a lot of stuff but Rook is almost always genuine in his intentions.

Expect poetry and love letters to hit your door by arrow every morning.

Ah...Birb Boi Love.

When the night sky envelops the world in its cool embrace, a ballet takes place on treetops and secluded clearings— the dance of owl courtship. 

Serenading the night. Rook is already a great singer and loves to do it, with owls the males often initiate the mating process with a series of hoots. Though with him I'm pretty sure it would be actually singing that he graces you with...but still...it's kind of funny to think about...heh horny hoots.

He might be hoping for you to join him since female owls might answer back, leading to a duet. This vocal interaction strengthens the bond between the two owls and sets the stage for their partnership.

Gift giving, males often present food gifts. This act not only proves the male’s hunting prowess but also his ability to provide for offspring. He knows he can't just leave his fresh kills at your doorstep. Instead, he will use his cooking skills and bring very yummy meals cooked and caught by him. Will give a few happy hoots if you agree to letting him feed you.

He's going to bring you a lot of stuff, not just food though. Keep in mind the guy is well off and for a lot of creatures it's important to keep your mate well groomed, and he gets the good shit from Vil so expect to be gifted the best, lotions, shampoos, and skincare stuff. Along with clothes that seem to fit you perfectly...hmm how did he get your size?

Once a bond begins to form, owls might engage in mutual grooming, a sign of affection and trust. Please let him do your hair and nails he will be so happy. He gets to help you be even more pretty, gets to touch the person he likes, examine your interesting human features. He's actually someone you can trust to bathe with/wash your hair for you without trying anything regardless of his romantic feelings, even if you're nakey.

Nuzzling and nibbling will also happen, he knows you're a fan of his soft feathers and floof and will puff up to lure you in for cuddles...and then he'll get you with those gentle nibbles and nuzzle against you. At least with him, you won't have to worry about getting covered in fur after like with the others, but you might end up with a feather in your hair and will diffidently smell like Rook

Territory plays a vital role in owl mating behaviors. Male owls fiercely defend their territories from rival males, ensuring they have exclusive access to potential mates and sufficient resources for nesting and rearing young. Territory disputes often involve vocal and physical displays, including wing-spreading, aggressive posturing, and occasional physical combat.

As a result, any of the other guys should be wary of arrows flying their way when they get near Ramshackle once Rook gets to that stage in courting. The tree near your window was already one of his favorite spots before this started. I don't think he would start any fights though, not that he would need to, people tried to keep their distance from him before already.

The mental image of him doing the aggressive postering is funny though.

Hmm...wait...no...

...yeah, I can see how that would be scary if it's a man-sized owl creature doing it at night with glowing eyes and he's probably doing a weird honhonhonhon French laugh thing. He's going to scare the shit out of someone.

Some owl species, like the barn owl, engage in dramatic flight displays, which can include dives, spirals, and impressive swoops to impress a potential mate. He would definitely show off and even offer to carry you so you can enjoy a nice flight with him...you might see him divebomb someone, he doesn't actually touch them but gets pretty close.

The man loves his privacy so will likely pick a spot in Ramshackle away from everyone else to make into your love nest, only the finest blankets and pillows will be used, that fancy silk stuff you know?

Hmmm Vil.

I've thought about him ether being a Peacock-

Or a secretary bird.

I'm not sure what suits him best but I'm sure regardless his courtship will be flashy. You'll probably end up with a tail feather smacking you in the face at some point.

I might be able to think up something if you guys send in some ideas.

[grapejuicestyless]

Good Luck, Babe!

Harry Styles x Fem!reader

Summery: Harry could run around the world in search of a replacement to fill the void that you left, but he’s better off coming to terms with the fact that he’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.

I’m okay knowing I won’t ever get to call my future lover my high school sweetheart. It’s hard to stay committed to someone for decades as an adult, let alone at sixteen. But it pulls at my heart strings just to know little me would be so devastated knowing the boy who used to string up fairy lights and scribble on big bubbles letters on poster boards for our prom decided I was too boring for his massive life and left once the glitter from all the glamour of fame got in his eyes.

It’s funny to think about, ten years thrown away forever because my stable life wasn’t worth living when he could offer me anything I could ever dream of. God forbid I want to settle down with some little ones to teach nothing but love in a world where everyone can only ever teach their children hate. God forbid I wanted that with him.

No, my dreams were stupid compared to those of his own. Children mean nothing to him if he’s not taking home another award for his excellence. Settling down is a laughable dream, how could I expect him to ever even try when it seemed like with every single chance to start trying he was at a new peak in his career.

When I left him, he didn’t even look sad. Not even when I turned to face him as I walked out of our front door with all my things stuffed in a bag slung over my arm. He looked distant, sure, but not sad and that made me sad, for me but mainly for him.

Three years ago if I had even shown signs of unhappiness he would have stopped the world to fix our issues, ironed it all out real nice to make sure that I never felt that feeling again. Now I could beg on my knees pleading for him to hear me and my cries would fall on deaf ears.

But I don’t regret leaving him in the end. It hurt at first, leaving behind all I ever knew, letting him go after I wasted away all my youth on him, but life goes on and my heart would heal the longer we were apart.

Occasionally he would reach out, letters with the same swooping letters that I recognized as his own handwriting, the same writing that once wrote me love letters, all addressed to me with the hopes of meeting up.

But I knew myself better than that, I knew Harry better than that. If I met him, even only for coffee our night would end with me back in his arms and his head between my legs. We weren’t ever meant to split, but then again no one who’s ever felt the same kind of love like young kids is ever made to walk away from something so sweet.

I was better for it, between each letter there was a new girl. A model who resembled me in the most vague ways. I wondered all the time if he ever accidentally called any of them my name. If he chose them with my eye color so when he looked into their eyes he could see mine for just a second. It felt like each week he was caught leaving some bar with some other girl, someone else’s lipstick staining his jaw.

I got over him slowly, never fully, but enough to love again. I had room to give once more and enough strength left to keep fighting for the love I deserved. I earned the right to be able to hold someone who would call me “baby” with pride, without the slightest hesitation or embarrassment.

Harry could kiss a hundred girls and boys in bars, drink away his twenties and sing to his fans across the world, and I would be here chasing my own dreams. After all, he always needed the spotlight, he lived for it. All I needed was a little love, and somehow in his search for glory, he lost any kind of that he had and I had found it again.

I saw Harry a couple years later, the small bar in Brooklyn with the good music and sweaty bodies. He looked good, he always did. His hair looked a little grey and I must admit, I almost drooled, but looks were the only attraction I would ever feel for him. Emotionally, I was cut off, even when he leaned up close and pressed me into a bone crushing hug.

With a cool smile on his face he asked me confidently what I was doing here and how I’d been. I told him a friend of a friend had invited me along to come celebrate an old friend’s birthday, that I didn’t really want to drink tonight and was just trying to enjoy myself.

I could see his hesitation when an arm slung itself over my shoulders, curly brown hair tickling my cheek and a kind smile flashing towards him and somehow in our conversation, I forgot the most important update in my life, one I’d make sure he’d never forget.

“Who’s this?” He asked kindly, ready to introduce himself even though we were all well aware everyone in the room knew him by name.

“Oh, Harry, how rude of me!” I laughed at the time, but I’m still not sure if he could hear it over the music. I hope he did, because it would have been the last time he would hear it.

“Harry, this is my girlfriend.”

[thelovelylolly]

a request for Tommy Miller coming to the rescue when readers car breaks down late at night + Tommy putting his coat around her so she doesn't get cold.

🩷

Car Troubles

summary: your car breaks down and you know only one person who's up this late warnings: being alone in the middle of nowhere at night (not sure if that's a true warning, but might as well), pre/no outbreak, fem! reader who's described as smaller than tommy word count: 1.2k notes: tommy my love, he'd come to anyone's rescue and i love him for that (also this is so funny bc my car died on me the other day and i had to get it jumpstarted by someone else lmao)

"No, no, no!" You yelled as you hit your steering wheel.

You were able to pull your car to the side of the road right before the battery died. You groaned as you tried to turn your key, hoping the engine would turn over. Instead, you heard a wheezing sound from your engine before you stopped trying. You leaned your head against the head rest and ran through all your options.

You could try to figure things out by yourself and fix it, but it was late and you were alone on an empty road. You didn't really want to get out of your car at all, you didn't want to risk becoming a face on a missing poster. Which left you with your second option, calling someone.

You didn't know what time it was or how far you were from town, so most of your friends most likely wouldn't answer or be willing to come get you. Most meaning everyone, except for Tommy.

You quickly grabbed your phone from your purse in the passenger's seat and dialed his number. As it rang, you made sure your doors were locked and you didn't see anyone suspicious around.

"Hello?" Tommy's tired voice came from the other end.

"Hey, Tommy, it's me," you quickly answered.

"Oh, hey, sweetheart. Why are you calling me this late? Everything okay?" He asked as you heard sheets shifting around in the background.

You ignored the way his nickname for you made your cheeks warm a bit. "My car died on the side of the road. Do you think you can come get me or jumpstart my car?"

"Yeah, I'll come get you," he paused to quickly pull on some pants and a shirt before swiping his keys from his dresser, "where are you?"

"I'm a few miles from the highway, on the exit with that retro diner," you said.

"Alright, do you want to stay on the phone with me?"

"I would, but I should probably save the battery. I'll call you if it's an emergency, okay?"

"Okay, see you in a bit, sweetheart," he said before hanging up.

You sighed and put your phone back in your bag before leaning back in your seat. You wrapped your arms around yourself as a shiver ran through you. Of course the night your car decided to die was one of those rare nights in Austin when the air was brisk and windy.

You tried to ignore the slight chill slipping into your car by thinking about other things, mainly Tommy. You were happy you had a friend like him. Not only was he willing to help no matter the time of day, he was caring and funny. He was also handsome, but you'd never say it out loud. You didn't want to cross that line between friends and more, even though you two had been dancing around it for months.

Were you waiting for him to give you a sure sign he was into you? Maybe, but was that so bad? You were willing to be the one who makes the first move, you just didn't want to misread anything between you two.

However, Tommy being a gentleman and coming to your rescue late at night was making it harder not to make that first move.

You saw headlights approaching and were brought back to the present. You watched as Tommy got closer and pulled off to the side of the rode in front of your car. You quickly got out of your car and walked over to his driver's side to meet him.

"Hey," you said, crossing your arms in front of you to keep yourself warm in the brisk night air.

"Hey, you doin' alright, sweetheart?" He replied, his accent becoming heavier with his tiredness.

"I'm fine, just ready to go home, y'know?"

"Then, let's get this car fixed."

He flashed you a smile before walking over and popping your engine open. You moved to the side of your car and watched him work, his headlights being the only good source of light. Watching his hands work made you forget about the cold for a moment, but a sudden breeze caused your teeth to chatter and your hands to shake for a few seconds.

Tommy glanced up at you, worry in his eyes. "You cold?"

"Y-yeah, but I'll-"

He cut you off by standing up and taking off his jacket. He stepped closer and wrapped his jacket around your shoulders. It was big on your frame, you nearly drowned in it, but you didn't care as you slipped your arms into the sleeves. The jacket smelled like him and it gave you some relief from the cold. Tommy was standing close to you, so close that if you leaned forward just a bit, your lips would meet.

You saw his eyes fall then meet yours again. He cleared his throat and stepped away, getting back to work. He found your battery before going and grabbing his jumper cables, then turned the ignition off on his car. He quickly opened his engine up and found his battery.

He then handed the cables to you to put on your battery. Once both cables were on, he turned to you and met your gaze. "Let's see if it worked."

You nodded with a smile, then rounded your car and hopped in the driver's seat. You turned your keep and the engine finally turned over. You got out of the car and quickly went over to Tommy, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug.

"Thank you!" Your words were muffled with your face buried in his neck.

He laughed as his arms wrapped tightly around you. "Anytime, sweetheart."

You pulled away just enough to meet his eyes, the two of you smiling like idiots. You saw his eyes dart down again, and you took that as your sign. You leaned in slowly, a bit hesitant, too. As you just started to tilt your head to the side, Tommy closed the gap between you two. Your lips met and it made all that time dancing around your feelings worth it. His lips were soft and fit with yours perfectly as he pulled you even closer. The cold, the cars, everything went out the window and your thoughts were just him and his lips.

It only lasted a few moments, but it felt much longer. You both pulled away and slowly let each other go.

"You, uh, need anything else?" He asked, his hands holding yours for the last bit of contact.

You shook your head. "I think I'm good." Especially after kissing you, you silently add on.

"Alright, well," he finally let your hands go and took care of the cables before shutting your engines, "I'll call you tomorrow."

You two stand between your cars, not really wanting the moment to end. "Sounds good," you reply with a smile.

He quickly kissed your cheek, his lips staying close to your ear. "Talk to you then, sweetheart."

Leaving you blushing, he rounded his car and went to the driver side. You watched as he climbed in before doing the same. He pulled back out onto the road first and you followed behind him.

Maybe you should have car troubles more often.

[bookishbrewer]

Blitzø's Dyslexia - the subtle representation in Helluva Boss that no one is talking about:

Hello everyone, this is going to be another opinion piece I do for the blog, I hope you enjoy!

This post is technically partially headcanon, since, to my knowledge, Blitz was never affirmed/canonized as dyslexic. He may also be illiterate, which is another conversation entirely (I may make a separate post, lmk your thoughts!)

Anyhow, let's start with the facts: Blitz is known as a character that doesn't exactly use text & the written word like most people would consider typical. I want to add a short definition to dyslexia here:

Dyslexia - a learning disorder characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, spelling, and decoding abilities, despite intelligence not being impacted (besides cases of equal education opportunity, which I addressed at the beginning of the post & will refer to again towards the end).

Season 1:

Murder Family - Episode 1:

Blitz used Text to Speech to write a poster for IMP, and even with that advancement of technology, his poster still came out full of (admittedly funny) errors. Now, this could be just a very bad printing company, but Blitz's order may not have been very clear because of dyslexia.

Episode 3 - Spring Broken:

Blitz presents his plan to sabotage Verosika by drawing and uses very limited text in it (mostly for profanities).

Moxxie notes that the sign Blitz put for their sale is "poorly spelled, bad grammar".

He writes Loopty's name as "Lupis" (though you could argue he just forgot his name, when he immediately shows up, he proceeds to call him "Loofa" xD), Blitz avoids writing & mainly uses emojis and autotext for his texts.

Season 2:

Episode 2 - Seeing Stars

Blitz prefers to use shortcuts & symbols (such as @) while texting (could be more efficient & comfortable, but may also indicate preferring to spell as little as possible).

We also see it in episode 4 -

Though for the "get better soon", Blitz did try to spell the entire sentence, not caring about how him misspelling it might look.

A counter evidence, though, can be shown in The Full Moon (episode 8):

We can see Blitz & Loona's calendar which does not have spelling mistakes at all. It could be argued, however, that either Blitz checked how to spell words for his and/or Loona's convenience or that Loona wrote some of what is mentioned. We can see the same thing in Oops (season 2, episode 6), when he write "Fizz's eyes only" on his love letter/birthday card to him. So when it's for convenience for people he loves he may try harder to either search for spelling or just go for what he has to say with no care about the errors.

Another example of Blitz maybe spelling correctly is the note on Blitz's toy box:

Though Moxxie is spelled right on the calendar, the names is misspelled on the overdue paperwork he gives Moxxie:

It is important to note that dyslexic people do not ALWAYS make grammatical or spelling errors & can learn to improve certain spelling & gramatic rules and reduce the errors in future use.

During Apology Tour we can see Blitz struggling to write the Cherub's company name, so he essentially traces their logo in his apology note:

Though, the note itself is written with shortcuts, spelling errors & has a drawing on the inside to... convay Blitz's true feelings xD

Dyskexia & coordination:

Coordination & dyslexia are connected through the cerebellum, which is crucial for motor control and language processing. Dyslexia is linked to cerebellar dysfunction which can also cause coordination problems, such as clumsiness, in individuals with dyslexia.

We see Blitz slip, trip & fall many times during the show - such as: him sneaking into Barbie Wire's rehabilitation center in episode 5 of season 2 & in episode 9 season 2 when he sneaks into Stolas' house.

This wouldn't have been surprising because not everyone can be a talented climber. But Blitz is a trained body-guard & assassin, & his also an imp (we see that when Millie climbs on Loona's arm Truth Seekers, season 1 episode 6, she's either not impacted by gravity or is quite sticky - which may be attributed to her being an imp).

Conclusion:

So - if Blitz does end up being canonized as dyslexic, there will be lots of organic, respectful & original ways to point to how it was represented.

Though, we do have to remember that Blitz comes from a low socioeconomic status & was brought to work as a preformer in the circus belonging to his family since he was old enough (a child), so even with his clearly good intelect, he may be slightly lagging behind with regard to literacy. We cannot exactly confirm this since we haven't seen Barb or Fizz's writing skills in action yet.

Another thing to add - Blitz being confirmed dyslexic & also being a part of a family which couldn't support his disability would make it all the more tragic, imho. But it'll also be the story of hope, awareness & use of emotional growth & technology to improve!

What do you think? Do you see Blitz being confirmed as dyslexic in the future? Would you want that to happen? Lmk your thoughts 😁

[eu-nicola]

Pedri x single mom reader ? Maybe pedri meets the kid first and the kid plans for them to be together because mom + fav footballer = happiness !! Thanks love.

Pedri x Reader

sorry english isn’t my first language

You were sixteen when you had your son, you were very young but you didn’t think it was a mistake and the moment you told your boyfriend that you were pregnant he left you and never showed up again of course it hurt at first but over time you realized that not having him was the best, after all, you didn’t need it.

You loved being with your son teaching him new things, one of those things was football and you made sure from the day he was born that he loved the Barcelona club as you loved it and you loved having a partner with whom you could always go to watch the games, your son was now 4 years old and was old enough to understand everything or almost everything that happened in a game so it was more fun to see him enjoy.

On Sunday you and your son were going to watch the game and throughout the week he had been asking you to make a poster to ask for the shirt of one of the players and of course it was something you could not refuse so you told him that they would as soon as you get home from work and I accept. As soon as you came back you saw your son and your sister at the table making crafts and you wondered what they were doing so much and you saw that they had already made the poster for the game and the phrase they had chosen certainly made you laugh.

"Look mom, I told the aunt to put that we can exchange you." Said the little boy very happy. "Yes, I see it, son." You responded with a laugh.

"It was the kid's idea, not mine, I promise." Your sister said raising her arms in defense.

On Sunday you had found out that you would have to go later to watch the game because you work longer so first your sister would take your son to the game and then when you got off work you would go.

—-

The little boy and his aunt were waiting for the players to get off the bus and with all his might the little boy fought for the players to notice him and especially Pedri who approached him with the intention of signing his shirt.

“What’s your name kid?” Pedri asked.

“I’m Niccolo sir.” The little boy responded politely, very excited to have his favorite player in front of him.

Pedri just laughed and left the place, Niccolo was overjoyed when he saw that now his shirt was signed by Pedri, it was something that did not fit into his little head.

——

Barça was beating Cádiz 2-0 and you had just been able to get to see the game, there were a few minutes left until it finished and your son had just decided to take out his big poster that he could barely hold and shout at the same time so that Pedri I could see it, which actually happened and when the game ended he approached and gave the shirt to the child while he did not take his eyes off you, something that your son noticed and immediately yelled.

"My mommy likes you." Your cheeks turned red with embarrassment and you tried to hide your face in your hands while you heard Pedri giggle. "I also liked your mommy boy."

A few minutes later he left and you thought all the embarrassment in the world was over so you told your son and sister to get out of the club as fast as possible so you could go home but before that happened a guard came up to you. you and gave you a paper that you read immediately. “This is my number, • • • • • • • Pedri”.

God if shame was a punishment that day the punishment was yours and your son thought it was funny because now he was jumping like crazy yelling that Pedri was his new father.

“What are you going to do?”. Asked your sister. “I guess talk to him.”

“Niccolo would kill you if you didn’t, he wants a new daddy.” Your sister told you while she laughed. “God stop calling like that and just talk to him to thank him for the shirt.”

“Yes sure how you say”.

That was the last lie, so after the conversation you talking to Pedri and not just because of the shirt but actually it spread much more and that was the beginning of a friendship and maybe something else.

[outofthemouthsof]

15-Day BL Challenge in 1 Night!

I'm more of a lurker than a poster but Tumblr's my fave place to wallow in BLness. My 2nd favorite place is the spreadsheet where I track the shows I've watched (172 completed in just over a year), so @negrowhat 's challenge was irresistible. I'm gonna cram my answers in one post. Here goes!

Fave OG Actor Pairing: Some of the ones I think of as OG are only like 4 years old, so this was tough. And the 18 shows that have gotten my top score aren't very old. But I went through those 18 and picked the oldest, and it was the 2018 Korean microfilm Some More. Because it's so short it's super rewatchable, but even if I wasn't able to watch the whole thing a half dozen times (which I have), I'd still have gone back & watched the sweet moments and sex scene about 25 times (which I have). So I guess my fave OG actor pairing is Park Chan Ung and Kim Joon Bum! How they got me so deeply invested in their love in mere minutes is beyond me, but they did!

Fave Rookie Actor Pairing: Does Japan do the CP thing that Thailand does? I don't think so, but one couple I wish had about a dozen more BL series together lined up are Kouhei Higuchi and Atsuki Mashiko of My Personal Weatherman! Their chemistry was visceral and they're too pretty to be believed.

Side Dish That Should've Been the Main Course: While I enjoyed the main pairing a lot, they were nothing compared to the crazy rollercoaster side plot (how'd it go from so funny to SO dark to so sexy to so sweet and wholesome like that??) of Vegas/Pete from KinnPorsche!

Fave Ship Dynamic: Obvs from answers 2 & 3 I am not against D/s ships at ALL. Also a sucker for tough-but-submissive-bodyguard with mafia-brat-prince. Honestly I like tons of different dynamics from innocent to toxic, but one that gives me major butterflies is a guy who thinks he's straight but when confronted with the idea of liking another guy, doesn't have a macho freakout or run away, just kind of straightforwardly & sincerely searches his feelings until he figures it out. And then takes care of his baby. Why's that so HOT and sweet? Some of my fave examples: Pete/Ae in Love By Chance, Le Jian/Amber from DNA Says Love You, and Ida/Aoki from My Love Mix-Up!

Biggest Flop: This is expectations vs. execution, right? There's loads of shows I've abandoned, some I've stuck with for no good reason, etc., that are way worse than what I consider my personal biggest let-down. I was so enamored of Perth from LBC that I assumed he could do no wrong, and the bully-to-lover, rich/poor pairings often do it for me. So I guess I just assumed Dangerous Romance would be amazing, and it was REALLY good for a couple episodes. It wasn't the worst thing I ever saw, but so much of it just ... felt ... flat. Very surprising.

Fave Line From Your Fave Series: Well I know my fave series--Cherry Magic Thailand was the most perfect, entrancing, heartwarming series EVER, OMG, it was staggeringly good and stuck the landing in a way few shows have managed. I can't really think of one standout line--the script was so on point & there were HUNDREDS of sweet tingly moments. There were some epic ones in ep11 tho: When Achi says "The voice inside your head is so loud" and Karan (the boldest he's ever been) replies "Don't worry; soon you won't be able to read my mind anymore." (But then clearly uses that power one more time to gain the sweetest nonverbal consent EVER.) Then, Karan: "Do you regret losing your power?" Achi: "I'd regret not loving you." (OMG how I squealed.)

Fave Villain: This was so tough. An over-the-top villain I loved to hate (and an actor I loved from his sweetie-pie green-flag role in SCOY) was obvs Heng Asavarid as Chalothon in The Sign. But an actor who was so excellent at being loathsome and malicious toward the main couple, with just enough of a redemption arc that I didn't totally despise the character by the end (but did hate most of the way through): Park Hae In as Eun Ji (Jae Won's ex) in The Eighth Sense. It was a typical "faen fatale" role but so well done. So a tie between 2 totally different takes on the destructive ex.

The Trope You Hate Except When It's "This Series": OK, "hate" is a strong word for how I feel about the drop-of-rain-makes-you-ill so love-interest-takes-care-of-you trope. It's OK. But holy SHIT is it overused. Holy shit. I sigh resignedly when I realize we're going there. EXCEPT. When P'Phayu goes to visit Rain in Love in the Air when he's sick, and his version of caregiving? Forcibly applying medicine in the form of a rectal suppository. It is so funny, weirdly sexy, very in line with their dynamic (doesn't get in the way of their romance moments later at all), & it shoves a big middle finger up the overoveroverused sick-bed trope.

Most Visually Pleasing Love Scene: Okay, THE scene in The Sign is the clear winner in my & many people's books. But there are so many runners-up: the post-race one in Love in the Air. Just about every one in Pit Babe (both couples) & My Personal Weatherman. (A lot of other faves don't quite qualify as visually or emotionally pleasing--lustfully pleasing should be a 3rd category in this challenge!)

Most Emotionally Pleasing Love Scene: Again, I have a clear winner: Cherry Magic Thailand. So full of emotion, so well deserved, so everything. Sigh. But lots of runners-up: same scene in The Sign, both kissing scenes in DNA Says Love You (tame but soo emotionally satisfying), Ray & Sand's camper reunion in Only Friends, the post-prison love scenes for both couples in Kiseki: Dear to Me, the 1st time in I Feel You Linger in the Air ...

Breakup That Should've Stayed Broken Up: Maybe it's because I try to be choosy in what I watch all the way thru or maybe I'm a big softy who tends to root for every couple no matter how lame. In all my completed shows, I could only think of 2 breakups where I wasn't at all invested in them getting back together (and maybe against it): Tian/Poon, What Zabb Man and Top/Mew, Only Friends.

Wedding You Wish You Had an Invite To: If we're talking weddings that actually appeared in the show, Achi and Karan's in Cherry Magic Thailand, obvs! If it's hypothetical weddings, I'd be desperate to go to one of ANY of the characters in Playboyy! I'd wear a bulletproof vest & bring my own flask of booze, but it would be the trashy chaos-filled social event of a lifetime.

Give 5 Good Boys a Gold Star: Just 5? OK, some I haven't mentioned yet. 1. Shin Woo, Light on Me, 2. Palm, Never Let Me Go, 3. Mohk, Last Twilight, 4. Thun, He's Coming to Me, 5. Neua, Secret Crush on You. Best boys!

The Top 5 Most Sad Boys: I'll limit it to ones where the suffering was kinda pretty, not just painful. 1. Way, Pit Babe, 2. Akk, The Eclipse, 3. Kaipa/Gaipa, Moonlight Chicken, 4. Hae Bom, Cherry Blossoms After Winter, 5. Kiyoi, My Beautiful Man

Bestest Besties: Just one? Gah! Fine, Pearl & Gavreel in Gameboys. She got those boys together in quarantine!

[flamingo-writes]

Hi flamingo how are you? How are you with your leg pain since the move? Have you been resting? I hope so!

Well as always I leave you a mini request before starting the week ;)

What do you think that, reader is a not so well known singer ,who is starting out in the world of music and meets Hobie in one of their own performances when they are singing on stage.

hope you have a wonderful week tysm <3!

I’m not going to lie to you, I’ve had a bit of a writer’s block. I powered through it though. I thought of a million ways this could’ve played out and went for the one I liked the most. I hope you like it too, and I’m sorry for the late reply 😢 I rewrote this like three times help 😭 whenever I wanted to sit and write I ended up doing a lot of other things.

With A Little Help — Hobie x Reader

Title inspired by the song by the Beatles With A Little Help From My Friends. The bicycle thing is inspired after a real accident I had once, except I don’t play the guitar and but I did get hit on a freshly made tattoo 🥲

Warnings: cursing,

The moment you decided to start a band with your friends, you knew from the beginning it would go one of two ways.

You could either sign with a producer and basically sell yourself like whores. Somehow gaining a debt just by signing a piece of paper, and working an ungodly amount of hours just to pay your debt, and hope the fame you’ve gained actually helps you make money after the percentage the producing house gets. Becoming puppets for the producer to move around the way they want.

Or you could do everything yourself working with what you had. Recording wherever you found available –sometimes that place being your own room–, asking friends if you could borrow equipment or instruments. Asking for favours. Gathering coins your couch has been swallowing and hoarding for years to print a few hundred copies of posters announcing your next gig.

And out of the two, you knew perfectly well which one you wanted. One of them helped you maintain your freedom, which was exactly what your music spoke about. Gathering a small and loyal fanbase was relatively easy in the low underground bars. The punk scene, the alternatives, and the rock fans soon spread the word around their friends. Eventually, these same people started offering their help with equipment, a few bills for copies, even instruments. It was still a small fanbase, but it was more than enough and they were all somehow more helpful than most people

One day in particular, your guitar player gave you a call. To your nerves, you picked up your phone, furious.

“Where the hell are you?! You’re so late! We’re supposed to start playing in ten minutes!” You barked.

“Ye-yeah…About that…” Your guitar player said with an awkward chuckle. “You see, it’s a funny story…”

“Oh god, no…” You groaned.

“Listen. First of all I’m fine–”

“What the fuck does that even mean? Wait, shit, bruv, did something happen to you?”

“You see, this is where the story gets funny…” They said with an awkward giggle. “I was minding my own business, on my way to the bar. I was on my bike. Riding it, you know. When an old lady and a tiny ass dog appeared out of nowhere, from the corner. In an attempt to not run over either of them, I turned and there was a tree–”

“You can’t be serious…” You gasped, “you alright?”

“In the greater scheme of things, yes I am…But…I kinda hurt my wrist very badly…”

“God, I’m scared to ask…how badly…?”

“Uh, I don’t think my skin is supposed to look purple…And the lady I almost ran over is offering to drive me to the emergency room?”

“Shit. What do we do? Do we cancel—“

“No! Don’t! I don’t know. Improvise?”

“How? You’re our guitar player!”

“Go wild on the bass?”

“Fuck off!” You groaned, annoyed.

Hobie Brown was not far from there, hearing to actually both sides of the conversation through his enhanced hearing. Helping your drummer setting everything up.

“I think something happened to your guitar player, mate?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m hearing…” Your drummer said nervously.

“If you guys need help, I know how to play the guitar…I can sight read too, but if you give me a couple of minutes to look through your songs, it would be better…” Hobie said as your drummer’s face widened in surprise.

“Dude, seriously?”

“Yeah,” Hobie said, smirking confidently.

“The motherfucker broke–”

“We found a guitar player!” Your drummer interrupted, raising both arms in the air happily.

Hobie giggled and looked over at you. Your eyes remained wide and confused, wondering when the roller coaster of emotions was going to end. You knew him. You didn’t really, but you’d seen him around enough to recognize his face.

“Seriously?”

“Sure, why not?” He said, shrugging.

“Oh god, thank you! Thank you so much, mate!” You said happily, running your hands through your hair in relief, making Hobie chuckle.

“Call me Hobie,” He said with a cheeky smirk.

You introduced yourself, as well the rest of your band. As you discussed what t do for the set list, you insisted Hobie didn’t improve and sight read all of your songs, and instead settled for a set list made out of mostly covers from famous songs, and just leaving a few of your original songs distributed for Hobie to take a break from a hyper concentrated state.

As the anxiety was rising in your belly, about to make you puke a minute away from starting your gig, Hobie grabbed your shoulder, catching your attention.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” He said, trying to comfort you. “And if it blows, then what the hell? It’s not going to be the last time you play. That way you could always make a dramatic comeback and look even cooler,”

His words while making you feel less scared about it all, it did nothing for your nerves.

Although as soon as you started playing, the music consumed you. Playing with Hobie instead of your guitar player was simply different. Not that any of them was better or worse than the other, but the dynamics changed drastically. Despite not really knowing Hobie that well, the interactions on stage were fun, spontaneous, even comfortable, like you’d known him for way longer than just the last hour.

Hobie not only exchanged glances with you and walked over to you while playing his guitar, he also went over to your drummer. Sometimes jointing you for the choruses of the covers, or adding spontaneous riffs to guitar solos.

By the end of the gig, people were crazy, screaming, jumping around. As you grabbed the mic, covered in sweat and breathless you thanked them.

“We’d love to stay, but we actually have to go check out on our friend…” You chuckled. “Our guitar player had Ana vidente earlier today, and couldn’t play. We had the magnificent Hobie, here, helping us out!” You sighed. “Let me hear it for Hobie for being a real one!” The crown screamed and clapped, as Hobie smiled at you.

“Thank you for letting me help,” Hobie said, walking over to the mic and grabbing it. “Thank you guys as well!”

“Oh yeah. You guys made this very fun!” You said going back to the mic, your face bearing Hobie’s as he glanced at you with a smirk, “Have a good night, everybody!”

As you walked behind the stage, you grabbed a towel you had nearby and dried your face and hair.

“Good job out there,” Hobie said walking behind you.

“Thank you! It was all possible thanks to you!” You said looking up from your towel. “I’d love to stay and talk but…”

“Yeah, go check on your friend. You can buy me a beer some other time to return the favour,” He said with a cheeky smirk.

“Just one? An entire gig for just one beer?” You joked.

“Well, at least three,”

“Sounds like a deal,” you sighed, meeting his stare and biting your lower lip softly. Seriously, thank you…”

“My pleasure,” He said confidently, meeting your stare, as you noticed something in them sparking.

“See you around?”

“I hang out here an awful lot so, yeah,” He shrugged, putting his hands in the pockets of his vest.

[musicalmoritz]

follow up on the last family dynamics what about Meinene, Aoimei and hananene?

Ask and you shall receive

Meinene

• The poster children for old married artsy lesbian moms

• I think they’d have a big family with like 4-5 kids. I could see them being the type of couple to foster too

• They both compete for the status of “Fun Mom” but Mei is winning. She encourages her kids’ creativity by hanging all their drawings on the fridge, no matter how incomprehensible they are. She introduced them to old music artists and enrolls them in a ton of art and sports programs. Some of them don’t really click with anything in particular but most of their kids be up developing a lot of hobbies through her encouragement

• Nene keeps up with Mei by being equally encouraging, she attends every game/recital/show/etc. her kids have. Her strong suits show more with their emotional needs though, she knows exactly how to cheer them up when they’re down. And she adjusts it to fit the needs of each kid, she knows they can’t all be comforted the same way. Contrary to popular belief I think Nene has a decent mom so she has a good example when it comes to parenting

• You better believe they bring signs and become full on cheerleaders at all their kids’ sports games

• They have a very fun home life and close family dynamic. Not close in a suffocating way, they all kinda do their own thing but they’re their to support each other every step of the way

Aoimei

• The type of moms to complain to the school when their kids aren’t immediately placed in the gifted program

• I think they would have two daughters. Family of four and it’s all girls, that sounds like the plot of a really emotional comedy movie

• Aoi would still be strict but Mei would help balance her out. She learns to relax more and veers more into overprotective territory. She’s the one who gives all the lectures but Mei makes funny faces at the girls when she’s trying to be serious which makes Aoi break character and laugh. They have a big garden because keeping flowers in the house upsets Mei’s allergies. You better believe Aoi has the outside of their house looking beautiful tho (I loooove the hc that Aoi runs a flower shop in the future)

• Mei is still the fun mom, but Aoi helps her learn when to be serious. She attempts to lecture the girls but if they look too sad or nervous it will make her cry. Then they end up frantically apologizing to each other. She’s an artist and the inside of their house is full of her work (Aoi decorates the outside, Mei decorates the inside). She’s the type of wife and mother to surprise Aoi and the girls with gifts frequently. And she makes sure the girls stay in good health

• Aoi and Mei have both physically fought people to defend their girls and they will do it again

• Very warm family dynamic, things can get a little tense with Aoi’s stern attitude but overall it’s very lovely. They frequently bond over movie/tv show binges and trips to the park (the sunlight it good for Mei’s health as long as she doesn’t overexert herself)

HanaNene

• In another life…haha…🥲

• They have twins!! A boy and a girl!! • Nene is a successful writer so she works a lot from home. She’s often busy with work tho so there are periods where her kids don’t see her as much, but she still tries to make time for them. Her outgoing personality really shines through as she gets older so she’s sort of the leader in their family…I don’t wanna say girlboss x malewife but that’s the vibe I’m getting. The kids admire her sm and she likes to take them on bonding days to catch up on them if she’s been busy for too long. Her flexible schedule allows her to play housewife sometimes tho so when the kids are younger and before her career really takes off, she sees them way more

• Amane becomes a science teacher (duh). I see the kids as being more reserved like him so he has a bit of a closer bond with them, he’s the one they go to with their emotional needs. That doesn’t mean he’s the favorite parent tho, he’s just able to relate to them a bit more. When they get older they inevitably have him as a teacher and that’s super embarrassing (but ik one of those little losers is excited to see their dad at school every day). He’s not really overprotective but he does keep a first aid kit nearby incase one of the kids gets hurt

• One of the twins is a bit more similar to Amane and the other is more like Tsukasa, just way toned down (think of the Pines family from Gravity Falls)

• They aren’t the most conventional family but they’re extremely happy. Nene invites their friends over a lot so the twins grow up with a safe found family group. And yes, Tsukasa babysits a lot. If he loses one of the kids for an hour or so, Nene and Amane never have to find out

[mmcgemino]

How I almost went on stage with Gene Simmons (and also a heavy vent)

Today was the first day of Summer Breeze here in Brasil and Gene’s on the headline. I traveled 8 hours just to see him and Sebastian Bach play. I was so excited to see them and my mind was set on giving Gene a poster and a letter. I really wanted to give him a piece of my work and say how much KISS changed my life.

There was going to be a signing session at 3pm and when arrived there at 11am there was already a line. No problem for me, honestly, I could wait. But then somebody from the staff told us that the time changed for 7pm. I didn’t want the whole day of festival + Sebastian’s show, so I gave up on that.

Sebastian Bach’s show was amazing (I even got an autograph!). It was kinda short but I still had a lot of fun. Next would be Mr. Big (that I didn’t bother to watch) and then, finally, Gene’s band.

God, I was right in front of him. LITERALLY. This was my view the whole show:

I was SO close from the stage, already at the barrier (is that the right name in english?) It was actually funny, because the first thing he did when he finished the first song was to point at me and say with eyes wide opened: sua bunda é linda! That’s a silly thing he says every time he’s in Brasil. (There’s a video of him saying it on a tv show just for reference). I also had some silly interactions with him, like me motion grabbing his tits and him looking shocked. Honestly, if the show ended like that it would be just fine. I’ve never been this close to someone who’s so important to me, much less recognizing my presence and being silly with me. Hell, I didn’t even care about my letter anymore. It was a kick ass show.

But in the last song (that was obviously Rock n Roll All Night), he started calling a lot of girls on stage. There were some in front of me, between the tiny gap separating the stage from the fans. I guess they were sponsors, photographers or idk, more than VIP. But then he pointed at me and called me!!! What ??!????? It sounds just like a fanfic, unbelievable. And I swear on all my family that I ain’t lying. I crossed that barrier with the help of other people and ran backstage.

To have Gene pointing at YOU and calling YOU to be on stage with him is once in a lifetime. To be ON STAGE, my literal dream and goal in life. What I’ve been working for the past couple of years. To have the chance to give my letter to him and even sing by his side. With Gene fucking Simmons from KISS, my favorite band.

But when I got backstage, they told me that I couldn’t go. “There’s too many girls there.” I was the last one he picked and the only one who didn’t make it. I begged that guy, not from Gene’s production but from the event. I even cried. The securities around me were sorry but if I didn’t leave, their jobs would be on the line. I couldn’t even see the man leave the stage. I couldn’t even see the show end.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do from now on. There’s nothing to say, no consolation prize, nothing. “But there will be other shows, other opportunities”, that’s the kind of bullshit that I had to hear. No, there won’t be another Gene Simmons in Brasil calling me to be on stage. My life could have been changed forever.

I was never lucky, never won any raffles or had accomplished great achievements in life. In my letter, the first thing I wrote (as cheesy as it is) “If you’re reading this, everything is possible”. I also wrote how KISS literally changed my life when I went on their last tour here in Brasil, how they took me out of a really bad place and made me run after my dreams. It seems silly, part of me feels like an idiot to be that sad. But I just can’t get over this, can’t have any consolation on that. To be always “almost there” but never actually “there”.

Also, this is the poster I wanted to give him:

The quality is crap and I definitely could do better if I had more time. But I gave my all making it.

Sorry for the long post and the crappy sob story. This just happened like 2 hours ago and everything is still fresh. I decided to write this post because I wanted to share my frustration with people who understand that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

(Fun fact his pants were tearing up but nobody told him)

[moregraceful]

☕️ the most important qualities for a sports venue to have, other than the obvious

thank you for asking, i completely forgot to do these yesterday and today i was beset by the agonies of the flesh, but with chinese take out we are rallying. anyway thank you for asking i have so many opinions

first of all, you need to have a place where i can acquire a latte or iced tea, ideally by a local chain. oracle ballpark? peet's, elite. sap center? VOYAGER, ELITE. ya boy NEEDS a cafe beverage to bear witness to the horrors. ideally with oatmilk or soy milk options. voyager was all vegan drinks, literally so joy-inducing at the end of the hockey season.

also. and i mention this bc yes it's obvious but SO many venues fail the assignment: gender neutral/family bathrooms. and they need to be well designated and very easy to find. i literally never figured out if sap center had them. i was fighting for my mortal life in that arena.

ALSO, and ik this is youth worker kas coming thru, but i do think you need a children's play area. hot take, every arena for every sport needs this idc who your target audience is, there will ALWAYS be parents with young children in attendance and the children will ALWAYS get wiggly and bored. make your arena accessible for parents and families!! it's not hard!! techcu isn't big but they tucked a children's play area in one of the corners on the concourse. they had giant wooden games and a woman doing face paint on weekends and the street team hanging out with the kids. the kids could make signs on barracuda-branded poster board and i always thought that was so cool, esp bc then you'd get to see 4yos holding up poster boards with giant scribbles on them during the game. like i wish EYE could hold up abstract art to tell the cuda how they make me feel. bay fc does this really well and has a lot of stuff for kids -- in fact, last bay fc game i went to, one of the corporate sponsors set up a little activities course the kids and that was so fun!! it tears me up when teams are like "we start em young 😌" and then provide no play area for young kids. like it's such low-hanging fruit to make your venues accessible to everyone.

also i think it's really funny that techcu makes their teams walk through the concourse and that paypal park makes their teams walk over the concourse on a sky bridge. i think more teams should do that bc it's really funny. like a little parade of flops.

and finally, i think if teams are really committed to local entrepreneurs they would invite the danger dogs vendors to every arena. obviously the bay area is good at this but i got really scared at the phillies' ballpark bc there were NO STREET HOT DOGS after the games. i don't know if it's a weather thing or the fact that there were only like five brown people at the game or if it's not of east coast culture to have street hot dogs after the games or what. but i think it's an integral part of the live sports experience to take your life in your hands and eat a street hot dog after a game and every arena should provide that experience.