#i personally hc him as twice divorced but more on that later

[that-fannerd-with-the-glasses]

I adore that we as a fandom acknowledge Peter Strahm's wedding ring but have all collectively agreed, that for some reason or another, he's divorced.

[insertpoetryhere]

Can you do yuuichi ootori for the 20 hc thing 🤗

My boy!!! My favorite Ootori!!!

Fun fact I’ve tried to post this twice and the app crashed both times. 🤞.

1.) Like I said with Kyoya, the Ootoris are new money. Yoshio’s grandparents were farmers prior to WW1 and then stumbled into a fortune. Yuichi is the only sibling old enough to remember their great grandparents, who died when he was 7.

2.) Yuichi is the most down to earth Ootori, mostly because his Great Grandma Kyoko would come back from the dead and bitch slap him if he started acting high and mighty.

3.) Yuichi is a dog person in a house full of cat people.

4.) Yuichi is Akito, Fuyumi, and Kyoya’s half brother from Yoshio’s first marriage to his childhood sweetheart. He inherited the company shortly after Yuichi was born and decided his wife wasn’t fitting of his status. He quietly divorced her and married a richer woman, who had Akito and Fuyumi two years later. None of the siblings know that Yuichi has a different mother.

5.) Yuichi has always been Fuyumi’s partner in crime, with her getting them into trouble and him talking them out of it. This dynamic continued into adulthood, but now almost exclusively applies to their father.

6.) Even though he loves his siblings, Yuichi can never remember how old Kyoya is. Every time he guesses, he’s always a few years younger than the actual answer. It’s the oldest to youngest child dynamic (speaking as the oldest of four myself)

7.) Yuichi is bad at lying but very good at bending the truth. He can omit information like a pro but if you ask him to tell a bold faced lie he will immediately start sweating.

8.) While he was in university, Yuichi fell in love with a Psychology student a year above him. The feeling was mutual and he wanted to marry her, but knew his father wouldn’t approve because (while wealthy) she wasn’t rich enough for the Ootoris. The relationship never went anywhere, but the two are still in contact and at 29, Yuichi Ootori remains suspiciously unmarried.

9.) Up until Kyoya’s mall trip, Yuichi was undefeated as the only Ootori siblings to have ever eaten a meal from McDonald’s.

10.) Yuichi has a one sided tension with Akito. While has adored Yuichi practically since birth, Yuichi sometimes feels resentment for Akito solely based on the pressure his father put on both of them to compete for the title of being the heir to the Ootori name. He feels awful for this resentment, especially considering how Akito comes to him with everything.

11.) The rest of the Ootori siblings come to him for advice on everything since he is the least likely out of all of them to tell their father.

12.) Yuichi’s policy on what Kyoya does is a lot more lax than the other members of the family. If he sees Kyoya doing something “unfitting of his status” he will immediately turn around so he can deny he ever saw him. It’s the unspoken “go ahead, I saw nothing” when he very obviously caught him sneaking out to do teenager bullshit. And, true to his word, he will keep his mouth shut. That is unless he finds out it’s illegal, dangerous, or stupid in a way that isn’t funny. Even then he doesn’t tell their dad or say anything to Kyoya himself. Instead he will run his mouth to Tachibana. He knows who Kyoya actually listens to.

13.) His approach to his other siblings in adulthood is “did you add or subtract from the population? No? Then please don’t tell me”. He will help them out of a situation but for the love of god please don’t give him ALL the details. As long as no one gets arrested and dad isn’t pissed, then all is well.

14.) As shown above, Yuichi actively hates being in the know about most topics that don’t concern him. It makes him feel out of control.

15.) Yuichi’s third year at ouran was also Akito and Fuyumi’s first. He spent most of the year keeping them out of trouble.

16.) Mr. Ootori’s computer password is Yuichi’s birthdate in numerical order.

17.) Yuichi is 6’4 and is the tallest Ootori.

18.) Yuichi minored in history in college, which is the field he wanted to go into before his father had him go to medical school instead.

19.) A lot of people have described Yuichi as “too gentle” for the line of work he is in.

20.) When Kyoya was born, Tachibana would sneak Yuichi into the nursery so he could see his baby brother. He was the only Ootori sibling interested in doing so.

[spade-snax]

Alright! Here goes my Bugsnax Grumpus last name headcanon!

(This ended up being way longer than I thought it would've been, oh god-)

I think we all can agree that the headcanon where a Grumpus child has their parent's combined last names as their own last name is a very common headcanon people share. It's a good one! Even I like it a lot. And when applied to OCs or fankids it makes for some hilarious names.

It'd make sense in-canon and I feel like it gives the Grumpus world more depth as their own little tradition. (Honestly give me ANY culture/tradition headcanon for Grumpuses PLEASE THOSE ARE MY FAVORITEEEE I even had one for teeth a while ago that I may share publicly one day!!)

But I've been thinking about this, especially because of Cromdo and my own OCs - Neddy and Rason Honeyfidget. With Rason being Neddy's dad, if we only used this headcanon then Neddy shouldn't have this last name... Well, there's a lore reason why he doesnt and that is that his mother has died while he was still an egg, a while before hatching. Rason made him take on "Honeyfidget" only.

But that's just the backstory that got me thinking at the name traditions as a whole, so I'll try to avoid OC talk any further to make this friendlier for others who do not know about my OCs and are just interested in reading this headcanon.

Another headcanon I want to mention as I apply it to my own is the headcanon that Triffany changed her last name to Bronica's last name as a way to honor her. You can definitely change your name to anything you want in the Grumpus world, but changing your last name to a relative's like your grandparent's last name is possibly quite common!

And now I want to bring up Cromdo and the fact he is divorced. It has been confirmed that Cromdo is divorced and that his name may reflect that. (Though originally it was answered in the AMA that "Cromdo Face" just sounded funny at first and that it is possible that he did loose a half of his last name this way!)

Also I want to say that he wasn't abusive to the child mentioned! I remember there was a small confusion and drama about that. And I believe one of the devs on the YH discord mentioned that the 1# tie was a reference to Octodad. I do not remember if that confirmed that he is a father or if this answer by Sage was possibly wrong. He cannot see the child because he lost custody of them and lost in court. I do not have screenshot evidence of this. On a side-note I believe this could be one of the reasons he grew to be so money hungry. He didn't have enough money back then to keep his child. Again I want to say it could be ONE of the reasons and not the exact reason why he is this way.

This is more so of an ramble about my headcanon and what I want to say rather than some comprehensive thing, I am so sorry dfwergeg it's just how I write and explain things and I gotta mention it ALL (Great addition to "Guzma, your ADHD is showing")

Anyways, back on track with my HC.

But in this/my headcanon - Cromdo is divorced, he has had a child, and lost a part of his last name because of the divorce. I do not know how human marriage last name and stuff works properly so uh, see this as just speculation about a fictional species' culture rather than a carbon copy of our own. Which it clearly isn't LOL

I personally think that you can do multiple things with your last name when you get married! (And how it can affect the child's last name!)

Let's use Chandlo and Snorpy as examples, because I think they make great last name combinations. (And Snorplo is HELLA !!/pos)

- You can change your last name to your partner's last name, like we do commonly. (At least, with all the cultures I'm aware of and how marriage works for us.) Examples: Snorpy Funkbun, Chandlo Fizzlebean

(This one isn't very common to do!)

- You can change one half of your last name to a half from your partner's last name. Examples: Snorpy/Chandlo Funkbun/Fizzlebun

(Not as common either, but it still happens. It is actually more common than the first example. This was the case for Cromdo. I'll get back to this later. Grumps usually reserve this for their childen, which is the most common way of naming your children!)

- You keep your last name after marriage! Example: Snorpy Fizzlebean. Chandlo Funkbun. Canon examples would be Wambus and Triffany as well!

(Most common one to do as many wear their last names with pride or for other reasons - such as Trifanny when she changed her last name to Bronica's last name in this headcanon.)

Before we get to the kids again, I'm gonna go back to Cromdo and what can happen during divorce.

During divorce you can simply change your name back if you changed it, or keep the last name you took from your partner. Many simply change their last names back to what they were originally. Some, if they went by the half/half method, take away the half from their ex-partner only. This leaves some Grumpuses with one worded last names, such as Cromdo.

I think he changed a half of his last name during marriage. After the divorce, he didn't want to "wear" his partner's name anymore and changed his name to Cromdo Face only as Face was a part of his last name he was given at birth. This is most often the default for Grumpuses who have been divorced and took only half of their partner's last name.

If Cromdo - (or any Grumpus with a one-word last name! There's certainly rare cases of Grumpuses who have one word that didn't go through divorce. Possibly Grumpuses with bad attachment to one of their parents - so they change or remove that half of the last name they got from said parent. If their last name was a combination.) - were to re-marry he could take one half of his new partner's last name, or not change his name at all.

I want to get onto how naming a child would work with this situation, so I will talk about ways of naming children before I get back to this! And by naming I of course mean the last names only, lol.

(One rule is that, unless you change your name later in real life for any reason, it's gonna have to be one of these otherwise! Your Grump parent cannot make you up a new last name. It is just a part of the tradition they have. Though re-naming isn't looked upon in any way by the majority of Grumpuses as there are many reasons to do so!! Unless you're a jerk or you value your last name TOO much.) (Also when I say "you" I don't mean YOU as the reader literally. I mean a hypothetical Grumpus child!! It's just how I like wording things.

(...I've been writing for almost an hour, brain scrampled eg)

- Your last name is the combined name of your parent's last names. Examples: Fizzlebun, Funkbean

(VERY COMMON! Most Grumpuses will do this when first naming their child!)

- Your keep one of your parent's last name! Fizzlebean or Funkbun.

(This all works if you have multiple parents btw! Can make for SUPER crazy long and funny last names. This *all* applies to marriage, too! I hope it is easily applicable. I do not want to go in depth on that. Feel free to hit me an ask about this if you want me to explain it more in depth!! I wouldn't want to exclude polyamorous relationships ^^ )

(Also yes, last names that are just the same word repeated twice/multiple times are possible too. Fizzlefizzle, Funkfunk... How fun are these to say? Gives me Grumpus OC name ideas already.)

But yes! Back to Cromdo! Or any Grumpus in the same situation, but as I've stater earlier, Cromdo is just an example here. If he were to re-marry and NOT change his name, there's two posibilities:

His new partner has a full last name.

In this situation, if they have a child they can keep the full last name from Cromdo's partner. Or they can have one word from his partner + Face. For reasons stated below the child cannot have "Face" as their only last name.

His new partner has a one-worded, short last name like he does.

In this situation, if they have a child they have to name it a combination of their last name's. No exception. Having a short last name is a sign of something happening in your life, and it is traditionally not put onto a child, unless they are adopted with no last name. That still counts as something that happened in their life, as their birth parents possibly just gave them away with no care in the world.

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

At this point I am almost completely off track, so please do ask me questions as I am not sure where I completely left off - Or rather if there is something I forgot that I wanted to mention.

By the way, for combining last names and such, you can also mis-match! Doesn't even have to be combinations. This applies to everything, even for (Full last name + one-word last names) where it makes sense the most. Examples: Beanfizzle, Bunfunk, Bunbean, Bunfizzle, Beanbun, Beanfunk. I'm personally a big fan of Bunfunk and Beanbun :P)

And this applies to siblings, too! It isn't uncommon for parents naming their children mis-matched last name combinations if they have multiple ones. (This ties into my headcanon for Filbo's many siblings and that he isn't a single child. He's in a big household and has at least 2 siblings. ONE OF WHICH I want to make into an OC! This requires me to make the parents, too, but I am not so bothered about that :P)

I'm out for now, all my brain power has left me a few paragraphs ago and I've got to go eat lunch

But again I encourage people to ask me questions (If anyone was brave enough to read through this!!)

And if I got anything wrong, do let me know! I am not all-knowing and I could've missed some VERY OBVIOUS mistakes.

And sorry if the writing is wonky at times! Sometimes it is done on purpose but sometimes the fact I only pretend I know how to write + the fact English is my second language IS SHOWING

(Also I sometimes just write how I think, without much thought put into the sentence if I don't proof read, so HSDFWERGRGT)

[mikemoon]

( choi yeonjun, cis man ) have you seen MICHAEL “MIKE” MOON ? i heard HE is a COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR at SAN VERTO COLLEGE and an EMPLOYEE at HALL OF FILM. they’re 22 years old and they’ve been living in san verto for 6 YEARS. they tend to be CARE-FREE & ADVENTUROUS, but rumor has it they can also be GRUMPY & CLUMSY. [ tally, 25, gmt+4, she/her ] @foolsstarters​

tw // mentions of depression, cheating, divorce, underage drinking and smoking

michael moon, born myungjun moon –– choi yeonjun fc

birthday: september 9, 1998 - 22 yrs old ; virgo

cis man, he/him, bisexual

born and raised in philadelphia, pennsylvania

mike grew up being an only child, and always around the company of his mother in their house. his father was always traveling back and forth from south korea to the states for work. his parents have met at work on one of his father’s trips to the states, and they fell in love. his mother being american-born, she couldn’t really leave philadelphia. she loved it there. so they decided to keep it a long distance relationship.

sometime during those fleeting meetings, she had gotten pregnant with michael. and of course, his father spoiled them both, giving them everything they wanted. he never left them to fend for themselves. when the boy was born, his father named him myungjun, and his mother decided to name him michael for his english name. the nicknames jun, mike, and sometimes junnie were often heard whenever his parents or childhood friends called him.

up until mike was five years old in 2004, he’s lived with his mother, while his father was leaving and coming back for a week or two. but that year, he’s finally moved to the states and stayed with them for longer nights. he even finally married michael’s mother. of course, he still disappeared for a few days or weeks on end for work.

but that was also the year michael’s mother found out that her husband was with another woman. michael has never seen his mother break down like that before. sadly, the young boy was peering into the room when the fight happened and witnessed everything. his mother made her partner choose between the two women, and he eventually told her that he was going to divorce his first wife for her, and appeared to have gone through with his promise. because after that incident, he’s been around more often.

by early 2015, when michael had just turned 16, his mother had gotten a teaching job in ashdown academy, which resulted in their move to san verto, california. meaning, new school and new friends for mike. meanwhile, his dad was still traveling a lot for business and coming back whenever he could.

michael has grown up as a cheerful and energetic child. his friends at any school he went to would tell you how much of a great friend he is, how trustworthy and caring he is. it was so easy for him to make friends anywhere. he was the type of friend who would smile at you and listen to you talk on and on about whatever you liked, and the type who would cheer you on with anything you want to achieve. he wanted everyone to feel included and loved.

so it wasn’t that hard for him to get along with new people once he moved to town. he was a very social person. 

he was also the type of teenager who was out there doing things he wasn’t supposed to. he missed his old friends and his old home, but he wanted to have fun with all the new kids he was befriending. that simply resulted in him going to house parties as an underaged teen to ‘have fun’. his mother didn’t approve of him coming home very late at night, clearly smelling like smoke and alcohol. 

internally he was a depressed mess. of course, no one is completely happy as they grow up. his family was a mess, even if it appeared as fine to everyone else. his family life affected him so much while growing up. mike sometimes could disappear for a few days in his room, and it was always during some of his bad spells.

what made it worse was the day he found out the truth.

it was 2017 when michael walked into his father’s office in their house, looking for him to ask him about something. and instead of finding the man, he found a stack of papers poking from underneath his father’s laptop. upon closer look, they appeared to be divorce papers. michael’s heart sunk, thinking his parents were breaking it off.

michael is a curious kid, he couldn’t help but close the door and read the papers. but what he saw wasn’t his mother’s name, it was another woman. his heart raced, as he put things back where they were and immediately left the room. michael had found out one of his father’s many secrets. he never divorced his first wife all those years ago. he lied and somehow stayed with both women without suspicion... well, until now. clearly the other woman was breaking it off for a reason. 

michael couldn’t help his curiosity. he came back to the room later that night and snapped as many pictures as he could of evidence he could find. he even found his father’s phone (which was easy to figure out the password of) and found a plethora of pictures of the man with a different family, different kids and a different partner. he airdropped the pictures to himself to avoid leaving any traces behind and quickly left again.

a quick search on facebook, and he managed to find the first wife. it was easy with the name and pictures he had. if anything, michael prided himself on being a good internet detective... or stalker. he spent everyday trying to find the rest of the family on the internet. he found the woman’s young daughter on instagram and twitter, along with her older son’s accounts as well. it felt weird. it was a constant “now what?” for michael. he’s found them. what was he going to do now? he couldn’t just message them and tell them everything. and he couldn’t break his mother’s heart by letting her know.

except he had to let her know. he could never live with the fact that he knew his father was betraying her this entire time. and so michael told her everything, and after comforting her all night when she broke down yet again, she immediately ended things and asked for a divorce. now it was just michael and his mother, all alone. and for once, having to get by on their own.

thankfully they were safe, with his mother’s amazing money management skills, and the job she got at the academy, they managed to live their regular lives despite the heavy feeling of a broken family looming around them. the two just wanted to be happy again.

michael spent the next few years trying to lead a normal life. his mental health had gotten worse after everything he’s found out. he went to college, and he continued trying to do well in school. he really wasn’t the best when it came to grades, but he was trying his best.

and truthfully, he couldn’t help but make a few spare accounts on some social medias to follow his father’s other family.

but he eventually decided to just let it go, assuming they definitely knew about his mother and himself, which would explain the first divorce. so he decided to put it in the past and move on.

his mother has moved on as well. she found herself someone who actually cares about her so much (mike’s stupid ass has done a secret background check to make sure this dude wasn’t another cheater lmaoo) and now mike isn’t an only child anymore. it’s been 2 years since his little sister yuna was born, and he loves her so much. he still isn’t used to the idea of a new fatherly figure in his life, but he’s.... getting there. 

little dumb hcs

mike majors in computer science at san verto college, with a concentration in game development and design

hes a lil gamer boy,,, u KNOW he’s that annoying dude with a gamer chair that has a sound system in it khjkh

he posted a few videos on youtube but rly just ditched the channel after like a month. he still posts whenever he feels like it tho and it’s usually just.... messy gaming videos or opinions no one asked for

his dad’s dumb ass still doesn’t know it was mike who exposed him to his mother. he thinks she found the divorce papers on her own. therefore.... mike still gets money from his dad on a monthly basis and gets to keep the car he bought him for his 18th birthday lmaooooo a win 

you probably heard me say this before but.... theres a hc that mike is allergic to eggs. simply bc the idea of him shopping in the vegan section is funny to me 

this boy has a love for frogs ? idk where the obsession came from but you bet you’re gonna see a cute lil frog sticker on everything he owns. he doodles them on everything too ? it’s a habit at this point. he also knows random little facts about them and tells them to anyone who didnt ask for them 

. embarrassing but.. this dude... omg.... a big sana stan.... he has a photocard collection.... he went to a twice concert like 5 times.... dont be surprised if you see a feel special sana photocard in his phonecase.... im embarrassed of him 

he also has a hyunjin mcdonalds hashbrown photocard framed that a friend gave to him for christmas bc.. it’s a rare card,,, and you can see it on a table by the door when you walk into his apartment 😭

mike also has a habit of buying things he doesn’t need ?? he has a plushie collection that has been growing since he was young, and now is getting bigger with the rise of squishmallows

there’s this random hc where he drunk bought a cardboard cutout of john cena ,,,, don’t ask,,, it’s currently guarding his room back at his mom’s house djfhdj

can you tell mike is my most embarrassing , most chaotic character,, 

also he moved out after graduating school and when he started to attend college,,,, gimme some roomies pls

connection ideas ??

michael’s childhood friends; could’ve gone to the same school back in philly before he moved away ?? 

friends he made when he moved to town?? mike is very social and was... kinda popular in school, i’d say. he made friends with basically anyone he found interesting

michael’s ex; they could’ve ended on a bad note, or even on a good one and ended up being friends. im really up for plotting anything.

michael’s best friend; PLEASE i love wholesome best friend plots. it doesn’t matter if they met in san verto or philly

roomies pls !!! i would love it if he could have some roommates who have to deal with his very . peculiar decorating habits 

co workers ?? customers ? regulars ? he works at hall of film ! 

like this to plot or hmu !

[llycaons]

I said I was alert but I was in such a fuzzy headspace just now. regardless, my thoughts. episode 10

I always forget how the characters sound. their voices are translated in my head so I’m only half-listening to the actual dialogue. xxc has a much deeper voice than I remember

I don’t have a lot of thoughts about them? they’re relatively undeveloped characters. they don’t make me sad til later

the whole xy situation in yi city is still really upsetting to me so I’m going to just say he had weird vibes. borderline flirting but also extremely creepy

!!!! WEI WUXIAN!!!“When it comes to shamlessness, if I’m not first nobody would dare be second!!! KING!!! that phrase is so neatly worded, I love translations. it’s almost exactly the same at the netflix one.

so personally my preferred interpretation of the censorship is that gay people are so widely accepted that it’s not really worth specifically mentioning but obviously that doesn’t really explain everything or work in all situations. like maybe it depends on the clan, or the region or the person. and even people who want to be supportive end up making assumptions (like yanli telling wwx he’d marry a pretty girl after he’d met lwj. lol)

and the fact that so much is unspoken as the relationship develops kind of points to how bad the situation is and how neither of them are able to get into a relationship in that kind of environment

I know it’s due to censorship but honest to god when paired with their actions and arcs it ends up making them both look just really respectful and careful of each other’s boundaries (lwj not wanting to emulate his father while wwx doesn’t want to step over any lines with someone who isn’t ready for that) which is an interpretation I really really love

anyway the fact that xy is so heavily implied to be mlm makes me so mad. I would have rather he was homophobic in all honesty yi city is a nightmare. also he’s not attractive? the actor is fine but ppl who think he as a character is hot weird me out

oh! SL walks with his hand behind his back like lwj does! parallels, they continue

jc sees wwx visibly emotional about not getting to meet BSSR and looks...conflicted? upset for him? he doesn’t end up saying anything, because he’s jiang cheng and will openly communicate worry to wwx exactly twice in this entire show, poorly and much to his own regret. but I saw it. we see you, jc

on the other hand, literally every interaction with wwx he has he’s such a dick. would it kill you to be nice for once

nie mingjue intro!!!! hello sir!!!!! he’s so kind to say nice things about wwx and jc, they look so happy awww

I think it’s a fun hc that wwx thinks nmj was hot but I don’t talk about it because people will get weird with it. there’s an age gap there, please don’t make me write it all out, etc.

also nmj calling lwj “wangji” is so cute! that’s lwj’s pseudo big brother! he must have known lwj since he was little

I’ve seen a post that says lwj only bows a few times and to people not usually given respect, and that post is just not accurate. he bowed to the Jiang assembly in ep3, he bowed to xxc and SL, and he’s bowing to nmj

ah, roof-sleeping scene :) I do wonder if the fighting hadn’t started right then, would they have gotten together around now? I think it’s too early still tbh. wwx isn’t ready to deal with how serious his feelings are and lwj can’t even talk about them. but then I’ll see fics where they don’t say anything about it for 10+ years and im like this ain’t it either

wen chao shows up and more importantly so does wen zuliu!!! his first appearance!!

wzl is sexy in a bitter and exhausted divorced middle-aged man kind of way. would have been the funniest villain if xy’s actor wasn’t so committed to his character being absolutely unhinged

oof I just saw donghua wzl. yikes. ugly.

meng yao’s acting here is extraordinary. I know exactly what happens, I saw him kill that dude, and I’m still like “well maybe it wasn’t him :(’ this is not only because I am gullible and weak in the face of crying but also because he’s an extremely manipulative and slippery person who will do anything to survive, etc.

nmj is crying at the end of the episode. I think not only because his trust in MY has been betrayed and his clan is being ground under the heel of the wens but because he must have known that commanding officer personally. that was probably one of his brothers. I’m sure some of those tears were grief.

that being said, he kind of had it coming :/ he was an asshole

[banshees-and-valkyries]

S.O.S. : An ABBA Inspired Nightwing Fic

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fic that I’m posting here to Tumblr. It’s not the first fic I've written but it is the first Nightwing/Dick Grayson fic I’ve done! I’ll also be posting to AO3 at some point so I will make an edit to this with the link at some point! Anyways, I super head canon that Dick is into ABBA and I’ve noticed others have the same HC as me so that is what inspired this. Enjoy!

I had met Dick in the most humorous way possible.  

I’m a bartender by day and a musician by night, as I like to say. I make decent money in tips and that helps me afford my little one-bedroom apartment and any possible equipment I might need for a show.  

It was Karaoke Night at the bar I had been working at. We usually had another bartender come in around eight or so at night, so in case I had a later gig to play, I could make it. This night, I didn’t have a show but still got off work at the same time. The other bartender kept eyeing me as she was cleaning some glasses. “You should go up there and sing,” Josie said, “You’re a musician, aren’t you? Have you ever thought of doing Karaoke here to help get your name out a little more?”

I actually had never thought of that, and I’m kind of surprised I didn’t. When I thought of playing shows, I was never intending part of it to be Karaoke at my work. Maybe it was pride that kept me from singing there before but, everyone’s got to start somewhere right?

I smiled and nodded my head at Josie, “Yeah, you know what? I’ll do it. I get off in about 10 minutes so I’ll just finish up and give Donald my name.” Donald was the man gracious enough to run Karaoke Night, gods know most of us didn’t want to have that gig. Between folks drunk off their asses and most women thinking they were the next Mariah Carey (plot twist, they weren’t), we rarely saw any actual talent up there. Maybe once or twice every few weeks but, this was just a schtick for the bar to make a little more money, and to the patrons, it was purely just for fun.

As I was finishing cleaning up my station, I noticed someone walk through the door and make their way over to me. He was about average height, maybe 5’10 or so, with a mop of chocolate brown hair and the most beautiful ocean blue eyes. He was a looker, that’s for sure. He sat down directly in front of me, with a smirk.

“I leave in a few minutes so I’ll make it quick. What’s your poison?”, I inquired, wiping the counter. He spoke in a deep velvety voice, “Jack and Coke.” His eyes never left me as I walked around the bar, making his drink for him. I placed it down in front of him. “Enjoy. My time is up but Josie here will take care of you.” I smiled at him and gathered my belongings, exiting the bar to get some fresh air before making my way back inside.

I set my target on Donald and made a bee line for the man. Donald was a man in his forties, divorced for about ten years with both of his kids grown up and living on their own. He was alone but he wasn’t lonely. He liked doing Karaoke Nights at the bar, it oddly brought him joy. I gave the man a hug, “Hey Donny,” I greeted. His face lit up when he saw me and gave me an equally tight squeeze. “Hey kiddo! No gig tonight?”

“Not scheduled no, but I was hoping I could sing tonight if you don’t mind” He smiled back excitedly, “Not at all! It’s about time we got some real talent, what’s been keeping you?” He chuckled and we talked for a few minutes. All the while, I could feel someone’s eyes on me. I looked around, attempting to catch who it was and ended up locking eyes with the man I served at the bar. He looked at me inquisitively with a slight smile. I returned the smile for a moment and turned my attention back to Donald.

“So what’s it gonna be little lady?” I looked over his shoulder at his laptop, eyeing the track selection. Nothing was catching my eye. I thought for a moment before asking him, “Do you have any ABBA?” “Boy, do I! I have all of the hits here.” He pulled up the selection and my eyes gazed over the songs until I found the one I wanted. I pointed to the screen, “That one!”

Donald looked back at me, “That’s a duet typically, are you sure?” Just before I could answer, I felt someone walk up behind me and speak in a familiar voice, “I could be the second voice if you’d like?” I turned around to catch a glance at the mystery man and it was the same one from the bar. “I’m Dick, by the way. I’m not trying to be weird or anything, I just - I thought you were really beautiful and when I saw you came back in, I had to talk to you before I lost my chance.” He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward I could presume.  

I was flattered, actually, and impressed in a weird way. Most of the guys who came in and took interest in me were total sleazes and would hit on me any chance they got. But him, Dick, he seemed sweet. I smiled back at him and held out my hand for him to shake. “I’m flattered, but most people call me Faye.” He shook my hand and laughed at the joke I made. “Are you okay with ABBA?”  

I swear that man got a sugar rush the second I mentioned ABBA. “Of course, they’re only the best Supergroup to ever exist.” He rambled on for a few seconds and it was totally adorable to see him geek out like that.  

We waited about fifteen minutes for all of the other patrons who had already signed up to take their turn. As expected, we got a bunch of drunk men trying to sing Journey hits and women attempting to sing Whitney Houston. Finally, there was one person singing and we were set to go next.  

I turned back to Dick, we had been making small talk as we waited for our turn to come up. “You do know the words to S.O.S? Right?” “No I just thought I’d make an ass out of myself in front of this insanely gorgeous woman I like,” he deadpanned. He broke out into a smirk and a fit of laughter soon after. I started blushing but quickly tried to cover it up, “Okay Romeo, just sing when you’re supposed to.” I let out with a chuckle.

This was so new and foreign to me. This beautiful, handsome, breathtaking man was flirting with me and he wasn’t a creep like all the others. I wasn’t accustomed to talking to someone like this. I tend to keep to myself, never looking for a relationship because, quite frankly, none of these “men” nowadays, ever met my standards. Always too immature, or had a crude “sense of humor” or they were just assholes.

Donald turned to look at us then motioned for us to go up there and I felt a rush of nerves and adrenaline hit me. I was always nervous before I sang but it was a good nervous, an excited nervous. Dick and I walked towards the makeshift “stage” as Donny spoke out to the bar, “Alright, alright. In a minute, we got Faye and Dick singing S.O.S by ABBA!” We both grabbed a mic and smiled at each other as we stepped forward, preparing ourselves for our performance.

I heard the music kick in and looked at Dick, not really sure what to expect from his singing but as I heard his voice, I was speechless. I thought his speaking voice was alluring but his singing voice was even better.  

“Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to find,” he sang, looking directly at me with a slight smirk. “I tried to reach for you but you have closed your mind.” This man began sauntering towards me and making a legitimate performance out of it. I’ve never been so blown away before.

He continued to sing the rest of his lines and then it came time for my part. I walked towards him and grabbed his hand as I sang, “You seem so far away, though you are standing near.” His resolve dissipated for a moment. I was unsure if it was my voice or my action that took him by surprise but the smile returned to his face as I continued my serenade.  

We were so in synch with our mini show. I was a musician so I was used to performing already. Whereas him, I had no clue where this came from but I loved it! We had so much chemistry, like we had been together like this a thousand times.

We finished out and heard a roar from the crowd. Applause, shouting, whistles, you name it. It was such an amazingly unexpected experience. Dick and I crossed the floor to hand the microphones back to Donald. “I gotta say, kid,” he began, “You blew me away. You both did actually. You two look like you were meant to be up there together.”

I smiled and blushed at the compliment as Dick turned towards me. “You were,” he paused with the biggest grin on his face, “Showstopping. I- I'm speechless, I have no words!” Now I was grinning ear to ear as a deep crimson swept across my face, “You weren’t too bad yourself there. Say, where did that come from? You’re a natural!” He went on to explain that he came from a family of acrobats and would all perform together at something called Haly’s Circus.  

“Can I get you a drink? On me? This is an occasion to celebrate, of course!” He chuckled and I accepted. I have never had this kind of chemistry with anyone before, it was almost intoxicating. He held his hand out for me and I grasped it as he led us back over to the bar. Dick ordered another Jack and Coke and I ordered a Vodka Cranberry. We sipped on our drinks as we chatted and began learning more about each other.  

So far, I had learned that he was twenty-three years old, had his own apartment and vehicles (yes, PLURAL) and had two previous short-lived relationships and was currently single. You know, all the important stuff. Amidst the conversation, he continued to flirt in cute, cheesy ways. He also managed to throw in some clever and well-placed puns. This man was speaking my language and I was thoroughly enraptured by him. I honestly did not want this night to end.

Just then, we heard a voice carry over the bar, “Final call for any last-minute Karaoke Kooks. We’ll be packing up in a few so make your way down!” My ears perked up at the sound as my mind sprang with an idea. I turned to Dick but it seems he beat me to it. “Do you maybe want to go up there again? I had so much fun with you!” He was beaming with glee. I quickly nodded and we left our seats to reunite with Don.

“Back again I see! Well, you guys are probably the last ones so make it memorable,” Don winked as he finished and we looked over the song selection. “You can choose this time, since I decided the first song.” Dick nodded and scanned the screen before locking his sights on a track and deciding. “I want that one,” he spoke with such conviction and I looked over his shoulder to eye his choice. “’Gimme Gimme’ huh? Bold choice.” I smiled at him as we prepared ourselves for our second performance but I certainly hoped this was not our last.

Once again, the music started up and I had decided to introduce the song this time around. “Half past twelve, watchin’ the late show, in my flat all alone. How I hate to spend the evening on my own.” I was giving this performance everything I had in me, and it helped that I felt like Dick just brought that energy out of me. It was as though I didn’t have to try.  

We continued our “dialogue” back and forth as the song progressed. We belted out the lyrics with such fervor and enthusiasm, feeding off of each other’s energy. “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, a man after midnight. Won’t somebody help me chase the shadows away!” We were grinning ear to ear, looking like a couple of dopes but we had so much fun together. The song finished out and we threw our arms around each other, laughing to no end. We held each other like that for a few moments until Don interrupted.

“You guys did it again. I don’t know what it is, call it fate, call it whatever you want, but you guys were definitely meant to be together.” Don grinned at us and I felt that familiar crimson shade spread across my face as I turned to Dick. He was already smiling.

“Well, I’m not one to argue with fate. Are you?” I merely shook my head and grinned at him. “Soooo,” he drew out, “Does that mean I might walk away with your number?” I chuckled at his comment and we swapped phones so we could exchange contact information. “I should get going,” I spoke up after a few moments, “I had so much fun though, seriously! This is probably the best night I’ve had in a while.” He seemed to light up after my compliment and offered to walk me to my car.  

“Actually, I walk. My apartment is just a few blocks from here. I can handle it.” He looked skeptical, “Nonsense, I can just drive you. You shouldn’t be walking home alone this late at night. Hop in.” He smiled at me and led me to his, very nice, I might add, Porsche parked out front. He opened the door for me and I situated myself before we took off.

I directed him down the streets until we were parked right out front of my home. He turned the car off and came around my side, opening the door for me again. He went so far as to walk me up the stairs until I was right outside my door, “for safety reasons, of course”. He was such a gentleman.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” he spoke up leaning against the wall of the building. “So did I. Thank you again for driving me home, you really didn’t have to.” I smiled softly at him and he returned it. He leaned forward off of the building and took a step forward so he was standing right in front of me.

In this close proximity, I caught a whiff of spearmint and pine emanating off of him. He outstretched his arms and brought me in for a hug, holding it there for a few moments before pulling away slightly to look down at me.

I swore I saw his gaze flicker between my eyes and my lips a couple times and I smiled in response. He leaned in closer to me, head dipping down slightly. “Let me know if you want me to stop,” he spoke, voice just barely above a whisper. I licked my lips, “Don’t.”

That was all the invitation he needed. His lips met mine in a soft embrace and I felt electricity run through my body like nothing ever before. It was soft and sweet and I loved it. We pulled away soon after and I caught him cheesing like an idiot. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?” he told me.

“I won’t be if you won’t.” He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze before walking back to his car. He made sure not to drive off until he saw me enter my apartment. I definitely didn’t expect my night to go like this but I sure was happy about it nonetheless. I sighed contentedly and leaned my back against the door. I touched my lips and they still tingled from the experience. I went to bed that night with the events of the day replaying in my mind until I fell into a peaceful slumber.