#me: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THNK YOU!!!!!!!!!! SO SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[spohkh]

GODDDDDD THIS EPISODE WAS SO FUCKING GOOD GIRL LOOK AT THIS FACEEEEEE.... hes absolutely living for this knowledge that dong soo can be so vengeful. like he was intrigued/amused by dong soo before but now hes like oh there is DEFINITELY something fucked up about that little dude and i am INTO IT... do young can see sooo clearly all of the twisted up gnarled rage inside of hds that he tries so hard to hide.. "his revengeful spirit" uggghhhhhhhh yes do young is going to hit at hds' fault lines until he bursts right open!!!! the fucking little smile on hds' face when sdy showed him the picture of moon in the car accident MA'AM? LET THAT REVENGEFUL SPIRIT RIPPPP!!!! ONLINE GAMBLING KINGPIN!!! FAST TRACK ON THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL!!!

do young is like dong soo. you freaky little attorney. take my unlovable hand in yours. lets go full no children in this bitch.

[dunnerlars]

always attract - matthew tkachuk

pairing: matthew tkachuk x fem!reader summary: matthew mistakenly tells your brother that you're his date to his wedding. word count: 5.7k warnings: none? i don't think a/n: this is my fic for @sc0tters for the #the summer fic exchange 2k24 hosted by the wonderful @wyattjohnston! i haven't written in forever so this was fun to dive into- and it's not beta'd because i'm terrified to ask someone to look it over so all mistakes are my own 😅

—

Matthew 🐀: I know its 5am for you but i think fucked up

Matthew 🐀: Will you be my date to your brothers wedding

The text has you blinking rapidly as you check the time, your phone bright in the dark of the room. Why the fuck is he up right now? Squinting, you see it’s just past 5am and groan, falling back into bed and wondering what the fuck Matthew’s even talking about. It takes a second for you to put everything together, mind failing to keep up with the words date, wedding, and brother.

Me: Sorry what??? What are you talking about

Matthew 🐀: we’re at connor’s bach party and leon asked if i had a date yet and i might’ve told connor you were going to be my date

Me: It’s 5AM 

Matthew 🐀: i know we’re heading back to the hotel now but Please b my date

Me: What did connor say?

You huff and roll over, sitting up to turn the light on your nightstand on. Matthew hadn’t responded back yet and you quick to type:

Me: Is he pissed??

Matthew 🐀: its hard to tell w him you know? So what do you say? Date? To the wedding? pleaseeeeeeee

Suddenly a knot forms in your stomach at the thought and despite it not being your fault you feel guilty for Connor thinking you were hiding something from him. Matthew is your friend….He wouldn’t be the worst date. Might as well get something out of it.

Me: What’s in it for me?

Matthew 🐀: literally whatever

Having a favor from Matthew could come in handy at some point, you think. And it could be worth all of this fucking nonsense he’s putting you through at now 5:22am. 

Me: Fine, but you owe me a no-barred favor. I can ask for whatever, whenever I want no matter what.

You pause-

Me: How did this even happen?

Matthew 🐀: i’ll explain tomorrow and we can figure out details!!! Thnks babe 😘

Rolling your eyes, you set your phone back down on the nightstand and sigh. It’s almost too much to think about how quickly Connor and Matthew had become close over the last couple of weeks. You’d thought for sure there would be some residual hate from the Panthers Cup win but then Matthew had invited Connor out to his day with the Cup and it was love at first bro hug or whatever excuse they used. And despite the invites going out months ago, Connor had finagled an invite for Matthew and now here you were.

Ever since your move to southern Florida last year, your growing friendship with Matthew had always bugged Connor so it was funny to you now, seeing the tables turned. 

The vibration of your phone breaks you from your thoughts and you prepare yourself for another text from Matthew only to be surprised to see it’s a text from your brother.

Connor 👼🏻: So Tkachuk huh?

Deciding it was far too early to deal with this anymore, you turn the phone over and will yourself back to sleep.

—

It’s the next day when Matthew requests to FaceTime you, your phone ringing with a video call as you step outside to your backyard and get settled on a patio chair.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Matthew greets, his grin the most endearingly annoying thing about him.

“You don’t have to use lines on me, Matthew. I’ve already said yes,” you remind him, eyebrows raised as you try your best to glare at him. You take stock of his surroundings and frown. “Are you back in St. Louis already?”

“Yeah, I had a charity thing scheduled with my dad for tonight so I flew back late yesterday.”

“Oh.. Hope you’re not too hungover.” 

He shrugs and regroups, sliding his sunglasses up into his curls. “I’m alright. So-,” he starts but you cut him off.

“I need you to explain to me what happened last night before we figure out everything else.” It’s something you’ve tried to piece together and you still haven’t texted Connor back, afraid you might break Matthew’s cover.

“Alright, that’s fair,” he nods, “We were walking back from a bar and Leon asked if I had a date to the wedding, since it was short notice that I was going. And the way he asked- it just really bugged me. Like his tone? I dunno. It just rubbed me wrong. And the guys were making shitty comments. Whatever.”

You know the tone Matthew’s referring to, grateful you’ve never been on the receiving end. Leon was a hard one to crack and it’d taken you at least a year to wear him down. Nodding at him to continue, he shifts his eyes and you can tell he’s embarrassed. 

“So obviously I told them I had a date and they stopped and it was fine- until your brother pulled me back from the group and asked who I was bringing, so he could tell Lauren, and I panicked and said you,” he mumbles the next part, your ears straining to pick up the words, “And I might've mentioned we’ve been dating.”

You pause, wondering if Matthew just said what you think he did and yeah- he did. He at least has the nerve to look sheepish, apologetic. “Dating? Are you… What? Matthew!”

“Look, I was on the spot okay! And drunk! And it’s not like it’s out of the question. You’re one of my best friends. My mom loves you, I swear you talk to my sister more than I do. I can go on,” he shoots you a pleading look.

“Well when you put it that way, sure. I guess.”

“You guess? You know I’m right.”

Sighing, you nod. “Fine. Whatever. Did you give him any details? I can’t imagine Connor didn’t have a million questions, I tell him everything.”

“What do you mean everything?”

“Matthew, that’s not the point. Did he question you at all?” 

“No. Just patted me on the shoulder and we caught up with everyone else.”

“Huh.”

That’s…. Weird. And out of character for your brother, who’s nosy as fuck when it comes to your personal life. Maybe he already thinks it’s all a lie. Or is just actually super pissed, which isn’t any better. Would this even be worth it? How often would a favor from Mattew come in handy? Okay, actually pretty handy. He’s got money, connections. Could be good to have for things you don’t wanna ask Connor for… Ugh.

Glancing up, you catch Matthew waiting for you to say something and his curls catch the back light of the St. Louis sun from behind him, casting an almost halo glow around his head. His eyes are bright, sunglasses still tucked up on the top of his head. Two front teeth catching his bottom lip and biting and God, he’s pretty. 

Maybe this wasn’t the worst idea. What could go wrong? 

“Alright, let’s figure this out…”

—

It’s hours later when you finally work up the nerve to call Connor, lying in bed after a long day. Since he hadn’t questioned Matthew for details, it was easy enough to make up a backstory for you and Matthew: it’s only been a couple of months, things aren’t serious but they’re fun and easy and you both like each other enough that it’s exclusive. Which was all real except that when you hung out, it just wasn’t a date. Because you weren’t dating. Nope.

The call finally connects, sure you were almost going to get his voicemail, and Connor greets you with, “Thanks for letting me know you’re alive.”

It’s easy to tell by the tone of his voice, short, quick and void of any emotion, that he’s disappointed because it’s the voice you know he uses when he loses a game he felt they should’ve won.

“You’re mad.”

“And why am I mad?”

“Because-”

“Because I found out you’ve been secretly dating Tkachuk behind my back, from him? Why did I have to find out from him and not you, my own sister? Was this going on throughout our entire Cup series? Or has it been longer?”

Fuck.

“Matthew lying to me is- It’s whatever. You’re my sister. Why didn’t you tell me? What about telling me made you straight up lie when I’ve asked you about your trips up to wherever the fuck the Panthers play? Or when he’s down there with you?”

Fort Lauderdale your mind supplies but you know it won’t do any good to say so.

“You always made it seem like it was just buddies when you told me you were meeting with him for lunch or whatever, someone that reminded you of home, but I guess that’s what made it so easy, huh?” The heat in Connor’s voice has petered out, like he’s figuring it all out and he sighs. “Fuck. I’m sorry. This is probably why you didn’t want to say anything to me.”

“It really was just friends, Con. I promise,” you tell him. “Then… I dunno. Things just got more real. I didn’t want to see anyone else and he didn’t either. It’s only been a couple of months, I swear.”

“So, through the series, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Connor lets out a long breath, like he’s deciding his next words carefully. “I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me. I get it. It wasn’t the best reaction.”

“No shit,” you laugh.

“But you’re coming to the wedding together?” You hear someone shout in the background and grin when you recognize Lauren’s voice. “Lauren wants to know if she should switch your escort down the aisle to Chucky.”

“I mean,” you pause, thinking. It would be nice to know who was walking down with you, one of Lauren’s second cousins or something was supposed to be your escort but having Matthew on your arm would be nice. “Yeah, sure. As long as it doesn’t fuck anything up on her end.”

Connor grunts, “As if Lauren would let anything fuck that day up. It’s fine. Let Chucky know for us, yeah? She’s making the calls already.”

“Alright. Thanks, Con. And tell Lauren thank you too.”

“Will do. Love ya, kiddo. Sorry I freaked out.”

You roll your eyes. Brothers. 

“Love you too. I’ll text you once I talk to him.”

Lauren and Connor both shouted their goodbyes as you hung up.

Me: So you’re gonna be my escort down the aisle next week in the wedding 🙂

Matthew 🐀: Fuck you

Me: You wish

Matthew 🐀: well yeah

Of course he didn’t mean it like that- Matthew always down for a joke, and you calm your racing heart, gulping down some water.

So now you not only have a fake boyfriend but also said (fake) boyfriend was going to walk you down the aisle at your brother’s wedding. In a week. Great.

—

You fly into St. Louis. The plan was to meet up with Matthew on the Saturday before the wedding and then you’d fly up to Toronto and drive up to Muskoka together on Wednesday. Trying to keep up appearances, Matthew had said. Thankfully the flight from Miami to Missouri wasn’t too terrible, even if the lady that was sat next to you had a perfume on that made you nauseous. 

Matthew had texted you that he was idling on the curb, waiting, and once you had your bags, you headed outside into the muggy heat. The loud honk of a horn coming from a giant black SUV startles you and Matthew rolls down the window with a laugh, “Come on, they’re gonna make me move again.”

It was tempting to make him squirm but you caught the eye of one of the traffic guards and scurry forward, dumping your bags into the backseat before jumping into the passenger’s side. 

“Hi.” 

“Hey,” he grins, turning on his blinker before merging onto the road. “Seatbelt please.”

The quietness of the truck surprises you as you buckle your seatbelt, having expected some kind of rap music or sports podcast to be playing through the speakers. Or at least that’s what he normally was listening to when you’d meet up in Miami, and he’d pick you up at your apartment. The silence was comfortable though, the quiet hum of the AC and the tapping of Matthew’s fingers against the steering wheel filling the cab. His posture was relaxed, slouched in the driver’s seat.

Matthew swats lightly at your thigh, pulling your attention away from the window, “You should let Connor know you’re here.”

Digging through your bag, you search for your phone and fire off a quick text to the group chat with your brother and parents that you’d made it safely to St. Louis and were with Matthew, heading back to his house.

“So, how was the flight?”

Well it was fine in the sense that nothing went wrong and there weren’t any screaming babies and you managed to fall asleep since you’d been up at the ass crack of dawn to make sure you got to the airport in time but- Well. Your dreams had been filled with flashes of Matthew’s smile and his laugh and how he always managed to make you feel better after a bad day at work and he’d called just to say he was bored and was wondering what you were doing and, and and-. 

Where was this even coming from?

You obviously couldn’t say all of that so you shrug, “It was okay. The lady next to me must’ve bathed in perfume because I almost gagged but I pulled a mask on and managed to fall asleep against the window.”

Matthew whistles in sympathy, “God that’s always the worst.”

Nodding, you chew on your bottom lip and turn to face him in your seat and get a good look at him. “You look nice.”

And he did. There was something different about him and you weren’t sure if it was the glowing tan that covered his neck and arms, the blonde that was starting to weave its way into the curls that sat neatly on his head, or just the ease at which he was holding himself but he looked different. Maybe part of it was the fact that the last time you’d seen Matthew in person was right after the Panthers victory and he’d been dog tired and worn out, bushy beard and clothes hanging off his frame. This Matthew was refreshed and had a Stanley Cup under his belt, carefree and like nothing could bring him down. 

Matthew glances at you quickly, a sly smile overtaking his face. “Yeah? Well, gotta look good for my girlfriend ya know? Figured I’d shower, at the very least.”

Wait.

“Your parents don’t think we’re dating, right?”

Matthew’s quick to shake his head with a honking laugh, “Nah, I explained to them what happened. My mom’s excited to see you again though. And Taryn.”

“Not your dad?”

Pulling off the highway, he chuckles and shrugs. “Big Walt’s not home. He’s on some golf trip for the week.”

It’s hard not to let your relief show. Keith wasn’t your favorite person and taking him out of the equation of this short trip was a small victory you were willing to celebrate. To yourself.

“Cool cool cool.”

“It’s okay that you don’t like him,” Matthew assures you as he pulls up to what you can only assume is his parents home. It wasn’t familiar to you in the way Matthew’s St. Louis home was becoming from all of the play-by-play videos he’s sent during his off time, describing the day he’s had while grabbing his mail, or going for a walk around the neighborhood while telling you about the latest update on Brady’s incoming baby or what he was going to have for dinner.

“I don’t like how he treats you,” you remind him, voice quiet.

It was no secret to Matthew how you felt about his father. You couldn’t even begin to count how many times you’d heard Keith put him down through solo interviews or in passing comments from Matthew or even Tayrn, when she’d call to tell you about another argument the two of them had that she’d overheard.

Matthew nods, grimacing. “Well, we don’t have to deal with him while we’re here. Come on, let’s head in before my mom wonders why we’re sitting out here instead.”

The rest of the day was uneventful. You and Taryn hang out in the backyard with White Claws while she tells you horror stories from her last semester at college and Matthew flits in and out, helping his mom with dinner while also trying to get the juicy gossip. It was comfortable, even if the St. Louis air was sticky with humidity and dinner went by quickly and soon enough, you were back in Matthew’s car heading to his place.

“Well this is nice. Not as nice as the one in Florida but- nice,” you whistle, taking in the coziness of Matthew’s home. There was an overstuffed couch in the center of the living room, a coffee table littered with sports magazines, and further back you could see the kitchen with deep brown cabinets and hardwood floors to match. “Very cozy.”

“Yeah, my mom took care of most of it during the season. I just sent a bunch of pictures of things for her to copy,” Matthew shrugs, nodding up the stairs. “Uh, guest rooms are up there. You tired?”

“Really fucking tired.”

“Come on then, up we go.”

Matthew led the way up the stairs, carrying your suitcase. The temptation to smack his ass was a hard one to quell but you just barely managed when you hit the landing. 

“So,” he points to the left. “That room I use as an office but it’s got an en suite. Bed’s kinda small though.” Pointing to the right, he glances at you before speaking. “That one’s closest to my room. Bigger bed. No bathroom though.”

“Well obviously I’m taking the bigger bed.” You nudge his arm with yours, taking the suitcase and heading towards the room. “So, plans for tomorrow: Taryn said something about getting lunch? I don’t know if you’re invited. Also you’ve gotta take me to that bakery here you’ve been talking about for months so I can judge the almond croissant you’ve deemed better than the ones from True Loaf. Which are the best. Obviously.”

As you dig through your suitcase in search of pajamas, you glance up to see Matthew leaning against the doorway with a weird smile on his face as he looks at you. “You good?”

“Yeah, just-,” he pauses, crossing his arms over his chest. “Glad to have you here. It’s been a while.”

“Happy to be here. Boyfriend.” You shoot him a wide grin, hoping it covers up the clear nervousness you’re feeling now that you’re settling in. Sleeping in his house.

Matthew snorts, shaking his head. “See you in the morning.”

—

The rest of your time in St. Louis was kind of great, all things considered. Matthew was an attentive host and Taryn and Chantal were eager to fill your time- from gossiping about the league, to things you needed to check out the next time you were in town. And Chantal had made you promise that you would- come back, that is, on your last night in St. Louis with the four of you crowded around the table in the backyard of Matthew’s house, sharing a bottle of wine and embarrassing stories.

You’d had to double, and triple check, with Matthew to make sure his mom or sister didn’t think the two of you were actually dating, especially when promises were being made to come back.

He’d just shrugged and said, “They just like you. I like you. Jeez, do people not tell you they like you?”

You were kind of bummed to be leaving as you packed your bag the morning of the flight up to Toronto, Matthew’s obnoxious singing ringing loudly throughout the house. After combing through the room a third time, you deemed it free and clear of your belongings and headed down the stairs, rolling your suitcase next to Matthew’s and chuckled at the sight before you as you turned towards the kitchen.

Singing horribly out of tune with Dancing Queen blasting on his phone’s speaker, was Matthew dancing like an idiot around the island in the center of his kitchen, eyes closed and belting the lyrics.

“Matthew.”

The live concert comes to an end, Matthew scrambling to pause the music. “Sorry,” he replies, ears tinged red in embarrassment. 

“Hey no complaints from me, but Taryn’s gonna be here in a minute,” you remind him, the fond smile on your face giving away far too much.

Matthew pockets his phone, nodding. He holds your gaze for a second before asking, “Come here?”

As soon as you’re a couple of steps away, Matthew pulls you into his chest and you go with a surprised oof.

“Thank you. For doing this.”

You turn your head into his chest, ear pressed against where his heart was and find comfort in the timed beating while you nod. “You’re welcome,” you mumble, turning your chin up and glancing at him.

Your gazes lock, his blue eyes searching yours. For what, you’re unsure but he seems to find the answers he’s looking for a short minute later, because he gives you another squeeze and steps back, letting out a breath. 

“I’ll grab the bags if you can shut the lights off?”

You’re already on it as Matthew walks away, flipping the switch in the kitchen and checking the backdoor to make sure it’s locked. The living room lights are next, and you meet him at the front door, catching Taryn’s car parked on the curb waiting. 

The drive to the airport is short, the early morning hours more forgiving with traffic and after giving Taryn a quick hug and a promise to text her when you both landed, you stepped away to give her and Matthew some privacy while dropping your bags at the kiosk outside. 

“Ready?” He asks, as you both wave goodbye to Taryn as she pulls away from the curb. 

“Let’s do this.”

The flight is smooth for how short it is, 2 hours passing by quickly. Arriving in Toronto is a nightmare, as usual, and Matthew spends over 30 minutes at the rental car desk trying to figure out where your reservation went. Eventually it gets sorted out and you’re on the road, tucked into the passenger seat of a sports car that you didn’t ask for. 

“If I fall asleep, don’t get mad at me please,” you yawn, pulling your feet up under you to get comfortable and leaning on the center console.

“Want me to turn the radio down?” Matthew doesn’t wait for your answer, his hand going for the volume knob but you stop him, your fingers wrapping around his wrist.

“No, it’s good. I know it helps keep you awake.” Pulling your hand away from his slowly you tuck it underneath your head and nudge your forehead against his arm. “Thank you for driving, by the way.”

“Happy to, honestly. Driving helps me clear my head,” he tells you, glancing down and shooting you a grin.

You’re tempted to ask what’s going on with him- he’s been acting a little out of character since this morning but sense that he’s not ready to talk about it, so you just hum in acknowledgement and turn into your arms, willing for sleep to find you.

Thankfully you manage to fall asleep on the ride up, a small 2 hour nap doing the trick because you wake up feeling rested.

The cottages were set on the lake in Muskoka where everyone would be staying for the wedding and you and Matthew were set to share one with your parents with Connor and Lauren next door in the one they own and spend his off season in. 

Your mom and dad are sat on the front porch in a set of rocking chairs as Matthew pulls up and  you’re quick to jump out of the car once it stops, calling out to them as they wave to you in greeting while he grabs the bags out of the trunk, “Long time, no see!”

Once hellos and introductions are done, with your dad and Matthew bonding what feels like instantly and your mom hugs you so hard you almost can’t breathe, the four of you make the small trek over to Connor and Lauren’s for dinner after dropping your bags off.

Dinner is comfortable, Matthew sat on your right with his arm draped across the back of your chair the whole time. Connor doesn’t give you two any weird looks and you count it as a win as you settle down for the night, avoiding talking about the fact that there’s only one bed in the room while you both brush your teeth. 

“I forget how involved these things are,” Matthew says, leaning against the counter watching while you finish washing your face.

“Weddings? Yeah, I mean. I think this is a little different, though,” you laugh, pat drying your face. “Lauren’s dialed everything up to a thousand for it.”

Matthew nods, thinking about it. “I’ve noticed,” he finally answers with, nudging you out of the bathroom. 

“And there was one bed,” you dramatically announce, sweeping your arms around the room and Matthew honest to god giggles which causes you to start giggling, both of you falling into a heap on the bed, trying to catch your breath.

Clearing his throat, Matthew grunts, “We’re adults, we can share a bed. Right?” His head turns towards yours and you swallow, realizing how close the two of you are. 

If you scooted an inch closer, you’d be able to tilt your head up and press your lips to his and- No.

“Right,” you finally manage to mumble out.

The air is stilted while you both turn down the bed, shuffling under the covers once the light is out and you make sure to stay tucked to your side of the bed, legs curled under you and knees almost hanging off the bed.

This was going to be a long weekend.

—

From morning yoga to late night barbecues, swimming and then rehearsals, you were exhausted. Not to mention keeping up appearances with Matthew: hand holding, arms wrapped around waists, and too many forehead kisses to count were wearing on you. It was starting to feel real and thinking about what was to come when the weekend was over and you’d go your separate ways was overwhelming.

If you were being completely honest with yourself, which was hard enough, was that the last week or so with Matthew had been nothing short of amazing. You didn’t date, really ever. It was hard enough being Connor McDavid’s sister and trying to figure out if someone actually wanted to be with you vs. wanting to know your brother and the perks it comes with but, with Matthew that didn’t exist. You didn’t have to question why he wanted to be around, and while yes, you know each other because of Connor, you were friends in your own right.

The morning of the wedding came quickly, finally managing to get a solid amount of sleep and it was easy to figure out why when you accounted for the fact Matthew’s chest was beneath your cheek when you woke up. So far you’d both managed to keep separate throughout the night, at least as far as you could tell since he was up before you most mornings so this was surprising. 

Matthew shifts beneath you and you peer up as he blinks his eyes open, gaze catching yours. “Sorry,” you mumble, about to roll away when he catches you by the waist to hold you tight to him.

He groans deep in his chest as he stretches out and settles back against the pillows, content with a smile. “Mmm, don’t apologize. This is nice,” he tells you, thumb rubbing against the bare skin of your arm.

You hum in agreement before catching the time on the alarm clock opposite of you and sigh. “It is, but I’ve gotta get up. Bridesmaids duties call and if I’m late, Lauren will murder me and I’ve been having a nice time so I’d like to not ruin that.”

“I have too,” Matthew agrees, “I was nervous at first but it’s been kind of- fun? And having you around hasn’t been too terrible either.”

You pinch him in the side at that and he squawks, shuffling away. “Alright, alright. Damn,” he laughs, jumping out of bed. “I ruined the mood, I get it.”

A knock sounds on the door, your mother’s voice ringing out on the other side. “Sweetie, Lauren just called to make sure you’re awake. We’ve gotta head over soon.”

“I’ll be down in five,” you call back, throwing the covers off and shooting Matthew a glare. 

His hands come up in surrender and you laugh, closing the bathroom door behind you.

You don’t have to do much before leaving, since the ladies are getting ready over at Connor and Lauren’s cottage and the guys are coming here. Washing up and grabbing your bag, you blow a sarcastic kiss to Matthew on your way out and he rolls his eyes and catches it before you leave and your mother just laughs, teasing you for how cute the both of you are. 

The wedding is beautiful, as expected. The guest list is full of people who you’ve known most of your life, who have supported Connor throughout his career, and you’re immensely proud of the person he’s become.

You stand at the altar among Lauren’s best friends and watch your brother get married, near tears, seeing how happy he is. How happy they both are- you’re gaining a sister in her and it’s all kinds of crazy magical, how everything’s come together and that includes having Matthew as your date because he’s been kind of the best. 

Once dinner is done, the cake is cut and the happy couple has come through and been announced and their first dance out of the way, the dance floor opens up and everyone lets loose. The DJ is fun and plays throwback after throwback and Matthew keeps close to you, offering to refill your drink or ask if you need a break when slow songs come on. Eventually you do, toeing off your shoes and hiding them under your chair before slumping into the table. 

“I am pooped,” you whine, blowing your hair out of your face and groaning into your arms. 

“It’s a little early to be tapping out, babe,” Matthew chuckles, finishing off his beer. 

“God, I know. Lauren will kill me if I leave early,” you glance around the dance floor for her and see Celeste behind her, arms wrapped around each other's necks and you smile. “Are you having fun? I’m not keeping you from anything? I know the guys are around here somewhere.”

Matthew’s quick to shake his head, nudging his knee with yours. “Nope, nowhere else I wanna be.” He licks his lips and you track the movement, mesmerized. “And yeah, lots of fun. You’re not too bad of a date.”

You snort, “Thanks. Really appreciate that.”

A few songs later and a discussion of the rest of your summer plans gone, you both join the dance floor again when a slow song hits. Matthew’s hands slide low on your waist and your hands clasp behind his neck, swaying to the beat. The music is soft and you can hear the nighttime noises from the woods behind you, the lapping of the lake against the dock that’s not too far away. It’s calming and Matthew pulls you a little closer, your head just close enough to rest against his chest.

“Have you thought about the favor you want when this is all done?” He wonders, keeping his voice low so only you can hear.

Honestly you’d forgotten all about the deal you’d made- it wasn’t exactly a hardship to play fake girlfriend to Matthew because it wasn’t all that different to how you normally interacted with him. But now that you’re thinking about it, maybe there was something you wanted. More time.

You tell him honestly, “Yeah. Later though,” and tuck your face back into his chest and will for the moment to never end.

—

It does come to an end. The wedding dies down a couple of hours later, Connor and Lauren waving everyone off and thanking the guests for coming. You and Matthew are both sober enough to make the small trek back to the cottage next door and he holds your hand the entire way back, using the excuse of not wanting to lose you in the dark. It’s tempting to call him on it but you don’t want him to let go either.

Your parents are already settled in bed when you both tiptoe up the stairs and you sigh in relief when you’re finally back in the bedroom, closing the door and immediately chucking your heels across the room.

Settling in for the last night, you turn over and feel brave, scooting closer to Matthew in the dark. 

“I don’t think I wanna fly back to Miami tomorrow,” you whisper, heart hammering. “I’ve still got the next week off and I was going to use it to catch up on some things around my apartment but I just. Don’t want to. You’re going back to St. Louis right?”

Matthew turns on his side to face you and you feel warmth spreading through your chest at the way he’s taking you in- like you’re something special, something to be taken care of. 

“Yeah, I was planning on it,” he tells you. “What are you thinking?”

“That I’m ready to cash in my favor.”

“Alright, hit me. What’ve you got?”

The look Matthew’s giving you is encouraging and you suddenly feel brave and steadily say, “Go somewhere with me.”

Matthew reaches across the short distance and his hand catches yours, twining your fingers together and asks, “Where are we going?”

[ilwonuu]

hii can i request a fic with bf!dk/mingyu with a reader who has problems with food or low self esteem?? if you are uncomfortable just ignore it, thnks ! 💗

yes of course!!! i choose dk for this but i think im gonna write something for mingyu too<3 i hope u enjoy and ty for requesting ily💖💖

𝟣𝟩

⇝ 𝗅𝖾𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗈𝗄𝗆𝗂𝗇

❣︎ 𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀- 𝖾𝗌𝗍𝖺𝖻𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗁𝖾𝖽 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉， 𝗇𝗈𝗇𝗂𝖽𝗈𝗅！𝗌𝖾𝗈𝗄𝗆𝗂𝗇 𝗑 𝖿𝖾𝗆！𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

❣︎ 𝗐𝖺𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌- 𝖿𝗅𝗎𝖿𝖿<𝟥，，，𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗂 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎<𝟥， 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗐𝖾𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍， 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝗈𝗐 𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿 𝖾𝗌𝗍𝖾𝖾𝗆， 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖿𝗈𝗈𝖽， 𝗌𝖾𝗈𝗄𝗆𝗂𝗇 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗍𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍（𝗁𝖾’𝗌 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗒 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗍） ， 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅𝗌， 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝗄𝗂𝗌𝗌 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾， 𝗅𝗆𝗄 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖾𝗅𝗌𝖾

❣︎ 𝖺／𝗇- 𝗂 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒 <𝟥 𝗌𝖾��𝖽 𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗈𝗄𝗆𝗂𝗇 𝗋𝖾𝗊𝗌 𝗂 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝖽 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌：（ 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗍𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝗌𝖾𝗈𝗄𝗆𝗂𝗇 𝖺𝗀𝖾𝗇𝖽𝖺 𝗎𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝗂 𝖽𝗂𝖾 ，，，𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗈𝖿𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽 ,,

today was a very hard day. you don’t know how your mind got to this point. the mirror was provoking you. you were feeling a little bit bad about yourself lately. you lost your appetite.

your boyfriend, seokmin had invited you to his house for lunch. he had been cooking incredibly dishes for you. you agreed of course because you miss him a lot. you drove over to your boyfriends house with a little bit of fear.

you knew seokmin could read you perfectly. he knew when you felt even a little bit off. you arrived shortly with a sigh. you knocked on the door trying to shake your negative thoughts away. he opens the door with a big smile.

“hi angel.” he pulls you in quickly.

“you got here at the perfect time! i just finished cooking our delicious lunch.” he pulls you into a hug as you look over to see the food already plated. your heart drops a little but you just figured you can say you’re not hungry or something.

“oh! seok i’m not really feeling hungry but maybe i’ll eat later.” you smile at him softly as he looks at you for a second before nodding.

“oh alright- i thought when i texted you earlier you said you haven’t eaten today?” you don’t look him in the eyes fully as you shrug. he just chuckles before grabbing both of your plates.

“you’re not skipping meals right love? eat something.” his voice is soft as he sits you down next to him.

“minnie- i’m really not hungry it’s okay.” he shakes his head quickly.

“what’s wrong angel? you always eat lunch when i cook it for us.” his hand is on your side gently. his full attention is on you. you thought that you could at least get 10 minutes without him catching you feeling not the best today.

“nothing is wrong seok- i just really don’t want to eat anything right now.” he sighs at you but nods his head.

“okay- but you know you can talk to me. i won’t judge you at all. you can tell me what’s wrong.” you feel like you could cry. his voice is so comforting but it makes you really sad to hear.

you don’t want him to worry about you but you know he will no matter what. you know he doesn’t have a reason to judge you or your appearance. he always makes sure its known that he thinks you’re very beautiful.

“well- minnie i just haven’t been feeling the best about myself lately. i’m having a hard time not thinking about weight every time i eat. i just have really low self esteem.” he listens to you closely as you open up to him.

he feels happy that you feel comfortable enough to talk to him about your true, very real feelings that anyone can feel. he loves how vulnerable you are with him.

“i don’t know how much words can help you feel better but you are so beautiful. it wouldn’t matter how much you ate or how much you didn’t eat you are an amazing person. you are not your appearance at all. even though your appearance is absolutely perfect to me. you are the best person on the inside. you’re beautiful no matter what to me. i really wish you could see yourself how i see you. i know how it feels not have a hard time with food and i just want to say that you are doing perfect the way you are. you don’t have to change those habits at all to be beautiful. im not trying to say you shouldn’t feel this way im just telling you how i see you and don’t feel like you have to always be okay with yourself because i’m not always okay with myself either. just know that i’m always here for you and i will continue to be here every time you feel like this. i will always be here to tell you how perfect you are.”

you literally couldn’t hold the tears in anymore. you were sobbing in front of him. he was quick to wrap his arms around you. he hug was so comforting you didn’t ever want him to let go.

“don’t cry my love. i mean it you are completely valid for how you feel.” he can’t let you catch a moment to stop your tears. you were so thankful for him. he always knew the perfect thing to say to help you feel better.

“can w-we eat seok?” you say in between sobs as you pull away to look at him. he kisses your head with a nod.

“of course angel. i love you okay?” he rubs your cheek as he hands you your utensils.

“i love you more minnie.” you wipe your tears as you focus on the food. you already feel better about eating just with his presence. you truly wouldn’t know what you’d do without seokmin. he is truly everything you had wished for.

“i’m proud of you for telling me. no pressure on finishing your food. each as much as you’re comfortable with.” god you just want to marry him. is that insane? maybe a little bit insane. you pull him into a kiss. you kissed him for longer than he expected.

“thank you for making me feel comfortable.”

[spitinsideme]

am eleven(11) hours late but i wanna say im glad youre feeling well enough to post

i remember you were having issues with physical and/or mental health in some fashion

the fact you are able to put out the same high quality content is reassuring

thank you for being around a reasonable and healthy amount for yourself during pride month

thnk you !! i was feeling very sick physically yes but i am feeling much better now ! thann you for worrying about mr abominationcresture ❤️❤️ i feel better so i can start posting morr but it wont be likely that itd evetday lije uve aleays done and want it to be, this whole minth of june i have three assignements stacked back to back with only a week to do anr they are long and require a lot ! thatd keeping me quite busy so whenever i do find the time to do art i willb❤️❤️

i put out thr content for you all to enjoy and im glad you do !! i will be back sometimes becwuse this month college decided to just make me sit at a desk typing on a laptop for hours straight but when i am able to i wil mske sure its good 💪 thank you once agsin i do very much appreciate it

[cecilyv]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @screamlet

1. How many works do you have an AO3? 14 (and, full disclosure, all but some of the tumblr fics are with @liminalmemories21)

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 151,628

3. What fandoms do you write for? 9-1-1

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? In order: Awful quiet here since love fell asleep (9-1-1, the break up, make up fic), Atlas (bound) (9-1-1, the Buckley parents are trash fic), Baggage that goes with mine (9-1-1, Tommy begins), (I'm in love) but I do not speak the language (9-1-1, the relationship discovery one), and I'll cover you (9-1-1, part II after Baggage, when Buck and Tommy get a dog).

5. Do you respond to comments? I really try. @liminalmemories21 is much better at it than I am, but I do always intend to because each comment is my best beloved.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Erm, we don't really write angsty things? Awful quiet, Atlas and Inside, You've Got Heaven and Earth all start angsty, but don't end there?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Oh, god, uh, probably What's with today, today? Mostly just because making them all librarians on Stuffie Day itself was an indulgent turducken of a dessert.

8. Do you get hate on fics? not so far, thankfully

9. Do you write smut? a hundred percent more than I ever imagined

10. Do you write crossovers? I drop them in Lim's chat all the time but one has never stuck. Like, the one from this week was Wolfram and Heart is based in LA and reopens and... I don't know, Lindsey sticks around with his evil hand? THNK OF BUCK AND FREAKING OUT WITH THE CURSES AND THE RESEARCH SPIRALS AND...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Err, all of the recent ones because I am nothing (fandom-wise) without Lim

14. What's your all time favorite ship? I have no answer for this. I read like, a decade's worth of Stiles/Derek and literally never watched an episode of the show, but I watched SO MUCH Stargate because John/Rodney, my beloveds. I am still a sucker for a good Arthur/Eames. I would bow down if people brought back silver foxes Fraser/RayK. It's hard to have favorites after over 30 years in fandom.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Lim and I poke things to death, and definitely don't post a lot of them because we can't imagine things not being done before we put them out in the world -- see the Merlin fic of epicness that we started way over a decade ago and still sits in our google docs.

16. What are your writing strengths? I also think this is a thing best answered by others, like hi, Lim, how do I help? I honestly think I'm a better editor than writer? I'm not good about setting scenes, but I'm pretty good about taking drafts and massaging them?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I always want things to feel more lived in than I feel I can accomplish on my own.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I speak english and bad english, so I am terrible about this, but I totally understand that sometimes its warranted.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Popslash and Smallville, and hi, yes, I disappeared for two decades.

20. Favorite fics you've written?

Awful quiet did exactly what I wanted that fic to when we set out to write it, and while maybe I wish some of the OCs were handled better/differently, I'm still happy with how we got from the beginning to end.

The What Binds series definitely put Tommy in a place and time, and there's a reason there's four stories worth of it (hi, I'm super proud of the detail about Tommy losing his virginity to Dave Matthew Band because, come on, people).

I know that Inside, You've Got Heaven and Earth didn't really hit with people, but it addressed something I wanted to fiddle with for Buck and Tommy, and Lim was a trooper for going there with me.

[roadkill-raccoons]

just found out about your peachblood au but can't quite figure out what the story is or what it's about. it looks like some kind of apocalypse AU, but other than that I don't know anything ;-;

By the way, your art is beautiful!

AHH im sorry 😭, im not good at writing down my thoughts into ways that are understandable

I wouldnt say theres much of a story other than the beginning.

This au is heavily inspired by adventure time, a little bit of steven universe, the last of us and some story me and a friend where making but completely forgot about, plus the weird shit that goes on in a my dreams.

Yes its an apocalyptic story, i made it as a massive excuse to draw some weird ass shit when i felt like it.

It mainly starts with Mk traveling alone just trying to live and eventually find peachy (that pink monkey) scrambling around in a peaches box in a old corner store.

Mk and and the monkey travel for a bit before they run into macaque and bai he, where macaque decides to fuck with Mk nearly getting him and peachy killed multiple times.

After they escape macaque they run into a forest that they stay in for a couple weeks, going deeper into the forest where they find monkey kings staff, laid in front of an empty grave for the undead monkey, the six eared macaroni macaque.

Mk did not remember who the monkey king was since he spent most of his life trying to live after tang and pigsy passed, so despite being in a very magical looking place he takes the staff as a form of protection, somehow assuming its just a regular staff that someone lost, he does learn a bit from a comic he found.

Mk and peachy travel for couple months in different cities where each were filled with strange creatures (i have so many failed sketches for these creatures) most of these creature use to be people or animals that were affected by a man made virus that a demon (lbd) took advantage of.

Mk and peachy eventually find boat while running from something and use to it to escape, where they float around in the ocean surviving on backpack food and fish for about a month before washing up on flower fruit mountain, yeah mk somehow slept through sailing through those big ole fiery mountains, peachy didn’t tho.

Once mk woke up he saw the villages at the top of the mountains and wanted to go up the tallest one to ask for help.

He finds monkey kings little hut but not monkey king, since it was empty he fell asleep, where he woke up to wukong poking at him non stop

After that mk spends a month learning who wukong really is and what he did and can do (he learns through the monkey villagers, not wukong hes basically become a lazy dad after being alone for so long) after a few attempts wukong agrees to travel with mk for a while. Peachy didnt totally try to fist fight three baby monkeys

That where the main story ends and rest is just mk and wukong doing whatever. Not much of a story afterwards since then its just kinda open for interpretation, dilly little ideas n shit

Hopefully this is all understandable, im used to describing shit in very strange ways. I actually also keep forgetting about it too :,3

If none of this makes sense you can also go thru the #peachblood au tag

And lastly 🥺🥺thnk you!!!!

[yougetsu]

thnks for the reply. i was sick scrolling on x and gonna be honest i miss atsushis voice so much that it makes my chest hurt.i can’t help it, idk how to feel about all. i kinda hate this reality of seeing the band without him, like i saw the goods and my brain shut down. you still wanna see them live?

It is understandable. Sometimes, I also feel my mind is short circuiting and I've thought about many things about the band, their sound, the future, the voices. But I appreciate they want to continue and that's why admire them so much besides they're talented people.

Acchan's stage presence was strong as his voice and lyrics. He set a worldview and I'm so fascinated by it that my mutuals might get bored of me saying that I miss Atsushi lol. His vibrato was so special, his voice made the compositions unique. It was hard to read that Imai would probably "change that goth style" - I don't believe him completely- but I get the reasons bc there are four people going through the hardest time and we can't avoid change. It hurts? yes, a lot. For me, they'll always be five.

I've also questioned myself many times during this year bc things won't be the same, but I wanna see them (so badlyyy). I still struggle to understand that a big dream dissolved, sometimes this feeling is too big, too frustrating, I cry many times as needed. Then, I get in this weird loop of sadness, emptiness, annoyance, hope, joy... I wish we had a time machine.

I haven't seen the goods yet (you mean the lottery thing?). I'm not sure about this but I'll probably save money for a while.

Hugging anon

[cravingsfromatwistedone]

Hello! i was the anon that requested hop and i loved it sm thnk u!!! if it's alright could i also get a short drabble with yandere prof!Hop ? thnk u if you do!!!

HOME SWEET HOME [ DRABBLE / YANDERE ]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: HELLO DARLING! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO KNOW THAT YOU LIKED THE PROFESSOR! HOP HEADCANONS I'VE WRITTEN FOR YOU! AND YES, OF COURSE, I'M MORE THAN DELIGHTED TO MAKE A YANDERE! PROFESSOR! HOP DRABBLE FOR YOU!! ENJOY READING, MY DARLING! TW: FORCED RELATIONSHIP/MARRIAGE, OBSSESIVE BEHAVIOUR, IMPLIED KIDNAPPING, PLANNED BABY TRAPPING YANDERE! PROFESSOR! HOP X FEM! WIFE! READER

The sound of keys jingling made you break out in cold sweat and before long, the front door of the house open and shut with a loud thump. And with it, came a loud and cheery voice "Honey, I'm home!" He said. The Pokémon professor setting down his lab coat and bags by the side of the door, golden eyes twinkling with delight upon seeing your shivering and cowering form. "I hope you didn't miss me too much," Hop murmured, burying his face into your hair as he engulfed you in a nearly bone breaking hug, hands wrapped tightly around your waist "Because if you did, I would've skipped work and came home right away," To which, he laughed a beat later, ignoring the flicker of fear present in your eyes before pressing a gentle, sweet kiss to the temple of your forehead. The male pulled away, still having his arms wrapped around you "Now, let's make some lunch together, alright? I'm just dying to have your cooking again," He simply grinned when he saw you nod reluctantly to his plan, even more so at the sight of your submission towards him It was such a good thing that he has such an obedient wife waiting for him at their home, and he can't wait for the day when they'll finally have a baby together. A baby would do good for his lovely wife, it'll make her want to stay by his side more

[josephtrohman]

As the president of the joe trohman nation, do you have any favorite joe era?

in short, the answer is yes! BUT with some caveats/technically i have THREE answers to this question even. i mean there is an answer i give for what is my singular favourite but i am a deeply annoying person, so... AND im also gonna put pics from the eras for fun bc any excuse to look at my fav joe pics. sorry anon if you didnt expect this level of answer but i am the president after all (put under the cut cuz. yeah)

so. first things first. if i had to narrow it down to just ONE era of joe as my favourite, it would be infinity on high era for sure. especially pre-beard, but with beard is great too.

some of my fav pre-beard joe looks ^ (HIM IN THE THNKS FR TH MMRS MV ESPECIALLY MY GAWDDDD THATS MY HUSBAND ON OUR WEDDING DAY FR. ok sorry)

BUT OBVIOUSLY. BEARDED IOH ERA ^ IS SO SO FUCKING FINEEEEE AS WELL god. (and the look he had at the 2007 vmas my gawddd you know the one). middle picture makes me crazy especially, red plaid and bi colours hat iykyk, n it’s currently my pfp on twt ;3

infinity on high era has been my fav for soooo sooo long, and it was definitely a crisis moment for me when i turned 23 and was like 😀 oh im older than joe was in this era. great. but even despite that i think it still will continue to be my fav era prob forever <3 (and of course unfortunately my feelings get a little bit complex about this era because of what we know from joe's book, knowing what he was struggling with. but i dont wanna get into that lmao...but at the same time i had to acknowledge the elephant in the room)

ok. so. like i said if i had to give one answer, the above would be mine <3 BUT heres some other thoughts i have.

my CURRENT fav joe era is 2009 post-haircut bearded joe (as maybe evidenced by my pfp). MY GAWD. MY GAWD. as a 24-almost-25-year-old, I DESERVE A 24-ALMOST-25-YEAR-OLD JOE.

not to mention how much they were putting fake blood/injuries on this man in bnd pt 2 tour!!! crazy!!!!!!!

okay and then my third answer is not just in terms of looks (although my god.....my god) but i would be remiss to not mention CURRENT ERA JOE AS FAV. because he's out here being sexy as hell, playing music with his friends, having fun, looking hot, being dilfy, so on and so forth... (this includes tourdust/2ourdust but since i saw joe in person at ayf it rewired something in my brain cuz he’s soooo fucking hot in person, so 2 ayf pics, and then also the first one the pic before download that Also rewired my brain 😵‍💫). also since they’re really new still here’s middle pic source and right pic source

OKAY AND THEN ONE HONOURABLE MENTION, late 2015 joe is so so special to me bc 2 of my fav pics joe of alllll time (prob both in my top 5 at least) come from then<3 here r the pics

was that a needlessly long winded answer to ur relatively simple question? yes for sure but i hope u enjoyed lovely anon <3

[chickrawker]

FOB at Riot Fest 9/20/24

I am absolutely too old for festivals but I needed to see a show when FOB was doing their Eras so that's how I ended up at Riot Fest.

Fall Out Boy

Riot Fest at Douglass Park

Chicago IL

9/20/24

Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes

(Snippet as intro)

Take This to Your Grave:

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy

From Under the Cork Tree:

Sugar, We're Goin Down (with Tim McIlrath)

Dance, Dance

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part to Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows)

Infinity on High:

This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race

Thriller

Bang the Doldrums

Thnks fr th Mmrs

Folie à Deux:

Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes

I Don't Care

Save Rock and Roll:

The Phoenix

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)

American Beauty/American Psycho:

Uma Thurman

The Kids Aren't Alright

M A N I A:

The Last of the Real Ones

Interlude:

Sweet Home Chicago

(Robert Johnson cover) (partial, Patrick solo; on guitar)

What a Catch, Donnie

(partial, Patrick solo; on piano)

So Much (for) Stardust:

So Much (for) Stardust

Love From the Other Side

Fake Out

Finale:

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet

(Magic 8 Ball song)

I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me

(Magic 8 Ball song)

Centuries

Saturday

I've never had any friends that got into FOB with me; when they came out I was already too old to be going to their shows but I went anyways. So I never really knew about their fan base until these Tourdust shows. The fans are seriously incredible. They do friendship bracelets and have a little project to pass out pink seashells for Fake Out. I even went to Emo Bingo with a bar full of fans, hosted by a FOB podcaster.

ANYWAYS I knew how the set list would go since I've actually streamed some of these shows (again the great fans that do this!) We got some surprises- Tim from Rise Against on Sugar We're Going Down! Patrick doing "Sweet Home Chicago" for the medley was SO GOOD. I love when he flexes his music geek talents. And 2 Magic 8 Ball songs? Yes please.

Both Patrick and Pete commented about being back home in Chicago and feeling really grateful for the fans. It's always nice to see a hometown show, I feel like the emotion is higher for the band. Not like these guys aren't bringing it every night because they are, it's just a very special vibe. Plus fireworks at the end, who doesn't love fireworks?

ThnksFrThMmrs guys!

[kwillow]

Answering Some Asks!

Forever ago, I said I'd try to answer more of the asks I get with text, so I don't have them sitting around for years on end. Then I didn't do that. Well... gonna try to do a few now!

Character Stuff

Probably not, since it's solid all the way through, so there's no space for the air to vibrate and make cool sounds. It'd be like flicking a column of glass or gemstone, probably just make some tapping or "thnk" noises and that's it. Alas!

Beggars can't be choosey.

But more seriously, probably words of affirmation/compliments or quality time. Though he doesn't believe compliments often even if he wants them - he's more apt to believe he's just being mocked or manipulated unless he already trusts someone (and even then, he has his doubts).

I talked a bit about this in the tags of this drawing, though I can elaborate in a bigger font size as well, haha.

As his story stands now, he has exclusively pursued women as partners. I tend to think of him as straight.

That said, I'm not opposed to his hetero being flexible if, in the future, a story opportunity popped up where he'd need to be curious about a man. (Jack, another character of mine, started off as straight and then slid inexorably to "bisexual, heavy on the girl" so it has happened before, haha.) AND if other people want to write/draw/think of him as straying from straight n' narrow that's obviously fine with me. :P

He's not a royal - he wishes, haha. He is nobility, though! His father his a marquis, which gives him the courtesy title of count (or "comte", using the French variant) until he inherits his father's title (though the Old Kingdoms are destroyed before that ever happens). Tough when he's much older he just assigns himself pope-kingship so I guess that counts as self-appointed royalty.

BUT ANYWAY

Yes he's had crushes, infatuations, love affairs and flings. Too many. Though it's interesting you bring up status - as a lot of his crushes tended to be on people from lower societal positions than he was. His first crush, and one of his longest (and most tumultuous) relationships was with a stablehand's daughter. When he did get infatuated with well-born women, it tended to be women who were already engaged, married or otherwise unavailable for him to marry. He's just got a taste for things he can't have...

It was extremely infuriating for his father.

(Of course, another part of his lack of discrimination between noble and common ladies might be due to him seeing himself as above ALL mortals, so what's the difference between a peasant and a noblewoman, really?)

Non-Character Stuff

Hahaha well I welcome that! Ambroys should be bullied on as many fronts as possible.

Thank you! It's a combination of purposeful research while also ignoring what I research for stuff I think just looks fun. Admittedly, I also am bad at drawing things consistently, so in some ways it's easier for me to just put a character in an entirely new outfit instead of trying to draw an old outfit the same way again, ha. xD

Not to sound like a soccer mom, but I'm a fan of Pinterest for browsing and collecting reference images of outfits that just "feel" like a character, so you have a broad visual library to draw from. You should also pair that with research into how the clothes you want to draw are supposed to fit. For historical outfits, you can get a lot of mileage out of the blogs of historical fanatics who enjoy eviscerating movie costumes from their period of interest. For modern day clothing, you can look at style blogs and tailoring information to learn how clothes are supposed to fit - and then break those rules if you want (for example, in mens' suits, the pants are not supposed to be bunched around the ankles, but I draw Theo's trousers that way to emphasize that he has unusually short legs).

My secret tip for coming up with lots of outfits for characters while keeping them cohesive is to determine a few things about their fashion sense (using Theo and Ambroys to contrast with each other):

What cuts/kinds of clothing do they wear often? What's their "taste", basically. For example, Ambroys wears tight pants/breeches, ostentatious coats and vests, lace and lots of jewelry. Theo, on the other hand, always wants to wear formal clothes that cover most of his body. From that, you can find other clothes that fit that mold and take inspiration from them, expanding what kinds of clothes they wear while still making it feel like "them".

What color palettes do they tend to wear? Theo wears dark colors and red and purple pretty much exclusively, while Ambroys wears a lot of colors, but only in light shades.

What thematic elements can you incorporate into their outfits as decoration? For Theo, I tend to include blood-drop designs and heraldic symbols like the ermine spot, while Ambroys is associated with flowers (especially roses), eyes and wings. You can add these elements to outfits to add a little extra spice (there are a lot of Ambroys' outfits that are really the same thing, but in one I put daffodils on him and another I put feathers on him, for example).

I hope any of that is helpful!

Thank you so much! I honestly have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to rendering, so I'm glad it's looking okay, heh!

I've heard Gravity Falls is great, but like many shows that I've heard are great, I have never made time to watch it. I know vaguely of Stanley Pines, though.

But thank you so much for saying you like Theo. He's a nasty little guy but he's very near and dear to my heart, and it really touches me that you see complexity and charisma in him. I do aim to make characters that are textured, weird little bastards.

And I don't mind you roleplaying with Theo, I think it's sweet. xP I'm glad he got to enjoy some pizza.

[lovediives]

diamond im so excited to read ur fic later when i can but i just wanted to say b4 i forgot that when i saw u posted it i was soo excited i literally got up from how i was sitting and then paced around the room once bc i was like fawk yes YAY!! i rly adore ur writing i think u have such a talent when it comes to dialogue and that ur writing has this sort of cadence to it . is that the word my english major brain isnt working rn. it feels like a waltz between two characters whenever u write shipfic and i really love it

CLARA THIS ASK IS SO SO SWEET WHAT THE HEELLLLL I APPRECIATE THIS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART T_T i really love hearing that people enjoy how i write character dialogue. i think a bit too much on it sometimes. < guy who literally went on rants about if certain characters would swear or not (this is strangely the funniest thing about me. iget mad when character who i dont ever seeing saying fuck. say fuck) (not like mad mad. but im like. he would not say that) RAMBLING RAMBLING BUT I ADOREEE U THNK YOU SO MUCH DEAR!!

[lepertamar]

lurkfriend: kjorel, feeling destroyed when people are super different to him: /J

silkycoal:

Ah, but there is the irony, isn't it? "I assume: to see."

At the expense of everything else. Infinite sights traded for one other, albeit one available by no other means. The public and the private switched: what has become of her eyes visible to all and yet knowable only to those who also have given up their sight to the pyre indicated within. Or without? God is not anywhere in particular, God alone has no body, but God is here, in her eyes. Because They chose this too—God! How ever could anyone be so sure in Their own beauty to demand such a price for seeing it!

lurkfriend: YEAH

lurkfriend: "how could anyone ever be so sure in Their own beauty" [thinking abt tesena]

silkycoal: YEAH BOY

silkycoal: This is making him dizzy but perhaps that is as it should be, if he can capture this feeling in a painting then he will have captured the experience of seeing her, such that all others who see the painting may see her too. He, a Seafarer, meant to convey images from one place to the next—

silkycoal: and ofc he never ASKS

'the only way to try to understand this is to paint and convey this mystery to other regular ppl' [COPING]

lurkfriend: painting is such a fucking. coping mechanism for him. i wonder if it'sl ike. eurgh kjorel is so like, sight/experienced based, like back to his thing abt melting into e.g. shadows if he sees them, becoming one with the world type of thing....

if he externalises that i wonder if he sees it as something "outside of himself" something that he can adopt freely if he chooses to, vs. something threatening because it says something more about what he is

silkycoal: yeah i bet!

silkycoal: his very sight-experiential thing has similarities to stalking-era tamar except tamar's curiosity about what she doesn't know overrides any need or worry to explain or justify or force it into a framework while kjorel is like using 90% of his operating system to try [and fail] to prevent himself from knowing anything new

lurkfriend: YEAH

lurkfriend: kjorel is very foucsed on defending himself.... or his sense of self... it's sort of why hmmm i think of kjorel as a sort of "void"? like a Lackness. not that he's lacking anything, he's full of himself! but he is the void, esp. with the focus on shadows in particular, somewhere were light can't reach (REALLY funny w tesena as a counterpart). anything that could be "in him" is seen as an attack on him on an ontological level...

silkycoal: yessssssssssssssss

lurkfriend: but kjorel as a black hole, in the sense that black holes are "greedy for light" and trap it in them.... tesena who wants to be trapped in that way, who wants to light up that which cannot be lit up...

silkycoal: kjorel is afraid light will destroy him rather than outline and fill him like a bl

YEAH

his skin as the event horizon.....unnnghhhhgghhhhhh so delicious

lurkfriend: YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!! YOU GET ME

silkycoal: and yeah part of how different he is from tamar is i think bc tamar is much more like…..Reacts To g-d’s fire and heat, in a very volatile and violent way yes, but you can see that she preconsciously had an embodied self-understanding of being a substance that exists. that Is Here. (not a concept that she thinks only exists as an absence, not smth that only exists bc it hasn’t been destroyed yet.)

lurkfriend: but kjorel becomes so…. idk if perceptible is the right word… he's not just melting into the shadows, he is commanding and so full of himself, bc as you say "outlined"… he has that gravitas

silkycoal: kjorel starts out very smooth, i mean colloquially in personality mainly, he's so slick and suave and socially adept, but also smooth in a slippery way

lurkfriend: oh god yeaH

lurkfriend: i thnk thats part of why i liked his breakdown? like yeah smoothboy get fucking. stuck in all the goddamn complexes. good luck being so smooth and 'easy'

silkycoal: nothing is allowed to snag or stick

YEAH

IT WAS SO FUN NGFDEGHHFFDHN

lurkfriend: YEAH everything had to roll off him. he didn't allow anything to affect him, he was always the one in ~control~ and the master of the chessboard.... and seeing that reversed and him fucking struggling drowning in tesena's tears was like. hell yeah

silkycoal: ....it's incredibly funny how he refers to yenatru in his mind as a boy more often than a man, when not only is he like 3 years younger than yenatru, he's 17 which is BARELY adult in sehhinah hgfghvgg, and he definitely socially vibes himself as older than 17, partly i think in a good way of 'askannite seafaring has a really good way of letting kids grow up, compared to the much more childified teenager context implied in ennuh' but i'm sure for kjorel it's MOSTLY an independencymaxxing 

[sunsetbridge555]

Wow I really love your artwork!! It's messy in such a good way. I'm not really sure how to word it. But I hope you know what I mean. And I love your coloring. And I also like seeing other Trauma Center fans Hi

WWWGAGAHHH THNK YOU !!!! YES YES I GET IT YAYYY i like messy lineart someone on instagram told me my art had the vibes of you getting a chicken scratch your hand and then the little beads of blood form on the scratch and well thats the highest compliment i have gotten.

i like to just let my brain guide the vibes and im used to traditionally painting with acrylics and oil paints so idk its jsut fun to me to like not fuss to much about the lineart and even color on the same layer etc fix stuff as i go or refine details later. THANK YOU IM GLAD YOU LIKE MY COLORS ALSO i love colors yepp yummm crunchy

TRAUMA CENTER FAN SPOTTED?¡?¡ i promise i will actually draw derek fr on this blog once yeppp YAYY THANK YOU !!!!

[itsafairytalekay]

i eat up your work like its a bag of chips its so scrumptious i love the crunch i get out of your work i might have to resort to eating you. keep up the good work pookie wookie mookie snookie smookie <3 (p.s. i'm not a cannibal, just wanna munch on the bones of very, very creative humans. )

NO WAY YOU'RE WAY TOO NICE!!!

sometimes I sit and think how y'all are so nice, how there are hundreds of smau creators, but y'all take to take ur time and read mine , it's unreal I never thought when opening this blog that id get this much love❤❤❤❤❤ I will cry tho stoppppp, pls keep reading I love u so much

And yes u can eat me tbh🫣🥹🩷

Thnks for sending this pookie shnookums cupcake sweetie pie😘😘🗣️🗣️💙💙

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚　˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[queenshelby]

Your stories are amazing and you write how you want to write. You're fully dedicated to your stories which is amazing.

My question is: how do you get your inspiration and do you have any suggestions on how to get started, especially for somebody who has not written in about 7 to 8 years.

ThNk you so much for your message and compliments.

It’s hard to stay motivated at times and I honestly don’t know what inspires me. I often daydream when I am on my own, on a plane or somewhere else as I travel a lot for work. I come up with ideas all the time and don’t have the time to write them all down which is frustrating. It feels like my head is so full sometimes I just have to write. That’s just how it goes for me but I don’t know how it is for anyone else. Some stories I think through from the beginning to a certain point and I write a short summary first, almost like a story outline. Others I just go along as I see fit.

Our Little Secret for example: I had planned to do 5 random smutty parts but then I got too excited and turned into something totally different.

Yes Mr Murphy on the other hand is planned through more from the beginning to where I am now and I just came up with some more ideas for it and am doing another story outline to keep that one going.

Then, The Affair, I did a story outline and I totally deviated from it. Now I have to think of ways to keep it going and I am at a crossroad as I have two different scenarios in mind.

It’s weird sometimes. All stories are different! And that’s okay I think.

It’s your blog and you should just write down what you feel like and see what comes from it.