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moonshynecybin · 10 months

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if you have the time or inclination, can i ask what the deal with motogp/those boys is about? i don’t mean that in a mean way btw, im just curious and i love drama

i will try to be brief (1/4358)

SO! valentino rossi (born 16 February 1979, aquarius. italian.) is one of the most iconic people in motorsport, CERTAINLY in motogp. he's a 9 time world champion, your favorite driver's favorite driver, and is generally credited with revolutionizing the popularity of the sport by: a. being insanely good at motorcycle racing, and b. in general having a lot of fun about it. lethally charming and charismatic. all time active listening face. just a fun and funny dude that everyone pretty much likes and MANY younger riders idolize. VERY good at handling the media and his legions of cult-like fans. sometimes treated more like a god than a person. i was in the store yesterday and saw one of his themed monster energy drinks despite him retiring two years ago. his fun retirement activity is racing BMWs and running his own motogp team/training facility/cult for young italian racers. (this is where cele and bezz and basically every italian rider not named enea bastianini come from!)

so in 2011ish valentino had won 9 titles, and he decided to leave his current manufacturer and move to italian manufacturer ducati where he generally had a stone-cold terrible time. EXTENDED flop era for a couple years. any time ive watched content that covers this period everyone is so sad. so sad. anyways he GOES BACK to his old manufacturer in 2013 and is much more competitive. kind of just happy to be winning sometimes and be on the podium. 2013 is also where marc comes in. what could go wrong.

marc marquez! (born 17 february 1993, almost exactly 14 years after vale which i'm sure means nothing. also an aquarius. spanish.) childhood sports idols include: dani pedrosa, VALENTINO ROSSI.

marc carved his way up through the feeder championships until casey stoner unexpectedly retired at the end of the 2012 season leaving a seat empty on a VERY good bike for his rookie season. rocked up and was immediately VERY good at winning and very good at being a crazyinsane person on track that made people mad at him lol. hilarious habit of pissing people off via on-track crimes that i really enjoy. motogp riders are already crazy (they do death sport) but marc is famous for taking risks no one else will. basically if he's not winning, he's crashed out or he's maybe crashed YOU out. he wins the championship as a rookie (insane) and the next year's championship as well. heir apparent to the throne. sweet and goofy but is now known as one of the more reserved riders with the press. probably because of all this drama tbh. undisputed GOAT of acting like a slut on camera

throughout 2013-2014, marc and valentino had a good relationship! marc very clearly idolizes him and is like. bowled over completely with delight every time valentino looks his way. vale likes him! theyre buds! truly an endless well of pictures of vale explaining something with his hands and marc babygirling at him. highly recommend checking out @pgaslys every rosquez podium tag for contextual brain damage. insane times.

(IT SHOULD BE NOTED: before the 2015 season marc visits valentino at his practice track in italy, where they compete to break the track record and almost kill each other bc they are so pathologically competitive. APPARENTLY, marc showed up with some official mechanics and valentino was a little pissed off because it was supposed to be a like. fun thing. and to marc winning is the most fun! if you dont come to win why come at all! anyways marc breaks the track record and credits that to cooling their relationship a bit. good post about it here.) here they are that day:

so what could go wrong, right? WELL. valentino has a chance to win his tenth title in 2015. marc is on a flop bike and crashed a bunch so he's not in the championship conversation but vale is leading the standings from the jump, with his main opponent being jorge lorenzo. i think he really wanted that tenth, and dedicated himself to the season in a way he hadnt really ever before (he was a very effortless competitor when he was young. gym-adverse. king).

marc and him start to get into some scraps along the way, notably in argentina (where they made contact and marc crashed out), assen (where they made contact AGAIN and vale won the race), and phillip island (marc won. GREAT race available here for free). phillip island sees vale finishing P4 and jorge lorenzo finishing ahead of him in P3, reducing his championship lead by quite a bit. no real indication of any tension during these races, and they are asked about it!

this is where valentino's delulu era begins! basically, ahead of the next race (🔥🔥SEPANG 2015🔥🔥) in the pre-race press conference, he goes after marc, saying he was deliberately sabotaging valentino in phillip island because marc wanted jorge to win. in valentino's mind. marc wants jorge to win because a. they are both spanish (??) and b. it would mean marc has to win less titles to equal valentino's total. record scratch. freeze frame.

everyone (including marc!) thinks valentino is joking at first bc that is bananascrazyinsane. he was not joking. (it should be noted valentino STILL thinks this lol.) anyways marc is completely blindsided. he thought they were good! yeah they've been chippy on track but that's racing!! truly like. 22 years old and your friend (AND CHILDHOOD IDOL.) is calling you a snake in front of your face with NO prior warning to the entire motogp establishment writ large including your coworkers and REPORTERS. valentino wont even look at him the entire time. the press conference is available here on vimeo. excruciating gifsets of marc's very stiff bewildered PR smile found here.

anyways so. the race. marc is uh. pissed off. he's stuck to valentino like GLUE the entire time and they trade places a bunch of times. now marc is kind of famous for being a little asshole on track anyways, but its not like he's gonna get out of valentino's way and just let him pass after what he said in that press conference so. hand in unlovable hand <3. truly very fun to watch imo even with the sword of damocles hanging over them. marc is fucking on one the entire race and basically refuses to give valentino an inch until vale gets so fed up with his antics that um. well. it certainly looks like he kicked him. vale says he didnt, and that his leg accidently made contact with marc's bike. marcs says. he fucking kicked me. judge for yourself here!

so valentino gets hauled in front of race direction and penalized for the next race (the deciding race for the championship). he has to start from the back of the grid and it kills his chance at a tenth title stone dead. vale places the blame squarely on marc's shoulders and his legions of fans decide marc is public enemy number 1. him and jorge have to get security at the next race because of death threats, someone tries to break into marc's childhood home back in spain, marc's mom throws away all of marc's valentino merchandise from when he was a kid. vale says nothing.

but the thing about marc. is that he loves very hard and chooses his people pretty carefully. didnt really move out of his tiny hometown until he turned 30 and also made his baby brother move in with him kind of guy. so all this is not really enough for him to let go of vale entirely! 2016 is where the pain lives! bc marc is still reaching out and vale himself stays pretty cold for a couple years. they seem to faintly reconcile for a bit but its not anywhere like it was before sepang.

the real nail in the coffin is argentina 2018. another insane race where marc has to start from the back and goes on a rampage through the field and crashes out like three people. i cant remember. this race is also available on youtube for free its very entertaining. every five minutes marc does something insane. vale is one of the people marc crashes out and afterwardshe goes on a big rant about how marc is destroying the sport and is actively dangerous. marc goes to valentino's garage immediately after the race to apologize and vale doesnt even look at him. he gets turned away at the door after vale's best friend/assistant/henchman yells in his face1!!! and thats kind off all she wrote in terms of reconciliation

anyways that's where we are! they are both very much not over it. vale goes on podcasts and is like. in 30 years i will still be mad, im literally never going to get over it it was such a big and unfair thing and i think about it all the time like it was yesterday. and marc (lying) says as time goes by i dont even think about it :) and i care about valentino less and less :))) but yes he hurt me deeply lol. CANNOT stress enough how much this entire thing is now inextricably liked to both of their legacies. the two arguable GOATs of a sport had an epic fleetwood mac-style beatles breakup divorce and everyone wants to talk about it allllll day long including me :)

additional context! really recommend checking out marc's little docuseries he put out this year about his recent struggles with injury. he is so not right in the head and it goes over the valentino drama in ep3. theres also hitting the apex (2015) which goes over the 2013 season (marc's rookie season) and is a really good introduction to all the major players at the time. its like less than 2 hrs long so its not too much of a commitment

also recommend following scholars @babynflames, @its-always-silly-season, @baking-soda, and @f1vegas as well as many others im forgetting rn bc its 2am!

#truly. i am new here. so grain of salt etc #motogp #callie speaks #asks #long post #rosquez

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lovewithmary · 11 months

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(not) moving on — a max verstappen x stark!oc x charles leclerc series

★ fc: madison beer ☆ summary: evangeline "evie" stark is in love with her best friend, max verstappen, but he tries his best to keep her at arm's length. but what happens when she starts to get close to his fellow drivers in the paddock? ★ note: idek why i like creating stark ocs, but it’s fun. This is purely for my own entertainment but I don't know if I'll continue it. It depends if people actually want to see more of this. (realistically, I might continue it because I want to see it lol) btw how do people do the subtitles?? like I'm so curious I want to do those

schat = darling in dutch

next series masterlist

liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc, and 20,492,182 others

eviestark: life lately 💜

comments

user1: MY WIFE IS IN A RELATIONSHIP???

user2: she’s actually living the life rn

user3: SCHAT??? ANG???

user4: the random tony stark jumpscare in the photo dump LMAOOOO

user5: who is the guy with tony stark in the 7th photo?? ↳ user6: i’m pretty sure that’s peter parker, an employee of stark industries??? he’s started out as an intern in high school but he’s rumored to be the COO once evie becomes CEO of stark industries

user7: WHO TOOK THE 2ND PICTURE

user8: not the single guys from the f1 grid in her likes 😭😭

user9: THE WOMAN IN THE BACK IN THE 7TH PICTURE IM CRYING

user10: the first and second picture giving me 'boyfriend took these for me' vibes

user11: she looks so pretty and happy in the 4th picture <3

"You're playing with fire by posting our text messages, Ang," Max said, his voice shushed as he walked around the paddock.

"It's fine, Maxie. They'll probably connect me to a random famous person who is Dutch and then it'll blow over in a week," Evie dismissed.

"It doesn't really help that the guys are in your likes constantly," Max grumbled, and he heard Evie laugh.

"Some of them are pretty cute, and I think some even tried messaging me but I never saw them until it was late," she responded.

"Who?"

"Aww, Maxie, are you jealous?" Evie cooed, her tone sweet yet mocking at the same time.

"No... I just never expected them to be brave enough to message you," Max said.

"If you must know, I think it was Charles and Lando who tried. There are probably others, but I haven't seen them,"

"Did you respond to any of them?"

"Of course not, I'm loyal to you and only you,"

"Schat..."

"I know, I know, you wouldn't touch me with a ten-foot pole like that," Max could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"You know we're just best friends, right?"

"And I'm saying I'm loyal to you and only you as a best friend."

"Are you doing anything soon?" Max was quick to change the subject, feeling as if he didn't, awkwardness would settle in and he hates it whenever Evie doesn't speak since he's fully aware that he loves hearing her talk considering how passionate she gets about things.

"Stark Industries' Gala is happening and Pepper's making me get a date for the event,"

"Why's she making you?"

"Something along the lines of I have to be seen with someone that isn't MJ, Peter, Ned, and Shuri," Evie sighed.

Max laughed at her situation, knowing that while Evie knew a lot of people, there were only a few that she could trust completely. And luckily for him, he was one of them. He was probably the first, considering they've known each other since she was 6 and he was 8.

"Good luck trying to find someone,"

"It's not even trying to find someone I'm struggling with. It's trying to find someone that's decent enough to spend my night with,"

"Who were you going to ask?"

"Well, I was going to ask you, but since we're best friends I don't think me bringing you as my date to the SI event would be something best friends do,"

"I'll go," Max said, shrugging.

"Wait, seriously? Like you going means you actually have to dress up,"

"I know,"

"The dress code is black tie. That means you can't wear your Redbull uniform like you're a walking billboard,"

"Do I really wear it that much? I saw people that were shocked when I wore a white t-shirt,"

"You're a millionaire who wears the same thing every day. So basically, every millionaire man,"

"I'm going to wear Redbull head to toe to the Gala now that you said that,"

#f1 imagine #f1 instagram au #f1 x oc #f1 ig au #f1 oc #f1 smau #f1 social media au #f1 x reader #f1 x y/n #f1 x you #max verstappen x oc #max verstappen fic #max verstappen smau #avengers crossover #charles leclerc x oc #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc smau #charles leclerc x reader

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wordstome · 9 months

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symbiote König x reader

I'm not allowed to start any new aus/stories until I finish a few, but I need to expel these worms from my brain. (also remind me to write something about Eddie Brock/Symbiote Ghoap x reader later)

I don't know if you guys know much about Venom lore, but symbiotes don't have a default system of morality: they take on the same traits and moral values as their hosts. They were created as a sort of world-conquering mindless evil force, but when symbiotes bonded to hosts who wanted to do good, they took on those moralities and became ashamed of their purpose. After they imprisoned the dude who made them to be evil (Knull, btw) they just made up a lie that their species was naturally benevolent.

So picture this: symbiote König who's been captured alongside several others of his kind and brought to Earth by the Life Foundation to study their abilities. I like the idea of symbiote König being similar to Eddie Brock's Venom: he's had bad and good hosts, but the bad ones fucked him up really bad, so now he's the König we know: arrogant and confident in his proficiency in violence, but deeply awkward, lonely, and lost. Getting kidnapped and taken to yet another foreign planet to be poked and prodded and experimented on is just his luck.

But then there's you. A pretty little scientist, not much more than a lab assistant, really. Your first encounter with him consists of you touching a finger to the glass of his prison, and him, curious, moving himself to press his inky dark goop where your skin presses against the glass. You giggle before quickly remembering yourself and skittering away. Symbiotes aren't fond of sounds, but he wouldn't mind hearing that one again...

It's little encounters like that that endears you to him. It didn't take him long to decide he hated humans: they're slow and unintelligent and nowhere near as elegant of a killer as he is, and yet they've managed to trap him and torment him. He's quickly noted as being the most unpredictable and violent of the captured symbiotes. But he likes you, who visits him and talks to him. To you, it doesn't mean much: you may as well be talking to a lab rat, finding an outlet to vent your frustrations about your insane work hours, demanding managers, and meagre pay. To him, he's absorbing everything you tell him, longing to touch you without glass in the way. What would it be like to bond with you, he wonders? To merge symbiote with flesh, and become two moving as one?

He'd like to be inside you, in more ways than one perhaps.

He may have fucked that up, though. It wasn't his fault, that day. They were starving him, these idiotic humans, starving all of them. He had no choice but to eviscerate and wholly consume the poor man sent into his glass cage. But you had been watching, eyes wide in terror, as blood and viscera burst everywhere. If he had a heart, it would have ached as he watched you skitter away...

And yet...there may be something deeply wrong with you, just as there is something wrong with him. Because you're back the next day, a new fascination in your eyes. Instead of talking at him, you talk to him now, asking him questions he only wishes he could answer. If he could just reach you, he could communicate...

König gets his wish the day it all goes awry. A whistleblower breaks in and makes off with one of his breathren, and the next person to stumble upon the scene is his little scientist, who doesn't hesitate to start smashing the glass of his prison. "It's not right," you mutter over and over again. "It's not right..."

He can detect your heartbeat speeding up as he drags himself across the floor to reach you. You shy away out of instinct, and he pauses. There are alarms ringing out now, awful terrible loud sounds, and he would prefer to get out of here immediately, but he refuses to do anything that would drive you away for good. He watches as you heave a deep shaky breath, then reach out a hand to him.

He glides up your hand and wrist, working his way into your body, the symbiosis instant and easy. You're a perfect match. He knew you would be. The armed guards burst through the door, but you have nothing to worry about as he envelops your body. You become a six foot ten behemoth, face hidden by what almost looks like a veil—something he picked up from a former host. You're barely aware of what's happening, too overwhelmed and confused to parse what's going on. But he knows what he's doing.

After he gets you to safety, the two of you will have all the time in the world to get to know each other.

#könig #könig x reader #könig x you #konig #konig x reader #konig x you #könig cod #konig cod #call of duty #cod #wrote this at 4am forgive me if it's not up to par #2am thoughts #symbiote au

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milliesfishes · 2 months

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Hi was listening to special death and I CANNOT stop thinking of billy with an x witch reader please 🥺🥺🥺

𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚𝓢𝓹𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚

[fem reader] contains: talk of witchcraft, trauma pairing: billy the kid x fem reader summary: witch reader x billy the kid author’s note: anon, this has been on my mind forever since you sent it I hope you enjoy! Open to doing a part 2 btw let me know <3 Pinterest Board Spotify Playlist

Billy had always taken a liking to those on the outcast side of society.

Since he himself fell into that category, he paid special attention to the ones those with exorbitant amounts of money declared misfits. They were a curious subject to him since he often discovered them not to be what everyone declared.

When there were whisperings of a new face in town, one passerby pronounced as strange, his attention was piqued. Billy wasn't a gossip by any means, but he leaned in a little whenever he heard someone talking about said soul.

"She's very odd," one woman said as she examined a bushel of apples, not bothering to quiet her tone. "Moved into a little cottage over the glen and hasn't spoken to anyone yet."

"I saw her one morning," her companion said, nodding along. "Out in the hills shamelessly, shoulders uncovered, gathering plants. I'm so glad she hasn't come into town. Although it'd give us a good laugh, I suppose."

Billy stopped listening after that, their facts trickling into fiction. He was used to the way women in the marketplace spoke about each other, and usually he paid them no mind. But this was interesting. Most folks didn't move to this little corner of the world, willingly or not.

As the weeks passed, the whispers about the new woman in town grew louder. When he heard a few men in the saloon talking about her, his interest was really captured. Usually, the only thing they talked about was work or the game at hand. Now the only topic on their tongues was the woman with long hair who did strange things in the woods.

"She's a witch," one older man said earnestly, setting his hand down. "Ain't never seen anythin' like it. Someone oughtta drive 'er out before she curses us all."

"Nah, she won't hurt anyone," another man chortled. "Saw 'er myself the other morning. Timid little thing. The second she saw me she bolted. Doubt we'll hear from her much."

"Gives our wives somethin' new to talk about," the cowboy across from him said, tossing a few coins into the pot. "Good thing too. I was sick of hearin' 'bout who's doin' what at the inn."

A witch? That was a new one. Billy had been told tales of spellcasters both good and evil in his mother's Irish fairy tales, but he'd never heard of one existing. It was a far-fetched notion. One he was keen to discover the truth of. One he didn't know he would stumble upon.

The morning was was misty and cloudy, the sun barely risen over the hills. He hummed to himself as he guided his horse to a forest-y part of the hills. Now was the best time to be out. The world was quiet, the chatter of everything quieted by a required action of unconsciousness.

He peered through the thick branches, dismounting and tying his horse when he saw something moving. There was a little clearing nearby, and he wondered if a deer had wandered in to graze.

But when he got closer, he realized the presence was human. He could make out long hair and a white dress between the leaves. Then when he pushed willow leaves aside, he finally saw you clearly.

Graceful and lithe, you pushed your hair aside as you gathered a purple flower from a bush he recognized as lavender. The thin strap of your dress fell off your shoulder, and he found himself staring at the expanse of skin exposed. As you bent over, he could see the tops of your breasts, a single pendant on a ribbon tucked between them.

Instantly he knew you were the woman everyone was talking about. When they said witch he'd pictured an old crone with gray hair and time worn skin. But here you were, youthful and smooth and lovely.

The way you moved was mesmerizing. There was an air about you that made it impossible to look away. It was more than being attracted; Billy had certainly felt that before. This was something different. This was being drawn like a magnet, being helpless to the pull of your gravity. And you were in your own world, unaware of him, of anything at all.

He watched, captivated, as you tied your lavender with a ribbon, sticking it into a little bag so the purple poked out. Now you were climbing a tree expertly, crawling across a branch that hung over a tall patch of wild roses.

Cocking his head, Billy observed you turn upside down, still hanging from the branch like a sloth. Your hair fell like a curtain he longed to part. You stretched your neck to see below you, squinting a bit. Positioned right over the middle of the large patch, he was confused at what exactly you were doing.

Then in an instant you let go.

Billy's hand stretched out as if he could reach you from where he was standing. His jaw dropped, eyes wider than saucers as he watched you fall like a ragdoll into the mess of brambles and blooms.

He jumped into action, running before he knew what he was doing. Thorns gnawed at him when he pushed through the stems in an attempt to get to you. The result was sharp bouts of pain that made him wince, and he had to stop halfway there, grunting and touching the scratches on his face and arms. His fingers came back bloody.

There was a rustling sound, and your head popped up, eyes wide, plants coming up to your shoulders. With a furrowed brow, you called, "Are you okay?"

Oh, your voice was musical. A song he wished he could sing, a song that wouldn't sound as lovely unless it was coming from your mouth. He managed a half smile. "Ah...little tangled up."

You were moving closer with worried eyes. "Did you fall in?"

"N-no," he managed, disarmed as you came near. Being close to you was like drinking too much whiskey- it sent his head into a buzz. "But you did."

Pausing, your lips parted in realization. Now you knew what he had been trying to do. "I see."

"But you're-" Now you were reaching out a smooth hand, touching his face and turning it to the side so you could presumably see the battle scars from the sharp vines. The feel of your touch cut him off for a moment. He could see your eyes more clearly, and there was a spark in them he couldn't place. Maybe if you stood like this forever, he'd spend an equal amount of time drowning in them.

As you studied him, he studied you. Despite the fact you'd fallen right into the roses, there wasn't a single scratch on you. You were utterly untouched. He opened his mouth to ask, but you frowned, turning his cheek to the side. You took off his hat, so the shadow of the brim didn't disturb your view.

Clicking your tongue regretfully, you looked at him apologetically. "Come with me. I'll get you something for all these..." you gestured at the mess of his bodily afflictions.

Billy didn't think he'd ever be able to say no to you. He merely nodded as you put his hat back on his head, moving elegantly through the bush. The thorns slid over your skin like it was made of glass. He followed you, wincing as the same plants re-scratched him.

Once you were both out, he noticed you were holding a bunch of the wild roses, tied with a ribbon just like the lavender had been. You shoved it into your bag, picking it up and smiling a little at him. "C'mon. I can help you if you want."

A little wistfully, he nodded, looking back behind him. "My horse-"

Like clockwork, his horse appeared from the thicket from where he'd left it. Billy shook his head, sure he was seeing things. You didn't seem surprised by it, however, merely reaching out to the creature.

"Be careful, he-" Billy's warning was lost as he saw his normally finnicky horse nuzzle against your hand. He was baffled.

You handed him the reins. "I don't live very far away."

Powerless to stop your draw, he followed you.

You were quiet on the short journey, facing forward. The sun was higher now in the sky, and it illuminated you beautifully. He had a feeling any element would suit you. Practically one of the earth's daughters, you glowed here as if you were born directly to it.

The cottage in which you resided was simple, surrounded by wildflowers. Vines crept up the walls, kissing the roof. It was quaint and charming, just like you.

He tied his horse at the fence, and you produced a carrot from your bag, feeding it to the animal before leading Billy inside.

The walls were lined with shelves of old books. There were vases of flowers on every surface, but they weren't filled with water as expected. Instead, mounds of little shells held them in place. He could see jars full of herbs and liquids, lit candles lighting the space. You set your bag down on a table in the center, beckoning him to sit.

He did, watching you flit around the room, reading the labels on jars until you found the perfect one, popping the cork and peering inside. Nodding once, you came back over to him. "Here-" you removed his hat once again and dipped your fingers in the jarred substance, dabbing it where the thorn scratches must be.

The paste wasn't unpleasant smelling, and he liked that you were so close. Billy could see clearly your silky hair and smooth body. He wanted to run his fingers over it, see if it was as soft as it looked.

You knelt at his side, rolling up the sleeve of his right arm to put substance over the wounds there too. He smiled at the sight. "Are you a healer?" He didn't know if witch was the correct term.

Looking up at him, you offered him a little tilt upward of your lips. "Is that what they say in town about me?"

"Well..." he squinted as he thought. "Not exactly."

"I figured," you resumed your task, and he enjoyed the feel of your fingers on his skin. "For what it's worth, I do not wish to hurt anyone."

With your kind eyes and seemingly gentle demeanor, he hadn't thought you would. He told you so. Now your smile was wider. "That's nice of you to say. It seems I'm a danger to everybody else."

He shook his head. "You're helpin' me."

You looked up at him with doe eyes, and his heart fluttered. "Do you know what I am?"

Billy was lost in the universe of your eyes for a second. He thought of the way you'd glided through the thorns, retaining nary a remnant. The way you seemed to have such a way about you that was nearly magical. His tone was light when he guessed. "You're a witch?"

Your eyes were unchanging, when he half expected a rain of fire to engulf him. "It's funny. I've had that term lobbed at me in anger a thousand times. But you say it so casually. You say it the way I do."

"My mama used to tell me stories about witches," he nodded, noticing with awe that his scratches were fading into his skin as if he'd never been grazed. "Not all of 'em were bad."

Tilting your head, your smile grew. "She was right about that. It's just like people. Not everyone is fully good or evil. But majority rules."

The way you spoke was so lilted. He could listen for hours. "And you're good."

"I hope so," you said, and he caught a hint of melancholy in your eyes. But you shook it off as quickly as it appeared, rolling his other sleeve up and leaning over his slightly parted knees to put your salve on that arm.

"Did ya live near here before?" he asked, eager for information about you.

You resumed dabbing. "No. I used to live by the ocean."

He caught sight of the shells in the vases again. "'S far from here."

"It is." Standing up, you examined his face again, soft fingers gracing his jaw and positioning his head to the side. Tracing his jawline, you examined the area, fingers ghosting his stubble. "I miss it a lot. It was very beautiful."

"I can imagine," he nodded lightly, careful to keep his head in place. "And have ya always...ah...practiced witchcraft?"

A little giggle escaped your lips at his hesitation. "You can say it. It's okay." Then you shook your head. "No. Not always. But I was in a bad way and a different witch took me in. She healed me. And in exchange she spellbound me."

"Spellbound?" Billy felt like he was pressing for information, but he couldn't help it. You were so fascinating to him.

You either didn't see it that way or didn't mind. "Very few witches are born. They're nearly always spellbound." Now your fingers were in his hair, pushing it back to check for any more injuries. It felt wonderful, and he slightly leaned into your touch. Delicately, you sat on his knee, leaning in to check closer. You smelled like lavender. His hand twitched, wanting to rest on your waist, but he resisted.

"When a witch finds a successor, she gives her powers to someone else," you explained, eyes roving over his face. "Then that someone else is spellbound. They take up the burden of witchcraft and practice it to keep the magic alive until they find their successor. Usually when someone is spellbound, they've been an apprentice to that witch for a while. But she was getting older, and she hadn't found anyone and..." you trailed off, looking away. "It was easier to trade favors."

"There's no way to get out of it otherwise?" Billy questioned, searching your eyes.

"It's dangerous," you confessed. "That's when you give the power back to the earth, where it came from. I've looked into it. But in order for the current vessel of power to remain living afterward, the powers have to be more good than evil. And since they're passed down so many generations, and the vessel often doesn't know by who..."

"You can never know how much good there really was," Billy finished, guessing at it. You nodded, and a spark of pride lit in him.

"It's safer to give them to someone else," you concluded. "I haven't found anyone yet. The last town ousted me out before I could. And by the looks of things, I'm not sure I'll find anyone here either."

Billy could feel the deep sorrow in you like a tangible thing. He wanted to ask you more about it, about what had happened for the other witch to find you, about what exactly you did with your possessed power.

Instead, he reached up tentatively, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. "You don't want the burden?"

"It's a heavy thing to carry," you said softly, and it tugged at his heart.

"'F course," he whispered, looking between your eyes. His fingers were still on your face. He couldn't resist drawing a line from your cheek to your chin. You let him, staring into his eyes.

"You're beautiful." Billy said it like a prayer.

"That'll be the magic," you half smiled.

He shook his head, thumb tilting your chin up. "No. It's you."

Before he knew it, he was leaning in, lips ghosting yours, almost like a question. And you responded, hands sliding over his shoulders, leaning into him. Your breasts were pressed against his chest, and the sensation sent him reeling.

You were nothing short of enchanting.

Lips moving, he could feel the magic running through your veins. There was something electric in your touch, something about you that made him need you like water. It was like there was an ocean roaring inside you that he wanted to drown in.

His fingers grasped the ribbon around your neck, finding the pendant between your breasts and grasping it, using it to gently pull you closer. The ribbon untied, and fell from your neck.

Lips separating, you drew back, leaning your forehead to press against his. "Is this how you treat everyone who heals you?"

Billy was drunk off you, and he wanted another hit. "No." He chased your lips, catching them in another searing kiss. Splaying his fingers on your back, he found a fistful of your dress.

You let him kiss you lazily for a moment, lips dragging down to your neck, then your collarbone. Oh how he loved your collarbone. Nosing against it, he showered a series of soft kisses there.

Then he felt something brush against his leg. Pulling back, he looked down to find a black cat purring as it pawed at his shin. You followed his eyes, smiling slightly. "Sorry...that's Fish. He likes people."

Keeping the hand holding your pendant around your waist, Billy reached the other hand down and scratched Fish's head. "'S alright. Seems like a good fella'."

He could feel you watching him interact with the cat, and you didn't sway your eyes when he lifted his own to meet them. Smiling, he leaned in, pecking your lips once, then twice. That made you smile in turn, and you nudged your nose against him, hands on the sides of his face.

Noticing he was holding your pendant, you uncurled his fingers, tracing the shape of it against his palm. It was an oval, framed by gold. There were three little stars in the center, and you touched each one before folding his fingers over it again. "Keep it."

Billy looked up at you again. "You-?"

Both your hands came to clasp around his. "It's a witch's symbol. How we know each other. But I've been here for weeks and haven't found anybody. And I'm not going to find a successor. Keep it."

He wanted to protest the hopelessness of the statement, your resignation to the fact that you'd be weighed under your powers forever. But you seemed determined.

So, he intertwined your fingers, the pendant pressing between palms. Then he lifted them to his lips, kissing your knuckles. A promise to keep it safe.

Billy kissed your nose, and then breathed, "D'ya feel it?" The pulsing hypnotism that overwhelmed him whenever he looked at you, that sensation that he knew wasn't just the magic residing within you.

You traced runes into the skin of his cheek, pressing your lips there when you were done. "I feel it. This is real power."

Next part

#billy the kid #billy the kid x reader #billy the kid fanfiction #billy the kid x you #william h bonney x reader #william h bonney fanfiction #william h bonney x you #billy bonney #billy the kid imagine #billy the kid 2022 #william h bonney #william h bonney imagines #william h bonney imagine #billy the kid fanfic #milliesfishes billy

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pinkthrone445 · 5 months

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Will I ever know what it feels to hold you close?

Pairing:Melissa Schemmenti x Reader

Gender :Fluff fluff fluff

Warnings:I don't think so

Summary:You and Mel meet on a dating app, but due to a bug in the app, you match even though you live many miles apart.

Author's note: Special fic for @neverfindmegone ♥️ for her birthday!

I hope you like this, I wanted to make it the most special possible for you to make you feel as special as you made me feel last week for my birthday, but it was a little bit hard to capture your soul and heart in just a fic, thank you for everything you do for me. Happy birthday sweetheart and enjoy. Cherry!

You were staring at the giant mirror against the wall, your foot was tapping on the floor, your stomach felt like it wanted to come out of your mouth, you've never looked so beautiful and felt so nervous and decomposed at the same time. Your cell phone that was on the dresser rang warning that you had a notification, with trembling hands you took it and smiled when you saw who sent the message

-♠️ MyMissPoker ♥️: "Hello my love, I'm dying to see you, I miss you so much... I hope in a day like this you can feel how much I love you even when I'm not there"-Melissa had sent you a message that immediately calmed your nerves and you couldn't help but remember with happiness how you came to know each other years ago, through a first message like this...

You remembered how you got to talk to each other 5 years ago

You were having lunch at work when your cell phone vibrated with a notification, confused you grabbed your cell phone while the others were talking to each other.

"Miss Poker has sent you a message" the notification said

-MissPoker: "Hello, I love the pictures you have posted, you have talent, and those little poems were pure perfection"-The message read and you frowned. Not long ago, you had downloaded a dating app as your friends had insisted because it had been a while since you had dated anyone. You agreed to do it, but if they let you choose which app it would be. In the end you signed up for one that was very anonymous, the only thing you entered was some personal interests and some photos of things you liked next to a alias, you didn't enter your real name or photos of yourself, and the app showed you people with the same interest that were close by.

The truth is that you had signed up for that one because you thought that no one would talk to you with the photos you had posted, that's why you had been so surprised to receive a notification on your cell phone. It was true that you had uploaded some pictures of the things you painted in your spare time, but you never thought that anyone would like it.

You carefully opened the profile of the person who had spoken to you, in her photos you could see a dog, a photo of some books, another of a baseball field, some cooking pictures, a dance hall and some pictures of the moon.

Curious, you decided to open the messages and answer her

-Littlechef(you):"Thank you...nice pictures too, I'm guessing you like cooking?" - You asked softly laughing about the silly interaction

-MissPoker:"Yes, I looove cooking. You too? Or you have that name in honor or ratatouille?" - The woman answered and you laughed looking at your phone

-Littlechef:"I'm a chef actually..."-You replied a little nervously, not knowing why

-MissPoker:"Isn't the funny thing about this app the anonymous part?.. But since you told me what you do for a living I'll tell you what I do too, I'm an elementary school teacher, the best in the whole school" - The woman replied and you stared at the message for a few seconds

-Littlechef: "the funny thing about this is get to know each other without knowing how we look and let ourselves influence by it... How we will get to know each other if we don't talk about ourselves?" - You replied and she sent a laughing emoji

-MissPoker: "you got me there... I'm Melissa btw, nice to meet you" - she replied and you wondered if it would be right to give your name to a complete stranger, but it was what you first did when you met someone in person, so you thought it wouldn't hurt to do it here

-Littlechef: "I'm (Y/N), nice to meet you too" - You replied without having the slightest idea how important a complete stranger would become to you.

From that day forward the conversation began to flow, from casual conversations to deeper ones, and there was no longer a day when you didn't talk to her.

You also remembered those first feelings for her even if you denied at the moment

Her notifications made you let out that silly laugh every time, like a child does when he gets into some mischief. You were always checking your phone. Her notification brightened your day in a surprising way and made you happy how easy everything was with her, there was always a topic of conversation and she always knew what to say when you got quiet. She was amazing.

Just talking to her made you feel a warmth in your soul that you didn't really know how to handle, to be honest it scared you a little, you had been hurt before and you had sworn to avoid relationships at least for a while, but everything was so perfect that it was hard not to feel something for her even when you haven't seen her face yet. Her way of being was the perfect compliment for you.

You remembered the first time you saw how she was

One day you decided it was time to forget the anonymous part and put a face to the name, so you exchanged photos. You were really nervous about that, what if she thought you were ugly? You knew she was older and that didn't bother you, that even turn you on a little bit, but what if she wasn't what you expected?.. You were so nervous and scared for the unknown but at the same time so thrilled to finally see her... So you each send 3 pictures to each other.

If you had fallen in love with her personality, her face was something else and made you fall even more, she was perfection itself. For God's sake, what a beautiful woman, her hair with those soft curls, her beautiful smile, her eyes shining in a particular way that made you feel warmth and peace, and her sharp cheeks looked like they had been formed by an artist with a chisel. If we are the creation of a God, she was his masterpiece, pure perfection. And let's not talk about her body and the things it made you feel...

She told you repeatedly how beautiful you were too, but you felt like a worm every time you saw her pictures again. You were so lucky.

Also, after the photos, you exchanged numbers too and you immediately deleted the dating app. Your heart was already hers even if you didn't knew at that moment.

You also remembered your first sad moment together

One particular day, you shared a picture of a place where you were painting, you had finished work and went to a particular place you liked to eat something and paint a little. You and Mel had been talking about meeting in person, but that day everything changed and your hopes fade a little. When she asked what you were doing, you told her and decided to send a picture of the place and what you were creating . You never expect Mel's answer

-"You don't live in Phily?"-Her comment left you a little bit lost and confused. The app was supposed to connect you with people who were close to you, but something went wrong and somehow you and Mel were able to see each other's profile even though you lived veeery far away.

You had never thought about it, you had both assumed you lived nearby but you were wrong. That day you both wondered if it made sense to keep talking and making plans to meet each other if you lived so far away, but after much consideration, you decided to see where all this was going despite the distance and kept talking.

Thank goodness you decided to do it, because fate had big plans for you. Love knows no distances and would continue to grow until your heart and hers came together.

You also remembered the ways in which she was always present even when she was far away

You decided to call her, you were about to have a panic attack, your country wasn't very stable and your job was laying off people because it wasn't enough to pay everyone. Mel listened patiently to all your fears and worries

-"What if I'm next? One of my friends was laid off and she had been there longer than me. I really like this job and I don't want to lose it, Mel. I don't know if I have the good qualities to find another one. I'm really scared" - You commented to the redhead while you were crying, while it hurt her to see you like this, she wouldn't let you be sad for long and she wouldn't let you alone on this

-"Hey Hon... Breath please... Let's not get ahead of ourselves, you're an incredible worker, you do everything in that place, I've seen how many amazing things you do, you're worth a lot and I don't think you'll be taken out. And if they do, you'll get a job in no time, you've got incredible talent in the kitchen and doing so many other things, you've got a good time of experience and that helps for a new job, you'll do well and I will be here to help you... But again, let's focus on the present, you still have work, stay focused on that, nothing bad will happen, Okey?"-The redhead whispered, and you nodded a little more calmly when you heard her voice, even if it was on the phone.

In the end she was right, the layoffs stopped and you even got a raise. Like that occasion, she was helping you through every difficult moment.

You remember all the things she did to be present for you even on the distance

Mel figured out how to use her cards to deliver food or snacks you liked.

She also learned how to play some games that you showed her to play with you, it was very funny to hear her insult while you played war games against other people, you almost every time won at uno.

Sometimes you would make video calls and watch movies together even at a distance.

And every night she would call you and tell you things about her day until you fell asleep together.

Every step you took there was her holding your hand and encouraging you, helping you to become a better version of yourself.

You even introduced her to some of your friends via video call and she did the same, so you met Barbara, Janine and Jacob.

One day the two of you decided to formalize things when you noticed how the talks were no longer just a talk of friends, but of something more. Mel wasn't one to believe in long-distance relationships, but somehow everything was working out better than expected.

Time passed with countless calls, photos, videos, sexual calls, and many many messages and audios.

Every once in a while you would send her a package of things for her and she would buy you things too.

There were days when you missed her presence even when you'd never really had her around, she always said that she was right there with you, but that didn't made the distance easier. It's weird to explain, but you can miss someone you've never meet.

You remembered how after months of missing her, the two of you finally met for the first time

When your work and hers allowed it, you agreed to travel to the same place to meet in person, she traveled with Barbara and you with your best friend.

The first hug, that first hug was something that was etched in your memory. You waited for her at the airport because you got there first, when she finally saw you she dropped everything and hugs you so tightly, no a word was shared, but you remember how everything was said in silence. Her hands fit perfectly in the hollow of your back, your height fit perfectly with hers, her perfume was the richest thing you have ever smelled in your life and finally your heart felt at peace.

You spent a week together, having amazing sex, walking, cuddling, taking the opportunity to sleep and bathe together, creating memories and making plans for the future, you even stole a pair of shirts to take home and have her smell close.

That was the first of many trips, every time you had the opportunity you got together to see each other even for a few days.

Your soul craved her in a way that never happened before to you.

Back to the present

A sigh left your lips as you remembered all those things, thousands of things had happened in between those years, even some arguments, but everything was fixed and you stayed together through all. Remembering all of that, remembering how you are able to feel Mel's love in everything she did from day one, made you cry lost in your mind and memories, missing her and feeling sad for some reason.

The sound of a new notification took you out of your thoughts and with your trembling hands you wiped your tears a little and picked up your cell phone

-♠️ MyMissPoker ♥️: "Hey sweetheart, is everything okay?.."-Mel sent you the first message many minutes ago, but when you started to remind everything that had happened over the years, you had forgotten to answer her and she got worried

-You: "no... I miss you, I need you here, I don't want you to be far away specially in a day like this" - You answered and she immediately called you, as soon as you answered she could hear your soft sobs

-"Baby, what happened?" - The redhead asked very worriedly-"I'm here, why are you crying? Are you having second thoughts? Did I do something wrong?"-You sighed trying to calm your crying and be able to answer

-"you are perfect, but I need you, I need you to feel you close" - You whispered in a weak voice

-"I'll go there right now, I'm just a few blocks away and I'm mostly ready, wait for me" - Mel answered and you heard her take her keys and her sister screamed in the background for her to come back

-"But it's bad luck to see each other before the wedding" - You whispered

-"It's also bad luck that one of the brides is crying of sadness in their special day... Besides, we have been apart too much time already, God will understand..."-she joked and you sobbed and laughed at the same time

-"Your sister will kill you" - You whispered laughing when you heard the screams

-"We will figure something out, wait for me, I'm coming. I love you"-She responded quickly, and you heard her sister get in the car with her

-"I love you more" - You answered and waited for her to arrive. After a few minutes you felt a soft knock on the door and then Mel's sister came in with a blindfold for your eyes and another for the redhead, so you and Mel could be together without seeing each other and without the bad luck.

Seconds after putting on the blindfold you felt how arms hugged your waist, you immediately hugged her again hiding in her neck letting out a sigh that you didn't know you were holding. You could tell she was almost ready because her dress was pressed against you and her hair was up. You finally felt safe again

-"Thank you for coming...I missed you" - You whispered and held her tighter hiding as much as possible in the crook of her neck

-"I missed you too... For a second I got scared that you were having second thoughts... I love you so much, I'm sure you are gorgeous right now" - The redhead kissed your forehead and held you until you calmed down completely, even though you couldn't see her, she was filling all your senses and that was all you need it to feel better. After a few minutes she kissed you forehead again-"Ready?" - She asked and you nodded while still hugging her

-"Ready...I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together" - You whispered kissing her

-"I'll waiting for you" - She answered and you let her go to finish arranging the last details to be perfect on your most special day, your wedding and the beginning of a live together.

#melissa schemmenti smut #melissa ann schemmenti #melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti fanfic #abbott elementary #lisa ann walter #abbott elementary fanfic #abott elementary #abott elementary fanfic #lissa ann walter #lesbian #lisa ann walter fanfic #pinkthrone445 #abbot elementary #melissa schemmenti abott elementary

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general-cyno · 11 months

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I'm caught up with manga rn so I wanted to share a few thoughts (ramblings) on egghead arc zolu too. first, this convo after the crew leave wano and find out abt what's gone down in the reverie, and wrt to vivi specifically,

I do agree with some stuff I've seen about how using ace here as an example was not exactly the best one since we know how that ended up. that said, I think it's lowkey sweet that zoro still remembers so clearly what luffy said back then and well, he's not entirely wrong.

as I've mentioned in other posts before, zoro takes the crew and his own role in it very seriously. these are his companions, his friends and family I daresay, and part of his duty as both crewmate and friend includes keeping them all check and safe whenever it's needed. especially luffy, as we've seen in different occasions (water 7, thriller bark, punk hazard, wano, just to name some arcs with relevant moments related to this). storming into marijoa, THE world government/navy stronghold, without any information and/or plan whatsoever is a bad idea all around.

luffy may be impulsive and stubborn at times, but he isn't really an idiot and he knows zoro's right even if he doesn't like it. hence this:

ngl I love how grumpy luffy is at zoro here. these two are usually on a similar wavelength but there are key moments where their approach to things differ, and it ultimately works bc it's kind of... a complementary thing. making up for what the other lacks or needs to hear in those moments. I believe they bicker relatively less than other straw hats do in comparison (precisely bc of how similar they are imo) but it's funny when it actually happens. I can so easily picture luffy here fuming and stomping like a brat also being seconds away from asking for a divorce

this one's perhaps on a more delulu note on my part, but I like that zoro brought up ace in specific bc he was there both times when ace and sabo asked the crew to take care of luffy. it was curious to me that in the former case, zoro was kinda shown with this "!" reaction sign and later when it came to sabo in dressrosa, he was the one to fondly point out he sounded just like ace did in alabasta (and the "!" is back).

(the fact that sabo handed zoro luffy's vivre card there also lives in my mind rent free btw)

so yeah. zoro's definitely not one to mess around when it comes to the crew and luffy's safety, though he may get a handful of grumpy straw hats (captain included!) for it.

another thing, and do bear with me bc I might be reaching once again is... the break up flashback between shanks and buggy. I pretty much forgot to make a post about water 7/enies lobby zolu bits (too busy crying over robin, I admit) but this actually reminded me of it.

the context and personalities involved differ from each other, yeah, but I believe this shows exactly how easily it could've been for luffy and zoro to have a bad ending of sorts under different circumstances.

I can't say for sure how much of whiskey peak was intended to affect zoro and luffy's relationship later in the manga (I personally find some parts of it kinda goofy), but it at least served as an early example that they're not immune to suffering from misunderstandings and miscommunication issues. though unlike shanks/buggy, the fact that they're more similar than they're different and their differences tend to complement each other's likely works more in zoro and luffy's favor. still,

if luffy hadn't listened to zoro here - if he'd failed to stay true to what's expected of him as the captain (and being the captain is related to his journey to become the pirate king), to stay true to the kind of man zoro believes him to be and that he chose to join in that marine base, we could've had a similar scenario to shanks and buggy's imo. more so when you consider that zoro's as headstrong as luffy is, that he's been mistaken for the captain and now has turned out to have the color of the supreme king too. hell, zoro used to be a bounty hunter, is still called the pirate hunter. I don't believe it'd be easy for zoro to leave despite what he says, or that they'd become enemies per se, but it isn't (or wasn't) out of the realm of possibilities. zoro has admitted that he sees no point in being a pirate unless he's part of luffy's crew as well.

as it is, the fact that luffy values zoro's imput and listens to him whenever the need arises is such an important part of their relationship. as loyal as zoro may be, as great as his displays of that loyalty are, they only exist bc luffy cares for him just as much and has earned them through his actions. I love it!

last thing before this gets too long is this:

the mobile app's pic upload limit is my enemy so I can't share it but I also liked the page before this one, where luffy asks zoro if he needs some help, to which zoro tells him to focus on kizaru instead.

this is such a great showcase of how much they've grown in terms of strength - that zoro can take on one of pre-timeskip luffy's strongest foes now, and that luffy himself is no longer unable to do anything against enemies like kizaru. and yknow, I find it special that luffy can go against him now considering kizaru was the one who almost killed zoro in sabaody - one of those instances in which luffy was genuinely worried, upset and feared for zoro's safety to the point he was actually all teary when rayleigh managed to save him.

I would've liked to see zoro's reaction to nika!luffy since he was knocked out in wano when it first happened, but I suppose he's already seen the wanted poster and his lack of reaction now isn't that out of character probably. godly power up or not, that's still his silly gremlin captain ig. can't wait to see what else is in store for these guys in this arc and onwards!

#zolu #tp #long post #back here again folks #this one is especially dedicated to the lovely anon who sent me an ask abt how they enjoyed reading my posts #and to everyone who's liked them: love y'all #zolu in my mind rent free as always #jay reads op

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sgdlr-asdfghjkl · 6 months

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Link Click Musical update 141 🥳🧡💙

(it's Shu Rongbo AND Wu Yihan's birthday! Have trivia abt them)

Check Encore Musicals weibo for the birthday clip 🥳🌟

Since you were curious about Shu Rongbo & I already had Wu Yihan trivia on hand, I thought their birthday would be a perfect time to share it all 💙🧡

Big thanks to my sweet @chocolatexiaoshi who researched Shu Rongbo on my request 💗

(side note: srb is a young, rising actor, so sorry that the amount of information I have here isn't proportional :< )

Shu Rongbo (23 yo)

Born in 2001, March 10th, in Leshan in Sichuan Province

Graduated from Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts in 2018

audience members compliment his beautiful voice and acting skills that noticeably improved over the course of LC Musical

since he's from Sichuan, where the earthquake actually happened his CXS is praised for wanting to 'fullfil regrets very conscientiously'; meaning his performance during the earthquake plotline feels authentic for the audience

he used to play Stevie in Mio Fratello musical (the mafia one where WYH plays Sonny Boy & lady Florence), turns out the picture below is from his last performance of that character (not a uni graduation like I thought first ^^')

Intermission: This glorious pictures are from srb's weibo. It was a photoshoot for 'Love' /#音乐剧致爱# musical. They (and Bai Zhuoming too btw) play the same character.

✨✨✨ ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Wu Yihan (27 yo)

his mbti type is INFP

Wang Haonan, friend from Mio Fratello cast, did a Q&A with him. Through an abysmal method of screenshotting chinese subtitles and image translating I've learned that: he isn't fond of doing 'stage door (sd)' interviews and usually prefers to go home immediately after the performance (I'm not 100% confident what he said, I'll link the video so you can try fact check it)

he has a cat named Yǎo咬 (which I think means 'Bite'); wyh's friend was catsitting him once and posted those pictures, saying the cat sleeps just like his owner.

to which WYH replied with this:

+ other actor friends commented these:

(idk I just loved this exchange)

he smokes (don't smoke kids, it'll never be as aesthetic as WYH anyway)

Okay, so atp there aren't many posts from their March 10th night performance, bc it ended not too long ago and now it's a late night in China >< I'll make another post about it when I gather enough materials o7

#link click #link click musical #shiguang dailiren #lu guang #cheng xiaoshi #wu yihan #shu rongbo #source: weibo #happy birthday to the guys ever

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canines-crown · 5 months

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Quick explanation on how I did my mask!

(for @your-nonhumanbestie and everyone esle who's curious)

Before I start I have to mention that the mask I made, even if it might not appear too terribly on pictures, is not of the highest quality, and I myself do not have much experience in mask making at all. I am only posting this because I was asked to :3 There's much better tutorials out there!

I also don't have any pictures from the making of the first mask, which is why I'll be using shots from the mask I'm currently working on

That being said...

I used an ordinary cat mask that you can basically order anywhere. For the snout and ears, I first drew them out on paper. Once I was satisfied I traced it onto foam and cut it out! The foam I used was very thin, I absolutely recommend using one that's about this thick.

To get get the ears somewhat three-dimensional looking, I glued the foam on like this! (note: on the mask I posted I actually cut off the ears, I don't know if it works better with or without the ears yet)

For the snout I used a pattern like this! (the wavy lines aren't necessary, I just used those to give the snout a cool shape, the first mask didn't have them btw)

You can easily fold it into a shape like this!

You can also cut out the base's muzzle like this!

I then glued everything on and started felting it. The felt I used was very thin, I believe that's important- with my first mask I felted after I glued everything on, but with my second mask I wanna try felting ears and snout before gluing everything together. I don't know what works better yet though. On my first mask I did felt the already glued on ears separately from the rest of the mask!

Here's the tutorial I used for felting!

Once felted, I just started painting. I used a big, broad brush and acrylic paint! I didn't just use black, but rather a mixture of black and dark blues. That way the mask looks dark but still somewhat vibrant.

The nose I made out of fimo! I simply shaped it into the form I wanted, put it in the oven to harden, then painted it and glued it on.

The fake fur I also simply cut off, then glued it on. Be careful when cutting the fur, so you don't cut off the strands of hair! Brush the fur into the direction opposite of where you wanna cut :3

The mesh for the eyes I simply cut out and painted, then glued it on!

Aaand that's it basically? Feel free to ask questions if my explanation didn't make sense to you or if you don't understand a certain thing!

All of the materials I mentioned I got from Amazon

Yet again, I wanted to add, that I am not a professional mask maker. This was my first ever mask and it has lots of flaws! I still heavily appreciate the support and kind comments I got on the post though. I'm truly glad that y'all seem to enjoy it

Hopefully this little tutorial can help some of you :3

#alterhuman #therian #theriantropy #caninekin #dogkin #wolfkin #coyotekin #therian mask #therian gear #therian things

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m4g0rtz · 11 months

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🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉

OMG It's been a YEAR!!!!!!!

🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉

A year of daily nail polish posts. How is that even possible??? 😱 I set out a year ago to photograph and post my daily manicures cause chronic illness sucks and finding joy where you can is important. And now here we are a year later. Btw here is what a years worth of nail polishes look like in case you were curious:

359 manicure posts. Endless bottles of top coat, base coat, and peely base coat. (I wish I'd kept better track of it, but my best guess is at least 18 bottles of each cause I went through about 1.5 bottles of top coat, base coat, and peely base per month. Plus at least 5 bottles of matte topcoat for an estimated total of 59 bottles of everything. 🤯) Hours and hours taking and editing pictures and videos. And a whole bunch of new Tumblr friends that I've made along the way. 🥰

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all. If you interacted with my posts regularly you're why I made it all the way to a year. Thank you so much @l0vegl0wsinthedark @phdmama @comaraudery @muddyclump @getawayfox @lesmotsdemoi @vmcgmidlifecrisis @caroll-in @xx-thedarklord-xx @lqtraintracks @unfiltered-alice-liddle @taigasrandomshit @fayerye @shealwaysreads. I tried to tag more, but Tumblr wouldn't let me. 😭 Honestly though, every person who liked my posts on an even semi regular basis: I recognized your icons and smiled every time I saw you in my notes. I do have to give a special shout-out to @julcheninred for not only cheering me along the whole way but also for convincing me to start doing this in the first place. Sending you every barnyard noise on Old McDonald's farm! ♥️🦖♥️🐄♥️🐖♥️🐑♥️🦆♥️🐎♥️

Moving forward I think I am going to change things up JUST a bit. I still plan on making a post every time I paint my nails, which will be most days (cause I still have a TON of untried polishes 😅👀), but I'm going to be less strict about trying to post EVERY day. I'm hoping that this will give me more chances to do nail art, which is something that is hard to do and then take off a day later. I'd also enjoy keeping a polish on for more than a day if it's one I really love. 😂 This will also help with those days where my chronic illness is kicking my butt and I need a day to rest.

Thank you all again. You don't know how much doing this has helped me get through this past year. Looking forward to sharing even more manicures with you in the year to come! 💖💖💖

#m4g0rtz manicures #one year anniversary #i still cant believe i made it to a year #this has been SO much fun #a million thank yous to you all!#💖💖💖💖💖

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r0-boat · 2 years

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please. pleasw give me nsfw headcanons for jacq. i love that silly man

Oh man I was going to do headcanon for this guy but I forgot thank you for reminding me!

Jacq sfw & Nsfw headcanons

Sfw

encouraging which is weird because His sense of humor is self-deprecation, but he'll get mad at you if you do it to yourself.

Extremely clumsy, he'll be trying to impress you and then stub his toe, or after baking you something he'll immediately drop it. Forget about papers as soon as he puts them away. Walk into a room then forget why he's here.

Sends you random pictures of random things when he's bored with little to no context. Yeah he has the Gen Z humor.

Extremely sweet Boyfriend btw, super polite. He does have his tired 'I'm going to spam you with the same meme' Gremlin moments, but most of the time he's very relaxed and easy-going.

Texting Jacq is very different from in person Jacq that's like the best way I can describe it.

Extremely impatient if you tell him that you have a surprise for him he will think about it all day.

forgetful, so he always carries around a notepad or sticky notes but he just forgets those too : (.forgets to eat for several hours because he's extremely hyper fixated on his work. Please help this man he's in trouble.

Genuinely very curious, when he wants to know something he'll make sure he knows everything about it. Which makes his brain full of absolutely useless information that he doesn't need. So he'll just tell you randomly.

"baby! Did you know-"

Is a nerd and has alot of game/anime t-shirts

Nsfw below

Don't bully him. He will cum. Huge degradation kink.

Loves being degraded, but he'll praise you, physically can't degrade you back. Every time he tries it just melts into mindless praising.

Jacq has a high sex drive. He's just really good at hiding it. He tries not to think dirty thoughts about him sliding himself inside of you or you bending him over the table when he's at work because once your naked form is on his mind, he won't stop himself; suddenly, he'll have piles of Unfinished work.

Closet perv too. Listen, this man is thinking some really horny, kinky thoughts. Like I said he's really good at hiding it. You probably won't even notice until he tells you how much he thinks about you milking his cock dry with your hand. He's surprised that you're surprised; to him, he was being obvious.

he'll definitely leave you surprised when he asks you to sit on his lap, and look in the mirror, and watch as he bounces you on his cock.

He's so shy his first night with you, he gives you a small smile asking if you would like to try something for him. You smile back saying "yes my dear anything~" your soul leaves your body when you see something metal around your wrists

Switch he wants to feel himself deep inside of you as much as the next dom, but most of his fantasies come from you domming him, that doesn't mean he doesn't think about doing kinky dirty stuff with you. He is less willing to share his fantasies and Kinks. As much as he loves the idea of you crawling under his desk in his office and giving him head highly unlikely that he's actually going to try it. People still think he's a shy virgin and he rather keep it that way.

When he dirty talks it's mostly all talk because he's afraid that you might not like it when he actually does it to you.

Phone Jacq strikes again ( maybe it's because he's so much more comfortable behind a screen). When he's really horny and away from you, he'll start sexting the most heinous stuff to you.

LOVES seeing you in his oversized shirts, ;)

Infodumps after sex lol

#smut #pokemon scvi #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon jacq #pokemon jacq x reader #Professor jacq #pokemon x reader smut

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the-terrible-theys · 1 year

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tried charting the heights of all the wild kratts characters for funsies :)

aviva: 167 cm/5’ 5.7”

koki: 160 cm/5’ 2.9”

chris: 173 cm/5’ 8.1”

martin: 180 cm/5’ 10.8”

jimmy: 175 cm/5’ 8.8”

donita: 177 cm/5’ 9.6”

dabio: 203 cm/6’ 7.9” (woah)

zach: 174 cm/5’ 8.5”

gourmand: 154 cm/5’ 0.6”

rex: 176 cm/5’ 9.2”

paisley: 120 cm/3’ 11.2”

this isn’t perfectly accurate because 1) i couldn’t find screencaps to use to compare every character, 2) sometimes there was a lot of variation in height differences between characters and chris/martin (i tried to use those two as references as much as possible because they have canon heights), and 3) mostly because i was just eyeballing everything

reference images i used + a few notes are under the cut if you’re curious!! (by “a few notes” i mean i basically accidentally wrote an entire essay btw)

i went ahead and put the bros in first since, again, they have canon/googleable heights, and could be used as references for all the other characters. i ended up tweaking these heights very slightly (putting martin as closer to 5’ 11”, basically) just to feel a little more accurate to the show’s height difference between them and other characters

next i did the rest of the crew!

the height difference between chris and jimmy was kinda hard to deduce. in some screenshots jimmy is a bit shorter than chris and in others he’s noticeably taller ?? i decided to take the average and put them at almost the same height with jimmy being very slightly taller

i think jimmy was being mean to me on purpose a little bit because i had similar issues between him and martin. sometimes he’d be quite a bit shorter and sometimes they’d be practically the same height. c’mon jimmy

figuring out koki and aviva’s height differences relative to the others wasn’t quite as hard, though aviva did have a bit of height variation (in the first image, she’s about the same height as chris, in the second she’s much shorter, and in the third she’s taller than chris would be in comparison to martin). thankfully i have precisely a billion and a half screenshots saved so finding ones to average out was an easy task. i decided it’d be best to keep aviva noticeably shorter than chris by a couple of inches, but to also not have their height difference be quite as significant as in some of these images

koki’s relative height seemed to stay the most constant out of everyone, with only very slight variations (her being closer to aviva’s height sometimes, but usually she’s shorter) (in case anyone is confused! i’m measuring her from the top of her head, not hair, so about where her headband is)

once i felt like the crew was all accurate, i moved to the villains. i started with zach because i have more pictures of him, both with the crew and other villains, so he’s the best reference)

it was a little hard to judge his height in comparison to chris. they’re definitely close but i for some reason couldn’t find good reference images to get a more exact estimate. in both of these at least one of them is slightly leaning

i tried to avoid using any references with the creature powersuits activated, since those can mess with height (or at least my perception of their height) a bit. i did break my own rule here, though, just to see how tall zach was in comparison to martin. i figured he was tall enough for me to viably place him as very slightly taller than chris, but still at nearly the same height

(i’m pretty sure i looked at a second, even better pic i had of zach and martin as well but i lost it)

from there it was decently easy to estimate donita and gourmand’s heights with zach as a reference. i had the same height variation issue with donita as i’d had before, but when i found that fifth image while looking for dabio height references, i was able to find her height much more easily, plus verify my placements of zach and gourmand, plus get a good estimate on dabio.

(i also looked at more dabio references, some with donita and some with each of the bros, but i can’t find those either. oops) (trust me when i say him being 6’ 7” probably isn’t inaccurate, though) (the dude he’s based on, fabio, is 6’ 3”, so i was originally going to guesstimate him at around that height, but he looks WAY too tall for even 6’ 3”)

i have VERY few images of paisley and rex, much less any that make usable height references, but i did manage to pick out a couple that were helpful. paisley seems to be shoulder height-ish on gourmand who i placed at 5’ 0”. i can also see that donita’s elbow is also around shoulder height of gourmand, giving me two points of reference

paisley is also at approximately elbow height of rex, meaning that rex and donita are similar in height

managed to find this image as a somewhat more helpful point of reference. yeah it’d be more helpful if rex and paisley were touching the ground, and if martin wasn’t in a cps (because, again, trying to avoid that for the sake of accuracy). beggars can’t be choosers, though, and the pixelization of this image is screaming beggar.

anyway! if i squint a bit and hold my fingers up to my screen, i can tell that paisley is at maybe just under belly button/elbow height of martin. rex looks to be a little shorter than martin, meaning my estimate of him being a similar height to donita is of some accuracy. i made him one centimeter shorter because he looks to be a little shorter in comparison to martin than donita would be? idk

i would’ve liked to search for better reference pics for paisley and rex just to make sure i’ve got their heights down, but i’m tired and have also hit the image limit for this post, so i’m just gonna stop there

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humanmorph · 1 year

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PALISADE 28.crazy good this week etc

New radio person for the intro...! This comes at a good moment. I still miss Baldwin Home like. That very first PALISADE intro is genuinely so hard to beat... but this feels good. I'm once again thinking about Austin writing these... The style used for Black Screens intros obviously shines through (she's his protégé) but she does have her own voice already (way more rhyming? I mean, I'd have to doublecheck HIS intros, it's literally just a feeling). Just the tone used and intonation already does a lot. Austin is so good at this fr. I'm still curious how he even approaches that. Also the "watch me unloose 80 Ls on these next lines" I knewwww that's 80 Ls for real as soon as Parti said illogical. I wonder if he wrote that bit first trying to see how many Ls he could fit in there & then finetuned it to get to a good number? I guess that's just how I would do it.

(who knows if we'll ever get a description for Parti. we never did for Black. maybe if she shows up in a conflict turn somehow? so im just fuckin around for now... i haven't sold myself on the clothes. i'm just not a fashion guy. but i do like the braids)

Oh & new guy alert part 2!!! New Keith character! And he has a funny hat. Not even funny as in goofy it just makes me laugh a bit because my dad and maybe every 5th 70+ y/o man I see has a hat like that. Love the sequin poncho.

(btw I am almost certain Keith has posted a picture of that teapot on Cohost before... He posts about tea sometimes so there's at least a chance. I mean the description of the coloring he gives is actually pretty good IMO, you can work with that, but I as an artist I like to have a visual reference. EDIT: someone just asked him. thank you keith and also rosecrest)

I have the. I got Armor Astir & a lot of the playbooks other people made in a bundle a while back and I'm real torn if I should just look at the Investigator because I'm really curious. But. I also love to be surprised. So I probably won't, but it's good to know I COULD, if I wanted to. Anyways, I was pretty sure it'd be another B-Plot character too, just because it makes sense. Brnine COULD go alone on a B-Plot, I guess, but it's more fun with 2 groups to jump between, surely. Though this means the Eclectic-Brnine dynamic is crucial! I hope they can meet up soon... But yeah I just really am gonna miss Phrygian backing them up and cheering and clapping and asking questions. They were so fun together... A great team :' (

ok so I wrote everything else about Eclectic down yesterday & then noted down "vibes?" as break between paragraphs because all I had at that point was the description & I wanted to get back to this. And ooohhh my god the vibes are fucking immaculate right off the bat I'm having a hard time to not Already be obsessed with this guy he's SO funny conceptually and it KEPT getting better... Truly delighted with this new type of guy (& Keith is doing a voice!). And I fucking love the hooks. Truly so great to me. The thought of these getting loosened OR deepened is already really really good. "Leap says"..... oh it's SO funny I keep laughing to myself

And I'm VERY excited it's a delegate like genuinely so happy. I was mourning the loss of a branched onscreen (okay.I still am) but this does make it worth it. Ever since they got introduced basically I so badly wanted to know anything more about them, but especially what Austin mentioned in the episode itself: the delegates relationships to the divines they are made from & of course the divines themselves (who are alive!!! Apparently that was already written in a dossier way back when, but I rarely read those). That has me sooo excited.

Oh and the like... I only thought about this just now but the connection there to Thisbe's new project is. That's gotta be something! "The divine who's being held captive somewhere on this planet, and has been tortured for millennia" hearing a message of... That this can end & rest is possible and it's SO CLOSE? But does that just make it worse... Ohhhhh. Yeah this rules. What a great idea.

That project generally is really... god, I love Thisbe so much. I love how Janine talks about her and what she thinks and why she does what she does. Thisbe's relationship to work and being a tool and of use is so interesting to put here, with the divines wanting to rest. (And Janine saying something like... Thisbe thinks of herself in relation to divines how Mow is to her? Kind of?) And saying it seems so solitary a project... every divine should know about it. Every divine deserves the right to rest. But it's also a call to action of sorts when she talks about like... "shouldn't you want to protect this?" I think her "Fighting is not my purpose, but there is nowhere else for me until the fighting is over." hook could be in conservation here too... Also I'm just looking forward for Thisbe to Broadcast again. It was like, one of her things in PARTIZAN. I really liked her & Cori working on this together with the. Experience they just had behind them. Sylvi & Janine reading the hooks for each others characters kind of sheepishly was soooo funny "I forgot how bitchy this was!". That's good stuff to me. (as an aside: god, Thisbe has always had good as hell hooks/beliefs/whatever else. Remember "Operant Broun lies to me because they believe I am a person."? Banger. ) I also love that she thought of this/about this at the rib(?) of Barricade. Barricade as an axiom who had this close (& good, protective) relationship with another axiom...

btw now that Leap is NOT coming back I do miss him a bit. Mostly out of principle like I am So happy we have Eclectic but Leap is my guy.... shoutout to him... being a bitch bastard pirate out there in space... + shoutout to Figure A too always : ) (speaking of, on the Gathering Information Extra bit from today he talked about if he had played Leap, picking a class that also had like, a crew, and I'm mostly just really curious who that would've been. I would love for Keith to make up some funny guys for Leap to order around. I wonder if Eclectic or an Eclectic type would've been on that?)

(Also Leap investigating Motion. Ok. To ME it's at least partly bc this was so important to Millie. And he has reason to be concerned generally he fought Motion too but. That's MILLIE'S rival! And it doesn't even have to be at the front of his mind when he does this. Maybe it isn't. But it's real & it's something to remember her by through actual action. Because he's not the sentimental type.Do you get me.?)

Brnine talk show. This was sooo good. After they joked about it in PAL25 too. I recognized the hosts name, but wasn't quite sure from where until I read the dossier - of course he's that guy from the podcast. God. I have got to relisten to that sometime... I remember Ali on one of the recent Gathering Information ep (the one w/ Austin on, I think) mentioning a conversation that was like. stressful to do. and then also to listen to? (since she has to for production/editing) and I figured it would be another Gucci-type talk but ooohh my god. This was sooo. EDIT: ACTUALLY what if it wasn't even. What if it's about to be this talk with Rye edit: GALLICA i cant believe noone called me on this. mixing my elects up. rye is the one gur killed (mvp). Austin was sounding a bit ominous about it at the end of this episode! HUGE shoutouts to Ali again she is just absolutely killing it this season for real... And I honestly feel like overall Brnine was, considering the situation, doing very well. Genuinely. You're feverish and hollowblooded and have this fucking. Guy needling you & asking the stupidest questions... & like. "You made Kalmeria. They'd never let you rot in jail." of courseeee they want Brnine working for them. They're so GOOD at what they do. They messed with the parts of A Fucking Divine. . I just had a scary thought and it involved Mustard Red. But. Surely not. Nooo. I'm shaking my head. However Arbitrage? An Arbitrage deal (like they tried to make them take before) would work just perfectly for this, wouldn't it...

some other stuff:

When Austin mentioned Grand Mag in that vision Cori had I thought something like 'man. sucks to be him : (' but like. In a genuine way. "I can't stop it from hurting people a little"........... Hah oh wow I just thought of this but I am so excited for people who haven't listened to TM to meet him now. He's not even my favourite he just makes me crazy in a way almost no other character does? Like there's something so WRONG with him. And there's things wrong with a lot of FatT characters but it's like... Well. Grand Magnificent.

I love the thought of them watching Brnines interview at the next movie night (POOR BRNINE.) but I also want to know what Eclectic would pick for movie night. Oh and Partial too. Though he may not be staying I would still really love to know. Partial coming on board for the mission has me intrigued generally.

Oh and Gur talking! Even if just a little. I still feel so bad for them. "I believe in whispers in ears"... and they have reason to now. Figure is a person trying their best to do good & make changes, which is what Gur wants. I just wish they weren't a specter haunting someone elses body & what even happens when Figure rolls a 10+. Is Gur still there and Figure just stops seeing him? oohh it hurts a bit.you can't do this to him you can't (related: I extremely forgot about the other specters and ghosts and ghouls and whatnot that Figure can also see. It's not just my friend Gur Sevraq. Looking forward to hear more about that & how it affects Figure so much as to roll with disadvantage!)

Love to learn just a little more about devotion. I really need to just relisten to that again & think about it a bit harder.

At one point Austin says "Still flanked by guards, you are" and it caught me off guard & made me wheeze. He didn't even do that on purpose . I get him I do this way too often(realize I forgot to say part of a sentence and pack it at the end)

#from yesterday and also today.#palisadeposting #palisade spoilers

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the-hilda-librarians-wife · 10 months

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Sketchbook Week Day 1 - Backstage

Summary: Johanna didn’t really care for her daughter’s favourite singer. In her opinion, the songs were just a tad too aggressive, too loud, and all too capable of filling her young mind with ideas that her mother didn’t really think needed enforcement. So, obviously, Johanna wasn’t too thrilled to know that KAiSA would be performing in Trolberg.

But it would make her daughter so happy and it would just be one night, wouldn’t it? One night, and she’d never have to think about that woman again

Notes: Written for @sketchbookweek Day 1 - First Meeting (or is it? 😏)

Okay my friends, the premise here is: what if they were narrative foils in every universe?

Btw the genre of music that I’m picturing for Kaisa here is like a mix of AViVA (obviously - that’s the singer who Kaisa’s stage name is inspired by), PVRIS and Ashnikko. In case anyone wants to understand the tone a bit better since I can’t describe music for my life, I just went ahead and made a playlist for the type of song she’d sing in this verse, in case you’re curious: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3V01wHaO6ALuhPbNC8r0tU?si=1248165be2914be8

Read it on ao3

For her twelfth birthday, Johanna got her daughter good earphones. She’d resisted against doing so for a while, arguing that the girl might isolate herself even more if given the opportunity, but she’d eventually relented. Both because she trusted Hilda, and she knew that it was normal and even healthy for teenagers to not be as attached to their parents as they grew into this new phase of their life, and because she could not stand it anymore. Because even if the reason behind her resistance had been wanting Hilda to spend time with her and not shut herself off, she couldn’t (and wouldn’t) stop the girl from listening to the music she liked. And she did. All the time.

Johanna had always been partial to country and folk. She liked the type of song that made her feel calm, like she was floating, like she was resting her body on a field of wildflowers and being told folk tales by gentle elders. She liked the songs about falling in love, the ones that made her feel hopeful that there might be someone out there even for her.

Hilda, however, did not. Hilda liked fast paced and energetic songs that were made to be screamed to in dimly lit places. The ones that made the structure of their building quake when she turned the volume too high. She liked the kind of song you associate with unruly teenagers running around at night, graffiting walls, raising their middle fingers to any and everyone who dared to judge them.

She was particularly fond of one specific singer, a woman that went by the stage name of KAiSA. Well, fond was probably not the best way to describe it. Hilda all but idolised her, knowing by heart exactly what was going on in her artistic life at any given moment, asking for her merch at any festive occasion and listening to her songs minutes after they were released. Johanna supposed Hilda finally had a solid reason to venerate her, now. After all, it was the realisation that Johanna had her lyrics memorised that made her decide that enough was enough and she was going to get her child some headphones.

That didn’t mean she had to be happy about it, however. She had only caved because those had been extreme circumstances and Johanna had begun to fear for her sanity if she had to be submitted to one more electronic chorus or guitar solo. But the idea that she now didn’t even know what Hilda was listening to didn’t please her. To put it simply, and Johanna saw no reason why she shouldn’t, KAiSA was a bad influence. Not that she seemed to actively do anything reprehensible, at least not from the very surface level research Johanna had done. But her lyrics, all about rejecting expectations and choosing your own path, never failed to make Johanna cringe and fear for what messages were coming across from them.

Not that she was wrong, per se. Heavens knew where Johanna would be if she hadn’t painstakingly detached herself from the life her parents wanted for her. Johanna just decidedly didn’t think that Hilda needed a push in that direction. The girl was lovely, of course, and Johanna loved her with her entire being. Maybe even more, if that was even possible. But she’d been growing up, and they didn’t always see eye to eye. She knew her daughter hid things from her. She knew the unwavering trust and companionship from her childhood was fading away. And Johanna knew it was fair, because she wasn’t at all perfect and it would be selfish of her to expect her daughter to think of her like so. But she was still trying, and didn’t know what good that was if Hilda reverenced a voice in her ears telling her to rebel and cut herself away from any strings.

Which was why Johanna found herself in a precarious tightrope when her daughter approached her with her best puppy eyes one evening.

“Darling…” Johanna sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose after Hilda had shown her what was on her cellphone screen. “You know how I feel about this singer.”

Hilda seemed completely unsurprised by the argument. She did know, after all.

“But mum-” She whined with practised stubbornness. “What are the odds that she’d ever come to Trolberg? It’s probably a one time only thing, I’ll never have the chance to go to one of her concerts again! Please, mum! Frida is dying to go as well, I wouldn’t be alone!”

Johanna sighed, knowing it was a lost battle and unsurprised that Frida would be with her daughter in this. The girls’ parents had been very worried recently, noticing changes in her behaviour that they had no idea how to handle. She’d been, according to them, speaking back to them and disobeying a lot more often than she used to, staying up late and ignoring them. It wasn’t exactly a hard thing for her to be more disobedient than she’d previously been, since Frida’s track record was one of following their wishes to a t, but it still meant there had been a shift.

Now, Johanna wasn’t exactly sure the situation was dire like they made it out to be. Considering what she knew about her upbringing, it was just as likely that Frida had just decided she wanted to be treated more like a person and less like a show animal, and Johanna had never seen her be anything short of sweet and polite. But either way, the two of them had also noticed a link between their daughter’s behaviour and her growing attachment to a certain artist.

“But would Frida’s parents’ allow her to go?” She asked, even though it was more of a rhetorical question and they both knew it. Hilda looked shyly at her feet.

“They might if you let me.” The girl answered in a small voice, and Johanna groaned. She’d really been put between a rock and a hard place with this one.

If she didn’t allow Hilda to go, the girl would no doubt hold that against her for the longest time, and Johanna was already aware that her daughter was quickly piling up complaints against her that she couldn’t even imagine. It’d be better to not add another one, especially one this big, to the list. On the other hand, there was no way she would allow Hilda to go to such an event unaccompanied save for a friend whose well-being would also be Johanna’s responsibility, apparently.

She rubbed at her temples, regretting her next words even before they left her mouth.

“Fine. We’ll buy the tickets.” The smile Hilda shot her was almost blinding in its brightness. “On one condition.”

“Anything!”

Her light immediately dimmed with Johanna’s next words, but not as much as she’d expected, and not enough to make her feel bad.

“I’m coming along with you.”

…......

The venue was an abandoned warehouse on Trolberg harbour, because of course it was. The subversive and avant-garde youth would never be seen gathering at, say, a club or a stadium like their boring parents, no sir. Johanna had to bite back a groan when she put the address on her map app days before the concert, just to have an idea of what she’d be dealing with. She hoped there had been some semblance of an inspection at the building before, but she highly doubted it. Certainly, being somewhere that wasn’t structurally sound was part of the fun. That sounded like just the kind of thing those types would say.

When the day arrived, Johanna drove to the harbour with two hyperactive pre-teens on the back of her car. Neither of them had talked about anything else for the past week, and as much as Johanna was not looking forward to being squeezed between screaming strangers for two hours, at least after this it would be over. And at least, she reminded herself as her daughter jumped out of the car - parked neatly in a spot directly in front of the venue, which had been miraculously free - and took her best friend’s hand to pull her along, Hilda was happy and would have good memories of a fun night while being safe.

They’d arrived early. Johanna hadn’t wanted to risk anything stopping them from getting in, knowing Hilda would be beyond heartbroken, and the girl had been doing nothing but waiting for that moment all day (all month), anyway. So there were still people standing outside the warehouse, either waiting on the rest of their groups to arrive or killing time before being inside the venue officially. It was… odd. The warehouse was exactly what one would expect, ink peeling away from the walls - courtesy of the salty and humid air - and rusting gates. But the fans were not. She’d expected to see some standardisation, an army of moody teens and young adults, dressed in black and sporting sharp looks, the kind of person you figure would make you have nightmares just for kicks and laugh about it behind your back. The kind of person that made Johanna sing along when Hilda played that Teenagers song in the car, who really did scare the living shit out of her.

And sure, there were some of those. Mostly confined to a group of giggling girls that couldn't be over seventeen. But the rest of them… Johanna couldn’t figure out a pattern for the life of her. The ages seemed to range from younger than Hilda and Frida to way older than Johanna. People she would categorise as shy nerds, standing quietly near the walls, queer elders who carried themselves with confidence having a smoke (or just a conversation) before coming inside, even a group roughly Johanna’s age that looked like they’d just come out of an important office meeting that could very well have been an email.

It was… not what Johanna had expected.

The girls took it all in with the enthusiasm of children to whom this was the height of nightlife, of course. They insisted they go inside right away, preening when many of the adults nearby gave them thumbs ups or friendly waves at the sight of them, cooing about how sweet it was to have younger fans present among themselves. Johanna clutched her purse tighter.

A buff looking woman with a hard face and grey hair arranged tightly into a bun was controlling the entrance. It was clearly just her face rather than an attempt to intimidate, though, because as soon as Johanna showed her the three tickets she made her best effort to put on a smile - she didn’t look as if her face was used to doing that - and opened up the gate for them. They cringed at the sound, being reminded that abandoned clearly meant nobody had bothered oiling the thing in quite a long time, but they were immediately distracted by a vision of the inside.

It wasn’t just an empty space. There had been a structure built inside. They couldn’t see very far, since a wooden wall had been put up to make something like a corridor parallel to the front of the building. The wall was covered in art, each next to an instagram or twitter username, most of it either variations or clearly inspired by KAiSA’s album and singles art covers. The spaces that weren’t filled by the fan drawings had verses of lyrics, tossed around at random like out of context poetry. There was little time to analyse it, however, because as soon as they’d stepped inside a cheery voice greeted them. “Thanks, Agnes! And hello, you three!” Said a sun kissed woman with dark curls and wearing a merch shirt that matched Frida’s. She was on her feet behind a wooden stand, making Johanna wonder for a moment if this was where they’d be selling their products. The hypothesis didn’t really make a lot of sense when you took into consideration that there were no signs of shirts, hoodies or CDs anywhere near, though. “I’m Adeline, here to handle any accommodations you might need. We asked you guys about it during the ticket sales fill out form, but we have extras of everything, in case anyone else wants. How can we make this experience more comfortable for you?”

It was clearly trained, a mould that shaped the speech each time. But it was clearly genuine and even in the low lighting of the warehouse they could see the gentleness of Adeline’s eyes and the soft smile on her face. None of them knew how to react for a moment - they hadn’t really given much thought to what that question had been doing in the questionnaire, but had answered automatically. It wasn’t like it ever made any difference what was answered in those kinds of forms. The first to have any sort of reaction was Frida, who stepped up to the stand with fidgeting hands.

“I… am autistic?” She said, the unusual situation making her wonder if this was really what she was supposed to be doing. Adeline, however, only opened up a wider smile.

“Cool, me too! We have so much in common already.” She quipped, gesturing between their matching t shirts, a black garment with a golden hexagon print and a purple diamond in the middle. “Any sensory issues? We have earbuds and dark glasses, though I will let you know that there won’t be any harsh lights, anyway. Boss hates them.”

Frida only managed to gape, staring at the woman in disbelief for a couple of seconds. Adeline only smiled back gently, giving her all the time she needed to answer. When she eventually shook herself out of it, she asked for the earbuds, and Hilda stepped up and asked if she could have a pair as well. Both of them got them (Hilda’s were black and Frida’s were purple, of course), and when Adeline directed that blinding smile to Johanna to ask her if she could help her out with any accommodations, Johanna’s negative answer was a lot less certain then it ought to have been.

Adeline bid them goodbye and wished them a lovely concert, but not before pointing to the other edge of the corridor, where there were plenty of chairs, a couple of fans (the ‘wind making’ type, not the ‘screaming their devotion’ type) and what looked like noise cancelling headphones, as well as a drinking fountain, telling them to feel free to lounge around before the concert began and to head there if it ever felt like they needed a break. And not before telling them to come to her if they figured she could help in any way, of course.

They walked away just as someone else arrived to ask if their partner could have a chair for when they could no longer stand up during the concert, leaving the woman to her job. Hilda looked more energetic than ever, and Frida matched the sentient even if she looked… touched, and more pensive than usual. Johanna followed the girls past the passage that took them to the other side of the wooden wall. The stage had clearly been built for that occasion, and the more obsessive fans (the ‘screaming their devotion’ type, this time) were already sitting down on their own towels or standing close to it, making a barrier. The girls weren’t too upset by it, however, pleased about still being able to stay at a short distance from their idol. It wasn’t like they were going to attempt to touch her, anyway, they were both far too polite and respectful for that.

Other than the stage, the fans, and the pit, the place didn’t really live up to what Johanna had imagined. There was no trash on the ground, no scents that alerted her to illicit activities happening nearby, no screaming (at least not yet). The lights were soft, just like Adeline had promised, the warehouse’s white lamps having been covered by some sort of transparent purple filter to make them emit a much softer lilac glow. The speakers were already on, and while the show hadn’t begun, they seemed to be playing an ambience noise at a low volume. And it was classical music.

Had they walked into the wrong place?

It took no time at all for Johanna to feel like an outsider. She’d been expecting it, of course, but she’d also expected to have to keep Hilda and Frida as outsiders as well in order to protect them. Instead, the two girls soon found easy conversation with a group of college students that were standing near their chosen spot, sharing stories about how they’d found out about KAiSA’s music and become followers. Seeing absolutely no reason why she should interfere on the perfectly innocent interaction, especially not when they got into the topic of what their routine was like at college and seemed to be giving a shot at converting the two girls to the STEMS, Johanna simply stood near them, feeling awkward, silly, and a lot older than she actually was.

And then it happened. The moment everyone there was waiting for with such fierce anxiety that no amount of mingling with pleasant strangers could make them forget about. The lights over them dimmed even further. The ones above the stage got a shade brighter. A voice with a heavy accent - which Johanna only barely recognized from all of the songs blasting from her daughter’s computer, different as it was when it was just talking normally - bid them good evening through the speakers and everyone began to scream.

And onto the stage walked the most beautiful woman Johanna had ever seen.

…......

The concert itself wasn’t as much of an expectation breaker as everything else so far had been. Johanna had been forced to listen to a huge part (if not all) of KAiSA’s work, after all. Even if she did have to admit that whenever Kaisa stopped singing, whenever she interacted with the audience or introduced a song, she was far… softer than Johanna had expected. There was an edge of shyness to her that however many concerts she’d performed in so far hadn’t been able to erase. A lot of gratitude, too. She wasn’t insecure, but she didn’t act like she was proud of herself for being there, for having carved out that space for herself with nothing but pure talent and dedication. Rather she acted like that place was a gift, like that night was an opportunity given to her by everyone who had ever taken the time to press play on her songs. Johanna didn’t much care for the guitar riffs, for the middle fingers at some parts which she could only guess who they were aimed at, wasn’t too particularly impressed by the way that the singer’s dancing seemed to begin and end at shoving her torso forward to make her black and purple hair fall all over her face.

And yet, Johanna must have been just as entranced as any of the undying fans on the floor with her.

The woman had something magnetic about her. Something magical. Her style, for one - black wide leg jeans, doc martens, a loose black tee shirt with something long sleeved with black and white stripes underneath - reminded Johanna that ‘dressed like a rockstar’ was a thing. Even if Hilda had insisted many many times that KAiSA’s genre was pop rock and indie rock, still Johanna couldn’t see the difference since there was a rock somewhere in the name. There was also the way she put her hair back into place after doing one of her moves, the way that she carded her finger through it and made the mess worse, yet it always looked better. There was the way she looked so pleased when the crows shouted her lyrics, eyes flashing with genuine emotion as if she didn’t do that every week, as if she wasn’t a global phenomenon on the rise. There was the awkward smile she’d flash when she decided to try cracking a joke in between performances, the surprise on her face when people would laugh at it and not at her, as if this wasn’t her stage, her kingdom, and they weren’t all just happy to be able to be a part of it.

Two hours went by, somehow. Johanna was pretty sure they must still be in the first twenty minutes of the concert when the singer was giving her last farewells and acknowledgements, listing every single member of the crew (many people cheered when she said Adeline’s name) and thanking the audience once again. She turned her back to them to take a selfie with them all - not that she managed, some people around the edges still didn’t make it in - and told them they were a lovely audience.

And then, it was over.

It should have been over. People were promptly heading out the way they came, out of the warehouse and into the night, with goofy grins and memories of an evening well spent.

Except Johanna let herself get roped into something stupid.

…......

“Come on, you saw how she is!” Hilda had said. “Fans do this all the time! The worst we can get is a ‘no’!”

Johanna had had to survive the pressure of two pairs of puppy eyes pleading with her. They hadn’t even moved from their spot near the stage, even as people walked past them. It was a terrible idea. Sure, a normal thing for young fans to do, but Johanna was neither young nor a fan, and she really should have put a halt to this idea the moment it came up.

But it was just once, and Hilda was right in the end. They weren’t going to break into anywhere, just make an attempt. If they faced a locked door or got told to fuck right off, well, they’d have tried and no harm would have been done. And Hilda would be so thrilled if it did go well. Johanna had had her hands tied, really. If she, for once in her life, did the unexpected thing and helped her daughter and her best friend onto the stage, right before climbing herself, then it could be blamed on the adrenaline and Hilda’s influence. Nothing to do with the way that light caught in the singer’s eyes.

They were so quick about it that nobody else saw them. The three of them quickly snuck behind the stage’s curtains, going the same way that KAiSA had appeared and after the show, disappeared. There was a corridor, there, dimly lit and empty save for a technician working at what looked like a sound table. Everything inside Johanna was yelling at her to ask him if they could go in a bit further, maybe accidentally bump into a rising star if they got lucky, but he paid them no mind and she discovered she was too much of a coward to risk it. They tip-toed along the corridor, pretending they weren’t doing so, of course (looking casual was the key), and reached a door. An unlocked door.

Hilda opened it, naturally. She was by far the bravest one out of them, and it gave the other two some peace of mind knowing that they could always tell themselves they were just following Hilda along. Couldn’t let the girl go wandering off all by herself, now, could they? And just when they had forgotten that that structure that had been built inside the warehouse didn’t, in fact, belong to it, they were faced with the vast empty space of all that was left of it, a high ceiling and that same peeling wall they’d found out in front. Only one thing occupied the space, and it was a trailer in characteristic black and purple colours.

The girls gasped. It was almost too good to be true.

Would have been, too. If one boulder of a man hadn’t been standing directly in front of the trailer’s steps, and if his head didn’t immediately snap at them at the sound of two teenagers’ excitement.

They held their breaths. Johanna put her hands on both of their shoulders, just in case they needed to bolt quickly. The man - tall, as has already been established, dark skinned with thick eyebrows and a tailored suit - met each of their eyes. And then, after stepping closer to them, he stood up straighter, took a deep breath and opened a smile.

“Hello there!” Said the gentle giant, sounding a lot cheerier and more welcoming than he had any right to. “I’m Eldrid. Fans, I’m assuming?”

They nodded. Even Johanna. If felt like anything other than that simple gesture would require a muscle that had been locked in fear.

“Well, she doesn’t usually see fans after shows. Tired, and all. But would you like me to see what I can do for you?”

They were once again too stunned to do anything but nod.

“Great! One moment, please.”

Rather than going to the trailer to ask, he picked up a walkie talkie from his suit’s pockets. His voice lost no hints of that gentleness when he spoke.

“Hey! We have two young fans and an-” He squinted at Johanna like he was asking her a question. “Adult supervisor here. Do you think they could…?”

Johanna snapped out of it long enough to mouth the word ‘mother’ at him, at which he brought a hand to his chest and made a cooing sound. The moment barely lasted a second, though, because they soon heard the voice that answered through his communicator and it was decidedly not the singer’s.

“Children, you say?” Said what sounded like an elderly woman. “Well, let me see. My dear would you… oh, is that so… in that case-”

Someone was talking to the elder in the background. It didn’t take a genius to guess who.

“Yes, let them in!” Chirped the voice. “She’d love to meet them.”

Eldrid beamed, looking as happy for them as they themselves were. Or, well, maybe even happier. It hadn’t sunk in just yet that this was actually happening.

But it was. And they were greeted at the door of the trailer by the owner of the unfamiliar voice they’d heard, a lady with wrinkles and round glasses and a head of hair like a fluffy cloud. She offered them a kind smile, which they were all three too stunned to truly appreciate, before stepping aside and allowing them into a space that looked like a secret room that bookish children daydreamed about finding in libraries. It was cosy, with a kitchenette to one side, a couch and a beanbag in the middle and a built-in bunk bed. There was also a little corner that was very clearly meant for work, with a couple of instruments on the wall as well as an open laptop and a microphone. Books stacked on every available surface, including the kitchen counter, and there was a scent of lavender in the air. Most of the lighting came from fairy lights hung all around, and the walls were decorated with drawings and stickers that could have been taken from a children’s fairytale compilation.

The scene before them made a very stark contrast with the rockstar staring at them with a barely noticeable blush and a careful smile.

Hilda was the first to break. “Holy shit.” She breathed, meaning Johanna immediately also snapped out of it to chasten her. “Miss Kaisa, hi! Thank you for having us, we’re such huge fans!”

With the first barrier already brought down by her friend, Frida managed to take a step forward and open a beaming smile. “Yes! The show was fantastic, we can’t thank you enough!”

Looking very much like she had no idea how to handle the situation (which didn’t mean she didn’t seem pleased, her blush growing a shade darker), Kaisa walked closer to them.

“Is that so? Ah, you’re way too kind.”

“No, we’re not! We mean it, really.” Hilda insisted, her tongue loosening up at thrush of having her idol not a metre away from her. “Mum only came to keep an eye on us, and even she enjoyed it! Didn’t you, mum?”

Suddenly every set of eyes in the room - trailer - turned to her, and Johanna was keenly aware of it. Especially KAiSA’s. Those storm grey eyes locked on her and a spark immediately shot down her spine.

What was that word she’d thought when she saw her for the first time?

Ah, yes. Magnetic.

That checked out.

“I- yes! Yes, very much. It was a riot! An absolute banger of a time.”

Jesus Christ Johanna shut the fuck up-

The singer’s smile turned genuine suddenly.

“I’m happy to hear you think so!” She said. Neither of them were aware of the elderly woman looking between the two of them with an eyebrow raised. “I always like it when someone leaves happier than they expected to. You’re certainly not the first parent to accompany their kids to one of my concerts, and I have to say I really admire all of you.”

Johanna was good with people. She dealt with them on the regular for her job, interpreting the most overly complex instructions and appeasing the more difficult clients; she made small talk with strangers on the grocery line, she got on well with all the parents during Sparrow Scouts meeting. Yet somehow in that moment she felt like she had a net total of zero social skills under her belt, all of her cool suddenly evaporated under the heat of a hundred little fairy lights.

“I- well- you do?”

“Of course!” The corners of her thin lips quirked up even higher. She’d walked onstage with dark purple lipstick, Johanna was sure. There was nothing left of it now, even if there had been when she’d left the stage. Not that Johanna had been paying attention to that. “The younger fans are always so lovely. And it’s endearing that you care about both their safety and their happiness so much that you’re willing to tag along to something you won’t really enjoy.”

She was sure her cheeks must be nearing the colour of her sweater. Which, damn, why was she wearing that? She was at a concert, for heaven’s sake, couldn’t she at least have made the slightest effort to be in anything other than her everyday clothes? She looked like she was going to Starbucks. But it was too late to do anything about that now.

“I- I- I- did enjoy it, though!” And what was it with her that she couldn’t stop stammering? Her only saving grace was that a celebrity like her was probably used to a lot worse. She was still looking kindly at her, patiently waiting for her to speak with her hands folded in front of herself. She’d removed the black tshirt, leaving only the black and white striped garment over her torso and oh gosh it was a tank top, Johanna could see a patch of her belly if she so much as lowered her gaze for a single second- “Like Hilda said, I didn’t expect to. But you’re truly really talented!”

It looked like Kaisa was going to thank her for it again, but Johanna was spared from having to continue embarrassing herself by Hilda, who had apparently gotten sick of her mother getting all of the attention. The elderly woman was biting back a smirk behind them, having closed the door.

“If it’s not too much trouble-” Kaisa’s eyes went back to the child, widening a bit like she’d forgotten she was there. “Could we have your autograph? And maybe a picture?”

“Of course!” She said immediately. “If only I had- oh, thank you, Tildy!”

The woman had stepped up to Kaisa and given her a notebook and a pen, which none of the other people present had a single clue where she’d taken from. After taking the items from her hands, the singer kept a hand on her arm, covered by a woollen cardigan because apparently Johanna wasn’t the only one not abiding by concert dressing codes, and smiled at them.

“I should probably introduce her! This is Matilda. She’s my agent, and most importantly, my mother.”

The look that Matilda sent her daughter, apparently, was one of pure adoration, even though said daughter had now lowered her gaze to the notebook in order to find a blank page. All three of them ‘aw’ed at the scene, though if she was being honest with herself, Johanna felt something unpleasant stir within herself, like guilt rearing its ugly head and nudging insistently at her ribcage. It was becoming all too clear for her, and all too quickly, that she’d made all sorts of assumptions about the woman in front of her and that at least half of them didn’t come close to being the truth. Driving here a few hours earlier, she never would have expected someone who sang lines like ’fuck your oily slick truths, fuck your sugar sweet lies, I’d be my own martyr before letting you be the reason I die’ to also sweetly introduce her elderly mother like she was her precious treasure.

Johanna knew where this all stemmed from, of course. Trying so hard to be perfect and irreproachable all your life will mess you up on the occasions when you find out that people who do not censor themselves like that can, in fact, be just as kind and smart and responsible without bordering on anxiety attacks at the thought of doing something others deem ‘wrong’-

“What do you want me to write?” Kaisa’s voice cut through Johanna’s frankly concerning train of thought. Some feelings should only be set loose in places like home and therapy and definitely not concert backstages.

The singer had lowered herself down on one knee, which with her stature (Johanna noticed that even if her presence onstage was so enthralling that you couldn’t tell it then, the woman was actually quite short) made it so the kids stood taller than her. The two of them were apparently on the verge of vibrating at having her so near.

“Just your name would be perfect, miss!”

Kaisa lifted an eyebrow at Frida, and Johanna was afraid that she’d question the way the girl had called her (which Johanna knew to be because of her parents’ insistence on politeness and formality), before she tilted her head to the side. “Are you sure? I always feel so weird giving people bits of paper with just my name. It feels so self centred. I mean, I’ll give it to you if it’s what you really want, sure, but… just let me know if I can do anything else.”

Both Frida and Hilda looked at each other, surprised and also thoughtful about how to use the given opportunity. Johanna knew she should have stayed out of it, but the words left her mouth on her own accord.

“Why don’t you make them a doodle of something?”

All three of them turned to her. She thought she actually saw the rockstar look sheepish.

“Honestly, I can’t really draw.”

“That’s the fun, though.” Johanna smiled, trying to look far more confident than she was actually feeling as she tried to convince someone who had been on the billboard top 100 for the past three years of her silly idea. “Doesn’t have to be good. It’s just something for them to remember you by.”

If Kaisa expected to have allies in the two fans, she was certainly disappointed when they both smiled brightly at her, excited with the idea. She sighed, resigned, and beckoned them further inside the trailer, where she promptly let herself fall down to the beanbag and gestured for them to settle on the couch. Only Tildy remained standing, looking at the scene with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Alright, then. What are you guys called?”

Though she was focusing all her attention on the notebook in front of her, she still smiled when the girls introduced themselves. “Those are beautiful names.” She said without looking up. “Our names all kind of sound alike a bit, don’t you think? We didn’t get very original with the vowels there.”

“Wait, so Kaisa is actually your name?” Johanna asked, and apparently it was the wrong thing to do, because Hilda looked at her like she was about to die, Frida very pointedly did not look at her but there was clear mortification on her face and Kaisa… well, Kaisa looked amused.

“Yep!” She said, exaggerating the ‘p’ sound with a pop. “My stage name is just a stylization, but that is actually my birth name.”

The singer continued watching her, so Johanna hummed in understanding and nodded. It must not have been the reaction she had been expecting, because the mirth faded out of her eyes just a notch as she turned them black to the notebook.

“Oh, this is so embarrassing.” She huffed before ripping the page and offering it to Hilda, who took it in her hands like it was made of pure diamond. “Hope you’re happy, young lady. You can actually ruin my reputation with this.”

It was all Hilda could do not to jump out of the couch and run around in excitement. “Thank you so much! I love it!” She said as soon as it was safe in her hands. After a second of squinting, she added. “Just, uh, what… what is it?”

Johanna looked over her daughter’s shoulder at the piece of paper. In a fancy cursive handwriting, Kaisa had written her stage name at the top of the page, and then underneath it, a short sentence. It read ‘From the Trolberg concert on 19/11/2023. To Hilda. Love your hair!’

And then, besides it, there was a stick figure with an uneven circle for its head, a triangle on top of it, and a bigger triangle for its torso.

“It’s… an elf.” Kaisa said after deliberation. “Alfur the elf.”

Tildy snorted from her post a few steps away from them, and Hilda smiled even brighter.

“It’s really great!” Hilda said, and bless her soul, she probably believed it.

“Don’t lie in front of your mum, kid, she might think I'm a bad influence.”

Luckily, Kaisa had already turned to her second sheet of paper, so she was distracted from the distinct silence of three people biting their tongues.

When she gave Frida her own sheet, which was accepted with just as much reverence, it had a similar dedication but instead of an elf, there was a creature with pointy ears, a tail, and what looked like an attempt at wings. It was hard to tell, but there wasn’t much else that the bigger triangles sprouting from the oval body could be.

“It’s a catowl.” Kaisa said before even being asked. “Since it doesn’t exist, you can’t tell me my drawing doesn’t look like one.”

An eyebrow lifted, Johanna asked. “Implying that elves do exist?”

“Oh, we have a cynic in our hands, do we?” Kaisa answered with a smirk. The girls were still practically trembling with excitement, and were likely about to see if they’d lucked out and could also ask for a picture, when Tildy swooped in and asked them if they’d like to take a look at the recording apparel at the trailer. They jumped at the chance, of course, so the agent took them to the music corner of the space and began giving them a tour through the music creating process, leaving the two women alone. As alone as one they could be inside a trailer, of course.

“I don’t suppose you would like an autograph, would you?” Kaisa grinned playfully. It made Johanna blush something fierce; she hadn’t considered, so far, how it would feel to be the sole focus of the singer’s attention. It felt like what she imagined standing too close to a star must be like.

“That- no, I don’t need it.” She answered and then immediately bit her cheek, noticing what that must sound like. “Not that I don’t- I just don’t want to give you any trouble- oh, bother!”

To her infinite relief, Kaisa threw her head back and laughed. The fact that the gesture exposed her pale neck didn’t help Johanna’s predicament in the least, but if it meant she hadn’t taken offence then Johanna would take it.

“Johanna, I’m only teasing.” Though the words were softly spoken, Tildy still heard them all the way from the other corner of the trailer, bit her lip, and turned back to what she had been showing the girls. Neither of them realised it. “Trust me, I would not want to live in a world where everybody was my fan.”

The mother nodded, gulping when Kaisa got up with a graceful movement just to sit back down again by her side on the couch. She splayed herself, draping her low back over her side’s armrest and spreading her legs, making herself comfortable. Johanna wasn’t looking. Johanna was very pointedly not looking.

“You are great, though. Even I can recognize that and I don’t know anything about music.”

Kaisa flicked her wrist and looked away in what she recognized to be an ‘oh, stop it’ gesture. If Johanna’s brain had been making better use of its blood supply, she probably would have put together a sentence that said ‘sorry for barging into your post concert rest, and thank you for being so lovely with the girls’ in some shape of form. But her mind had a lot going on just keeping Johanna rational at that moment, so she only managed to follow Kaisa’s cues.

“So, what do you do, if I may ask?”

You may ask absolutely anything. No, bad thought. Answer like a normal person.

“I’m a graphic designer.”

Yes, that’s better. Normal person, normal answer. Good job, Johanna.

Kaisa’s eyes widened as she lifted both eyebrows. “You’re an artist? Did you ask me to draw something for them just out of sheer sadistic satisfaction?”

“Maybe I just wanted to see if there was something you weren’t good at.”

No, Johanna! she mentally took herself by the shoulders and shook hard. Too forward! You’re being creepy to the celebrity!

She was about to apologise when the glee in Kaisa’s face made it clear she wouldn’t have to. It might just be Johanna’s mind seeing what it wanted to, but the singer’s face seemed to gain a bit of colour.

“Well, it’s good to know Hilda has someone who can give her actually good drawings, at least. Are they both yours?”

Johanna sighed, relieved she apparently hadn’t overstepped. She’d have to reel herself in, though. Heavens knew what kind of terrifying situation strangers put someone like Kaisa through every day of her life just for doing her job. She was determined to not be one of them.

“No, just Hilda. Frida is her best friend.”

Kaisa smiled sweetly, glancing over at them. Unfortunately, they could see that Tildy had finished showing them the instruments they brought everywhere and the apparels in the recording booth, and were coming back to join them.

It made Johanna start, to realise that her daughter coming back so that she wouldn’t be alone with an artist she supposedly hated was an unfortunately situation for her.

Oh, there was no way this could end well.

“You must be a great mother. Bringing not only your daughter but taking responsibility for her friend as well, I mean. Most parents I’ve met wouldn’t do that. “

She was saved from having to begin what would no doubt be one of the most stuttery sentences in her life by the teens coming back with Tildy in tow. They didn’t remain for long, though it was a lot longer than they’d expected to coming in since not only did they get their pictures, but also were offered tea. After that, they were off, thanking the musician in every way they knew of, just to watch her blush and insist that it was nothing. Just as the door to the trailer was closing, Johanna’s eyes met Kaisa’s one last time. She wanted to say something, something that went beyond thanking her for the experience and the availability, but her mouth wouldn’t even open. She thought Kaisa understood, though, because the last thing she saw before Eldrid was guiding them out was Kaisa’s shy smile.

…......

“Do you still think she’s bad influence, mum?”

They were out into the cold night air, walking to their mercifully close parking slot. Johanna almost didn’t register the question, lost in thought as she was, but she was, first and foremost, a mother. Anything Hilda said would always be considered to have the highest level of importance to her brain.

Images of Kaisa flashed before Johanna’s eyes. Her smile, her hair, her twinkling grey eyes, the melody of her voice when it wasn’t shouting at a microphone.

Johanna bit her bottom lip. It was a good thing she was never going to see the singer again. Otherwise, this could become a problem for her. A very big one.

She pretended to think her answer through, making the appropriate humming noises as she started the engine.

“I might have been… overly critical.” She declared, pretending like there weren’t butterflies in her belly still. “She’s alright”

In the back of the car, Hilda and Frida shared a victorious look and smirked to themselves.

…......

“You got lucky she didn’t notice it, my dear.”

Kaisa stopped pouring the soup Tildy had made them into her bowl to look at her. The woman was watching her serenely from her claimed spot at the kitchen counter.

“Notice what?”

She smirked. “You said her name before she’d introduced herself.”

“Shit.”

#kinda ironic that I have two song inspired fics for Sketchbook Week. And this isn't one of them #sketchbookweek #sketchbook ship #sketchbook ship hilda #sketchbook ship fanfic #kaisa hilda #johanna hilda #my fic #fic: backstage

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