#special interests are a go Houston

[theflikchic]

So you mean to tell me...that in the future...when I go to Universal Studios...I'm gonna get to vibe in a section for dinosaurs, then bounce over to a section for dragons, THEN bounce over to a new section of the Wizarding World, and THEN bounce over to vibe in a section for classic monsters? In ONE DAY?

Universal Studios? More like... Autism Studios, amiriiight? *cue canned laughter*

[senorabond]

Rumor Has It (Peña x f!reader x Pike)

Pairings: Javier Pena x f!reader; Marcus Pike x f!reader; future Pena x f!reader x Pike

Chapter 1 Summary: You've recently transferred from a promising job in D.C. to Texas when DEA Special Agent Javier Peña approaches you with his current case. Rumor has it you have an in with the FBI art crimes unit, and the DEA could use your skills and connections on a suspected narcos money laundering case. You need to do well on this case to prove yourself, but you're not sure Marcus Pike will even help after the way you left.

Rating: 18+ (Minors DNI), Mature-to-Explicit sexual content, additional warnings may be added for future chapters

Warnings: swearing, mentions of sex and masturbation (f), previous sexual relationship, office romance, references to gossip and slut shaming, sexist/patriarchal bullshit, daydreaming about "little Peña"

Reader/Character Notes: Reader is fem!afab; No mention of Reader’s body size, shape, composition, or skin color.

Words: 4.4k

a/n: I started writing this thinking it'd be a quick and dirty PWP, but then the plot took over and I'm not sorry. Time/setting is pretty loose. This wasn't "officially" beta'd - all errors and weird formatting are my own. However, a very special thanks and kisses for @azure-waves and @kilamonster for reading early versions of this! 😘 Additional author's notes at the end.

Masterlist

Rumor Has It: Chapter One

Javier Peña thinks he’s hot shit. He struts about the office like he runs the place and conducts briefings like he's holding his own personal court. It'd be easier to chalk it up to pure ego and ignore him if he didn't actually have such an impressive resume to back it up. Unfortunately, that means putting up with yet another cocksure male flirting and fucking his way through the office your respective agencies share. At least he's easy on the eyes. 

Since moving to Houston six months ago for a new position with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, you'd clocked at least four broken hearts in Agent Peña's wake. In his defense, there are far more smiles than tears in the women's restroom when his name comes up in whispered conversation. You haven't heard this much gossip about a single guy since your senior year of high school when it was rumored that three cheerleaders got knocked up by the same football player as a pregnancy pact. For the record, only two girls were actually pregnant, and the alleged father ran off with the team’s water boy a few years out of college. They made a cute couple.

Favorite topics of conversation among Peña's admirers are his tight pants, who he's purportedly slept with, how good he must be in the sack, and contending reports of how big his dick actually is. Just that day you overheard one guy in the breakroom swear to a colleague that he'd seen ‘little Peña’ twitch while the DEA agent was briefing the latest developments in his investigation. You barely managed to hide your snort in your coffee, but had to admit the mental image was intriguing.

While not morally opposed to sleeping with somebody in the same office (that'd make you a hypocrite), you personally wouldn't want to risk the potential fallout of fooling around with someone as high profile as Agent Peña. The unfortunate reality is that women always bear the brunt of those consequences, and you aren't interested in putting your career on the line for a good dicking. As much as you may desperately need one. 

You'd been out a few times since moving to the area, but calling those disasters “dates” would be too generous. One such encounter seemed like it was going well, until the guy answered a call from his mother, got into a shouting match with her over the phone, then cried over the bread basket. You promptly excused yourself and blocked his number from the cab ride home. 

Since that night, the only dates you’d had were with some quality home entertainment and your trusty vibrator. The Magic Wand hadn’t failed you yet. Last night you enjoyed a delicious orgasm while watching a particularly excellent video featuring two men worshiping a woman’s body. That lucky bitch. It’d been way too long since you’d gotten laid, and it was starting to take its toll. Even with the regular, self-attained orgasms, you'd begun losing focus at work. Your mind frequently wanders into sexy daydreams about impossible scenarios in the war room. 

At your desk, you think back to what the guy said in the breakroom about little Peña and giggle to yourself. That'd be a sight to see, and would certainly liven up a boring case briefing. Your thoughts drift, and a fantasy begins to take shape. 

Agent Peña stands at the end of the conference table, commanding the attention of everyone in the room. One hand on his hip holds his charcoal suit jacket back; the other gestures behind him to the slides displaying the latest developments in his investigation. The lights are dimmed but his signature tight pants don’t leave much to the imagination. Your gaze takes him in slowly, lazily almost. Expressive eyebrows give way to deep set brown eyes. An aquiline nose slopes to meet his trademark mustache, and his lips make the perfect pout as he speaks. The broad motherfucker has a chest and shoulders for days, and his neck is almost too big for his collared shirt. When he moves his arms, the sleeves of his suit jacket are drawn tighter around his biceps. Down, down your eyes go, over the plane of his abdomen, past the unobtrusive belt buckle, and settle on the obvious bulge down the left side of his crotch. You can’t help but admire the outline of Peña’s cock; it twitches, and saliva floods your mouth as you squeeze your thighs tightly, your body responding of its own accord. Agent Peña’s timbre changes and you realize he’s said your name - you look up at him like a deer in headlights. “Like what you see?” 

You hear your name again, but his mouth hasn't moved beyond a knowing smirk…

“Hel-lo?” You shake yourself out of your daydream only to realize somebody has actually been saying your name. 

To your abject horror, the real Javier Peña stands next to your desk, a manila folder in his hands and a quizzical brow lifted in your direction. 

“What? Yeah? What do you want?” 

The questions fly out of your mouth before you can stop yourself. To further your mortification, you can feel heat blooming across your chest and face. He knows - he has to know - what is going through your head. Someone must have turned on the heat in the building, it's sweltering all of a sudden.

Peña shifts his weight onto his left leg, his right knee bent slightly. “I’m Javier Peña with the DEA -”

“I know.” Again, with the blurting. 

“Right.” He works his jaw slightly. “I was told you were the one to come talk to.” 

You focus on the manila folder in his hands and refuse to let your traitorous eyes dip any lower. They're just hands, for Christ’s sake. Large, strong hands. 

“Yeah? About what?” Is your voice breathier than usual?

Peña fidgets with the folder, then leans over and drops it in front of you. His thumb swipes at the corner of his mouth and he places both hands on his hips. There’s an agitated tension in his stance, and he shifts from foot to foot like a horse ready to bolt. 

“You’re with Customs,” he says, as though his meaning was obvious.

It's your turn to lift a brow at him.

“Yep. That I am.” 

It’s easier to pull yourself together with something tangible in front of you to focus on. You flip the folder open and start leafing through its contents. There are copies of bank transactions, transcripts from what you assume are wiretaps, and surveillance photos featuring two Latino men in well tailored suits outside a storefront, one of them holding a briefcase. This was business, this was work – you could do this. 

Peña clears his throat and smoothes down his mustache, the fingers of his left hand drumming on his hip. You wonder if he’s always this twitchy or if something could be making him nervous.

“My investigation is centered around these two men,” he waves a hand vaguely at the photos. “They run the stateside money laundering operations for some heavy cartel hitters, but they like to throw in some legitimate business dealings as well just to muddy the waters.” 

He pauses to clear his throat. 

“Uh huh…,” you prompt, looking up in time to see him tugging at his fitted collar. This was starting to get interesting. It’s obvious he came over to ask for your help with his case, but he seems to be doing everything he can to avoid saying those three little words, ‘I need help.’ What a typical man. 

Leaning back in your chair with the folder and its contents in hand, you find it much easier to take in the man standing before you. It's no longer like staring into the sun, however sexy that sun may be. The Great Javier Peña, reduced to an average fed. You can’t help but be a bit disappointed.

Peña sucks in a breath like he's going to keep speaking, then wordlessly proffers his hand to ask for the folder. You pass it back into his hands and keep your expression neutral. Flipping through the photos, he finds what he's looking for and places it on your desk. 

“That was taken outside an art gallery in Dallas. I think they know we’re closing in on some of their more lucrative sources of income and are trying something new.” 

You look more closely at the photo in front of you and nod. “Art classes?” The second the joke leaves your mouth you cringe inwardly. Peña’s jaw twitches as his eyebrows scowl a fraction of an inch closer. Not the time or place.

“The gallery is run by a couple in their sixties, Frank and Harriet Mansford. I think they’re working with these guys to make some kind of art deal.” You gesture to the chair opposite your desk and he accepts the invitation to sit down. 

“So, tell me, Agent Peña – where exactly does Customs come in? How do I fit into this picture?” Leaning forward, elbows propped on your desk, you fix Peña with what you hope is a confident stare. His fingers worry over the corner of his chair’s armrest. 

“Narcos have gotten more sophisticated in their laundering operations, but this wouldn’t be the first time they’ve used art sales to clean their money.” His gaze is steady, but his fingers continue on their restless path. 

“Unless they’re smuggling stolen goods into or out of the country–” 

“They are,” Peña interjects. “I believe they are.” He lets out a frustrated breath. “I don’t have the evidence yet, but I’ve already been looking into this gallery. They specialize in European art – so they’re likely getting at least some of it from abroad. And an international sale would make the paper trail harder to follow.” 

“As long as they’re legitimately purchasing or selling the artwork–” You hold up a calming hand as the agent makes to interrupt again. “Agent Peña, I’d like to help, but unless their crimes touch the border, it’s out of my jurisdiction.” 

“I know. But that’s not the only reason I’m talking to you.” Peña takes a deep breath like he's gearing up for something and you brace yourself. 

“I don’t know anything about art, ma’am.” He gives you the closest thing to a self-deprecating grin you think he’s capable of. “I’ve been trying to get the FBI’s art squad on this, but I can’t even get someone to take my calls – I don’t have an in.” He glances surreptitiously to see if anybody else is in earshot. 

Your gut does an anxious flip. Please, don't let this be going where you think it’s going. He licks his lips and hesitates, avoiding your eyes. 

“Word is you might know somebody in D.C.” 

Your heart stutters. Shit. 

Sounds like Peña isn’t the only subject of rumors around here.

---

Great, just great. You left D.C. to get away from people treating you differently because of who you choose to sleep with, but it looks like the rumors followed you all the way to fucking Texas. 

You take a good, hard look at the man sitting across from you. For a moment, you seriously consider telling him he can go fuck himself. While social blackmail isn’t something you’re willing to tolerate after everything you’ve done to start fresh, you don’t want to miss your first real opportunity to get involved in a case since arriving in Texas. Javier Peña may be a god amongst mere mortals in this town – you’d learned enough about his career to know it wasn’t all bullshit – but you weren’t going to let him get away with using you for your contacts at the FBI. Well, contact – singular.  

“The ‘word’ is?” You quote back at him icily. “And what word is that, Agent Peña?” Leaning back in your chair, you cock your head to the side a bit and rest your elbows on the arm rests. His mustache twitches the slightest bit at this change in your body language and tone of voice, but he doesn’t respond. You might be overplaying your hand here, but you’ll take that risk to find out how far he’s willing to go with this approach. Not wanting to be the first to break, you let the uncomfortable silence stretch. 

Right when you start to think you’ve missed the mark and he’s going to walk away without another word, he nods, eyes never leaving yours. Mirroring your pose, he tents his fingers and licks his lips again. You force yourself not to look at his mouth.

“I’m not stupid,” he states. Here it comes. “I know what people say about me around here.”

Wait, what? Schooling your features, you decide to see how this plays out.

“I know you haven’t been here very long, but I’m sure you’ve heard some of the office gossip already.” He shifts in his seat and hikes his pant legs up, casually propping one ankle on a knee. You pride yourself on not looking at his crotch. 

At that moment, a woman walks by your desk and gives the two of you a thorough once over. You stare her down until she meets your eyes, the smirk forming on her lips immediately dying. She scurries away and you turn back to find Peña giving you a bit of a smirk, and a certain glint appears in his eyes.  

“Agent Peña–”

“Javi, please.” The balls on this guy.

“Agent,” you repeat purposefully, “I’m not sure what, if anything, you know about me.” You pause to take a steadying breath, but Peña continues in earnest. 

“I know you worked with the FBI art squad on a number of cases during your time in D.C. that resulted in the arrest of several high-profile members of a forgery ring smuggling pieces into the country for sale on the black market.” 

You blink. That wasn’t what you were expecting. At all. 

He keeps talking. “But that was only in the last year or so. Before that, you worked your way up as a field agent and investigator at major ports of entry, developing a specialty in high-value contraband.” Peña slowly runs his palms over his thighs; the man is in perpetual motion.

As you listen to Javi rattle off various highlights and accolades that sound like they came directly from your personnel file, you notice the change in his demeanor and tone. He speaks matter-of-factly like he’s reciting a brief, but there’s a hint of something else in his tone besides simple curiosity. 

“And then you landed the D.C. assignment. From what I hear, you could’ve been running that unit in a few years, but instead you took a boring ass admin job out here.” He gestures vaguely around you. This is where he’s comfortable – when he’s the one in charge, telling you what’s what. 

“You’ve sure heard a lot about me, Agent Peña.” Your tone is cool and measured. 

“Why?” He leans forward and braces his elbows on spread knees. His piercing eyes level with yours, pupils wide and locked in.

“‘Why’ what?”

“Why’d you leave D.C.?”

A glance out to the common area nearby confirms there’s nobody within earshot, but you still lower your voice when you say, “You already seem to know everything there is about me.” Pausing, you feel your pulse flutter in your neck. “I would think you’ve heard that part as well.” 

He’s testing you. That’s how guys like him operate. They pin you down to see if you’ve got enough in you to fight back. Fighting back is what earns their respect. The smile Peña gives you is subtle, edging on mischievous.  

 “I’ve heard plenty on that topic,” he confirms with a gentle nod. “There are a few prevailing theories.” He counts off the rumors on his fingers and glances up to see your reactions to each. 

Pissed off the wrong politician is met with an eye roll. 

Moved here for a boyfriend – “...or girlfriend?” Javi checks – earns an exasperated sigh.   

“You fucked your way around–” Javi stops abruptly when an indignant sound escapes your mouth. This reaction sends Javi’s eyebrows dancing.  

Kicking yourself, you decide there’s only one course of action: honesty. Keeping your voice low, you lean over your desk and Javi follows until your faces are barely a foot apart. You force yourself to look directly into his eyes as you say your piece.

“I didn’t ‘fuck my way around’ anything. Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but I had a consensual relationship that never once interfered with our professional conduct or the work at hand. Got it?” Javi doesn’t speak, but there’s a glint in his eyes as they roam over your stony expression, lips pursed in a contemplative pout. 

“Once the rumor mill starts, it’s only a matter of time before the woman is left to deal with the consequences – not that I’d expect you to care about such things.” You practically spit the last words out before you can stop yourself. 

The air stills between you. Peña nods as if to himself, then leans even closer, until you can smell his spicy cologne. “Let’s set the record straight about one thing right now, Agent.” 

You swallow thickly and look anywhere but at his eyes – the long line of his nose, the cut of his jaw, the stubble on his cheek. His voice drops into a deeper register when he says, “I don’t give a shit who you choose to fuck or not – as long as it doesn’t get in the way of me getting the job done. We’re all adults here and can make our own grown-up choices.” He raises a finger, and points first to you, then himself as he speaks. “My one rule is: I don’t judge you, you don’t judge me.” 

He pauses, giving you a second’s reprieve. “Are we on the same page now?” 

You nod once, gritting your teeth at his condescending tone. Back in a normal register he says, “Good. Now about this investigation of mine…” 

Peña retreats and gestures at the case documents underneath where your arms were folded on top of your desk. You look down, having almost forgotten his whole reason for being here in the first place. 

“Agent Peña…” you start, and again, he interrupts.

“Please, I asked you to call me Javi.” The fucker winks at you – winks. 

“Javi,” you grind out, playing his game. “I don’t know what you think I can do for you, unless this whole thing is to try and get me to –” 

“Don’t finish that sentence.” His voice is a rumble in his chest. “Don’t insult me like that, and don’t insult yourself.” Javi points at the desk. “I came here asking for help because you’re a damn good agent with experience in this shit. If you want to show this office that you’re not going to back down from another fight just because some dickless piss-ant is spreading rumors, this is your chance.”

You let his words sink in and hate that he’s right. You did back down from the fight in D.C., the second it got difficult. Your pride was wounded and you ran away with your tail between your legs at the first opportunity. With a steadying breath, you sigh and start organizing the documents and photos.

“I’ll take a look at everything and see what I can come up with.” Peña begins to stand, and you cut in, “But I can’t promise I can get you in with the FBI.” 

You haven’t spoken to Special Agent Marcus Pike since you left D.C. six months earlier. If you were honest with yourself, you missed the time you two spent together, even when you weren’t having amazing sex. Getting takeout from his favorite Thai place and watching an old movie, or reviewing case notes over pizza after hours in the war room. Marcus was the most decent guy you’d ever known, and you hadn’t even answered the few times he called to check in your first couple months in Texas. It’d serve you right if he refused to speak to you ever again, if you could swallow your pride long enough to call him up.

“I’ll take whatever I can get at this point.” Peña sticks a hand out to shake. You join him on your feet and grasp his hand firmly. Some of your confidence was returning. 

“I never pegged you as the desperate type, Javi.” You hoped your smile was enough for the agent to hear your words as the playful banter you’d intended. Fortunately, he huffed a quiet laugh and nodded appreciatively, boldly letting his eyes wander over you. The heat of his gaze leaves pleasant tingles in its wake. 

“I’ll swing by tomorrow to talk about next steps.”

The agent departs, and you sit back down at your desk with a long sigh. As you watch the man walk away, your reverie from earlier comes back in startling focus with new details. You think back to how commanding and gruff his voice had sounded with his face so close to yours. The scent of his cologne lingered – spicy, with a hint of citrus and something else you couldn’t identify. How his thick fingers splayed over his hip or massaged the arm of his chair as he spoke. The crease in the middle of his bottom lip when he swiped at the corner of his mouth.

Clearing your throat, you try to focus your attention on the stack of papers and photos in front of you. You couldn’t let your libido cloud your judgment now that you had a real case to sink your teeth into. You’d always prided yourself on your ability to compartmentalize, but your head was still swimming after the man had been in your cubicle for, what – ten minutes? 

You’ve certainly got your work cut out for you. 

***

Washington, D.C.

6 months earlier

“You don’t have to do this.” Marcus stands next to your desk as you finish packing your few personal belongings into an empty cardboard box. “I’ll talk to my guys, you don’t need –”

You still him with a hand. “Marcus, please. I’m choosing to do this; it’s a really good opportunity.” You hope he believes that. 

Marcus sighs and rubs a hand over his face. After looking around to check that you and he were alone in the emptying building, Marcus leans into your space. “You’re telling me this has nothing to do with us?” His voice is deep, intimate.

He’s close enough for you to feel the warmth emanating from his body, and you catch a whiff of the aftershave that always leaves you feeling a bit heady. How is it still so strong even after a full day’s work? The frisson you experience whenever your bodies are in close proximity hasn’t diminished in the slightest, even after months of fucking on the sly. 

You’d both maintained your professionalism at the office; you respect each others’ boundaries and careers too much to get sloppy in the workplace. The only thing that changed around the office since you started sleeping with Marcus was the other agents. Their eyes followed you around the office, conversations sputtered to a halt when you entered the breakroom, and snatches of whispered conversation filled your cubicle when they didn’t know you were there.  

Clearing your throat, you force your eyes to meet his intense gaze. “Yes, Marcus, that’s what I’m saying.” 

 Marcus is a great agent, and an even greater guy. You know he’d want to stick up for you – as a fellow agent, and as a friend – but it’d only make things harder for you. Already your caseload had begun to dwindle and you were being consulted less and less often on issues squarely in your area of expertise. After several fruitless conversations with your supervisor, you weren't about to sit around and wait for your career to die – no matter how mindblowing the sex was. 

The box is packed with your personal belongings and an assortment of stolen office supplies as your last petty ‘fuck you’ to the endemic sexism and double standards that plague federal law enforcement.

“Hey,” Marcus takes your hand in both of his and strokes his thumb over your pulse point as he perches a hip on the corner of your bare desk. “I can tell there’s something more to the story, and you obviously don’t want to tell me what it is so I’m not going to push…” 

You roll your eyes at him teasingly and he huffs out a laugh, then pulls you closer so your hand is in his lap. He keeps stroking that sensitive part of your wrist and something in you thrums to life. “But?” You look at your joined hands. “I know there’s a but in there.”

“But – you know you can always talk to me. About whatever.” He shrugs a noncommittal shoulder and you step even closer, bracketing one of his legs between your own. His breath falters a bit as you turn one of his large hands over and graze your fingertips across his palm with a featherlight touch.

“If you ever need anything, please…” His voice drops into the register you only ever hear him use in private. 

Fuck it – you’d been so careful and were still dealing with the consequences. Might as well have a little fun on your last day. You place a firm hand on Marcus’ thigh and glide it up to his hip. 

“There is one thing I need right now.” You feel a bit giddy at your recklessness, but any nerves you might have are quelled when Marcus runs the tip of his nose up your jawline to your ear. 

“And what’s that? Hm?” He inhales your scent and hums with pleasure. Before you can stop yourself, you shift your hand at Marcus’ hip to his crotch. When you feel how hard he already is you release a breath you hadn't realized you were holding. 

Marcus inhales sharply through his nose at your touch, then lets out a groan in your ear at your gentle squeeze. “Tell me what you need.” His five o’clock shadow rasps against your sensitive skin as he sucks your earlobe into his mouth. 

“I need you to show me that evidence locker you haven’t shut up about since we met.”

Chapter 2

NOTE: The term “war room” originally described the place military leaders discussed tactics and strategies. It’s frequently used now in federal government, law enforcement, and business settings to describe any room used to strategize and plan – it could have various technologies (computers, A/V, video-teleconferencing, etc.) or be a plain old conference/meeting space with whiteboards.

Additional Author’s Note: I'm finally forcing myself to post this fic I've been working on in an attempt to get over my fear of people reading my work. It's the first fic I've written in the Pedroverse, and quite possibly the only fic I've ever posted publicly as an adult. I would love to know what you think! I really want to become a better writer, so any and all feedback is welcome! Thanks for reading!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Writeblr Questionnaire

Thanks @illarian-rambling here, @paeliae-occasionally here, @willtheweaver here, @honeybewrites here, @urnumber1star here,

And @leahnardo-da-veggie here!

About You:

When did you start writing?

Genuinely I'm not sure, but I do have physical evidence that it's been a while. The first story I wrote was called "In the Dark." I was at the age where I drew several pictures with one color of marker with stick figures and my mom wrote the words for me. I'd say preschool-aged. I think I was three.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

I am a person with a huge bias toward fantasy in the things I write and consume. However, I'm not picky with genres, it just happens to be a pattern. I really do love plenty of realistic fiction books. It just so happens that I have exactly one realistic fiction story in my WIP ideas. One. And even then, it needed a gimmick to be interesting for me to write. I have no interest in writing realistic fiction other than that. But I really do love plenty of realistic fiction books!

I want to write a mystery one day, but it'll have to be a fantasy mystery. I do love plenty of realistic fiction mystery books and shows and stuff. I could never write historical fiction, although that isn't a frequented genre to begin with.

Theme-wise, I couldn't say. I don't really care.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

Nope. I think people will make their own comparisons, but there's no one in particular I am trying to emulate. I'm just me.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

Sometimes I just write on the couch or at a random place at school, but I've been going to my desk a lot more. It's just in my room, I'm on a swivel chair, and my laptop is on top of it. Nothing special.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Read my old writing or my notes! I see stuff I forgot about or I get ideas from the details. Occasionally I'll check out a video or something if I'm truly stuck.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Uh, yes. Why do you think I set the "real world" in a middle-class intermediate school in the greater Houston area on a six-lane FM road with a Sonic, Walgreens, and apartment complex nearby? It's a lot easier to describe things that way. Everywhere else I have to make up a floor plan for interiors and use Google Maps for the surrounding scenery.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

A lot of queer and neurodivergent people. No, that does not surprise me. It me. It accident.

Friends-to-lovers is my most common romantic relationship, but there's also a lot of platonic and queerplatonic relationships.

Interpersonal relationships in general are huge themes of mine and appear in almost everything I write.

Since I write YA, there's a lot of coming of age.

None surprise me.

Your Characters:

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

Oof that's hard. For TSP... I love talking about Carmen. She's such an asshole, but she's super interesting. I want to put her under a microscope and study her. She's a character I'm constantly thinking about. I like seeing why she does the things she does. She's developed into a character I originally didn't think much about, and now I can't stop! She's also funny. She doesn't mean to be, but she's so high-strung and angry that she is fun to write for.

For SOTL, it's Tierney. I have one chapter with him, but that doesn't matter. He's amazing and I love talking about him. He's a mess. He's a nerd. He's awkward. I love him.

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

Well, the characters closest to my age are Liam and George, and I think I'd be friends with them! Liam may occasionally get on my nerves in the debate side of him, but I think I'd get used to it, especially because his part of the grilled cheese debate is based on someone I actually know and am friends with.

I'm not sure about being friends with the kids, but I do hang out with plenty due to being an educator, and I remember how I was at that age. Out of everyone, Robbie and Akash feel like they'd perfectly fit into my friend group, which may be why I love writing them so much. Individually I think Gwen is the one I'd be most likely to get along with.

I haven't written enough of SOTL, but I'd get along with Jill. Also Ritchie and their group of friends.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Carmen, I'm so sorry, I would not like you. Gabriel also can get rude and boring. Noelle constantly mentioning her mom would get on my nerves, if I'm being honest. I feel like I could only take Parker in small doses, even if I really like Wade.

I'm not far enough in SOTL to make a decision except for the purposefully antagonistic characters.

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

Well, TSP it really depends. Here are all the characters I think are worth mentioning for the entire series.

Originally based on someone I knew before developing a completely different personality: Lexi, Maddie, Ash, Gwen, Noelle, Rose, Kelsey, Carla, George, Hye-Jin, Atsila

They started out as someone completely different in previous drafts and then in the process of developing them I got attached: Jedi, Carmen

I created them for Draft Four as a love interests and then I got attached: Robbie, Akash

I created them in Draft Four to fill up the background: Liam, Ewan, Jazlyn, Wade, Parker, Tyler, Niri, Gabriel, Sam

I needed a name for a prominent figure and then I kept using it and they became important: Raissa

I needed characters for the AU didn't I?: Alex, Issa, CJ, Wendy

Background characters I had no intention of making important: Teo, Xitlali, Anathi

For SOTL, it's simple. Get a character from a fairy tale, nursery rhyme, fable, legend, other public domain work, etc and make them my own!

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

Most of them are queer and neurodivergent. Most are in the 11-25 range given the demographic I write in.

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

I want TSP and SOTL to both be in hand-drawn animation, so I imagine them like that. Western animation with anime inspiration like ATLA, Teen Titans, etc is what I typically imagine it in.

Your Writing:

What’s your reason for writing?

I love it!! And also I'd go insane. It's also why I write reviews and analyses of stuff. I've stayed up until 2 am before thinking thoughts on TV shows and I legit can't sleep until I've written an essay.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

I've gotten "oh I like this little detail" or "wow good dialogue" or "realistic friendship!!" And that always makes me happy.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

I just want people to like my characters, is that too much to ask?

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I really like character building and details around their lives. I think I'm good at writing consistent characters because I've put so much work behind them.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Dialogue! So many people comment on the realism of my dialogue, and I really like that!

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

If it's at 1 am I think it's awful. When I read my old writing I cringe. Sometimes if I'm in a bad mood my self esteem plummets. But overall, when I look back, I see how far I've come. When I make a revision, even a small one, I smile because I know my writing is getting better. I just get excited about improvement!

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Yes because it helps me sleep. Were you not paying attention lol

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

No. I write for ME.

Tagging @mk-writes-stuff @elsie-writes @eccaiia @mysticstarlightduck @chauceryfairytales

+ ANYONE ELSE

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet

SOTL intro

SOTL tag list (ask to be +/-): @illarian-rambling @katwritesshit @wyked-ao3

Under the cut are the blank questions put together for easy copy/paste

About You: When did you start writing? Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write? Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared? Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.) What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse? Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about? Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all? Your Characters: Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.) Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life? Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them? Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters. Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters? How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.) Your Writing: What’s your reason for writing? Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers? How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.) What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer? What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others? How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.) If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write? When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

[dayurno]

if you have Thea hcs

pls share

we are so strapped for her content

YES here are a few random ones

- i believe in thea big sister realness……. i think she has a younger sister around neil’s/jean’s age that she grew a bit apart from during her time in the nest. thea is 6 years older and spent most of her sister’s growing years away from the family entirely; there are awkward missteps and thea missed quite a lot in the pursuit of exy. that being said, they are going to be sisters forever and they have all the time in the world to get along again, which they eventually will

- in the same vein i think thea’s relationship with her parents is a little wonky. i hc her as very suburban & upper middle class, and before exy she used to actually be a gymnastics champion from ages 5-14. she quit gymnastics against her parents wishes to play exy, and then cut contact with them for the entirety of her college years, so they (and her mother specially) are not at all fond of the sport. thea’s sister is still doing gymnastics though!

- i believe…. i really do believe…… that thea is a paramore fan……. i think she was first of all emo in highschool because she grew up in a very predominantly white community and the emo kids were the most willing to hang out with her because they were all social outcasts, so she absorbed their music taste and never quite let go of it even as she grew older. paramore debuted in 2004 which is i believe thea’s first year in the pros post-college, so she got into them and never looked back

- she really really really likes it in houston. i think the nest was very brutal and shocking to thea in many ways and she had no idea how to navigate the sudden isolation of being a raven, so being out of it and in the pros feels like a breath of fresh air to her immediately. i think she quite enjoys living alone and going to bars and indulging her teammates sometimes, so long as it doesn’t get in the way of exy. she’s not very outgoing but she is known to be a good conversationalist among her teammates :)

- she wants to travel a lot……! i keep going back to her dream of climbing mount kilimanjaro and i think she really wants to see the world. thea’s whole life has been very small: first she lived in a gated community as the overachieving eldest daughter, then she got into the ravens and lost almost all her freedom, and then she was contractually obliged to stay in texas for all of the exy season. thea’s been curious about the world outside for as long as she’s been alive and i think that’s part of why her and kevin had so much to talk about even through notes — she’s fascinated by the places he’s been to. it’s also why she’s so interested in jean too, i think! take my girl to france……………

- she’s indeed Very scared of growing older. thea’s around 25 at the point of canon and she is already scared of falling off and being left behind career-wise; time goes by fast and she’s all too aware of how little of it she has and how many more things she wants to do with her life. she’s a big personality like that to me…! she’s been telling people she’d be a star athlete ever since she could speak and now that she’s achieved that there is still. so much left to do. so many places to see. so much work still! thea is very ambitious & likewise very scared of not fulfilling her dreams

[brighter-by-the-daly]

Prompts

Updated: 24/01/23

Here you will find any prompts that have been sent to me. I do not accept requests but I love prompts/ideas/brain storming together and if I like your idea you will find it here. This isn’t a guarantee that it will be written and you’re more than welcome to send your prompt to other people because idk when my brain will want to cooperate with writing these, which is exactly why I don’t take requests; prompts and ideas are a lot less daunting to me 🫶

Rachel daly x Reader ~ angst to fluff where they have an argument and they are both screaming and rachel says something that takes it too far but then a few days later Rachel apologises - @wosoobsessed

Rachel Daly x Reader ~ girlfriend Rach is finally done with her bullshit and is ready to let herself love someone and its for keeps - @hernightsky (in progress - Can’t Keep Up)

Millie x Reader ~ Autistic reader who’s special interest is photographing womans football, Millie notices reader at matches and training and tries to talk to her - @kayls93

Anons

Rachel x Reader ~ Could you do one where we are really like tough and dont show emotions or really smile but we are soft for rachel and the lionesses realise that and start to question it

Add on from @woso-scotland ~ R could be a boxer, and they either meet while Rach is at Houston or at Villa through someone like Ruesha on a team game night.

Millie Bright x Reader ~ I hate conflict so much but I’d be getting into fights just for Mills to protect me 😂

Millie Bright x Rachel Daly x Reader ~ Rach and Millie being separated in a meeting for talking and being too loud (in progress - Odd One Out)

Millie Bright x Reader ~ We need possessive Millie with golden retriever gf 🫶🏻

Rachel Daly x Reader ~ You meet while walking your dogs every morning (in progress)

Sequels

These are sequels that have been requested by readers, I encourage anyone with ideas of how to continue these stories to send them to me otherwise they probs won’t get written 😘

Lucy Bronze - Camera Doesn’t Lie

Maybe they embark on a secret relationship and it’s all fun and games keeping the secret until Lucy gets super jealous and decides she needs to officially stake her claim! - @lostintimeandmusic

Millie Bright - Big Mouth

Lauren Hemp - Crazy for You

Millie Bright - Around if you Need Me

My Ideas

Somewhere to store the ideas I’ve had but are yet to come into fruition ~ feel free to message if you have any further ideas for these!

Reader’s ex calls to ask for free match tickets and is really rude on the phone, overheard by Mills/Rach/Leah who immediately go into protection mode and puts them in their place (in progress - X)

Another player coming on to Rach at a party right in front of reader

Rach x Reader series add on of ‘where are they now’ short stories (in progress)

Your gf won’t buy you a giant squishmallow but someone surprises you (in progress - Cheat You Better)

Beth McCarthy song series addition with her new song ‘idk how to talk to girls’ with ✨someone✨ I haven’t written for yet, maybe Jess Carter or Georgia Stanway 🤷🏻‍♀️

Erin Cuthburt fic because this site needs more Erin - ideas welcome!

Collection of New Years blurbs

Falling in love with Ruesha

[doll-elvis]

How and why did Elvis go down hill so fast after the Aloha from Hawaii concert

ahh this is a really interesting question, thank you for the ask <3 !! also I’m sorry if I didn’t interpret this correctly and if you mean’t the immediate aftermath of the special, I kind of answered in terms of the long run 😭

now this might be an unpopular opinion but I don’t believe that Elvis actually ever went ‘downhill’ at a constant or steady rate

Many fans, biographers, and reviewers sort of see the Aloha special as ‘past the point of no return’ for Elvis, meaning they see it his last moment of “greatness”, or the last moment where he was truly on top

The Aloha special was no doubt a peak moment for Elvis, but I don’t definitely don’t view it as his “final truly great moment”. I also don't see the special as him reaching the top of the mountain and then next 4 years are him going down it. I see the special as one peak of many, in fact I think he continued to have peak moments up until his passing, which is why the suddenness of his death is so tragic because I don’t believe he was done. He was of course physically not well but not to the point that he wouldn’t have been able to overcome it if he had more time and proper care

Another reason that I can’t say he ever steadily declined is because that throughout his career, particularly in the 60s and 70s, Elvis had periods of highs and lows that often coincided with how his personal life was going i.e family, friends, girlfriends etc.etc

For example the tail end of the summer in 1976 was a particularly rough patch for Elvis. His health was declining, his relationship with Linda was on its’ last legs, his group was split (Dave, Red and Sonny had been fired), and Doctor Nick even stopped being his physician after a fallout had occurred and Doctor Elias Ghanem stepped in

Doctor Ghanem was even more neglectful in taking care of Elvis and as a result Elvis was loaded up on anti-depressants, sleeping pills, and other extremely debilitating narcotics. He was rendered almost completely incontinent. Thus resulting in one of Elvis’ worst tours yet, and one of his worst rated shows ever aka ‘Houston we have a problem’ which was taped on August 28th 1976

Reportedly Elvis was slurring and stumbling so badly on stage that several fans walked out, one reviewer even noted fans crying as they left

“People had witnessed the side effects from Elvis's medications during his performance in Houston. Elvis had taken Sparine (for depression), which contributed to muscle and speech problems. It knocked the bottom out of him, dropped his blood pressure. He couldn't do diddly-squat”

excerpt from the book “The King and Dr. Nick” by George Nichopoulos

It was one terrible show/performance after the next and Elvis was pushing himself to the limits and suffering because of it. According to band members Elvis had to be convinced to go on stage because he was so worried about disappointing the crowd. He wanted to perform better but his body physically wouldn’t let him. It was so terrible that just after 3 days of Elvis being under Doctor Ghanem’s care, Doctor Nick was called back and began working again to regulate Elvis’ prescription use

And then on November 19th, 1976, Elvis met 20-year-old Ginger Alden, and to just say he had “improved” would be a massive understatement. He began performing like he hadn’t been for years, resulting in one of his best tours, and some of his best shows such as his New Year’s Eve performance on December 31st, 1976. And more than just his career/shows, Elvis’ mood had visibly lifted, he was out of his depression and he was much more optimistic for the future

excerpt from the book “Elvis: My best man” by George Klein

excerpt from the book “If I can dream” by Larry Geller

So Elvis went from having one of his worst-rated concerts, to one of his best-rated concerts in just the span of a few months, which again proves to me at least that his “decline” wasn’t steady

When he was motivated and inspired, he could do incredibly great things, whether that motivation came from a single girl he wanted to impress in the audience or billions of people around the world like in the Aloha special

And this pattern can be seen throughout his career

Like in the 60s where Elvis would tend to let himself go a little bit between films and then when a script was given for his next picture, he would find the motivation to get back “in shape”, even reducing the amount of prescriptions pills he was taking in order to do so

But even the films eventually grew tiresome and Elvis didn’t find that motivation for his career again until the 68 comeback special. dontbeecruel breaks down the lead up to the special like Shakespeare I swear- please take the time to read it for yourself if you haven’t (it’s amazing) 😩 ⬇️

Another instance in the 70s where Elvis was able to recover from a low/downhill period and rise again was after his divorce with Priscilla. His saving grace, inspiration, and motivation this time came to him as Linda Thompson

excerpt from the book “A Little thing called Life” by Linda Thompson

The divorce undoubtedly caused was one of the lowest periods in Elvis’ life. He began taking pills and prescriptions that he had never had before such as Demerol and Dilaudid, his behavior became more erratic than ever, and he was in a deep depression, resulting in the decline of both his physical and mental health

It took him a while to recover but he eventually did, and I do honestly credit that to Linda’s presence in his life as she helped him move on

excerpt from “A Little thing called Life” by Linda Thompson

This decline and then rise can even be seen physically ⬇️

Left: Elvis in 1973, the day his divorce was finalized, where Priscilla says she was stricken by his appearance and worried for his health

Right: Elvis in 1974, visibly healthier, and performing in one of his best shows of a incredible tour

So again, Elvis went from enduring one of the worst periods of his life, declining mentally and physically, to improving and performing at his best again… all within the span of a year

I guess that’s why it breaks my heart when people act like Elvis’ last great moment was at 38 in the Aloha Special, and then every year after that was just downhill. He was always singing his heart out as best he could, even towards the end, and again, if his career was managed in his best interest and if his doctors acted in his best interest, I believe he would have many more moments like the Aloha special, he just wasn’t given enough time to do so

[knockoff-conlon]

you know. i made a post about remus + his jewish characterization. now it's time for james and his adhd. everyone always talks about how james is so adhd, right, but i see a lot of truly awfully written adhd and as someone with adhd, it bugs the fuck out of me.

in fics, it's usually just written as "MY GOD, SPARKLY!" and yeah, sometimes it is that way in my brain. but that's not all adhd is. i never see adhd james written with the bad side of adhd.

1) sensory issues. this was the big one for me. i never see james with sensory issues. it's such a reality for adhd people tho. james who hates certain textures and gets unreasonably upset when he bites into a plum one day. he hates anything squeaky and nearly cries when remus' shoes squeak on the castle floors. he has huge issues with clothes textures and he literally shoves Sirius into a wall when he gets an unexpected hug and hates sirius' shirt material.

2) distracted and forgetful. you do see this with james but only as funny things and not things that seriously cause problems. james forgets things a lot- words and places and important dates. he forgot the word pen one day when trying to ask peter for one and he spent the whole rest of the day trying to think of it. he gets distracted by things and it upsets his friends sometimes. lily talking about her family issues and james finding sweets in his pocket that he forgot were there so he just starts talking about his sweets.

3) stims. i hadn't even realized i had them until my therapist pointed them out. james is HUGE on stimming. his most notable is bouncing. he bounces his leg when he's anxious or overstimulated. james bounces up and down when he's happy or worried. he loves bouncing. his hair ruffling thing is a perfect example of stimming. excited and happy, so he ruffles his hair. he wiggles/sways a lot too. his snitch, too, stimming constantly.

4) food. food. he loves specific foods and refuses to go outside of his designated safe foods. he has a specific love for sugar cookies and will eat them always. he always has them on his person. same with grapes, eggs, orange juice, noodle soup. those are his "safe" foods. notices slightest differences in foods. slightly burnt taste, unsalted food, too crispy/soft, stuff like that.

5) special interests. quidditch, number one. he loves quidditch so much and knows practically everything about the sport. he loves to talk about quidditch and gets really rambly when asked about it. and he gets upset when people interrupt his quidditch talk. loves music, too, and hyperfixates on musicians he likes- bowie, abba, queen, whitney houston. stuff like that. special interest in baking since he was young.

i could keep going. but there's so much more to adhd than just going "SHINY" and getting distracted. it's a real issue, it causes a lot of pain. it's not funny and it's not just go make james seem interesting. pretending james' adhd is a joke is harmful and people with adhd are actually affected by it.

however, i love helping people with characterizations and i love helping people in general. so if you wanna dm me to ask about adhd things, im happy to help!!

[italeteller]

So there's been some talk about Spider-Man: The Animated Series getting it's own sequel in light of X-men 97's success (Nothing confirmed of course, but they're obviously aware there'd be interest in it especially since that Spider-man's had two cameos in the show this season). What would you want to see them do besides resolving the cliffhanger if they did make that show?

Woof, what a question. I don't even remember what the OG show covered tbh

But ok, my biggest wish is that we get 24 episodes. As much as I lvoed X-men '97, as good at it was, 10 episodes was far too little, and personally I think the finale suffered for it

As for stories... I want Peter and MJ to get married and have a kid. I want Mayday on the story. I don't think we're getting the spectacular Spider-girl, not if disney wants to keep the animated universes as an interconnected cinematic universe (which all the cameos in '97 suggests they do) but just. Make the characters age. Make their story go forward. If you're making this for your adult audience, the people who grew with the cartoon, then make the cartoon grow too

Also, maybe a basic bitch answer but Kraven's last hunt and Soul of the hunter would be interesting to see animated. They could do some really horrific stuff with that storyline

Also also, I wanna see Peter as a school teacher and the Ezekiel saga. Specifically, I wanna see the storyline where Peter tracks down one of his student's brother who vanished after getting out of jail - a jail he was in because Spider-man put him there. The idea of really looking into what happens to the regular ass people Spider-man catches, and how his responsibility extends to them after beating them up was incredibly interesting and I'm so mad the comics never really did anything with it

Speaking of really cool things the comics never did anything with! The other. Peter got all these cool new powers and horrible foreboding mystic monster stuff and then they one more day'd it all away. I wanna see it back. I wanna see how Peter's life would've gone with all that stuff

And while we're at it, agent Venom would be cool. Flash in general has a lot of really interesting stuff - I don't remember if the series did anything with him - but him coming back from the army and losing his legs and dealing with that, plus the agent Venom stuff are all good, specially if they include Mania in it. Double specially if we get a Peter-Flash team-up to cleanse the shit taste of what Superior did to my boys

And Kaine! I would love to see the edgelord clone, maybe a few episodes adapting when he moves to Houston as the new Scarlet Spider

I was gonna add something else but I forgot which I'm gonna take as a sign from above to stop here, because the more I think about it the more I could keep going

[imagitory]

Okay, disclaimer here. I can't really call myself a true fan of Disney's Wish, just as it is. I do think the film had a LOT of really good ideas and I do think that a lot of artists and creative types put sincere work into it -- I mean, all one really has to do is look at the Wish art book to see that the creators wanted to salute a lot of Disney's overall legacy with their work. However the result turned out -- and I personally found it a bit half-baked with a lot of story and character elements that just didn't quite come together for me -- I like the overall concept enough that I've really enjoyed seeing the fandom embrace those good ideas and reinterpret them. I like the art people have started doing based on Star's old designs by artists like Brittney Lee. I like people writing drafts with villainous-couple-goals Amaya and Magnifico. I like people envisioning Asha as becoming a fairy godmother more in the vein of Whitney Houston's version of the Fairy Godmother in the 1998 Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella! So everything I'm going to write here is from a place of sincerely wanting to add onto the original concept and perhaps improve on it, rather than just out of a desire to make petty pot-shots at the film.

With this out of the way, let me get to the crux of it.

(concept art by Brittney Lee, found in Disney's The Art of Wish)

Now of course people have discussed the concept of Star as a love interest for Asha before. And I won't lie, I do think it's cute! It could even offer a great potential for diversity if Star remained androgynous gender-wise, the way they are in the finished film. Honestly, even having a completely mute leading character and love interest throughout the entire picture would undoubtedly be a unique and special challenge for any animator and storyteller...and for those people who want to evoke old Disney projects, it would prove a great opportunity to build on the legacies of voiceless Disney characters like Dumbo, Bambi, and Tinker Bell, while still adding a new twist in the form of this character being magical and therefore being able to express their feelings not just through colors and body language like Tink does, but perhaps also through the instrumental score! You could embody the whole core of Fantasia -- a passion project of Uncle Walt's that he never saw appreciated in his lifetime but is widely considered to be a masterpiece of animation and music -- in one character!

This leads nicely into another tack this could've played into -- the idea that Star could be an embodiment of Golden/Silver Age Disney, while Asha embodies Renaissance/Revival Disney. Star could be endlessly optimistic and a bit naive, but strangely resilient -- something that seems fragile and helpless at first glance until you realize just how many people and creatures alike gravitate toward them and want to help and protect them. Meanwhile Asha could be all about proving herself -- she could want to become a powerful magician and do great things like her master King Magnifico, but lack confidence in her own abilities and feel isolated thanks to how much her service to and desire to honor Magnifico has isolated her from others.

Star would be Snow White to Asha's Tiana. The Aurora to her Mulan. The Tinker Bell to Asha's Elsa. The bright star to Asha's cool, thoughtful night.

And this is what I love most about this idea -- their relationship wouldn't need to be romantic. It could be platonic. It could be romance-adjacent. Or, if one wants to really go and do something different for a Disney movie...Star could be a child. A mute, sweet, brand-new star, one just born, that responded to a wish that Asha made when she thought no one could hear -- a wish she has trouble admitting to anyone, especially her mentor and toxic father figure, King Magnifico -- because as much as she plays contentment, there is a part of Asha deep down that wants something more. That remembers the loving embrace of her deceased parents and how much Magnifico can't quite capture that warmth and nurturing, however tight his hold might be and placating his words might be. And out of that wish is born this little bundle of stardust, which Asha is now suddenly responsible for and wants desperately to hide and protect from Magnifico.

In essence, Asha would be put in the same position that Willow is put in, when he suddenly becomes the caretaker for baby Elora in the film Willow.

Now that would change up the context for At All Costs, wouldn't it? This lullaby-like song would resonate awfully well in a story where Magnifico sees Asha as an apprentice and almost surrogate daughter and wants to "protect" her a la Mother Gothel by controlling everything in her life, while Asha sees this new Star who's now reliant on her and feels this strange, new desire to protect them from the man who filled the role of her father after his death in a selfless way that man could never understand?

If someone tried to hurt you... I don't see how that could happen! I'd fight for you in ways you can't imagine! Felt this? No, I haven't -- I hope it would be alright to Stay right here beside you...

It would be such a beautiful picture on how love can be both selfish and selfless -- how a villainous person can love, perhaps, but that that love is poisoned by the desire to mold someone into your image and hoard that person away from others who could "take them away" or "change" them...how love at its truest core is selflessness and fighting on behalf of others, to give them a world where they could live safely. And again, this could be either in a scenario where Star is Asha's "child" or her peer -- for a world can't be safe for all if anyone is under threat because of who we are. And Asha, Star, and Rosas all deserve to know true happiness, not just mindless, complacent contentment -- the happiness that can come from the birth of ideas we never thought possible, until we're given the freedom to dream and dream big.

[vikenticomeshome]

The 2004 Cyberchase Online Contest

Alright, I know that I said that I wasn't sure if I wanted to post about the "2004 Cyberchase Online Contest". I said that I thought it was less interesting than the 2005 contest. However, I just remembered an important bit of information about it that makes it much more interesting. This is another piece of the Cyberchase website that I have preserved in full on the Flashpoint Project.

Let's start with the preview page that came out just before the contest went live. This capture is from September 1st, 2004. It features Harry and Bianca. I will transcribe it.

Coming soon...

The 2004 Cyberchase Online Contest!

Contest open from September 13th to October 11th, 2004.

Click back soon to enter!

Prizes include cool computers, a special visit by Cyberchase stars Digit, Harry, and Bianca, other great Cyberchase stuff!

And that's the end of the preview page.

That line about "a special visit by Cyberchase stars Digit, Harry, and Bianca" being one of the prizes is what motivated me to make this post. I don't know whether this special visit/performance ended up happening. I also don't know whether this special visit/performance was recorded in any way. If it was recorded, then that recording is currently lost media, and I would love to see it if it still exists.

Now, you may be questioning how Digit would be able to join in. They actually had a Digit mascot suit back in the day. This suit was used in the "Cyberchase: The Chase in On!" museum exhibit at the Houston Children's Museum. I really need to make a post with the photos that have been recovered from that exhibit, since they may have taken the exhibit itself down.

I've also seen this suit used on TV on the Unvision channel. This was for an event called "Cyberchase Live in Studio", which seems to have been to promote the Cyberchase Movie.

Anyway, let's get back to the 2004 contest.

There is a link to a video that they used as part of this preview. However, this was another case where they used RealPlayer for streaming, and those files appear to be gone now. I doubt that it was exclusively produced for the site. They probably had it running on TV, and the TV capture, even on VHS, would have probably been higher quality than what they could stream over the Internet.

When the contest opened on September 13, 2004, we got a new version of the page.

Before we get into the entry form, riddles, and prizes, let's see what they were offering with their sneak peek at upcoming adventures. If the site wants to on this tangent, then I will go with them.

The videos are just more RealPlayer streaming content that is now lost, unfortunately. I don't know if these were site exclusives or not.

Before we look at the riddles that the contestants would have needed to solve, here are the prizes. I will transcribe them.

1 Grand Prize Winner Receives

A live performance by stars Digit, Harry and Bianca at your school or community education group.

A Notebook Computer: An INTEL CENTRINO Mobile Technology-based notebook computer provided by INTEL CORPORATION -- 1 for you and 1 for your school or community education group.

Cyberchase stuff -- for both you and for your school or community education group -- including videos, DVDs, CD-ROM games and more.

10 First Prize Winners Receive

A Notebook Computer: An INTEL CENTRINO Mobile Technology-based notebook computer provided by INTEL CORPORATION-- 1 for you and 1 for your school or community education group.

Cyberchase Stuff -- for both you and for your school or community education group -- including videos, DVDsm CD-ROM games, books, posters and more.

50 Second Prize Winners Will Receive

Cyberchase Stuff -- for both you and for your education group -- including videos, DVDs, posters, books and more.

That all for the prizes. Let's see the Cyber Riddles that needed to be solved.

1) What number is this Poddle? Here are some clues.

I am an odd number.

I am greater than 3

I have two digits.

I am less than 13.

What number am I?

2) Ms. Fileshare needs to use this password to lock the Cybrary doors. Help her finish it. It uses a pattern made with both shapes and numbers.

18-in-a-circle, 16-in-a-circle, 14-in-a-square, 12-in-a-circle, 10-in-a-circle, 8-in-a-square, blank, blank, blank

3) How many cubes of wig gel does Hacker use on his wig every morning? Here are some clues. The correct number is...

greater than 7

and even number

less than 14

if you count by 3's you will find it

4) Jackie and Digit want to tile a wall. They have to choose a shape that tesselates - that fits together with no gaps or overlaps. Write the letter of the shape that will work

A. pentagon B. circle C. rectangle

5) Digit has to buy some parts to fix Wigit (sic). But he only has 25 snelfus to spend. He needs a brain chip, a hard drive and a bow tie. The brain chip costs 8 snelfus. The hard drive costs 7 snelfus. What's the most Digit can spend on a new bow tie for Wigit (sic)?

6) Jackie, Inez, and Matt want to buy a new mp3 player for Slider's birthday. it costs 150 snelfus. They plan to save 15 snelfus each day. How many days will it take them to save enough to buy the present?

7) Matt and Inez found this message that Hacker sent to Buzz and Delete. It's in code! What does it say? Use this code breaker to find out.

The first letter is the letter in code. The second letter tells you what letter it is.

Z=A, Y=B, X=C, W=D, V=E, U=F, T=G, S=H, R=I, Q=J, P=K, O=L, N=M, M=N, L=O, K=P, J=Q, I=R, H=S, G=T, F=U, E=V, D=W, C=X, B=Y, A=Z

Message: HGLK GSLHV PRWH!

8) Hacker has hidden the encryptor chip in a locked chest. To unlock it, the CyberSquad needs to find the next number in this pattern:

1, 4, 7, 10, __. What is it?

9) The crab prince is having a party. He needs to estimate how many friends he can invite. Use this picture to help him estimate. What is the greatest number of crabs that can fit on the floo? Write the ketter of the estimate the Crab Prince should use.

We see a picture of a room with four square tiles. One tile has 12 crabs on it.

A) 21-30 crabs B) 31-40 crabs C) 41-50 crabs

10) Lady Ada is coming for a tea party with Motherboard. Digit needs to get this for them. But he can only see into the box from above, Which of these pictures shows this teapot from the top. Write the letter of the picture

The side photo shows a central elliptical shape, sort of like an egg standing on its end. There half of a ring on the right side. This is meant to be the handle of the teapot. There is an irregular squiggle shape attached to the left side. This is meant to be the spout of the teapot. We can see another elliptical shape on top of the central elliptical shape. This is meant to be the lid on the teapot. There is a circular shape on top of the lid. This is meant to be a knob to use when picking up the lid.

A) image A shows three concentric circles. The smallest circle is perhaps one-twentieth the area of the outer circle. The area of the medium-sized circle is perhaps three-fourths as big as the outer circle. There is a rounded rectangle protruding from the right side of the outer circle. There is a rounded triangle protruding from the left side of the outer circle.

B) Image B shows three concentric circles. The smallest circle is perhaps one-tenth the area of the larger circle. The area of the medium-sized circle is perhaps one-half as big as the outer circle. There is a rounded rectangle protruding from the left size of the medium-sized circle.

C) Image C shows one rounded rectangle inside another rounded rectangle. Both rounded rectangles are setup so that their longer sides are running horizontally, while their shorter sides are running vertically. Each rounded rectangle is perhaps one-fifth as large in the vertical direction as it is in the horizontal section. The inner rounded rectangle is perhaps nine-tenths the area of the outer rounded rectangle. The inner rounded rectangle has a a vertical line running through its entire vertical height at about one-fifth of the way from the left along its horizontal length.

Motherboard: Good luck, Cybermates!

I won't include all of the text about the contest rules, but I can show the approximate value of the prizes that they reported.

The grand prize winner's prize is valued at around $4,365.

The prize given to each of the first prize winners is valued at around $4,070.

The prize given to each of the second prize winners is valued at around $70.

Here's the list of winners. I thought about whether I should post it publicly. This page has been publicly available online for 20 years now, and all of the parents agreed to allow their kids names up here. We only get first names, towns, and their local PBS station. so nothing here would identify anyone on its own.

What do I think of this contest? It sounds like something that would have been a pretty big deal at the time, given the value of all of those prizes. The 2005 contest was certainly smaller in scale. I like that Matt, Inez, and Jackie were planning to buy Slider an MP3 player for his birthday. That is reflective of this contest happening 20 years ago.

I also like the idea of Motherboard and Lady Ada having a tea party. I don't know if Motherboard is capable of drinking the tea, so she may just be watching Ada drink the tea while they talk about nerd stuff. Then again, during Season 2 Episode 3 "Harriet Hippo and the Mean Green", the kids give Motherboard the potion that cures the Mean Green spell by dumping it into her cryoxide tank. Maybe she just dumps tea in there as well.

Hey Tumblr, can you figure out the Cyber Riddles? I'll put the answers under the read more, so I'll know if you cheated.

You cheated, didn't you?

Answer for #1: 11

Answer for #2: six-in-a-circle, four-in-a-circle, two-in-a-square

Answer for #3: 12

Answer for #4: C. Rectangle

Answer for #5: 10 snelfus

Answer for #6: 10 days

Answer for #7: STOP THOSE KIDS

Answer for #8: 13

Answer for #9: C. 41-50 crabs

Answer for #10: Drawing A.

[banannabethchase]

Jurassic Sanctuary

Chapter 2: Nick - also on AO3

~

Claudio takes Nick on a tour, where Nick refuses to follow directions and is introduced to consequences for it. The consequences, however, are big. And attractive.

~

Nick

He follows Claudio. “How’s Breeze?” Nick asks. “I was expecting him to come along. Or, like, meet him here with you.”

Claudio smiles. “Actually, he’s at home. Setting up the final touches of the nursery.”

“Oh duh!” Nick says. “God, that baby has to be nearly ready to pop. How’s Peyton?”

“About as good as I can assume someone is at 35 weeks pregnant,” Claudio chuckles. “Breeze visits her daily, and I’m getting in overtime to bulk up the paychecks while we’re both on paternity leave.”

Nick rolls his eyes. “Yeah, like Breeze will actually stop making his fashion videos.”

Claudio stops. “He will.” It’s the first insecurity Nick’s ever seen behind his eyes, and it makes him uncomfortable. “We have spoken about it at length. Both of us, for the first twelve weeks, no work beyond a video or two a week to make sure people know he’s not dead.”

“Oh.” Nick doesn’t even know what to say about that. “I – I know. You’ll both be great fathers.”

“Some things are more important than the videos, Nicholas,” Claudio admonishes. It makes Nick feel like a stupid little kid, the way Claudio speaks sometimes. Kind of makes him wish Breeze had married that weirdo guy he met in the fashion blog sphere before Claudio.

“I know that,” Nick says, a little too late. “So, um. Tell me about the projects.”

“You signed the NDA prior to coming on the island, correct?”

Nick nods. “I’m no stranger to NDAs.”

Claudio rolls his eyes. “I forget how you get.” He sighs. “Well, you can be assured that, as long as you follow the instructions of the staff, there is no chance of interacting or getting injured.”

Nick nods. “Follow instructions. Got it.”

“Do you?” Claudio asks. “I recall an event with you and Tyler a few years back with the triceratops at the museum in Houston.”

“I will argue until the day of my death,” Nick says, “that was Tyler’s fault.”

“I’m sure it was,” Claudio says. There’s a sparkle in his eye that assures Nick that, despite appearances, he has a mischievous side that matches Tyler. “But you still almost destroyed a priceless artifact.”

“Again, technically, Tyler almost destroyed it.”

“Tyler was on your shoulders.”

“Coercion,” Nick says, grinning. “I was forced to do it.”

“Well,” Claudio says, “be that as it may, don’t jump over any guardrails or anything.” His expression is stern. “Mox did something stupid a few months ago, thought he could balance to get a sample for Bryan from one of the blooms.” He shakes his head. “Let’s just say he had an interesting interaction with Jack.”

“Jack?”

“Yes,” and he says nothing more about it.

Claudio takes him through the first set of exhibits, letting him peer at plant samples and mushrooms from millions of years ago.

“I didn’t even know they had mushrooms,” Nick muses. “Guess I should have.”

“We would have called Bryan in to take you on this tour,” Claudio says as they walk through a new room. “But he’s working on his skin cream.”

Nick blinks. “Skin cream?”

Claudio nods. “Has multiple uses, from what I can understand. He really does have the expertise in the plant and fungi element.” He rolls his eyes. “I actually think it’s because he’s trying to figure out which ones he can live on and convince people are meat, but he hasn’t succeeded yet.”

When they reach a door with a complex sort of entrance, Claudio grins. “Ah, yes,” he says. “The locked wing.”

“Locked wing?” Nick asks. “Like, locked for everyone else but I’ll get to see it, wing?”

Claudio sighs. “Yes, but only because Tony gave me special permission because I accidentally talked you three up.” He sighs. “Truly, I owe you my current life and the life of my soon to be daughter, but you really are impossible. Nobody is supposed to have access to this area.”

“Why not?” Nick asks. “Are the dinos deadly? Am I going to get attacked?” The excitement wells. “Oh, my god, do you have Bigfoot?!”

“You,” Claudio says, “are the absolute worst.” He presses his hand to a computer screen, which moves a little like a scanner. Then he leans in, eye first. And then he says, “Castagnoli, Claudio.” Finally, the door opens, slowly, automated. “Welcome,” he says, “to the genetic evolution of man.”

Nick steps into the room, blinking. “The what now?”

“The genetic evolution – it was for the drama,” Claudio says. “Tyler says I should be more – stop laughing at me.”

“I’m not laughing!” Nick lies. “I’m – choking. On air.”

“I rue the day you came into my life,” Claudio deadpans.

“You do not,” Nick chirps, skipping around the exhibit as Claudio turns on the light. “That’s the day you and Breeze made it official, and if you two weren’t together, you wouldn’t have the baby on the way.” Nick leans over the railing. “Why’s there no screen here?”

“Get off of there!” Claudio gets a handful of Nick’s jacket and yanks him back down with one arm. Nick resists the urge to have certain sinful thoughts about his best friend’s husband. “Honestly, I have just told you not to do this.”

“I was leaning,” Nick says, wiggling out of the jacket. “Hah. Now I win.”

“If you do something stupid, I will not defend you to anyone,” Claudio grumbles. He leans against the wall. “There is no screen because the people in this exhibit are actually in their homes.”

Nick raises an eyebrow. “People? Excuse me?”

“They’re here voluntarily,” Claudio says. “Well, in a sense. They are essentially Mr. Khan’s children.”

“I thought Mr. Khan was, like, a permanent bachelor.” Nick hops up to sit on the railing, ignoring Claudio's eye roll. He’ll be fine. “He have some sort of affairs or something?”

“The elder Khan,” Claudio explains. “Get down from there.”

“I’m fine.” Nick waves him off. “But, like. How? I didn’t know there was more than one Khan kid.”

“As I stated previously,” Claudio says, and Nick’s not sure he’s ever looked so annoyed, “they aren’t people in the standard sense of the word. They are experiments. Genetic experiments.”

Nick has a thousand questions screaming through his mind, all insistent to be the first. The one that strikes him first is about to come out when a bolt of lightning, accompanied by earth-shattering thunder, strikes somewhere nearby.

“Nicholas!”

He’s falling before he realizes. And he hits the ground before he has time enough to fear it.

Well. He thought it was the ground. He sits up.

“What the eff?” he asks, looking around. He’s in the branches of a tree, body aching.

“Nicholas, get back – oh ��” Out comes a litany of swears from Claudio’s mouth. At least, Nick assumes they’re swears. They’re in German. Probably. And they’re drowned out by the onslaught of rain now dumping buckets down on him. He’s beginning to wish the coat was back on him.

“Get me out of here!” Nick yells. He can’t see the window anymore, only a speedily closing metal door.

“I can’t!” Claudio shouts at him. “The lockdown procedures – I will do what I can, Nick!”

And the door shuts.

Nick is stuck in a tree, in the pouring rain, without a jacket, in the middle of an experiment exhibit in a dinosaur sanctuary. If there were ever an event to earn it. “Fuck.”

~

He manages to get down the tree after longer than he would ever admit, stumbling into a puddle of chilly water up to his knees. The mud seeps into his sneakers, ruining them beyond any hope. He keeps them on, though, because he doesn’t know what kind of stuff is on this forest floor.

It’s nicer than any forest he’s been stuck in before, at least. And this time he doesn’t have a camera on him. It’s nice to not be making content of his misery, for once.

He’s been walking so long he barely registers the little home he comes upon, a quaint cabin reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie. The energy is ruined, though, by the highly complicated electrical setup on the side of the house. Relief flooding through him, he stomps toward the door. It’s either a staff building or some sort of summer home, and either is preferable to pouring rain.

“Hello!” he yells, knocking on the door. “Hello! Nick Jackson, visitor! Could I get some help here?”

The door opens hesitantly, the person behind the door only showing one leg covered in black sweatpants. “A visitor?”

“Yes,” Nick says. “And it’s quite literally pouring. Can I come in?”

“To my house?” the voice asks, warm and smooth. “That seems rather presumptuous.”

“Are you Tony’s dad or something?” Nick asks. “I’m friends with Claudio. Well, Claudio’s husband. Tony approved a visit.”

“I,” the person says, “am not Tony, nor his father.”

“Another staff member,” Nick says. “No worries. Is this like a staff lodge or something?”

“You are impossible.” The door swings open and Nick – Nick stares.

“This might be rude,” he says, blinking away what he thinks must be a hallucination, “but are those horns?”

“This is my face,” the man – dinosaur – dinosaurman – thing says. “But, yes.”

“I – okay.” Nick isn’t sure what to say next. “Hello.”

“Hello,” the marvel says. “You do seem uncomfortable. It would be rude to refuse you shelter.” He steps to the side and gestures into the little home.

If Nick were thinking, he wouldn’t go into a stranger’s house while he’s dripping wet and well out of his element. He wouldn’t smile at the person he’s unsure is defined as a man, worry about dripping all over the hallway rug, or feel self-conscious about how bad his hair must look.

“Come sit,” the dinosaur man says, gesturing toward the couch. “It’s cold outside. I’ll put some water on to boil.” His smile is shockingly soft and sweet. Nick is…intrigued. “Do you like tea?”

“I do,” Nick says. On a normal day, he likes it sweet, cold, and with a bunch of lemon, but he would drink anything warm right now. He shivers as the man’s back turns. “Um, sorry, this has got to be rude. But who – are you?” He almost said what.

“I,” the man says, “am one of a kind.”

“Yeah, no duh,” Nick scoffs. “There can’t possibly be anybody like you.”

He glances over his shoulder, green face amused. “Such a statement for a man who just met me.”

Nick shrugs. “I call ‘em as I see ‘em. And, look, I’ve been all over the world. I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

The man chuckles, something warm and rumbling. Nick shifts on the couch. “I appreciate the assessment,” the dinosaur man says. “Now, you are correct, as far as I know. There is only one of me. I am a genetic experiment, at least that’s what they’ve told me.” He turns up the heat under the water. “Human genes spliced with specially selected dinosaur genomes. It’s all very complicated.” He turns, leaning on the counter. Nick can’t resist the urge to scan the man’s body – long, broad. He can only imagine the strength under the soft clothing and tanned skin. “Frankly, I always preferred the humanities over the sciences.”

Nick nods. “Genetic experiment,” he says. “Only thing I can say is I was supposed to be a twin.”

“Ah,” the man says. His eyes sparkle. “An only child like me, then.”

“Not quite,” Nick says. “My older brother, Matt. He’s here with me too.”

The man tilts his head. Nick finds the horns frame his face nicely. They add character, extra expression. He likes it. “Here with you?”

“We came to visit,” Nick explains. “We really like dinosaurs.”

“You do,” the man says. He smiles. “Good to know.”

Nick shifts, crossing his legs at the ankles. “So, um,” he says. “I’m Nick, by the way.” He meets them man’s eyes, and tries his best to stay neutral. “What’s your name?”

“Devlin,” the dinosaur man says. “I call myself Devlin.” The kettle begins to whistle, and Devlin pours the water over two mugs with tea bags in them.

Nick nods. “Hi, Devlin.” He shouldn’t ask, but he does. “And – and what does everyone else call you?”

“Devlin, the same,” he explains. He sits on the couch next to Nick, handing him the steaming mug “But, for a while, before they knew what to name me, I was nameless. The elder Khan decided to discourage people from interacting with me. It took meeting Tony, when we were both young and he snuck in, for me to get a true name.”

“That sounds awful,” Nick whispers.

Devlin shrugs as he plays with the tea bag. “It was okay. I got to choose my own name. Tony was older, but seemed to know about as much about the world beyond books as I did. We chose my name based on a book he read to me.” He smiles, and Nick wishes he could step into the memories. “I can’t remember what book now. But it was nice.”

A million questions run through Nick’s mind, but he settles on asking, “So you live all by yourself?”

“Not quite,” Devlin says. “There’s another experiment, Jack, in this little environment. But he doesn’t often connect with me.” He offers a smile. “He’s a bit shy. Doesn’t enjoy speech. Tony and I learned sign language together and taught him, so that’s how we communicate.” He takes a careful sip. Nick follows suit, and the tea burns, but just a little bit.

“I know a little sign,” Nick says, “but, I mean, nothing like you all do, I’m guessing. Does he live in this part of the sanctuary?”

Devlin nods. “He does.”

Nick fights the urge to glance over his shoulder. “Is he, like, here now?”

Devlin laughs, and it’s sweet and honest and Nick’s worried he’s about to get addicted to it. “Not right now, no. When the storms hit, he tends to spend time in his house alone. He’s always hated thunder.”

A crash booms, closer than the past few, and Nick jumps. If he lands closer to Devlin than he’d been beforehand, that’s a coincidence.

“Don’t worry,” Devlin says. “I’ll keep you safe from the big, scary thunder.” His hand is huge next to Nick’s where they rest on the couch.

“Promise?” Nick jokes. He catches sight of lightning out the small window, the rain continuing to pour down. He shivers in his wet clothes.

“You’re cold!” Devlin says. “Oh, of course. Tea wouldn’t possibly be enough. Let me get you something warm.”

“Oh, you don’t have to –”

“Please,” Devlin says, smiling. “I’ve never had a real guest before.”

Nick nods and smiles. “Okay.” Their gazes linger on each other. This should feel weirder than it does. “It’s an honor to be the first.”

He takes the moment to look around the little home. It reminds him of a one or two bedroom apartment – through a door, he can see a bed and dresser. He can see a hallway, and can assume down it is a bathroom, maybe an office. It’s cozy in the living room, kitchen in the line of sight along with the front door.

“Here,” Devlin says, still smiling. “I’m sure it’s far too big for you, but it will keep you warmer than,” he looks at Nick, “that.”

“It’s a romper,” Nick explains, taking the blanket of a flannel from Devlin’s hands. It’s soft and worn, blue plaid. He pulls it on over his damp romper and immediately feels better. “Thank you.”

“Tell me about these rompers,” Devlin says, laughter in his eyes. “They seem less than appropriate for trekking through a nature preserve.”

“I wasn’t thinking I would be trekking,” Nick says. “I was visiting. With my brother, and our best friend.”

Devlin’s eyes go wistful. “I always wanted a brother,” he murmurs. “Jack was close, but…” He trails off. “I suppose maybe I’m yearning for more human interaction than I knew.”

“You’ve never spoken to a human off the island?” Nick asks. “Other than Tony and his dad and the staff?”

“Oh, I’ve spoken to them,” Devlin says. “Many times. My instructors and I converse very frequently via phone or video chat, but I always keep my video off.” He reaches up to touch at his horns, fingertips gliding over half-scale, half skin green space across his cheeks. “I decided early on to follow the initial suggestion that I keep my face hidden.”

“I don’t know why,” Nick says, “you’re gorgeous.”

He hadn’t meant to say that part out loud.

“Really?”

Nick looks at him. Really looks. “You don’t believe me?” He shuffles closer. Their pinkies touch.

“I suppose I’ve never heard it before.”

Nick’s not sure what’s going on, but he knows he’s leaning in closer. He doesn’t know what to do, only that he wants to do it.

Devlin’s kiss is gentle and quick, only a hint of a thing. Nick’s entire body is on alert, aching for more. He pulls back to see Devlin’s green face smiling.

“Is it strange,” Devlin says, “if I tell you that, in my thirties, that’s my first kiss?”

Nick smiles. “No. Are you okay?”

“I’m great,” Devlin says. He presses his lips together. “You must be hungry.”

Nick shrugs. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Impose?” Devlin chuckles. “Certainly not. You can’t imagine how many years I’ve wanted to cook for someone else.” He stands and walks over to the kitchenette with surprising grace. “You can only practice jerk chicken and beef Wellington so many times for yourself before it begins to feel banal.”

Nick nods. “Okay,” he decides. “I – okay. Will you be able to cook without power?”

“Gas stove,” Devlin explains. He pulls a lighter from a drawer and lights the stove. “You could say I prefer a more primitive method.” He winks, and Nick is having a rough time staying normal.

Nick watches as Devlin expertly prepares something with spices and peppers, chicken. It smells heavenly. “Tell me about the dish,” Nick says. “How did you learn?”

Apparently, Devlin’s spent years learning different recipes from youtubers and cookbooks around the world. He keeps his own garden in the back of the house, where he gets most of his vegetables. Others are shipped in by his request. Nick listens and tastes as Devlin explains the necessary spices to create the correct depth of flavor, not even reacting to the thunder in the background anymore.

“This is karahi,” he explains. “Try it.”

Nick is immediately flooded with flavor as he tries the sauce. “That’s incredible.”

“I’ve done my best to honor its origins over the years I’ve made it,” Devlin says. “It’s good?”

“It’s great.”

“I have some tortilla, which isn’t the standard naan, but we can make it work.” He smiles.

“You really are a self-made man,” Nick says. He sees the tortillas on the counter. They look better than anything he could buy in a grocery store. “No one would know you hadn’t been out in the world before.”

Devlin sighs. “I do my best to pretend, but the face.” He gestures to it. Reptilian has always given Nick the connotation of sneaky, sleazy. Maybe untrustworthy. But Devlin’s reptilian smile is anything but that, more sheepish and sweet. “I doubt the world would be willing to give it a chance.”

“I would.” Nick’s confident in his words. “If – if you were interested in that as an option, I mean. My brother and I – well, we’re sort of famous. On YouTube and video channels.” It hits him that Devlin may have seen him before. “Um. Not like the cooks you watch. We sort of…” He trails off. He doesn’t know how to explain he reports on celebrity gossip when people like Devlin do so much more with their lives. “Matt reports on fashion and I report on celebrity events.”

“Would you believe I’ve seen a video or two?” Devlin asks. “You’re much more meanspirited in the videos than you are in real life.”

Nick shrugs. “It’s sort of a character I play. I’m much less judgmental to the people I meet in real life.” He pauses. “Also, most of the people I insult really bad are kind of awful.”

Devlin nods. “I can understand that.” He finishes cooking in silence while Nick watches. He feels the need to be close to Devlin, and hopes he’s not hovering.

“And there we are,” Devlin says. “I regret my choice not to have a dining room table.” He frowns.

“No, it’s fine!” Nick says. “I haven’t had, like, a homecooked meal since Breeze decided he could make pasta and screwed up alfredo sauce.”

“Breeze…do you mean Tyler?” Devlin walks toward the couch with two bowls, a tortilla in each. Nick follows as he watches Devlin scoop some of the karahi in the bread. “Has the baby come yet? I’ve been speaking with Claudio almost daily.” He smiles, wistful. “I can’t wait to see a picture.”

“Not yet,” Nick says. He mirrors Devlin’s motions, finding himself clunky and disastrous. He only just manages to catch a pepper before it slides onto his romper.

“Here,” Devlin says, smiling. “Let me help.” He takes the tortilla from Nick’s hand and expertly slides some karahi on it. “Open.”

Nick’s heart races as he takes a bite. He can’t be held responsible for the moan that leaves his lips. Anyone, man, dinosaur, child, whatever, would have the same reaction. When he opens his eyes, savoring the flavor, Devlin’s eyes are heat and flame on him.

“It’s incredible,” Nick whispers. “I didn’t – I haven’t…” He doesn’t know what he’s trying to say, only that he hopes Devlin understands.

Devlin nods and takes another bite, eyes still on Nick. “I’m glad to see you enjoy it.”

They laugh as Nick learns how to scoop, Devlin’s large hand helping him make the proper movements. Nick’s on the last bite and goes a little intense, scooping a whole pepper onto the tortilla.

“Oh, hold on –”

Nick shoves a large bite in his mouth and chews. And then his entire face is on fire. “Oh, my god,” he says gracefully through a mouthful of burning hellfire. He swallows, unsure what else to do. “Oh, my god, that was so hot.”

Devlin winces. “Yes, I can see – I would have recommended you didn’t eat half a jalapeño pepper, but you didn’t give me the time to stop you.”

Nick grabs for his tea, but Devlin’s hand stops him.

“Do you want me to burn into the stratosphere?” Nick asks. He thinks, perhaps, he can see the heat bubbling up as he looks around frantically.

“Tortilla,” Devlin says firmly. “It will be more effective at fixing the heat. Water will make it worse.”

Nick nods, willing to do anything to make it stop, and shoves the tortilla in his mouth. The burn dulls to something tolerable and he relaxes, flopping against the back of Devlin’s couch. Devlin’s chuckling as Nick finishes chewing. “You could have warned me earlier,” Nick says. “That was mean.”

“I assure you, it wasn’t intentional.” Devlin smiles. He watches Nick as he squirms, just a little. “I assumed I had a limited spice tolerance, but I also assumed you would know from sight not to eat an entire jalepeno in one bite.”

Nick sighs. “Well, at least I’m warm now.” He shoots a smile at Devlin.

Devlin’s expression shifts. “I haven’t given you a full set of warm clothes!” he says. “I should provide you with more than just the flannel.”

“It’s okay!” Nick says. “No, really, I – it’s fine.” He smiles. “The food was plenty.”

“You must be cold, though,” Devlin says. “Come, you can shower.”

“I thought the power was dead?”

“I work with solar for 50% of my energy,” Devlin explains. “Tony and I designed it when we were kids. It doesn’t have enough push yet to power a whole house, but I use it to heat my water for showers.” He shrugs. “If you’d like to, that is.”

Nick nods. “Yeah, I – I think…” He trails off, thinking of himself naked and wet and so, so, willing in the home of this incredible man, and not doing anything about it. “I think, um, maybe, you should join me.”

Devlin’s eyebrows raise. “Do you, now.”

Nick nods. “If you want. Showers can be, like, difficult. In a new person’s house.” He fights the smile tempting his lips. “It’s a whole thing.”

“Well, I couldn’t have my guest confused,” Devlin murmurs.

He leans in and kisses Nick again, heat exploding in Nick’s body oh so different from the pepper before. Nick meets Devlin, damp clothes and skin touching Devlin’s shirtless chest. Before he knows it, Nick finds himself in Devlin’s lap, straddling his hips, very aware of something he’d like to know better. “We, um,” Nick says, unsure of when the beard burn kicked in on his neck. “Shower?”

“Shower,” Devlin murmurs.

They stumble into the bedroom and Nick yanks Devlin on top of him first, grinning up. “I figure we could start here.”

“Reasonable,” he says.

They make out like horny teenagers, Devlin’s sweats and Nick’s romper and the flannel falling to the floor. He doesn’t want to rush this, doesn’t want to scare Devlin or make him feel pressured.

“You said, earlier,” Nick says, forcing his hands to stop shaking. “That was your first kiss.”

Devlin nods above him, caging Nick in but without any part of him touching. “Yes,” he breathes.

“So this…” Nick reaches up and touches Devlin’s face. His beautiful, green face. “You’ve never done this before.”

Devlin smiles. “Well, darling, you understand I can order from Amazon, correct?”

Nick laughs. “Yeah, and?”

“I may not have experience, per se,” he says. He draws open a drawer and pulls out every possible sex toy Nick could never have imagined. “But I do have video, Nick. I know what to do.” He winks. “Though, with a person, it is a little different. Perhaps you could give me some assistance.”

Nick nods, almost too quickly. “Yeah,” he says. “I mean – yeah, I can.” He’s never been somebody’s first before. He’s never felt like it mattered how he did it before. “What kind of assistance?”

Devlin’s smile is shockingly knowing. “Why don’t you get yourself ready, for whatever you want, and I can watch.”

Nick exhales. “Jesus,” he says, unable to fight the little laugh. “You, uh. You have a lot of – a lot of game for a solitary superhuman.”

“Superhuman,” Devlin says, like he’s testing the word in his mouth. “Huh. I don’t think I’ve thought of it that way before.”

The two of them have hands everywhere as they make their way to the shower. Devlin’s skin is warm, soft. Nothing like scales, which he finds himself expecting.

Devlin is intentional as he kisses, if a little clumsy. It’s charming. Nick’s never been anybody’s first anything before, and it’s a responsibility he’s willing to hold.

“Okay,” Nick says, stepping into the water. It’s warm, not hot. Comfortable. “So, it has to be the right kind or – oh.” He smiles at the bottle of lube in Devlin’s hand. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

“You act as if I haven’t had thirty years of research to prepare for a moment like this,” Devlin says. “Go on. Show me what to do.”

Nick sighs and turns, leaning over a little. He feels observed as he slips a hand behind himself and decides, for this moment, he’ll take his time with it. He’s only had a few relationships – Matt’s more of the playboy of the two of them, and Kenny a close second – but this he’s gotten good at this over the years. Devlin watches, attention burning flame, and Nick tries not to grin too hard. He hasn’t felt this kind of watched in years. Like he wants it. Like he’s asking for the eyes instead of expecting them.

“You,” Devlin says, voice reverent, “are stunning.”

“Yeah?” Nick asks, finally warmed from the water. He turns, fingers slipping out of himself. “You are, too.” He steps toward Devlin. “Do you want to touch me?”

Devlin’s breath comes out slowly. “Of course I do,” he says. “I – yes. But, um.” He looks shy again. Nick wants to keep the memory forever. “But – I suppose it’s a bit silly, but I’ve always wanted someone whose hair I could wash.” His smile is sweet beyond words. “You could call it a fantasy of mine.”

Nick thinks to the multitude of hair products, conditioners and shampoos and toners in his bag back in the rooms. He glances to the two in one on the counter.

“Yes,” Nick says. “I’ve always wanted someone to wash my hair.”

Devlin blinks. “You’ve never had that?”

Nick shakes his head, surprised at his answer. “No, never. I – no one’s ever said they wanted to, and I was always too, I don’t know, weird about it to ask.”

Devlin leans in and cups Nick’s face in his hands, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. “I want to,” Devlin says quietly.

His fingers are careful but thorough, massaging Nick’s scalp well enough that he can’t help a moan.

“Good?” Devlin asks, and Nick can hear the knowing smile behind it.

Nick makes a weird noise in the back of his throat, something he hopes is affirming and attractive. “You, um,” he says, wanting to feel those hands other places. “You can touch me more.”

“I can?” Devlin asks. His hands slide out of Nick’s hair and settle on his hips. “How about here?”

Nick hums. “And other places, too.”

Devlin chuckles. He reaches his hands around toward Nick’s stomach, not quite at his dick. “Here?”

Nick whines. “Touch me,” he pleads. “If – if you want.”

“I’ve wanted to touch someone else for a long time,” Devlin growls. He reaches a big hand and gentle, so incredibly gently, circles Nick’s dick. Nick can’t help it – he moans, openly, and drops his head back on Devlin’s shoulder. He can hear a sharp inhale from Devlin.

“You…” Devlin says, quietly. “My god.”

Nick laughs. “You’re pretty incredible, too.”

“Incredible isn’t enough,” Devlin says. He begins murmuring something into Nick’s ear, maybe French, or Spanish, he’s not able to tell. The sounds switch, almost frantically, as they fall from Devlin’s lips. “See?” he mumbles. “I know six languages and I can’t find any words to match what this moment means to me.”

“You have no idea how hot that is,” Nick manages to say. Everything’s swirling around him with meaning he struggles to catch. “I – are you – do you want to?” His hips twitch back, bumping into Devlin’s cock. “Because I do.”

“You are certain?” Devlin spins Nick in his arms. His green face looks fairytale as the water drips down it, horns and scales merging into soft skin and a well kept beard. Nick wants to be devoured, consumed, and he doesn’t know how to ask for it. “I want you to be sure,” Devlin says, brushing damp hair off of Nick’s shoulder. “I want to you to know – to know it’s this you’re asking it from.” He gestures to himself, height and muscle and skin and scale. “I want you to know it’s me.”

“I know it’s you,” Nick says, reaching up to stroke Devlin’s cheek. “That’s why I want it. Only because it’s you.”

Devlin hauls him close, hands on Nick’s waist, and the kiss is electricity enough to power the whole campus, Nick thinks. He throws his arms around Devlin’s neck and presses against him, hoping his intention and need is written across every inch of his skin. Devlin grunts, hands gripping Nick’s hips like he’s fighting to grab somewhere else. “You’re certain?”

Nick pulls away. “I’ve never wanted to be with someone more than I do right now.” He turns around and sticks out his ass. He throws a look over his shoulder, glancing down at the thick, long, unexpectedly ribbed cock. “Literally never. Oh my god.” He reaches over and grabs the lube, shoves it in Devlin’s hand. Devlin angles the showerhead away and then slides a finger between Nick’s cheeks. Nick hums, pushing back.

“Do I…?” Devlin asks.

“If you want to,” Nick says. “I can – I’m, um, good to go, if not.”

Devlin chuckles. “Well, I would like to be thorough.” He kisses the side of Nick’s neck. “Intentional. You understand.”

Nick moans, dropping his head forward on the shower wall as a finger slides inside him. He’s ready even before this, but Devlin’s so much more careful than he’s ever been with himself. Slow.

“Good?”

Nick nods. “I – another, please,” he mumbles. “If you want.”

“I certainly do.” He gently eases a second finger in and Nick’s about to lose his mind with the need to be completely filled. “This is beautiful. You’re beautiful.” All Nick can do is listen. “I never – I understood, truly, what sex was. But I didn’t realize the power my partner would hold over me.” He kisses the top of Nick’s head. “Nicholas, I’m afraid I won’t be one to have one night stands.”

“Good,” Nick sighs, rocking back against Devlin’s fingers, “because I know for a fact I’m not.”

Devlin seems entranced with the way he can draw sounds from Nick just with his fingers, because he takes his time. Nick’s never felt this close to sobbing from somebody’s fingers, usually needs to get fucked with reckless abandon to feel this way. But it’s different. He feels different. Partners in the past haven’t made him feel this much.

“Now,” Devlin says, “when it comes to protection –”

“Totally up to you,” Nick interrupts. “I’ve tested negative recently, and haven’t had any partners in a while.”

“And you know I am,” Devlin pauses, a laugh in his voice, “new to all of this.”

Nick’s head swims with the knowledge that Devlin is trusting him to be the first, that he may get to feel Devlin come inside him, that he gets to take care of Devlin the way he wasn’t cared for his first time.

“Whatever you want,” Nick says, “and nothing else. I promise.”

Devlin slowly eases his fingers out, leaving Nick empty for the quickest moment before Devlin turns him and leans in for a kiss. It starts sweet, gentle, then escalates back into fireworks and electricity and promise. “What you want matters, too, Nicholas.”

“What I want,” Nick says, “is you.”

Devlin turns him and presses him against the wall. “Well, for the sake of transparency, I intend to come inside you,” he growls into Nick’s ear. “Is that alright?”

“Effing – that’s more than alright,” Nick says, heart racing. “Yes. I want you to.”

“And you’ve seen that my anatomy is a bit, how should I say,” Devlin chuckles, “atypical?”

“Part of the draw,” Nick breathes. “You’re incredible.”

“As are you, beautiful,” Devlin says, lining himself up. “As are you.”

Nick relaxes, melts like putty, as Devlin slowly, achingly slowly, slides the first few inches of himself into Nick. The shape of it is familiar, but the ridges and bumps are different. Magical different. Making Nick’s eyes black out with the pleasure of it, different.

“Oh my god,” Nick says. “I – I don’t know if I can take all of you.”

“Shh,” Devlin says, “that’s okay. I don’t expect any more than you feel comfortable to give.”

Nick has fallen in love with this dinosaur, and there’s nothing else to it. He’d never believed in love at first sight. Infatuation, maybe. He’d loved partners in the past with almost all of himself.

But he’d never fallen this hard this fast.

Devlin is incredibly careful – never pushing too far, never going too deep.

“You can – more,” Nick pants, shifting his hips backward.

“Are you certain?” Devlin asks, pulling back slowly. The head of his cock grazes Nick’s prostate and his eyes roll back in his head.

“Yep,” Nick squeaks. “So certain. Please.”

It’s probably the limit, for now, but god is it good. Nick wants to hold onto this moment for decades. And maybe repeat it for the same amount of time.

“Alright?” Devlin asks, voice tight.

“Definitely,” Nick gasps. “I – I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold out, though.”

“Oh, thank god,” Devlin chuckles. “I understand there are adages about a man’s stamina during their first time.”

“There should probably be some about a man’s first time with a dinosaur, because this is so good,” Nick says. He reaches down to wrap a hand around his cock. “Yeah, this isn’t gonna last long.”

“Let me,” Devlin murmurs in his ear. It’s a hand around Nick’s cock, a few pumps in time with his thrusts, and Nick’s gone. He moans loudly enough that he’s pretty sure somebody on this giant campus must have heard it, almost losing his legs from underneath him. Devlin’s thrusts increase in speed, but not in aggression or roughness. Nick wants to kiss him for it, but he doesn’t have time. With a sound that is more animal than man, Devlin’s filling Nick, adding his name somewhere along the growl.

“Nicholas,” he breathes, dropping his head down on Nick’s shoulder. “I think you may have exceeded my expectations, beautiful.”

Nick giggles, lightheaded and sated. He squirms as Devlin pulls out of him. “Oh, that’s going to be messy,” he mumbles.

“Good thing we’re in a shower then,” Devlin says. “May I help clean you up?”

Nick nods.

The water is a bit startling, becoming colder as the cistern starts to run out of the heated water, but Devlin is careful and gentle.

“That’s good,” Nick says, and he doesn’t want to add that he wants to hold a little more of Devlin inside of him. It might be going too far, for his first time.

“You’re right,” Devlin says. He stands and turns the water off, wrapping Nick in his arms. “We should get a towel. Warm up.”

Nick nods, beaming. “Do you have, like, extra-large sized towels?”

“I use bath sheets,” Devlin explains. “You could definitely call them extra-large.”

Nick feels blanketed by Devlin’s towels, but it’s in a good way. The two of them curl up and make their way to Devlin’s bed, wrapped up together.

“You’re welcome to take a nap,” Devlin says, tying his damp hair up and back. He offers a hair tie to Nick, who accepts. “You’ve had quite the day.”

Nick barks out a laugh. “No kidding.” A yawn betrays his attempts to stay awake. “I think I will take some rest. Nothing much to do other than sleep until the power comes back.”

Devlin picks up a book. “You could read.”

Nick presses his lips to me. “Um.”

Devlin tilts his head. “Yes?”

“Would you read to me?” Nick almost whispers. “You don’t have to.”

“I would love to,” Devlin says, face brightening. “I’m right in the middle of this one,” he shakes a book in his hand, “is that alright?”

“That’s great,” Nick says, beaming up at Devlin. “I just want to hear your voice.”

Nick is lulled to sleep by Devlin’s steady, low tone. He’s not quite sure what he’s talking about, Nick himself having zero background in medieval poetry structures, but that doesn’t matter.

He’s cozy. He’s safe.

And he may be a little in love.

~

Nick wakes from cozy sleep to hear footsteps and low voices. The door creaks open, and Nick blinks himself awake, weary. “Do you mind?” he mumbles. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

Claudio’s staring at him, jaw practically on the floor. “I’m – we wanted…” He trails off. Nick’s never seen him thrown off before. It’s kind of hilarious. “Devlin, what is happening?!”

“Hello there, Claudio,” Devlin says pleasantly as he sits back into bed. He wraps his arm around Nick’s shoulders. “Has the power in the campus returned?”

“Not – not quite,” Claudio says. He looks over his shoulder. “Tell, uh. Tell Willow that Nick is accounted for and safe.” He blinks. “Nicholas, I had been spending the past four hours worrying that I would have to tell my husband his best friend had been devoured by raptors.”

Nick snorts. “Wrong dinosaur.”

“Good lord,” Claudio says, shaking his head. “Okay. I’m – we will be leaving. Devlin, we will notify you on your intercom if and when the electricity is fully functional again. Nicholas…” He trails off. Watching him try to rationalize and process what’s in front of him is kind of hilarious, Nick thinks. He’ll have to ask Breeze if this is how he’d looked when Breeze proposed. “Nicholas, I think you’re in safe hands, but I’ll expect the two of you to return to the Center once it’s safe to do so, as neither of you have appropriate gear.”

“I don’t have any gear,” Nick grins at him.

“I don’t need to know,” Claudio says, shaking his head. “For the record, Devlin is far more the gentleman than anyone you’ve brought home, Nicholas, and unfortunately my loyalties lie with him above you.” His eyebrow raises.

“Chill, Swissman,” Nick says, cuddling into Devlin’s chest. “I don’t plan on screwing this up.”

~

Mini playlist: C’Mon – Kesha Love You a Little Bit – Tanner Adell I Think I’m in Love – Kat Dahlia Sledgehammer – Fifth Harmony

[aboysbestfriendishismum]

Chapter 61 - Shirts, questions and the Fonz with a moustache

In the previous chapter: Jerry goes on his blind date and meets Heather. Surprisingly, she too reveals that she's not interested in meeting guys at the moment. Realizing that they are very similar and in the same situation, she convinces Jerry to pretend that the two of them are dating so as to be left alone by their respective friends. During a question-and-answer game between Stone and Grace, the two discuss how she hasn't let him sleep with her in her bed yet due to her insecurities. In the end Stone manages to calm her down and convince her to take this step with him. Eddie and Angie finally manage to spend an evening together, with pizza and horror movies. Eddie tries again to make her change her mind about Cameron Crowe's film and reveals that for him it's a special occasion: exactly one month has passed since their first kiss. Angie feels guilty because she hadn't thought about the anniversary at all, not being used to this type of things in her past relationships.

***

He fills me up, he gives me love More love than I've ever seen He's all I got, he's all I got in this world But he's all the man that I need

To a casual observer this scene might seem surreal, I must admit. If my life was a TV series and today's episode began with this scene from this morning, as a viewer, a thousand alarm bells would go off for me, ranging from "It's an alternative reality resulting from time travel gone wrong” to “A catastrophe is just about to happen.” Because me, Angie Pacifico, making pancakes on a Wednesday morning, still in my robe despite having class in just over an hour, dancing to the top 100 on the radio and singing (destroying) Whitney Houston is not something you see every day. I actually turned the volume up for Eddie because I suspect that I-never-sleep-I-only-live-at-night-in-san-diego-I-went-surfing-at-the-crack-of-dawn guy has no intention of getting out of bed. This morning I opened my eyes before my killer alarm clock and I promptly deactivated it to let him rest. I took the fastest and quietest shower ever and now I'm here. Since we are always in a rush and don't spend time together regularly, it seemed like a nice thing to prepare a nice breakfast to spoil him a little and be able enjoy a few more minutes together, sitting at a table, talking and joking, rather than sharing the usual quick bye and go each their own way. And I'm also including Meg in this because, with the end of school approaching, the tattoo thing and all the side jobs she's taking on to supplement her income, even having a nice chat with my roommate has become complex. I thought the smell of breakfast and coffee would be enough to give Ed a sweeter good morning than my hated alarm clock, but I was wrong. I pour another big scoop of dough into the pan and smile when I hear the sound of the shower water running, thinking that my melodious chanting has done its duty, but I immediately change my mind when I hear Meg's voice singing along to the chorus of Freedom 90. Well, if I didn't make it, she'll take care of throwing him out of bed with the help of George Michael.

I take the plate with all the pancakes and put it in the center of the table, the bottle of chocolate syrup is already there. Since I don't want to be seen as someone who only eats junk, I decide to also get some yogurt and fruit, which always goes well on pancakes. I head towards the fridge dancing, but not before shouting EVERYBODY DANCE NOW! together with the radio. I stick my head into the fridge and when I back up and close the door I almost have a heart attack and almost project yogurt and berries on to the ceiling.

"EDDIE!"

"Hey," he says to me, leaning against the doorframe, sleepy and smiling.

"WHAT THE FUCK" I leave everything on the table safely and regain color.

"Good morning to you too, kitten"

"Fucking kitten, you appear like this out of nowhere, you scared the fuck out of me!"

"Forgive me, I didn't want to scare you. It's just that… you were all focused on dancing, I couldn't interrupt you" he explains with that adorable stupid face that… nothing, I have class in an hour, I can't think about these things .

“How long have you been there?”

"A little while" he's still standing at the kitchen door. Still standing there in just his boxers and his black and red plaid button down shirt. I repeat, Angie , YOU CAN'T THINK ABOUT THAT NOW.

"You could have found an alternative and gentler way to announce your presence, right?" I go back to the unlit stove and pretend to turn it off, then move to the sink and pretend to fiddle with something else until I feel his hands on my shoulders.

"And miss this show? I'm not that stupid" he kisses my cheek and then rests his chin on my right shoulder.

"The ideal show for a traumatic awakening. Hey, be careful or you'll get burnt, it's still hot" I warn him when I see him reach out for the pan, perhaps to put it to wash.

"I'm already on fire anyway" he puts everything in the sink and then hugs me from behind, leaning on me again.

"Eheheh what?"

“Do you have any idea how sexy you were?” he whispers as his fucking grabby hands do the work.

"Am I sexy in the kitchen? At the stove? In one of the stereotyped roles in which the most vulgar sexism imprisons women?" I turn towards him in an attempt to get him off me, but with little success.

“I actually meant dancing in a robe, but honestly this is even fucking better” very poor considering now he's just grabbed at my ass and his mouth is getting dangerously close to my sweet spot on my neck.

"Oh ok so… years of struggles for women's emancipation reduced to a fetish? Feminism that exists only for the sexual gratification of you, straight white man?"

"Stop it or I'll have to fuck you here and now" he backs away from my neck just long enough to point this thing out in my ear, and then goes back to his actions.

"Eheh, you can't anyway" I push him away perhaps too impulsively, I turn around again and start filling the sink with water and then take the dish detergent.

"Why?" please, Eddie, you're not helping right now.

"Because… because Meg is over there…" and again, his hands on my hips "And then we have to eat and I have to go to class"

"Ok, wait," Eddie turns off the tap, takes my hand and, pushing me into a sort of pirouette, forces me to turn towards him again "point A"

"Haha, you even have points ready first thing in the morning!"

"I was born ready. Point A: Meg is over there, she's not here" first he looks towards the door, then directs his eye back towards me and winks.

"But she can arrive at any moment" I reply, but I'm not as quick to fight against his hands, which start unbuttoning my robe.

"We just need to pay attention when we hear Mariah Carey coming over," he jokes, making fun of the song she's singing now.

"What if we're too distracted?" I close a button, he unbuttons two.

"Point B:" he continues, not caring about my objections, "we can still eat... after..."

"After what?" he just looks up to smile at me, without a word.

"Point C: I'll give you a ride to class so you won't be late" and there go two more buttons.

"But-" I try to protest, not so strongly. He silences me by kissing me, softly, but with a certain firmness, and now my robe is completely open.

"Come on, let's go to your room, five minutes"

"It will never be five minutes, Eddie"

"Wanna bet?" my robe is on the floor and his hands are under my pajama top, threatening to send that flying too. Until a detail belatedly catches my attention.

"Eddie, da-… um, sorry, but what are you wearing?"

"I'm overdressed, right? I'll fix in a sec!" he wiggles his eyebrows like an idiot, starts to take off his shirt, but I stop him.

"No, I mean, don't you see what you've got on? Didn't you notice?" I start laughing and this very moment he start to give in a little and lets go of me. I take the opportunity to pull myself together and retrieve my dressing gown from the floor.

"What is it? Did I put it on backwards?" he looks at his shirt without understanding, and then looks at me, sulkily, when I put my robe back on.

"No, you put it on just right, but it's mine, can't you see?" I reveal by caressing his chest (Jesus!) with the excuse of pointing out the pockets on the front of my checked shirt, very similar to his "Yours doesn't have these"

"Oh shit, in the daze of waking up I must have taken yours instead of mine, they look the same"

"How did you not notice? Can't you see that it's a girl's shirt? The buttons are on the other side" I button up a couple of them and in doing so I notice how comfortable my shirt looks on him. Very comfy. Too comfy. He swims in it. It's obvious he didn't notice, if I was a nice size SMALL or EXTRASMALL he wouldn't be able to fit a single arm in this fucking shirt. But no, he didn't pay attention to it, because his girlfriend is a heavyweight. Well he should have noticed for the opposite reason, that is that he could fit his whole band in that shirt.

"Ah! That's why I couldn't fucking button it up! I felt stupid, for a moment I thought I was stoned or was having an aneurysm or something hahaha"

"You're insane" I shake my head and take the plates to put them on the table, turning my back to him to not to show him my face, darkened by the previous thoughts. Why does my brain always have to ruin the best moments?

"I know, I know. Anyway it's comfortable and it smells like you, I think I'll keep it. Can I?" I turn around in puzzlement and when I look at him he takes the hems of the shirt and closes them tightly over his chest, miming a hug. Then he shoves his nose against the fabric of the sleeve and pretends to be inebriated by my perfume, emitting a dramatic satisfied sigh.

“Which shitty romantic comedy did you come from, can you explain?” I look at him perplexed and on the inside I thank him for making me forget my fucking negative thoughts in a second.

"I'm not romantic and I'm not funny" he replies very seriously.

"And in any case the cliché should be the other way around: in any self-respecting romance flick, it's the girl who gets up in the morning and puts on her man's shirt or t-shirt. And he obviously enjoys the view"

"And since when do you respect gender clichés? Why is it always the male eye only that needs to be pleased?" he leans back on the kitchen counter and as he does so the edges of his shirt widen again.

"Shut up or I'll have to… um… jump on you here and now" I half-quote his line from earlier.

"...said the girl, giving him an excellent reason not to stop at all." Eddie walks up to me again in a threatening way (yeah, okay…), but this time it goes badly for him. I think I've never loved and hated Mariah Carey at the same time as much as now.

"Somedaaay Hey Heeeey! Oh hi guys, good morning" Meg enters the kitchen and I don't know if she doesn't notice me and Eddie because her attention is all on the table or if she's just pretending.

"HI"

"Good morning Meg" Eddie and I drift apart like two magnets placed in front of each other. He turns around trying to fasten the remaining buttons on his/my shirt, even though they're backwards, while I dedicate myself to distributing the pancakes on the plates.

“Did I interrupt something?” I correct myself, she noticed and doesn't even pretend she didn't, while she squeezes chocolate onto her pancakes.

“Yes, a debate about feminism” Eddie gives me a flying kiss on the cheek and sits down at the table.

"You can't just flirt like normal couples, huh?" Meg winks at me as I sit down too, resigned to her comments.

"We're not normal individually, let alone as a couple" observes Eddie and he's not entirely wrong. He also goes for the chocolate syrup, so the only one who will give a change to the yogurt will be me, obviously.

“Anyway, when are you going to ask him him to move in here with us?” Meg looks at me first and then, this time, the wink is for Eddie.

"What??"

"So we'll have the cool breakfast every morning"

"If you want pancakes, just ask, no need to get Eddie involved" I mutter as he and Meg laugh loudly at my expense.

“Did you call Crowe?” Meg gives me another jab when she's halfway through her pancakes and it's clear that I'm her favorite target this morning.

"No, I didn't call him"

"And when will you call him?"

"Well, I don't know, I-"

"If you want, I'll take care of it," Eddie saves me in every sense, intervening in the conversation and pouring me some more coffee into the half-empty cup, "I'll tell him when I see him"

"You tell him Angie accepts?!" Meg remains with her fork in mid-air in front of her open mouth and is about to have a bitter surprise.

"Actually, no. I mean, I understood no, or maybe I'm wrong?" Eddie looks alternately between my roommate and me.

"No, you're not wrong, as I already told you, I have decided to refuse" I reassure him and prepare for hell.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Meg drops her fork on her plate and looks at me reproachfully.

"Because, as I already, told you multiple times, it's not for me"

"And you? Don't you have anything to tell her?" Eddie, who evidently appreciated my culinary efforts because he has already cleaned his plate polishing off every crumbs, pauses for a few seconds, keeping the napkin over his mouth before speaking.

"Um? Me? Why? What should I say?"

"What should you say?! Convince her, right?" Meg looks at both of us like we're idiots.

"Well, we talked about it. Personally I think it's a great opportunity, but if Angie doesn't feel like doin'g it, then she shouldn't do it. I don't want to put pressure on her or anything like that." Eddie gets up, puts the plate in the sink along with the cup, after finishing his coffee.

"I, on the other hand, really wanna put all the pressure on you. I mean, without an external push you would never do a damn thing, you wouldn't even be here! And then I think you're making a huge mistake by saying no! And you should tell her too, if you care about her" my friend shuffles in her seat, she didn't expect to find herself in the minority.

"I do care. And since I care I want her to be free to choose what to do. If she took part to the movie just to make us happy, it would be useless. At least, that's what I think." Eddie explains his thesis and then approaches me again and gives me another quick kiss on the lips "I'm going to shower and get dressed. With the right clothes this time"

I look at him dreamily as he leaves the kitchen and walks away, until I meet Meg's questioning gaze.

"Hehe it's because he wore the wrong shirt, he wore mine instead of his... because in the dark they looked the same to him eheh"

"This is not the explanation I'm looking for"

"What do you mean?"

"What did you tell him?"

"Him who?"

"Eddie! He's suddenly so careful not to offend your feelings, what did you say to him?" he crosses his arms and looks at me defiantly.

“What makes you think I said anything to him?”

"I know you. And, even if a little less, I know him too"

"Can't it be that he just believes what he said?"

"No. He didn't believe it when he forced you to play basketball with the band, play drums at Cameron's party, go up the Space Needle, make out in front of an entire club full of people for two hours. I don't see why he would have changed his mind now, unless you intervened in some way" Meg aggressively counts my adventures on her fingers.

“Aren't you going to finish your pancakes?”

"No, I won't give you the slightest culinary satisfaction until you speak" and she knows that it bothers me a lot, she's using strong methods.

"But I have nothing to say"

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing"

"What did you really tell him?"

"Hahaha NOTHING!"

“Did you promise him sexual favors?”

"He's my boyfriend, he already has my favors, I don't need to promise anything to him"

"Maybe favors that are... a little kinkier than usual?"

"No!"

"Just tell me then or these pancakes are gonna end up in the bin" Meg takes the plate, gets up and stands in front of the dustbin.

"You wouldn't dare"

"Wanna bet?" maintaining eye contact with me, she slowly puts her foot on the bin's pedal and the lid opens up with a click.

"Well, it's not like I told him anything specific…"

"HA! You did say something to him, then?!" the lid closes, but she doesn't move.

"I talked to him about the fact that I wouldn't be comfortable being an actress"

"Mmmm"

"And that I would have too many lines to memorize"

"And?"

"That the presence of Tim Burton would have put me in difficulty"

"Okay... and?"

"And that I would have been hypercritical and would never want to see that film again if I had been in it… Maybe, due to the trauma, I would never set foot on a movie set again"

"Only that?" Meg's little foot still rests on the pedal of the dustbin.

"Only that?! I basically told him that it could put my entire career at risk."

"Okay. And then, what else did you tell him?" Meg doesn't give up and I feel I'm about to capitulate, I have no other choice.

“And well, I may have added some plot details…”

"THERE YOU GO. Tell me about these details" Meg realized she finally had me in her under her thumb and she sits back down at the table, placing the plate in front of her.

"I might have told him that, while skimming through the script, I had read of something I didn't feel like doing"

“What the hell of a story did you make up, Angie?” my friend shakes her head and grabs her fork again.

"I didn't invent anything! I just told him that at a certain point I thought I saw a scene with…"

"With…?"

"With a kiss"

"A KISS?!"

"A kiss, a very long one"

"AHAHAHAHAH YOU'RE SUCH A BITCH!" Meg doesn't hold back and laughs holding her belly.

"Look, it's true! There is a kiss! There are several! Just, um, not exactly in my scene"

"WHAT A BAD BITCH!"

“And since I mentioned this to Eddie, he suddenly became very understanding of my insecurities.”

"YOU DON'T SAY?! Who knows why?" Meg dives back into the pancakes, but not before adding some more chocolate syrup.

"You won't tell him anything, right?"

"Look, I would be tempted because for me you are a fool to refuse a part in the film and I would involve anyone to convince you, but…"

"But?"

"But I love your perfidiousness in this thing too much to let you get caught"

"I'm not evil!"

"No, you're just a little budding manipulator who cunningly uses someone else's weakness for her own gain… Little Angie is growing up! I could almost start crying" Meg feigns emotion and wipes away some fake tears with her napkin.

"Ahaha I didn't manipulate Eddie"

"You used his jealousy to make him do what you wanted, how do you call it?"

"I just striked some chords…"

"You pulled the right strings!" Meg gets up and puts the plate in the sink with the rest.

"I don't know if you're trying to play with my conscience to get me to tell Eddie the truth and accept the part or if you actually appreciate my little dishonest ploy."

"Mmm a bit of both!" Meg leaves the kitchen and retrieves her jacket and bag, I join her at the door "Anyway, in the end, even if manipulated, Eddie is right: it's you who decides. It's just that... I would have loved to brag a bit and say Hey, my friend is in that movie!"

"Half the people you know will be in that movie. Anyway, once I become a successful author, you can say Hey, my friend wrote that!"

"I can't wait! Alright, see you tonight at Roxy's"

"Ok see ya"

"Did you follow me to the door to say bye or to make sure I wouldn't go and tell Eddie"

"Hahaha to say bye! You would never do that. At least, not now that he's in the shower"

"Well, I could if I wanted to, you're not the jealous one in the couple" he winks at me and opens the door.

"Bye Meg"

"Besides, I've already seen him in his underwear, so" she's about to leave, but she comes back and shrugs at me.

"BYE" I close the door in her face as a joke and she holds it open with one foot.

"And my friends' boyfriends are all like women to me"

"JUST GO IT'S LATE, SEE YOU TONIGHT!"

The woodworm that Meg has just tried to put in my head about my unfair attitude towards Eddie doesn't even have time to creep into my thoughts when the phone starts ringing.

"Hello"

"…" on the other side just silence.

"Hello?" I repeat and actually I seem to hear noises through the receiver. It's not a noisy line, it's mora like someone is waiting in silence with the receiver in their hand.

"Is anyone there or not?" the moment I clearly perceive a breath I freeze. I look around to figure out where Eddie is, because I can't hear the sound of the shower water anymore, but I don't see him around. I go peek in my room and it's not there, so he's probably finished the shower, but he's still in the bathroom.

"Is it you?"

"…" still nothing.

"Do you need anything? Do you need money?" I ask in a low voice, but without getting any answer, except for an abrupt termination of the phone call.

I exhale deeply, as if I've been holding my breath for a while, and maybe I really have. I drop the phone on the table, take my plate and put it in the sink along with everything else. I glance at the clock. No, I don't have time now, I'll wash them later today.

A new ring of the phone makes me jump, I look at it for a while without doing anything, but then I decide to answer, if only to prevent Eddie from becoming suspicious and coming out here to see what's happening and why no one answers the phone.

"HELLO?!"

"Hey, good morning to you too! What happened? Did you wake up with a bad case of the grumpies this morning?" the response on the other end, this time, puts me in a completely different mood.

"Hi mom! No, everything's ok"

"I mean, it sounded like you wanted to maul whoever was on the other end of the phone…"

"No, it's just… there's someone having fun making prank calls this morning. They call and don't speak, without even a bit of imagination, at least they could come up with something more articulated"

"Like, if you have to bother me, at least use creativity"

"Exactly"

"Okay, how are you? Sorry I'm calling you this early, but at least I'm sure I'd find you"

"No problem, you did well. In fact, you barely found me because I have to go to class soon" I walk up to my room to get the clothes to put on, waiting for Eddie to come out of the bathroom.

"That's it, exactly. I'll end up having to make an appointment to talk to you on the phone"

"Don't worry, I still have time, we can have our fulfilling mother-daughter conversation"

"Good girl. So how are you? How did your holidays go?"

“Well, I worked a lot!”

"It's a shame they're called holidays…"

"Okay, I also rested and did a lot of things that I've had pending for ages! I defrosted the fridge, I cleaned the chandeliers, I washed all the carpets…" I go back to the corridor while I recall all the steps of the great house cleaning.

"What a strange concept of rest"

"Ugh, I went out with Meg and the others too, I haven't been home all day"

"I had no doubts. And how is Eddie?"

"Eddie is-" he almost caught me off guard "Why are you asking me about Eddie? And more importantly, how do you know him?" yeah, how do you know the guy who just came out of the bathroom covered only by a short towel tied not very firmly at the waist that could fall at any moment and who winked at me before slipping into my room.

"Oh your father told me about him"

"Did he tell you about him? What did he tell you?" the guy who slips into the room without closing the door, takes off the towel and… NO, ANGIE, YOU DON'T HAVE TIME AND YOU'RE ON THE PHONE WITH YOUR MOTHER, FOR FUCK'S SAKE.

"Yeah, I mean, he told me that you have a friend called Eddie and that he met him."

“It happened months ago, why are you asking me about my friends now?” and why Eddie, would be the real question. But I don't want to get too carried away and make her suspicious.

"No, I'm just looking at the photos your father took when he came to visit you…"

"Ah, the famous photos that I haven't seen yet" I lock myself in the bathroom and put it on speakerphone, so I can brush my teeth in the meantime.

"Well, because he only developed them now! Forgive him, he's been very busy with work, I've barely seen him too"

"I know, I know, it's just that he told me he would send them to me"

"In fact, he's going to send them to you exactly this morning. Which would also be the reason why I called you, to tell you this"

"Oh great! Thank him"

"And… you know, since I have a photo of you with Eddie right in front of me right now, he came to my mind, just like this"

"Totally random"

"Right. Anyway, how is he?" He's fine, mom, thanks. He spent the night with me and now he is naked in my room.

"Good! From what I know, at least. I mean, the band is recording the album, I don't see them as often as before" well done, Angie. Plural. Go with plural.

“But you told me earlier that you hung out with the guys during spring break.”

"Yes, of course, but I haven't seen them in a while now. However, they're happy, Stone told me that everything is going well." Was using Stone as a diversion from Eddie a good move?

"Ah! So you've seen Stone more than Eddie!" no, it's not good at all.

"I saw them equally, mom, don't get any strange ideas, I thought I made myself clear enough at Christmas" I snort and start taking off my dressing gown and pajamas.

"Very clear! You know what? The pictures are very beautiful, you'll see. Now I'll get dad for you, he has to tell you something"

"Okay?" my father? What does he have to tell me? He won't ask me about Eddie too, will he?

"Bye Angie, call me next time so I don't bother you, okay?"

"You're not mad because I'm talking to you while getting ready and doing something else in the meantime, are you?" I get dressed quickly, the only thing I forgot to take are the boots, but I can put them on later.

"No, but call! Okay, here's your father"

"Bye"

"Hey Angie!"

"Hi Dad"

"Today I'm sending you all the photos I took when I came to Seattle. Sorry if I'm late but it's been a mess. I've practically been living in the darkroom for weeks"

"Don't worry. How did they turn out?" I put my pajamas in the laundry hamper, throw my robe over my shoulder and, with the phone still on loudspeaker in my hand, I leave the bathroom.

"Not to brag, but they turned out great! Both the ones from the concerts and those from the beach party. I got a nice box here, ready to be shipped"

"Fine, now come out of the dark room and spend some time with mom" when I enter the room I waste no time, I put my dressing gown on the chair and run to cover Eddie's mouth before he can make any sound.

"Don't worry, I'll do that!"

"Did you want to tell me something else? Mom already told me about the pictures" when I'm sure he understood and he nods at me, I release my grip on Eddie's mouth and go and sit on the bed to put on my boots, with my back towards him.

"Yes, I wanted to ask you: do you know Nirvana?"

"Yes, they are a band from around here, I even saw them twice in concert"

"Not as a band, do you know them personally?"

“Um well, not really.”

"What do you mean? Do you know them or not?"

"I know them by sight! Mostly the drummer…" damn, why did I say that?? I quickly turn around and see Eddie has stopped right in the middle of zipping up his pants and is glaring at me "and I exchanged a few words with the bassist, I know who the singer is but that's it"

"Oh because they know you"

"What? And how do you know?" Why do I feel he's not about to tell me anything good? And why the fuck did I keep it on speakerphone? I can't take it off now or it would look like I want to hide things from Eddie.

"They played here in Boise a few days ago"

"Really?"

"At The Zoo" the management guys must have thought it was a real zoo and wanted to send Kurt there, for sure.

"And you went to see them? Weren't you busy with work?" after eternal moments I start tying my boots again and Eddie finally zips up his fly.

"You know what they say, too much work and no play…"

"Yes, and then you end up chasing your family with a hatchet"

"Exactly. Great concert anyway, pure energy! I took few photos unfortunately. The next day I bought the album. They also played some new tracks from the album which has yet to be released"

"And what do I have to do with all this?" if he bought Dave a drink too, I swear I'll scream. What the fuck is that? Does my dad have some kind of radar for my exes now? And he has to talk about it right now with Eddie listening?

"Oh because at one point on stage the singer said something about how it was their first time playing in Idaho and that so far they didn't know anyone from around here, except for a girl who's actually from our town. And he said that he will have to find another nickname for their friend, but it was a quick and rather cryptic conversation that I didn't quite understand. Do you know anything about it?"

"Mmm I have no clue honestly" Eddie looks at me and bursts out laughing, I signal him to be quiet and he covers his face with his hands.

"But you're the friend, aren't you?"

"I don't think so," a friend of that jerk?? I'd rather gouge my eyes out with my bare hands "I wonder who he was talking about, there must be other people from Boise who moved to Seattle, I'm not that special, you know?"

"That's why I asked you if you knew them…"

"Yes, but only by sight and they don't know where I'm from, they don't even know my name eheh" Eddie uncovers his face and makes a noise as if to say Yes, of course!

"Oh well, it's just a coincidence then"

"Of course it is"

"Ok, I'll leave you now. I'll go to the post office and then to the editorial office"

"Okay. Bye and good luck with your work"

"And say hello to Meg"

"Alright"

"And Eddie" Eddie looks at me and explodes into a toothy smile, while he waves hello with his little hand in the direction of the phone.

“Go-why Eddie?”

"No reason, he just came to my mind"

“Let me guess: you got one of his pictures right in front of your eye right now, right?” well, now Eddie will think that in my house there is a little altar with a picture of him, flowers and candles and that my parents pray on it every single morning.

"Hehe, actually yes! Say hello to him when you see him, ok? He's a good boy"

"I will. Bye dad"

“Bye Ray,” Eddie replies to himself as soon as I hang up.

"If they had heard you, I would have killed you!"

"Pff overreacting as usual…" now fully dressed, he comes and sits next to me on the bed.

"Ha! Don't even think about it, it's late and we have to rush to the university"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I just wanted to get this" all cocky, he reaches under the bed and pulls out his backpack.

"Sure"

"I'm a good boy"

"Okay, if the good boy is ready, it's time to go"

"Ok let's go"

*****************************************************************************************************

"How do you say Can I have your number in Swiss?"

"There's no such thing as Swiss, Mike" the girl from the staff just opened the door to the dressing rooms, just long enough to tell us Soundcheck in zehn Minuten, and that idiot has already fallen in love.

"What do you mean? So what do they speak in this hell of a country?"

"Where are we now, that is Zurich, they speak German" I just give him the key concept, we have a soundcheck to do and I'm not in the mood to explain Swiss multilingualism to my bass player.

"Okay, how do you say it in German?"

"Ask them in English, you'll see they understand you anyway" Layne gets up and motions to Starr, the only one sitting, to do the same and follow him.

"The whole world speaks English" says Sean the wise.

"You should have learned it by now, after the shitty show the other night in Düsseldorf" Layne opens the dressing room door and goes out, followed closely by us, remembering our nice little mishap the day before yesterday, when Mike al most got us killed. A typical Alice in Chains Monday night, in short.

"AGAIN? Look, I made a fucking comment in a fucking bar full of people, I thought you barely heard me, let alone those guys!" Mike isn't entirely wrong, there was an absurd mess in that karaoke bar. I don't know how the fuck we ended up there, I think it was just the closest source of alcohol on the way between the concert venue and the place we were sleeping at. We were all shitfaced when a guy in a leather jacket and sunglasses, who had just destroyed The show must go on on stage, passed by us. The very second as Mike noticed an unexpected resemblance.

"We all thought he didn't look anything like Freddie Mercury, but we kept it to ourselves instead of shouting it from the rooftops!"

"But it was so him! It was the Fonz with a moustache! What the fuck did I say? I said nothing bad, I didn't call him an idiot"

"Actually the exact words were Such an asshole, rather than Freddie Mercury, he looks like the Fonz with a mustache ah ah ah"

"Okay, he only heard the second part though"

"And thank goodness, otherwise he and his friends would have kicked us all the way inside the hotel, instead of stopping outside"

We arrive on stage and start with the rehearsals without getting lost in further chatter. We're here to play four songs in front of a couple of thousand people who don't give a shit about us and who can't wait for us to get off our balls and enjoy the Megadeth concert, of which we are the support band. But for us it's fucking life, playing is playing, as long as they put us on a stage, we'll do it with anyone and in front of any audience. I mean, we've opened for everyone from fucking Poison to Iggy Pop in just the space of one year. In this Andy and I were really on the same wavelength. I remember the nights spent fantasizing about our imaginary future concerts in stadiums and temples of rock. "Madison Square Garden? I'll even go there with the fucking Warrant just to play there!" I can still hear him say. I miss him so fuckin' much. Well, at least I like Megadeth even though maybe neither they nor their fans like me. We are at the fourth date of this European tour and we still haven't even exchanged a word. Let's say we almost didn't even see them. And the people? Well, if they're cold that's fine, when it's bad then they'll just throw shit at us on stage. If Angie were here, she'd suggest we put up a protective net like in the Blues Brothers… Well, thank goodness the soundcheck is over because I'm getting melancholic as fuck and I need a fucking beer. Without speaking we all leave and go out in the same direction, straight towards the nearest bar, hoping this isn't karaoke too. When I see a phone booth on the other side of the road, however, I can't help but take action and take a small detour.

"I have to… um I have to make a phone call, see you later"

“Can't you call from the bar? I'm pretty sure they have a phone there too”

"Oh no, Mike, he can't! Can't you see the young gentleman here doesn't want to be heard? It's so obvious!" Sean is already on the starting blocks of taking the piss out of yours truly.

"But who do you have to call? The same girl from yesterday?"

"From yesterday and the day before yesterday…" continues the drummer.

"But what about minding your own business?"

"And who is this girl? Aren't you going to tell us?"

"Layne knows her, she's a friend of Dem" Kinney is super informed on the facts, as I imagined Layne held back, but not completely and let the minimum slip. Excellent.

"I cultivate the noble art of minding my own fuckin' business, so I don't know anything"

"Well done Layne!" I pat my buddy on the shoulder and start to walk away again.

"Well done my ass, we're worried about you!"

"Speak for yourself, I'm very calm and I just want the booze" and this too was predictable from Sean. By now I could write everyone's parts in our dialogues, I know them like the back of my hand.

"Don't listen to him, you are our brother! You just miraculously emerged from the disaster with Angie, you know... and now you're going to get yourself in trouble in yet another serious affair with someone else??"

"Who told you this is serious?"

"If it's worth three intercontinental calls, it's serious for me"

"Come on, she's someone he's just met, she's fresh and he wants to keep her interested, right?"

"I see you already know everything so I have nothing else to add, see you later" I walk away amidst the shouts and whistles of my companions and I see them proceed shuffling towards the bar from inside the booth.

I take the small address book from the inside pocket of my jacket and obviously I open it to the first page, to the letter A. I know I should flip on through it, but I can't, it's as if I'm stuck, as if I'm short-circuiting for a few seconds . I put what I think it's the equivalent of our tonight's salary in coins into the phone and dial the wrong number on purpose. What time will it be the now? Like 9 or 10 in the morning, maybe she's not even home.

"Hello" but she's fucking there instead.

"Hello?" she repeats and at that point I realize that I haven't spoken, because in reality I thought I'd answered and told her that it was me and that I'm in a break between soundcheck and concert and that I called her because, for a change, I was thinking about her .

"Is anyone there or not?" I think I can hear myself telling her about the Fonz with the moustache, about the more than necessary protective net for our stage, about Mike who last night was about to pick up a girl who told him she was in her third year at Gymnasium, thinking it meant she was a gym freak, before I saved him by explaining that she was a fucking high school student.

"Is it you?" I'm panicking because I got caught like an idiot. After all, who else would call her and then give her the silence treatment? And from abroad too… I'm such an asshole.

"Do you need help? Do you need money?" at this point it's as if I wake up from some kind of fucking hypnosis and suddenly hang up the phone. Money? Why would Angie think I'm calling her for money? The answer is simple: she didn't catch me at all and she thought I was someone else. But who? Who could call her in the morning asking for money? What kind of mess did she get herself into? When I leave the phone booth I remember that I forgot to call Heather like we agreed, but who cares after all? The guys think I did it, in the end it's the gesture that counts. I join the band at the bar counter with a head full of questions.

The questions run through my head until the concert and even during and after that. In the end the show didn't go bad at all, apart from a few painless coins thrown, the audience also reacted well. You can see that the Swiss are more polite! And I was proven wrong twice tonight because, as soon as we got off the stage, we were immediately intercepted by David Elleffson and Marty Friedman of Megadeth who complimented us, confessing that they had no idea who the fuck we were before they heard us and that in their opinion we rock the asses, even if our name doesn't sound very good to them. We all spent the evening together drinking, smoking and talking bullshit, especially them, because at a certain point Marty said that they want to propose us as the opening band for the mega tour they will do with Slayer and Anthrax once they return home and in my opinion it was the drugs talking. Not that we don't deserve it, on the contrary! Well, I'll wait and see what happens, it would be cool, but I don't want to day dream for nothing. I prefer to take things as they come, day by day. But who the fuck calls you to ask you for money first thing in the morning? Maybe it's just a friend in need that Angie is helping because she always has to help everyone? Or maybe not…

[ellis-exists]

nasa rant because i'm having a NASA special interest brainrot

NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was founded on October 1, 1958 by President John F. Kennedy in order to combat the USSR in the Space Race. One of the main locations was in Houston, Texas, along with two other locations scattered in the United States. These three locations created various new jobs and an influx of money towards the American economy during that time, especially during the Space Race. Although the USSR was the first to get into space, the US was the first to land a man on the moon because the USSR landed an animal on the moon. In case you couldn't tell, I am insane and I might be hyperfixating on NASA and space even after years of being obsessed with it as a child. I used to own a telescope that barely worked and I wanted to be one of the scientists/engineers for NASA, which is why I have a NASA hoodie and used to have a NASA pin before it disappeared. The only reason I talked at a party as a kid was because the guy who owned the house had a telescope and he let me look through it. I stimmed in a Dollar Tree months ago because they had small NASA sets you could build and I wanted one but my mom didn't let me get them. The next time I go to Dollar Tree, those sets are mine.

[allaboutnayeli]

ranking nwsl kits (with actual explaining this time)

I like to ramble and yap so let me yap about these kits 😍😍 going in whatever random order i want

at the bottom: washington spirit

what is this? im sorry like y'all finna be running around the field looking black sharpies and yellow highlighters for the whole season? also the stripes on the black jersey is nothing special. honestly they don't even look good it's like when you spill smt on ur shirt and it just won't come off. 0/10

right down at the bottom: north carolina courage

it's giving 2014 realness like the design on the blue one is ugly and the pink one is whatever. their colors aren't even really incorporated into the jersey? like it doesn't give ncc. the logo sticking out like a sore thumb on both of those jerseys and that's sad fr. 1/10 and only because i like that pink shade

another bottom tier...: kansas city current

do better.... like these are the most basic jerseys i have ever seen. there even isn't nothing to say because it's just boring! they just switched around some things on their last jersey and called it a day. 1/10 because their colors are very cute

go back & try again!: gotham fc pt1

for this jersey... it's giving race cars and shit and it just looks weird to me. like it feels like last year's kit but they decided to do dots instead now. the white text across doesn't look good against the colors to me personally, i just don't like it. 2/10 because i see the vision but it's not connecting

BASIC!BORING!TRYAGAIN: angel city pt1

i expected more from a club that's heavy on their aesthetics. the black looks good, but it's just so basic like do something else. looks like five other jerseys i have seen. just wish they did more. 3/10

adorable, but no sweetie: racing louisville pt1

this isn't even that bad, but it reminds me of a picnic blanket. the colors is AMAZING like I love the lavender (i think..) and the white go well together. like the colors aren't ugly in all honesty. it's just the pattern is not giving what it's suppose to. they could had tried something else, but it's not that bad. 4/10

at least try to stand out...: utah royals

nothing. it's giving nothing. like your a new club and could had stood out, made some waves. show you are not here to play around but nah just like this teams vibes the jersey is just as bland and uninteresting. the only thing i like fr is the colors (not like it's anything else to rank it on but that..). 2/10

what are you doing?: portland thorns

i expected more like last year jerseys were creative and interesting to me. why suddenly go basic now? even if they're ugly designs at least you tried something cool. these are bland asf and the colors aren't giving portland thorns to me but okay, have fun. 2.3/10

peachesssss: orlando pride pt1

i forgot what fruit is that on the jersey, but I LIKE THIS. it's actually so creative and makes sense because florida be having mad fruits growing there with the warm climate. incorporating something that significant to the state is such a cute thing. also it's just adorable like the players really gonna be running with fruits on their jerseys. however the longer you look it, the uglier it gets ngl. 8/10

basic but cute: gotham pt2

this is cute, simple, and a nice color. that's pretty much it. it's alright, i like it. 5/10

honestly whatever: racing louisville pt2

went from creative to whatever this basic thing is it. that shade of purple isn't appealing to me, but whatever. 3/10

another blue one, wow!: houston dash pt1

nothing to say really. it's a cute shade of blue, they could have gone with a different color but it's fine. 3/10

another new team with boring jerseys, wow: bay fc

congrats on being boring, bay fc! they could had done something really cool with their jerseys and added in something that's significant to the bay, but okay let's use basic ass colors and slap our ugly ass font logo on it. 3/10

cute and simple: angel city pt2

another cute simple and boring jersey, but it's not bad. i love the pink and angel city is just like so pink to me idk how to explain. it's whatever. 4/10

basic BUT IN A GREAT WAY: reign

the logo is really making this kit what it is and the colors are just so royal like. everything goes together well. it's giving rich bitches and idk why. in this instance being basic is the way to go. 6/10

just the colorrr: orlando pride pt2

I LOVE ITTT. very basic duh but the color shade is so appealing to look at it. it's giving very orlando pride, I love it. 6/10

i see the vision: houston dash pt2

when i first saw this i was like this is ugly but i see the vision tho now. it's cute and simple and the design looks good with the colors. it's not giving race car at all. 7/10

AMAZING, BRILLIANT, INLOVE!: chicago red stars

tbh their jerseys in the past were whatever, but these two eat down so bad. the design on the light blue one fits the team and it just looks so cool. while the shade of blue (?) on the other jersey is gorgeous and looks very refined. 7.5/10

this is how you do a jersey baby!: sd wave

BRILLIANT, SPECULATOR, NEVER SEEN BEFORE. just these are fucking amazing they put all their energy into this. it's really giving the wave in their name. this is how you incorporate your name/the area around you. very unique and the colors are so gorgeous, I'm inlove. the wave deserves their props for this one because wow they came and delivered. 10/10

ANYWAYS OVERALL at alot of basics and more could have been done. a lot of misplaced visions that could have been done well with the right people idk. all i know is imma be happily watching the players run around in these jerseys during the season.

[namube]

a noraebang in seoul. with @kouxbe.

karaoke is something that namu has always loved; something that was always special, in some regard. he never really had to be serious, though a lot of the time he was a bit serious about his karaoke - treating it like it was vocal practice, rather than anything else. but, he would do the fun songs too, ones that he wasn't actually treating as vocal practice. he tried not to make it so serious, especially whenever he was with friends. but, today, namu had seemingly just decided to go by himself, simply because he didn't want to bother anyone with wanting to go. so, it just made sense for him to do something on his own, right? it was something he's sort of gotten used to from time to time. but, it didn't really matter, because namu really, really loved going to karaoke, having another excuse to sing.

it seemingly was always interesting though, with it being namu and his coca-colas against the world during karaoke. he's not a drinker, especially due to his alcohol allergy, and he's also not a night on the town type of person. but, namu would always go to a noraebang or an arcade as some type of thing like that; that was his version of a night out, considering he's not a partier or clubber. nonetheless, he had gotten himself the karaoke room - leaving the door open just a bit because he didn't really want to lock himself in a room by himself. he was there, with the rather large remote, going through his options. that was when he picked an all-time favorite - i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me) by whitney houston.

he's in his own little world, singing along to one of his favorite songs, and dancing along. it was probably quite the sight, but that was just park namu for you - full of energy, all excited, and having fun. generally, he wouldn't even notice if anyone had crossed the path and seen him there or even notice him. he's just a happy boy right now, hitting his whitney houston high notes.

[sadesluvr]

Could I request some Fritz headcanons?😊😊

IM IN LOVE WITH THIS ASK OMG!! Finally some Fritz love😩 IK I portrayed him as an asshole (he is, no doubt) but he I’d like to have his good aspects showcased too :)

- His favourite colour is maroon

- He grew up in a WASP family (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) so gender roles are TOTALLY forced on him, but if given the chance he will let go of his macho pride. He just needs time:

- i.e If you were a baker or did crochet/knitting etc, he’d take a gradual interest and get you to teach him

- He’s not good with fiddly/intricate things so he kinda flops in that regard

- He can COOK. Is secretly amazing at it

- Secretly likes pop music, mainly Madonna and Whitney Houston: He absolutely sings these and tries to imitate their voice (it’s awful)

- KNOWS ALL THE LYRICS TO THEIR SONGS LIKE THE BACK OF HIS HAND

- Has a preppy sense of style: Outside of football gear he wears varsity jackets, college sweaters, fancy watches…The works. He’s very handsome and charming in that way, and comes off older than he actually is

- Hates winter (Flu season), but loves Spring (SuperBowl, Basketball playoffs, Easter, sunshine without it being too hot)

- Is a total baby when he’s sick. Not in the cute way, he’s completely INSUFFERABLE.

- VERYY into PDA. On the surface, his love language is touch ;) but deep down I think it’s actually quality time. To chill with the person he likes for hours is special to him, especially because he’s a player, and a lot of girls want him for his prospects. Anyone can have sex with him, give him gifts, or say they ‘love’ him, but it’s deeper when he can sit down and be himself with a person for hours.

- He, Gabriel and Cassidy are a dream, blunt rotation. He smokes quite often behind school after practice, but never in his car because of his parents. When he does, he’s completely mellow and is even more dumber than he is normally. It’s kinda cute though 😳

- His parents are AWFUL. His mother is overbearing and uptight, and his dad is too old fashioned

- Can’t use chopsticks to save his life

- One BAD headcanon I’ve had about him for ages is that even though Gabriel has always liked Cassidy, he’s hit on her (before senior year). She shut him down BADLY and since then he’s seen the error of his ways (🙄). None of them ever mention it to Gabriel because it’d just cause drama…

Thank you anon for this ask, Fritz is my guilty pleasure😭��� LMK if you want specific ones!