#tv hosts are taking it more seriously it's just nice

[tuituipupu]

last night was such a eurovision-filled nye it was a weird feeling for a lil brit like me because normally everything feels so distanced from esc and that our country’s relationship with the contest was just a meme and something to poke fun at :( but...

- we had sam ryder’s live concert ringing in the new year on mainstream tv

- we had a tribute to ukraine with the london eye fireworks at midnight featuring stefania and blue and yellow lighting

- ... more sam ryder singing after the midnight fireworks (he is a national treasure now)

- followed by almost 3 hours of a recording of the Het Grote Songfestivalfeest 2022 again on mainstream tv (BBC1) called ‘The Big Eurovision Party’

i was so excited and it’s just a weird feeling that liverpool will be hosting on behalf of ukraine this year... I hope this isn’t just a one off because of the situation and that the uk keep this enthusiasm up in the future!

[chillinglikeashilling]

Anyway it's not my otp but I think Sam x Evan would be fun because I keep picturing Sam being the very famous very beloved host of a TV show that is internationally acclaimed and the obssession her fans would have with the fact that she's dating Evan, who to them is 'just a dude'.

I think Evan would see Sam's fans call him boring but nice enough and speculate why Sam broke up with Timothee Chalamet to date a nobody, and be so stunned that such a large number of people could be aware of his existence and have the prevailing opinion that's he completely uninteresting that he may start crying tears of joy.

I think that Evan would take Sam seriously, because he's fundamentally aware of how capable Sam is, and more importantly of how afraid and aware she is that other people don't. Evan wouldn't let thoughtless or intentionally rude/snarky comments about Sam slide regardless of what setting they were in, and this would be good for Sam because she has someone to back her up and remind her those people are being shitty to her. (This would also endear a large part of her fanbase to Evan).

Also I'm still of the opinion that Sam and K dated before Gowpenny so I think it's absolutely very funny and in keeping with my own queer friend groups to think of one person's exes starting to date each other but also that person's current dynamic with each ex are wildly different.

And finally, I think Jammer would be extremely glad that he is not involved in any of that but he would send Evan all the funniest memes Sam's fans make about her boring af boytoy and listen to K panic about what to get their exes for Christmas.

[naughtystiel]

DEANCAS AU FIC REC MASTERPOST

Although I loved all of these fics, the ones with stars next to them are my absolute favourites! Happy reading! ♡

One million fires burning ☆

Dean Winchester teaches three classes a day, tutors after school, and chairs the English Department for Lawrence High School. He does enough.

Unfortunately, his boss doesn't feel the same and informs him that he has a new job: co-coaching the school's trivia team. His co-coach? None other than the school's golden boy, Castiel Milton. Who Dean can't stand, for various reasons, all of which are valid, thank you very much. And the fact that Dean can't stop talking about the stick up Cas's, sorry, Milton's ass?

Completely irrelevant.

Should have just asked ☆

Despite their age gap and differing social circles, Castiel has struck up a warm friendship with Mary Winchester, a wealthy widowed socialite. When Castiel needs a place to stay, Mary invites him into her house, where there’s loads of spare room. Castiel’s aware that they make an odd pair, but he doesn’t fully realize how things look to outsiders, especially to Mary’s eldest son. All Dean Winchester sees is that his mom has apparently hooked up with a hot young guy (who is totally Dean’s type) and that makes things… weird.

Living in agony ☆

Dean Winchester's life is... well, it's not great. He's a gym teacher, he's in his thirties, and he can't seem to keep any part of his life straight. When the aftermath of a one-night stand goes awry, Dean is dragged kicking and screaming out of his cozy little closet and into the harsh light of reality.

Enter: Castiel Novak, the new history teacher, who knows full well that life gets crappy when you don't allow yourself to live it in the way it needs to be lived.

The last great race

There is a race that takes place every year in Alaska called the Iditarod, a thousand mile journey across the Alaskan wilderness by dog sled team that has come to be known as "The Last Great Race on Earth”. It is a test of endurance, of the relationship between dogs and their people, traversing mountain ranges, frozen rivers, forest and tundra.

When writer Castiel Milton is forced to spend two and a half months in Alaska at Winchester Kennels to cover the race preparations and the Iditarod itself, the only person more dismayed than he is Dean Winchester, one of his hosts. Castiel views his assignment as a punishment and is less than impressed by his surly host, and Dean distrusts the sheltered city-born writer who has invaded their home and their lives. But soon, as the Winchesters prepare for their race and Castiel learns about sled dogs and what a musher’s lifestyle is all about, they forget to hate each other and their relationship evolves into something neither of them expected.

Starstruck ☆

From the outside Castiel Novak looks like a regular guy: a good job, two teenage kids, a nice house and a crappy car he’s way too attached to.

But there’s one thing no one knows about him: that, over twenty years ago, he used to live next to none other than Dean Winchester – back then a brash and loud-mouthed boy and nowadays a huge movie star and Hollywood’s sweetheart.

Castiel never bothered to tell anyone about his childhood friend because frankly, who would believe him? Probably even Dean himself already forgot about his former awkward and weird neighbor, so Castiel seriously doesn’t see any point in mentioning the whole thing ever.

But then an interview on national TV happens where Dean reveals way more about his past than ever before … and Castiel - as well as the rest of the world - suddenly realizes that he left a much bigger impact on Dean’s life than he originally thought.

Russian to the altar ☆

“I need you to marry Castiel.”

They weren’t the words Dean expected to hear from his business partner’s mouth before their bakery-slash-chocolate shop opened for the day. He’d been quite happy being single—and who the fuck was Castiel, anyway?

It turned out that Castiel was a Russian erotic novelist in need of a ticket to America, and Dean… well, Dean was a last resort.

I wanna get outside (of me) ☆

Dean is a novice in the dom/sub world asked by his employer as a desperate last resort to be a sub for his recluse of a brother, Castiel. Castiel is a diagnosed OCD suffering from PTSD and agoraphobia, mysophobia, and dystychiphobia. Needless to say—he’s a mess who hasn’t stepped out of his home in literally seven years. The only times Gabriel can see traces of the way his brother used to be is when he feels in control—specifically when he has control over a sub. However, due to his idiosyncrasies and paranoia, keeping a sub around has been impossible. Enter Dean, who’s not a very traditional submissive, to try his hand at subbing for the hermit.

Painted angels ☆

Author Castiel Novak has finally hit the big time, with a book based on his failed college relationship with a brilliant painter. He's put all his pain behind him, but at a book signing, he comes face to face with Dean Winchester for the first time in twelve years, and the reunion doesn't go like Cas hoped. Dean's a broken man, with a lot of scars and secrets, shoulders weighed down by his demons and self loathing.

Cas sees a second chance with the man he's never stopped loving, but Dean's moved on, and is about to get married. Sam launches a "brilliant" plan to reunite his brother and his best friend, but Cas is worried it will all blow up in their faces, and he'll go through the agony of losing Dean a second time.

Texas state of mind

Dean Winchester was once an award winning country music star, but fame came too early. Now, he’s fifteen years sober and owns a ranch in western Texas. He’s happy with his life. He has horses, a nice herd of cattle and so what, if he’s alone. He tells his friends that he’s happily single. Back when he was touring, men and women threw themselves at him – but he knew they only wanted him for his fame.

Cas Novak just won his fifth CMA award. He loves singing, but the touring was getting old. Living in a bus nine months out of the year was slowly destroying his creativity. He hasn’t written anything new in over a year. Then he hears an old song on the radio. He vaguely remembers the handsome singer and wondered whatever happened to him. Before he knew it, he'd written a new song. The only problem was…it was a duet. A duet that could only be sung with a voice like Winchester’s.

After locating the man’s ranch, Cas makes a surprise visit. Will he be able to talk Dean into joining him on stage after all these years? Will the two men find what they’ve been looking for all their lives – someone to share a future with?

If angels were men

Castiel Novak was raised by a hunting father, but he left that life behind for college and a flower shop. When his father is killed by a demon, Cas jumps back in the game and finds himself constantly running in the presence of the Winchester brothers, who are searching for their own father. They seem to be everywhere he turns, and at some point they become friends, then a team, then, maybe, in the case of Dean Winchester, something more.

Vagabonds ☆

Dean is a sheriff in a tiny town in Colorado, restless and unsatisfied with his life. It's not like what he's read about in the dime novels since he was little, capturing dangerous outlaws and being the last word of the law. More like tossing the town drunk in a cell to sober up when they get a little too rowdy.

But Dean's chance comes when a thief rolls through their town. He pursues the thief, which puts him right into the path of Emmanuel, a notorious outlaw. When he is captured by the outlaw and his gang to be held for ransom, Dean starts off on a journey he could have never envisioned, and learns that perhaps there's more to Emmanuel than meets the eye.

Four letter word for intercourse ☆

As a grease monkey turned college freshman, Dean's constantly three seconds away from being stressed out of his mind. It hardly helps that he's finally figuring out his sexuality in his thirties.

What might help with that stress is a little phone number (and a big credit card bill). If he can't figure out how to be bisexual in person, he can at least give it a go over the phone, right?

(It's probably a bad idea, but he really can't help himself.)

Any little heartbreak ☆

Dean Winchester knows everything there is to know about the human heart.

Well.

Anatomically speaking.

Get some

Very slowly, Dean turns. 'How'd you know I was here about a room?'

'Power of deduction,' says Castiel, leaning against the doorway. 'I mean, you're not after pot, and I'm pretty sure we haven't slept together.' He grins wolfishly, gaze sliding over Dean's body. 'You, I'd remember.'

Dean's been hit on by guys before, but never so blatantly, let alone by a semi-naked dude in a kimono. A hot blush warms his cheeks, and he covers his shock with cockiness, tilting his head and grinning. 'Sorry to disappoint you, Cas, but I don't swing that way.'

Castiel throws back his head and laughs. 'And you want to live here? What, did your friends put you up to this?'

'Actually, yeah.' Dean raises an eyebrow. 'Is that a problem for you?'

What i need

A joking phrase commonly heard between a surgeon and his tech is "Give me what I need, not what I ask for." Dr. Novak and his tech Dean will soon learn the impact this phrase has on life outside the operating room.

Mad at your dad? ☆

Dean wasn’t sure why he was even scrolling through Craigslist. Especially not the casual encounters section. It was four days before Thanksgiving. Not like he was gonna try and hook up with someone before that shitstorm. After, sure, but not before.

He kept scrolling, though, not clicking anything until a title caught his eye.

Alone on Thanksgiving? Mad at your dad? I am a 28 year old male felon who has no degree, but has studied enough theologies of the world, behavioral psychology, and philosophy to set your whole family’s teeth on edge—no matter which way they lean, politically, religiously or in terms of neuroses. I drive a van the same age as me that’s got a mural on the side of an angel holding an orgy. I can play between the ages of 20-30 depending on whether I shave. I live off an inheritance, and sell weed on the side. If you’d like to have me as your strictly platonic date for Thanksgiving, but have me pretend to be in a very long or serious relationship (monogamous or polyamorous, whichever sounds most like it would freak out su familia) with you (and/or others), to torment your family, I’m game...

(dis)affection ☆

When Dean and Castiel are tricked to go on a date, neither is happy about this. To get back at their deceitful friends, they hatch the perfect plan: pretend to be dating, and gross out their friends with their over-the-top, disgustingly cute romantic relationship – and then break up in the most despicable manner imaginable. As it turns out, you can learn a lot from someone just by pretending affection.

Ninety one whiskey ☆

In the spring of 1944, the 104th Medical Battalion of the United States Army is disbanded, and its men reassigned to various infantry companies in preparation for their invasion of occupied France. For First Lieutenant Novak, this is less than helpful, as he has so far met his platoon’s designated medic a grand total of twice, and has both times found Sergeant Winchester to be the optimum combination of reckless, arrogant, and downright insufferable so as to make cohesive platoon function near impossible. When the time comes to move out, however, Castiel has to reconcile himself to the fact that men are going to go down and trust that Dean Winchester may well be the only person who can put them back together again. WW2 ETO infantry AU.

The breath of all things

Dean Winchester was twenty-six years old when a car accident killed his father and left him paralysed from the waist down. A year and a half later, Dean is in a wheelchair and lives in a care home in Kansas, where he spends his days waiting to die. It's only when Castiel Novak starts volunteering at the care home that Dean starts to wonder if a changed life always equals a ruined one.

If you'd have been the one

A boy sits on the front steps, his dark hair a wild mess. A gingerbread boy, Dean thinks. Dressed in pressed slacks and a sweater-vest to match his father’s. He looks about Dean’s age; maybe they’ll be in the same class. That wouldn’t be too bad, unless he’s mean. He could be mean; a lot of kids are mean to him, so he has to be mean back.

He hopes this one is nice.

...

In the year 1986, at seven years old, Dean Winchester meets Castiel Novak.

Eleven years go by, then eight, then three.

Somewhere along the way, things start to change.

Spirit of the west ☆

Dean grew up on a horse farm and can't imagine any other life. There are drawbacks to working for his father, but they're worth it if it means remaining with his beloved horses. Besides, between his broken arm and his lack of prospects, he hasn't got much else.

Something of an outsider, Dean always feels like there's something he's missing. But this tense summer brings back a figure from his past: years ago, a teenaged Cas worked for a season at the Winchester ranch. His return could change everything.

If you ever wanted a 90s horse girl book, but starring a young Dean Winchester, this is your fic.

Guns and wings

Dean Winchester is the sheriff in the small town of Sioux Falls, along with his deputy (and brother) Sam. Life there is calm and normal, easy to manage with the occasional problems. That is until the Garrison gang sends an assassin to kill one of their beloved citizens. Dean is ready to hang the man for his crimes, when the outlaw gives him a deal he can't pass up. The whole Garrison gang. Dean and the criminal, Castiel, set off to find the gang; enemies working towards a common goal. Dean is determined to hate Castiel, but the longer they journey together and the more he finds out about the outlaw the harder it becomes to deny the feelings he begins to have for the man. But he's the sheriff and he has a job to do, he can't fall in love with a criminal... Right?

Life was a willow

When Dean’s favorite author becomes a regular at his bar, Dean knows he’s done for. He never could have anticipated the intense feelings that blossomed for the talented Castiel. There’s just one thing standing in his way of being with Castiel the way he truly wants: Castiel is waiting for his soulmate.

Dean has spent his entire life hating the concept of soulmates. He just wants to live his life without the universe intervening. If the only way he can keep Castiel in his life is by swallowing his feelings, then that’s what he’ll do.

300cc ☆

300 Complementary Characters: a forum on Kansas City University’s student website. You can write whatever you want, but it has to be 300 characters or less.

Dean is crushing hard on Sam’s TA, but it feels different than it has before; it feels like he needs to do it properly, to have a grand declaration and to prove that romance isn’t dead. What better way to profess his feelings than posting a poem on 300cc?

Castiel is torn. There’s no mistaking the poem is for him, but who could be posting them? Despite being very tempted by the very attractive new light and sound engineer that will be working on the play he has written, Castiel can’t ignore the feeling that he and the anonymous Poet are meant to be together.

A comedy of errors, mutual pining, and erotic poetry.

Satin and sawdust ☆

When Castiel moves out of Jimmy's house and into his own place for the first time, he saves money on buying a home by investing in a Fixer-Upper. He knows nothing about how to fix the many problems the house has, but he figures he's smart enough to figure it out. Unfortunately it's not too long before he learns that he's way in over his head.

Thankfully his new neighbor Dean is a handyman, and agrees to help him out. He knows Dean has a bit of a crush on him, but he's not taking advantage of it, really. Dean's a great guy, and quickly becomes a good friend.

But a flash of satin under Dean's toolbelt changes everything.

Stay with me, sweetheart ☆

“Alright Cas, here comes the hard part. We’re gonna get you out of here, but we’ve gotta take the roof off and while we do that, we’re gonna have to cover you with a sheet to protect you from the glass. I’ll be right here though. I’m not going anywhere.”

As he starts to drift away, he suddenly feels the press of Dean’s forehead against his own through the rough fabric and hears that warm, sunlit voice murmer quietly in his ear, too low to be overheard by the firefighters currently working to remove the SUV’s roof, “Stay with me, Sweetheart.”

A single moment's distraction ends with a serious car accident that leaves Castiel trapped in his vehicle. Fortunately for him, fire fighter Dean Winchester is there, never leaving Castiel's side as the rest of his company work to free him from the mangled remains of his SUV.

When the two meet again in the ICU, Castiel finds himself just as drawn to and comforted by the handsome fireman as he was during his accident. Dean is certainly attractive, but single father Castiel doesn't have time or space in his life for a romantic relationship.

Then again, there's no harm in making a new friend, is there?

And this, your living kiss

Only a very few people in the world know that the celebrated and reclusive poet Jack Allen is just Kansas mechanic Dean Winchester, a high school dropout with a few bucks to his name. Not that it matters anymore; life has left him so wrung out he never wants to pick up another pen.

Until, that is, a string of coincidences leads Dean to auditing a poetry course with one Dr. Castiel Novak. The professor is wildly intelligent, devastatingly handsome...and just so happens to be academia's foremost expert on the poetry of Jack Allen.

Sometimes you'll find that i'm out of my mind ☆

Castiel returns from the Empty, and Dean worries obsessively. Dean also sleeps on the floor in Cas' room, which he admits is weird, but at least he's sleeping.

[gabessquishytum]

Naked Chef Hob

Hob has a cooking show that started on YouTube where he cooks in the nude with just an apron on -- depending on what he was cooking the apron was either around just his waist or a full apron (splat-ery things are going to splat!).

Every time he bakes, with just his (small) apron around his modesty, and gets flour or sugar streaks on his chest he goes viral. (The gifset from the episode where he frosted a cake & pink frosting got smeared near his nipple for the last 20 minutes of the show gets reblogged constantly.)

Hob is actually a very good chef and he started the YouTube thing when he lost a bet - it's not his fault the interwebs like to catalog his tattoos and his manbun broke the internet that one time. 😎 Despite his viral fame, he still cooks at his small restaurant.

The youtube thing was never supposed to be anything other that a forfeit, a lark. Well now, HFGTV wants Hob to take his "show" to tv. Being naked on YouTube is different than being naked on a channel that used to host Alton Brown,,,,and now hosts Dream d'Endless.

Hob doesn’t know if he can be in the studio, where Dream talks very seriously about fresh ingredients and food history, with nothing more than a branded apron covering his bits.

Of course, the pilot is a hit; of course, after his 2nd taping when Dream accidentally (on purpose) swung by to watch him work,,,,he kept. stopping. by. to watch Hob cook (hopefully, sexily) covered in the sauce of the day. Only problem, Dream never stays long enough for Hob to talk to him - it was all just smolder-y eyes. Hob is really glad the aprons are thick or he would be cooking on pornhub.

NAKED CHEF!!!! This is so good.

The show is a hit, which is great! Except that people keep recognising Hob in public now. It's great for the restaurant, they're booked out every night. But not so great when Hob is just trying to go grocery shopping, and gets accosted by fans. His YouTube show was never THIS big. He actually has a small breakdown about the whole situation in the studio bathroom (dressed only in his apron and sneakers because he may cook naked but he always wears shoes, he is NOT going to drop a knife on his foot AGAIN).

Anyway. Bathroom breakdown. Naturally, Dream comes in and sees him naked AND snotty. It's a nightmare.

But Dream is... very very nice. He wipes Hob’s face for him, and wraps his arm around his shoulder. He comforts Hob with the knowledge that the novelty will soon wear off, and people will stop bothering him. Dream solemnly says that anyway, people only notice Hob because he's so sexy. He could always try being less sexy?

Hob finally laughs and leans against Dream because this is his one opportunity and he's not going to miss it. Dream starts rubbing little circles into the small of Hob’s back, and it's like the dam finally breaks.

Hob just about makes it through making his Malaysian curry (artfully splattered in his chest hair, as always) and when they wrap up for the day, Dream is still there. Waiting, this time. He diligently swipes the curry off Hob’s chest with his finger, and his eyes are even more smoldery up close.

It's probably inevitable. But Hob still can't quite believe it. Dream sucks him off in the bathroom where he was just crying!! He ducks underneath Hob’s apron and stays there until he's done, and Hob just knows that the apron will smell of sex and Dream forever now. He might have to take it home with him, actually.

Or maybe he'll just take Dream home instead. It's his night off, and he can always get a table for two at the restaurant. He won't be naked, but it only seems fair to finally give Dream something to unwrap!

[jaehyunspeachparty]

Hi, I don’t know if anyone remembers my story. Lately, I’ve been thinking about it a lot and wrote my thoughts down. That’s why I wrote something down and somehow it got longer and longer. Maybe some want to read it. I hope you’re all doing well ❤ ____________________________________________________________

Chuseok with the Jung's (a sight into the future) “Miga Jung has once again been nominated for Best Actress,” blared the TV. “I don’t think she’ll win it again this year,” said one of the hosts. “Do you think so?” came the immediate counter-question. “Lately, she’s been giving off more influencer vibes. I can’t take her seriously as an actress anymore.” Miga sighed and finally looked up at the TV. She had been sorting gifts for her family and just wanted something on in the background. But suddenly, the TV turned off, and she heard the remote control drop onto the cold stone surface of the kitchen counter. “Silence is nice too,” she heard her boyfriend's voice as she felt his soft lips on her shoulders. “He’s kind of right,” she sighed, turning around. Hyunjin stood in front of her, gazing at her with his dark eyes. He was about to disagree, but then the doorbell rang. Miga gave him a quick kiss before pulling away to open the door. “Hi, Gomo!” A little girl stood on the doorstep. Miga beamed as she saw her young niece. She was incredibly proud of her and often had her over. “Hello, Naomi, you look so pretty today.” The little girl began to giggle. “I’ve got everything.” By now, Hyunjin had packed all the gifts and the pre-cooked food. Sunoh and Chichi stood behind their eldest daughter, also ready to go. The special thing was that Chichi had just given birth to another daughter, named Rei, only three weeks ago. Rei was snugly wrapped in a cloth against her mother. Together, they were heading to their parents’ house to celebrate Chuseok. “No rush, Kiwoo and Dad haven’t even left yet,” said Sunoh, noticing his best friend looked a bit nervous. “I don’t think Hyunjin is worried about the time,” Miga winked at her boyfriend and lifted Naomi into her arms. “Are you still scared of Dad?” Sunoh laughed, and together they made their way to the elevator. Since they all lived in the same building, it was easier to leave together. “Scared is an understatement.” Hyunjin raised his eyebrows but stayed quiet. “Dad only has a problem with the fact that, according to the company, we’re not supposed to be together. I’m sure he respects you as a person,” Miga said as the elevator arrived and the family stepped in. “I’m not so sure,” Hyunjin said quietly, but no one heard him.

Kiwoo bent over the girl and kissed her. His hands were all over her body. "I like your underwear," he breathed while removing them. "This is my Chuseok gift for you," she breathed, showing off the red bra she bought especially for him. But Kiwoo stopped and looked at the girl with wide eyes. "What?" she asked with an uncertain laugh. "Whats the time?" he asked horrified and broke away from the girl. She looked a little hurt and pulled her dress back up. "11am", she said hesitantly and looked at him. He put his shirt back on and tried to fix himself up as best as he could, making sure nothing was noticeable. He glanced at his phone and saw all the missed calls from his father. “Shit, I’m in trouble,” he cursed. It was a habit he needed to break—his manager was always on him about cursing too much. “Kiwoo,” he suddenly heard, and the voice didn’t sound friendly. He squinted his eyes and slowly turned around. “Where were you?” Jaehyun stood in front of him, looking at his son. “Uh… I was still training. Sorry, Dad. I lost track of time.” Kiwoo lowered his head and looked at the ground, guilt evident in his posture. Jaehyun wasn’t entirely convinced. His son often had trouble on his mind, but at the same time, he was incredibly charismatic. He’d caused plenty of trouble, but even the top boss at SM always forgave him. “Do you have anything else with you?” Jaehyun asked, noticing Kiwoo was only wearing sweaty workout clothes. “I… can’t this work?” Kiwoo knew exactly how charismatic he was, and he smiled with a wink. But that didn’t always work with his father. “You know your mother expects you to dress properly,” Jaehyun crossed his arms. He was a bit annoyed with his son. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve got something with me.” “Hurry up. Your siblings are already on their way,” Jaehyun sighed and shook his head. They were definitely going to be the last to arrive.

Geon sat at the table, continuing to study, while you prepared the food for the day. Your son had been studying diligently for weeks, deeply buried in his books. His beautiful hair had been shaved off since he had been in the military. But since then, he had changed and withdrawn more and more. You hoped that the holidays would help him relax a bit again. Something had happened to Geon in the military, and you didn’t like it at all. “Here, some vitamins.” You set a plate of sliced fruit in front of him and gently stroked his shoulder. But in that moment, Geon flinched briefly, until he realized it was only his mother standing next to him. “Thanks, Mum,” he said, adjusting his glasses. In that moment, you felt tears welling up. Something was going on inside your son, but you couldn’t help him. He was so different from your other children. Geon had always been introverted. His twin brother, Kiwoo, was more prone to trouble, and ever since certain hormones started surging through his body, you had to keep an eye on him so he wouldn’t constantly end up in some girl’s pants. A few times, he received a “gift” from a father or you had to bail him out of tricky situations. 

As you continued cooking for the next few minutes, Geon kept studying, but soon you heard the door open. “Go on ahead to Grandma,” you heard Sunoh’s voice, and it still sent chills down your spine when you heard the word "Grandma." “Grandma!” You suddenly saw a black-haired figure slowly making their way into the kitchen. “Naomi, it’s so nice to see you!” You hugged your granddaughter and gave her a kiss on the forehead. You never thought you and Jaehyun would become grandparents so soon, but Sunoh and Chichi were quick. “Mum!” Miga entered with Hyunjin following shyly behind her. You hugged your daughter. Even though you saw each other regularly, it was always nice to see her. Over time, you had developed a really beautiful, friendly relationship, and you were thankful for that every day. You also really liked her boyfriend—you thought he was perfect for her, even if Jaehyun didn’t agree. But after what you learned about Jaemin (which Jaehyun didn’t know), you were glad she had someone kind and caring by her side. “Hyunjin, it’s great to have you here.” You hugged him and noticed the relief in his face that at least one of his girlfriend’s parents accepted him. “Thank you for letting me join the celebration.” He bowed politely, but you gently straightened him up. “You’re part of the family here. We’re happy to have you. Take a seat.” You smiled, and somehow, having everyone back in the house made you feel happy. The house had lost a bit of its liveliness since all the kids moved out. “Oh my God, who’s that coming?” You didn’t even get the chance to greet Chichi and Sunoh properly before you were already taking little Rei out of their hands. “Ahhhh, she smells so good,” you said, pressing the newborn girl to you. It was so nice to have a baby in your arms again. “Yeah, Mum, we’re here too,” Sunoh said, rolling his eyes with a smile. “Sorry, ever since you’ve been bringing such sweet babies, I can’t help it.” You kissed little Rei on the forehead. By now, Miga was already by her younger brother Geon, hugging him. “I miss your hair,” Miga said, gently stroking her little brother’s head. Sunoh crossed his arms and looked a bit concerned at Geon. “Basic training is over. Can’t you let your hair grow out?” “Yeah… no… not for me…” Geon couldn’t bring himself to meet his brother’s eyes. Sunoh had already been through the military; he had some idea of what was going on. “You should stop working out so much. What’s going on with your arms?” You pinched your son’s bicep. You knew he liked working out, but he had gained a lot of muscle mass by now. “Mum…” Somehow, they all reverted back to being little kids, shyly rolling their eyes. You kind of liked that. You turned to Chichi, still holding little Rei in your arms. “Is he taking good care of you? You’ve just had a baby. You need to sit down.” Chichi was still like a daughter to you; that had never changed. And now that she was officially part of the family, you felt even more connected to her. “Yes, he takes care of me and he is training during his breaks at the studio. And Sunoh spoils me. I get plenty of rest, and Miga helps a lot with Naomi,” Chichi said with her usual gentle and empathetic smile. “I’m relieved that you all live in the same building. Kiwoo will probably stay in the dorms longer, but Geon, maybe we’ll look for an apartment for you nearby when you start university. It’s too far from the house.” “Oh yes, that would be great.” Miga hugged Geon, who flinched again. Sunoh looked at you with concern, and you realized that it wasn’t just you who was worried anymore.

An hour later, the last two men finally arrived. “The King is here,” Kiwoo announced as he strutted confidently and cheekily into the room, as usual. “If the King was ever on time, we’d have been here much earlier,” Jaehyun said, following him in and giving you a kiss as a greeting. He then greeted everyone else, but gave Hyunjin only a cold handshake. Miga’s boyfriend immediately felt uneasy again. Sunoh quickly noticed the tension and stepped in. “Mum, is it alright if we head to the living room, or do you need any help?” “All good. Make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll call if I need anything.” You handed Rei back to her parents and headed to the kitchen with Jaehyun, while the kids and their partners disappeared into the living room. “Wow, Dad still isn’t warming up to you,” Kiwoo said, patting Hyunjin on the shoulder. Miga looked anxiously at her boyfriend and took his hand. “He has to accept it,” Sunoh muttered, shaking his head. He couldn’t understand his father’s attitude in this matter at all. The group settled down. Sunoh got out the toys for Naomi while Chichi nursed Rei. Miga lay with Hyunjin on the couch, and the twins made themselves comfortable beside each other. “We’re far too rarely together like this,” Geon said with a sigh. Something was up with him; everyone could feel it. He had changed—the breakup before the military and then the military itself had taken a toll.

The afternoon was spent relaxing as everyone enjoyed their family time. Meanwhile, you had been busy cooking the entire meal and were happy to do so. “Hyunjin...” Jaehyun hadn’t said much that evening, so everyone was surprised when he suddenly addressed Miga’s boyfriend. “Yes...” Hyunjin replied quietly. “You’ve learned a lot from me, haven’t you?” Jaehyun asked, still not looking directly at him. “Yes...” Hyunjin said cautiously. Miga looked at you in panic, but you weren’t sure where your husband was going with this. “I’ve given you everything. Showed you everything. And in return, you break the rules?” Jaehyun finally looked Hyunjin directly in the eyes, making him freeze in place. “Come on, who cares?” Sunoh interjected, putting down his utensils. “The company forbade it,” Jaehyun hissed. “Dad, you know that’s bullshit,” Sunoh said, crossing his arms. “Sunoh, this is also about the reputation of our family.” “If our relationship is exposed, it’ll only affect Hyunjin. Dad, he’s the one taking the biggest risk in our relationship.” Miga reluctantly stood up to her father, but for her, this was a line she wouldn’t let him cross. Silence fell over the table; no one said a word. “How long has this been going on between you two?” Jaehyun asked, looking directly at Hyunjin. Hyunjin hesitated, unsure, and glanced at Miga, but he had to face the truth. “Since Sunoh moved into the apartment.” It was during the housewarming party, after Miga and Hyunjin’s official breakup (as mandated by SM), that they had rekindled their relationship. Jaehyun suddenly stood up, knocking over his chair in the process. This startled Geon so much that his heart rate spiked. He mumbled something to himself and jumped up, his eyes vacant as if he wasn’t really there anymore. Geon bolted out of the room, and Kiwoo quickly followed. “Jaehyun, that’s enough.” You stood up and tried to calm your husband. You hadn’t seen him this upset in a long time. “You knew, didn’t you?” He looked at you, disappointment written all over his face. “I think I should leave,” Hyunjin said, standing up. Jaehyun didn’t even look at him, seeming almost pleased that Hyunjin was about to go. But Miga followed her boyfriend. “Jaehyun, what are you doing?” You walked up to him, unable to comprehend what had gotten into your husband. “I just hate it when someone comes into our home without respect.” Jaehyun remained stubborn, still seething. “Hyunjin is very respectful. Oh my god, Jaehyun, you constantly had to break rules in our relationship back in the day.” You tried to remind him of their own past, hoping to bring him back to his senses. “Dad, do you remember when Hyunjin and Miga had to break up?” It had been a dark time for the family. When the two had been forced to separate, Miga’s world collapsed. She stopped going out, refused to eat, and eventually ended up hospitalized due to her emotional and physical collapse. “I don’t know why the company is so strict about Miga and Hyunjin. Maybe it’s because there are a few creeps in there, but you know that’s not normal.” Sunoh tried to talk sense into his father, and to your surprise, it seemed to be working. Jaehyun’s pulse slowed, and he began to realize what he was doing. “I... I...” Jaehyun couldn’t think clearly anymore. He left the conversation and retreated to his office.

“I’ll go. I don’t want to ruin your holiday,” Hyunjin said, grabbing his bag and placing it on the bed. “If you go, I’ll go too,” Miga said, standing beside him and looking at him firmly. Hyunjin knew she would say that. He turned to her and gently took hold of her forearms. “Hyunjin... I want to be with you.” Tears welled up in Miga’s eyes. If there was one thing Miga could do, it was love passionately. If anyone thought she had given a lot in her relationship with Jaemin, they hadn’t seen her with Hyunjin. She would fight for his love every second of the day. Their relationship was far from easy, but she loved him so much she couldn’t imagine her life without him anymore. “Miga...” he said softly, taking her face in his hands and resting his forehead against hers. He couldn’t explain how deeply he felt for her. With this relationship, he was risking everything—his idol career, his entire existence. Just then, the door opened, and Sunoh walked in. He saw the bag on the bed and looked shocked at his best friend. “You’re not leaving,” he said, startled. Hyunjin turned back to his bag. “I think it’s for the best…” “Miga, can you go check on Chichi? She’s alone with Naomi and Rei right now.” Sunoh knew Miga would understand; after all, Sunoh and Hyunjin had been best friends for years. "Dad is an idiot, but don't leave." Sunoh looked at him seriously, trying to reassure him. "I can't lose Miga again. I'm constantly afraid of messing everything up. My career, the money—it doesn't matter to me. But I don't want to give up on Miga." Hyunjin turned back to his bag, continuing to pack. Sunoh wasn't going to let this slide. He walked to the other side of the bed and sat down. "Hyunjin, tell me what really happened. We've known each other for so long." Sunoh's expression softened with concern. Hyunjin felt ashamed of the story, only Miga knew the full truth. But now it was time to let his best friend in. He pushed the bag aside and sat on the bed, taking a deep breath. "I grew up really poor. My mother and little sister died in a car accident. My father still blames me for it. I got into trouble at school that day, and she had to pick me up. Afterward, he started drinking, and he lost his job. To help us survive, I started working at a small fish restaurant, where I got discovered and started with the idol training. My dad borrowed money from the company. I was too young to understand what was happening. Now, I have to pay off all that debt. When the company found out about me and Miga, they threatened to fire me and demanded I pay everything back immediately. Miga couldn’t handle the pressure, so we broke up… That’s the short version." Hyunjin took a moment, the weight of his words settling between them. "Shit, man! That's rough." Sunoh nodded, finally piecing things together. Everything made sense now. "So far, only Miga knows. We even visited my father together once. She’d never want to cause me more trouble with my debt. That’s why we've always kept our relationship a secret." "You’re not going through this alone," Sunoh promised, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Thanks, but I have to handle this myself." Hyunjin sighed, straightening up again. "Just stay another night, okay? See how things go. Do it for Miga. This weekend means a lot to her." Sunoh looked at him seriously, and after a moment, Hyunjin nodded without saying anything.

Later that evening, Miga and Hyunjin sat together in the garden by the natural pool, gazing at the water. Miga was relieved Hyunjin had decided to stay, even though she sensed the strange tension. Suddenly, Jaehyun appeared behind them, standing over Miga with a serious look. "Can I talk to Hyunjin for a moment?" Miga wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Hyunjin shot her a panicked glance. "Don’t worry, I just want to talk," Jaehyun said calmly. Miga hesitated but then stood up, giving Hyunjin a reassuring look before walking away. Hyunjin watched as her father sat down beside him, unsure of what was to come. "It wasn’t right of me to confront you like that at the table," Jaehyun said, his eyes fixed on the shimmering water. The garden lights reflected off the surface, casting a soft glow. "I've always seen so much potential in you, from the very beginning. You didn’t have much experience, but you had a lot of talent..." Jaehyun shifted his gaze to his fingers, clearly struggling with the admission. A confession like this required a lot of humility. "When you became the main dancer, I was proud. Finally, people could see what I had seen all along—the talent you had. You’ve developed more than anyone else, and you had the most ambition. I always admired that." Jaehyun placed his hands on the grass and leaned his head back. Hyunjin was caught off guard by Jaehyun’s words. He never thought Jaehyun saw him in such a positive light. "I quickly noticed how you looked at my daughter. How you couldn’t take your eyes off her..." Jaehyun paused. "If I can see something in you, why wouldn’t my daughter see the same?" He sat up straighter, turning to face Hyunjin. "I’m scared that Miga will go through the pain her mother went through. You’re part of one of the most successful groups of this generation. You’re one of the most handsome idols out there. I won’t even start with the fans, but trainees and even idols will do anything to be close to you. Miga loves you. She loves deeply, and just the thought of you breaking her heart makes me lose control." "I won’t break her heart... I love her more than anything," Hyunjin said, looking at Jaehyun with his dark, earnest eyes. "Right now, I’m the one breaking her heart." Jaehyun sighed as he stood up, adjusting his clothes. "I won’t say anything. You’re welcome here, but if you break her heart, I’ll become your biggest problem." He gave Hyunjin a pointed look. Hyunjin nodded in understanding. "Thank you," Hyunjin said quietly, and Jaehyun nodded before walking back to the house. Hyunjin watched him enter, where he saw you greet Jaehyun with a warm hug. Miga had already returned by that point and sat down beside Hyunjin, clearly worried. "And? How did it go?" She bit her lower lip and took a deep breath. Hyunjin looked at her, still in disbelief at how fortunate he was. Jaehyun’s biggest fear was that Hyunjin would ever show interest in another girl, but Hyunjin couldn’t even imagine that. Ever since he had met Miga, she was the only one on his mind. To him, she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. "It went well. I understand your father’s concerns now," Hyunjin said with a soft smile. "Really?" Miga seemed genuinely surprised. "Your father used to be an idol, and he knows the risks. Your parents had their struggles, and he just doesn’t want you to go through the same thing." Hyunjin pulled Miga closer to him, resting her head against his chest. "You’re the only one who can make me happy," she whispered, placing her hand over his heart. Hyunjin was relieved to hear those words. For so long, he had felt like he was competing with Jaemin, but in the end, he had won Miga’s heart, and he never wanted to lose it.

[hooked-on-elvis]

June 5, 1956 📺

"Hound Dog" performance on the Milton Berle Show

Man, apart from the performance, the moment Milton Berle slips and falls to his knees while he goofs around to the "Hound Dog" tune (2:56), which btw I don't feel nice about because it sounds like he's kinda mocking Elvis' moves with this little act (considering Berle's lines with a highly mocking tone too), seeing Elvis trying to help him to stand up and looking so worried for a sec, it got me melting. He was such a caring man. Also, the Debra Paget's "crazy fan girl" number when she kissed Elvis and he reacted with "Ohhh, man"… LMAO!!! I swear, I laughed more at this simple thing from Elvis than all the little jokes from Berle's lines. Elvis was funny… He had a natural timing for comedy even when he was not doing anything special.

What are your thoughts?

This is during the rehearsal. I personally can't appreciate the tone in this sketch. Just like "Hound Dog" performed a little time afterwards on the Steve Allen Show (July 1, 1956), this is another performance where the American tv hosts mocked Elvis - in this case in a slightly lighter way but still trying to make a laugh at his expense. People still didn't take him seriously. He had to put up with this to get to a moment he was praised and respected for his art (although people never gave him as much respect as he deserved, specially the tabloids and such).

[al1v3-p03ts-s0ci3ty]

One shot idea: Neil (or Todd) admitting to the other that they like them

(THIS TOOK SO LONG IM SO SORRY-)

Thank you so much for the ask!!! I haven't written much lately so this was a nice start! This ideas been sitting in my notes app for a while so thank you for getting me to finally write it!!

[Authors note! This is set in the 90s. There are mentions of Welton but just imagine that the timeline got shifted up a bit. They're all in their mid 20s. Also the cat name Allen IS based off of that super cool fruity poet Allen Ginsberg.]

Cramped in a small apartment full of boxes that seemed to pile to the ceiling, Neil and Charlie sat on the scratchy carpet of their new home.

They'd spent their whole morning moving box after box from the U-Haul truck, up 3 flights of stairs and finally into their apartment.

"Once we're done moving all this stuff maybe we could have a housewarming?" Neil said, taking big breaths between words. Both Neil and Charlie were completely exhausted from carrying things around all day.

"Maybe we could get the guys to do all the unpacking for us." Charlie joked, although there was a hint of seriousness in his voice.

Neil chuckled at his friends joke and a short silence followed.

"Do you think it was the right thing to do?" Neil's voice was quiet.

"What?"

"To move out, I mean... I know it's for the best and I should just move on..."

There was a pause. "But?" His friend chuckled sort of awkwardly trying to break the tension.

"I'm just gonna miss him." Neil responded, his tone was completely genuine and if you listened carefully you could hear his voice break.

Of course, they were talking about their friend Todd.

Neil and Todd had been inseparable since the day they met in Welton Academy. They spent every waking moment in each others company, they shared a room together, they had classes together, they went to Dead Poets meetings together.

Now, Neil had developed a crush on Todd during this time, and as much as he'd like to say "it's not a big deal" or "it was just a small crush" he'd be lying.

After a long talk with Charlie about his feelings for Todd they both decided that maybe he should move out. He'd spent a long time living with Todd, maybe it was time for a change?

"Well of course you're gonna miss him! You've been in love with him since the day you two met, that's not gonna be easy to get over-" Charlie wasn't even able to finish his thought before Neil cut him off.

"I'm not in love I just-" He couldn't possibly sound more defensive if he tried.

"Look, Neil." There was a short pause before Charlie spoke again, he needed to think of the right words. "You wanna get over him, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then you're gonna spend some time apart from him..." He turned to face his friend. "If I'm being honest... I always just assumed he felt the same way about you."

"Don't do that, Char."

"Hey, I'm just being honest." Charlie's words came out in an unusually transparent tone.

/////

Finally, they had their place set up. Their apartment had an open floorplan with a small living room and kitchen that was separated by a short bar and stools. There was a hall that connected their bedrooms and bathroom to the living room.

A small couch, coffee table, tv. They tried to make it as homely as possible given that they'd only lived there for a few days. And it worked for the most part.

"When are they supposed to be here?" Charlie asked from behind the kitchen bar, he was watching the packet of popcorn turn in the microwave.

Neil glanced towards the clock they hung above the front door, it was 6pm. "Around now... Maybe they're just running late?"

And then, almost comically, someone knocked the door. Charlie seemed unphased by the sound and made no effort to answer the door. He was such a great host.

Neil pulled the door open. There was already a smile already plastered on his face before he saw his friend's.

They hugged then exchanged greetings and complimented the pair on the new apartment despite the fact that they barely had time to properly decorate, there were still a few boxes here and there.

"Hey." Todd was the last one in the room. Everyone else had gone into the living room and were making themselves at home. But for now it was just Neil and Todd in the doorway.

"Hey..."

There was chatter coming from the living room but the sound seemed fuzzy from where the pair were standing in the hall. Neil definitely wasn't paying attention, especially with Todd right in front of him.

"Oh!" Todd rummaged through his tote bag and pulled out a book, it had post it tabs sticking out the sides as though it had been annotated. "Here." He handed the book to Neil.

"Thanks..." Neil takes the book in his hands and glanced down at it for a moment.

"I forgot to give it back to you after I borrowed it, and then... Well you moved out..."

It was a small copy of The Great Gatsby, ironically though Neil related to the main character as they both had friends in their lives that they had sort of a 'gay yearning' for. Though, neither of them would ever really admit it.

"It was good!" He began. "It was really good." Although Todd was obviously excited to talk about the book, he still spoke in his usual quiet voice. "Daisy was my favourite character by far."

"I knew you'd love her." Neil said, glancing back up at Todd from the book with a smile on his face.

Now that the other boys had settled into the apartment they were, rather loudly, discussing what they should do together.

"Monopoly?" Pitts asked.

Charlie shook his head. "No way, Pittsie."

"Why not?"

"It's too basic. We should play a more exciting game...hmmm."

Neil lightheartedly rolled his eyes before making his own way into the room with Todd. 'Typical Charlie.' He thought. It was obvious Charlie knew what he wanted to play yet he was making everyone wait, he was so dramatic. 'Maybe he should join the theatre.'

Then, suddenly, Charlie's face lit up. "Twister!"

/////

After a too long game of Twister and a few rounds of Uno, Todd was exhausted. Beside him on the couch was Neil, it took everything in him to not lean against his friend and rest his head on his shoulder.

The group was laughing about something, Todd couldn't tell what exactly it was, he was just so tired. The only thing on his mind at this point (beside Neil) was going home and getting some sleep.

God knows what the time was by now. His eyelids were heavy and he had to stop himself from leaning back against the couch and passing out. Neil noticed, obviously.

"You doing okay?" He whispered. His voice was barely audible in comparison to the other boys.

All Todd could do was nod.

"Tired?" There was a sweet smile on Neil's lips.

That smile... Todd could feel his cheeks getting warm. He nodded again. "Just a little..." He replied with a yawn.

Neil's laugh was the sweetest sounding thing you could ever dream of hearing... Or at least that's what Todd thought. "Just a little? You look like you're gonna fall asleep."

Todd lazily shakes his head, earning another laugh from Neil

"You can stay the night if you want... That might be easier than taking the bus."

"Really?" Why did Todd sound so surprised? Of course Neil would let him stay the night, he wouldn't make Todd take the bus alone, especially so late.

"Of course!" Neil smiled wide.

/////

Once the other boys had left and the only remaining people in the apartment were Charlie, Neil and Todd, Neil gave his friend a tour of the new apartment. It didn't take long as the apartment was relatively small and Todd had already been there for a few hours, however, he did like humouring Neil. He was always so theatrical.

"This is where you'll be staying." He said while mimicking some kind of fancy host, it made Todd laugh.

The room was small but cosy nonetheless. Theatre posters in frames lined the walls, he had a vanity that he used as a desk and there was a strip of photo booth pictures of Todd and Neil tucked between the mirror and the frame. Todd tried so hard to seem unphased by it, though his rosy cheeks gave him away.

He had a bookshelf that was more than full already, the middle of the shelves were sagging under the weight of the many, many plays and novels he owned.

Of course there was a box or two in the corner, Neil hadn't had time to move many of his smaller things into the room yet.

"You sure I can stay the night in here?"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course you can."

Neil left the room to give Todd some privacy as he got changed. Todd couldn't help but look around at the room. He was so used to all these things being in Neil's room- 'his old room.' Todd corrected himself- in their apartment, but now they were here.

He put on his fluffy pyjama pants and an old loose shirt before he made himself comfortable on Neil's bed.

Soon after, Neil came into the room wearing different clothes, clothes that Todd had seen him wear before. Now he was getting nostalgic, Neil had only moved out a week ago.

"Hey!" Neil said. 'He looks so cute when he smiles.' Todd thought.

"Hey..." Todd replied in a whisper.

"You comfortable?" Neil joked. "You can sleep there, I'll be on the couch."

"What?" Todd sounded offended on the behalf of his friend.

"What?"

"You can't sleep on the couch, Neil- this is your room. Y-you should sleep in here."

Neil shook his head. "You're my guest. You should have the bed."

"But it's your apartment."

Neil was still stood in the doorway and Todd was still sat on the bed. Suddenly the energy in the room shifted, like there was something lingering under the surface of their conversation, something important and unspoken.

"Well you're already on the bed, Todd." Neil chuckled. Quickly though, Todd got up, stumbling a little at the speed at which he stood.

"Neil, I'm not letting you sleep on the couch."

"Well I guess we'll both just have to sleep on the couch then." Neil joked, though Todd didn't laugh, and just like that the air was tense.

"I'm not letting you sleep on the couch."

There was another pause between the two and they were both facing each other directly now.

"Then... I guess we'll just have to share the bed." Neil suggested, mostly joking. Key word being 'mostly'.

"Yeah..." Todd replied, his voice came out soft and quiet. "M-maybe we will..."

It's not like this would be the first time they shared a bed. Some of those nights at Welton got cold and those blankets were barely enough to shield one person from the temperature. Besides, it's not like anything was going to happen...

/////

Todd sat comfortably at the head of Neil's bed, the pillows and cushions had been distributed between the two and they had propped them up behind them like makeshift backrests. Their hushed laughter filled the room.

"You're kidding." Neil said, in a playful tone.

Todd shook his head and even though he was still laughing he spoke with complete certainty. "I'm not."

"Allen really misses me?" Neil sounded somewhat surprised. Even though they had adopted the cat together some time ago it still surprised him that their cat could miss him.

"Of course he does."

"Well I guess if he misses me so much then I'll just have to move back in." Although he was being sarcastic, there was a trace of truth in his voice. Maybe he would have to move back in for their cat... And no other reason.

Todd let out a brief chuckle. The apartment was a lot quieter now and it was nearing the early hours of the morning and they had to keep their voices down. "So you'd move back in for the cat but not for me?" He joked but he still managed to sound somewhat offended.

"Oh come on..." Neil paused and took a moment to look up at Todd from across the other side of his bed. "You know I'd do anything for you, Todd."

Todd averted his gaze, he'd rather look anywhere else than look at Neil right now. He could feel his cheeks heat up, maybe he could just blame it on the temperature of the room, maybe Neil wouldn't even notice. Todd wanted to change the subject, he didn't want to talk about Neil being gone anymore, but he just couldn't get it off his mind.

"It's weird not having you around the apartment anymore..."

"It's only been a week." Todd could practically hear the smile on Neil's face, he was always smiling about something or another when they were together.

"Well... It's been a long week."

Now this was silence. Not exactly awkward or even anxious, but something else. Something remained between the two of them.

"Your room’s nice." Todd finally deflected the conversation onto something else, something easy to talk about.

"I-" Neil began. He could read Todd, and if he was going to change a conversation topic it must've been for a good reason. "You think so?"

"It's... Very you."

Neil chuckled. "I kinda figured that it's always been 'very me'. It is still all my stuff after all."

"Right- no- yeah-... You know what I mean." Todd shook his head, he was laughing with Neil now.

"I get what you're saying. It is a little different." Neil glanced around his room as if it had been the first time he's ever seen it. He began mentally nitpicking at the changes he'd made.

"Oh?"

"Well for one," he started, "that huge cat scratching post isn't in here anymore."

"Yeah..." Todd looked around now too, he was picking up on the subtle things that were different about the room that used to be so familiar to him, silently missing the things that Neil had left in his old room.

"It's different without Allen, that's for sure, it's quiet." He chuckled. "And it's different without you constantly being in here-"

"I wasn't constant..."

Neil playfully rolled his eyes at his friend's disagreement. "It sooo was." Todd only responded by shaking his head with a disbelieving look on his face. "You were in my room all the time."

"Well... It'll be good to have this new space, right? And I'll have the apartment to myself." Todd was more talking to himself than talking to Neil, almost like he was trying to convince himself that Neil moving out was going to be good for them.

"I'll miss you being in here so often... It'll be so quiet."

"You're living with Charlie, it's definitely not gonna be quiet." Both boys laughed to themselves. It's like the world outside this room had stopped and they were the only two people in the world.

"Yeah." He continued to laugh. "I guess you're right."

"It might be a good change of pace?"

"Maybe..." Neil only half agreed. "I'll miss the quiet though... I'll miss you."

Their eyes met and Todds heart skipped a beat. "I'll miss you too..."

The room went quiet again. "We should probably get some sleep." He said awkwardly, breaking the tension. Now it was Neil who was deflecting and trying to change the subject. He got off the bed and started haphazardly moving the pillows and adjusting the sheet beneath them, not necessarily doing anything but just trying to make himself look busy.

"Neil...?"

Neil felt his world stop for Todd in that moment.

"Yeah?"

"Did... Did I d-do something wrong?" Todd asked, his voice was quiet, almost like he didn't want Neil to hear him.

"What?"

"To make you want to move out... Did I do something wrong?"

Neil shook his head profusely. "No way. Todd you're the best roommate anyone could ask for."

There was a pause, Todd wasn't sure if he should leave the conversation there or not, but he was curious.

Finally, he asked. "Then what was it?" It was inevitable that Todd would ask Neil this question sooner or later.

Neil sighed, he had to make up something. "I thought it would be better to get out of the apartment, ya know?"

But Todd just looked up at him from the bed, unmoving. It was obvious that Todd didn't believe him.

"I thought it might help me..." Neil took a deep breath as if he was bracing himself. "I didn't want anything to come between us." He said about as much as he could without giving himself away.

Todd shook his head. "What do you mean?"

"It's just..." He sighed. How could he possibly explain this? "It's not a big deal."

"Then why can't you tell me?"

The air was thick and the pauses they took between talking felt like eternities.

"I didn't want anything to change between us, that's all." Now it was Neil who had turned his gaze away from Todd.

"Why would anything change?"

"I kind of..." He took another deep breath, his lungs filled with the cold night air that poured through his half open window. "Had a small... Crush on you while we were living together." He barely even glanced at Todd after he said this, he wished he could read Todd and tell just how he felt.

He had about a million questions for Neil but all he could manage to choke out was-

"W-what?"

"It was just a small crush really, it was barely anything." He stuttered and stumbled over each word, with every sentence he let out he felt like he was letting out more and more that he couldn't take back.

"You... You m-moved out because you had a crush on me?"

"Yeah...." He nodded briefly before turning to Todd.

"But... you only moved out a week ago..."

The brunette nodded. He felt like there was a lump in his throat and a pit in his stomach.

"D-do you still... Feel like... That?"

Neil let out an awkward chuckle. "I guess so, yeah."

"You moved out to get over me?" Todd was still somewhat smiling, like he didn't believe it was true.

"Yeah." He nodded. Neil was a lot calmer now that it was out in the open. He thought this would've gone a lot worse than it did.

Todd let out a sigh of relief, which Neil immediately noticed.

He scanned Todd for any sign of discomfort or anger, though he didn't pick up on any. The only other time he'd felt this anxious was when his father showed up unexpectedly in the audience of a play he was in. But he'd rather not think about that.

"What?" Now that he was at ease he could finally do something besides just stand there and look anxious.

Todd dismissed the question by shaking his head, although he was still smiling. "It's just..." He lowered his voice. "I-I've gotten that advice before."

Neil just gave him a confused look.

"Meeks... He thought I should've m-moved out when I... Told him I liked you."

Neil went speechless, his mind was racing. It all made sense now, thinking back to all the times he even considered that Todd felt the same way about him. It all made sense.

"What?" Neil choked out as his lips formed a smile.

Todd reciprocated his smile. "Just before you moved out..."

The two boys shared a glance and the room seemed to shrink, pulling them closer together.

"Really?"

"...yeah."

"Charlie had his suspicions." Neil joked. He tried keeping the conversation light hearted, he knew that Todd didn't hold up well under stress.

"I thought it was so obvious-" Todd mumbled, he hid his face in his hands.

In hindsight it was incredibly obvious. It was ridiculous that they had no idea that the other had feelings for them until now.

"I... I guess I just never noticed before." Neil sat back down in his original position on the bed. "I thought I was the obvious one." He laughed.

"Really?" Todd's voice came out like a mouse, he peeked at Neil from behind his hands.

"Oh yeah!" He nodded reassuringly. "Remember all the valentines' I made you?"

"Oh my God-" The shorter boy covered his face with his hands again, embarrassed, his face flushed red. "I had no idea."

"Really? No idea?"

Todd silently shook his head in response.

Neil hadn't noticed his cheeks heating up until he saw himself in the mirror. His face was bright red and there was a sweet smile on his face. He never even dreamed that this day would come. Not only was he able to confess to the love of his life, but to hear Todd say in his own words that he reciprocated those feelings, it just meant the world to him. Maybe this was the beginning of something new?

Carpe Diem.

[katareyoudrilling]

Construction Corner (AU Joel Miller x Female Reader)

Episode 1: The Gutierrez Family

Fandom: The Last of Us/Pedro Pascal

Pairing: TV Host Joel Miller x divorced Female Reader

Summary: AU where nothing bad happened in 2003. It is now 2007 and Joel is now the host of a popular home renovation show.

Word count: ~1.8k

Rating: Teen, but series will be Explicit (18+ only. NO MINORS)

Content Warnings: Alternate Universe, inaccuracies about tv show production, filming, and construction

A/N: I had a lot of fun with this!  If I’m going to do an AU, I’m going to go all the way.  I hope you enjoy it!  Reader is divorced and in her late 30s, but is otherwise a blank slate.  Big thank you to @wheresarizona for her help with this idea and for beta reading!

Comments and reblogs very much appreciated!

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Taglist – link in my bio and on my Masterlist

The first day of shooting always feels a bit like the first day of school – all nervous energy and possibilities.  You loved school.  You also really love your job as the producer of “Construction Corner with Joel Miller.”

The show started out on the local Austin, TX PBS channel, KLRU, a few years ago, but quickly got picked up by HGTV, which meant bigger projects and more episodes.  Also, more work for you, but that was just fine.

There’s a bounce in your step and a latte in your hand as you walk onto the homeowners’ property for the first episode.  Production always breaks over the hottest summer months, but now it’s October, and while the air is still warm, at least it’s not stifling.

You’ve spent the last few months interviewing potential homeowners, coordinating materials for their projects, and setting the filming schedule.  The prep is finished.  Now it’s time to put it all together.

This week’s episode is shooting in San Antonio.  You opted to commute since the drive isn’t too far from your home in Austin, but it did mean an early morning, thus the latte.

You make your way over to the homeowners who have just finished in the hair and make-up trailer.

“Mr. and Mrs. Gutierrez!  How nice to see you again!” you greet them with a warm smile and a handshake.

“Please, call us Javi and Gabriela,” Mr. Gutierrez, Javi rather, corrects you in his melodic accent, placing his arm around his very pregnant wife.

“Of course, Javi.  Are you ready for today?”  The homeowners are often nervous at the thought of revealing their DIY disasters to stern-faced Joel, so you like to check in.

“We are so excited!” Javi bounces on the balls of his feet, brown eyes sparkling.

“We definitely are,” Gabriela continues, looking fondly at her excitable husband.  “This is happening just in time.  Our baby girl is due next month.”

“How wonderful!  I’m so glad we can help you before the baby arrives.”  You walk with them back towards their house.  “I just wanted to remind you of a few things before filming starts today.  You will be meeting Joel in a few minutes, but will have to pretend you are meeting him for the first time at your front door for the cameras.  You’ll take him inside and show him the project.  I’ll be honest with you… he is going to sigh a lot.  Don’t take it personally.  It may feel like he’s disappointed in you, but he’s not.  He wants to help.”

Javi and Gabriella nod seriously as they take in the information.  It’s a vulnerable thing showing an expert like Joel the mess you’ve made of your house.  But anyone who had watched the show knew that Joel was actually a big softy and was genuinely happy to teach homeowners the right way to do things, and proud of them when they learned.

As if on cue, Joel emerges from his trailer.  He is wearing a dark green t-shirt that pulls tight across his broad chest and shoulders, the sleeves hugging his muscular arms.  His worn leather toolbelt is slung low across his hips over dark-wash jeans.  Sturdy leather boots complete the look.

With each passing year, his wavy hair features more gray at the temples and in his scruffy beard.  He was concerned about the grays when they started coming in and even considered dying his hair, but you and the show’s director had convinced him that they only added to his gruff charm.  Salt and pepper suits him perfectly.

He makes his way over to you and the Gutierrezes in long, sure strides.

“Good morning, Joel.  I’d like you to meet Javi and Gabriela.”  You introduce the couple.

“Good mornin’,” Joel greets them with a kind smile, “I’m lookin’ forward to workin’ with you the next few days.”  He shakes their hands firmly and you watch as they beam at him.  It’s clear that Javi in particular is already under his spell.

“I’ll leave you to get acquainted.”  You back away from the group and make your way to the construction crew to confirm that they have all the supplies they need.

Filming begins shortly with Javi and Gabriela meeting Joel at the front door just as you had explained to them.  You watch on a monitor as they show Joel their DIY disaster.  He drags his hand down his face and sighs as he takes in the sight in front of him.

Javi had attempted to resurface his fireplace and build shelves on either side.  The faux stone he tried to affix to the fireplace was now falling off in places, leaving behind splodges of adhesive.  The shelves on either side of the fireplace droop and sag and behind them, wires stick through ragged holes in the wall.

Poor Javi grimaces as Joel takes it all in.

“We have our work cut out for us, but we’re gonna get it done.” Joel pronounces as he places a firm hand on Javi’s shoulder.  Javi positively swoons.

For the next few hours, the crew, Joel, and Javi, demo the area.  The camera operators are sure to get close up shots of Joel’s arms as he pulls down the sagging shelves and his backside as he bends down to pull off the faux stone.  It’s not their first rodeo.  Joel shakes his head good-naturedly when they ask him to bend down once more to get the perfect shot.  If it gets people interested in learning proper building techniques, then he is willing to provide a little eye-candy even if he doesn’t really believe he’s that exciting to look at.

By late afternoon, the room is clear and Joel sits down with Javi and Gabriela to show them his design plan.

“What we’re gonna do is build a new fireplace surround to go over y’all’s existin’ one.  We’ll tile the hearth and around the fireplace openin’ with these tiles here.” He shows them the samples.  “On either side, we’ll build shelves.  We’re gonna put cabinet doors on the bottom where we’ll put your electronics.  What you won’t see are the hidden channels for all your cables to run from your TV over the fireplace down into the cabinet, where we will have it wired for power and cable.  The doors will keep all your electronics out of sight and safe from your little one.”

Javi and Gabriela nod enthusiastically and smile.  Gabriela pats her round belly fondly.

Once the crew is satisfied that they got all their shots, production breaks for the day.  You do a final round of check-ins with all the departments and head to your car as the sun begins to set.  You buckle your seatbelt with a contented sigh and make your way home.

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

The midday sun beats down on you as you look around for a spot of shade to eat your lunch.  It’s the fourth day of filming and after lunch will be the finished project reveal.

Everything has gone smoothly and you’re sure it’s going to make a great episode.  Every time Joel pats Javi on the shoulder and tells him that he did a good job, Javi beams at him with glistening eyes.

You see Joel sitting under a tree, squinting at his phone, and make your way over to him.  “Can I join you?”

“Sure,” he answers, still looking at his phone.

“Everything ok?”

He sighs.  “Sarah texted me.  She says it’s faster.  It’s not.”

You chuckle as he slowly presses the numbers on his keypad.

“How is she liking college?”

Joel finishes sending his message and sets his phone down on the grass beside him.  “She loves it.  I just don’t know why I let her go so far away.”

“Because you’re a good dad.  You’re encouraging her to follow her dreams.”

“Why’d they have to be in Virginia, though?”

You chuckle and pat him on his jean-clad knee.  “I’m sure she misses you too.  Does she call you?”

“Yeah, we talk every couple days, and then the damned texting in between,” he finishes with a grumble.

“You’ll get faster at it.  You could get one of those new iPhones everyone is talking about.”

Joel gives you a withering look and you laugh.

“She’s happy, though? Making new friends?” you ask, hopefully.

“It’s all she talks about.  Her friends, her roommate, her classes.  Can’t keep it all straight.”

“That’s great.  How are you doing?”

Joel takes a bite of his sandwich and tips his head from side to side as he considers.  “I’m ok.  The house sure feels empty, though.”

“I know what you mean.”

He looks at you questioningly.

“Oh, didn’t you hear?  I got divorced.”  You wiggle your bare left-hand fingers at him.  He stares at you for a long moment, then finally blinks and clears his throat.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t know.  You ok?”

“Yeah, I’m great, actually.  It was a long time coming.”  You take a bite of your lunch before continuing.  Joel doesn’t rush you.  “We were so young when we got together, and we grew apart.  It happens.  It’s nobody’s fault.”  You shrug and look over at Joel.  He nods and holds your gaze for a long moment before returning to his lunch.

You eat in companionable silence until the director calls you all back to set.  Joel gets to his feet and offers you a hand up.  His warm, dry palm engulfs yours as he pulls you up.

“Thanks, and thanks for lunch.  It was good catching up.” You smile at him.

“Yeah,” he pulls at the back of his neck and looks away, then back at you.

“Well, I’ll see you around.”  You squeeze his shoulder and walk away.  When you reach the production trailer, you turn back and find him still standing by the tree looking at you.  You smile and wave and he jolts, then turns and walks quickly away.  Strange.

You get yourself set up with a headset and monitor as the film crew takes their places inside with Joel, Javi, and Gabriela.

Watching the reveal is your favorite part.  The homeowners have been kept away while the final touches were completed.  The joy on their faces at seeing their new space warms your heart, but the best part is the pride in their eyes at having helped Joel accomplish it.

Next week will be new homeowners and a new project, but that same sense of pride and accomplishment.  Yeah, you love your job.

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

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A/N: for anyone not familiar, this episode’s cameo was from The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

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**if your username is crossed out, it won’t let me tag you, please check your settings and/or update your taglist entry

[tippenfunkaport]

Introducing MAYbe I’ll Make This, the easiest month of prompts you’ve ever participated in happening this May 2023.

It’s a chance to share all those ideas you’ve been toying with that you might draw or write someday with no pressure to actually commit to finishing anything!

Participation can be as little as sharing a few words or a single sentence or as involved as a sketch or plot summary, it’s up to you! 

What’s the point?

To fill our fandom tags with fun new ideas and stimuli to get everyone’s creative juices flowing. For fan creators ourselves, it gives us a chance to talk about our ideas with no pressure to deliver. And who knows, hopefully seeing people excited about our ideas might give us extra inspiration and motivation to maybe even work on them someday!

Here’s how it works:

Throughout May, post anything from a few words to a snippet from an idea you’ve been kicking around that you MAY draw or write someday and tag the related fandoms, if any. (Ideas that you've started, have actively in progress or have even started but abandoned are also welcome!) A few sentences about a fic you might write, a sketch you’re still figuring out, or even a long infodump about the AU of your heart, share as much or as little as you want!. It’s not a commitment to make anything, just a fun excuse to talk about your ideas. 

Don’t have any ideas of your own? No problem! You can still participate by boosting the ideas that others post, asking questions and expressing your excitement about the ideas that appeal to you. 

Anyone from any fandom is welcome to participate as well as original writers so please spread the word!

We’ve got 30 days worth of prompts to get you started that you can interpret anyway you like… or ignore entirely and do your own thing. Do all 30, pick and choose, do them out of order, whatever you want! The point is just to have fun and share your ideas! 

That’s it! Just a super chill, low effort way for us all to celebrate those ideas taking up space in our brains that we aren’t quite ready to commit to making yet (or maybe ever). 

Notes

Participants retain all rights to their ideas and first dibs on the writing / drawing of them.

Want feedback on your ideas? Encourage brainstorming? Happy to let someone else take your idea and write it themselves? Add a note to that effect to your post so people know what kind of interactions are welcome. 

Please be supportive of others' ideas and keep overly negative opinions to yourself (especially if they did not ask for feedback). If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all!

You’re welcome to tag your posts with “MAYbe I’ll Make This” or link back to this post to explain the challenge but your host (me) won’t be sharing every post related to this challenge. This is just something I wanted to do for my own purposes to share all the ideas I may never get a chance to write but I’m opening the prompts list to anyone who might like to do the same. 

Questions? Drop me an ask! 

May 2023 Prompts

No Plot Just Vibes

Lives In My Head Rent Free

Sometimes One Must Torture The Blorbos For Enrichment

Completely Self Indulgent

I Just Want Them To Be Happy 😭

Canon Divergent

Inspired By A Movie

Galaxy Brain Of Me, Honestly

No One Wants This But Me

All The Tropes!

Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Canon

Idea Fueled By Spite

Shameless Excuse For Hurt / Comfort

Inspired By A TV Show

Slaps Idea: This Baby Can Fit So Much Projection!

Yes, I’m Cringe But I’m Free

One! More! Time! 

Totally OOC But Hear Me Out… 

Role Swap

Inspired By Someone Else’s Au

I Hurt Myself With This Idea

Old Tropes, New Tricks

Pretend I’m Good Enough To Pull This Off

It’s Really Just All About This One Scene… 

Crack Treated Seriously 

Seriousness Treated Like Crack 

I’ve Actually Started Working On This

Yes It’s Been Done But Not By Me So

More Of What You’d Call A Character Study

Casually Slides in My OC

Inspired By A Book

[simp999]

A New Home Ch. 16

Various! Splatoon manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1.3k

Back to the start! Previous Next

“Hey, hey, look!”

You barely have time to breathe after walking through the door of your new home before Leo’s shoving his phone in your face.

He kept moving it around, making it impossible to read the screen.

“We got invited to a party! Starts at 6 tonight!”

Oh. people.

“Who’s all going?”

“Uhh, no idea who’s hosting it, but I heard it should be mostly strong players?”

Ugh, seriously? Those are usually the worst people to be around. Most of them are so stuck-up and arrogant. Well, you suppose that if it’s just a bunch of randos, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to maybe find some new opponents. Your team could always use new sacrifices to test out new techniques in battle. And you won’t have to feel bad about it, with how their personalities usually are. Putting them in their places is always so fun.

You let out a small sigh, and agree to going - not like he was really offering since the beginning. As long as Milo, Tasha and him are going, you should be fine, right?

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*��＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Wrong.

It’s now 6:08, and it’s so damn loud. The songs may be decent, almost like a 2010’s party mix is what you could best compare it to, but it shook the whole house. You weren’t expecting this many people, either. The lights are off, but there are tons of colored party lights and even a disco ball.

(Optional song.)

You grabbed Milo’s hand to ground yourself, and he held yours comfortably tight, rubbing his thumb against your knuckles soothingly. There wasn’t much else he could do, but you appreciated his effort. Though, it didn’t help all that much. It’s hard to get distracted and grounded when the source of your uncomfortableness is making its way through all of your senses. At least there was one that you could control, and that was food.

You squeezed your way through the crowd, making your way over to the snack area to find something you liked. Holy carp, that’s a lot of food. You grab one of the paper plates and throw on some stuff that you like, grabbing one of the canned drinks to wash the food down.

Wait, where’s Milo?

You begin to look around nervously, he shouldn’t be that hard to spot, being as tall as he is. Same goes for Tasha. Though Leo’s completely lost in the crowd, no luck finding him unless he decides to make a scene. Which isn’t unlikely.

You can’t search by color, since the lights are all weird, so you look for shape instead. You spot a quick reflection of light right around where his face height would be, then you see his spiky hair.

‘Okay, good. He’s right there. This is fine.’

As long as you know that you can spot him at any time, that eases your nerves. You hold the cold can in your hand tightly, taking a deep breath in.

Yeah, this isn’t your type of thing. You manage to push through and talk to a couple of people that approach you, and you quietly sing to some of your favorite songs once you get a little more comfortable. Anarchy Rainbow, Bomb Rush Blush, and Callimari Inkantation, to name a few. They had a lot of nice, upbeat tunes. But, as expected, it starts to feel way too loud again, and this time you try to find a way out. You need to escape, even just for a bit, before you start to feel too overwhelmed again.

You climb up the stairs to the second floor, and notice that the sound is definitely more drowned out up here. You open a couple of doors, trying to find the washroom. You mostly just find a couple of spare rooms with beds. One of the rooms was completely decked out with Dj-like stuff on the walls, but it seems the kit was missing. Guess that’s what they’re using downstairs.

You open another door and, man, this is nowhere near anything you could have ever expected.

Four cephalopods stare back at you. There’s one sitting on a beanbag chair, in front of a tv, playing some video game. Squid Racer, you’d recognize the characters and OST any day with how often Leo likes to play. There’s another at a table, who’s writing down in his manual. The third is sitting near the tv, with a lollipop in hand. You could have guessed that he was watching the other one play Squid Racer just before you walked in. The last one is now right in front of you.

“Hey, sweetheart! You did get my message! I’m glad you came~I was afraid you wouldn’t show,” He throws on a fake pout, but quickly replaces it with a friendly smile, “What brings you up here?”

“Leo showed me the invite, I had no idea you were the one throwing the party. Should have guessed, though.” You avoid the last question, not wanting to seem weak in front of such strong players.

“Aw, not happy to see me?”

“Nono, I am, I just wasn’t expecting to find you guys here, is all!” You wave your hands dismissively, trying to prove your point. You can’t look at them directly, this is way too much to handle right now.

He gently puts a hand on your upper back, in a way that silently asks if you’re okay with it. You allow it, and he brings you into the room and closes the door. You immediately take note of how much quieter it is in this room specifically, it’s almost like this room is made for this.

“Ya wanna stay in here for a bit? Parties can get pretty loud and overwhelming, I get it.”

Of course. Of course, somebody of this skill level would see right through you, you should have expected that.

You let the smile drop from your face for a second, and slump down to the ground to relax. The coldness of the ground feels so nice, this is exactly what you needed.

“Thanks ‘loha. Seriously, I mean it.”

He doesn’t question the nickname, he must have misheard you. He’s a little surprised at how casual you seem, but it might just be because of how you’re feeling.

“ ‘Course! Where are your teammates? They ditch ya? I’ll kick their-”

“No, no, they’re having fun. They were all hanging out with other people, making friends n stuff - hopefully, - and I don’t wanna ruin that for them.”

“They’re terrible teammates if they don’t help you out when you’re in need of it.”

“Nah, my teammates are awesome and would do anything for each other. …That’s exactly it, though, I want them to enjoy themselves and not have to worry about me.”

You wonder if maybe there is something bigger than this, another reason at the back of your mind. Do you not want to seem weak? You shake your head, 

“I wasn’t doing too bad, I got away before it started to really suck.” You get up, dusting yourself off, then go sit next to Skull on the couch. Not right next to him, obviously, but there’s a comfortable distance.

“As long as you’re feelin’ better.”

Mask finally finishes his round, and he leaves the in-game lobby. You tilt your head in curiosity, wondering why he’s leaving. There’s no way in sub-weapon hell that he’s going to actually join the party, you know that for a fact.

Instead, he looks back at you, then gestures to the beanbag chair a little farther off in the corner. You clue in, and go grab the chair, and set up next to him. He’s already grabbed the second controller, and waits for you to get comfortable before handing it over.

“Hope you knoooow I’m not going eaaaasy on you.”

“Better not, ‘cause kicking your ass won’t feel as good.”

You shoot him a playful smirk, and you let the round begin.

This is so much better than being downstairs. 

Next part

May.12.23

[geekintofeet]

SNIFF!

One day you left your laptop open and your straight flatmate discovered the porn you are used to watch. After that, he started to tease you, asking you to give him a rub, shoving his dirty socks on your nose while you were doing the dishes… to your pleasure.

But what started as some teasing slowly escalated into a game of dominance, where he would see you less like his flatmate and more like his slave.

After months of this situation, he really pushed your own limits by disclosing to all his male friends that you were his « flatslave ». Whenever he’d invite them to watch a football match on TV, they would all call you to be at their feet.

Today, he announced he had a surprise for you, his dad would be in town for the weekend and he would host him in the flat.

« And guess what, my dad is very excited to meet you, my flatslave… »

« Matt?!! Seriously you didn’t tell him that? You’re joking right?!… »

« hahaha that’s MASTER for you, you forgot? And don’t worry my dad is very cool and he found it hilarious actually. I bought it some special pairs of socks I sent to him in advance to wear for a few days, you’ll see tonight… »

You thought it was just playing some mind games with you as he always did.

In the evening, they both came home and you introduced yourself to his dad « ah nice to meet you, I’m Luca, Matt’s flatmate ».

His dad smirks « ah yes, you mean flatslave right? Thank you for taking care of my son ».

You’re in shock… he told even his dad… you’re feeling ashamed and ridiculed. You just go to your bedroom while his dad unpack his stuffs.

Then after a while you hear your flatmate yelling for you to come now. When you arrive in the living room you see your flatmate and his dad sitting on the couch with both their feet on the coffee table.

« Aaah here’s my good boy! » says Matt with a smirk, « as I told you we both have a gift for you, come check our socks, we personalized them with a little message for you… »

You approach their socks as ordered and first, you are taken aback by the pungent smell coming from his dad socks…

« hahaha yes I didn’t lie to you when I told you my dad would wear them some days in advance just for you, but did you see what’s written…? »

and then you see … « SNIFF »

They laugh and his dad says « well, what are you waiting for, flatslave? »

[adultswim2021]

Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job #45: “Crows” | March 29, 2010 - 12:30AM | S05E05

Lotta chatter in the discord about this season of Tim & Eric. Most of my friends were Tim and Eric devotees to some degree, and we are all having a great time communally reshaping our opinions on a shared like of something. It’s special. I like it! They’ve been selectively watching along with my watch along, and a lotta them are making a point to dig into a Tim & Eric rewatch. You bet they are. Lotta them said they hated this one especially, but lord help me, I think I love this one. 

When I give a contrarian opinion–you better believe it–people talk. So, let the conversation begin: I got very high before watching this episode, and that is probably the only reason I liked it so much. So, I am going to make the mistake of letting this stand as my definitive opinion on the episode. When one embarks on something so audacious as an adultswim.com branded blog, when one uses their mind for a higher purpose (discussing Meatwad, Brak, etc), they must occasionally reflect on their lives and conclude: I am the only person who is right about anything, so much so that it’s especially true when I am high as hell. 

Okay: Quall sings the Car of the Future, not that good but I like that there’s a crazy guy on TV. This was Tim & Eric’s intent all along, and sometimes it’s just nice.

Then there’s the Paynus Bros. This doesn’t go anywhere, really, but I laughed a bit and I can’t deny that. Is it weird that a guy in this once yelled at my wife over some seriously pedantic bullshit regarding some forgotten stand-up comedy-related scandal? Yes, it’s weird. But guess what? I don’t even HAVE a wife anymore, dickhead. I do like the part where the host of the entertainment news show interviews his friend’s parents. LOL who DOES that. A lot of this is a little time-wastey though and it doesn’t really have much of a point. But some of it works for me, which isn't bad for being the worst sketch in the episode. 

The Cinco Sleep Watching Chair is a classic. I love this sketch so much. Doug Foster (aka Doug Prish-Preed) cracks me up, and the bit where they give him age-inappropriate frat boy dialogue (saying his romantic partners just need to be hot, and nothing else matters- IMAGINE!). Michael Gross plays his sleep-watching friend, a strange sinister-seeming relationship. It’s almost as if he’s the man’s feeder, but for sleep. One of my favorites, I love the little smile at the end. It makes me do a huge one. 

The wraparound is that Tim has his eyes pecked out by crows, which eventually leads to Eric getting his eyes also pecked out. This is because, inexplicably, they can’t not simply avoid one particular alleyway where foreboding crows attempt murder on those who pass one too many times. This is all connected to a “Dark Man” who, I learned only recently, is famous rapist Marilyn Manson. I thought he was just some bad actor they got. Oh well, fooled me. I am sorry for not taking a stand against him. I promise I don't like the guy.

The reviled Rainn Wilson plays a menacing character who crackles and warns Tim & Eric of the crow storm coming. It’s all meant to evoke tropes of supernatural horror films. I hate Rainn even more than Manson, but even his presence doesn’t bug me in this. This is a good role for a wad like him.

Another interesting thing about this sequence is that it results in a sketch that works both as a standalone bit of weirdness AND as a narrative bridge that introduces the referenced "dark man". A circle of chanting people all say mildly absurd things like “Be provocative, be organized”, which is a phrase that I think is poetry, and I think about it often. A shadowy figure swoops in and takes one of the men's sons. I love this, and consider it art.

The Dark Man shows up in the spooky alley to turn Tim & Eric into a pair of porcelain birds because of their past crimes against birds. The little bit of footage of Eric smugly shooting a bird at point blank range is so funny to me. I consider moments like this to be gifts, and I appreciate the wonderful one I have received here. He also turns Rainn Wilson into a toilet, like he deserves. It becomes apparent that this is a reference to the Tom Goes to the Mayor episode Porcelain Birds; so much so that John Ennis reprises his role as the guy at the bronzing plant. Then he morphs into the Tom Goes art-style and we cut to Tom Goes to the Mayor style credits. Wonderful! Simply wonderful!

I like Crows, everyone!

[letsplayballet]

making this its own post bc a) i've done the next scene finally, and b) maybe if it gets notes this time i'll be able to convince myself to write more of this thing that's been living in my head for 5 years now

anyway. persona 5 tv studio/justice rank 1 be upon ye.

~*~

The instant Akechi enters the studio, the unsettled feeling Akira had had in the hallway the day before returns full force.

“Ain’t that the guy from yesterday?” Ryuji mutters- for once quiet enough to not garner attention, though that could easily be because everyone around them is too busy cheering. Akira gives a shallow nod. He’s not even sure if Ryuji notices, or if he was actually asking him in the first place, but he can’t take his eyes off of Akechi for long enough to check. There’s something in the back of his mind screaming danger!, like they’re in a palace and the teen smiling pleasantly on stage is a shadow, about to round a corner and sound the alarm on them.

It doesn’t make sense, he can’t help but think as the show goes live. He doesn’t know Akechi, had only heard his name a few times in passing before yesterday, and nothing Akira has heard or seen has given him any reason to be this suspicious of him. For all that he works with the police, he seems nice enough, if a little awkward; kind of in a similar way to Yusuke, actually, with those weird comments on pancakes in their last conversation-

(that uncomfortable tension rises, sharpens, why does it feel like he’s missing something)

-but on the whole he seems… genuine. Startlingly so, actually. Akira has lived and breathed masks for a while now: he’s had several of them himself, and has learned how to recognize them in others, a talent which has only gotten stronger since this whole business with personas and the metaverse. He can nearly see the seams on the hosts as they chat with Akechi, the bubbly entertainer personalities of their jobs overlaying who they actually are, and they’re professionals. Their livelihoods depend on these masks, on their ability to make them seem genuine, and they’re good enough that Akira is sure that, even if other people know the masks are there, no one else can see them the way he can.

Akechi says something, giving a wry little grin, that sets the audience laughing, and Akira can’t see any hint of a mask.

It’s possible he doesn’t have one, of course. But- he’s a celebrity, and in high school, and people in either of those situations don’t tend to last long without some sort of protection between them and the outside world, at least not with decent mental health, and Akira can’t see his mask-

“However, if these Phantom Thieves are real, I believe they should be tried in a court of law.”

Akira’s circling thoughts come screeching to a halt. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Ryuji and Ann both tense.

“That’s quite the statement,” the male host says seriously, his raised eyebrows the only sign of his surprise. “Are they committing crimes? Some people even say that the Thieves are actually helping their victims abandon their evil ways.”

Akira feels Ryuji bristle at Madarame and Kamoshida being called victims, and he presses his own knee against his friend’s thigh. I know, he tries to tell him with the contact, but now’s not the time. Some of it must come through, because Ryuji huffs out a breath and sits back in his chair, tense and glaring but less ready to jump into a fight.

On stage, Akechi frowns. “What the artist Madarame did was truly an unforgivable crime,” he says, just the barest hint of something severe in his voice. “However, the Phantom Thieves are taking the law into their own hands by judging him. It is far from justice.”

There’s a murmur through the crowd, and Akira looks over to find Ann already looking back at him, seeming as conflicted as he feels. It’s one thing to talk these sorts of concerns over with your teammates; to hear them repeated in this sort of a setting…

“More importantly,” Akechi continues, drawing the team’s attention back to him, “we have no idea how they are causing these supposed ‘changes of heart’, but I would highly doubt it’s the result of a friendly conversation. Blackmail would be the least concerning option, and that is a crime, regardless of intention.”

“You have a point,” the male host says. “These people are calling themselves the Phantom Thieves, after all.”

Which isn’t really wrong either, especially for people who can’t conceive of the metaverse. There probably isn’t an explanation even close to the truth that they could give that would be believed, much less not construed as some sort of crime.

“Now then,” the female host says brightly, “lets try asking some students the same age as Akechi-kun about the Phantom Thieves! First, please press your buttons now if you believe the Phantom Thieves exist!”

Ryuji presses his button immediately, and with quite a bit more force than necessary. Akira hesitates, but also presses his own button. A few seconds pass, and the flashing numbers reveal that about a third of the audience has also pressed their buttons, which is a much higher percentage than Mishima’s site shows.

(Akira can’t help but wonder if it’s just the age range of the audience, or the fact that many of the students here have now witnessed two of these incidents, where the rest of the world has really only seen the one.)

“That’s a bit higher than I was expecting,” Akechi says, unknowingly mimicking Akira’s own thoughts. “I’d love to hear some more detailed opinions on the Phantom Thieves’ actions.”

The female host stands, scanning the audience as she walks towards them- and then comes to a stop in front of Akira.

Ryuji, who hasn’t relaxed since the start of the interview, somehow manages to tense even further. Ann takes in a quick, startled breath through her nose. Akira can feel everyone’s eyes on him through his panic, and he tries to school his face into pleased excitement, like being on TV was the best he could have hoped for today and he’s just trying to make the most of his spotlight.

“Why don’t we ask this student here?” the host asks, cheerful. She’s just a little too loud this close to him, and he hopes that his discomfort isn’t as obvious as it feels. “Hypothetically speaking, what are your thoughts on these Phantom Thieves, if they are real?”

There’s an anticipatory note to the silence now, and Akira is reminded again of the feeling of infiltrating a palace, though this time he can’t tell where the danger lurks. He clears his throat.

“If they are real, I think what they’ve done is quite noble.”

“Oh really?” Akechi says, cutting off the host before she can even begin to reply. The attention on him feels like a physical weight now. “How so?”

Akira shrugs, trying to seem unaffected. “Well, you said yourself that what Madarame did was unforgivable. It seems as though he hurt a great many people, but no one has been able to come forward until he confessed to his crimes himself. His reputation protected him for a long time, but he can’t hurt anyone else anymore. I can’t see how that’s anything other than a good thing.”

He’s being reckless, he knows, even without Morgana’s claws digging into his ankle through his bag. But between Akechi’s unsettling demeanor he still can’t figure out, the tension he can feel thrumming through his friends, the considering murmurs he can hear in the crowd, and his own persona in the back of his mind, he can’t quite convince himself that it’s a bad decision. Even if it puts undue attention on him, if he can redirect the focus onto the good the Phantom Thieves have done, maybe this show won’t be the utter disaster it’s starting to feel like.

“I must say I agree with you in that much,” Akechi says, sounding faintly surprised- though whether it’s at Akira’s words or his own agreement with them, it’s hard to tell. “But what of their methods? Do they not concern you?”

“What methods?” Akira challenges. “For all we know, these ‘Thieves’ are nothing more than fictional boogeymen, created to try to scare a terrible man. Can you say with certainty that Madarame hasn’t carried a guilty conscience all these years, and this is just what pushed him over the edge?”

Akechi leans forward, elbow on his knees, and the look he’s leveling at Akira is both considering and… something else. Excited, maybe?

“Not with complete certainty, no,” Akechi allows. “But it seems highly irrational that one would commit crimes of such magnitude for such an extended length of time if one carried any guilt over the matter.”

“I would argue that it seems highly irrational to commit such crimes in the first place, regardless of the perpetrators personal feelings.”

“I suppose it depends on your working definition of ‘rational’, but that could be a whole other argument, and I believe we’ve gotten far enough off topic. I’ll ask again, more clearly: if we are supposing the Phantom Thieves are real, that there is a person or group of people who have somehow convinced a previously unrepentant criminal to willingly turn himself in, does the method of this convincing not worry you at all? During the whole of his interrogation, Madarame has claimed no knowledge of or interaction with these Thieves outside of the calling card posted at his exhibit. If someone close to you- for example, your friend next to you- suddenly had a complete change in personality, what would you think? How much could the Phantom Thieves change him, without anyone knowing for sure how or why?”

Akira pauses for a moment, mind racing, not at all liking where this questioning is going. He tilts his head at Ryuji, considering, until-

He blinks at Akechi up on the stage, twists his face into a confused frown, and (promising he’ll apologize to Ryuji as soon as he gets the chance) asks, “Would the Phantom Thieves make him study for his exams?”

“Dude!” Ryuji says, loud and betrayed. Ann bursts into giggles. The laughter spreads through the audience, and Akira is painfully grateful that no one else seems to notice Ryuji’s white-knuckled grip on his chair, or how incredibly forced and fake Ann’s laughter is.

Akechi, after a second, also starts to laugh. “Alright, maybe that was a bad example,” he says, and he has the same even and easy-going tone he’s had the whole show, but for a split second Akira sees- something. A crack, just the barest hint of something other than a calm and collected teen detective.

Interesting.

“My point, however, remains,” Akechi continues as the host returns to the stage, slip already smoothed over. “Whether the Thieves’ actions are good or not, the fact that they could hold this much sway over a formerly unrepentant criminal could have alarming implications, even if we trust them to only be pursuing people like Madarame. Should they decide this isn’t enough… the existence of the Phantom Thieves would be nothing but a threat to our everyday lives.”

~*~

Ryuji, thankfully, accepts his apology with an easy grin and a “Pay for the ramen next time and we’ll call it even.” They spend the rest of the recording a bit more relaxed, bickering quietly during breaks about what sorts of food qualify as “sorry for throwing you under the bus” material. (Ann argues that ramen is insufficient, but eventually concedes to Akira’s point that it kind of depends on the bus.)

After another hour or so, they’re free to go. Ann rushes out pretty quick, having a shoot on the other side of the city she doesn’t want to be late for, and Ryuji has to run to the batroom, so Akira has tucked himself into a corner to wait and is checking his phone when he hears, “Oh! There you are!”

Akechi approaches him confidently, seeming not to notice the stares and whispers that follow him all the way to Akira’s corner. Or, no; he seems very aware of them, but not like he especially cares, in a casual sort of way that does nothing to ease the alarm going down Akira’s spine.

“Detective,” Akira greets. There’s a bit of a tease in his tone, too familiar for someone he’s spoken to twice, but Akechi barely reacts.

“Oh, please, Akechi is perfectly sufficient. Anyway, I’m glad I caught you; I wanted to thank you in person.”

Akira can feel his eyebrows rise, and this time the confusion isn’t affected at all. “Thank me?”

(He wishes he had the comforting weight of his dagger in his hand. He wonders when that weight became comforting, as opposed to strange and vaguely alarming.)

Akechi smiles, distant and professional. “To paraphrase Hegel, advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis.”

One of Akira’s eyebrows drops. The other remains arched slightly above the rim of his glasses, unimpressed. Akechi’s vague smile shifts into a more rueful grin.

“Sorry. What I mean is that our discussion today was quite meaningful. Few people around me are so willing to speak their minds as freely as you did earlier. It frequently makes for dull conversation; it’s been some time since I felt as though I had to work to keep up with someone, especially in the context of a debate.”

“I appreciate the compliment, though I’m not sure it’s entirely deserved,” Akira says slowly. “I’m glad you got something out of it though, and not just the station.”

“Nervous about your television debut?”

“Weren’t you?”

“Not quite,” Akechi says with a laugh. “It’s hard to be nervous about reporters and entertainers when you’ve had to interrogate violent criminals. Regardless, you have nothing to worry about. You handled both yourself and the conversation quite well. If you hadn’t confirmed it just now, I wouldn’t have suspected this was new territory for you. You must be quite a fan of these Phantom Thieves, to defend them so eloquently.”

Morgana shifts suddenly in Akira’s bag, a warning he doesn’t really need. Akechi’s expression remains open and vaguely pleasant, giving no sign that he especially cares about what Akira has to say, but there’s a tension that wasn’t there before, that makes it clear that one wrong step will send him plummeting.

Well. Akechi did say he likes a challenge.

It just so happens, Akira is discovering, that he’s not the only one.

(He’s so gonna get an earful from Morgana for this.)

Akira gives a bit of a grimace. “I don’t know that I’d say ‘fan’, necessarily.”

There’s a beat of silence, and while Akechi’s expression changes very little, there’s definitely a note of surprise. “Oh really? What would you say then?”

“You have a point,” Akira begins slowly, “worrying about their methods. Assuming they’re real, it’s clear whatever they’re doing is effective. Having that much potential power, but no oversight into what they’re doing… well, it’s the same reason a lot of people don’t trust politicians, or police. I imagine the only reason the Phantom Thieves are being viewed positively by anyone is because of the results they’re achieving.”

“In contrast to politicians and police,” Akechi says dryly, with a bitter note that Akira wasn’t expecting. “So you think the ends justify the means?”

“Not at all,” Akira shoots back. “But aren’t these ends worth pursuing? Madarame’s arrest has improved so many lives, and from what I’ve seen online has encouraged people in similar situations to stand up for themselves, no Thieves required. Isn’t exposing injustices worthwhile, Detective?”

Akechi’s face grows serious at the slight. “No one should be above the law, regardless of results.”

“No one should be. But plenty of people already are, aren’t they? Madarame clearly was, until the law couldn’t look the other way anymore.”

“… You’re right,” Akechi says, stony expression softening. “Apologies, for losing my temper a bit there. This is just… something I have very strong feelings about.”

“No worries,” Akira says. “I did needle you. My point is, as glad I am for what these Phantom Thieves may have done, I don’t think we know enough about them to call myself a fan.”

Akechi gives a huff of a laugh. “We do have a bit of a habit of getting off topic, don’t we? Not that I’m complaining; it’s remarkably good stimulation. In fact… would you be willing to exchange contact information? You’ve been such a wonderful debate partner, I think it would do us both good to continue having these sorts of discussions.”

Claws dig into Akira’s back through his bag. And really, Morgana is right. Akira definitely should not give his information to the guy who’s trying to catch him and his friends.

“Absolutely,” Akira says with a grin.

As they exchange numbers and Akira feels the certainty of a confidante click into place within him, he can’t even regret it.

He walks away when Akechi does, though, moving just outside of the studio in the hopes of getting a little privacy so that Morgana can start chewing him out now instead of trying to do it on the train. He finds an empty spot in the hallway where Ryuji (hopefully) won’t miss him, then slides his bag under his arm and opens it.

“Listen,” he starts, “I know it’s risky to get too close to someone like him, but I really think we can-”

“Akira!”

He stops, shocked. Morgana, for all that he likes to hear his own voice, rarely interrupts. Looking down properly at him, Akira realizes that Morgana doesn’t look mad like he’d expected. Instead, he looks… scared.

“What? What’s wrong?”

He can hear Morgana’s tail lashing inside his bag. “I, I know we talked last night about how something seemed off, and I realized, while you were talking to him… I’m the only one of us that said the word ‘pancakes’ yesterday.”

Akira stares blankly at him for a few seconds, before the realization of what, exactly, that implies hits him like a well placed zionga.

“… Fuck.”

[jvstheworld]

My Ted Lasso Re-watch: S2E1 (part 4)

Goodbye Earl

Okay, would you really let your dog pee on a memorial for another dog? Because I wouldn't.

Ted and Beard in a very intense game. How long have they been going for and how has Nate been able to keep count during the whole thing? Seriously, if I tried to do that I'd lose track after a few. (I'm not beating my ADHD allegations any time soon). But really, Nate is counting up to 442. How?

The little song and dance they did was cute. The three of them had to plan it out for her and that's just sweet. And it was Ted's idea, wasn't it?

Dr Sharon notices that the Americans are weird. Well, I'm glad someone does.

Even Higgins joins in on hating saying yips out loud.

Right from the beginning, Dr Sharon singles Ted out from the rest of the group. Everyone in that room (except Higgins) needs therapy, but Dr Sharon only focuses on Ted. Nate doesn't say anything and Beard is hiding in the corner. All the focus is on Ted.

Is Ted good at his job? Depends which part you're talking about. He's a crap football coach, but when it comes to helping people be their best, yeah he's damn good at that. Now if he was coaching American Football, he'd probably be great at that too. But the good thing about Ted is that he accepts help from others who know more than him, and isn't afraid to admit he needs it. Except when it comes to therapy.

1236, huh. Where have we heard that number before? Oh yeah, that's how much money Roy owes Phoebe.

Oh Dani, you precious raven haired golden retriever. Fix him, Doctor. We need him happy again.

Ted definitely feels kind of threatened by Dr Sharon. He's usually the one trying to help people and now someone else is doing it.

John might be fine, but Rebecca should want more than that. I love her epiphany on what she wants in a relationship. She went out with John because he's a nice, safe option. He probably won't hurt her. But that means she isn't getting what she really wants which is passion and vulnerability. She wants the opposite of Rupert, but also the opposite of John. Someone who won't hurt her, but isn't so safe that she is bored and settling.

John caught on quick to what was happing, but it's good that he's not bitter about it. And he's does find someone who is better suited for him than Rebecca, so he's happy in the end. It all works out.

Dani is singing again! We love to see and hear it. Even Ted crosses his fingers this time. No more yips for Dani though. FOOTBALL IS LIFE AGAIN!

Now everyone wants to see Dr Sharon. There's only so much Ted can do before a professional needs to come in. He can't help solve all their problems, but Dr Sharon can help in ways he can't. Ted just feels a little left out because he's always been that person to help people, despite the fact that he's the one that needs the most help.

Keeley taking accountability over what happened on the double date. If you don't know, Waitrose is the really expensive supermarket in the UK where if you're really trying to impress people, that's where you go.

And Roy is with the yoga mums, drinking wine and watching reality TV, a spin on Love Island, hosted by Fleur East, former X-Factor star.

Roy hates Jamie, but the yoga mums love him. You're going to need more wine, Roy.

[hopetorun]

I am currently doing a home by now reread so BTS for that please! <3

oh gosh, picking a scene for this was hard! there's a lot of scenes in there. but here is one i'm really fond of: when matthew goes to see his mom in the final chapter

also this scene is like 2400 words and i scraped a few off the beginning but this is long. thank u all for bearing with me i love to talk about writing

He knocks on the front door this time, like a polite adult, and Mom is already laughing at him when she opens the door.

“You have a key for a reason,” she says. “You interrupted my show.”

It turns out that the show in question is Jeopardy, which Matthew didn’t know Mom watched with any kind of seriousness. He does have fond memories of her putting it on for the kids years ago, because they’d get fixated on keeping score of who got the most answers right and, according to her, give her enough time to clean the kitchen after dinner. None of them ever did very well. [one of the things i had a lot of fun with in this story that shows up here is imagining bits of matthew's childhood and filling in details of how he would've interacted with his siblings. also the idea of all three of them parked in front of the tv obsessively keeping score of this is funny to me]

“What’s for dinner?” Matthew says, ignoring the host chatting with the contestants.

Mom shrugs. “I was going to have leftovers. Don’t they feed you at the arena?”

Matthew waits for her to turn to him so he can smirk. “Still hungry,” he says. She shakes her head.

“God, I forgot how much you can eat during the season.” [there is simply so much eating required to play professional sports]

They eat their leftovers on the couch, feet up on the coffee table. Matthew supplements his with an apple that he found in the fruit drawer, because Mom said she wasn’t going to eat it, and she glares at him when he crunches on it loudly while she’s trying to think of the final Jeopardy answer. Matthew smiles at her with his mouth full.

“I raised you better than that,” she grumbles.

He could answer with another joke, keep the banter going. But he’s feeling thoughtful after his talk with Quinn.

“You did,” he says. [there was that twitter thing the other day about how much of yourself and your experience you put into your stories and there are moments of matthew's relationship with his mom in this fic that are very much informed by my relationship with my mom, and this is one of them; the casual behavior, the quick switch from joking to sincere, the acknowledgement of the parent's role in shaping you]

Final Jeopardy ends—none of the contestants get it right, but Mom remembered the answer and she takes a few seconds to gloat about it—and Matthew turns to Mom, more serious than he usually is with her.

“What’s up, Matty?” she says. The nickname is soft, one she hasn’t used much since Matthew was a lot younger. He’s mostly been Matthew for so long now, but sometimes the old nicknames slip out.

He used to mind, back when he was 15 years old and desperately trying to seem more grown up than he was [important teenager experience] and then Brady would call and yell hi Matt into the phone as loud as he could, and all Matthew’s new friends he wanted to have call him Matthew would laugh and start calling him Matt. [important trying to seem grown up experience] But eventually Matthew stuck, mostly, and now when Mom softens her voice and calls him Matty he just feels like a kid again in a good way. It won’t last, but it’s nice to pretend for a few minutes that Mom can solve all his problems. [important twentysomething/thirtysomething experience]

Matthew takes another bite of his apple, crunching loudly in the quiet room, and then swallows before he says, “How do you know if someone is worth it?”

Mom frowns briefly. “Romantically?” she asks, and Matthew nods.

Thankfully, she doesn’t ask any more questions, just tilts her head, considering.

“It’s hard,” she says finally. “Or, I guess—it’s not hard, but you feel very aware of how high-stakes it is. You have to decide it’s worth trying before you can really know for sure.”

That’s kind of the answer Matthew expected, even if it doesn’t make things any easier for him. He could’ve decided in the summer of 2020 that it was worth taking the risk, putting himself out there, and he didn’t. [matthew is very ... measured isn't quite the word, deliberate maybe? about his public presentation, and obviously public presentation ≠ actual personality, but for the purposes of rpf it's very interesting to lean into that. the piece of relationships, especially romantic relationships, where you have to take a leap of faith and risk someone the opportunity to hurt you because it's the only way to know that they won't]

“I almost decided it wasn’t, you know,” Mom continues. “Once it got obvious the Jets were going to relocate. I always knew that dating a hockey player might mean moving away but it had always seemed like a theoretical thing, you know? And then suddenly it was a choice I had to make a lot more quickly than I thought I would, and that was scary.”

Matthew is quiet, mostly because he doesn’t know what to do with that.

“But you did it,” he says finally.

“I did,” Mom says, smiling. “And it was worth it. But I was very aware that leaving my whole life behind to follow a guy across the continent could have blown up in my face. I wasn’t sure at all when I did it.” She pauses. “Well, I was sure I loved your dad and that I wanted to take the risk, but I wasn’t sure that it would work out.” [this scene was going to play out more or less like this regardless of what my wikipedia perusals turned up but reality did me a solid with this detail, thematically. love to wildly riff on a tiny detail of reality because it works nicely with the themes and motifs]

Matthew’s glad she did it, obviously, because otherwise he probably wouldn’t exist, but it does sting to think about how cowardly he was in comparison to her. He didn’t even call Leon back; he thought it could have mattered, but convinced himself it was nothing and let it go.

There’s no way to know if he would’ve been happy with Leon if they’d pursued something. If it would even have worked. There’s no way to know if it could work now, if he hadn’t fucked it up so much. But suddenly, Matthew wishes he’d taken the risk to find out. He wouldn’t even have had to move across the continent for it. [oh i kinda forgot this specific realization is spelled out in this scene! the reason for the whole story, in a way]

Matthew doesn’t even know how he got so deep into the idea that it would be easy. Maybe it’s because hockey wasn’t easy but the work wasn’t scary. Not like the idea of picking his phone back up and calling Leon after the conversation where—well. After that conversation. That was scary. [at this point in the story matthew's really churning through a lot of the stuff that's been cooking in the previous uhhh many many words, so i did let my prose about his thought processes and emotions get more on the nose]

He knew the path through hockey. He knew the path through to success, where to put his feet to make it there, and he never looked around enough to see the possibility of failure. Sure, some people didn’t make it, but he wasn’t going to be one of those.

The path with Leon wasn’t so clear, a murky, muddy thing that slipped out of focus as easily as he could imagine the steps through it. There wasn’t a template. The closest thing to it was Quinn and Brady and that was too different to be much help.

Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe that was just all the years Matthew spent telling himself it was easy for them. [he's starting to realize that actually he's just been an idiot for 10-12 business years, we're all very proud]

Matthew should say something, fill the silence with something thoughtful or appreciative, but no words come to him. He’s been taller than Mom for a long time, but he slumps down on the couch until he can rest his head on her shoulder. She curls an arm around his shoulders the way she has so many times, and rubs the outside of his arm a few times. “It’s okay to be scared of something and still want it,” she says. “I was. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.”

Matthew hums, squirms deeper into the cushions instead of answering.

“You know your brother was scared, right?” [this is such a key detail for me. not just that it wasn't easy for brady (and quinn) but that brady was scared! but brady seemed to sure to matthew etc etc]

Mom probably shouldn’t be telling him this. If Brady told her or Dad that, it was probably in confidence. But she’s telling him anyway, and that gives him the same warm feeling he used to get when she told him he was in charge of Brady and Taryn. [chantal ... probably is violating brady's confidence with this one, but it's been almost ten years and she thinks matthew needs the reassurance more than brady needs an old secret]

He shakes his head against her shoulder.

“He talked to me and Dad about it before he went off to Boston,” Mom continues. “He was all serious about it too, and you know how gawky he was back then, [sorry too teen brady but it's true] and it was hard to take him seriously until I realized how scared he was that he’d have to choose between his career and Quinn.”

“Jesus,” Matthew whispers. He’d never even really thought about that part. He should have, and now that it’s been pulled into focus in his mind he doesn’t know how he didn’t. He’s almost 30, has an established career and a pretty comfortable sum in the bank to boot. Leon does too, unless he’s a lot stupider than Matthew’s been giving him credit for. Brady and Quinn weren’t even drafted, almost ten years ago now, and they were willing to—God. It must’ve been terrifying, even before they broke up. [i waffled about this a lot, about whether i wanted to make the earth 2 this story is set on a gentler version of ours and in many ways it is but ultimately i decided the story pulled together better this way]

“Yeah,” Mom says. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more worried for any of you.” She pauses, exhales slowly. Matthew feels her breath ruffle his hair. “I spent so long bracing myself for horrible injuries and horrible losses that I never even considered that one of you kids might have to choose between hockey and the person you love.”

Matthew doesn’t think he can actually speak, at least not in a voice that sounds remotely normal.

“He never told me,” he finally manages. Mom can definitely tell that he’s got a lump in his throat.

“Of course he didn’t,” Mom says. “You would’ve offered to do something like giving hockey up too if he did, and he didn’t want to put you in that position.” [am i wrong? i am not wrong]

Matthew can’t argue with the point, because he can’t reasonably swear he wouldn’t have offered to do something even stupider. He shakes his head, and under it he feels Mom’s shoulder move as she laughs.

“You’re thinking about what the stupidest thing you might’ve offered to do was, aren’t you?” she says, and Matthew laughs too.

“I probably would’ve come out to take the heat off him if I had to,” he mumbles, and Mom’s next laugh sounds wet. It’s not like he’s never thought it before, even if he’s never said it in so many words. They both know the probably part is a lie. [matthew doing things brady doesn't want him to because he thinks it'll be helpful: consistent across all universes]

“I’m glad you didn’t have to,” Mom says, squeezing his arm for a moment too long.

Matthew huffs out a laugh. “Me too,” he says. “That would’ve sucked.”

Mom doesn’t laugh. Matthew didn’t expect her to. He didn’t really think she’d think it was funny; she cares too much about his wellbeing. Not that he can complain about it, not when she’s letting him slump onto her shoulder and saying comforting things to him.

“I’m glad it all worked out for Brady and Quinn,” he mumbles. God, he’s tired.

“Quinn’s a good one,” Mom says. Her arm slides back onto the couch cushions behind him as she stretches. “I’m glad Brady has him.”

Matthew nods. He could fall asleep here, especially after how badly he slept last night. He probably shouldn’t, because he knows Mom won’t want to wake him up. If he’s going to sleep, he should at least drag himself upstairs to one of the empty bedrooms.

He’s in the process of pushing himself upright when Mom says, “So what are you worrying about?” It startles him.

Well, it’s not a surprise that she saw through him, but he is on the spot now. [moms!!!!]

“There’s a guy,” he says, and her arm drops back around his shoulders, squeezes once. [this is a big deal for him to be telling her and she knows it, which is why she's determinedly not making too much of it]

“Yeah?” she says.

“Yeah,” he says. He feels his mouth quirk into a smile. “Big shock, I know.”

He was aiming for sarcasm, but Mom sounds genuinely surprised when she answers. “Someone you like enough to tell me about?”

Matthew sighs, heavy and exhausted. “I think so. Not that it matters, since I fucked everything up.”

“I doubt that,” Mom says, which she kind of has to say because she’s his mom. [that thing of both only wanting the opinions of people you trust and not necessarily trusting the opinions of people who love you] But then Matthew’s thought he fucked things up beyond repair before, and she usually helps him feel good about whatever comes out of it. Like his team deciding he’s not worth having around and somehow turning that into—this.

“It’s pretty bad,” Matthew says, and then he yawns dramatically, and Mom shoves at him gently. “You’re falling asleep. Go crash upstairs and tell me about it in the morning. I’ll tell you how to fix it.” [this is patently obvious throughout the whole story but i think matthew's relationship with his mom is really interesting and i really enjoyed exploring it! the thing last summer where he asked her to witness his contract ("obviously"), etc etc. it felt really natural to hang a big chunk of the emotional crux of the story on a scene with her and have her ultimately be the person he trusts with his fears and failures]

In the morning, she makes him coffee, feeds him an omelet with a mountain of toppings, and listens as Matthew tells her a lightly edited version of the whole mess. It’s not the worst way to start the day. [sometimes your mom or other loving parental figure CAN fix everything, even when you're a grown up with grown up problems]

[coldivine]

jack quaid + he/him + cis male – have you seen edward 'eddie' kohler around los angeles? the thirty-two year old is usually jamming to saturnine by mystery jets. word around the city is that they’re charismatic, yet, they can also be calculated, but you didn’t hear that from me. they’re currently an actor / screenwriter / businessman and are typically seen walking the streets of los angeles with their daily cup of black coffee. when i think of them, i think of heavily annotated scripts, blue hues hidden by expensive sunglasses after a rough night, frequently flipping off cameras just because. let’s hope the city treats them good!

*     𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒: wanted connections / spotify playlist.

hey, everyone!! this is zazz ( she/her, twenty2, gmt ) bringing you mr. edward kohler. here you’ll find all the info you need to get to know him. if you wanna plot, hmu on discord or through private messages!!

*     ⸻     𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑  𝐎𝐍𝐄.

name: edward john kohler. date of birth: november 3, 1990. zodiac sign: scorpio sun, pisces rising, taurus moon. place of birth: los angeles, california. current residence: hollywood hills, los angeles, california. occupation: actor, screenwriter and co-founder of vault TV. education: new york university tisch school of the arts. sexuality: heterosexual. gender + pronouns: cis man, he/him. relationship status: married.

*     ⸻     𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑  𝐓𝐖𝐎.

positive traits: charismatic, dynamic, clever, easygoing, friendly. neutral traits: observant, big-thinking, sometimes sarcastic. negative traits: entitled, calculating, self-indulgent, greedy, stubborn. likes: nice suits, parties and clubs, cats, retro music, late-night drives. dislikes: overplayed songs on the radio, long phone calls, social media, hypocrites, sci-fi movies. habits:  gesturing when speaking, smirking, glancing at his watch, cracking his knuckles, shaking his right leg when seated. alcohol? cigarettes? drugs? sometimes. yes. sometimes.

*     ⸻     𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘.

edward had the great luck of being born the only child of an emblematic family. as far as it is known, the kohlers have had a foot in the entertainment industry since the beginning of the golden age of hollywood. aside from those countless years of nepotism, his parents have known names: his father, robert, is the ceo of a media company and former politician, serving two terms as the governor of california (2003 - 2011), and his mother, barbara, is most known for being a former child actress, now author and talk show host. for him, growing up meant being able to do whatever he wanted - he just had to say the word. many possibilities roamed his mind, but the thought of continuing his family's legacy was far more interesting than anything else.

with the help of his name, he started acting when he was just a child, appearing in movies and some children-aimed shows. that same success followed him through his teenage years when he started taking it seriously. after he graduated high school, he got into new york university tisch school of the arts, pursuing drama and earning a bachelors in fine arts upon graduation, in 2015. he quickly moved back to los angeles, getting minor roles here and there until he landed his breakout in a 2017 horror film, "grinning soul". since then, he hasn't stopped - successfully acted in various roles, wrote some pieces himself, and founded vault tv, a horror-focused entertainment company, with his spouse, luciana labaki, whom he married in 2018 after dating for a short time. the pair tied the knot on the grounds of a wedlease, a type of marital contract lasting five years; after those years are up, the couple has the choice to renew or split amicably. privately separated for some time now, none of the parties have yet asked for the termination of the contract since vault tv has been added to it as collateral and would automatically pass to the full ownership of the one breaking their agreement.

*     ⸻     𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒.

he has already been featured on some of forbes lists, like "30 under 30".

has some sort of connection to literally everyone with power or reputation, at least in california. his family has always been very well-connected and he knows how to take advantage of that.

besides the usual form of acting, he loves to voice act, stating that he finds it really entertaining.

he is super friendly and considers he has a bunch of friends.

music is an unknown passion of him, often used as an escape. he plays guitar and piano and absolutely loves it.

*     ⸻     𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘.

› 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐌.​

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF SARAH BULLEN (1995) - thomas bullen.

SLIP AND FALL (1999) - elliott moss.

INJURY PROGRAM (2007) - richie evans.

LEARN TO SEE (2010) robbie (voice role).

THE CLEANUP (2014) - kevin fisher.

GRINNING SOUL (2017) - william kennedy.

THERE IS NO ONE HERE (2018) - vincent leyton.

23 MINUTES AWAY (2019) - hugo.

RIVER, RUN (2021) - river sullivan.

INVOCATION (filming) - david.

TWO NIGHTS IN LAS VEGAS (filming) - harry walker

SWEET SYRUP (announced) - august mcgee.

› 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍.

IF YOU'RE FEELING SMART (1998 - 2002) - cooper (64 episodes, main cast).

THE QUANTUM PARADOX (2006 - 2008) - mitch (46 episodes, main role).

TRULY, MADLY, DERANGED (2012-2015) - jimmy becker (24 episodes).

› 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒.

CHASING SHADOWS (2016) - seamus (voice role & motion capture performance).

A NOIR TALE (2021) - josiah schäfer (voice role, english version).