#weekend tv preview

[iluvmattsbeard]

espresso (m.s)

master list

matt sturniolo x reader

warnings: mentions sexual content. not too crazy though/swearing

preview: you were about to go to bed until your phone dings. you look at it receiving multiple texts from Matt out of no where. you and Matt had a little fling going on until he broke it off unexpectedly.

a/n: THIS SONG ON REPLAY. GO STREAM ESPRESSO

-FLASHBACK-

"Y/n! I want you to meet my friends." Madi says opening the door all the way. you were staying at her house for the weekend and she's been insisting that you meet her friends. you get up from the couch as you see three boys walk in. "Y/n, this is Nick, Chris, and Matt." you hear her say as you look at them, specifically Matt. he had a backwards hat on and his shirt was revealing his tattoos down his one arm. you thought it was extremely attractive. "hi nice to meet you Y/n!" Nick says with a smile. "nice to meet you as well. Madi talks about you guys constantly. always telling me stories of yours." you say smiling. "and nice to meet you guys as well." you add on, facing Chris and Matt. they just smile and say the same thing. "I can tell we'll be getting along." Nick says walking to the kitchen, pulling you and Madi along.

you three end up talking most of the time as the two boys, Chris and Matt, sat on the couch playing video games on the TV. "can we join?" Madi says. "if you're prepared to get your ass beat." Chris says handing Madi a controller. everybody laughs at his remark. "we'll see about that." Madi says sitting down on the couch with them. “guys come join!” she calls out to you and Nick. you two shake your heads while Nick replies, “maybe later.” you two were still in the kitchen, but you had a clear view of the three of them playing. your eyes then suddenly land on Matt and you stare at him. analyzing his facial features and his body. Nick looks at you and looks at Matt. he clears his throat slightly which catches your attention. you turn your head to see Nick looking at you with a slight smirk, "my brother Matt?" he says. your eyes widen as you shake your head, "what? no. I was just watching them all play." you reply whispering. "more like watching Matt." he says laughing. your cheeks just turn red from the comment as you look to see if the three on the couch heard. “keep it down” you whisper to Nick who was laughing to himself.

later that night, Chris and Matt had just left. Nick decided to stay over because he was having fun getting to know you. you were laying on your stomach on Madi's bed as Nick sat next to you. Madi was braiding her hair in the mirror. "Madi guess what." Nick says. you weren't really paying attention until you hear the next thing that comes out of his mouth, "Y/n has a crush on Matt." you turn your head towards him as your mouth slightly opens, "where did you get that from?!" you say. Nick laughs as he speaks, "you were staring him down the whole time."

Madi looks at you before speaking, "Y/n, Matt is not one to do relationships." you look at her with a confused face, "okay? I just met him today. Nick is putting words in my mouth." you say glaring playfully at him. Nick laughs as responds, "i'm sorry! it was just funny to see, but Madi is right. Matt is not a relationship type of person. so i'm just going to warn you now just in case you do end up liking him." you roll your eyes and roll over on your back, "not going to happen." you say looking at the ceiling. Madi and Nick just look at each other with a 'yeah right' kind of look which you saw in the corner of your eye. “hey i’m serious!” you say sitting up shaking your head as the two just laugh together.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

“who are you texting?” Madi says trying to peek over at your phone. you bring the phone up to your chest, hiding it from her, “none of your concern” you say smiling. “hey i thought we told each other everything.” Madi says with a raised eyebrow. “well, this is one of those things where i have to see where things go before letting you know.” you say. “so you’re talking to a guy?” she asks with a big smile. “yes. that’s all the information you’ll receive.” you reply with a sly smirk. “not fair!” she exclaims.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

you lay there with your breathing uneven as you stare at the ceiling. you pull the sheets over your body as you turn to face Matt, who is also breathing unevenly. "well that was fun." he says looking back at you. I bet your wondering how you guys got into this situation. you ended up hanging out with Madi and the triplets more, getting closer with the boys. you had a bunch of things in common with each boy, but you had the most in common with Matt. you guys exchanged numbers and ever since then, you've been meeting up. mostly always tangled up in your sheets.

"yeah that was fun." you say with a soft laugh. you sit up holding the blanket over your bare body as you continue to speak, "so is this how we'll always be?" Matt looks at you with a confused face, "what do you mean?" he asks. "well you know, just having sex?" you say with a nervous laugh. "well yeah? I thought that's what we agreed on?" he says. you were expecting a whole different answer from him. the words that came out of his mouth were exactly what people warned you about. "oh... well I was just making sure we're on the same page." you say with a fake smile, lying through your teeth. he sits up from your bed as he starts to put on his clothes. “oh okay.” he says with a smile. I guess they were right. you didn't want to believe it since every conversation you had with him sounded so genuine. once he was fully clothed, he gave you a kiss on your forehead as he speaks, "i'll text you later?" all you do is nod as he smiles and leaves you sitting on your bed disappointed.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

"we told you y/n." Madi says with a sympathetic look. you had your face in your hands as you groan. "I can't believe I was so stupid to think he would want something more with me." you say shaking your head in your hands. "I really thought it'd be different too. he's always bringing you up." Nick says. "he is just a boy after all." Madi says. Nick laughs at the statement, "agreed. even though he's still my brother." he says. you look up from your hands, "I can't believe we had sex." you blurt out. "over and over again. i should've known i was just like every other girl he’s got with." you finish. Nick's eyes widen as he looks at Madi, "you had sex?!" he exclaims. “yeah why?” you ask confused. “Matt always cuts off girls before having sex. he just lead on every girl to thinking they could even get close.” Madi says. “so he didn’t have sex with multiple girls before me?” you ask. “so he was just entertaining girls and breaking hearts instead?” you add on.

“well yeah. i’m pretty sure he only had sex with one other person. his ex.” Nick says. “but, he said it wasn’t a great experience which lead to their break up.” he adds on. a gasp comes out from his mouth, “oh that’s why he acts like a jerk!” he says. now it was all clicking to you. maybe you just had to have a conversation with him.

Matt's POV

i've been feeling guilty recently. I enjoy hanging out with Y/n. but why did I have to push her away like every other girl? she was different. I feel like a douche bag telling her all I wanted was to have sex with no strings attached. it’s the best sex i ever had. but clearly, she was obviously bothered by it. this is just new to me. so i decided to end things with her because i didn’t want to make anymore mistakes.

"what?!" she shouts out. "so you come over here and fuck me one last time before throwing me to the side?!" the anger on her face was visible. "Y/n I just felt guilty. I know this isn't what you want." I say. she stands up with the blanket wrapped around her as she picks up my clothes. I stand up from her bed as she shoves the clothes into my hand, "leave." she says avoiding eye contact. "can we just-" I let out before she interrupts me, "leave!" I sigh taking my clothes putting it on and respect her decision.

Y/N's POV

how stupid of me. I was finally starting to understand why he always acted the way he did but now he wants to forget about everything? after he left, I grabbed my phone and called Madi and Nick. "hello?" Nick says. "you won't believe what just happened." you say angrily. "what did he do now?" Madi says. "he came over and we had sex and he had the audacity to tell me he can't do this with me anymore right after. who does that?! I felt so used." you say. "so he went there to fuck you for the last time, and dump you." Madi repeats. "yes." you mutter out. “i’m just so confused." “what an asshole!" Nick says. "Matt!" you hear him yell through the phone. your eyes widen as you hear Nick scold Matt.

End of Y/N's POV

-FLASHBACK ENDS-

it's been a few months since Matt ended things between the two of you. now every time you all hang out in a group, there was an awkward tension. "you two are weirdly quiet." Chris says looking back and forth between the two of you. Chris wasn't informed of anything so, he was confused why there was a weird vibe.

you and Matt just ignored him. “how about we just watch a movie.” Nick says after clearing his throat. “yeah” we all say in unison. Nick picks out a movie as we all sit in silence.

Matt’s POV

as i sit here with my eyes on the screen, i can’t help but notice the smell of her perfume. it smelt so warm and comforting. it was like i was being taunted. if i’m being truthful to myself, every other girl i’ve been with, i didn’t care about leaving. with Y/N? it was like she was on my mind constantly. when i first got involved with her, i saw her just like everybody else. but as time went by, i felt so much guilt build up, what was i supposed to do? i did what i thought would be best and that was to stop us from fooling around.

she didn’t deserve it. but now i just sit here feeling sorry for myself.

End of Matt’s POV

when the night ends, you arrived home preparing to go to sleep. you changed out of your dirty clothes, took off your makeup, washed your face, and brushed your teeth before crawling into bed. you snuggled into your blanket feeling relaxed, trying to forget about the tension that happened earlier.

your thoughts were soon interrupted as you hear your phone buzz.

Matt

hey are you awake?

i can’t sleep.

you’re on my mind.

you scoff reading the multiple sent texts.

Y/N

well then get me off your mind.

Matt

hey, i ended things for your sake.

Y/N

my sake?

my ‘give a fucks’ are ran out right now so if you’re trying to get at something, i really don’t care.

Matt

all i’m asking is you just listen.

you leave him on read as you wait for him to type.

Matt

i ended things because i didn’t want to hurt you. i enjoyed talking to you everyday and the sex was great but, i was stupid for telling you that that’s all i wanted because it’s not. you’re different and i couldn’t express that.

now, i’ve been up thinking about you every night.

Y/N

well aren’t you cute.

Matt

???

Y/N

i got you wrapped around my finger.

Matt

yeah you do.

can we please start over? i miss you.

Y/N

what do you miss?

Matt

i miss all of you. your touch, your lips, your everything in general.

Y/N

is it that sweet? lol.

Matt

???

you laugh to yourself before texting again.

Y/N

nothing never mind. good night Matt.

Matt

what?! what did you mean?!

you laugh again as you shut off your phone and drift to sleep.

Matt was completely left confused but wanting more. he didn’t mind you playing hard to get. he deserved it. but again, he just laid there, up all night, thinking about you.

a/n: sorry it’s so short! hope you guys enjoyed it still. likes, comments, and reblogs would mean the world to me. i love seeing feed back from you guys!

[flemingsfreckles]

Physio’s Daughter

Jessie Fleming x Physio!Reader

Preview: Reader is following in her mother’s footsteps in becoming a physiotherapist and gets the opportunity to spend the afternoon with the Canadian women’s soccer team.

Warnings: none

WC: 3.7k

A/N: this is going to be a few parts

You couldn’t believe you were attending ‘bring your kid to work day’ with your mom as a 22 year old but here you were, in the car on the way to her work.

“Are you sure I’m not too old to be coming with you?” You questioned your mom.

“It’ll be just like going to your clinical rotations. Plus you can put it on your resume, so it's really just helping you.” That’s how your mom had tried to convince you that you’d have fun coming to work with her. “Plus I talked with my boss, he said as of now we have an extra spot on the physio team to take someone to the Olympics, if you do well today, maybe it could be you.”

“Wouldn’t you want someone who's more qualified, not just a student?” You were in the process of obtaining your certification as a physiotherapist. You had finished your bachelor’s degree and were in the middle of your post graduate athletic therapy program.

“We have all the staff we need, they think bringing on someone young might be good. The players might like having someone closer to their age, not just all 40 and 50 year olds on their staff. Plus you’re plenty qualified, we have students in and out of the facility all the time.”

As a kid you always tagged along with your mom, you didn't have much of a choice, having a single mom who worked late hours in secondary schools meant your evenings were spent in her training room or on the sidelines of games. The older you got, the less you went with your mom, opting to stay home or spend time with friends instead of accompanying her at work. When you moved out to go to university you had chosen to follow in your Mom’s footsteps, intending to become a physiotherapist as well. At the same time you moved out, your Mom took on a new job, one that allowed her to travel more, a job with the Canada’s Women’s Soccer Team.

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to spend the day with your mom, you were interested in seeing her work, it was more that you knew you'd be the oldest “kid” who was at her work, a lot of her other staff had either young children or kids that had moved away and were on with their own lives.

The ride to the training facility was short, you got out of the car, and walked into the front door. You followed your mom around the facility, having no idea where to go. She walked you down and around various hallways, saying hello to the other staff who passed with their small children. You just would give a polite hello and a wave before continuing down the hall.

It was a weird feeling, walking into a room of players you recognized from TV, players who were well known across the country and the world, and yet they greeted your Mom with a hello and questions about her weekend, as if they were friends.

“That is my daughter, she thinks she's too old to be here but she's studying to be a physio too so I figured I'd bring her here and get some free labor.” You hear your mom joking with the two players standing in front of her, she's pointing at you over her shoulder and the two players who you recognized to be Janine Beckie and Ashley Lawrence were looking over at you. You politely wave and move over in their direction.

“Hi.” Not knowing what to say to them, you just keep it short.

They both introduce themselves to you, you assume just being polite of them, it would be hard to not know who they were. One of the other physios comes in, taking Ashley to get taped, your mom taking Janine to work on her knee. Not sure what to do with yourself you just stand back, as if you were back to being a shy 6 year old in a new environment hiding behind your mom. You watch your mom work, she moves effortlessly, doing tasks in seconds that would take you minutes. You always admired your Mom at her work but you had a new appreciation now that you had begun school and realized how much work and time it took to learn everything.

Players come and go, getting various treatments, keeping the staff busy. You watch around, seeing the rest of the staff, how they work with the players, how they all seemed so relaxed and at ease.

“Hi Jessie, how are you, what do you need today?” Your mom looks past you toward the door where Jessie Fleming had walked in. Obviously you knew who she was, her olympic heroics from many years ago making her a Canadian household name. On top of her soccer talent that drew your attention as a kid, her appearance definitely didn't hurt. You had always found her pretty, a silly little school girl crush when you were younger watching her on TV as she played as a teenager, something that you had forgotten about over the years but her standing in front of you brought it all back up.

“Hi, I’m doing well. Can I just get my calf worked out? I’ve been having some tightness.” She looked at your mom, a polite smile across her face, she pointed at the empty table as she asked.

“Can you handle that?” You realize your mom is looking at you, asking you to help with Jessie as the rest of the staff is held up with other players. She’s asking you to help

“Um, yeah, sure.” You weren’t going to say no, plus you could handle a simple massage.

“Jessie, this is my daughter, she’s a physio student and plenty qualified to massage your calf, I promise.” You roll your eyes at your mom’s comment, feeling embarrassed that she has to explain that you’re able to help. You wash your hands and walk over to the table Jessie had sat down on.

“Hi, I’m Jessie.” She introduces herself, her hand extended for a handshake, you can't help but let out a small laugh at the fact that she of all people is introducing herself.

“I know who you are.” Your hand meets hers taking her handshake and you quickly introduce yourself to her. Her hand is soft but her handshake is firm, it only lasts a second before you pull back, pointing to her legs.

“Which calf?” You look at her. She points to her left before taking off her sock and she rolls over onto her stomach shifting up the table so that just her foot is hanging off the edge. You grab lotion and rub it into your hands before placing your hands slowly onto Jessie’s leg. You take a few passes of your hands over her leg before starting to dig into the muscle. It doesn't take you long to find the knot that is resting in her leg, focusing on it. You feel Jessie clench her muscle and slightly pull her leg away. You quickly lighten the pressure you were putting on her and you look at the direction of her face. You see a small grimace across her face.

“Are you good?” The last thing you want is to hurt the captain of the team, that probably wouldn't go over well with anyone.

“Yeah it's just sore. I’ve had some previous injury with it.” You knew that, you knew about most of the players' previous injuries, they were publicly announced anyway and you liked to keep up with your mom on what she was doing at work.

“Sorry.” Not sure if it's appropriate to apologize, you do it anyway.

“Oh don’t be, it’s never been a huge injury so I’m lucky. Unless you were saying sorry about the soreness, but then don’t worry, it’s sort of a good hurt I guess.” She stumbles a bit with their words, looking back at you over her shoulder. With her confirmation that the pain wasn’t bad, you return your pressure to her leg, working your fingers deep into her skin.

“Is she doing alright Jessie?” The voice of your Mom comes from behind you, you turn to see her walking up toward you, finished with the other athletes.

“She might be better than you.” Jessie laughs joking with your mom. “No but seriously she's doing great.”

“I taught her well then.” Your mom gives you a pat on the shoulder before walking away and moving to a desk to do some paperwork.

You finish up with Jessie’s calf, letting her know she should be good to go, the knot being worked out. She stands up with a smile and thanks you for the help. She uses your name when she thanks you which causes a small blush to come across your cheeks. You can't keep your eyes off of her as she walks out to head to the field. When she turns the corner and out of your sight you shake your head, trying to clear your mind as you feel the small childhood crush come crawling back up.

You clean up the table you had been working on, putting the lotion away and wiping down the table with sanitizer. Moving over to where your mom was working, she was completing reports for each of the players who had come in for treatment, she passed them to you to file once she’s completed with them. When the paperwork is done you follow her out to the pitch. You find yourself sitting on the bench, watching as the players work through drills, your mom occasionally going to chat with the coaching staff or other physios.

You couldn't help but watch Jessie, watching how effortlessly she made moving the ball look, how much power and control she had on the ball, it was fascinating. On a couple of occasions you found yourself admiring her physique a little too much, watching as her muscles twitch with every movement. You also started to notice she was favoring her weight on her right leg the longer practice went on.

“Mom.” You get your mom’s attention, not wanting to make the call yourself on if Jessie’s movements were unusual. “Does Fleming usually favor her right leg?”

“What?” She moves over closer to you, looking out to the field in the direction of Jessie. You both watch as Jessie takes another pass, moving upfield with the ball. “Oh, no she doesn't, I mean she prefers her right foot, but not like that.”

At the next water break you see your mom sitting in front of Jessie, hand on her calf, you watch as they talk about your mom maneuvering her leg. When the team moves back to the field, the players and coaches bring out their kids, letting them join in on games. Jessie stays sitting, now talking with your mom and the coach. She then stands up, your mom following her in your direction.

“Can you take her inside? I want to be overcautious and treat her for a calf strain, heat pack, use the TENS unit, then have her roll out, ice and tape.” Your mom throws a laundry list of tasks at you.

“Of course.” You stand up, grabbing your water and phone from next to you before heading in the direction of the physio room.

“Sorry you're getting stuck with me again.” You apologize to Jessie, trying to make small talk with the girl and also hoping she doesn’t feel like she’s getting stuck with just the student again.

“Oh, I don't mind. I wasn't really joking earlier when I said you did a better job than your mom.” She gives you a smile, you feel the flutter in your stomach. Her praise is nice, but it's the smile that she's giving you that makes your stomach flip, it’s gentle and friendly. “Don't take that the wrong way, your mom is excellent, just it was different, you were more thorough maybe, I’m not sure, it was just different.” Jessie rambles.

“That's probably because I’m more nervous about messing up than they are.” You’re honest, you were doing everything to the exact standard, following the expectations you had been taught in class, yet to develop your own style.

“You’re nervous?” She seems surprised.

“I mean, wouldn’t you be, being brought into a professional sports team and being asked to help that team's captain while you're still a student? I mean I guess you’re usually level headed, penalty machine and all.” Thankfully you have half a brain to not throw in that the captain being attractive was definitely adding to your nerves.

“Oh believe me, I was nervous for those penalties but I’ve always thought nerves are good, they show you care. How much more school do you have?” She continues with the small talk.

“Just another semester. And then licensing tests, but just a semester of school.”

“That's exciting, do you know what you are going to do after that?” You make your way into the training room, holding the door open for Jessie to walk through.

“I don’t know, probably work at some secondary school to start, work my way up to bigger teams, I'll have to see what options I have. Go ahead and sit up on the table.” You point at the table at the end of the room as you move over to where the heat packs were stored. Jessie is sitting on the table, watching you when you turn around. You lift her foot, placing the heat pack on the table before placing her calf down on top of it.

“Is it still just sore or is it more sharp now?” Turning the conversation back to a more professional topic away from the small talk about yourself.

“Just sore, feels like a sore muscle.”

“You know, it's nice to actually meet you finally.” When you give her a confused look, she continues “I just mean your mom talks a lot about you.”

“Oh that's embarrassing.” You regret saying it as soon as it comes out of your mouth, you loved your mom, you know you shouldn’t be embarrassed about her talking about you.

“No, it's actually really sweet, I hope my parents talk about me even half as much as your mom talks about you. She’s so proud of you. You're her world.”

“Yeah, I know, it was always just the two of us. I know she misses me when I’m at school, I feel bad leaving her sometimes.” You look down, then realize youre probably giving way too much information to someone who likely doesn't care. “Sorry, I don't mean to talk about my personal stuff.”

“No problem, I don't mind, it's nice talking to you,” she quickly corrects her sentence “to someone closer to my age.”

You pull up a stool and sit with Jessie while she uses the heat pack. When the heat pack starts to cool off you slide over and start digging around for the TENS unit your mom recommended. When you’ve opened your third cabinet and had no luck finding it Jessie speaks up.

“They keep the TENS over there.” She points across the room to a different cabinet. You push up off the stool and move over to where she pointed, opening a drawer and finding it quickly.

“Sorry, I obviously don’t know where anything is, I didn't have time to really get acclimated this morning.” You feel embarrassed, already feeling inferior being the student but now being clueless and having to have Jessie tell you where everything is.

“That’s alright.” She reassures you. You move back and attach the pads onto her calf, turning the machine on low and handing her the controls and tell her to leave it on for 10 minutes. She messes with the controls of a second before setting down the remote and slightly leaning back, her arms propped behind her. Not knowing what to do with yourself you stand up and move over to the other tables where rolls of tape, bandaids, scissors, and various other tools used by the trainers are askew. You tidy up, finding where things belong through your own searching.

“So what do you do outside of school?” You had gotten used to the silence that Jessie’s voice breaks.

“Well school takes up most of my time, I wish I could travel more, I miss going to new places, seeing new things. But unfortunately school turns me into a pretty boring person.”

“Maybe you’ll get a travel experience this summer eh?” You turn at her, you’re assuming she’s implying going with your mom to Paris for the Olympics. “Your mom mentioned she wanted you to come with the team.”

“Yeah she said something about it to me, I mean I’d have to have her boss, Mark, pick me, I think there’s a few people they’re looking at for the trip. She thinks it’ll be a good experience for me for future jobs. I know it would look good on a resume and all but I also don’t want to get the opportunity just because my mom is here.”

“If it means anything you have my vote, the other people have been boring.” Jessie quickly says. “Sorry that’s not what I meant. I just meant, you’ve been the best one they’ve tried out. You care the most, at least it seems like you do. Plus you’re easy to talk to, the rest were too caught up on work, some of them stressed me out just being around them. And no one else was as observant. Your mom mentioned you were the one to see I was putting my weight off center, that’s why it’s important to have fresh eyes.”

“Yeah, I just happened to be watching, I get told I’m observant a lot.” You move your hands to take the TENS unit off of her gently peeling the pads from her skin. You move to grab her the foam ball across the room, tossing it in her direction. Jessie tried to catch it, it bounces off her hands, into her face and then onto the floor.

“Oh my god sorry, I didn’t mean to throw it that hard.” You throw your hands in her direction apologizing. Moving quickly across the room you pick up the ball where it had rolled before gently placing it in her hand.

“Nope, that was my fault. There’s a reason I play a foot sport.” She laughs. Her laugh is beautiful, it fills the room momentarily. It makes you feel light inside.

Just as she moves to the floor to begin rolling out her calf, the training room door opens and in comes the loud crowd of her teammates. They move in all directions across the room, some moving to the ice bath, some moving to grab heat packs. Some move to take off tape, tossing it in the trash. It’s loud, conversations in every direction and you’re quickly swept away, your arm being pulled by your mom as she moves you over to where the ice cooler was. You’re instructed to make ice bags for the players who want them and help them wrap the ice wherever they want it. It’s an easy task but it takes you away from Jessie, no longer having the quiet privacy of the training room.

You wrap arms and legs and shoulders and backs and feet with ice. You can’t help but keep glancing at Jessie, she was still rolling her calf, chatting with her teammates as they walked by. On a couple instances you caught her looking back at you, she’d give a quick smile before looking away. You finish the last player requesting ice and when you look up Jessie is now sitting on the table with Mark, he’s taping her calf. A small part of you feels jealous, which is insanely stupid you tell yourself, she’s his player not yours, he’s the head trainer, you’re not even one, it should be him doing the work.

Only a few minutes later, Jessie hops off the table, giving you a wave and a shout of thanks before leaving the room. Only staff remained, the rest of the players on their way home for the day. You finish cleaning up, asking your Mom a couple of times where everything belongs, making sure nothing gets put away in the wrong place.

It feels like time has flown by in the eight hours that you have been at the training center, before you know it you’re headed out to the car with your mom, the same way you came in this morning.

“Mark wanted to extend the offer for you to spend the rest of the summer here, and for the Olympics. He’s going to give you a call tomorrow, but he gave me a heads up. It can probably count as some clinical work for school, he said he’ll just have to get the paperwork sorted. Something about high praises from a certain team captain.” Your mom nudges you with her shoulder. You look at her and you can tell she’s being suggestive with her wording.

“What?” Your cheeks begin to flush slightly. “You’re the one who kept sticking her with me.”

“I know, I also know you had a little crush when you were younger.” She teases. You just roll your eyes, not wanting to give yourself away.

“Oh my god mom that was years ago, she’s not my type.” It was true, your dating history was littered with blonde preppy girls with terrible personalities, quite literally the opposite of Jessie. Hoping that fact would help your argument that you didn’t still have a crush on Jessie and it seemed to as your mom dropped the topic.

“I know honey, I’m only kidding you. You can drive, I’m tired.” She places the keys in your hand. You don’t mind driving, you turn back looking at the facility, realizing you could be spending your summer everyday here didn’t sound like too bad of an idea.

[slttygeto]

༉‧₊˚. PLAYLIST

༉‧₊˚. episode 06: temptation's tangle

preview: ". . . “What’s the occasion?” “Being hungry?” You glare at his sarcastic comment and Hanma shrugs his shoulders with an amused grin. “What? You don’t trust me?” “Exactly, I don’t.” “Well just to remind you, we agreed to be fuck buddies so–”

“For fuck’s sake–” . ."

content warning: suggestive content, abandonment issues, hanma is a d!ck but what's new.

word count: 5,4k

➜ ┊: @softshuji @mitsuwuyaa @kariatenoh @reiners-milkbiddies @citrusteaa @bejeweled-night-33

➜ MASTERLIST

➜ note: yet another chapter woohoo!! this one's a bit exciting for me because we get to see new characters appearing in the reader's life. and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!!

༉‧₊˚. reblog + comment!

Saturdays were for resets. You didn’t like to go out that much during the weekends, so it was a hassle to reject your co-worker’s offer to go out for drinks the night after a long week of exhausting and intense work. You would much rather stay inside, go over your to-do list and look around your place to see which area needed the most cleaning. The kitchen was definitely a mess, but your room? Good lord. Your room looked as though a hurricane had passed and devoured it before spitting it out.

No matter how much you tried to be organized, you always found yourself with a mess on the floor, half of your makeup on your vanity and the other half in the bathroom along with a bunch of shoes lined up next to your entrance. You puff out some air as you stand in the middle of your room.

“I really need to get my shit together.” Have you said these words before? Absolutely. 

Will you probably say them again in two weeks? Oh, of course. 

But right now, you need a distraction from what happened two days ago–something that quiets down the voice that keeps nagging you to grab your phone and check if he sent a message, if something had changed. You recognized that you were being a walking contradiction–between promising yourself to be mad at him and loathing him only a week ago, to suddenly wishing he was in your bedroom, pinning you to your mattress and drilling his cock into you–yeah, you were a mess. 

It’s not like you didn’t have a vibrator, or hands! Your hands did an amazing job at fulfilling your needs, you knew where to touch yourself, how to stroke your pussy in a way that had your back arching and your eyes rolling to the back of your head. A sigh would then escape your lips, a needy one because nothing felt as amazing as a mindblowing orgasm after teasing yourself for so long. Your hips would then buck up, and your hand is rubbing very messily at your poor clit before you cum with a loud and long moan–

“Shuji–!” 

You snap out of it so fast, jolting up away from your bed and blinking at your reflection in the mirror.

What the fuck? 

A grown ass woman–one who gets action…not that often, but still enough to fulfill her needs, daydreaming about a man whom she slept with once? It doesn’t make sense. Or maybe it does, you're too deep in denial to admit that the person you've been longing for is the same man who shaped parts of your teenage years, even if it was only for a short time.

The heavy sigh that leaves you is so loud that it bounces off the walls of your empty apartment. So vacant, but it reminds you how Hanma’s short yet dominating presence was enough to make it feel…less hollow. You hated how he filled the void that you had been long wanting to replace, whether it be by decorating your space with greenery or going on pottery dates with friends or even getting your cat more toys just to watch him run around the apartment–the loneliness was hard to swallow. You despised the feeling, it gripped you by the throat and forced you to remember the framed pictures sitting on the shelf above the TV. Friends, family, co-workers–you were made of pieces of them, each having given you a memory to cling onto and use it as a lifeline. 

What do you do when that lifeline is barely hanging by a thread?

Your eyes land on the singular picture that rests on your nightstand, and your frown deepens for a moment as realization hits you. The two people in this picture were supposed to stay with you for a long time, your protectors as they liked to call themselves. You purse your lips and inhale deeply. The bitter aftertaste sitting on your tongue is hard to wash down.

You were perfectly fine being shaped by bits of everyone you'd ever met, but weren’t your brothers meant to be there for life?

“Here, keep this on you all the time.” You stare at the shiny knife as your oldest brother places it on your nightstand, eyebrows furrowing in confusion and you’re forced to close your book.

“A knife?”

“Yeah, it’s for your safety.”

“Ran, why would I need to carry a knife with me?” 

“You never know,” you’re not sure if that’s meant to comfort you—probably not. 

Ran Haitani is very proud of the fact that he had adopted you. Technically, his parents did–but he hated them, and they abandoned you a long time ago, so it was he who adopted you. He remembers you being a tiny baby in your mother’s arms the day that she had picked you up from the adoption center, said something about how she was so excited for this new chapter of her life, and both Ran and Rindou were excited–over the moon to be welcoming a little sister. At 6 and 5 years old, they didn’t know what blood related meant– it never mattered to them in the first place even as they got older. You were a Haitani, their precious little sister, and that meant the whole world to them.

However, the bond grew a little bit stronger after your parents left. Your father was the first to abandon the family, you were 5, Ran was 10 and Rindou’s 9th birthday was approaching. You remember it being a cold day–it wasn’t gloomy outside or anything, but as you sat in the middle of the living room with your brothers by your side, the apartment felt a bit bigger, emptier. A child is fragile, anything can affect them if not dealt with properly–the absence of your father was the first time you had to experience your ‘big feelings’ as Ran liked to describe them. You don’t know what holding back tears is, so you cry as you hug your knees to your chest and let Rindou soothe your back with a gentle hand. It’s a small gesture, but enough to anchor your stuttering breaths. 

“It’s okay,” Rindou says as you sniffle. When you look at him, you see that his eyes are glossed over with something–tears. He blinks them away as soon as he catches you staring at him. “It’s not like we need him, right?”

“Of course not,” Ran speaks confidently, standing over you and Rindou with a superhero-like stance. “As long as you’ve got me, nothing will happen to you!”

“And me!” Upon seeing his older brother act like a superhero, Rindou quickly jumps up and stands next to him. It’s adorable, it gives you hope–your little child body, so overwhelmed with emotion and having to deal with the abandonment of a parent temporarily distracted by the two boys standing in front of you.

“I’m Sailor Uranus,” Ran extends one arm outward with his fingers splayed, while his other arm is bent at his side. He shares a look with Rindou, trying to mask his wobbling lips. Rindou averts his gaze, cheeks set ablaze with overwhelming emotion. Sadness, embarrassment mixed with determination to make you, his little sister, feel better even for a few moments. 

“And I’m Sailor Neptune!” Rindou extends his arm forward, with his other hand pointing slightly upward towards you. Your heart swells with emotion, and you bring your arm to your face to wipe your tears.

“I..I’m Sailor Moon!” You join in weakly, and for a moment—(just a small one), everything seems okay. You have your brothers with you, recreating your favorite characters’ pose and trying to cheer you up. Just for a split second, you’re distracted from the ache that invades your heart and spreads all over your chest. 

But distractions are bad. Like a bandage on a leaking dam, offering a false sense of control while the real flood builds behind them. 

You had always looked up to your mother. It’s natural for a child to have an innocent fascination with one particular parent—after your father left, your mother had become everything to you. Now that you look back at it, it was definitely fear of being separated from her. Losing her so unexpectedly like you did with your father. You would sit in the living room waiting for her to come back from work, whilst Ran and Rindou were outside playing and didn’t necessarily mind the absence of their mother. They were older after all, and perhaps were able to see her for who she truly was earlier than you did. 

“She’s not going to come back on time,” Ran announces from behind you. You don’t move, still looking out of the window and waiting for her silhouette to appear. “You have to eat.”

“No,” you don’t mean for your voice to crack, but alas you’re a child and you cannot control your emotions. You wear your heart on your sleeve and the hurt you’re feeling from your mother’s repetitive tardiness is very apparent. “I’m not hungry.”

As if to mock you, your stomach growls the moment you say it. And Ran sighs behind you before approaching you. 

“No–” you push him away when he wraps his hand around your arm. “I won’t eat–!”

“Rindou hasn’t eaten all day,” Ran’s voice is stern. It momentarily distracts you from your stubbornness and your bottom lip starts wobbling. “He doesn’t want to eat without you—so please,” his voice is now barely above a whisper and your eyes meet his own lavender ones. The sob you choke out is raw, painful–you can’t hold it back any longer and you fall forward, attaching yourself onto your older brother. The taller boy holds you, rubbing soothing circles on your back as he heaves out a sigh.

No child deserves to go through this. 

A few months later, you get accustomed to seeing your mother less often. By the age of 10, Ran and Rindou had managed to make a name for themselves around the area–the rulers of Roppongi. You choose to ignore the events that led them in juvenile detention, you don’t necessarily associate that with great memories but life feels… simple. 

Whilst Ran brings the food and takes care of anything money related, Rindou is the one who is in tune with your emotional needs. He holds you in his arms when you are sad and caresses your head when you’re upset after a particularly nasty fight with Ran. Rindou reminds you of the importance of the rules that they had given you when they started ruling Roppongi, that the way you dress is very important as a Haitani—their little sister. 

You carried that with you through adulthood.

The walls of your apartment have heard you cry for them, felt your sobs and longing. It’s strange how your apartment only knows of their existence through pictures, like ghosts they've never seen in person. Like hearing the echo of laughter in an empty room—faint and distant, yet it lingers, reminding you of the voices that once filled your childhood. 

You are filled with sadness and melancholy and longing—you feel ready to burst like a heavy rain cloud but somehow, you find the strength to hold it all in whilst darkening everything beneath you. Whilst the past few years have been one of the most important ones in your life, you can't deny that with every person you encountered, the shell guarding your heart grew tougher. Like armor forged over time. 

It’s useless to grieve the past, you can’t let it distract you from the task at hand, so you grab your vacuum cleaner and get to work.

Hopefully you’re done before sunset.

–

Ding dong

The digital clock on your microwave flashes 8:12PM in red, bold colors. You did your usual cleaning, showered and dried your hair, planned an outfit for Monday and were checking on some work you needed to do before the week starts. Who would visit you at this time of the day?

None of your co-workers had texted you all day, and you were hoping that they weren’t here to try to convince you to go out. Saying no to them the first time was hard as it is. 

“Shoooo,” you tell your cat as he races you to the front door. “Go away, you can’t get out,” you mumble to your fur companion as you place him on his cat tree and watch as he digs his claws into the plush fabric before running away to your room. 

Ding–ding ding ding!

“Coming! I’m coming,” you rush to unlock the door, forgetting to check through the peephole. As you open it, you get a whiff of a familiar perfume and a tall figure is standing a little too close to you.

“Wha–”

“I got dinner.” 

Of course it would be him. 

He stands before you in all his glory. Brand new suit, messy hair (he must’ve had a long day) and shoes that definitely looked less shinier than usual. You try not to stare too hard at his body, fight the carnal urge that tells you to keep your eyes a little longer on his thighs and lean against the door frame with your arms crossed over your chest. 

“What’s the occasion?”

“Being hungry?” You glare at his sarcastic comment and Hanma shrugs his shoulders with an amused grin.

“What? You don’t trust me?”

“Exactly, I don’t.”

“Well just to remind you, we agreed to be fuck buddies so–”

“For fuck’s sake–” you yank him inside your apartment and Hanma almost lets out a giggle at how flustered you looked. “You need to stop saying shit like that in my hallway.”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

“People could hear you,” you shoot him a glare as you walk away from him. Hanma doesn’t miss the chance of checking out your ass in your tight booty shorts. He licks his lips and follows right behind you, plastic bags rustling as he places the food on the kitchen counter.

“What did you get anyway?” You ask as you sit back on the kitchen table, nose shoved deep in your laptop as you continue your work. You’re far too focused on the words in front of you to notice that Hanma had quieted down and was now fully staring at you–taking the sight of you and placing it at the forefront of his mind. 

Despite having seen you naked before, Shuji thinks that you look the most attractive like this. Like the adult women that you matured into. He can’t remember the last time he saw you this concentrated—(was it when he snuck into your room as teenagers? He found you sitting at your desk, nose buried in your homework that you didn’t even notice him opening your window after he had climbed your fire escape). He can’t say he doesn’t like it. The smallest details stood out to the same man who claims to be nonchalant about everything else–the slight pout and frown to your lips, eyebrows furrowing and eyes darting across the screen, pausing briefly to take in each and every word. You wear glasses now. 

(And glasses look good on you, they make your nose look cute).

 A sigh escapes your lips and as you inhale, you finally catch his stare. Intense like a spotlight, analyzing your every move and pinning you in place. 

For obvious reasons, you feel tense under the weight of his golden eyes fixed on you. Exposed, stripped of any secrets you hadn’t even dared to write down in your diary. Hanma’s eyes had the effect of unraveling every guarded truth, as if his intense gaze alone could coax confessions from the deepest corners of your soul. 

Like how you touch yourself to the thought of him.

You avert your gaze towards the bag, growing uncomfortable with the suffocating silence.

“So?”

“Ramen.” You almost deadpan at the man. It’s fascinating how he can shift the tension in the room just by spilling out a few words. 

“You bought ramen??”

“Am I not allowed to?” He pushes himself off of the kitchen counter and starts walking towards you.

“When you said I got dinner, I thought you meant a meal,” you take off your glasses and place them on the table before staring at the bag tiredly. “That’s an unhealthy meal, Hanma.”

“That’s what I get for dinner, usually.”

“You’ve got money.”

“Your point?”

“Go to restaurants??” you say in disbelief and Hanma shrugs his shoulders as he stands next to you, enjoying the obvious height difference. One that reminds him of how big his hands looked on your thighs that night. 

“Tooooo much work,” he drags out his words before stretching his arms over his head. The action elicits a yawn out of his lips and you scoff before grabbing the bag and emptying its content on the table. “Besides, what’s so bad about having instant ramen?”

“It’s unhealthy,” you reply flatly, reaching for the electric kettle. You fill it up with water before pressing the ‘on’ button, the action coming to you so quickly and naturally that it makes Hanma raise an eyebrow.

“Hey, you turned it on a little too fast for someone who thinks instant ramen is unhealthy,” 

“Because this is my kitchen?” The reply you give is laced with sarcasm, absolutely done with whatever he has to say and all Hanma does is just stand back and grin. How fun. 

“Right, of course,” you avert your gaze the moment Hanma’s fingers wrap around his tie, loosening it to allow himself to breathe a little–feel comfortable in an apartment that has already welcomed him twice already. Does he remember the layout? Not exactly. However, his brain is able to trace the map from your kitchen to your bedroom like a professional cartographer. The detail was etched in their mind, like a name carved into stone. 

So he makes himself comfortable, he walks past you and into the living room and you watch as he sits on your couch and stares around your decorated space. 

“Is that a cat tree?” he points at the item sitting near the window. 

“Mmmh,” you hum in response, pouring water into the instant ramen cups. “Why?”

“ ‘s just that I’ve never seen your cat,” he looks around, trying to figure out where your fur companion might be. “But I see signs of that fucker everywhere.”

“Don’t call my cat a fucker.” You almost hiss and it catches Hanma off guard. Not that it was the first time you ever spoke to him in that tone, but you must be very attached to your cat. 

“Whew,” he whistles as he raises his arms in the air.. “My bad. Didn’t know you were that kind of person.” 

Your eye twitches. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you pause on your way to the living room, the cups of ramen were starting to burn your hands but you could care less. 

“Y’know, getting all defensive over an animal?”

“You mean have empathy and emotional connection?” 

“Emotional connection with a cat?” Hanma braces himself forward with his elbows on his knees. His side profile comes into view, but he quickly turns to face you and he sees the way you were slowly losing your patience. “That shit is for people who are lonely.”

It is eerily silent after that. For a good five seconds, Hanma doesn’t seem to understand why you give no reply nor do you make a move. He looks away, pats his pocket to find his phone and turns to look at you. You are still glued to your spot. 

You hope he doesn't hear the sound of your heart breaking, or notice the way your body instantly deflates. 

“It must be.” Your reply is devoid of any emotion. You look away from Hanma’s intense gaze, suddenly growing uncomfortable under all of the attention he was giving you. As you take a seat on the couch (while maintaining a good distance between you and the tall man), you push Hanma’s cup towards him. 

“Here.”

“Thank you.” 

Hanma doesn’t feel comfortable with the silence. It bothers him that he doesn’t. 

You try not to pay attention to him, but it turns out that it’s a hard task given how huge the man is. He spreads his legs on your couch, leaving you almost no space, so you have to nudge his thigh with your knee. 

“Move, you’re taking up too much space.” You’re still avoiding his gaze, and Hanma’s finger twitches as he reaches for his ramen cup. 

“I’m a tall man, doll.”

“Don’t care, you’re sitting on my couch.” You say it with a hint of childishness, your tone laced with annoyance.

Hanma chooses to let it slide and slightly closes his legs, allowing you more space on your small couch. However, your behavior still doesn’t sit right with him. You're not truly aware of your surroundings, even though it may seem like you are—one moment you’re holding your chopsticks, the next you’re looking for the remote control. Hanma watches as you jab at the noodles with your chopsticks, seemingly unfazed by the steam rising from the cup.

“It’s hot.” 

Be careful.

“Ah!” you hold a hand to your mouth, your chopsticks falling on the surface of your coffee table. Your eyes are pricking with tears, and you fan your mouth whilst internally cursing yourself for not paying attention.

“Told you it’s hot,” he sounds unbothered—perhaps a little bored, but still reaches for your face to grab it. You don’t fight back despite the urge to get away from him—from his touch. His rough hand holds your jaw like a rag doll and you force yourself to open your eyes. “Open up.” He takes notice of your swollen lips, then you stick out your tongue and it’s reddened. 

In that moment, you realize there's no space left between the two of you. Any distance you tried to maintain with the tall man has vanished, and you let it happen—you let yourself forget why you're mad at him, giving your mind a break from the constant tension around him.

Everything quiets down, you instantly find yourself lost in the same gaze you had been trying long and hard to avoid. You feel hot—you are sure Hanma’s body feels like a furnace against your skin. However, like two flames flickering inches apart, you both burn with the same heat but never quite touch in a way that would have you melting like a candle. 

It’s a continuous tug of war inside your brain as you hold his gaze, your pulse quickening with each subconscious attempt at moving closer to him—even by an inch. Technically, the two of you were now fuckbuddies, two friends who fuck when the other is free or one is feeling like it. There were no strings attached, no responsibilities, no—

“Ya hungry?” Hanma’s voice is a few octaves deeper. You feel a chill run down your spine before making a poor attempt at shaking your head whilst he’s still holding your jaw. 

You feel a pair of lips against yours, and you take it as a response to what you had told him. 

Hanma’s kisses are rough—he pushes his entire body on top of yours as he kisses you, trapping you beneath him. 

You’re glad the cushions beneath you are soft, because the way he pins you down is anything but.

Dominating and playful, he moves his lips against yours in such a dizzying manner that you have to tap his shoulder to ask him for air. But even when he pulls away from your lips to allow you oxygen, his lips land on another patch of skin—your cheek, your jaw, his teeth nibble at your earlobe and he can feel his cock throb when you buck up your hips. 

“Impatient, aren’t we?”

He presses his forehead against yours and you grow annoyed. Frustration washes over you as you realize you crave more of him, even though you know you shouldn't allow the man so close or invade your personal space. Yet, here you are, yielding beneath him. His kisses are like a wildfire in your veins—once it ignites, it spreads uncontrollably, and no matter how dangerous, you can’t help but feed the flames. 

And feed the flames, you do.

Hanma has never seen you so eager, so needy—sure he’s fucked you before, he’s nestled his cock so deep within the snug walls of your pussy but this–

This was different. 

You’re craving him—his lips against yours like a lifeline. Not once has he seen your body move so desperately against his own whilst your clothes are still on. It makes the muscles of his face twitch.

Smirking, he grabs the back of your thigh and pushes it up to your chest before leaning down—face dangerously close to yours. He doesn’t say anything, eyes scanning your expression—the twitch to your lips, the slight furrow to your eyebrows and the sigh that escapes through your nose from how needy you are. You throw your head back against the couch, nudging Hanma’s butt with your free foot. 

“You’re staring.” 

“Am I?” His tone, his words—they make the butterflies in your stomach erupt like wildfire. You can only afford to whine in response, clearly struggling to take his teasing. He is so dominant— to the point where submitting to him was the only choice you had. As you lie beneath him, Hanma is like a cat playing with a string, effortlessly toying with your patience and leaving you both frustrated and horny. 

Incredibly horny. 

“Shuji,” you reach your hands towards his face, holding it and brushing your thumbs against his cheeks. You brush your nose against his, your teeth sinking into his bottom lip so softly—so gently that it makes him chuckle. 

“You’re gentle with it,” he breathes hotly against your lips, digging his fingers into your skin to show you how rough he likes it. You’re about to push him off of you, straddle his lap and show him that you can be rough with it. It feels like a treat you’re craving, it’s attached to a string and Hanma keeps pulling it away from you every time you’re about to have it—

A loud moan escapes your lips when he’s back on you so suddenly, not giving you enough time to breathe or ground yourself. Gripping his shoulders, Hanma enjoys the feeling of your nails digging into his skin—it ignites his body on fire and heightens his senses. The tall man grows more aware of your body temperature, of the vanilla body lotion you had freshly applied onto your skin or how you seem to be letting your nails grow longer—he’s locked in. 

“Oh doll,” he breathes out against your lips as he pulls away. You’re about to moan in response, rile him up further until he’s snatching your clothes off your skin and dig his cock deep into your insides–

“Fuck!” Hanma shouts–no, he screams out of nowhere and is pushing his body off of you. “What the fuck?!”

“What–what?! What’s wrong?” you’re confused, a little startled as you push yourself up with your elbows. 

“Motherfucker–” you hear hissing from the end of the couch, and you look behind Hanma to find your cat sinking his claws into his back. “Let go of me!”

“Calm down!” you try to separate the two, get your cat off the couch and Hanma to stop reaching for the back of his blouse.

“How the fuck am I supposed to calm down when this little fucker–I will fucking–”

“I said calm down.” you repeat sternly. Your hands reach for your cat’s paws, although he hisses at you, you still understand that it’s a normal reaction for him. Standing up, you grab your fur companion who tries to wriggle out of your hold and he comes face to face with a furious Hanma. 

Your cat hisses again.

“The fuck is his problem?”

“He’s not used to strangers,” you caress your pet’s head, sensing that he’s on high alert. “Let alone men.” 

“Your cat hates men?” 

Your face twists. “My cat isn’t a misandrist.” You roll your eyes at him. “He just… doesn’t appreciate men.” 

“Fancy fucking word–” 

“Anyway, I’m taking him to his room.”

“This fucker has a room?”

“Technically it’s my office.” 

Hanma watches as you walk away with the fur companion who meows very loudly, making his dislike towards the man very clear. He hears you try to shush the pet, promise it good food and treats as long as he behaves and if Hanma didn’t know any better, he would think you were crazy.

Maybe you were. He would never show that much patience towards an animal. 

But now he is able to process what has happened. Assessing the situation, the realization that he got cockblocked by a damn cat hits him like a truck and he sits there, dumbfounded and half offended. 

Cockblocked by a fucking cat. 

You walk back into the living room, looking a bit embarrassed and Hanma takes it that you had come to the same conclusion as him. You stand next to the couch, awkward and stiff and your hands are fiddling with the fabric of your shorts before you open your mouth.

“I-”

“Don’t even.” 

Hearing his bored tone, you deflate and sigh before plopping next to him on the couch. You were now drier than the Sahara and he didn’t seem interested in rearranging your insides as he was a few moments ago. 

Well, you still have your food to finish. 

“Want me to heat up your food again?” 

“Mmm, sure.” 

—

Hanma plans to leave as soon as he’s done eating. It’s almost hilarious the way he grabs his jacket the moment he slurps the final noodle into his mouth and you don’t have it in you to ask him where he’s going. 

After all, it wasn’t part of your agreement. Despite the fact that you didn’t even fuck properly tonight, you still knew that his business wasn’t yours to know and his presence was always going to be temporary. 

“The elevator’s working by the way,” you are throwing the cups of Ramen in the trash when you suddenly speak up and Hanma has to pause his movements. 

“They fixed it?”

“After paying a huge sum of money, yeah they did.”

“That’s good.”

“Mmmhm.” Cold and distant, this is how you want to present yourself to the same man who has no problem taking your heart in his hands and shattering it into small pieces. 

“Next time I come over, I hope that fucker doesn’t dig his nails into my ass next.” Next time.

“I’ll make sure we fuck on my bed then.” You say playfully, bringing the glass of water to your lips and Hanma watches as you maintain eye contact the whole time. 

“Oh yeah? Already planning the next time we gonna fuck?”

You shrug your shoulders. “You were good. I’d be a fool if I said I didn’t want it again.”

Hanma chuckles, offering his signature smirk with a tilt to his head. “Good? Not great, or fucking amazing?”

“Good.” You put emphasis on the word, but the tall man notices how you avoid his eyes and it’s an indirect confession. 

“Sounds like you want me to change your mind.” Squeezing your thighs at the sound of his deep voice, you almost moan in relief when you see him start to take off his jacket.

Fucking finally. 

“Maybe I do.”

—

The November cold was unbearable. The man shivers inside his own car and his hand reaches towards the heater to turn it on. He doesn’t understand why he is here, it was too late for him to be parked under a residential building and he sure hopes he doesn’t look suspicious with the way he keeps checking for the door. 

“Come on, come on…” 

Almost on cue, the door opens and a tall figure walks out. Hair messed up, clothes half adjusted and a cigarette hanging off his lips. It was none other than Hanma Shuji. The man watches as the criminal checks his phone for a good ten seconds before blowing out smoke, his chest stutters a bit as he scoffs and he shoves the device into his pocket before walking towards his car. 

Hanma doesn’t seem to notice the unknown car and the mysterious man is grateful for that. He wants to avoid problems. 

However, how was he going to explain his sudden visit at 11:30PM? 

He shouldn’t…or perhaps he should. 

When you open the door, your eyes are heavy with sleep and the man can’t help but stare at the love bites littering your neck. 

“Hey, missed me?”

Your eyes widen and you instinctively open the door wider. 

“Chifuyu.”

༉‧₊˚. interested in commissioning me? if not, leave a ko-fi!

2024 © all works belong to @slttygeto. do not repost, translate or steal any of my works.

[ofmdrecaps]

07/07/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Samson Kayo; Leslie Jones; Vico Ortiz: OFMD S2 BTS, DateMyAbeulitaFirst; Rachel House + Cats; Gypsy Taylor; Uproar In Canada; #YouBearFineThingsWell; Articles; Fan Spotlight: Cast Cards; Big Gay Energy Podcast; Our Flag Means Fanfiction Podcast; NeverLeftPodcast Preview; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

== Rhys Darby ==

New episode of The Cryptid Factor is available on Spotify!

Source: The Cryptid Factor Podcast

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika attended the Corti a Corte 2024 Film Festival in Italy this past weekend!

Source: manifesto_cieco Instagram

In addition to these lovely photos of Taika-- he posted another cut of the Belvedere Vodka video he Directed and Starred in with Future. Idk about you, but I love hearing Taika's voice again in these posts, you can tell he's feeling more himself and comfortable talking on socials again!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taika Waititi (@taikawaititi)

== Samson Kayo ==

Samson posted a preview of the new F1 movie he'll be starring in that comes out in July 2025! Check the trailer out below!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Samson Kayo (@samsonkayo)

Source: Samson Kayo's Instagram

== Leslie Jones ==

Leslie out again at the LA Sparks game! She's also been out guest starring on Howie Mandel's show! The content was a bit raunchy so I will link to it instead of posting it here, but if you're interested, there's plenty of content!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leslie Jones (@lesdogggg)

Source: Leslie Jones Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

= OFMD S2 BTS =

Vico has uploaded more OFMD S2 BTS on their Patreon!

Source: Vico Ortiz' Patreon

= Date My Abuelita First! =

New episode of Date My Abuelita First with Vico! Check it out here!

Source: DateMyAbuelitaFirst's Instagram

== Rachel House ==

Alright, so Rachel has uploaded many cat videos to her Instagram Stories from a cat competition! They're adorable and she did a lot of commentary on each cat, so I figured I'd share one and then a couple picture of the rest. Yes, more cat content, I will never get tired of it!

Source: Rachel House's Instagram

== Gypsy Taylor ==

Our genius costume designer from S2, Gypsy Taylor put together this pretty amazing outfit for the McCrispy campaign!

Source: HayleyEganDesign's Instagram

== Uproar in Canada! ==

One of our fantastic crew-mates @uncertain-delights was kind enough to bring up on the last recap that Uproar is also available on Hoopla in Canada and you can watch it free with your library card! Check out HooplaDigital here!

Source: @uncertain-delights

== #YouBearFineThingsWell ==

Only a few days away from the start of Rhys' new show: The Hungry Games: Alaska's Big Bear Challenge! Our crewmates over at @adoptourcrew will be celebrating this upcoming week! You can check them out on twitter!

Source: AdoptOurCrew Twitter

== Articles ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew shared several articles that mentioned OFMD!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

In addition to the articles that mentioned OFMD @adoptourcrew also brought up the following article regarding queer storytelling.

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

More Emmy Submissions tonight for @melvisik's Cast Cards! John Enroth, one of our OFMD composers, with Mark Mothersbaugh and Albert Fox 'for Outstanding Music Composition in a Series for Mermen'

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

= Big Gay Energy Podcast =

Big Gay Energy Pod is back covering OFMD Season 2, Episodes 7 & 8!

Source: Big Gay Energy Podcast Instagram

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

The Silly Voices Episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction drops tomorrow! Check them out on your preferred Podcast Platform via their Linktr.ee!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Instagram

= Preview: Jul 16 Never Left Podcast =

Never Left Podcast has an exciting upcoming interview with our Father Teach - Damien Gerard! It'll be released on July 16th! You can follow Never Left Pod on Instagram or check out their linktree for the best place to listen once it's released!

Source: Never Left Podcast's Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! Here we are, at the end of the weekend again. Hopefully you got some good rest, or had some good clowning, or generally just had some time to yourself.

I have a bit of an odd question for you tonight, and that is --

Have you thought about Little You lately? About the little person you were years ago when you were younger? Little You could be a kid, or a teenager, or really anyone you were before today. Do you know how much Little You loves you? Do you know how proud they are of you for getting this far? Even if you're not in the place you want to be, that younger you is so grateful you're still here, and you're still trying. Little You loves you more than anyone else on this planet-- even if you didn't love yourself when you were them. They are still rooting for you every single day. Little You can see how far you've come, and Little You forgives you for all the things you hold against yourself. Remember to give your Little You a hug sometime, they're always here for you if you need them. Sometimes Little You's need the you you are now to help them heal the places they were in at the time--sometimes you're not ready for that, and that's totally okay too. One day you will be, and Little You will still be there, still loving you, and still rooting for you, and you can give them love right back when you're ready. You are wonderful, and unique, and beautiful, and brilliant and always have been lovelies---when you were Little You, and how you are today.

Even if your brain tells you otherwise sometimes-- You are so very loved, and you always have that Little You in your court if you need them. Feel free to exchange hugs with them whenever you need it, they're always there. I'm thinking of you lovelies, take care of yourselves and get some rest -- tomorrow is a new day.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

No real theme tonight, unless you want to consider it the Sunday Sillies. Gifs courtesy of two of the kindest, warmest, funniest, darling folks on the planet @agaywithcoffee and @ofmd-ann <3

[mraprilfools]

Word Count: 6.9k

Rating: E Pairing: Mammon x F!Reader

CW/TW: Mammon

Summary:

Even after dating the infamous sin Mammon for months, the man hasn't even tried to lay one dirty hand on you. You decide it's time to change that and put on a skimpy black dress on your next date! Only one problem, the reporters love it more than he does!

Or so you think. Preview below the cut

Openly dating one of the Sins was one of the best ways to end up with your name everywhere. In magazines, TV segments, and online discussion boards. It felt like your whole world was turned upside down once they had snapped a single photo of you leaving a restaurant with Mammon. He towered over you considerably, but you stuck out like a sore thumb as a simple hell-born Baphomet. A secretary that happened by the strangest fluke, a misfiling! Mammon had been far too impressed with your initial meeting to fire you.

All it took was a little healthy fear and suddenly he became borderline obsessed with you. At first, it was casual hangouts with the large sinner making himself quite at home with you. Then he was stealing your weekends and your free time for reasons unrelated to work. His hand became familiar on your shoulder, pushing you into his large plush body whenever he had some oddly capitalistic word of wisdom to share.

Before you knew it, the Sin had become a familiar part of your life. Only he was frustratingly chaste! Sure he’d cuddle with you, push that head against your neck, and wrap his four arms around you. You were happy to lay up on his fuzzy belly and simply… sleep. It was heavenly but three months later and he had not so much as tried to kiss you once.

You’d get to hold his hand! Mammon would pick you up and carry you. He even got you, your very own jester cap! Some days you’d lay on top of him while you played video games together. But… it never got more physical than that.

But tonight you felt you hyping yourself up to try and push things to the next level! At least a smooch! Today’s secret weapon? A pretty black dress that hugged your curves, leaving nothing to the imagination of what you were packing. High heels that showed off your legs even with your hooves fighting it every step of the way, and you went the extra mile to have your hair up.

Tonight! You were going to fuck a clown!

You arrived first at the venue. Standing outside waiting for him, pulling the shawl around your shoulders to attempt and banish the chilling cold of the evening. You’d chosen beauty over comfort and were starting to regret it. The flash of a camera made me far too aware of how high the hem of your dress rode and the plunging neckline.

It didn’t stop with one flash or two. Several were going off in the dark corners where you were never looking. You were stuck between staying where you were so Mammon could find you, or finding a place to hide. The anxiety of the crossroad didn’t have to live long. A familiar limo on the street meant your brief vigil was over and salvation.

You stood on the tips of your hooves, watching with unmasked excitement waiting for the sight of the man who had become so quickly dear to you.

Mammon stepped out wearing a bright green suit with a black vest underneath. His head was still covered with his iconic mask, matching with the colors of his formal wear. There were trappings of familiarity such as the squirting water flower and the spinning bow tie that spoke of his profession. The pressure in your chest felt much lighter at the sight of the larger-than-life sin. Thankfully he attracted all the cameras too! Something Mammon could brush off with ease because it was a world he was born into.

“There’s my Doll!” The familiar voice with its Australian slang cut through the din of the city. The nickname was a familiar one, apparently short for one of Mammon’s favorite things: The Dollar Bill.

The Chartreuse eyes glowed even in the evening, contrasting against the artificial lights. Mammon wasted no time scooping you right off the ground! Hands held your waist, lifting you until you were face to face despite your height differences. He then tucked you into the crook of his lower set of arms like a seat while the upper half was your support for your back. Your legs bent against his belly while he looked at you with his face illuminating with joy.

“You look like a million bucks!” A toothy grin flashed across his face; knowing how cheesy that sounded.

Didn’t fail to bring heat to your neck and a bubbling joy that had you bashfully trying to turn your head away. That was the highest compliment THE Mammon could give! “Fuzzy! We’re in public!” You reminded him. But the sin could hardly care, already pressing his forehead against yours. The ear of his hat tickled your scalp as his lips pressed against your temple.

“Yeah! And you think I give a shit? They SHOULD be looking. These pieces of shit are lucky to be getting to see people like us in public! Fuck, I should be CHARGING them. Wait--” The illuminated expression faltered, eyes squinting. He was stuck in one of his usual thoughts on how to exploit anything and everything for money. It was but one of the many things you loved about the man! Instead of interrupting you pressed a chaste kiss against his forehead, too shy to steal your first kiss in public!

Mammon’s face gentled, large green eyes widening in joy. “Aww, who am I kidding? I’m with my Doll! I’ll exploit these bitches later. You ready for some Italian?”

“You bet! I’ve never been anywhere this fancy before. I hope I don’t accidentally embarrass us...” It had to be quite an affair it was to make even Mammon dress up in a suit. The clown cocked his head to the side and then burst into laughter.

“Don’t worry Doll! Play it off like a joke and everyone will think you’re funny yeah? In any case, I’d hardly be Mammon if I didn’t take my girl to the most expensive restaurant in town yeah? I’m not some… broke loser. Eugh, like can you imagine?” Mammon stuck out his tongue as if it were easily the least attractive trait in anyone. You stuck your tongue out with him, a gesture that brought back that brilliant smile you loved.

“Hah, there’s my Doll! Poor people right? It’s like they want to be a joke. Come on!” Not given much of a choice, you were rocked within the cradle of Mammon’s arms. Held possessively, intentionally blocking you from the sight of the cameras.

[harveyguillensource]

TV Insider's synopsis and a preview image of the WWDITS season 5 finale - episode 9, A Weekend at Morrigan Manor, and episode 10, Exit Interview.

[screams-in-writing]

Going for a chapter this weekend. Got the draft written out so I’ll probably type it up today and then edit it tomorrow, and post Sunday evening/monday morning, edits pending.

A little preview I typed up:

-

You watched as Mr. Puzzles moved from face-planting the TV head on the bedsheets to sprawling himself dramatically across the small bed on his back that didn’t fit his lanky frame. His legs hanging off the bed as his arms went limp off either side, hands brushing along the floor. A pathetic display, really, but the mood shifted as Mr. Puzzles raised a hand and laid it delicately over top of the TV; the expression on the screen shifted to a sly grin, with digital eyes on it looking in your direction.

“Coming into someone’s room unannounced.” Mr. Puzzles other hand pressed to his chest as he lifted a leg just so to rest his foot on the bed. He pressed the back of his hand to the TV harder. “Have you come here to finish what you’re roommates started? Or come to comfort me for the traumatizing experience?”

“This place is abandoned.” You deadpan, watching this strange man as he adjusted his position. “And what exactly are you talking about?”

“They didn’t tell you.” Mr. Puzzles dropped the theatrics as he turned his TV head (rather gingerly, you note) to refused you with a curious then conspiratorial look. “The work or die choice was rather unexpected, I must say; a trash compactor was certainly not on the radar and I would love nothing more than to never see such a thing again.”

“Your, uh, shirt collar’s getting stained.” You pointed out, not sure what to say about what was said until you had a chance to talk with Rose and Derek. It was a surprise to see alarm flash across the screen before Mr. Puzzles hastily pressed a hand over his neck and tapped the fingers of his other hand on a knee as he gingerly sat up on the bed.

“Nothing to be worried about. I will take care of it and be be ready to go use to that cafe as per my agreement with your devious roommates.” Mr. Puzzles made a shooing motion with you with the same free hand, three fingers flexing with his thumb held in place while making said motion.

You stare at him.

Mr. Puzzles stared back.

“Your antenna are lying flat..”

“Out, out with you right this instsnt.” Said TV antenna flick and position themself back to how they’d been yesterday (the bent one did not straight out. Mr puzzles stood up from the bed.

Wow, you’d forgotten how tall he was. The panic of seeing a strange men with a tv head in your closet had been enough of a distraction.

“Imust put myself together for the company I am not prepared to be around with the state I’m in, and this will take a little more time.” Mr. Puzzles screen flashed to something almost…self conscious? “Do not come in this room again; I will leave when I am finished.”

You are gently yet swiftly shooed out the door by Mr. Puzzles when you didn’t move quick enough out of his tempeitary ‘bedroom’. It’s a weird sensation, to breifly have someone’s hands bigger than your own to nearly cover up both your shoulder blades. Then, the touch was gone, and there you were, lingering in the hallway, wondering what Mr. Puzzles meant by his words. As far as you could tell, the man was dressed exactly as he had been yesterday. And why had he said ‘put myself together’ with such an odd inflection in his voice?

[qedart]

Time Warp AU - Preview

In a lot of ways, he didn’t want anything to change. He wanted them to still be best friends - only… when they were out on one of Pete’s quests for trash/treasure, or waiting in line for one of his, Tom’s, favourite smoothies, or even just hanging out and watching tv, it would be nice if they could hold hands as well.  When they go to watch the jets take off, it would be nice if they could lay in the grass together, close enough that their arms brushed against each other.  When Pete had those days where he flinched a lot or was just plain sad, or when he had those nightmares that make him sound like he was trying not to cry, it would be nice if Tom could hold him like he always wants to in those moments, and not let go until he felt better. He wants to promise him that he’d always be there, no matter what, and have Pete know that he actually meant it. He’d like it if Pete could do the same for him.

I'm really hoping to get this update out this weekend. I've been working on it so much in the background, it's just coming together in a jigsaw puzzle sorta manner haha.

In the meantime - I hope you like this snippet :)

[arvensimp]

YFSK Preview, pt. 4.1

I know i've been super duper quiet, but I promise there's a good reason. Please forgive me and accept this teaser for part 4.

“Hey! I dunno if you’ve been keeping track on your end, but Kiki is gonna be graduating from Blueberry, and I know it would mean the absolute world to him if you were able to attend the ceremony.” Carmine called, nearly out of the blue one day to inform you. Her brother had apparently been a part of a trial class that not only earned a high school diploma but also continued on for a few more years as part of a pilot Bachelor’s degree program in pokemon battling. From what you understood, it was basically like a feeder system to train new gym leaders and Elite Four hopefuls.

You look down at your ballooning tummy,

"Congratulations to him! When is it exactly though…?"

You wince and resist the urge to suck your teeth when Carmine gives you the date.

"Ahhh... I'm so sorry, I've got something at that time."

"For real? You can't just ask for time away from your league for even a weekend? This would REALLY mean the world to Kiki..."

"I'm sorry, but…I won't actually be allowed to fly by that point."

"Allowed? What kinda terrorism have you gotten into?"

You snort a laugh. "Pssh, nah. It's... It's medical actually. Here. Lemme, uh..." Without hanging up, you send over the most recent ultrasound photos. Your baby still kinda looks like a Munna in there, but she should get the point. Or, at least you assume she does when you hear the sound of crashing and fumbling on her end.

"You're having a BABY?????"

"Uh...haha, yeah. The due date is, like, a week after Kieran's graduation, so... I, y'know, can't fly. I'm really sorry. I'll be sure to send a gift though!"

"A BABY?"

"Yup. I can hardly believe it myself, most days."

"I didn't even know you were seeing anyone! Who is this guy? Why didn't you let your incredible Unovan friends suss him out for you?"

Another wince. "...About that. Yeah... He's not...um. In the picture."

"What? How? Why? Whomst would even dare? Do I need to kick some ass?"

"It's...." You still haven’t gotten used to talking about the subject. "It's a lot. Don't. ...Don't worry! Really! I have tons of support! It's fine. For real."

Carmine absolutely isn't buying it. "Mm. Fine. I guess I get why you can't make it to the graduation. Could we come visit afterwards though? Like I get you probably wouldn't want us there immediately after he graduates. But...maybe like a few months later? Give the thing a chance to develop an immune system?"

"I can't promise I'll be a great host, but... Well, it would be nice."

"Don't worry yourself none! I've changed diapers and stuff before if you end up needing a nap while we're around!"

-

So around the time Basil is 3 months old, the Kitakami pair head to Paldea.

Of course, Basil is having a rough time of it, screaming his little lungs out as they're knocking on the door, so you can only hope that you don’t look as frazzled as you feel when you welcome them in.

"Hey! Hello! Please, come in, come in. Make yourselves at home.” You give the pair a hug at the same time, barely able to register them beyond the fog of ‘TAKE CARE OF BASIL, TAKE CARE OF CRYING PROGENY, TAKE CARE OF BABY’ that alarms through your brain. “I'm really sorry, but I just need to feed Basil real fast. That should hopefully get him sleeping and happy again."

You usher them in and invite them to sit on the sofa, the TV is theirs, and you hide away in the bedroom to nurse. A few minutes later, Carmine gently knocks on the door and asks if she can be of any help. You joke through the wood that the dishes need doing when she presses past the feeble ‘it’s fine!’ that you offer.

"Kiki! Take care of the dishes, yeah?"

"On it!" You hear, softer.

"Okay, what else?" She continues.

"No! Just. Just relax, please."

"Nah, I'm gonna tidy up. Kay? You just keep feeding the chonklet there, and we can catch up when you're done."

You come back out to the room, and it's not Clean, but it's definitely more put together. You also hear the hum of the dishwasher from the kitchen.

"You guys...." You start tearing up, and both siblings immediately swoop in to hold you. Carmine strokes your hair, shushing you. Now that you’ve got your child content, you have a moment to comprehend your guests.

Kieran is. Bigger.

"I... I promise I'm not this pathetic! I can handle this. Plus, I... I have folks here who can help... It's just hard..." You snivel, sounding way more pathetic than you mean to sound.

"It's okay that it's hard..." Kieran finally pipes up and his voice is definitely deeper since you last heard him. Not a bass or something, but there's been a change there. "This is more or less the hardest thing in the world, right? And we all know you're the strongest person there is, so...ya know. It's okay. You...you can do this. And you can feel overwhelmed."

-

They end up staying for about a week or so, and on the night before they're due to fly back, Kieran pulls you aside while Carmine is grabbing takeaway for dinner. He's fidgeting with his hair a bit, tapping his foot, but he's doing his best to meet your eye.

"I'm staying." He declares.

"What? Like you're gonna look for a job here?"

"Yeah! I know I'm not as strong as you, but I'm certain I could get a job in your league or...or maybe even at your alma mater, maybe. I... I'd need to do a teaching cert in Paldea for that, probably, but..."

"Wow! So you liked it that much here? That's great, Kieran. I can help you learn the language if you want. I can also see if Nemona has any real estate connections. We'll try to find you a place when you're ready to get back, and hopefully by then you'll have a job, and you can get started wi--"

"No! I mean... I'm. I'm not going back to Kitakami." One of his hands grabs yours and the other rests gently on Basil, sleeping soundly in your arms. "He needs...a...a father figure, y'know? I..." Kieran swallows thickly. "I can do that. I'm... I'm a man now."

"Kieran..." You shift slightly, freeing a hand from your bundle while keeping him balanced in your arms. You trace a palm along the older boy--no, man's cheek, your callouses having grown softer in recent months. You can feel where he's begun to grow consistent stubble. Wow... He really did grow up.

"I... I'm not going to keep you from reaching your fullest potential out there. You're welcome, more than welcome, to come visit any time, but... You're not thinking clearly about this. About what you think you're signing up for."

"I AM though!" He raises his voice, showing some hints of the anger he holds onto. "I'm READY for this! God, why can't anyone TRUST me?!"

All the yelling wakes up Basil, who cries, startled. Kieran quickly scoops him up and out of your arms, attempting to soothe the baby.

"Aw, geez... I'm sorry, little guy... I didn't mean to make you upset... Shh, shh... It'll be okay..."

The momentary flare of anger you felt at having your son torn from your grip is placated as you watch Kieran hold him so tenderly. Your heart melts... You lose all affection you may have secretly held onto in your heart for Arven, that loser.

Kieran is here. Kieran is capable. Kieran... Kieran can do this.

"Okay..." You softly tell him once Basil has calmed, the single word hanging in the quiet between you for a moment.

"...Okay?" He parrots.

"You... You can stay. You... You'll be his father."

Then y'all DO IT.

THE END

april fools :)

[duckyfruitbat]

YoHoHo, It's a New Era of Pirating

I'm sure a lot of us have been ruminating on this lately, but first I want to draw some parallels.

Picture it, the year is 2005 and you are watching a movie you picked out with your grandma at blockbuster during your weekend visit to give your parents a god damned break from your bullshit. Relatable so far yes? You pop that disk in and sit down as grandma makes the popcorn and an odd little PSA comes up between the previews. It's the infamous pirating PSA that compares downloading films to car jacking. So what do you do? You download copious amounts of pirated music onto the computer under your fathers supervision of course, still pretty relatable right?

You have entered the world of media piracy my friend, an old tradition with a rich culture and history. The early 2000's were some wild times, piracy was at its peak, the internet was a lawless land, and the 2008 housing bubble was just around the corner, truly a glorious time.

Now needless to say, publishing companies hated piracy and were desperately trying to curb it but only through legislation through a government that didn't really care. It was already hard enough to catch one pirate so why waste resources to crack down on it. There was an attempted crackdown by the publishers but that completely failed, one infamous case was a grandma who didn't even have a computer.

This age of piracy was only stopped when Itunes and Netflix made their way online. That was only because everything was on these two websites and later also Hulu. The only people who continued to pirate were kids who didn't have money and anime fans. There were two specialized websites just for them.

Everything was going smoothly, until we get to today, now every studio has at least one streaming service and even then there is no guarantee that their own shows would even be up and they're all owned by the same five corporations. Discovery got in trouble not too long ago for deleting their own shows from their own streaming service. Disney still has a backlog to upload onto Disney+, and there are many exclusives between each site. It's very similar to what cable and satellite television was, gotta pay over a hundred dollars and you don't even watch half the channels. These streaming services are getting too specialized, sure it makes business sense especially when you already have a large library or you're just Disney, but when there are obscure TV channels trying to get their own service, you know something's wrong.

Somehow the music industry didn't go the same path, yes Spotify has its problems, especially for musicians, but it is far better than purchasing entire albums or the old piracy methods that always put your computer at risk.

The obvious consequence of all this is that piracy is once again going up once again. Why? Because it is far easier to pirate than it is to figure out which steaming service that Disney owned show you want to watch is on. The only reason Itunes and Netflix originally won was because it was more convenient to actually pay for the things you wanted to see and not have to worry about malware. That's a lesson that these corporations could benefit from again, but they are if anything stubborn.

Now because of the stubbornness of these corporations I will have a lot to talk about, specifically with all sorts of pirating methods, and some fun stories. I already talked about Tengen and their massive swinging balls of steel as they walked into the patent office to steal from Nintendo, but there is so much more. So plenty of legally dubious fun to be had!

[banqanas]

Guide on where to find official EXILE TRIBE contents

This list focuses on sites/services that is managed by LDH, therefore does not include social media

Includes free and paid contents

Disclaimer: Focuses more on Jr EXILE groups contents as they're the ones I follow most.

I try to include pictures for most points, please click on them to see the details clearly

FREE

CL (LDH's own VOD site)

Type of content available:

live cast from groups & individual members

short live broadcast (<10 minutes) during concerts

original LDH show/programs (limited quantity)

is also one of the main platforms to interact with artists

✅ Not region blocked, targeted for JP & international fans

✅ Some shows have subtitles and are available in multiple languages (English, Chinese, Thailand, Korean)

✅ Types of shows varies and some dated before ~2017 (you can get to know the group from their formation until their current state)

2. Radio

Type of content available:

Early preview of new songs

Members responding to listener's requests & questions

Behind the scene stories

Some groups/members serve as DJ for various radio programs on different mediums. Some examples include:

GENERATIONS: CultureZ (Sano Reo DJ - broadcasted live on YouTube) THE RAMPAGE: WEEKEND THE RAMPAGE (Zin and RIKU DJ - BayFM) FANTASTICS: Fantastics Radio (all members - OsakaFM), Design Your Fantastic Future (Nakajima Sota DJ - FM802), Quartet (Jr Exile) EP (Sato Taiki DJ - Exile Tribe Mobile), SawaSota's carefree radio show (CL) BALLISTIK BOYZ: BALLISTIKRADIO (all members DJ, free to listen on website)

❌ Most of the radio shows hosted on Japan's radio FM are region blocked

✅ Weekly updates

✅ You get to listen to your oshi talking about mundane stuffs that doesn't fit on camera like their favourite McDonalds order or them complaining how noisy some members are during their train rides

3. TV shows

Type of content available:

Music TV show (e.g: Music Station, NHK Utacon)

Reality shows (e.g: Hirunandesu, Susteina)

drama series

Short segments in tv shows

Mainly for tribe members that are also active in acting or often goes on variety tv shows e.g: Katayose Ryota, Shirahama Alan, Sato Taiki, Yagi Yusei etc. Most JP tv shows are archived at TVer and can be watched for free

❌ Need to find TV streaming service + VPN

❌ Archives on TVer are only viewable for a week after the tv broadcast

✅ Contents that are not covered by CL

4. EXILE TRIBE MAGAZINE

LDH's own monthly magazine. Contents include:

Event reports

Interviews with artists

✅ Can see pictures from closed events that most international fans can't participate

❌ Some articles can only be accessed for FC members of respective groups

TL;DR: the are quite a lot of free contents however they are restricted behind region blocks and language barriers. You have to be updated with the group's news to catch them on tv/radio.

PAID

CL (premium account - monthly subscription)

Type of content available:

Includes aforementioned free content and more (e.g: PPV online broadcasts for concerts/events, live cast archives, CL anniversary stream)

Premium account members are also eligible for special benefits when buying CD/DVD from LDH official shops

Detailed information between free & premium account here

✅ Payment via app store available

2. EXILE TRIBE OFFICIAL FANCLUB (yearly subscription)

Type of contents available vary between each group's FC but general content each FC has includes:

monthly calendar wallpapers

exclusive images and videos that are not posted in mobile sites (after concert message, seasonal videos, video call-like videos etc)

reports from FC Events (online talk, fan meeting, bus trips, live shows etc etc) that is not covered by Exile Tribe Magazine

Messages for celebratory days (birthday, Valentines', White Day, anniversaries etc)

AR cameras

Chance to get members forgotten belongings (FANTASTICS only)

✅ Eligible to get FC only merchandise (which changes every year)

✅ Eligible for special benefits when buying CD/DVDs from LDH official shop

❌ Requires Japanese address and bank account

❌ Mainly used to get first dibs at concert tickets/fan events so unless you're planning on going to physical events, it's not that worth it.

3. EXILE MOBILE SITES (monthly subscription)

LDH's comprehensive blogging sites. Is considered Exile Tribe's/LDH main website where contents they covered is divided according to groups (refer to images above) and all of them covers:

latest news

backstage photos from concerts (rehearsals, off shots, events)

blog posts with photos/vlog updated by the artists themselves

original content (radio show, independent programs)

※ Members that are part of EXILE and other groups (e.g: Alan, Gun-chan, Mandy, SEKAI, Taiki, DEEP SQUAD) have separate blogs on EXILE mobile/LDH mobile and Tribe Mobile.

⚠️ Pictures that have the LDH/group logo on them are all pictures from their mobile sites. Please be careful of sharing them publicly (as they are widely known to be paid content)

✅ Main source of online content for Exile Tribe straight from the members themselves

✅ Updated daily (depending on member)

✅ Contents are more personal and in-depth compared to their SNS posts. I've translated some of them here and here

✅ Chance of fans directly interact with members (some would reply back to fans replies, also depending on member)

TL;DR: Paid sites are not region blocked as long as you can get through the payment site

Others (sites not managed by LDH but are official collaborations)

1.ABEMA TV - PAID (is not covered in the same category as free tv show because these are not available on regional JP tv channels:

Contents include but not limited to:

ABEMAxLDH: Concerts (PPV), documentary and fanmeets

Past and currently airing GENEkou TV episodes

Incomplete episodes of SHIBUEXILE (2020 - 2021)

2. Tribe Kingdom (puzzle mobile game) - FREE: I have made a separate post about the game here. While the in-game stories are fictional, some parts (voice lines, kitchen talk) include real facts about the artists themselves

Q&A:

How do you sign up/access sites that require JP address and phone number? A: I sign up to Tenso and use the address and number they provide. Most JP sites I've used accepts the address and phone number Tenso provides. None of the sites I've mentioned above require any sort of code to be sent to your Tenso phone number

How do you pay for the services that require JP bank accounts? A: I do not have any jp bank account and have only used my local (asean) bank account. I just pick a card and pray it's accepted by the payment site

Which site do you recommend the most for international fans? A: CL. Other than the fact that the contents are subbed, it is also the platform where you can openly post in other languages (not Japanese) whether in replies or live chats. I really encourage getting the Premium subscription to show LDH how international fans are supporting them.

What is the difference between Official Fan Club contents VS mobile sites? A: Mobile sites main contents are blog posts that are updated by members themselves so the contents mainly focus on individual members (good for people who are only fans of specific members of a group). Mobile site contents are also less formal (pictures/videos are not edited professionally). FC are mainly group-centered contents and the quantities are not as many as those that are posted in mobile sites. But no same contents are posted in both site. ※ Personal note: Mobile sites is worth your money more compared to FC

END. Thank for checking this out and feel free to hit me up if you have any questions regarding these services/sites as I've had a chance to use most of them

(e.g: I can answer questions such as how to sign up to site A, what kind of contents members A, B, C post in their blog or how regularly they post blogs, or which VPN do I use when using site A or B. Unfortunately I can't help with any question regarding payment)

Let's try to support our boys where we can :) 👍

[pearlypairings]

Pssst.

Hey.

Hey you...

I did something, mmm, kinda out of the ordinary for my usual writing routine. AKA started a fic that's not hellcheer for once😅 forgive me Father Eddie, for I have sinned—

jonathan x chrissy | wip : 6k wc | slowburn, angst, eventual fluff | ch 2/?

summary: a photography commission from the unofficial Queen of Hawkins for her boyfriend sends introverted Jonathan Byers on a reluctant journey, discovering not all cheerleaders are the same. Some are very observant, thoughtful, and even full of self-doubt and responsibility like him...

read below the line for a preview :)

Jonathan carefully plucked the latest batch of photos from the first wash bin. The darkroom was bathed in red with the faint hum of the safelights burrowing into the background, Jonathan’s focus undeterred by the constant buzzing. Whenever he pulled those heavy darkroom curtains closed, he drifted into another world, a state of perfect flow for his work.

Last weekend he’d spent over 6 hours stalking through the woods, hoping to find the perfect overcast shadows over Skull Rock or a fawn grazing on the new growth at the edge of the pines. Instead, Jonathan had stumbled upon the ruins of a Hawkins High party, practically apocalyptic in nature with the way cans, bottles, and clothes were left strewn about the brush and the earth floor.

He had nearly rushed through the littered party ruins until a glint of the noon sun caught his eye. Under the cover of a weedy fern, a dainty gold necklace glimmered in the light, half-covered in patches of dirt and surrounded by a heavy shoe print, a thick-soled sneaker by the looks of the imprint. It was almost too poetic; the year of his graduation stuck out from under the dirt, bathed in a golden light, while the chain buckled under the dirt and grime of the life around it, like dismal foreshadowing.

Minutes ticked on as he adjusted his camera’s lens for a close-up, leaning back on his left foot to get the angle just right for the flare above the "86" pendant. He snapped two just in case—keeping his fingers crossed that he captured the foreboding atmosphere. There was something magnetic about it.

The rest of the afternoon he shot about a dozen more photos, including a rabbit poking its head out from its burrow which the older Hawkins folk would adore, a family of mossy stones congregating by a snaking vine, and a majestic hawk, brownish in color, opening its wide wingspan from its perch on the pine tree.

Not his best nature photography by his own scale, but there had to be something usable for the Hawkins Post, who always seemed in need of decent local photography to accompany their articles. He’d already been featured twice this past summer from his photos of the town fair and the downtown block party.

Jonathan had to wait until today to process the film; Tuesdays were when Mrs. Franklin unlocked the school’s darkroom for the school newspaper, The Weekly Streak, and the yearbook club. Jonathan had joined both groups in order to utilize the room for free and made sure to at least do the bare minimum for each club meeting. Mrs. Franklin turned a blind eye whenever he brought in his own film to develop, casually complimenting his artsy photos of sad, empty parking lots, once even slipping him a Lincoln to tuck a portrait of a distant stranger at Lover’s Lake into her spiral agenda.

Being a senior meant he only had one more year to take advantage of free film developing, a perk he never took for granted, since his part-time job at the Hawk barely covered the extra groceries at home—let alone stuff for Jonathan’s expensive hobby. Film added up pretty quickly, so whatever change was left over from his paycheck, he scrimped and saved until he could buy another 33mm cartridge from Melvald’s. The supplies for developing were way more than that and harder to conserve. With that somber idea in mind, he took care in transferring the first three photos from the prep solution to the next chemical mixture, not wasting a single scrap of this opportunity.

Some days he wondered if the acrid fumes helped or hindered him, the chemicals seeping into the air with a heavy, almost-metallic smell. As a freshman, it used to burn his nose, his eyes, any of the sensitive sources for sensation. Three years of experience later, he barely noticed any odor, having drifted with the humming of the safelights into the background of his awareness.

With the last slosh of the bath, Jonathan nearly jumped with the classroom light suddenly poking through the slit of the door creaking opening. If these photos were ruined, he’d have to start the painstakingly lengthy process all over again from the negatives. Fred Benson, another senior in the journalism club, had a habit of ignoring the “in use: keep out” sign and incidentally destroying all of Jonathan’s hardwork with his objectionable entrances.

Jonathan sighed, almost a groan by its volume, in exasperation. He didn’t have the energy to deal with Fred’s incessant questions right now; he always seemed to have special requests for his articles at the last minute. And while he claimed to prefer Jonathan’s work to the other student photographers, it never stopped him from making Jonathan retake photos of the same art class gallery or demanding another professional headshot for his college portfolio.

He covered the bins and snuck past the curtain protecting the developing photos, narrowing his eyes at the unwelcome thorn in his side. “Fr–”

“I’m sorry,” The voice that interrupted was sweet, meek even. Definitely not Fred’s weasley intonation and that caught Jonathan off guard. “Fred said it was okay to come in, but I should have waited—you look busy.”

Chrissy Cunningham shrunk her frame, her arms crossed over her cheer sweater, with the dip of her head showing off the blonde bangs perfectly coiffed over her brows......

More in the link:)

[seiya-starsniper]

Intro Post

Hi there! I'm Seiya, aka starsniper! (she/her) This is my blog for assorted blorbo posting and writing, hope you enjoy your stay! 😄

Main fandoms are Sandman and Dead Boy Detectives, but I've recently dipped my toe into Arcane. Blog is multifandom overall.

AO3: starsniper. (I will always be logged in when I comment!)

Discord: Mr. Sadman is a multi-ship open server for the Sandman fandom and it's an amazing community! I've even got my own little author's corner there called Seiya's Sexy Scribbles. If you'd like to come play, click on the link above!

Transformative Works: Consider this blanket permission to create any type of transformative work based off what I've written! I only ask you let me know what you've created either using the "Inspired By" link on AO3 or tagging me on Tumblr, just because I love, love, love seeing that sort of thing.

-----

Below the cut is my tag library, which is mainly for my own reference, but also for anyone who wants an easy way to search my blog. Some of the tags will have links, and some will not, due to Tumblr spam controls. If you need me to tag anything specific, please ask! (but not on anon, DMs or off anon asks only)

***Personal/Writing Tags***

How to find my personal ramblings, my written works, etc.

⟪⟪General Personal Tags⟫⟫

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⟪⟪Personal Writing Tags⟫⟫

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⟪⟪Fandom Specific Personal Writing Tags⟫⟫

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#seiya writes legends of tomorrow (my legends of tomorrow fics)

⟪⟪Sandman Ship Specific Personal Writing Tags⟫⟫

#seiya writes dreamling (dream x hob)

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#seiya writes hobrinthian (hob x corinthian)

#seiya writes corinthienne (corinthian x lucienne)

#seiya writes gaulcienne (gault x lucienne)

#seiya writes hellmuse (johanna x calliope)

#seiya writes dreamuse (dream x calliope)

#seiya writes morphienne (dream x lucienne)

#seiya writes constantdream (dream x johanna)

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⟪⟪Current Projects/WIPs tags⟫⟫

#hobrinthian: hob gets the skull au

#dreamling omegaverse regency wip sequel

#corinthienne vampire x witch wip

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#break me shake me 2 wip (dreamling)

#dreamling omega auction wip

⟪⟪Writing Events/Challenges⟫⟫

Note: these are links to specific masterposts, as well as tagged posts for events I've participated in!

Dreamling Bingo 2024 Masterpost

Dreamling Week 2024 Masterpost

Seiya's Monsterfucktober 2023 Bingo Fills

Sandman Femslash Weekend

Dreamling Bingo 2023 Masterpost

Smut May (Smay) Drabble Masterpost (multi-ship)

Smut April (Smapril) Drabble Masterpost (multi-ship)

Smut March (Smurch) Drabble Masterpost (multi-ship)

2023 Centennial Husbands Big Bang

***Reference/Blacklist tags***

Tags used to help searching my blogs easier, and also for people to blacklist, if necessary.

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Note: Posts with these tags will include informational/educational posts as well, just to keep things neatly organized. I try to tag consistently, but I may miss some things, so please use caution and take care of yourselves. No links here because it's a lot of them!

--Explicit Content--

#nsft (general explicit content tag)

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#dubcon

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#monsterfucker/#monsterfucking

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---Phobias---

#bugs (happy to tag a more specific bug)

#spiders

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--Sensitive Topics--

#racism

#misogyny

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#flashing lights / #strobe lights

#addiction / #drug addiction

--Politics tags--

#us politics

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#palestine

#voting

⟪⟪Discourse Tags⟫⟫

Note: I don't like to participate in discourse, please don't tag me in it. Any past discussions I've been involved in have been resolved between myself and the parties that matter to me. Blacklist if needed, links are there for my reference.

--General Discourse--

#fandom racism

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--Sandman Fandom Discourse--

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***Fandom Related Tags***

⟪⟪General Fandom Tags⟫⟫

Note: This list is by no means exhaustive! And some tags are more used than others. Most posts under this tag will be reblogs, unless tagged with one of my personal tags.

ao3 (posts about AO3, mostly memes, but may include discourse)

#the sandman

#dungeon meshi

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#loki (general loki tag, use #loki tv for only the tv series)

#ofmd (our flag means death)

#bnha (sometimes #my hero academia)

#yugioh (sometimes #ygo)

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#gossip girl

#blue eye samurai

#interview with the vampire (sometimes #iwtv)

#dead boy detectives (sometimes #dbda)

⟪⟪Shipping Tags⟫⟫

Note: Like the above, this is not exhaustive, I ship a lot of things! I'm very ship and let ship these days, so please don't try to debate me on ships, I won't answer.

#00Q

#taimizu

#xedgin

#thorki

#lokius

#steelatom

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⟪⟪Sandman Fandom Tags⟫⟫

Note: Because of the sheer volume of dreamling content, these tags are separated from the rest of my sandman fandom tags. Other ships will be present in the general tags and tagged accordingly, just not dreamling.

#sandman fanart

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⟪⟪Other Sandman Ships Tags⟫⟫

#hobrinthian (hob x corinthian)

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⟪⟪Dreamling Tags⟫⟫

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As a reminder, this post is a live document and will be updated as I find time to do so or, if I think of new tags I want to track and add to this post. I am happy to add additional tags if you reach out to me via DM or via non-anonymous ask. While I do have anon asks on for other purposes, since tagging is a sensitive subject, I will NOT answer anon requests for tags on my blog. If you are concerned about sending an ask from your main blog vs side-blog, Tumblr does let you send DMs from a side-blog, and I'd be happy to talk to you from there. Thanks for understanding!

[ljxlj48]

A Racer's Heart

Chapter 04

F1Driver!Jeno X Reader X F1Driver!Jaemin

Preview, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05…

Genre: love triangle, co-workers to lovers, slight enemies to lovers

Warnings: swearing, car crash

Word Count: 3.6K+

Author's Note: You know when I start my story, I always have an idea of where it's going but then I start writing and suddenly I have no idea where it's going. Like if you ask me who is y/n gonna end up with, I have no idea. Like you guys are finding out with me about how this story will turn out lmaooo. I also notice that this story isn't doing that well compared to my others, and idk if its because my writing it starting to suck or because there's not a lot of nct fans that are also formula 1 fans lol. nevertheless hugs and kisses to anyone reading &lt;333

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

Part of your job, as Jeno’s race engineer, is ensuring that Jeno remains confident in his ability and his car.  Your job becomes extra hard when Jeno allows external influences or events to linger in his mind.  Then there's an added level of difficulty, if the events that are lingering on Jeno’s mind involve you.  

It was clear that Jeno’s mind wasn’t where it was supposed to be in Azerbaijan and Canada, when Jeno finished outside of the points in both.  This weekend, you guys were in the UK, silverstone. You hoped that you could get his mind in the right state for the race.   

“Just get out there and race,” you tried to find the right words to encourage Jeno.  

“I know,” Jeno said as he hung his head, fiddling with gloves, as he sat in the car on the circuit.  

“Jen,” you called out to him once more, to get him to look at you before you had to go back into the garage. “I’m okay, I promise.” 

“My helmet, please,” Jeno said as he pointed to his helmet on the nose of the car, not acknowledging your earlier words.  You sighed, handing Jeno his helmet.  

“Be safe,” you say as you place a hand on Jeno’s helmet after he puts it on.  The visor doesn’t let you see Jeno’s eyes, but you feel him nod slightly.  You leave your place on the circuit going back to the garage to take your seat.  You put on your headset, “check? Can you hear me Jen?” 

“Loud and clear dear,” Jeno chuckled, “let’s score some points, yeah?” 

“You know what to do Jen.” 

-

‘We’re entering lap 23, and you can see Martin, the battle between the NCT teammates are starting to heat up’ 

You watched the monitor, seeing what everyone watching on TV was seeing.  “This isn’t good,” Mark said, from the other side, as he watched his own monitor. 

“We told them they were allowed to race,” Taeyong said, as he watched what you guys were watching.  Jeno and Jaemin were going into the turns side by side, coming wheel to wheel.  

‘It doesn’t sound like they are giving out any team orders in the NCT garage, Crofty’

“I don’t like this Taeyong, they’re gonna crash,” you spoke up, not liking this.  Neither Taeyong nor Mark knew what happened in Monaco, when they asked if something happened, both Jeno and Jaemin shrugged it off as the season was getting more serious now.  

‘This is very interesting Martin, usually drivers are arguing with the team to give out orders or not, but it is silence on the NCT team radio’

“Let them race, as long as they’re not bashing each other on the radio where all the teams can hear, they’re not causing problems.” 

‘I would think you have to give out orders to ensure both drivers score points for the championship, if not they could crash which would take them out of the points completely’

The race continued on with them going back and forth, it wasn’t until Ocon closed in on them that they stopped racing each other and defended their respective positions.  They crossed the finish line P8, Jeno, and P9, Jaemin.  Picking up another six points for the team.  You took the largest sigh of relief when the checkered flag finally waved.  

“P8 Jen, good job,” you spoke into the radio to Jeno.  

“Thank you,” Jeno said, in a rather monotone voice, as he finished out his cool down lap.  

‘I wonder what’s happening in the NCT garage, I guess we’ll have to ask in the post-race interviews’

You sighed, watching the broadcast of the race.  After doing his weigh in, Jeno went straight to the media bullpen to finish his requirements.  However, when Jaemin finished his weigh-in, he came to find you.  “y/n a word, please?” 

“Sure,” you said as you put down your stuff, and stepped away with Jaemin.  Your breath started to get short, as you walked further into the garage, away from most people.  This wasn’t like Jaemin.  Usually, if Jaemin had something to say, he would just say it, regardless of who was around. 

When Jaemin finally stopped, and looked towards you, you began to feel nervous about what Jaemin had to say.  “Jeno told you what happened that night in Monaco?” 

You took a breath, “He only told me what he knew, there's still a few hours missing because no one was there with me.” You answered his question honestly, but it still looked like the answer pained him.  

“I see,” Jaemin didn’t meet your eyes, which was very unlike him.  Jaemin always portrayed confidence.  He said everything on his mind, he looked people in the eyes, he stood tall.  The person in front of you didn’t portray that confidence.  “It feels like Jeno is still angry with me for that night, and he has every right to be, I put you in danger.  So I just want to apologize again, I should’ve never left you like that, especially when you told me you weren’t familiar with the area.” 

You felt bad for Jaemin, he had apologized to you every weekend since Monaco.  He hasn’t stopped apologizing, even after you told him you forgave him.  Even after you told Jeno, you forgave him.  Jaemin continued to apologize.  You know he shouldn’t have left you alone, but what was done was done.  Everything ended up okay in the end, there was nothing more to be done already.  

You were about to accept another apology when Jeno shouted your name from across the garage.  The roughness of Jeno’s voice, caused shivers to run down your spine. You turned back to see him, and watched as he stared daggers at Jaemin.  “I’m sorry Jaemin,” you whispered, as you walked towards Jeno.  

You followed Jeno back up to his room, you made sure to shut the door before speaking up, “that wasn’t necessary.” Jeno didn’t respond to you, instead gathering his clothes to rinse off before leaving for the day.  “Jeno you need to forgive Jaemin already, I have, why can’t you do the same?” 

Jeno continued to ignore you. 

“Jeno, I’m talking to you, the least you can do is look at me.”  Jeno turned around to face you, his face stuck in a scowl. You felt your shoulders drop, and your eyes softened, “I’m okay Jeno, I really am okay.” 

“And what if you weren’t?” Jeno asked, a little louder than his normal.  “What if I didn’t get there in time?  What if I didn’t pick up the phone that night?  What if you didn’t go to the restroom?  What if you weren’t okay?” Jeno asked, as you saw the tears brim his eyes, Jeno dropped to a seat.  You followed, finding a spot right next to him.  “10 minutes, it took me 10 minutes to get to you.  For 10 minutes I could only imagine the worst happening to you.  For 10 minutes I had to figure out how to explain to your parents that you were dead.  For 10 minutes I couldn’t protect you.  For 10 minutes, I was completely helpless.  And it was my fault.”  

You wiped away your own tears, “it’s not,” you whispered as you stared down at your lap.  You took a deep breath, you could blame Jaemin for leaving you alone.  You could blame yourself for not watching your drink.  You could blame the bartender for allowing it to happen, but there was only one person to blame.  “It’s the guy who drugged me, that's who's at fault, no one else.  Not Jaemin and especially not you.  You can’t blame a predator's actions on you Jeno.”  You grabbed Jeno’s hand, squeezing it, now looking at him.  

“How are you so okay with this?” Jeno asked with a slight shake of his head. 

“When you grow up knowing that no matter what you do, you will still be at risk, you get used to it, I guess.”  You felt Jeno’s eyes on you while you looked ahead.  Jeno grabbed your cheek, pressing your temple to his lips.  You cracked a small smile, enjoying the feeling of Jeno’s lips on you.  The two of you stayed in that position for a minute.  You didn’t want to move, to disrupt the delicate peace that was in place.  

-

As soon as the Silverstone Grand Prix ended, you headed up to Austria with the majority of the team.  Jeno, Jaemin, along with a few team members stayed in the UK for another day.  The rumor that was being traded amongst team members is that Jeno and Jaemin needed to stay behind for a team bonding moment.  You kept your comments to yourself, knowing that Jeno just stayed in the UK for an extra day to visit some friends out there that he didn’t get to see over the weekend.  

When you arrived in Austria, you and some of Jeno’s mechanics got together to ‘work,’ it really was just you guys at a bar drinking and shooting darts.  You stayed away from the alcohol, not really feeling comfortable drinking.  Even if you wanted to drink, you couldn’t because Jeno bothered you every five minutes.  You swear you have had partners who texted you less in your entire relationship with them, than Jeno has texted him since you’ve been out tonight.  

“Your driver and you are awfully close,” someone commented, peeking over your shoulder.  

“Oh Jeno,” you shrugged, “we’ve been friends a long time, that’s why.” 

“I see,” 

“I’m sorry I didn’t get your name,” you smiled, sticking out your hand, “I’m y/n.” 

The other person took your hand, “I know, I’m Renjun, a race engineer for NCT.  I was working with Danny, the driver before Jeno.” 

“I see,” you hesitated, worried about where the conversation was going. 

“I was excited to work with Jeno, but then Taeyong said that Jeno was bringing in his own race engineer,” Renjun said, beforing sipping the beer in his hand. 

Before Jeno was in F1, he was in Prema Racing, and so were you.  It was easy to move around and follow Jeno, because you remained a part of Prema Racing. So all you had to do was move up within the same team, like Jeno.  When Jeno left F2, and Prema Racing, he insisted you do the same.  So you did, you left Prema and applied for Alfa Romeo.  And you were content, you could’ve stayed at Alfa Romeo, you wanted to stay at Alfa Romeo.  However Jeno insisted that you needed to be with him in NCT, and he made sure of it.  He had it as a part of his contract with NCT, a job for you, to ensure you followed him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t,” you stuttered out a half-ass apology, not sure what to say at all.  At this time, Renjun cracked a smile.  

“I’m just giving you a hard time,” Renjun laughed, “It’s really fine, it’s amazing what you and Jeno have.” 

You tried to chuckle away the awkwardness, “what do you mean by that?” 

“I’ve watched you guys these past few races, Jeno holds a lot of trust in you, he doesn’t question any of the strategy choices you make for him.” 

You repeat the same thing that you always tell yourself to Renjun, “He just knows that I know what he likes.” 

“No it's more than that, I’ve worked with drivers before, Jeno has like,” Renjun pauses, you watch him look for the right word to string into his sentence, “faith that you will do whatever is best for him, even if it goes against the greater good.”  Renjun jokes.   

You smile, never thinking about it like that, “I want him to win, so…yeah, I guess I do whatever is best for him.”  

“It's amazing Jeno has someone like you in his corner for the races.” 

-

Renjun’s words carry a certain weight with you, as the night goes on.  You find yourself picking apart his meaning behind them, mulling over them again and again.  You go through all your time with Jeno, from when you first met him until now.  You wonder if you always did what was best for Jeno.  You even carry his words with you into the Thursday, during the first strategy meetings.  

“Where are you?” Jeno asked softly, during the meeting when he noticed you weren’t really paying attention.  

You shook your head, focusing back on Taeyong as he spoke.  Jeno watched you for a moment longer, before turning his attention back to Taeyong as well.   You listen attentively as Taeyong drones on, about different plans and which tire to use when.  You push Renjun’s words to the back of your mind, and decide to handle it at another time.  

Just when the meeting ends and Renjun’s words start to creep up again, the perfect distraction makes his way towards you.  “y/n,” Jaemin says almost breathlessly, “I need to ask you something.”  Jaemin looks panicked, as he stands in front of you, almost like he’s gonna vomit whatever he says next.  

“Okay,” you say with fake worry, entertaining whatever Jaemin wants to say.  He can tell you're mocking him a little, but it doesn’t stop him.  

“Let me take you to dinner,” Jaemin blurts out, that it takes you back.  You always pictured Jaemin asking someone out to dinner that it would be done with a certain cool, a specific type of charisma.  In which it had none.  

“Jaemin,” Jeno says, now making his presence known.  

You turn your attention to Jeno, whom you thought initially left with the rest of the team when the meeting ended.  “Jeno,” Jaemin says with a slight nod of his head.  

“You boys are talking to each other again?” you asked, as you look at the both of them.  The last time either of them spoke to each other, not in front of a camera, was at the club. 

“Playing nice,” Jeno sighs.  You crack a smile.  

“Okay Jaemin, you can take me out to dinner,” you smile, as Jaemin releases a sigh of relief.  

You walk away, heading into the garage to prepare your station for this weekend's activities.  Just as your out of the meeting room, Jeno catches Jaemin’s arm, “don’t do anything stupid, yeah?” The extra day Jeno spent in the UK was intended to catch up with a few friends like he told you.  However Taeyong had pulled Jeno into a lunch with Jaemin and him, forcing Jeno and Jaemin to work out whatever was going on between them.  At that lunch, both Jeno and Jaemin concluded that what happened to you in Monaco was to never happen again.  

“I’m taking her to dinner to make up for what happened in Monaco, Jeno,” Jaemin says, as he pulls Jeno’s hand off his arm.  Jaemin enjoys messing around with people, and he’s just beginning to realize how much he can mess around with Jeno if he uses you.  “I can’t help it if she likes me more than you,” Jaemin smirks.  

-

Jaemin meets you in the hotel lobby at 6, to take you to dinner.  He’s dressed in a simple pair of black slacks with a white button up, and a suit jacket.  It’s so simple, yet it looks like Jaemin, and he wears it well.  He’s much more attentive this time around.  He opens all the doors for you, he pulls out your chair at this upscale restaurant that he chose.  He listens to everything you have to say, he asks questions to keep you going.  He doesn’t flaunt his money to the waiter, or his title.  You guys split the dessert, almost in a romantic fashion.  

Just as you're leaving the restaurant, you feel a chill come on.  You shiver, as Jaemin opens the door out for you.  As soon as you step outside, Jaemin slips off his jacket, placing the item on your shoulders.  

“Thank you,” you say, as Jaemin smiles.  

“There’s an evening exhibit just a block away,” Jaemin offers.  

“I’m not much of an art person,” you say as you looks at Jaemin

“Neither am I,” Jaemin stares at you, “I just don’t want tonight to end.”  

“Okay,” you say, as you and Jaemin walk down to the exhibit.  Jaemin places a hand on the small of your back, he makes sure you’re on the inside of the sidewalk as the two of you walk the block. The two of you spend hours looking at the different art displayed.  Neither of you knows what any of it means, or what the artist was trying to portray or what symbolism is being shown, but you stay nonetheless.  Jaemin follows your lead, allowing you to pull him into any direction.  He doesn’t mind, he enjoys watching you pick apart the artwork to relate to something.  

“It’s really beautiful,” you say as you stare at the portrait, the plaque says that it was a portrait of the artist’s muse, their significant other.  

“It is,” Jaemin agrees, as his eyes stay locked on you.  Jaemin doesn’t know what the painting looks like, or what the plaque says, but the art before his eyes is truly beautiful to him.  

Neither you or Jaemin really want the night to end, so much so that the exhibit workers ask you and Jaemin to leave so they can go home for the night.  You bash, not realizing you spent that much time there.  Jaemin, thinks that if he slips the workers a few hundred, they will let you guys stay a bit longer, but before Jaemin can act on the idea, you’re walking out.  

“We need to let them go home,” you smile, offering your hand for Jaemin to take.  

“Because you said so,” Jaemin says, as he takes your hand.  You spend at least another hour or two walking around just talking with Jaemin.  Talking with Jaemin feels like floating in a calm sea, it’s light, easy, and can go on forever. 

You try to delay the end of the night for as long as possible, Jaemin does the same.  He walks you all the way up to your hotel room door.  It’s easily one in the morning by the time you make it back to the hotel.  

“Why don’t you come in?” you ask Jaemin as you push open the door.  

“That would be improper,” Jaemin smirks, “maybe after the second date.” 

“This was a date?” you joke.  

Jaemin chuckles at your joke, “I had a really nice night y/n,” Jaemin says seriously now.  

“Me too, thank you.”  

Jaemin comes in close, pressing his lips to your cheek, you feel a little disappointed that all you got was a kiss on the cheek.  You guess your face exposes you, because Jaemin says, “don’t look so disappointed sweetheart,” with a certain smirk.  

You blush, as you realize you got caught.  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” you say, trying to find words to fill in the gap, “goodnight.” 

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Jaemin says as he takes a step watching you close the door on him.  After he hears the final click of the door shutting, Jaemin begins to walk away to go to his hotel room.  Jaemin lets out a sigh, if it was anyone else, he would have taken up the offer to come inside.  But you were different.  Jaemin doesn’t like second dates, or kisses on the cheek, or hand holding, or long walks in the park, or art exhibits.  But Jaemin likes being around you.  

He feels himself get giddy, thinking about the moment you offered your hand.  He smiles, when he thinks about you staring at the portrait at the exhibit.  He blushes when he recalls how you clung on his arm during the walk in the park.  He laughs to himself, when he remembers you had a little something on the corner of your mouth when you guys shared dessert.  He lays in his bed, with images of you playing in his mind.  He dreams of you in his sleep, with a smile plastered on his face.  

-

“How was dinner?” Jeno asks as he goes through the car specs to prepare for practice.  

The mention of last night's dinner has the blood rushing to your cheeks, “it was nice,” you smiled, staring at your tablet.  

“He didn’t leave you right?” Jeno asks with a certain bite in his tone.  

“Jeno, we agreed to let it go already,” you scolded.  

“I was just checking,” Jeno scoffs, as he goes back to looking over his car, “better not start cheering for him.” 

“Never, you’re still my favorite driver,” you say with a little nudge, that causes Jeno to smile.  

-

While Jeno is putting in his practice laps, Jaemin makes his way over to you.  “Hey sweetheart,” Jaemin says, gaining your attention.  You blush at the nickname he seems to love to call you.  “I had fun last night,” Jaemin says.  

“I did too,” you smile.  

“Let me take you out again, Sunday after the race,” Jaemin asks. It comes to a bit of a surprise to himself that he did ask you out again, Jaemin isn’t really sure about what he wants from you, or what he can give you.  All he knows is that he enjoys being with you.  

“Okay,” you answer, not able to contain your smile.  Jaemin leaves you to prepare to put in his own practice laps.  Just before he’s out of your sight, he sends a wink your way, that causes even more blood to rush to your cheeks.  

“y/n,” Jeno’s voice cuts clear across the radio, there’s a panic in his voice, something you don’t pick up right away, “something feels off,” 

“What are you talking…” Just before you could finish your question, you watch as Jeno’s car spins out of control and into a barrier. 

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

Taglist:@90sgatsby-jjh@neothingss@lanadreamie@cuteejeno@fariylixie0915

[itscarshub]

Preview: Blackpool vs. Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Ocean previews Sunday's FA Cup clash between Blackpool vs. Birmingham City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups. Aiming to book a spot in the third round of the competition, League One rivals Blackpool and Birmingham City will clash for an FA Cup tie at Bloomfield Road on Sunday afternoon. The Seasiders returned to winning ways recently following a difficult run of form under new management, whilst Blues have also struggled with inconsistency of late.

Match preview

© Imago Following a 3-0 win at home to relegation-threatened Burton Albion at Bloomfield Road on September 28, Blackpool endured an eight-game winless run in League One recently, a streak that broken on Tuesday night, with the Seasiders securing a two-goal success at Bristol Rovers. Steve Bruce's side were handed a slice of luck in the first period when Gasmen defender Bryant Bilongo netted an own goal, before midfielder Lee Evans held his nerve from the penalty spot to double the visitors' lead in the second half, ensuring maximum points. Despite earning a much-needed victory last time out, Blackpool are still languishing down in 16th place in the League One standings, with many supporters and pundits alike expecting the club to challenge for at least a top-six finish this season under the stewardship of Bruce. Focusing on FA Cup matters for the moment, the Tangerines enjoyed a relatively-comfortable first-round tie at the home of League Two Gillingham at the start of November, with 23-year-old midfielder Sonny Carey bagging a brilliant brace at Priestfield Stadium to earn a second-round clash with Birmingham.

© Imago After a run of three straight matches without victory in League One, third-tier title favourites Birmingham City produced a dogged display in a wet and windy Devon on Tuesday night, when goals either side of the break from Tomoki Iwata and Jay Stansfield were enough to beat Exeter City. Despite earning maximum points against the Grecians, Blues remain out of the top-two places in the League One standings due to the exceptional form of Wycombe Wanderers and newly-promoted Wrexham, with the former managing a 10th straight win at home to Mansfield Town earlier in the week. Participating in the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in three decades, Birmingham avoided a potential slip-up at the home of National League outfit Sutton United in front of the TV cameras in early November, when Willum Willumsson's fifth goal of the term was enough to secure safe passage into the second round. Blues have not enjoyed fun trips to the seaside during their most recent matches at Bloomfield Road, with a 6-1 battering at the hands of the Tangerines during the 2021-22 season still fresh in the minds of the Bluenoses who received an apology from Troy Deeney after the game.

Team News

© Imago After keeping a clean sheet at Bristol Rovers earlier in the week, Blackpool boss Bruce could be tempted to continue with a centre-back pairing of Oliver Casey and Odel Offiah. That being said, there should be a few alterations for the FA Cup tie for the hosts, with the likes of Ashley Fletcher and Jordan Rhodes looking for promotions from the bench. Birmingham are expected to ring the changes for their trip to the North-West this weekend, meaning that Willumsson, Christoph Klarer and Paik Seung-ho should earn a much-deserved break. Blues remain without the services of wingers Emil Hansson and Scott Wright, opening the door for 21-year-old Ayumu Yokoyama to start on the flanks. Club-record signing Stansfield is set to drop to the bench for this one, with Scotland international Lyndon Dykes likely to be given an opportunity to impress up front. Blackpool possible starting lineup: O'Donnell; Offiah, Gabriel, Casey, Coulson; Finnigan, Evans, Carey, Embleton; Ballard, Rhodes Birmingham City possible starting lineup: Peacock-Farrell; Laird, Sanderson, Davies, Cochrane; Leonard, Gardner-Hickman; Yokoyama, Harris, May; Dykes

We say: Blackpool 1-2 Birmingham City

After a morale-boosting win at Bristol Rovers, Blackpool will be relatively confident of producing an upset to knock Birmingham out of the FA Cup. That being said, Blues possess an embarrassment of riches in terms of squad depth, with a number of their fringe players desperate to fight for a spot in Chris Davies's League One XI.   Read More Read the full article

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog - Büsum (North Sea) - 20/21/22 September 24

Took me the whole week to finally have time to write the travel blog for my trip to the north sea. I can tell it was an amazing weekend and a lot of things settled for me, Mom & I had time to talk and we didn't have each other much this year bc it was either me or her traveling or working.

I didn't expect work to mess with me so hard that I wasn't even able to think of putting the photos onto the laptop... I am currently trying to work through a huge backlog. But more important if you are interested read further, a post with some HQ impressions of the trip is queued up and will be posted later on :)

Friday

It was not the first time for us to travel to Büsum, i like the small town it's very relaxed and I love the wattenmeer, i love just walking there and therefore I was looking forward a lot to this trip.

Did you know the area there is known for cabbage? So yes that field is a lot of ... cabbage.

Arrived we were able to check into the Hotel and visited a restaurant that had opened last year in the place a very good pancake place was once before. They had closed in spring though as there was a fire ... I am glad they were able to reopen.

After eating a Kaiserschmarrn we walked around the town. We had planned to take photos later on so we decided it would be best to check restaurants for dinner while taking a stroll. The weather was beautiful and reserving a table was the smarter choice here.

There were truly quite a few interesting things to see... like those french bulldogs (if you take a photo you were asked to donor something for animals which we gladly did).

Then we went out for photos. I took overall 5 dolls with me, can you spot which one got photos here :D?

The day ended with us having dinner at a rather traditional place. This is only the second time I had fish without batter... I am proud I have progressed so far from being a picky eater. It was quite late already, we fell into bed.

Saturday

As you might know I am an early bird... I took the time and went out for a small walk to enjoy the sunrise a bit before we attended the hotel buffet.

The hotel we stayed in is over 100 years old and the walls are decorated with 100.000 shells from all over the world, it was impressive.

My only complain here is that the serving sizes were itty bitty small... like 1 serving of yogurt was 1 teaspoon.. for someone who loves their yogurt it felt weird to get more than two servings (which was still only two teaspoons) :') the buns were like 1/4 of a normal sized one.

Anyways after breakfast we had planned to hike. Morning the Watt would be ours as there was supposed to be ebb and in the afternoon we decided to walk in the other direction this time as Mom never went to Deichhausen.

Inbetween we went to a Cabbage festival, met Mom's cousin and got some snacks. We had to hike over the Deich and there were several herds of sheep munching through the grass.

In Deichhausen we just relaxed for a while before we went back over the Deich and were greeted by a lots of sheep again.

There was also the Manga Day and we went to a Bookshop (I actually restricted myself oh boy so many good books) and I got those three previews for free, it's the first few chapters each. I haven't had the time to read them yet.

Here is my snack from inbetween and what I got for dinner. The Burger is with a potato-vegetable patty, topped with halloumi and roasted veggies. Side was Coleslaw and sweet Potato Fries. If you know me... you know I need to end my day with something sweet.

Then we watched the sunset once more (top photo). I was incredibly beat as I managed to walk almost 35k steps that day and even watching TV in the evening was too loud for me.

Sunday

The last day came way too soon as we only had the half day to hike once more, then we wanted to check out an old car/US car meet up, and ofc the drive home.

Once more itty servings at the breakfast. Can we talk about the croissants? The cereals next to them are NORMAL sized... so tiny.

We took a long stroll in the Watt before we headed to the meet up.

It was really interesting but I have to say the noise, the people and the sunlight lead to a sensory overload for me, I dodged two panic attacks and just wanted to flee :') so we did.

Before we went home we OF COURSE had to buy some cabbage. ... there is a lot of cabbage on my menu this week.

Traveling back took forever because of traffic and blocked roads (4 hours for a 2,5 hour distance). I'm just glad the next time I travel to Hamburg will be by train.