#which is what i was told during the interview process; that it would be a job for the whole summer

[thevalleyisjolly]

Motherfucker, guess who accidentally worked for free for a whole month and a half because neither my boss (who is genuinely a good stand-up guy) nor I realized that the department wrote the contract to end in mid-July when all of us (including the grant funder) thought that it would be across the whole summer until the end of August.

[alastor-simp]

"I See No Fear In Your Eyes." - Alastor x Reader

(This story includes some of the pilot from Hazbin Hotel)

"Oh no, that didn't go as planned." Switching off the TV in the hotel lobby, you heaved a sigh. You had just seen the 666 news broadcast that showed Charlie explaining the hotel and redeeming demons. She had broken into song, and ended up being laughed at by the residents watching. It slowly became worse when Angel appeared on the news, during a turf war with some snake guy, making Charlie's situation worse. Soon after that the interview turned into an all out brawl between Katie Killjoy and Charlie, leading to the camera to cut off. Your name was Y/N, and you had just arrived in Hell five days ago. The fall you experienced was not pleasant, almost causing broken bones. Charlie happened to be in the area, and rushed you back to the Hotel. It took you a while to process it, but you soon realized you were in Hell, which confused you since you never sinned in your life. Charlie was nice enough to explain everything to you, as well as how she was the princess of hell.

Well that definitely shocked you when she told you that. How could the princess of hell be such a sweet and kind individual? Her personality was like a warm hug, very inviting. After she patched you up, she introduced you to Vaggie, her girlfriend, and Angel Dust, their first patron. Smiling, you introduced yourself, which caused a smirk from Angel Dust and a slight glare from Vaggie until she calmed down and shook your hand. Inspired by Charlies ideas, you volunteered to help with her dreams for the Hotel, earning a giant hug from her. There were many things that needed improvement here, so it was decided that advertising and handling the front desk would be suitable.

Soon the door to the lobby opened, where Angel Dust, Vaggie, and Charlie walked in. Vaggie clearly had a migraine, with the way she rubbed her head, and slouched on the couch. Angel Dust had grabbed a popsicle from the cooler, licking it. Charlie took a seat on a crate, appearing very distraught. Angel Dust made a comment about getting more food for the hotel, since there should be a boatload of sinners making their way here. "Not helping Angel" you thought to yourself. Charlie sunk down more on the crate, making Angel feel bad, but he wasn't good with comfort so he walked to the couch where Vaggie was staying. Moving closer to Charlie, you placed a hand on her back, rubbing circles. "Are you okay?" you asked. Charlie looked up and smiled, yet it seemed forced. She jumped off the crate and went to the door, heading outside. Wondering what she was doing, your feet carried you to the door. Leaning closer to hear her, it appeared she was calling someone. Her mom? It was a bit hard to hear, but you heard the lines of "Dad was right about me." Oh no, Charlie. The aching in your heart was painful. Once she came back inside, she was looking at the ground. Wrapping your arms around her, you pulled her into a hug. Charlie tensed, but eased into it, whispering a thanks. "You are trying your best Charlie. This project will be rocky, but its not impossible. Me and everyone here will support you. Trust me." Charlie squeezed back at your words, until she let go. The smile on her face was bright, vibrant. She appeared to be feeling better. Motioning your head to Vaggie, you told her to sit with her girlfriend. Nodding, she walked towards the couch, joining the others.

"Knock-knock. Knock-knock-knock" Sounds of knocking began to resonated from the lobby door. "Who could that be?" Opening the door, you look to see who it was. Standing in front of you was a very tall man. He was wearing a striped red suit, that matched his pants. His face adorned a monocle and a microphone was in one of his hands. The most noticeable thing on him was his smile, outstretched. to inhumane proportions. His eyes glowed a crimson red, as he gazed below to look at you. "Hellooooooo~!" came from his mouth, sounding like static. Opening the door further, you smiled: "Hello sir! How may I help you?"

***Alastor POV***

Alastor continued to gaze at the little demon in front of him, smiling widely back at him. "What a strange reaction!" He thought to himself. He expected a scream of terror or the sound of the door slamming against him, but not this. The eyes that peered back at him were sparkling, no fear contained in them whatsoever. "Is everything okay?" The demon in front of him, tiled her head, worried as to why he went silent. Shaking his head, Alastor remembered what he came here for.

***Your POV***

The man in front of you seemed to be thinking hard, before he bent down to your level. "Alastor my dear! Pleasure to be meeting you! Quite a pleasure!" His hand had grabbed yours, pulling you closer to his face, before shaking it enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you Alastor. My name is Y/N." you said, shaking his hand back. Alastor's smile got wider. "Ah! What a charming name!" His hand let go of yours, before he stood up to his regular height. Thanking him for the compliment, you moved to push the door back: "Would you like to come in?" you asked, moving your hand towards the door, motioning him to enter. Alastor smiled, showing more of his sharp teeth. "Why thank you my dear!" He entered inside the hotel, while you moved away from the door to close it. There was the sound of metal being drawn, causing you to jump. Vaggie had appeared in front of Alastor, holding a sharp spear. ""STOP RIGHT THERE! Cabrón hijo de perra! I know your game. And I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone here! You pompous, cheesy, talk show shitlord!" Vaggie was glaring at the man, furiously as she held the spear against his chest. Stepping between the both of them, you raised your hand. "WOAH WOAH! Vaggie! What are you doing?!" The action you did was enough for Vaggie to drop the spear down, but she was still gazing at the both of you in anger "I'm defending this hotel! That's the radio demon, the most powerful being in all of Hell!"

***Alastor POV***

Alastor was left a bit in shock at what you just did. He had just met you and here you were, stepping in to stop the other demon. "Quite bizzare!" He thought. He had heard the other demon, Vaggie, tell you that he was the radio demon, most feared in hell. He observed you listening to Vaggie, letting you know who he really was. Excitement filled him, waiting for those eyes of yours to become struck with fear. Surprisingly, when you turned around to look him up and down, he saw no fear once again. Why? "He doesn't seem so bad." he heard you say as you smiled at him, before looking back at Vaggie. "Oh ho! I think I'm going to like this one!" The sharpness in his smile got bigger, as he walked a bit closer to the both of you. He placed his hand on your shoulder, giving you a closed eye smile, as he pushed you gently back, before turning back towards Vaggie. ""Dear, if I wanted to hurt anyone here, ̵̹̇͜I̸̻͆ ̶̰̏̍w̵̝̟͒́o̴̤̾ū̶̗͘͜l̶͚͂͝d̶̼͎̉͐ ̷̝̘͗̉h̸̫͌͊á̶͖͉v̶̺͚̋̇e̶̮̽ ̴̼̞͌d̸͙͚͋ǒ̸̤͎͑ň̴̠̟̕e̵̢̛̓ ̸̞͗͜͝s̶̺̹̾ǫ̷͋̚ ̴̼͋͋a̶̜̻̒̒l̸͓̙̃̉r̶̞͛ě̸̖̟̈́a̵̗͊d̷̦̔y̵̙͙̽͒.̵̹͝"

Vaggie’s eyes were glazed over with shock from Al's display of power. However, you were gazing at Al with slight fascination. A bit shocked, yes, but not scared. He apparently wanted to help out with the hotel, shocking both Charlie and Vaggie. Despite seeing it as wacky nonsense, he wanted to volunteer his services to Charlie while also getting some entertainment out of it. Husk and Niffty were added into the mix after that.

**Few Months Later**

It had been a while since that whole ordeal. It was still difficult to find new patrons for the hotel, but it was coming along. The snake guy you saw on 666 news, Sir pentious, had joined in the program as well. He was like an evil mad scientist/inventor, except evil didn't quite fit the bill for him. He was a softie and a gentleman, and you were glad he decided to give the hotel a try. The relationships you had with everyone grew the more you stayed with them. The relationship you had with Alastor was the most surprising to everyone. The two of you were like two peas in a pod. His mannerisms and dad jokes always brightened your day. The kindness in your soul as well as the genuine concern for his well being warmed his cold heart. Alastor was still baffled with how you were with him. It was an unusual feeling, to have a person who knew who he was and what he did in Hell and his past, and still treat him normally. There were moments where he imagined you were hiding your true feelings underneath the kind gestures and smiles you gave him, and he hoped that was the case, but at the same time he didn't want it to be.

Inside his radio tower, he was giving one of his signature broadcasts. The only difference in is that you were in the room. There was a small corner where you were sitting. Your irises scanned the book in front of you while your ears listened to Alastor's voice. Al was told time and time again that his voice was one of a kind by you, which left him slightly bashful. It led to you eventually hanging around his workspace, just to listen to him, but also to spend more time together. Taking a slight break, his blood red eyes beamed over towards you, observing you. There were still nagging thoughts in the back of his mind, and it was driving him to the point of insanity, if they were not answered.

"My dear, may I ask you a small question?" He turned his body around, chair spinning to face you. Looking up from your book, you smiled and set it down. Getting up, you walked closer to him: "Yes Al? What is it?" Snapping his fingers, the chair that you were sitting on before levitated to where you stand, motioning you to sit back down. As you did so, your eyes continued to look at Al. His smile never left his face, but his eyes held an emotion you couldn't decipher. Confusion? Melancholy? "This had been meddling in my mind for quite some time. I have been around for a millennium in hell and the fearful gazes were always common to see. However! Your eyes never shown an ounce of fear during our time together." After his dialogue, he waited to hear what you had to say. A bit shocked at Al's question, you looked at him, wondering what brought this up. Hesitantly, you asked for his hand. Raising his eyebrow, he pondered why, yet he still extended his hand out, like he was giving a handshake.

Laughing at his antics, you grabbed his hand, holding it upright in front of both of you. Webbing your fingers together, you filled the gaps between them, causing Al to tense a bit. "I'm sure since you are the radio demon, you were prone to being run from and feared. But, there is more to you then just the radio demon, feared overlord in Hell. Something about you intrigued me the first day you arrived. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I wanted to know more about you. The more I got to spend time with you, is when I started to learn more about you, the real you. You're gentleman, bit wacky yet polite. You tell funny dad jokes to everyone. You're handsome as hell. You are an amazing cook. You speak French. Your singing is incredible plus your dancing. The static nature of your voice is soothing. The confidence you carry towards your foes is admirable. The power you yield is dark, but has its beauty too. You have a kind heart, despite hiding it from others. That's the Al I have gotten to know and care for, and despite your past and misdeeds. I will never grow to fear you ever."

Stunned was the correct way to put what state he was left in after your small speech. The whole time he was listening to you, the faster his heart raced. All those words that came flowing out of your mouth was giving him goosebumps and an odd sensation in his stomach. His other hand went to cover his face before moving down to cover his mouth, failing to conceal his rosy cheeks. "I-I see." Words were hard for him at the moment. “Haha. This is the first time I have ever seen you speechless.” Leaning closer towards him, you admired him up close. His microphone played a laugh track after you said that, causing Al to become more flustered, darting his eyes away.

Getting up from your seat, you were still holding his hand. “Al, look at me.” A hand was placed against his cheek. Gazing back over to you, Alastor removed his hand that was covering his mouth. The signature smile was gone, and on his face was a very small grin. Moving slowly, your lips had made their way to his forehead, giving it a peck. Radio screech! You were going to be the end of him. Heaving a deep sigh, his hand laid upon yours that was attached to his cheek. His eyes looking back at you were tender. “Thank you, my dear.”

-END-

Tagging:

@pepperycookie , @yourdoorisunlocked , @ghostdoodlen , @aceofcards0-0 -0, @jyoongim , @saturnhas82moons , @unholycheesesnack , @luujjvi , @forbidden-sunlight , @pinkcrystal44 , @veethewriter , @rains-sleeping , @danveration , @demoarah , @cookiekyo , @iiotic , @delectableworm , @91062854-ka @alastorsgoldie

[delusional-day-dreamer]

paige x olympian gymnast hcs!

‣ paige bueckers x olympic gymnast reader!

‣‣ synopsis: gymnastics has always been your entire life, and your dedication truly paid off when you made team usa for the 2016 rio olympics, but what happens after your injury while in the running for the 2020 tokyo olympics? #uneditedfornow

‣‣‣ a/n: just a few headcannons i have in mind for this story, if i were to make this a full blown series it MIGHT be a wattpad story with an oc or just a full tumblr series because of how long it would be... 👀

your life leading up to and including the 2016 rio olympics:

you've been doing gymnastics since you were three years old

at the age of thirteen your parents switched you to online school so you could train full time, but during this process it set you back a year, making your graduation year 2020 (same as Paige)

at the age of just fifteen you qualified for the rio olympics (meaning you were born in 2001)

your roommate that year was simone biles, and you competed at the olympics, taking home two golds (all around team and beam) and one silver (beam).

following the olympics, you became very popular for your skill at such a young age, leading you to signing many brand deals, sponsorships, photoshoots, etc.

it just so happens that your popularity reaches a certain basketball player, miss paige bueckers. in her slam interview in 2019, when asked about an athlete she admires outside of basketball, she says you. you have no idea who she is, but dm her regardless thanking her for her kind words. this is the only interaction you two have until uconn.

you continued online school for the rest of highschool, and throughout the next three years you received thirty recruitment offers out of the sixty-two schools that had a women's college gymnastics team.

your dream school had always been the University of Connecticut, but their gymnastics team didn't impress you throughout the recruitment process.

your graduation year is 2020, which happens to be the same year you got injured, right before choosing a college to commit to.

injury-related; 2020-2021:

in february of 2020, you got into a car crash while driving home from a late night practice.

you tore your left acl, dislocated your right shoulder, fractured your left collarbone, had a concussion, and suffered a left femoral fracture (ouchies i know)

thankfully you were mostly okay, but the accident completely put you out of the running for the 2020 (now moved to 2021 due to the pandemic) olympics, and doctors told you it would take at least two years to fully rehabilitate before you could even beginning training for competitions again.

your left leg had quite a few complications with the acl tear and the femoral fracture, and you had four surgeries in total on the leg.

during this time, you decided that since you couldn't compete in gymnastics, you might as well commit to the college of your student-life dreams, the university of connecticut.

UConn Era!!:

you commit to uconn for your undergrad in the sports management program, since you couldn't compete, you still wanted to remain in the athletic world.

your freshman year classes (2020-2021) was fully online due to your injuries and the pandemic, but it just so happens that you're placed as an intern with the women's basketball team for your sports management program.

you meet the team before the school year starts, and it just so happens that paige bueckers has remained a huge fan of yours.

the only reason the team recognized you immediately before you were even introduced is because of how much she has fangirled over you

you get your own apartment at uconn due to the program and your status (okay olympic privilege), which meant the team loved to hang out at your giant, well-furnished place.

you become extremely close with the team, and your first two years of rehabilitation seem to go well. it also happens that in your sophomore year, your best friend paige also fractures her meniscus, so the two of you are the resident cripples of the team!

paige has always had a huge fangirl crush on you, but over the years of you being friends, it seems those feelings develop into a little bit more...

one night while you were having a sleepover with her during her acl recovery she confesses, and the two of you start dating on the very down low

during your junior year is also when you are fully cleared to start re-training and you start getting back into gymnastics with a new coach (idk who yet!)

while balancing school and your duties with the wbb team, you start to train only four days a week, slowly getting back old skills on all four events.

you start competing in the 2023-24 season (i believe that’s how it’s measured?) and qualify for the 2024 olympics at the 2024 Xfinity U.S Gymnastics Championship

it’s safe to say your girlfriend and the entire wbb team were your biggest supporters apart from your family

Actual Olympics:

i can see you being roommates with Hezley Rivera, since she reminds you so much of yourself and you’re able to form a connection because of that.

Paige is unfortunately not able to make it to the first half of the Olympics, but she is your biggest supporter from home, constantly posting and hyping you up.

While competing, you definitely wear jewelry that she gifted you for good luck, and your hair has two braids going up into your bun, just to keep a piece of your girl close to you. Maybe even a purple ribbon braided into your hair at some point?

You also definitely took half of her closet of hoodies with you so that you could wear them and have her scent with you at night

the entire uconn wbb team, both current and players from your earlier college years, show support for you on social media, but paige’s is a little.. different than theirs

while all the girls post you on their stories or tweeting about you as, so proud of our husky 💙🐺, that’s my our uconn girly!!, etc. Paige’s are a little more special, hinting at your relationship, ex: so proud of my girl 🫶🫶

there were rumors about you and paige circulating since your freshman year, but you never bothered addressing them, and this only fueled them further.

You definitely text Paige as much as possible during meal times, facetiming at night, sending selfies all the time, etc.

The other girls definitely make fun of you if they overhear you on the phone with her, mocking you since you call each other baby as a term of endearment. They also make a tiktok cut together of a bunch of clips, basically every single time you were texting or atp with paige. the tiktok has over 50 clips!

“can you pass me that y/n?” suni asked you

“yea sure, here” you passed her the makeup brush

“thanks, baby,” she teased, making you blush

After the olympic athlete who ran straight to his girlfriend after breaking the Olympic record, I can definitely see Paige flying out to surprise you for a week or so in Paris.

Her flying out to come visit is when you guys actually hard launch, posting pictures of you at dinner with the captions, “my girl is finally here” or “yk i had to come cheer my girl on in person”

a/n: this is #uneditedfornow but that’s all i have for now yall! idk when i’m gonna make this a series but i have so many ideas for it i just might have to, but i also have two other unfinished series rn so… 😓😓

[smolkooks]

incoming call... - kenji sato.

a/n: 2k words of one of my late night thoughts turned into a fluffy, exes to lovers fic. exes au, vet!y/n x kenji sato from ultraman: rising.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

“kenji?”

“y/n?”

you hadn’t expected to run into him here, and it seemed that he hadn’t either, from the way he was dressed. contrary to how you usually saw him on t.v. during his interviews, he was in shambles. kenji sato was dressed in a sweatset, stained with what smelled like...fish juice?...down the front. his eyes were dim, yet panicked—perhaps at seeing you, but you weren’t sure. was his hair...wet? what the fuck?

it had been more than eight years since you’d last seen him—at highschool graduation, when you’d moved to sydney for university, and he’d disappeared to the states. not that kenji sato could disappear, with how often you saw him on your t.v. screen.

“what...what are you doing here?” he stuttered, furrowing his annoyingly perfect brows. he looked exactly as you remembered, save for his current, unorganised state. just...older. better.

“well, i just got off work,” you said equally as awkwardly, gesturing at your scrubs, “um...just, heading home now.”

truth be told, this was an insanely random place to have run into him. ten minutes from your apartment block, with no shopping districts around or really any reason for him to be here at all. all that there was in your district was a river, which was nearby—so close you could still hear it from here.

“you walk?” he said incredulously, eyes fixated on your badge—dr. y/n, head veterinarian.

“uh, yeah,” you said, shifting a bit under his sharp gaze as his dark eyes shifted to meet yours. the same way he’d looked at you, all those years ago, that day. sad, but hopeful.

ken, we should...i mean, i think we should break up.

the words were as clear in your memory as day, and you forced yourself to swallow and block out those intruding thoughts.

“let me drive you,” he said quietly, after a beat, and as you opened your mouth to protest that you only lived ten minutes away, he said, “please.”

“kenji, you look really tired,” you said hesitantly, “you should head home and rest.”

“trust me,” he said with a sigh, “there’s no rest to be found in my home right now.”

you wondered what that meant. but he didn’t give you any time before he abruptly gestured down the street and wordlessly began walking you towards his car.

if you’d asked yourself twenty minutes ago, you wouldn’t have believed that you would be sitting in your highschool boyfriend’s 300-thousand-dollar porsche. and yet, here you were, buckled into the passenger seat, feeling more awkward than ever as you typed your address into his phone.

“i thought you were in sydney, to be honest,” he said, finally breaking the silence as he started the car, sweeping his hair back with his other hand.

“i moved back a year ago,” you explained as you propped his phone up on the stand he had for it, pressing start on the google maps directions, “worked in sydney for three years after grad, then got a job offer to be promoted to head vet back here in japan. couldn’t pass it up. besides, my mum’s here and i wanted to be with her.”

“you don’t live with her, though?” he said. of course, he’d noticed that your address had changed. he had spent more hours at your house than he’d probably spent at school in all six years of secondary school combined.

“yeah, i wanted my own place,” you said with a soft laugh, “i’ve got a few pets. they would drive her mad, with how loud they are.”

kenji huffed, “kids can be so damn loud.”

that caught you off guard, and you turned to him, shocked, and if not a little embarrassed. of course, kenji already had kids! he was a young, extremely wealthy man who of course would’ve married by now. you’d done well for yourself, but you knew you couldn’t compare to kenji sato.

“kids?” you couldn’t help yourself, the sharp question slipping out before you could process and revealing your surprise.

“uh—it’s complicated,” he said quickly, “wait, that sounds wrong—not that it’s complicated, just—well, she’s not really my kid—,”

“so you’re a stepdad,” you asked, confused.

“not really,” he replied, one hand running through his hair again, messing it up more, “she’s my pet, i guess. pet...lizard.”

your eyes lit up, “oh my god, i love lizards. i wish i could have one, too—maybe a gecko? but i have too many cats right now.”

“i wish i had a cat, instead,” kenji rolled his eyes, “she’s so whiney.” but there was affection tucked in his voice, and you picked up on it even without having to see his half-smile in the mirror.

“i’ll have to visit, then, to see your lizard.”

“and you, your cats,” he shot back as he parked by the curb, “you weren’t lying when you said you lived close by.”

you laughed, “why would i lie?”

he shrugged in response.

“get back safe,” you said, as you stepped out and reached to shut the door, “thank you for the ride. it was really nice to catch up.”

“yeah—well, you too,” he said, biting his lip as he seemed like he wanted to ask something else—you knew that look on his face better than anyone.

“what? spit it out,” you said jokingly, narrowing your eyes.

“oh...” he chuckled nervously, “um, can i have your number? yknow, your new one.”

you were caught off guard by him, yet again. “sure. it’s the same as it was. has yours changed?”

“yeah, actually...gotta change mine a lot, these days,” he looked really embarrassed by that, “what with the baseball stuff. i’ll call you. we need to catch up properly.”

i missed you. his eyes seemed to say, and something in your stomach fluttered at his earnest expression.

“we do,” you replied, before shutting the door, “see you, kenji.”

he waited until you’d headed upstairs before he drove off.

***

incoming call...unknown caller id.

“what the...?” you rubbed your eyes as your vibrating phone woke you up from your afternoon nap. you’d taken a fond liking to naps these days, after taking on so many emergency late night shifts at the clinic.

groggily, you picked up the phone and immediately was met with the sound of heavy breathing, which creeped you out, truth be told, and just as you were reaching to hang up on the creep, a familiar voice rasped out, “y/n, help me.”

“what the fuck? kenji?” you shot upright, panicked at his desperate tone, “what’s wrong?”

“are you free, right...now?”

“uh, well—i guess? i just got back from work, so...”

“sorry,” he said quickly, “to bother you. i’m just having trouble with my...lizard...and i didn’t know who else to ask. i can pay you—as much as you want—or—,”

“no, kenji, it’s fine,” you cut him off smoothly, “don’t be ridiculous. where are you? i did say i wanted to meet your lizard, anyway.”

***

you should’ve expected that kenji sato would live in a district as boujee as this. the buildings seemed to rise higher than your eyes could see, going all the way up into the clouds that shrouded the twilight sky. the cars here were all black and silver, with tinted, dark windows. it felt like a different world to your neighbourhood, and yours was already the nicer of the bunch.

“kenji, i think i’m here, but i don’t know how to get up,” you said into your phone, confused by all the security mechanisms and fancy technology that surrounded the large glass door before you. plus, your hands were pretty occupied—your phone squished between your cheek and shoulder, one hand holding your first aid kit—reptile-specialised—and the other your coat and bag of other equipment that you felt like you might need, if his lizard was in such bad condition that he’d called you up out of nowhere.

“give me a sec, i’m coming.”

as promised, the very man appeared moments later, looking just slightly more put together than the last time you’d seen him. at least this time, his hair was dry.

“thanks for coming,” he said hastily as he let you in, leading you to the set of elevators that awaited you, “i...i didn’t know who else to call. i really don’t know that many people here i’d want to talk to, and i’ve been really lonely lately, it’s kinda...sorry, i’m ranting, but i’m going through it and...anyway, i’m glad to see you.”

you found his ranting kind of endearing. you knew it was something he only did when he was really nervous—just like he’d always done, even when you two were just kids—and it made you feel young again, talking to him. like you were talking to your very first crush.

well, you supposed in a way, you were.

in the elevator, he was largely silent, although you could sense his stress—as if he had something to tell you but was too scared, his leg bouncing and fidgeting nonstop with the bottom of his shirt.

finally, as he went to swing open his apartment door opened, he blurted out, “don’t freak out.”

when you looked inside, you understood why.

and it was too late, because you were already freaking out. you dropped all your supplies in your shock, eyes widening and feet stumbling backwards.

“kenji, what—what is that—,”

there was a gigantic lizard before you. a gigantic one, and when you said gigantic, you meant it. it was at least...ten times bigger than you, and you’d never seen anything like that, before.

“um...emi...she’s a kaiju,” he said sheepishly, wringing his hands.

“what the—,”

“a baby!” he said quickly, “and i raised her, so she’s just a little cutie. but...you know, she’s growing up and i think she’s going through puberty or something. i don’t know! she’s just really struggling emotionally these days and i can’t figure it out. i’m her dad and i can’t figure it out and i’m not home often enough to look after her twenty-four-seven. please give me a chance. i’ll pay you—i’ll do whatever.”

“uh, kenji,” you said cautiously, leaning down to pick your stuff up, “you know that i know nothing about kaiju, right?” he leant down beside you to help you, cheeks tinted pink.

“it’s okay, can you try?”

“i can try, i guess,” you said dubiously, but you had to admit that you were at least curious. you’d never been this close to a kaiju before, and if anything, they were still animals of some sort. you wanted to see. you wanted to learn.

you didn’t really hear kenji’s blurted out thanks as you carefully crept closer to the sleeping pink creature, knocked out completely, curled up on her side. pulling out a stethoscope, you started to gently listen to her heartbeat from her wrist—the closest part of her you felt safe enough to touch, and she stirred, but didn’t wake.

it sounded normal—you guessed. for a creature as big as her, you supposed her heart rate would be really slow. especially when sleeping.

you did all your checks without her really waking, and that was ideal—you’d prefer she didn’t. as much as kenji reassured you that she was harmless, you were dubious that a creature this big wouldn’t hurt you.

“kenji,” you said, after you were done, unpacking some of your medications, “she’s growing up. she’s hitting prepubescence, you’re right. but also, she’s sick.”

“w-what do you mean? she’s—,”

“she has a cold,” you explained, and his panic deflated slightly as you gave him the largest bottle you had in your supplies, “you can give these to her. this’ll only last her today, so you’ll have to buy a shit ton of this medication, but i’ll give you a prescription and the phone of my supplier so you can get it fast. she should be okay in a week or so. but then again, she’s a kaiju, so it may take longer, depending.”

when you looked up, kenji was looking at you deeply, so earnestly and so gratefully, the bottle of pills set on the kitchen bench beside the two of you. you were closer to him than you’d been for years—even closer than that day on the car. suddenly, you were hyper aware of the way you swallowed as you met his gaze, your heart rate quickening.

“thank you, y/n,” he said quietly, “i...” he didn’t come closer, but he glanced down at his own hands before looking back up, “i really missed you, you know.”

“i missed you too, kenji,” you breathed, in disbelief a bit at the way you felt—just like you used to feel whenever he looked at you. you hoped he couldn’t hear how quick and heavily your heart was pounding ink your chest.

he broke out into a warm smile, “i’m really glad i ran into you, that night.”

***

incoming call...kenji sato.

you couldn’t help the smile that broke across your face as you reached for your buzzing phone.

“hello?”

[swiftiethatlovesf1]

The assistant

Heyy guys, I hope you enjoy this one shot of Lewis x assistant, ngl I was blushing so hard writing the last part. If you want to read more stories of mine here's my masterlist.

The moment I stepped into Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters, I knew my life was about to change. The air buzzed with a mixture of history and ambition, the scent of oil and polished metal filling my lungs as I hurried down the halls, clutching my tablet and notepad close to my chest. Today was my first official day as Lewis Hamilton’s new assistant, and I was determined to make a good impression.

It still felt unreal. Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion, the man whose posters had covered my childhood bedroom, was now my boss. I had been warned—he was meticulous, demanding, and didn’t suffer fools lightly. The fact that I was young, inexperienced, and admittedly not the brightest when it came to all things technical probably didn’t help my case. But I was dedicated, eager to learn, and I refused to let anyone down, least of all him.

I reached his office and knocked twice, heart hammering in my chest.

“Come in,” came his deep, smooth voice.

I stepped inside, nearly tripping over my own feet in the process. “Good morning, Mr. Hamilton!” I chirped, a bright smile plastered on my face.

His eyes flicked up from his laptop, sharp and assessing. Even seated, he radiated effortless charisma. The Ferrari red suited him, adding a new edge to his presence that was almost overwhelming.

“It’s just Lewis,” he corrected, leaning back in his chair. “And you are?”

“Oh! Right. I’m Y/N. Your new assistant.” I held out a hand, which he shook briefly, his grip warm and firm.

His lips twitched. “You seem… enthusiastic.”

“I am!” I nodded eagerly. “I won’t let you down. I have your schedule ready, your coffee order memorized, and I even took the liberty of organizing your inbox.”

Lewis raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement crossing his features. “Organized my inbox? That’s ambitious.”

“I color-coded it,” I said proudly.

He exhaled a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. “Alright, Y/N. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

The weeks passed in a blur of early mornings, frantic note-taking, and adjusting to the fast-paced world of Ferrari. Lewis was… intense. Every meeting, every training session, every interview had to be managed with absolute precision. But he was also patient in his own way, never raising his voice even when I fumbled through things or had to ask the same question twice.

What I hadn’t expected was how easy it was to be around him. Beneath his disciplined exterior, there was a warmth, a dry sense of humor that surfaced when we were alone. I found myself looking forward to our moments between obligations—the brief exchanges of banter, the way his lips curled when I made a silly mistake, his teasing remarks about my tendency to trip over my own feet.

And then there were the looks.

At first, I thought I was imagining it. The way his gaze lingered a second too long when I handed him his morning coffee. How his eyes darkened when I absentmindedly chewed on my pen during meetings. The barely-there smirk whenever he caught me flustered, which, unfortunately, was often.

I told myself it was nothing. He was Lewis Hamilton—he could have any woman he wanted. Why would he be interested in his clueless, bumbling assistant?

But then, one evening, he shattered all my illusions.

It was late. The Ferrari offices were nearly empty, the only sounds coming from the hum of overhead lights and the occasional rustle of papers as I went through the last of Lewis’s schedule for the following day.

He leaned against his desk, arms crossed, watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher.

“You don’t have to stay this late, you know,” he murmured.

I glanced up, blinking. “Oh, I don’t mind! I just wanted to make sure everything is perfect for tomorrow.”

He exhaled, a hint of exasperation in his gaze. “You work too hard.”

I grinned. “So do you.”

For a long moment, he didn’t respond. The silence stretched between us, thick with something unspoken. Then, in a move that sent my pulse skyrocketing, he reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered, tracing lightly along my jaw.

My breath caught. “L-Lewis?”

He let out a quiet chuckle, his eyes dark, unreadable. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me, do you?”

I swallowed hard, my thoughts a jumbled mess. “I—um—I don’t—”

His fingers ghosted down my arm, slow and deliberate, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. “Every time you walk into a room, all sweet and eager to please, I have to remind myself you’re off-limits.”

A shiver ran down my spine. My mouth was dry. “Am I?”

His jaw clenched, his grip tightening just slightly. “I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t.”

“But?” I whispered, emboldened by the way his breath hitched at my voice.

His eyes flicked to my lips, then back up. “You make it very hard to be good.”

A flush spread down my neck. My heart pounded against my ribs as he took a step closer, the air between us crackling with tension. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, the scent of his cologne mixed with something unmistakably male.

He sighed, raking a hand through his curls before stepping back. “Go home, Y/N. Before I do something we both regret.”

I bit my lip, nodding as I gathered my things, but as I walked out, I knew one thing for certain: resisting this temptation was only getting harder for both of us.

Next part

[enhaflixer]

For our marriage law couple:

Q1. Did the readers' parents ever meet jay or their kid/s????

Q2. How did they find out about the pregnancy? Muggle ways or any magical ones????

Q3. How is jay during the pregnancy??

Thank you soooo much for the wonderful fics love you <3

Exclusive Interview with Park Jongseong & His Wife on Love, Parenthood, and a Certain Marriage Law

—A sit-down with the unexpected love story that defied the Ministry’s rules, featuring Jay Park, his wife, and a surprise mention of their daughter.

-

Q1: Did your parents ever meet Jay or Jane?

(You sigh, running a hand through your hair while Jay, sitting next to you, casually rests an arm along the back of your chair. His thumb absentmindedly brushes against your shoulder.)

You: “Not for a long time.”

Jay: nods slowly “Yeah, that was… complicated.”

You: “I didn’t expect them to reply when I texted them about the marriage. And they didn’t.”

Jay: quietly “For years.”

You: nods “It wasn’t until Jane was, what? Two?”

Jay: “Yeah, around then. I remember because we had just started thinking about putting her in a playgroup, and that’s when your parents reached out.”

You: “It was... tense.”

Jay: shrugs “I mean, I get it. They didn’t know me. And the whole ‘pureblood wizard married their daughter through some law they probably didn’t even understand’ thing? Not exactly the easiest thing to process.”

You: snorts “I think they barely tolerated the idea of magic in general, let alone their grandchild having it.”

Jay: grinning slightly “To be fair, Jane won them over before I did.”

You: softly “Yeah. They were distant at first, but then Jane did… I don’t know, something ridiculously adorable, and suddenly my mother was acting like she was the world’s most doting grandmother.”

Jay: smirks “She levitated a toy broomstick, and your dad nearly fainted.”

You: “He still thinks she’s telekinetic.”

Jay: shrugs “Let him believe that. If it helps him sleep at night.”

-

Q2: How did you find out you were pregnant? Muggle ways or magical ones?

Jay: groans dramatically, dragging a hand down his face “This is my villain origin story.”

You: laughing “Jay knew before I did.”

Jay: deadpan “Because your magic was acting up. And you kept getting dizzy.”

You: mocking “And your first thought was ‘pregnancy’?”

Jay: “And I was right.”

You: grinning “But I still needed proof, so after the healer confirmed it, I made Jay go buy a Muggle pregnancy test—”

Jay: glaring at you “There are way too many kinds of those things.”

You: mocking “Which one is the most accurate? I should just buy all of them—”

Jay: grumbling “Look, if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right.”

You: laughing “Anyway, I took the test, stared at the two pink lines, still trying to process, and then he just—” pauses, smiling at Jay “You just knelt in front of me, held my hand, and said, ‘It’s real, baby.’”

Jay: clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck “Yeah.”

Q3: How was Jay during the pregnancy?

(You roll your eyes. Jay scoffs, shaking his head, because he already knows what you’re about to say.)

You: “A complete mess.”

Jay: offended “I was not a mess.”

You: flatly “Jay. You read twelve books on pregnancy, six on magical child development, and made a whole binder of research.”

Jay: muttering “...organization is key.”

You: “He wouldn’t let me carry anything heavier than a quill. And if I so much as sighed, he was at my side like, ‘Are you okay? Do you need water? Are you hungry? Should I get the healer?’”

Jay: grumbling “I was taking care of you.”

You: grinning “You were being dramatic.”

Jay: “And you loved it.”

You: softens “Yeah. I did.”

Jay: smirks “Told you.”

You: “You were also so soft. You would just randomly kiss my belly, whisper to Jane when you thought I was asleep. And you lived for when she kicked. The first time it happened, you completely froze.”

Jay: “Listen, feeling an actual human foot kick your hand from inside your wife is a lot to process.”

You: laughs “You were so in love already.”

Jay: quietly, brushing his fingers over your hand “Still am.”

-

Q4: Why Jane? Why that name?

Jay: scoffs “You act like this was some deep, symbolic decision. We were just tired of arguing.”

You: grinning “We fought for months over names.”

Jay: “Because you kept coming up with the worst ones.”

You: mocking “‘Jayden’ wasn’t that bad.”

Jay: horrified “I refuse to name my daughter after myself like some egotistical maniac.”

You: “Says the guy who wanted ‘Seraphina Aurelius Park.’”

Jay: shrugging “Sounds powerful.”

You: “Sounds like she should be ruling an empire.”

Jay: smirks “Maybe she will.”

You: laughing “Anyway, we were lying in bed one night, and I just said, ‘What about Jane?’ and he didn’t even argue. Just said, ‘Yeah. That’s it.’”

Jay: grinning “Because it fit. It was simple, classic. No unnecessary nonsense.”

You: mocking “So not Seraphina Aurelius Park?”

Jay: deadpan “I stand by my decision.”

-

And there you have it—proof that even a government-mandated marriage couldn’t stop love from finding its way in.

TL: @naurwayyyyy @ziiao @ddolleri @somuchdard @beariegyu @ijustwannareadstuff20 @zzhengyu @annybah

[gguk-n]

would you consider doing a prompt in which the MLs have the same soulmate marks but they are enemies? you can choose the driver and the logistics i would love to see a fic like this by youu

Thank you for the ask!!

I had this in my inbox for so long bc I'm indecisive and I couldn't choose who to write it for, so there's a poll to choose. There will be a part 2. Full story is up!!

What? How?

Everyone grew up hearing about soulmate; from their family or friends or relatives. Most people looked forward to meeting their soulmate, some people wanted to defy fate and some people never got to meet their soulmate.

Y/N thought she was a part of the soulmate less crew, "I'll register you with soulmatch" her mother told her. Soulmatch was an agency, a app or a website, which ever one you chose to help two soulmate less individuals get together and find companionship in each other. Her mother wanted her to start looking, Y/N couldn't careless since her job kept her busy and she was barely at home anyways. Y/N was a race engineer in Formula One; a job she worked tirelessly to achieve. It barely gave her any time to wonder where her soulmate was. She got to work with some of the most talented and smart people to make machinery that made the car go really fast. But now she was working with her driver to make sure the race went as smoothly as possible with the best result as possible; sometimes at the cost of the other driver. "Are you listening to me?" her mother's voice broke through her thoughts. "Yeah" she replied. "I'll let you know once you match with people" her mother stated before cutting the call.

Her parents were late bloomers themselves; meeting each other in their late 20's and early 30's so she didn't understand the fuss her mother was making. She was in her prime and a soulmate would come along when he wanted to. Y/N travelled the world; if a soulmate existed, she would run into him eventually.

There were a lot of times you would wish someone was your soulmate and there were a lot of times you wished someone wasn't. For Y/N, it was her driver's teammate. She hated his guts; ever since she had joined, he had been a pain in the ass for as long as she could remember. He would start fights with her if she prioritised her driver, and honestly, who else would she prioritise. She had good strategies that would work in her driver's favour sometimes and he couldn't tolerate it. Starting fights and unnecessary arguments. The team was done with them, the paddock was done with them and the DTS crew always had so much fun.

It was any other race weekend, the two of them had been at odds since FP1. Y/N tried to be calm and mature about it; she didn't want to cause issues for the team. Hence, she ignored any thing and everything he said. It was getting on his nerve; she was ignoring him and behaving extremely rudely to him. It all came to a head when the team finished P1 and P3 with Y/N's driver winning the race. You can already imagine the resentment brewing as he got out of the car.

During the post race interview, there were jabs being thrown but it was during On The Sofa; he said something, he later realised he shouldn't have. But it was too late; Y/N was already there and a fight broke out. A lot of commotion, the media having a field day, the P1 and P2 driver trying to get them to stop, their team trying to stop them and PR having a crisis. The crowd went silent as Y/N pulled her sleeve up to reveal her soulmate mark which matched the her enemies's soulmate mark exactly; now visible due to the scuffle. A loud whisper broke out in the crowd, Y/N looking at him and then his mark as the pair tried to process what was happening. Over whelmed with emotions, Y/N stormed off, leaving the crowd but most of all her soulmate stunned.

Y/N was reeling from the revelation; the man who was supposed to be her soulmate was also the man she hated the most, or did she dislike him? All of these thoughts and emotions swirled inside her as she wondered what just happened and how she had gone this long before finding out. Did he know? Did he hate her because he knew? What was going on and what was she supposed to do? She felt her world crash and her phone wouldn't stop ringing. She looked at the caller and it was her mum. "Congratulations darling" she bellowed. Y/N was confused, "I saw you found your soulmate" her mum said when she got no reply. "How did you find out?" she asked. "It's on the news, sweetheart" her mother stated. While Y/N was still reeling from the revelation, F1's social media accounts had already posted about the two sworn enemies actually being soulmates and how it was straight out of a fairytale. Y/N wanted to disappear. Why was this happening now? she wondered, exhausted from the events of the day.

[waitimcomingtoo]

Hot N Cold

Pairing: Tom Holland x Actress!Reader

Synopsis: you and Tom can’t stop teasing each other in interviews

Masterlist

“You three have spent a lot of time together making this movie. And you all seem to get along so great. Is it going to be hard to go back to making movies when you aren’t working with your best friends?” A journalist asked you, Tom, and Jacob one day on the press tour for your upcoming movie.

“No. I can’t wait for that.” Jacob answered. “I hate working with these two. They’re always arguing.”

“What? No we are not.” You insisted.

“We kinda are.” Tom said out of the corner of his mouth.

“No we are not. Why do you always have to disagree with me?” You asked and playfully smacked Tom’s arm.

“That’s a good point. You’re right. I do always disagree with you.” Tom said sincerely. “But maybe it’s because you’re always wrong?”

“You wish.” You scoffed. “Name one time I was wrong.”

“Yesterday, when you drove on the wrong side of the road.” He said immediately.

“That couldn’t happened to anyone, okay? It was not clearly marked.”

“It was clearly marked but you flew past the several giant “wrong way” signs because you’re a speed demon on the road.”

“That’s sexist.” You pointed at him. “You’re saying all women are bad drivers?”

“No. I’m saying this woman is a bad driver.” Tom said and pointed back at you. “You really don’t help the stereotype, darling.”

“Whatever. Fake news.” You rolled your eyes. “Ask us the next question please before I kill him.”

“All righty then. So, you’re all a few years out of high school now. How did you prepare for getting back into the mindset of a teenager?” The journalist asked.

“It was a really fun process actually. The director wanted to emulate a kinda 80s high school movie feel so he asked us to watch a few old movies so we could get the vibe he was going for. Like Breakfast Club, Back to the Future, stuff like that.” You explained.

“Yeah. We watched a few of them together.” Tom smiled as he looked over at you.

“Yeah, we did.” You smiled back at him.

“On your little movie dates in Tom’s trailer. That I was never invited to.” Jacob added. Tom blushed and looked down at his lap while you playfully rolled your eyes.

“They weren’t dates.” Tom insisted. “We were just watching the films we were told to watch.”

“You didn’t think those were dates?” You asked him, sounding hurt. Tom went bright red and scrambled to come up with something to say to explain himself.

“What?” Tom gulped. “No. I mean, I never thought of it like that but-“

“I’m messing with you.” You cut him off when you saw how flustered he got.

“Oh. You scared me so much just then. I didn’t know what to say.” He laughed and touched a cold hand to his hot face.

“I knew it would scare you. You’re so easy to make flustered.” You teased him, making him blush again.

“Hey.” He pouted. “I am not.”

“Yeah, okay.” You said sarcastically.

“Okay.” He mimicked you by sounding as dumb as possible.

“That actually brings me to my next question which was to ask you all to do an impression of each other.” The journalist said, making you and Tom remember that you were in an interview.

“If you want to impersonate Y/n, just whine and complain a bunch.” Tom said. “And leave your jumper on every plane you go on.”

“Okay, I’ve lost like three sweatshirts around you. That’s hardly anything.” You defended yourself.

“Imagine losing your jumper every time your travel.” Tom said to the camera.

“Imagine losing 13 colonies at once.” You snapped back.”

“Stop. You know I’m sensitive about that.” Tom jokingly whined, making you laugh.

“I can do a Tom impression. Um I want to ask Y/n to go to dinner with me um tonight but um what if I ask her and she says no?” Jacob said in a whiny voice coupled with a bad British accent.

“What?” Tom sputtered. “That’s not what I sound like.”

“Yes it is.” Jacob insisted. “I heard that every night during filming. In fact, I still hear it.”

“Aw. Wait, that’s so cute. Did you actually do that?” You asked Tom.

“Only in the beginning, okay? It wasn’t as pathetic as Jacob made it sound. I wanted to hang out with you but we didn’t really know each other yet so I was worried you’d say no.”

“Aw, honey.” You chuckled. “I would’ve never said no. I wanted to get to know you too.”

“I’ll never understand you two. You were fighting two seconds ago. Now you’re all nice and friendly?” Jacob pointed out.

“That’s just how we work.” You shrugged.

“Yeah.” Tom agreed. “We run hot and cold.”

“Exactly. But we’re friends most of the time. I don’t think we fight that much.” You replied.

“You kinda do, though.” Jacob insisted. “I’m expecting at least two more fights before the end of this interview.”

“We’ll see.” You shrugged but knew he was probably right.

“So, the press schedule is obviously very rigorous for a movie this size. Do you guys ever get a day off to do your own thing?” The journalist asked.

“We actually had a day off a little while ago. For Washington’s Birthday.” Tom answered.

“George?” You asked him.

“What other Washington is there?” He turned in his seat to ask you.

“You were just talking about one the other day. When we were asked what historical figure we’d have dinner with.” You reminded him.

“I remember the question but I didn’t say Washington.” Tom frowned on confusion.

“Yes you did. You said that Washington guy and then said it was a super British answer or something.” You insisted.

“Who are you talking about?” Tom shook his head and laughed endearing at you.

“That guy. Don’t you remember? You just said it yesterday.” You whined a little and pushed his arm. Tom looked at the camera in confusion before he connected the dots in his head.

“Wait, do you mean Winston Churchill?”

“Oh God.” Jacob groaned. “Here we go.”

“Oh yeah. Him.” You nodded and pointed at Tom.

“You thought his name was Washington Churchill?” Tom laughed incredulously.

“Well I don’t know who he is. It sounded right in my head.” You defended yourself.

“You don’t know who Winston Churchill is? He’s super important to history.”

“Oh yeah? So who is he?” You challenged Tom, knowing damn well he didn’t know the answer.

“He…” Tom started to answer and then trailed off.

“See!” You clapped your hands. “You don’t even know. I knew you were bullshitting yesterday. You have no idea what Washington Churchill-“

“Winston.” He corrected you.

“Whatever. You have no idea what he did. And yet you said you wanted to have dinner with him just to sound smart. Ugh. So pretentious.” You groaned and playfully rolled your eyes.

“All right, smart ass. Who was your answer?” Tom leaned on his chair and asked you. You were both in your own little worlds now and fully ignoring everyone else in the room.

“Jonbenet Ramsey.” You said like it was obvious.

“Are you kidding me? You’re making fun of my answer but you would pick Gordon Ramsey’s daughter out of anyone in the world to have dinner with?”

“First of all, dingbat, Jonbenet Ramsey is a little pageant girl who was murdered in 1996 and they still haven’t solved the case. I want to have dinner with her because I want to know who did it. It’s a very famous true crime case but I guess they didn’t teach you that in college. Oh wait. You didn’t go. You were too busy making movies nobody ever saw.” You said and poked his chest.

“Don’t even go there.” Tom warned. “If I pull up your IMDB right now, I’d have to scroll through dozens of commercials and straight to DVD films before I got to any substantial roles. Don’t think I forgot about all the time you spent on the Hallmark channel, darling.”

“Do it. Pull up my IMDB right now. I dare you. You know what, I’ll do it for you.” You said and pulled out your phone. Jacob immediately snatched your phone and put it in his pocket.

“No. Please, no more. We’re not doing this again. I can’t hear the IMDB argument again. You said you weren’t gonna fight anymore.” Jacob pointed out.

“All right. Fine. I’m disengaging.” You said and held your hands up in defense.

“Finally, some silence.” Tom sighed in relief. You gave him an icy stare and his smile immediately dropped.

When you sat down to do press the next day, you thought about what Tom had said about running hot and cold. You liked the playful fights you got into but you didn’t want him to start to think you actually disliked him. So when he came into the room and sat next to you, you got an idea.

“Good morning, darling.” He said politely.

“You know what Tom, why don’t we make a point to not fight today?” You suggested.

“Well darling, that’s the first good idea you’ve ever had.” He said with a smug smile. You smiled sarcastically at him as you narrowed your eyes.

“You’re so funny.” You said sarcastically. “How come you’re perpetually single?”

“Because I haven’t worn you down yet and gotten you to go out with me.” He quipped.

“Aw. You want to wear me down? So romantic. I can feel it working already.” You gushed and winked at him. Even though you were kidding, he felt himself blush and had to look away. The interviewer came in then and started to ask you a few questions. You managed to get through most of the interview before any fighting broke out.

“Okay. Now we’re gonna play a game called kiss, marry, kill. Your choices are Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr, and miss Y/n L/n.” The interview said.

“Oh God. That last actress is the worst.” Tom mumbled under his breath. You gave him a look and he faked an innocent smile.

“I mean I love her.” He corrected.

“Well Tom’s answer for kiss is obviously me.” You said simply.

“What? Obviously?” He scoffed.

“Yeah. Obviously.” You scoffed back to mock him.

“Excuse you. How is it obvious?” He asked and turned in his chair to face you. He mostly did this to keep the camera from seeing how much he was blushing.

“Please. You want to kiss me so bad. And marry me and kill me. So Tom’s answer to all of them is me.”

“That’s what you think, huh?” Tom smiled and leaned on his chair to be closer to you.

“That’s what I know. I can tell you’re dying to get with me. There is no use hiding it.” You shrugged, making Tom grow redder.

“Do you hear how conceited she is? What a diva you are. I’m gonna spread a rumor that you’re difficult to work with.” Tom teased you right back.

“Maybe you find it difficult to work with me because of how bad you want me.” You shrugged.

“Oh please. You’re just projecting because you have a big fat crush on me.” Tom replied.

“What?” You laughed. “In your dreams, maybe. I only go for guys over 5’9. You just missed the cut off, buddy.”

“Not just in my dreams. In my reality.” Tom insisted. “And I’m the average height of a woman so now you’re the one being sexist. But come on, we said no fighting. What would your answer be?”

“Oh yeah. I forgot about the question. Okay, let me think.” You tapped your chin. “I would kiss Bradley Cooper-“

“What? He wasn’t even an option.” Tom laughed in surprised.

“Oh shit. My bad.” You covered your mouth with your hand.

“How did his name even come up?” Tom asked you, feeling a little jealousy bubble up.

“Because.” You smiled coyly. “Have you seen him? He’s double handsome. He looks like a sexy UPS truck driver. I’d sign for that package I’ll tell you that right now.”

“I can’t believe you’re cheating on your husband with Bradley Cooper.” Tom shook his head.

“My husband?”

“Me.” Tom said like it was obvious, making you laugh.

“I know you’re kidding but you kinda are though. I was just saying that to Jacob the other day.”

“About me? You said I was your husband?” Tom smiled in surprise.

“Yeah. You’re my work husband. That’s why we’re so hot and cold. Because we’re like an old married couple.” You smiled and patted his arm.

“Aw. We are.” He gushed. “But you still never answered the question.”

“Oh my God. Who were the choices again?”

“Johansson, Downey, and yourself.”

“Okay. I think my answer is kill Johansson, sorry Scarlett, I love you. I’d marry Downey for that Iron Man money and then kiss myself.”

“You’d kiss yourself? Why?” Tom wondered.

“Because no one else will.” You groaned. “When I woke up this morning and I tallied in my head how long it’s been since I’ve been on a date and once I reached a conclusion, I started to cry.”

“Oh God. Has it really been that long?” Tom laughed.

“It’s been so long. We can’t talk about this right now. I’m gonna start crying again.” You said and pretended to wipe your eyes.

“Wow. I didn’t realize this game would bring out so many emotions.” The journalist laughed.

“Me either. God. I need a date.” You sighed in exasperation.

“All right. I got the hint. I’ll go out with you.” Tom rolled his eyes playfully.

“Oh, please. You wish I’d go out with you.”

“On every eye lash and 11:11, yeah.” He replied. You laughed and playfully smacked his arm as you wondered if he was telling the truth or not. The interview went on but you were barely paying attention as you were too busy wondering if you relationship with Tom was part of the reason you had been single for so long. No matter how nice or funny a guy was, you always ended up comparing them to Tom. If they couldn’t make you laugh as much or keep up with you the way he could, they just didn’t interest you. It didn’t help that In between your arguing and teasing, Tom always managed to slip some flirting in there. The more you thought about it, you realized he hadn’t been in a relationship since meeting you either. And maybe that had something to do with you.

“What do you think?” The journalist asked you. You blinked a few times and came back into the conversation.

“Sorry, what?”

“What was going on in there? You seemed so deep in thought.” Tom smiled fondly and poked your head.

“Don’t touch me, nail biter.” You said and swatted his hand away.

“At least I don’t stink up the whole hotel room by painting my nails every single day.” He shot back in a playful manner.

“Excuse me for wanting polished nails for these interviews. I just happen to chip them a lot. And if you don’t like the smell, go back to your own room. Stop always hanging out in mine.”

“But then how would I get to see you?” He asked with his stupid charming smile.

“What are you talking about?” You laughed. “We literally spend all day together in these interviews. Isn’t that enough for you?”

“With you, darling, there’s never enough time together.” He said with a sarcastic suaveness.

“Shut up.” You laughed again and looked down at your lap so he couldn’t see how that made you blush. He saw it anyway since he couldn’t never seem to take his eyes off you.

The next day, your relationship with Tom was heavy on your mind as you sat in your glam chair. You were spaced out all during hair and makeup as you thought about the possibility of becoming more than friends. You were more than ready to see him but when you walked into the press junket room, you only saw two chairs and Jacob occupying one of them.

“Oh. We’re paired together today?” You asked without realizing how disappointed you sounded.

“I’m sorry. I know you’d rather be with your boyfriend.” Jacob chuckled. You playfully rolled your eyes at him and hugged him hello.

“He’s not my boyfriend. But I do miss him.” You admitted as you sat in your chair.

“You know nobody believes that, right? You guys are clearly together.” Jacob snorted.

“We’re really not. I know how it looks but we’re just friends.” You insisted.

“Come on. There’s no way you two haven’t made out or something.”

“Maybe we have, maybe we have.” You shrugged, making Jacob gasp.

“Oh my God. I knew it. He wouldn’t admit it but I knew you two were hooking up.” He clapped his hands.

“We’re actually not.” You laughed. “It’s just funny to see people fight for their lives to prove that we’re together. I like to feed the flame sometimes with these interviews. You know, keep them all on their toes.”

“Really? Because I could’ve sworn you two were hooking up on set. You were always sneaking off together and no one could find you.”

“That’s just because we liked to spend time together. But we would never hook up. If we ever get together, it’s gonna be the real thing. I’m talking marriage and kids and a picket fence. And whatever the British equivalent of the American Dream is. Beans and toast maybe? I don’t know. But definitely not a hook up.”

“So what’s stopping you guys from being in a relationship now? You like him, don’t you? Why not just date?” Jacob wondered.

“I don’t know. We’ve gotten really close the past few months. I know we tease each other a lot, but I’ve never had that kind of banter with anybody. Talking with him and going back and forth is the best at part of my day. And of course I like him, but what if I say something but he doesn’t feel the same? That’ll make our friendship super awkward and don’t forget- we signed on for another movie. I don’t want to make things weird by suggesting we go out.”

“Oh my God.” Jacob laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“What?” You wondered.

“You can’t be this oblivious. Why do you think he’s always starting fights with you?”

“Because he’s irritating?”

“Well, yes. But also because he’s crazy about you.”

“What? No he’s not.” You scoffed. “He just likes to push my buttons.”

“Y/n, seriously, I’m telling you-“

Before Jacob could finish his sentence, the interviewer walked in with the camera crew. You and Jacob quickly dropped the conversation and turned to shake the interviewers hand. Your interview began and you had to force yourself to listen instead of thinking about what Jacob was about to say before he was interrupted.

Later that day, you went back to your hotel room and collapsed on your bed. It had been a long, long day of press and you weren’t with Tom for any of it. You saw him briefly at lunch but barely got a word in before getting shuffled to the next interview. You had just kicked your shoes off when there was a hasty knock at your door. You groaned and went over to it before opening it up.

“What?” You whined like a little kid. Tom put his hands on his waist and pushed you into the room before shutting the door behind him.

“If you’re gonna stay here I’m warning you right now that I chipped my thumb and I’m two seconds away from pulling out my nail polish-“

“I heard what you said.” He blurted to cut you off.

“Um, can you be more a little more specific?” You laughed. “You know I try to talk to you as little as possible.”

“Can we be serious for one minute?” Tom said hastily. You frowned in confusion but nodded your head and sat down. You’d never heard him sound so serious before so you dropped your usual mocking banter. You patted the spot next to you and he nervously sat down.

“What’s up?” You asked him. Tom scratched the back of his head before nervously cracking his knuckles.

“I just gotta talk to you about something.”

“Tom, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?” You asked and put a hand on his back. He took a deep breath and looked at you.

“I heard you when you were talking to Jacob. I was walking by and I heard my name so I stopped and I listened.” He admitted.

“Oh, shit. You heard all that?” You grimaced. Tom was unphased and kept looking into your eyes.

“Did you mean what you said? Do you really think we’re gonna do the real thing one day? House and kids and-“

“-And beans and toast.” You cut in.

“Yeah. And that.” He chuckled softly. “Did you mean all that? Do you really see a future with us?”

“I mean, I did before I found out you were an eavesdropper.” You mumbled out of the corner of your mouth.

“Are you kidding me? I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you for once in our lives but you can’t be serious for one minute.” Tom huffed and sat on the bed next to you.

“This is who is am.” You shrugged. “You came to the silly lake and you found a silly goose. I don’t know what to tell you.”

Tom let out a dry laugh before looking at you. You looked into his eyes and saw that for once, he looked completely serious. You frowned at the unexpected candor in his eyes and gave him your full attention.

“Tell me you want me.” He said. “As much as I’ve wanted you since the day we met.”

“You do?” You asked doubtfully.

“Why do you think I invited you to watch all those movies with me? Or hang out in your hotel room every night? I want to be around you all the time. I just didn’t know how to say that since we’re never…” He trailed off as he searched for the right word.

“Serious.” You finished his sentence for him with a knowing smile.

“Exactly. I love joking around with you. I love how much you challenge me to come up with a better insult. I even love being teased for my nationality. But I also love when we just get to talk. I love to hear your perspective on things. I just like being near you.”

“Is this a practical joke?” You asked skeptically.

“Bitch, do I look like four lifelong best friends who compete to embarrass each other to you?” Tom sassed you. You gave him a warning look and he mumbled an apology.

“So you’re telling me you actually like me? For my personality?” You asked him.

“No, darling. I like you in spite of your terrible, garbage personality.” Tom teased you. You rolled your eyes at him but found yourself leaning in closer.

“I hate you.” You narrowed your eyes at him.

“I hate you too. See how much we can agree on?” Tom replied and smoothly put his arm around you. You looked over at the arm that was on your shoulders as you thought about what he was saying.

“You do realize if you were my boyfriend, we’d be fighting all the time.” You pointed out.

“We do that anyway.” He shrugged. “Why not throw some kissing and domestic partnership in there?”

“Oh, so I was right? You do want to kiss me, huh?” You raised your eyebrows as you teased him.

“Well, I have lips, you have lips, why not put them to use?”

“You have lips?” You pretended to gasp. “Where have you been hiding them this whole time?”

“Oh my God. You are such a little-“

You cut him off by cupping his face and pulling him into a kiss. He insulted left his head immediately as he wrapped his arms around you to kiss you back.

“I want you too.” You told him once you pulled away. He smiled in surprise and pressed his forehead against yours.

“Even though we can’t agree on anything?” He joked.

“Even though your hairline is receding, yes.” You replied.

“That wasn’t what I-“

“Shh.” You hushed him and kissed him again. “Don’t ruin the moment.”

Tag List 🏷️

@thebookwormlife @imanativeofswlondondahling

@tom-hollands-wifey

@whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings

@imyourliquor-youremypoison @andreasworlsboring101

@peterparkoure

@justcallmehitgirl @jackiehollanderr

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@sovereignparker @every-marveler-ever @undiadeestos @eridanuswave​ ​

@solarxmoonchild @canyouevencauseicant

@quaksonhehe @lovelessdagger

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@maybemona

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@freakofmusic25 @tomholland85

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@mathletemadison  

@dhtomholland @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @prancerrparkerr

@hallecarey1 @adayasgeorgia @blackwidowisthebest @imawhoreforu

@ciarahollands

[theemporium]

https://www.tumblr.com/theemporium/732996365739819008/httpspbstwimgcommediaf-cfpsex0aa8a5hformat

PLEASEEE can we have the smallest of blurbs/thots on this, them cuddling into the reader because they’re wee pups after all

-🥀

I KNEW I HAD TO AS WELL

.

You were aware that the forecast said it would rain, but you didn’t realise it would be a full fucking thunderstorm.

You had been huddled in the Red Bull garage when the weather took a dramatic turn for the worse. First, there were just a few radios here and there about some rain hitting the track. Seconds later, a massive dark cloud was covering the track, the sun was gone and the conditions were far too dangerous to finish the end of qualifying. 

You were honestly just happy both your boys were safe as they made their way into the pits, even prouder when you realised this meant they would be starting on the front row together. But then the thunder started and a part of you froze. 

Thunderstorms were never a problem for you. If anything, you enjoyed them. The rain pattering against the window, the distant sound of thunder claps in the air with strikes of lightning as you played some calming music. Being cuddled up in bed, maybe even a book in hand with a warm drink by your side.

But your boys never thought the same. 

You had began moving before you could even process it, but the team wouldn’t let you leave the safety of the garages just yet, which left you watching the interview on one of the screens. You could see it on their faces, even if they tried to hide it. You could see them trying to laugh it off and continue with the questions. You could see the way their bodies flinched, the way they covered their ears, the way they gravitated towards each other for safety. It broke your heart to see because you knew exactly how they were during thunderstorms.

The second they were given the go ahead, the boys were heading straight back to their drivers’ rooms to leave for the hotel as soon as they could. But it was short-lived when both boys barreled into Max’s driver room, Charles rushing towards you before you could even blink. 

A low whine left him as he wound his arms around your waist, tugging you close and burying his face into the crook of your neck as another distant thunderclap echoed outside. 

“I know,” you murmured, holding onto him tightly as your eyes caught Max’s—who you knew was trying to put on a brave face. “Let’s head back to the hotel, okay? Everything is gonna be fine.” 

Both boys were twitchy the whole ride over. All three of you were sitting in the back of the car, with you pressed between both boys as they tried to distract themselves. You could feel the anxiety rolling off them, you could feel the way their bodies tensed and the way their hands tightened on your thighs. You knew they just wanted to be alone and far away from the thunder. 

The second the hotel room door locking sounded through the suite, you heard the distinct sound of clothes ripping before two massive, fluffy beasts were approaching you. Another clap of thunder rendered through the air and both boys let out pitiful whines, cowering slightly as they looked up at you with big eyes.

“My poor boys,” you cooed softly as you reached out to run your hands over the heads, scratching behind their ears until both wolves were nosing at your legs. “C’mon, we’ll do what we do when we’re home.”

And it was a little more squished than the bed you shared at home, but it did the job just fine. You had both wolves squashing you between them, their heads resting on your stomach with the duvet over them. It was a trick you read online with dogs and fireworks, but it seemed to work perfectly with your werewolf boyfriends.

“You both need to eat something soon,” you told them when you felt one of them—probably Charles, if you knew your boys well—pushing the fabric of your shirt up until he could rest his head on your bare stomach. “And I would rather not scare hotel staff with two massive dogs that are technically undisclosed.”

Max let out a huff against your thigh.

“Don’t be a puppy,” you snorted as your fingers threaded through his fur. “Just one meal and then you can transform back. I would like at least thirty minutes with my boys to tell you how proud I am of both of you for getting the front row.”

Charles let out a loving purr as he nuzzled himself further into you.

“Yeah, I love you too.”

.

[yuzurujenn]

[2025.04.03] KISS & CRY -THE STAGE4 - Jeffrey Buttle Interview

— I heard that you were in charge of the choreography for the Piano Collection in the ‘Echoes of Life’ TOUR. How did you come to be in charge?

I was contacted directly by Yuzu, and he asked me, ‘I want you to choreograph a medley of short piano pieces.’ He gave me a list of the pieces, and among them were some that reminded me of Chopin’s ‘Ballade No. 1,’ which I had choreographed for him before. He specified some elements he wanted to include, like ‘I want to put a quad toe loop here,’ but otherwise he told me to just have fun choreographing however I wanted. Unlike competitive programs, which have many rules and restrictions, I was able to use my creativity to the fullest. It had been a while since I received a request from him, so I was very happy and honoured. 

— Was there an explanation of the concept of this ice show?

I heard that the theme was about the past, present, and future. And Yuzu explained to me that he wanted to express a personal timeline. 

— Was the idea of a medley of piano pieces something that came from Hanyu?

Yes, the idea of using many small pieces was his. When I received the request, the first thing I asked was at what part of the show and in what way the choreography would be used. That’s because the choreography I create is never easy and takes quite a bit of physical stamina, so I wanted to confirm where in the overall show it would be performed. I know he has extraordinary stamina, but still... 

— What was the choreography process like?

Since I couldn’t go to Japan, we exchanged videos. First, I sent him a video of me skating, and in return I received a video from Yuzu with a much higher level of performance than mine (laughs). We kept going back and forth like that. Basically, we worked on it through emails, conversations, and videos. We had worked this way a few times before, so it wasn’t a problem.

— What was the most important aspect you focused on while choreographing?

The most important thing was ‘how to express the emotions conveyed by each piece of music.’ I especially focused on the connecting steps, which are the foundation of skating. This is very important in figure skating, and it was an enjoyable process. Since I couldn’t film myself skating, I asked Yonathan Elizarov, a Canadian pair skater who was also a representative at the World Junior Championships, to help and actually perform it. When I showed him the video that Yuzu sent back, he was amazed at how high the quality was. It was very fun to have a future champion participate in this process.

 — The arrangement was done by pianist Shinya Kiyozuka. Do you know him?

I didn't know him, but he's a pianist who has worked with Yuzu for many years in various places. It was a very good arrangement and I think it's a wonderful collaboration.

— Have you actually seen the show? Actually, I was sent a video, but I couldn’t download it properly. Right now, I’m waiting for a new download link, so I’ve only seen part of it so far.

Ballade No. 1" that matures and evolves

— He also performed "Ballade No. 1," which you choreographed.

I saw that part! It's not a simple piece, so I can't believe he performed it at the end of the piano medley. What kind of physical strength does he really have? I can't imagine it.

— Hanyu has continued to perform the program you choreographed during his competitive years even after turning professional. How do you feel about the changes in his performance?

It’s such an honor that he’s still performing programs I choreographed. What’s amazing about Yuzu is that he continues to evolve mentally and artistically. It’s similar to when Joni Mitchell sings her older songs. It carries a different flavour than when she was younger. Yuzu is the same. When he performs an old program now, you can clearly see how much he’s evolved and matured both as a skater and as a person. The way he expresses subtle nuances in the music, the way he handles every note, it all keeps changing, and it’s mesmerizing to watch.

— Since retiring from competition, Hanyu has continuously produced solo shows. What do you think about that?

I’ve never heard of anyone performing an ice show entirely alone from start to finish. But since I know Yuzu well, it wasn’t all that unexpected. He has the ability and special talent to captivate an audience for two and a half hours. I hope the audience understands just how special an experience it is to see his show. Honestly, except for Yuzu, I don’t think we’ll see another show like this again anytime soon. Performing continuously for two hours on the ice is on a completely different level from a concert. It’s a special talent, a gift. Usually, including myself, athletes stop training at a competitive level after retiring. But Yuzu has kept at it, and that’s why he’s capable of something like this.

— If you could freely choose, what pieces would you like to choreograph for Yuzu?

Actually, I already have a few pieces in mind. One is Alexander Scriabin’s Symphony No. 4, Poem of Ecstasy. There’s music that, when you listen to it, brings an image of a skater to mind, and sometimes you think, ‘Only that skater could skate to this.’ I came across this piece back when I was still competing and looking for music, but I thought it would be impossible for me to skate to it. But I’ve always kept it in my heart. And I think Yuzu could definitely pull it off. The other is the final movement of Ottorino Respighi’s symphonic poem “Pines of Rome.” The melody builds more and more, getting bigger and bigger, so it’s a piece that can’t be performed unless you have unbelievable stamina. I think Yuzu has that ability. If I ever get the opportunity, I would love to choreograph these pieces for him.

— Hanyu recently celebrated his 30th birthday. What does the age 30 mean for a figure skater?

Personally, turning 30 wasn’t an issue for me. It was turning 20 that scared me the most. Like gymnastics, figure skating is often seen as a sport where youth is an advantage. If you have talent, people say, ‘Wow, he can already jump like that at such a young age.’ But when I was 20, I hadn’t achieved much as a skater yet, so I was afraid. But later I understood that each skater grows at their own pace. I hope Yuzu feels pride not only in how much he’s achieved, but also in how much he’s contributed to the sport as a whole. And to think that someone who’s achieved so much is still only 30 is actually surprising.

— You became a world champion at 25, right?

Yes. Then I retired at 26. At 30, I was doing what I wanted, and it was a very fulfilling time. I had always loved skating, but I didn’t really enjoy competing. So being able to focus on tours and ice shows at 30 was a very happy time for me.

— What are your goals for this year? It’s hard to say something specific, but to keep doing what makes me feel happy. Besides choreography, I’m also working as a coach now. People have to make choices every day, and with any choice comes challenges. There are fun times, and not-so-fun times. But I think it’s important to listen to your heart and go in the direction you truly want.

— Thank you. Lastly, could you give a message to Hanyu?

What Yuzu has accomplished is the result of his own hard work and passion, and I’m very proud that he still shares that passion with people even now. He could have chosen to retire and live an easier life. But he keeps pushing himself, continues making effort, continues growing. I think he is a true icon.

Source: 20250403 KISS & CRY -THE STAGE4-

[luv4georgie]

moth to a flame.

Lando Norris x fem!medic!fwb!reader

in which formula one star, Lando Norris, suddenly feels light headed during an interview… or does he? he comes up to his favourite fwb who is McLaren’s medic, Y/n Y/l/n, and asks for a little help.

warnings: smut!!, just barley voyeurism, jealous ass reader, fluffy aswell

prompts 16 and 17- “jealous much?” and “don’t cover your mouth, i wanna hear you”

“he seems like he’s good for you”

it was a Friday and Lando was talking to this interviewer about how it went. he was saying he was quite happy and that he was ready for qualifying tomorrow. what he didn’t seem to notice was that the interviewer was getting a little but too close for someone’s liking. someone’s liking being mine. i was a medic for McLaren and i was watching from a-far, watching Lando. every minute or so he would eye me as-well. minutes went by and the interviewer kept getting close and i was kept getting jealous.

about 5 minutes passed and Lando’s smug smile was wiped off and he had a hand of his head, his middle finger and thumb on either temple. my brows furrowed and watched as he said something to the interviewer with his eyes squinted. she nodded and touched his arm before saying goodbye. i didn’t even notice Lando was walking over to me until he spoke “my head really hurts” he said vaguely grinning. i didn’t realise it so i brought him to the little room with my name on it and sat him down. before i sat down myself i felt strong hands on my waist. i looked down at Lando and he was smirking up at me. “jealous much?” he questioned. “i saw you, getting all worked up over me talking to another girl” he said again. “well, what you didn’t seem to notice is that she was getting rather close to you” “oh i noticed baby” he argued back.

my jaw clenched “well than why didn’t you do something!?” i said, almost shouting. he just smiled even wider, amused by my clear annoyance. “because i love seeing you get all aroused” he spoke. my face dropped and that’s when i felt it. the wet spot on my underwear grew. Lando just smiled impossibly wider and my cheeks heated up. he patted his lap “sit down sweet” i did as he said. i swung my leg over one of his and straddled his hips. he moved his hands from my waist down to my ass and rested them there. my eyes fluttered shut to the feeling of his hard-on against me. i slowly started to rock myself back and forth on him. the friction of my pants against him was enough to get me going. “shit” we both whispered.

we carried on like that for a few seconds until he told me to get up, in which i did. as i stood up, Lando’s hands slowly crept up from where they were in place, which was on my arse, and up to the hem of my grey joggers. he pulled them back and let go. he then pulled my pants down to my ankles and let me step out of them. his eyes widened and i blushed “you’re so wet already baby” he said as he ran his fingers down my stomach and over my clothed core. i moaned at the feeling, wanting more. he smirked. Lando then removed his fingers from their place and hooked them around the hem of my panties. he pulled them down in a swift, quick motion.

“it’s unfair” i said in a huff, crossing my arms. “what is darling?” “you’ve still got your clothes on” my eyebrows furrowed and my lips turned down ever so slightly. he chuckled and pulled his McLaren hoodie off of himself, revealing his bare chest. he unzipped his jeans and pulled them off which continued to reveal his black boxers, which had a rather large tent in them. i smiled at the sight and he stood up backing me up into a wall, taking my shirt off during the process. when he did that my flattering black bra was on show. he instantly looked up at me, i nodded giving consent, and brought his hands up to my boobs to massage them. i moaned and threw my head back at the feeling, a fluttering warmth in my stomach as Lando did so. he reached around to my back and unclipped my bra, letting it fall.

Lando moaned into my neck as he kissed it and slowly trailed his kisses down my collarbone and into my cleavage. my eyes rolled to the back of my head as i felt him kiss my right boob and then my left. his fingers went back down to my pussy and circled my clit a few times, before running his fingers up and down my slit. i moaned again at this. “please Lan i need you i-inside of me” i pouted. “to be fair i don’t think i can hold on any longer baby” he responded. Lando pulled down his boxers just enough to free is cock. “even bigger than i remember” i said, smirking. it had been quite a while since we last fucked. and no we aren’t together or anything, just work friends with benefits!

he snaked his arms around my waist and ran his hands down to the back of my thighs, where he tapped gently to let me know to jump up which i did. that earned a small grunt from the both of us. Lando then proceeded to be a dickhead and tease me even more. after, bare in mind, he said that he couldn’t wait any longer. i groaned and slapped his shoulder playfully. he chuckled and grabbed a-hold of his cock and guided it to where i needed him most. with one swift, slow thrust he was inside of me. he let me adjust like it was the first time and after a few seconds he got himself going, all the while holding me against the wall. i covered my mouth trying to cover up the rather loud moan i could feel bubbling deep within my throat but “don’t cover your mouth,pretty, i want to here you” was all Lando could manage. so i did. i let him here me, maybe the whole of the McLaren team heard me i was that loud. “that’s what i like to hear” Lando said deeply.

then he started really moving. it was euphoric. i felt like i was high it was that good. it was like everything was moving in slow-motion. from the way my head threw back to the way Lando pressed open-mouthed kisses to my neck. butterflies were in my stomach and i couldn’t control myself. Lando was thrusting in and out of me at an ungodly speed trying to get us both off. he groaned “fuck Y/n/n” then i started whimpering and looked Lando in the eyes. mine started to prick with tears. “oh i know baby, i know” he whispered lightly in my ear. he groaned and i whimpered and that’s when it really felt ethereal. it was like we were both floating on a massive cloud. Lando pushed down on my stomach and my head threw back so quick i could’ve broken my neck. then we both did it was the same time, we orgasmed together, something everyone loved to do. him inside of me and me on his dick. a string of moans and swear words came out the both of us. my body spasmed, which was still being held up against the wall my Lando. the orgasm lasted a minute or two and after that he thrusted a few more times, trying his best not to drive me into overstimulation.

“that. was. amazing” Lando said between kisses on my lips. i just smiled woozily and let my body go limp. he giggled breathlessly and kisses my temple. “cmon sweet, let’s get you cleaned up” he ripped a-bit of paper off of the paper towel roll and ran it under the sink. he cleaned me up and then himself. we sat down and held each-other for a few seconds, taking in the presence of the other that we both rarely see. “official?” Lando said. i hummed questionably, opening my eyes to look up at him while cocking my head to the right ever so slightly. “do you want to make it official? you and me, i mean” he answered my unspoken question. i smiled “yes” i whispered croakily. he smiled and pressed a kiss to my head until… “Lando!!” was heard from outside our little space.

-

AUTHORS NOTE‼️‼️ i feel like this is so cute ALSO first smut ever 😝✌️hope you guys enjoyed <3

based of off the lovely @slytherinholland’s request!!! ❤️❤️

[witchygagirlwrites]

Until You-Part 1

Connor Rhodes x Reader x Will Halstead/Rhodestead x Reader

You've known Will for a while but becoming Jay's partner puts him further into your life than before. Then of course you meet Dr Connor Rhodes officially and it appears life may become a little complicated.

Working out of the twenty first precinct meant you knew the members of intelligence already. You happened to be one of the patrolmen Sergeant Platt and Sergeant Voight agreed on liking so anytime they needed an extra set of hands yours was called on. You also happened to be lucky enough to be friends with Fireball, the girlfriend of Detective Jay Halstead and their tech expert Greg “Mouse” Gerwitz which meant you were friends with the unit on top of a working relationship.

Even knowing all of that you hadn’t expected that four days after Detective Lindsay took the job with the FBI in New York to walk into work one morning and get told to report upstairs. When you made it up to the floor intelligence used Voight was waiting at the top of the stairs and led you to his office. “Have a seat” he motioned to the chair across from him then walked around the desk and sat down.

You smiled slightly “Why am I up here?” “As you know, I have an opening on my team” he replied and you nodded “Yes sir. I was at Erin’s going away party” he smiled slightly “Well when she and I spoke about a possible replacement for her, she recommended you. I looked at your record,spoke to Trudy and Al and well I agree. You’re a good fit” 

“Are you offering for me to join intelligence?” you asked and he nodded “It’s a one time deal” you grinned “I’ll take it!” he laughed “Ok. Go get changed.You’ll be partnered with Halstead”  “Yes sir”

You stood and thanked him before heading to the locker room. You quickly changed your clothes and headed back out into the bullpen.

_________________________

Jay was sitting on the edge of his desk with Mouse and both men smiled when they saw you. “Should we be worried that Erin picked you as her replacement?” Jay asked and you shrugged “She knows I'll look out for fireball and not let you two get into any trouble, well not anymore than I can help” 

Mouse grinned “Welcome to the team Y/N” you nodded “Thanks” Jay raised an eyebrow “I'll decide at the end of the day if I'm gonna welcome you or not” Mouse shook his head “If he gives you a hard time during the day just dip into med and tell on him” You laughed lightly “Thanks for the tip Gerwitz I'll be sure to remember that”

“Why haven't you taken the detective exam?” Jay asked as he drove. The two of you were headed to interview a witness at the hospital. They'd caught a bullet in the process of a robbery. Luckily it hadn't hit anything major and from what you were told a full recovery would be made. You shrugged “I like the twenty first and before this offer came up if I took the exam that would have meant changing districts when I passed” 

“When?” He asked with a slight smirk and you nodded “Yeah, when. I could pass that exam with my eyes closed Halstead” he shook his head “I see why you and our girl get along so well now”  you shrugged “She's a smart gorgeous woman and so am I?” He shook his head “and modest to boot, look at that”

Jay parked his truck so you slipped the chain with your badge on it over your head before climbing out and following him across the parking lot. “Well mighty detective, are you taking the lead?”

He rolled his eyes “Ok now I see why Erin picked you. It's like she never left” you grinned “Now that is a compliment if I've ever heard one” 

__________________ 

The E.D. was actually not insane for the first time in a while considering. You and Jay stopped at the front desk to ask Maggie about the shooting vic. “Cheryl Lockwood. She's on the second floor. Room two fifteen” “Thanks Maggie” Jay told her and she nodded “Your girl has a break in half an hour by the way” he grinned and cut his eyes at you “We may just have to hang around”

You shrugged “Hey I'm good” and nodded towards the elevator “Besides, who knows how long the interview may take?” The two of you walked to the elevator and stepped on. You hit the button for the second floor and cut your eyes at Jay “Wasn't your brother one of the docs that caught this case?”

He nodded “Yeah, Will and Connor Rhodes are the two I think” you had met Dr Rhodes in passing only. Just enough that you knew him by face. “Don't know about Rhodes but Will's a decent doctor” he shrugged “Will says he's an ass but a decent doctor. Fireball says he's alright that Will has some sort of crush he won't admit to” 

You barked out a laugh “Damn Jay put your brother on blast like that” he shrugged “Not judging. I have a boyfriend and a girlfriend who are boyfriend and girlfriend” you shrugged then “Good point” and he laughed “See? Can't say I'm judgmental at least”

___________________

The elevator stopped on the second floor and when it opened you waved your hand “Please, age before beauty” he shook his head “The sass I deal with at home has now been added to at work” 

You laughed and stepped off behind him “Maggie said two fifteen” he looked around then pointed to a sign on the wall saying rooms two ten through two sixteen were to the left “We go left” you nodded “Let's go”

__________________

You knocked on the door of room two fifteen before pushing it open. There was a blonde woman sitting up in the bed, a sling was on her left arm and her upper torso was covered in gauze and bandages. “Mrs Lockwood?” she turned towards the two of you “Are you the detectives from intelligence?” Jay pointed at you “Well, she’s an officer from intelligence. I’m a detective from intelligence”

You shook your head at Jay then introduced yourself before asking her if she felt up to giving her statement. “Of course, anything I can do to help catch these people”

____________________

“Thank you for your time Mrs. Lockwood. We'll be in contact with you” you told her with a smile as you and Jay walked out of her room, closing the door behind yourselves. 

He cut his eyes at you “Who knew. You may be a decent cop after all” you rolled your eyes “Your previous partner picked me and your girlfriend likes me” he laughed “She also loves me and Mouse so what's that saying for her taste?”

You shook your head and checked the time “Well lookie there. By the time we get downstairs she'll be on break” a grin slipped onto his face “I will buy you lunch for a week if you agree that it took us longer than it did to get Cheryl's statement” 

You laughed “I'll just go grab food in the cafeteria. Go see your girl, maybe you'll be in a halfway decent mood the rest of the day” the two of you stepped on the elevator and he bumped your shoulder “I think we'll get along fine”

____________________

When the two of you made it back down to the E.D.  Will was at the front desk and spotted Jay when the two of you stepped off the elevator. “Jay!” He greeted with a smile then his eyes landed on you and he spoke your name with a hint of confusion.

Jay put a hand on your shoulder “She's my new partner. Erin kind of picked her out and Voight agreed” Will's brown eyes landed on yours and you felt a smile slip onto your face, the elder Halstead was always gorgeous in your opinion. He nodded slowly “I say it's a good pick” then he cut his eyes at Jay “She just went to the doctor's lounge”

Jay grinned “Thanks Will” then patted your shoulder “Keep Firecracker company man. Go buy her lunch in the cafeteria or something. You know what's decent and what to avoid” he patted your shoulder then disappeared in the direction of the doctor's lounge.

____________________ 

You watched him scurry off then looked back at Will “You don't have to babysit me” he shrugged “I normally take my break with Fireball but considering she's busy I could use the company?” You shrugged “in that case Dr Halstead let's go”

The two of you fell in step with each other to head towards the cafeteria “So, intelligence?” He asked and you nodded “I know it's a big jump but I've been working with them for years. I think I can handle it” he nodded “You'll be fine. You're a good cop” you smiled “Thank you”

You motioned back towards the direction the two of you had come from “Those three are something else aren't they?” He raised an eyebrow “Oh, Jay and Mouse and Fireball?”

You nodded “I've never seen a relationship with only two people work so well” he shrugged “They've gone through hell at each other's sides. It wasn't easy but they never gave up on each other and the love they have for each other is unimaginable” you smiled “If only we were all so lucky”

He shrugged “Who knows what tomorrow may bring, right?” By then the two of you had gotten to the cafeteria so he held the door open for you then offered you his arm “Stick with me because some of this stuff will have you back in the E.D. before end of shift” you laughed “Lead the way”

_____________________

You and Will were talking while you ate. You were laughing about the time you responded to the call when some woman who was in the Rangers decided to come into Mollys and try Fireball on for size. “I walked in, she grins and says Firecracker, what's up? While her hands bleeding from busted knuckles and chic is still laying in the busted table”

He laughed “Jay's the one I'd call the hot head, Mouse is normally the calmer one unless he's really pushed but her? She's kind of the wild card” you nodded “Best way to keep men on their feet” he grinned and the way he looked at you made your face warm, damn he was good looking. “Yeah, got to love those wild cards” he agreed.

“Halstead. Who's your friend” you cut your eyes up to see Dr Rhodes walking towards the two of you and he smiled “I know you” you waited until he said your name then nodded “Good job” he grinned “Why are you here with Will?” You shrugged “Good company?” 

He motioned “Can I sit?” You shrugged “Sure” he sat down next to Will, across from you, his blue eyes glued to yours as you said “I'm also Jay's partner now and Jay is around here somewhere with his girl because she was on her break so me and Will got lunch”

He nodded “Good partner to kill time for him” You shrugged “Like I said, I've had worse company then Will” he cut his eyes at Will then winked at you “Any time you want better company, come find me Firecracker” you felt your face warm again and saw Will raise an eyebrow but thankfully Jay chose that time to appear over your shoulder. 

His lips were clearly swollen a bit and his hair was tousled and you couldn't help but laugh “Damn Halstead” he smoothed a hand over his hair and stole Will's drink “Not a word. Come on Firecracker. We gotta go”

You nodded then looked back at Will and Connor “I'll see you two around?” Will nodded “Of course. You're partnering with my brother now” and Connor winked at you “If I'm lucky I'll see around”

Once you were back in Jay's truck he pulled out onto the road then cut his eyes at you “Were my brother and Connor both flirting with you?” Your eyes widened “No”

He laughed “That was a quick answer” you narrowed your eyes “Mouse doesn't get jealous over you and her having time alone” he shook his head “We don't really do jealousy amongst the three of us but me and her have ways to chill him out even if he did” you shook your head “I don't even wanna know” and he smirked “No, you don't. But back to you with my brother and Connor because that was flirty”

“JAY” You warned and he held up his hands defensively “Ok ok. Just saying…” “Don't” you warned and he started laughing “Fine but just know I would be supportive” you glared at him “Your boyfriend and girlfriend are the only reason shooting you isn’t an option” and that only made him laugh harder.

@desimarie12

@bonnyclydecat

[narklos]

Half-Lore #3: 66 HL Facts!

Make your 'counting to three' jokes in the tags please. Back with another instalment, this is one I've been looking forward to! 66 random facts spanning the entire Half-Life franchise (bc I couldn't fit 100 in one post due to numbered list character limits...) If you have any suggestions for other instalments of Half-Lore, please let me know.

Have a peep under the cut, and enjoy!

Gordon can speak, as confirmed in a series of letters that were included in HL1's box. They mention that L.M and him had a telephone call prior to Gordon's arrival.

Speaking of L.M, he was the original administrator for Black Mesa. L.M was the G-Man, though his full name is never revealed.

Barney and Breen were both meant to appear in Half-Life: Alyx, but were cut due to a hard reset on the game's development.

Gordon is apparently very clumsy. Eli jokes about it in a series of cut voicelines.

Prior to his appointment at Black Mesa, Gordon was stationed at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

Russell's complaint about being told to apply a year later after his interview at Black Mesa is a real-life hiring process that Valve uses.

Marc Laidlaw mentioned that the baby photo in Gordon's locker is probably a nephew, making Gordon an uncle!

Bullsquids have a 'hungry' mode. If they find a dead headcrab, and they're in hungry mode, they'll eat it. Otherwise, they'll play a sniffing animation and walk away.

In HL2, you can bonk NPCs on the head during a cutscene to make them teleport. This is because the game thinks that the character is trapped by a physics prop, and will teleport them to the next segment in the cutscene to free them.

On Kleiner's clipboard during his first cutscene, what he's saying about the HEV suit is actually written on the paper word-for-word.

Barney has a girlfriend called Lauren, and a picture of her in his locker. The woman in question was a real-life girlfriend of one of the devs.

In one of the OP4 skyboxes, a dev has written the note "Hack hack hack all day long. Hack hack hack while I sing this song."

The mysterious artefact Alyx brings back to Black Mesa East is the head of a Cremator, which was a cut enemy.

HL2 was originally meant to take place in New York.

Headcrabs don't turn Gordon into a zombie because he apparently never lets them get close to his face.

Colette gets a kick out of violence.

Gordon was employee of the month when the Resonance Cascade happened.

A special rebel outpost along Route Kanal will start playing ambient windchimes if you hang around long enough.

Breen was meant to wear a pair of glasses, but Marc Laidlaw went against it, citing that they made Breen look 'vaguely homosexual'.

Russell was originally meant to be Laszlo, the finest mind of his generation. His computer's password is actually 'Laszlo' too!

There are props clipping through Russell's ceiling intentionally- objects will phase through each other during portal storms, the likes of which ravage City 17.

The Citadel wasn't built on Earth, per se- it was teleported in chunk by chunk like the world's biggest IKEA assembly.

G-Man cannot understand the Vort's language, and the Vorts use by-words when discussing him and the Advisors to avoid detection.

Combine Advisors cannot breathe Earth's atmosphere, hence the breathing apparatus they wear.

There was meant to be a fourth day of HL2's plot, but it was shortened to three. Players would have fought through a museum.

Eli lost his leg to a bullsquid when he was helping Kleiner into City 17.

Kleiner and Barney were meant to die in a bus crash in HL2's opening sequence. Marc Laidlaw wrote a short story discussing their deaths in rather graphic detail.

In Decay, there was a cut sequence where players witnessed Gordon getting killed if they didn't scare away the soldiers in time.

Despite 20 years having passed in reality, only around two weeks have passed for Gordon due to being in stasis.

For HLA, developers scanned in a $10,000 Nordstrom suit to use for G-Man's textures.

Level designer David Casali, who has worked on every single mainline HL game, was too tall for a lot of the levels in HLA's Vault sequence. This lead to a lot of upside-down sections being cut for accessibility.

G-Man was meant to be an unwilling prisoner in the Vault, as revealed in a storyboard in The Final Hours.

The Nihilanth is inspired by Gabe Newell's fears of fatherhood, as he'd just had his son at the time.

Nothing is native to Xen. Every alien animal present on Xen is running away from The Combine's invasion of their homeworlds.

During Opposing Force, players can find a gear and a valve inside of a cardboard box- a very clear nod to Gearbox and Valve!

Barney's model changes subtly from HL2 to Episode 1- he's shown more dishevelled, with his hair unkempt and a series of cuts on his cheeks.

G-Man's face is hidden in the Xenian crystal at Black Mesa East.

Alyx was found by the G-Man, sitting beside her dead mother and clutching her mother's wedding ring.

Child labour was meant to appear, with models and animations of the children working in Cremator factories made. This, understandably, were cut, and the lack of children explained away with the suppression field.

G-Man's crow friend is nicknamed 'Crowley'.

During the tactical map section of Surface Tension, you don't have to use the drone strike to destroy the doors leading to the next level- you can actually break it with a fully-charged Tau Cannon shot.

Typing 'haiku' in the game's console will generate a random haiku for you.

Imprisoning the G-Man in HLA was referred to as putting 'God in a Box' by developers.

HL2 on PC and HL2 on Xbox 360 sound wildly different! Due to advanced sound chips, developers were able to push the audio of HL2 to be more immersive and sound more realistic than on PC.

Grigori's shotgun is called Annabelle.

A model of Eli naked exists. This was meant to be used in the section we see him in the Combine pods.

An illustration of G-Man holding a gun to his head can be found on the back of a sign in HLA.

Similarly, in the Index HLA home environment, his eyes are used as part of an advertisement for 'vision enhancement'.

You can find a minifigure of the Scout in HLA.

The textures for some of HLA's cans actually use a recoloured metal effect from HL1's orange poster.

Grigori has cut crosses into the backs of his hands.

Inside G-Man's briefcase is pencils, ID, paper, and a gun.

The shadowy woman in HLA is called Hahn/The Contractor, and according to Erik Wolpaw, they 'have plans' for her.

A cut enemy called Mr. Friendly was meant to literally SA the player and knock Gordon's glasses off, blurring the screen. Apparently, the idea was to play on a gamer's subconscious (or conscious...) homophobia and make them freak out. This enemy was actually designed by a teenager, and was predictably scrapped.

Early advertisements for HL1 featured babies and children with lambdas replacing their eyes.

HL1 is intended to be an allegory for fighting your own inner hopelessness.

Valve's offices have a wall built to resemble the moving walls of the Citadel.

G-Man has had a total of 11 different models throughout HL's history.

Breaking the army crates in the Dreamcast port of HL1 will reveal copies of Sonic Adventure inside.

Gordon is from Seattle, Washington.

HL2 was delayed a lot during its development. At the time, many swore never to buy from Valve again due to their broken promises.

HL2's E3 demonstrations were staged.

Colette was employed by G-Man, but Gina died.

During a Reddit AMA, a dev responded that we shouldn't keep making Gordon feel bad about his outdated hairstyle choices, when asked about where his ponytail went.

A metrocop's hideaway can be found in the level after the zoo in HLA. Due to the amount of conspiracy theory paraphanelia, the room is theorised to be Barney's.

The act of covering your mouth to stop the fumes of Xenian flora from affecting you in HLA was implemented after playtesters instictively covered their mouths when sprayed.

Thanks for reading to the bottom! Here's some top notch BREENWAVE for you.

[kaibutsushidousha]

The Hundred Line character design team interview from Famitsu issue 1895

Hello, Mr. Komatsuzaki and Shimadrill. Tell us how you felt when you read the first project presentation for The Hundred Line.

Rui Komatsuzaki: The initial project proposal already had a pretty solid general idea of the plot, so I only needed to expand on that. The Hundred Line's key concept was 100 endings, so I could already predict that my usual amount of illustrations wouldn't cut it. The actual number went way above my already high expectations. I wasn't used to working this much (pained laughter).

Shimadrill: I joined Too Kyo Games because I was a fan of Kodaka's and Komatsuzaki's work, so I felt like I had to keep up no matter how tough it got. Kodaka and Komatsuzaki are particularly fast workers. I didn't even have time to complain without how much I needed to do.

What exactly was requested for the designs of the Special Defense Unit members?

Kazutaka Kodaka: I gave Komatsuzaki the story's script and a document listing characteristics and nicknames of each character (delinquent for Yakushiji, punk rock for Amemiya, and so on) and asked him to come up with the designs.

Komatsuzaki: The design workflow was the same it was in the previous games. Instead of nailing their characterization one-by-one, I started with a draft of the whole cast based only on the amount and general characteristics of them. I used that to fine-tune the collective balance of the cast, and only after that part was settled that I gave the characters individual attention.

Was the process smooth?

Komatsuzaki: Speaking of things being the same as usual, the first version of the mascot characters was never altered. SIREI got approved at the first try.

Kodaka: Back then, I still hadn't given SIREI's character much thought, so Komatsuzaki could go with whatever design he wanted. SIREI's quirks derived from the design rather than the other way around.

Was NIGOU just as easy?

Komatsuzaki: Yeah. I was told NIGOU could be just a palette swap of SIREI, but I wanted them to be a little different, resulting in the current design.

Any other important points?

Komatsuzaki: I really wanted SIREI and NIGOU to be transparent. After that, I exposed their brains and hearts.

Kodaka: I didn't know how to react when he drew a brain after I had already told him SIREI was a robot. I wasn't sure if it was okay for robots to have brains. But later I came to the conclusion that the best computer imaginable would be one capable of utilizing a live human brain. My final decision was that SIREI and NIGOU are equipped with advanced computers that only resemble human brains, but that's a lore tidbit that never gets said in-game.

Cool.

Komatsuzaki: Also, having read the story, I could imagine this game mascot would take some serious damage, so I thought it was better not to make them animal-themed like Monokuma was. I don't want to see an animal-like mascot being seriously harmed. So I tried to give him a design more tolerable to brutalize.

Changing the subject to the Special Defense Unit, who would you consider the most memorable student?

Komatsuzaki: Unlike my previous games, The Hundred Line has combat outfits, which are mostly uniform for every character. To make the characters easier to identify during combat, there was a greater need to give them diverse, distinct, and memorable body types and heads. This means their conceptualization had great emphasis on their heads and physiques. I'd say Amemiya is the most memorable character. She set the bar for how striking they should be. I tend to use muted colors a lot, but Amemiya's design was an attempt to use colors I normally don't. The cast was balanced with her at the center of the scale.

Speaking of characters, I noticed they have a lot of sprites, as usual. How many did you make per character?

Komatsuzaki: The plan was making about 20 per character, totaling around 300 sprites, but I was wrong in predicting the real number would be 3 digits. There are so many that I stopped counting along the way.

How many did you have counted by the time you gave up?

Komatsuzaki: The total of sprites about 1 year before the game was gold was 1368. I kept making more after that, but I can't give a general figure because I was too afraid to count them.

Drill: No estimates for the final number?

Kodaka: We over 100 per character, with the biggest ones reaching 200, so… I guess over 2000 in total?

How did you get this many?

Komatsuzaki: Sprite production involves the following steps: 1. I draw drafts for the sprites based the expressions and scenes that pop up in my head while I'm reading the story. 2. I refine the drafts. 3. I put together the sprite list while examining which variations are essential and which are redundant. However, this time the story was too long and I could never be done reading all of it, and until I finish reading, the sprite list only keeps increasing. I had a lot more expressions than usual before the first selection.

Kodaka: We tried to lower the amount. But there's a good reason why the number spiralled out of control: in The Hundred Line, each writer did the screen composition for their own stories. One goes "Keep this one, I'll use it", another goes "Keep this one, I'll use it", and little by little we end up with less thing to cut off, and even more things to add (awkward laughs).

Komatsuzaki: I obviously didn't predict this bloat. Face portraits are far from the only thing I got the amount of digits wrong in THL. I never want to be in a game this overblown again…

Kodaka: But thanks to Komatsuzaki drawing full-body sprites, we could do things we couldn't in previous titles. In Danganronpa, the characters had fixed on-field portraits and only changed expressions when zoomed in for conversation. In The Hundred Line, their sprites can be placed with expressions that fit the situation right from the get-go, making this game feel more living and breathing than its predecessors.

How did the designs for the students' weapons and battle suits came to be?

Komatsuzaki: The initial plan was to get the weapons designed by someone other than myself. I had to make The Hundred Line's concept art in a period where I was extremely busy with another game and didn't have much time to work on it. But, for reasons I cannot disclose, requesting the other person stopped being a viable possibility. In the end, I had to do everything myself. I chose the weapons for every student, but since that's very relevant for combat, I first asked Media Vision to give me a general idea of size and shape, then added the defining details based on that.

Kodaka: Amemiya's weapons are kitchen knifes that float midair for no reason. That's something better conveyed by showing a mock-up than by describing verbally.

Some of the weapons are very peculiar. Do they have a shared theme? If yes, what?

Komatsuzaki: The design idea was that they had to seem made of bone and blood, so many of the smaller details look fleshy.

Any favorite weapon?

Komatsuzaki: The most costly ones to produce are the ones that occupy my mind the most. Specifically, Yakushiji's bike, Kawana's AC, and Ginzaki's robot. The robot in particular was hell for Media Vision. I'm truly sorry about that. Most weapons match their mock-ups in size, but the robot was the only one I had to make bigger than they wanted.

Why?

Komatsuzaki: A robot needs to be big enough to comfortably fit Ginzaki inside the cockpit (awkward laughs). Also, thanks to me inventing the whole gimmick of the robot transforming into a shield, Media Vision had loads of extra work for the transformation sequence. I'm very grateful to them for producing a functional transformation sequence despite how the concept art I gave them illustrating what part moves where was so full of errors.

Kodaka: We sorta went crazy with the amount of animations on the robot, but thanks to Media Vision, it looks awesome.

Next, I'd like to ask about the battle suits. What was the design process like?

Komatsuzaki: Like with the weapons, I remember producing them on my spare time from other work. First I produce Sumino's to be the base for the other suits, and I wanted them their outfits to look unkempt by default. I actually wanted them to run around in mantles, but since those are time-consuming to model in 3D, that idea was cut from the game. The suits are made from blood, so having mantles or not doesn't really matter… That said, the battle models were made by Media Vision's modeller and I had to be insistent to get him to make them the way I drew. I feel so sorry for the sheer amount of constraints he had to work through.

Kirifuji's suit really stands out.

Komatsuzaki: That was a high-effort design. Kirifuji's suit had to be different from everyone else's, for lore reasons.

Kodaka: I was okay with hers being just a palette swap of the others, but Komatsuzaki went with a design that much better reflects her lore.

Komatsuzaki: It's a great design that I came to regret once I had to make multiple sprites for it. It's not the easiest design to draw (pained laughs).

What exactly was requested for the monster designs with the Invaders and their Commanders?

Kodaka: I told Drill to make the Invaders colorful and toy-like. The popness of the enemy designs contrasts against the overall seriousness of the story, making them more unsettling, in my opinion. It was also decided from the start that the enemies could take more vicious forms, so I believe starting colorful would add to the creepiness of the transformations.

Drill: This request from Kodaka was the basis of the Invader production, and I also took a page from Komatsuzaki's book, only finishing them individually after I had already figured out the balance of the whole group. I remember that, when lining up the full roster of Invaders, I focused on making their silhouettes resemble capsule toys.

Komatsuzaki: I remember you going out to check real figures.

Drill: I took a trip to Nakano Broadway to study soft vinyl kaiju figures.

They're so colorful that every battle had me wanting to eat them.

Kodaka: Did I ever say I wanted the Darumarrs to look like a mixed blob of jelly beans?

Drill: You did. Then I suggested that displaying them as flocks of 3 in one tile would highlight the mixed blob factor and give off the feeling of fighting against large numbers. The idea of placing multiple enemies in the same tile was inspired by Warhammer 4K, which I used to play a lot.

I can see that. Any other production secrets regarding the monsters?

Komatsuzaki: Their coloring was redone soooo many times.

Drill: Their original models were really well-made, but not as saturated as I wanted their colors to be. Changing the lighting wouldn't fix the saturation, so their coloring had to be adjusted by redrawing them. That's what gave them the vibrant candy colors you find so tasty.

Did Kodaka have specific requests for the Commanders design?

Kodaka: The fodder Invaders were colorful, so I asked for the Commanders to look monochrome and divine.

Drill: Those two were the only requests for the collective, but there were specific things he wanted for each individual Commander. For example, the prompt for the Squad 1 Commander was "I want him to look too strong to reasonably be the first boss".

Kodaka: I also told you to make him huge. The debate of "is making TRPG enemies big is a good thing?" is a can of worms I told Shimadrill to ignore and just make the first one you fight look big and strong (laughs).

He sure looked big and strong (laughs).

Drill: That's why I decided on the dragon theming for the Squad 1 Commander. I've seen some demo players reaction to sudden strong-looking boss appearing, so I'd say the design did exactly what Kodaka wanted it to.

The Commander also had a humanoid design. Who did this one?

Kodaka: Komatsuzaki.

Komatsuzaki: We initially wanted Shimadrill, the monster design expert, to do them, but he didn't have the time for it when he was simultaneously working on another game, so I did all of it on my own. The humanoid Commanders also had a major share of restrictions coming from lore and production cost reasons, but with enough attempts, I feel like I managed to make them reasonably distinct from one another, within the limitations. It's easy to tell from how they all have different masks.

Kodaka: When checking the pictures for approval, I thought the way the mask design resembled Skull Knight was so cool. We were almost behind the schedule at the time we assigned the humanoid designs to Komatsuzaki, and there are many of them, so I was expecting simpler designs. Him making their design with this much care and detail in so little time was a pleasant surprise.

Is it true that Shimadrill designed the school backgrounds?

Drill: Correct. I was in charge of the school's exterior and hallways, and drew them in great detail.

Kodaka: Komatsuzaki and I have something of a "When in need, ask Drill" mentality. He is often helping out with the most random situations. For example, we thought the design for the alarm speaker that rings when Invaders attack was lame. Worried that this wouldn't convey tension to the player, we called Drill to make a more striking speaker design.

Drill: If we're counting that, I also redesign the weird wooden boxes (awkward laughs). That request came quite close to the deadline, and it was something I wouldn't think needed adjustments, but Kodaka is a director particular about the details.

Komatsuzaki: There were so many things we got Drill to redesign because they looked too normal.

What was the hardest part of the background designs?

Kodaka: The first thing to come to mind is the school's exterior. It's always visible during combat, so I asked Drill to draw something memorable. He came up with multiple variations, including more hawkish school illustrations. The Last Defense Academy lore back then wasn't the same it is now, and one of the ideas of having a cannon like the one from Battleship Yamato frequently shooting at the field.

Drill: We actually took reference sheets from Battleship Yamato.

I'd expected you take reference sheets from real schools. Were you avoiding that on purpose?

Drill: We were. For some reason, I had to study exclusively warships, tanks, and spaceships to draw a school (laughs). The Last Defense Academy is important enough to the game to be part of the title, and as someone with the mission to support Kodaka and Uchikoshi at Too Kyo Games, I couldn't afford to put out something uncreative. My job is to figure out what would be fun, and create the showy designs Kodaka and Uchikoshi love so much. I always try my best to be ahead of the game when it comes to their expectations.

I was impressed by how each floor look so different from another. Is that essential to the Shimadrill style?

Drill: No, it's essential to the Kodaka style. He requested every floor to be different, so the hallways wouldn't feel samey to the player.

Kodaka: I got him to come up with multiple hallway variations and chose which of them to use and what color they'd have. There are a lot of objects placed on the hallways, and all of them reflect elements of the Tokyo Residential Complex's culture and history that won't get fully elaborated in-game. Drill came up with lore reasons for the presence of each object in the academy, so you can theorize on how their inclusion makes sense.

There's some really… unique furniture in the background. Special mention to the cooking machine being a Thousand-Armed Kannon statue.

Drill: The robot Kannon was my idea. Kodaka asked me to come up with an automatic cooking machine, so I sought inspiration in pre-90s sci-fi art and Expo videos.

Kodaka: AI could never come up with a Thousand-Armed Kannon cooking machine (laughs).

Never (laughs). Next, tell us about the event CGs.

Kodaka: There are over 600 CG illustrations in The Hundred Line. Most of them are drawn by third-party workers, but Drill and Komatsuzaki finalize the art. They have a base standard of quality, but we do go harder on the more plot-significant ones.

Komatsuzaki: That's right, about 2 months before the game was gold, we were still working on improving the important ones.

Drill: I remember that.

Kodaka: Wasn't there a few that Drill made from scratch because there were too many for the third-party workers to keep up with the production pace?

Drill: I was called "just for a little finishing touches" and when I looked at it, I had to do even the lineart… Normal projects demand a lot less work than that when the game is just two months away from going gold (pained laughs).

I see you were in hell for as long as it could keep you there…

Kodaka: Checking if no CG illustration was contradicting the story was so much work. The most common mistakes were having the students dressed normal in scenes they were supposed to have their battle suits, and randomly including students that would be absent at that point in time… This kind of verification is usually easy because it's done by the writer who knows everything about the story, but with the size of THL's story, the workload here had to be split between multiple people, plus my part was too big for me to remember all of it. In the end, I had to reread the entire story to see if any of the art had a mistake in it. That took forever.

Komatsuzaki: The Hundred Line is far from our only game conceived to be excessive in scope, but it is a league above the rest. We couldn't have completed it without help from a lot of people beyond just us of Too Kyo Games.

Kodaka: I'm the last person who should be saying this (awkward laughs), but this wasn't a project any normal person would consider realistic, and yet we completed it. I'm proud to say every detail is the way I wanted it to be, and that going into debt for it was the right call. In a choice between a life where I make The Hundred Line and a life where I don't, I'd pick the former without thinking twice. But if you asked me if I wanted to make a second The Hundred Line…

Komatsuzaki: No (pained laughs).

Kodaka: That's where I'm at right now, too. Do not say the word "sequel" in my presence (pained laughs).

(laughs) You heard Kodaka's feelings on it. If you're interested in knowing what kind of game could do this to him, please check out the demo.

Komatsuzaki: The demo currently available only shows the tip of the iceberg. The full game contains experiences you can't even imagine. Please play it for yourself, at least until you reach an ending.

Drill: I know I'm asking for too much, but if possible, I'd like you to play all endings instead of stopping at just one. I want as many people as possible taking a proper look at the CG illustrations I drew, if nothing else.

Kodaka: I feel that. In the writer team interview, I answered "You're free to stop playing whenever you're satisfied", but my honest opinion about it is "Play everything". 

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Links:

Writing team interview

Music team interview

Special guest interview

[jgroffdaily]

A few things we learned about Jonathan during the promotion of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’:

1. He’s in therapy. He told Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez during a Tonys Instagram takeover that he had therapy that morning, and was feeling “very processed”. Video below.

2. In the ‘Out’ Magazine interview Jonathan said he wants to buy the first bar where Barbra Streisand reportedly first sang publicly, which is now an occupied restaurant.

The actor wants to one day buy a Village restaurant called & Son Steakeasy, which used to be the site of the Lion, a gay bar where Streisand first sang publicly during a singing contest (according to a plaque there, at least). His goal is “turning it back into a gay bar and calling it BARbra.” A neon “BARbra” sign even hangs in his Merrily dressing room as a reminder of this dream.

3. In the same interview, he says he's happy to remain single or be in a relationship:

“I’ve been single now for a couple of years and I’m feeling…ready and open for anything. If that’s continuing with that, if that’s a relationship, I’m cool with that.”

4. At the Out Magazine Pride Cover Party he said:

“I’m single. I’m feeling full of pride. And PrEP.”

Bonus quote from the Buzzfeed puppies interview:

"I’m clearly the single one of the three of because the puppies know. I need love.”

5. In the New Yorker interview, he discussed moving to New York at 19:

The first month that I was here, feeling so lost and confused, I pulled the Bible that my Mennonite grandmother gave me off the bookshelf. She gave me that Bible before I left town. I was alone in the apartment thinking, What the fuck am I doing in New York? Or not even “what the fuck”—I didn’t swear until “Spring Awakening,” and when I would sing “Totally Fucked” I would get beet red. And I remember putting the Bible down and thinking, This is not the answer. This is not making me feel good. And then running to Central Park and standing in front of the Bethesda Fountain. I was nineteen, and I was, like, This feels better—but, like, What? Who am I? What am I doing here? I know I want to act, but I’m so scared. And gay. But it was something—some voice, some passion, some inspiration. Some something brought me here.

6. He's very competitive: asked how ambitious he was on a scale from 1 to 10 he says a 10 (to Broadwaycom at the Tonys junket).

7. He says he's “not really a dog person” in the Buzzfeed interview.

8. He talked more about his relationship with Gavin Creel in interviews with Out and Interview than he has previously, including this quote to Interview:

GROFF: I froze. I hadn’t even thought about coming out as a public person. She [interviewer] was like, “Oh my god, never mind. I’m so sorry.” And then she moved along. And I really remember this moment of looking over to the right and seeing Gavin. He had also just recently come out a year or two before, and seeing him with a bullhorn corralling the people, god, I was so in love with him. I was like, “Oh my god, I am coming out. I’m coming out. I’m coming out.” So I went back over to her and I was like, “Hi, please excuse my hesitation, I’m gay.” And that was how I came out publicly at the March on Washington for Marriage Equality.

9. His 30th birthday alone was a happy birthday (in the New Yorker):

I remember it vividly. We were at the Public Theatre. There was a fire in the East Village, and the show was cancelled that night. I got a cupcake at the deli around the corner from my apartment, on Sixteenth Street, and ate it by myself. I can be a bit of a loner, so that was a happy birthday for me.

10. He said in the Buzzfeed interview the best present he has received from a fan was a signature of King George III, and he hung it in his apartment.

[jbaileyfansite]

Interview with IndieWire (2024)

Like many a romantic lead before him, when Jonathan Bailey first appears as Prince Fiyero in “Wicked” it’s on a horse, ready to be a savior to some damsel. For story purposes, it’s a good thing that Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) isn’t immediately impressed. But right from his “Hello,” no one would have blamed Elphaba if she ran off with him right then and there.

“[Jonathan’s] the most charming man I’ve ever met,” “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu told IndieWire. “The fact [is] that everybody — we didn’t even intentionally do it — but all the extras, all the background people, all the students were in love with him, and you could see it in their eyes.”

Fans likely aren’t too surprised: The worldwide blockbuster may have introduced Bailey to an even larger audience, but he’s been building a strong relationship with viewers for a while. The Olivier winner has been acting since he was a kid, but it is in recent smash television projects like Netflix’s “Bridgerton” and his Emmy-nominated turn in Showtime’s “Fellow Travelers” in which he’s deployed a singular charm that lets people both connect with and lust after whomever he is playing; the kind of audience bond where viewers miss him when he isn’t onscreen.

He’s got chemistry with everyone, and his playful take on bad boy Fiyero — well, “bad boy” for Oz — makes it a hat trick. We had to know: What’s the secret to portraying onscreen yearning in a way that sizzles?

“It’s one of the pleasures of acting, isn’t it?,” Bailey said of his crackling-energy connection. “I remember when I was on stage, I was doing ‘King John’ for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and I was still going to school. It was a life-changing thing to be doing that at that age. But I just remember on stage [realizing], ‘You can use these words, and they have an effect on not just the people [in the scene], but the people in the room.’ And that was the moment I thought, ‘I actually really love this.'”

He continued, “I think ‘Wicked,’ because it’s based on a stage musical, the scenes are very lean. Fiyero doesn’t feature much at all. I’ve always thought this about musicals, but it’s even more evident in the film of ‘Wicked’: the silences in a musical are just as important as the big belts. And I think that is exactly where chemistry lies.”

He may be (duh) charmingly modest — “I do not feel like that in my day-to-day life at all!” — but showcasing that kind of seductive energy is a skill, one he navigates successfully in the film, particularly during his big number, “Dancing Through Life.” In addition to being plot-heavy for the greater arc of the story, the song also calls for him to basically temptthe whole student body via dancing into breaking the rules for a night of clubbing.

“I think musicals and dance numbers, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, John Travolta, Patrick Swayze, there’s always something crucial going on, and it’s always high stakes,” Bailey said, calling out the dancing in “West Side Story” as a lifelong favorite. “Usually the tradition is that men are using their bodies to try and process things in a way that they haven’t learned or haven’t been equipped to be able to do. And I thought that’s really interesting.”

Joking that he’s now “psychoanalyzing Fiyero,” what appealed about the role was that there is more to him than appears at first blush. “There’s a chaos and a speed to the way that Fiyero thinks that I think gives him access to be able to sort of maneuver instinctively through any sort of pain or any sort of real emotion,” he said. “And I think that’s what dancing through life is. … I think he feels dormant, and I think he sort of instinctively knows that there’s more to life, and that’s why he’s disruptive, and that’s why he creates this chaos that matches his inner world.”

“He brings a depth that is very truthful, but does not weigh it down,” Chu explained about Bailey’s take on the musical’s leading man. “[There’s that] yearning to find something more than the life that he’s living, and I think people can feel that.”

Some of the film’s many highlights soar when the main trio (Erivo, Bailey, and Ariana Grande as Galinda) key into a heightened theatrical energy — think Bailey walking through a wall of students or Grande’s over-the-top reactions to minor slights — which isn’t a surprise, given all three’s respective stage backgrounds.

As we get to talking, Bailey is eager to speak about his theater roots, of which he’ll return to in London in a few months to take on “Richard II.” Viewers may think of Netflix’s regency romance as his breakout, but Bailey puts it at something smaller: getting the stage part of Cassio in “Othello” (directed by Nicholas Hytner, who will also direct “Richard II”) 10 years ago.

“That, to me, is my career break,” he said. “It was that moment because I didn’t go to drama school. … The transition from acting as a child to an adult, everyone says, ‘Oh, it’s impossible. You can’t do that.’ And then people go, ‘Oh, the National Theater, you can really only perform in [that] space if you’ve gone to drama school, and you won’t be able to do Shakespeare.’ And so it’s so funny now that, obviously, there’s groundbreaking experiences of being a gay man and playing multiple parts in these sorts of films. But there’s so many other things that I was up against! So [when I got that part] I just remember being like, ‘Fucking hell, anything’s possible if that’s possible.’ That was huge for me.”

Fiyero has him thinking about his childhood a lot, and it’s with a full-circle appreciation that he now is able to analyze his career thus far.

“I was very lucky,” he said of growing up around the arts. “Going to see ‘Wicked’ with friends and family and my Nana the day after it came out here, it’s just really struck me that it is all about local community projects [and classes]. …There’s so many moments in your life where you can be inspired by art and passions can be awakened, but the biggest travesty is to allow them to remain dormant when you know they’re there. And so I’m always grateful for Fiyero and ‘Wicked’ because it really has brought my dancing back in [to my life], which is amazing.”

It’s a new experience to have a choice of projects, and along with more “Bridgerton” and “Wicked,” Bailey is now taking all kinds of big swings.

“The thing that I think actually is really important is having someone who’s got the singular idea, either a director or auteur who sees something in you that you haven’t yet discovered,” he explained. “I’ve worked 30 years, and the idea that these sorts of opportunities, being at a point now where you can be selective, it’s wild to me, but it’s just so thrilling.”

The coming year will find him tackling both Shakespeare and dinosaurs (he’ll lead “Jurassic World Rebirth” opposite Scarlett Johansson next summer). When asked about other career goals, he noted he’d love to film underwater at some point. It feels inevitable that’ll eventually happen, though one dream may remain unrealized.

Recalling seeing “Wicked” onstage years ago when it came to London, “I remember going, ‘I really want to play the monkey!,” he said. “But that may have just been because I’ve always been called a cheeky monkey.” See? Charming.

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