#willis is still in the picture

[kindlingkeen]

(2DadsAu) Does Willis move into the manor?? They have the rooms for it, and Jason being away from one father would suck, might even feel like he’s picking one over the other. But also Willis has his own life, and I’m sure Batman doesn’t need the added risk of a civilian that close to the cave.

(two dads AU: original ask, follow up, fu #2, fu #3, fu #4, fu #5)

Okay, so I was thinking that the au would at least start out with Willis in jail, because otherwise Jason would have been living with him?

BUT if Willis wasn’t in jail, and Jason gets taken away and somehow ends up with Bruce … that’s like a whole other ball of angst. *pets the air like an evil villain with a cat*

Regardless if he was in jail or not, I think Bruce would want to help Willis for Jason’s sake. But he would also be protective of Jason and not want to lose him … oh, the drama.

[galentir]

Alternative universe where Luke and Reggie share the best werewolf vampire solidarity 🤝

[supercantaloupe]

What is the antisemitism in TUC season 1? Does it have to do with Wally the golem?/gen

[ID: an ask from an anonymous tumblr user that reads "would love to hear more about the antisemitism in unsleeping city! was a while ago that i watched it and can't remember what you might be referencing but definitely want to be aware of it.]

no, it's not about willy the golem -- i actually think willy is a great addition to the season (even if i wish we got to see more of him), and an indication to me that brennan/the showrunners were definitely trying to be sincere and inclusive. i want to make it clear that i don't think anything antisemitic in tuc is there intentionally; i think it's there out of simple ignorance, which is also why i think fans don't frequently see/comment on it either. but i don't think that's an excuse, either.

my grief with tuc1 is largely centered around its portrayal of robert moses as the villain. especially by making him a greedy, power-hungry lich working en league with bloodsucking vampires. (also his mini is literally a green skinned skull man in a suit. yikes.) here's the thing; i know robert moses was a real life horrible person, who actually was racist and powerhungry etc etc. and i know that robert moses, the real actual person, was jewish. my grief with tuc1 is not that they chose to use robert moses over literally any other person (real or fictional) to be their season villain (though i'd be really curious to know what tuc1 would have looked like with a different villain), but that they chose to take a real jewish person, turn them into an antisemitic caricature, and then only barely add other portrayals of judaism to balance that out.

like, tuc isn't completely devoid of other jewish representation. as you mention, there's willy the golem -- and again, i really like willy, and i love that it's a portrayal of a golem that's faithful to jewish folklore (ie as a benevolent, guardian construct rather than a mindless destructive monster. i am not a fan of how 'golem' is so frequently misused as a generic enemy creature in other fantasy and ttrpg spaces, including other seasons of d20). but as i said earlier, i wish we see more of him in the season, because he's not around very much, and feels a little more like worldbuilding than a full character to me. also, he's not human. jews are people.

the only other human jewish character in tuc1 is...stephen sondheim. which, again, yeah, that's a real person who really was jewish. but i really wouldn't blame you if you had no idea of that when watching tuc1. maybe from the name you could guess he might be jewish, but i don't think people ought to make a habit of trying to 'clock' someone being jewish by having a 'jewish-sounding' surname. as he's portrayed in tuc1, you'd never know he's jewish, unless you happen to already be pretty knowledgeable about the man in real life. it's far more likely you'll know him as a theater legend than anything else (may his memory be a blessing).

now i'm not saying that brennan or the showrunners should have played up the jewishness of Real Person Stephen Sondheim to counterbalance the depiction of robert moses; that just feels weird to me, especially considering that sondheim was literally alive when tuc1 was filmed and released. it's a tricky thing to portray real people in fiction alongside made up characters, especially when they are contemporaries, and i don't think 'outright caricature' is the way to go about that. nor do i think that moses' jewishness should have been played up at all, because again i don't think that would have been particularly true to the person/character, and also Fucking Yikes. but, c'mon, if you hear the names 'moses' and 'sondheim' next to each other, which one do you associate more with judaism?

and as it stands, these are the only representations of judaism in tuc1. one admittedly nice but very minor nonhuman character; one human character you'd never be able to tell was jewish; and a third human character who, while never explicitly referenced as jewish, plays into some really hurtful antisemitic stereotyping. and it was a choice to not include anything else. maybe not a deliberate one, probably more likely one made out of simple ignorance than anything else, but a choice nonetheless. in a city with one of the largest and most visibly jewish populations in the country, and a culture that is inextricably influenced by that jewish population. a jewish population which has been and continues the target of rising hate crimes for years. i know that nyc means different things to different people, and everyone's nyc is their own -- but my nyc is jewish, and it sucks that that its jewishness is referenced directly in only one very minor way, which is greatly overshadowed by its, in my view, really insidious indirect references.

i don't know exactly how to go about addressing this. obviously, the show can't be changed by now. even if it could, i think the final product would be very significantly different from what it is now if the villain was something/someone else. i think including more references to jews in new york, more (human) jewish characters, hell, even mentioning hanukkah celebrations and menorahs in windows (it takes place in late december, after all; depending on the year it's not at all out of place for hanukkah to coincide with xmas!) would help. having literally any more positive jewish representation in tuc1 would, i think, help balance the bad stuff that's there. because, yeah, robert moses was real and he was terrible and he was jewish. but he's one jewish guy in a city with over a million jews, the vast majority of whom are just normal people. i don't want him to be the only vision of us that people get, in tuc1 alone or in any media. i'm not saying that jews can't or shouldn't be villains in fiction; but especially if you are a goyische creator, you should be really careful in how you're portraying us, and if there are other contrasting depictions in your work, too, in order to not (even accidentally) demonize jewish people as a whole.

[koyfishh]

Some uhh doodles and unfinished art he. he..

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Currently thinking about kid Jason trying to look like his dad (willis)

[lock-my-feelings-in-a-jar]

Written by Russ Ballard

[skhardwarevers1]

Walmart

Yall get the scraps too

[ratatatastic]

(Top photo of Niko Mikkola: Joe Puetz / Getty Images)

Now that Niko Mikkola is in the NHL, his older sister, Nina Linnainmaa, laughs hysterically when she remembers the story.

As it goes, 20 years ago, the now-24-year-old St. Louis Blues rookie was in daycare in Finland and was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.

“Ice hockey was always his thing, so he said that he will be an NHL player,” Linnainmaa recalls, bursting between words. “But he had a backup plan, and that was to be the driver for the trash car. You know, those cars that pick the trash from people’s houses? Garbage truck! That seemed like a compelling option. NHL player or drive the garbage truck.”

When Mikkola is told over the phone that Linnainmaa has shared that with a stranger, you can almost hear the 6-foot-4, 185-pound defenseman’s shoulders slumping.

He sighs and can only surmise that the big truck had him in awe.

“Yeah, probably that’s why,” he says, shifting the conversation back to hockey. “But I think it was NHL player. I always like all kind of sports, so probably that’s my career option.”

It has turned into a wise choice for Mikkola, who scored his first NHL goal in San Jose on Monday night. Just 21 games into his NHL career, the fifth-round pick from 2015 has many in awe of his veteran-like ability. In an era in which young defensemen are coming into the league looking like forwards and wanting to make their marks in the offensive zone, he seems to enjoy coverage responsibility and physicality.

“Yeah, he has a different element in today’s game,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong says. “He’s a defender, and there’s not a lot of defenders out there anymore.”

It’s as if he chose the more thankless of his two career aspirations.

To learn more about how that make-up evolved, The Athletic spoke to those who have known Mikkola since his garbage-truck-loving days, those who were there for his path through Finnish hockey, and those who identified him as a player who could make an impact at the NHL level.

A young Niko Mikkola skates at an outdoor rink in Finland. (Photo: Nina Linnainmaa.)

Sports were always part of life for Timo and Pirjo Mikkola’s two children: Nina, who is three years older, and Niko.

Timo played ice hockey and was a coach, so that was the family’s main sport in Kiiminki, a municipality that is now part of the larger city of Oulu. Both kids played, and Pirjo would volunteer at the rink.

Mikkola played for his dad from ages 4 to 10, and as he grew older, he was always on the ice.

“He would spend a lot of hours on ice hockey,” Kinnainmaa says. “Even after the official trainings, he always wanted to go to the public rink to skate with his friends.”

Blues defenseman Niko Mikkola rollerblades with his sister, Nina. (Photo: Nina Linnainmaa.)

And if it wasn’t hockey, it was some other competition: soccer, baseball, skiing or orienteering, which combines hiking and navigational skills.

“We used to compete a lot. And it didn’t matter where, we competed,” Linnainmaa says. “Our parents would sometimes play a trick on us and say, ‘Run around the yard, and we will take time.’ They didn’t take time. They were just telling us, ‘OK that was a bit faster than last time. Please try again.’ That was their way (to get rid of us).”

Asked who won those races, Mikkola doesn’t hesitate in responding. “Me.”

Linnainmaa jokes, however, that her younger brother has never won a fight between the siblings. She let that slip in an interview with a Finnish gossip newspaper a few years ago.

“That became like a headline, like shocking news: ‘Niko has not won against his sister on a fight,’” she says. “He was embarrassed.”

Mikkola didn’t find out what his sister had said until he read it in the article.

“I was laughing first, and then I call her,” he says. “I say, ‘Don’t say that again.’ She was laughing.”

So is it true?

“I don’t know,” Mikkola says.

“Yes,” Linnainmaa says. “I was three years older, and Niko moved away when he was 15, so …”

In 2012, Mikkola left Kiiminki to play for the U18 team of the Finnish Elite League’s KalPa, which is located in Kuopio, about 3 1/2 hours away from his home. He would be living on his own, which he admitted was “a little bit scary.” But his parents would visit and bring him food, and Linnainmaa wasn’t worried. Her brother had always been independent. When he was little, he would pack his own hockey bag, making sure he had his helmet, skates, etc.

“It’s not just something he learned,” she says. “It’s something he’s always been.”

Mikkola played just 12 games in his first season for KalPa but suited up in 46 his second year and finished with four goals and 17 points.

“It was kind of like a fresh start,” he says. “I did get more ice time on that team, so I feel like that was good for me for sure.”

Meanwhile, the defenseman was sprouting. His dad is 6-foot-1 and both his mom and sister are 5-9, but Mikkola was well on his way to towering over all. In 2014, the year before he would be eligible for the NHL Draft the first time, he grew three inches.

“Niko was in Kuopio, and I was busy with my university studies, so living in different cities, I didn’t see him often,” Linnainmaa says. “It was like an instant that he became so tall.”

But despite his game developing and his frame extending, Mikkola, not unsurprisingly, went undrafted.

Timo Koskela, a former Blues area scout in Finland, was in his first year with the team when he spotted Mikkola.

“He caught our eye the year he went through the draft, but in the second year, his game really improved,” Koskela says. “But he was a late bloomer, a little bit, over here. He was a lanky kid, but every time when I saw him, the two things that caught my eye: He really wanted to make a difference and his ability to skate as a big man.”

In Mikkola’s third season with KalPa, 2014-15, he had nine goals and 23 points in 37 games on the U20 team and also made his first appearance in the Finnish Elite League. But still, when Central Scouting released its mid-term rankings of European skaters in January, he was not among the 210 on the list, and when the final rankings came out in early April, he was No. 111.

The Blues thought at the time they might be able to get Mikkola in the sixth or seventh round of the 2015 draft. But that changed when Koskela watched him at an international tournament in April, two months before the draft.

“He played really well at the end of the season, and I was nervous because there was a lot of scouts (at the tournament),” Koskela says. “I kind of thought that he wasn’t (a secret) anymore.”

Two years earlier, the Blues had made a trade with New Jersey, sending forward Matt D’Agostini to the Devils for a conditional 2015 seventh-round pick. The condition was if D’Agostini was not re-signed by New Jersey, the selection would become a fifth-rounder.

D’Agostini was not re-signed, therefore the Blues got pick No. 127 from the Devils.

“I remember we were discussing closely, like, ‘What would be the right time to take him?’” Koskela says. “We had a pick early in the fifth round, and we thought that’s the place where we can get this guy.”

Then Koskela had an idea. A day or two before flying to the U.S. for the draft, which was held in Sunrise, Fla., that year, he would drive to Kuopio to meet Mikkola in person.

“I wanted to get an idea of how many teams interviewed him,” Koskela says. “I waited a long time to be the last one who could interview him before the draft, so that’s why I drove and tried to get all the possible information. But you know, Niko was smart. He said he had some interviews.”

Mikkola says he wasn’t fibbing when he told Koskela that he had spoken with 10 to 15 NHL clubs.

Either way, the Blues knew if they wanted him, they had to grab him sooner than later.

“He was late on to our list,” says Bill Armstrong, the club’s ex-director of amateur scouting, who drafted Mikkola. “Timo kept talking about the kid, and then he played well in the late tournament. We went to go see him at the end of the year, and everybody just came away excited about him. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the area scout for really going to town on him and getting him on the board.”

That year, the Blues took Vince Dunn in the second round, followed by forwards Adam Musil and Glenn Gawdin in the fourth.

“As the head scout, at that point, you’re looking for something of a quality,” Bill Armstrong says. “I’ll give you an example: So, OK, a guy has 110 points in junior, but he has no size and he’s just playing with somebody good, so his game is not going to translate. … He might be a great junior player, a great college player, a great European player, but you want to see NHL qualities so you can sink your teeth in and say, ‘This is why we’re taking this guy.’ With Mikkola, we could sink our teeth into the quality of his size, his compete and his ability on the defensive side of the puck.”

So after Carolina made its pick at No. 126, the Blues took him. Mikkola actually thought the fifth round is about where he’d go, and because typically only players who are projected to go in the first few rounds attend the draft, he was not in Florida.

“No, no, no. He was in the sauna somewhere in Finland,” Bill Armstrong says.

Actually, with Rounds 2-7 taking place in the afternoon, Mikkola was out for dinner with some friends when his agent called to tell him the news.

“I think I was like one step closer,” he says.

Before he became the Blues’ GM, Doug Armstrong worked in Dallas under Bob Gainey, and one of the many lessons he learned from the Hall of Famer applied in the decision to keep Mikkola playing in Finland after he was drafted.

“The feeling was: Until you can play in the World Championships, there’s enough you can develop over there,” Armstrong says. “A lot of organizations see it totally different. They want to get them over to North America as quickly as possible. I personally have no problem leaving a European there until (age) 22-23 and let them just develop in a very comfortable environment.”

Mikkola agreed with the decision.

“I wasn’t ready for the NHL back then, but I was growing up as a player,” he says. “There’s no rush to get there if you’re not ready. So I stayed for a couple of years. I think that was good for me, growing up as a player. … I found more of my game, like my style.”

Growing up, Mikkola had watched skilled Finnish defensemen Teppo Numminen and Kimmo Timonen, along with the likes of Janne Niinimaa and Joni Pitkanen. But he modeled his game more as a sturdy blueliner who liked to defend.

“He has a big frame, and since I’ve known him and played against him, he’s always been willing to go in and battle and lay the body on people,” says Jani Hakanpaa, a Ducks defenseman who played with and against Mikkola in Finland and trains with him in the offseason. “He knows how good he is, and that’s one thing that keeps him going. He always wants to challenge himself and be in your grill out there. He always wants to win and be the best guy out there.”

Koskela remembers a story that demonstrates Mikkola’s competitiveness. It was Mikkola’s second full season playing in the Elite League, and he was eyeing a more prominent role on the team.

“The coach (Pekka Virta) told me that he interviewed Niko and he asked, ‘What’s your goal for the upcoming season?’ and Niko told him, ‘To play in the top six,’” Koskela says. “They had a really good D that year, and the coach told him, ‘OK, this is the list. Who is the guy that you are going to push out from the lineup?’ Niko’s answer was, ‘That’s your problem, but I’m going to be one of those six who’s going to play.’ And he did it.”

“Just be confident and trust myself,” Mikkola says. “I knew I’m going to take that spot on the team. Yeah, I took that top-six spot.”

Niko Mikkola participates in a Blues’ camp in 2017. (Photo: Scott Rovak / St. Louis Blues.)

The Blues would get glimpses of Mikkola’s ability when he visited St. Louis for development camps, rookie tournaments and one training camp.

“The first thing you notice is his size,” Doug Armstrong says. “He’s got great reach, good size. And then you watch him play, and he’s competitive. He was raw at that time, but he is a very competitive person. You either have that or you don’t have that, and he had that right from the get-go.”

For the first time, Mikkola was measuring himself against future NHL players.

“I felt pretty good at that time,” he says. “I just knew that it was my goal to get here someday.”

After one final season in Finland, Mikkola came to North America in 2018-19, making the transition to a new country, new language and smaller rink in San Antonio, Texas, where the Blues’ AHL affiliate played at the time.

Everything translated.

In 70 games, Mikkola had just two goals and nine points, but his defensive play was impressive.

“You don’t have that much time on the puck, so that was the thing maybe took a little time, to move the puck quicker than back in Finland,” he says. “The Blues said that, and I felt that myself. But it was getting better.”

Doug Armstrong remembers the minor-league reports on Mikkola.

“It just re-enforced what you saw his first time: that high level of competitiveness — sort of a North American stature to his game,” he says. “He was willing to play on the edge. He fought. He did the things that aren’t common in European hockey. Then the rougher edges started to get smoothed out. His passing became accurate, quicker, harder. His reading the first play was becoming natural to him and just keeping the game in front of him.”

The World Championship was in Slovakia the next season, and when Jere Lehtinen, a former NHL player who is Finland’s national team GM, reached out to Armstrong. The two were in Dallas together.

“Jere said, ‘We don’t really have him on our radar screen,’ and I just said, ‘Well, he’s played really good in the American League this year,’” Armstrong recalls. “So they brought him in, but he had to go there not knowing if he was going to make the team.”

Jukka Jalonen, the coach of the national team that year, already knew Mikkola, having coached him in 2015 at a U20 international tournament.

“He made an impression for me, but back then, he didn’t have great puck skills,” Jalonen says. “He wasn’t that major, to be honest with you, because he was a younger guy. (But) we hadn’t seen him so much lately because he had played for AHL team. I thought we will need size on our roster in the World Championships. (Lehtinen) was also very positive watching him play on TV from videos.

“When he came in, right away we noticed that he will make the team.”

The configuration of the World Championship lineup is a little bit different because teams play as many as 10 games in 17 days, so they dress eight defensemen. Mikkola was in the second pair, logging about 14 to 16 minutes per game, which included time on the penalty kill.

In that tournament, which features many NHL players whose clubs aren’t in the playoffs, Finland ran into some serious offensive talent. Sweden, whom the Finns edged 5-4 in overtime in the quarterfinals, had Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson and Toronto’s William Nylander.

“I remember that first faceoff in overtime,” Mikkola says. “It was like Nylander, Pettersson and like (Oliver) Ekman-Larsson. Yeah, I was like, ‘Oh fuck. I have to skate hard.’ But it went pretty well.”

Finland advanced to play Russia, which had Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov and Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin, in the semifinals, and blanked them, 1-0.

“Just looking back at the last minutes of the game, (Mikkola) did a good job of handling them,” says Hakanpaa, who was also on the team. “He doesn’t care who’s coming at him, if it’s Ovechkin or Malkin.”

Niko Mikkola defends fellow NHL rookie Kirill Kaprizov at the World Championship in 2019. (Photo: Robert Hradil / Getty Images.)

Finland won the gold-medal game 3-1 over Canada, which was led by Vegas’ Mark Stone and Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier.

Mikkola finished the tournament with two goals and five points in 10 games and was a plus-3.

“He did exactly what we wanted or imagined,” Jalonen says. “He didn’t play the power play, but still he had five points, which was very good. … I remember him defending against very good NHL players. He’s a little bit like a horse. He’s in very good physical condition, and he battled all night long.”

“I played pretty good,” Mikkola says. “It was kind of a breakout, for sure.”

Back in San Antonio in December 2019, Mikkola was anticipating a visit from Linnainmaa and her boyfriend (now husband), spending a few days together for Christmas. But with the couple’s flight laying over in Chicago, Mikkola was called up by the Blues. So they rented a car and made the five-hour drive to St. Louis.

“We wanted to make sure that when we were in the United States, we will get to see Niko at whatever costs,” Linnainmaa says.

Unfortunately, Mikkola didn’t play that night, but he did skate in the warmups.

“We made these really big placards, saying, ‘Niko’ and ‘Mikkola,’” Linnainmaa says. “There were like three times that the security personnel were stopping us saying, ‘Why do you have those kind of fan posters?’ They were OK because they were only ‘Niko Mikkola.’ So we went to really near the ice hockey rink, hanging our cards there. I think that I got noticed by the team.”

Nina Linnainmaa and her boyfriend show support for Linnainmaa’s younger brother, Blues defenseman Niko Mikkola. (Photo: Nina Linnainmaa)

Mikkola, who beforehand begged them not to embarrass him, doesn’t believe any players saw it.

“But our equipment guy noticed and asked me if I had family here,” he says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, my sister and her boyfriend.”

Shortly after, Mikkola was re-assigned to San Antonio, and they got their holiday time.

His sister had returned to Finland by the time he was recalled again and made his NHL debut against the Sharks on Jan. 6, 2020.

“The first game, we had to watch. That was huge!” Linnainmaa says. “Niko texted us that he will play on that night. So, yeah, we spent 30 Euros ($35) to get to see the game. I think he was excited, but sometimes it’s hard to tell because he doesn’t like scream or anything. He just says, ‘OK, I will play tonight in my first NHL game.’ You know he’s excited, but he’s really casual.”

“I know it’s a big deal, and those are big moments,” Mikkola says. “For sure I was a little bit nervous, but that was a very exciting day.”

He remained on the Blues’ roster for five games, averaging 14:22 of ice time. He was impressive enough that two weeks later the team signed him to a two-year, $1.6 million contract. It’s a one-way deal, meaning he’ll be paid an NHL salary even if he’s assigned to the minors.

“I give him credit. We’ve obviously given him a one-way contract because we think he can play in the league,” Doug Armstrong says. “When he’s in there, he’s proven he can play in the league. It’s just a matter of a consistent opportunity.”

In 16 games this season, Mikkola is averaging 13:17 of ice time, and that elusive first goal came Monday.

“He’s done a great job of kind of doing what’s been asked of him,” Blues defenseman Justin Faulk says. “He’s open to everything. He listens. He works hard. And as a young guy, if you continue to do that, it generally makes your job a bit easier. You start to settle in and get more comfortable. He hasn’t played a ton of games, but he’s going to have an opportunity here to kind of cement his spot in the lineup and show what he can do. We all think he’s capable of kind of taking the reins and stepping up.”

In addition to now being a regular in the NHL, Jalonen says, “I’m sure he’ll be fighting for a spot on the national team for the (2021) Olympics. He has a chance to be involved, for sure.”

Linnainmaa can’t fathom the opportunities her brother is creating for himself.

“It’s hard to believe because there are so many people that dream of it,” she says. “But on the other hand, he has always been really hardworking and diligent and responsible person. So, in a way, he had the qualities to make it.”

“Niko has done the work,” Koskela says. “I was the first guy who saw him play, but keep the credit for Niko.”

Don’t talk about credit with Mikkola, though.

“I don’t think about it like ‘I made it,’” he says. “I’m still on the way, and there’s still things I want to do to be better.”

And whenever his hockey career ends, there will always be an opportunity to drive the garbage truck.

“Yeah, usually you don’t play ice hockey when you’re 60, so you still have some good years after the career,” Linnainmaa says.

“He can do that when he’s retired from the first part,” Doug Armstrong adds.

“That’s true,” Mikkola says.

-

The Athletic | 3.10.21 (x)

[innytoes]

21 for the A/B/O thing with Caleb/Willie/Alex ;D (dealer's choice on who the new guy is)

People were often surprised when they learned Caleb was a Beta. Not that it was a secret, or anything. But people just looked at this tall, muscly, sparkly showman, with his big gestures and his stage presence and his, for lack of a better term, Big Knot Energy, and assumed. Not that Willie blamed them. He’d thought Caleb was an Alpha too, when they first met.

That hadn’t stopped him from basically flirting his socks off when they met at that gay bar, though. He didn’t care about people’s secondary gender. Caleb, on the other hand, had taken one look at his long hair, his sluttiest mesh crop top, and the liberal amount of glitter highlight on his cheekbones, and gently rebuffed him after buying him a drink. He’d told Willie wasn’t an Alpha, and while Willie was lovely, he wasn’t looking for an Omega.

They’d surprised each other a lot, in the beginning. It had been fun, exhilarating, finding all the ways they didn’t fit into the little boxes society had, all the ways they checked the boxes of exactly what the other was into. Caleb was delighted to learn that Willie both topped, and bottomed, and that he had no problem with a Beta telling him what to do. Willie loved that Caleb didn’t expect him to take control, that he was willing to take care of him and let Willie be soft when he needed it.

Of course, there were also parts where they just didn’t get each other. Caleb didn’t understand what was so great about ‘hurtling down a hill on a plank with four wheels with only a helmet for protection’ and Willie would rather stab his eye with a fork than go to one more cocktail party where there wasn’t even dancing.

And then of course, there were Willie’s ruts.

Listen, Caleb was great about them. He also didn’t mind bottoming with the right amount of prep, but keeping up with Willie for five days straight without, pardon the language, a self-lubricating asshole, well, it was a lot. He got Willie the best toys, even kept them between his thighs to Willie could trick his stupid brain into still giving the same rush of endorphins.

He let Willie cuddle him for as long as he needed, let Willie boss him around when he was out of his mind with hormones. Okay, so the bossing was mostly him insisting Caleb needed to drink something to keep his strength up, and to let Willie wrap him in a blanket so he didn’t get cold. And he knew Caleb found it endearing, he’d said as much, but it wasn’t exactly the same as an Omega in heat would respond.

Also, Caleb was a very busy man, so taking five days out of his schedule every three months was getting stressful. But they didn’t want to break up. They liked what they had together.

Caleb had been the one to suggest adding a third. It wasn’t uncommon, especially not with couples who were missing one part of the secondary gender triangle. But Willie didn’t exactly fit into the standard role of an Alpha, and Caleb wasn’t exactly a stereotypical Beta. Trying to find an Omega that would fit in with them would be quite a feat.

“What, are we just going to pop into Omegas’R’US and pick one out?” he asked, jokingly. Only when Caleb didn’t respond right away, he popped up from where he was sprawled on the man’s chest. “Please tell me there’s not some kind of creepy rich people place where you can just get an Omega.”

Caleb huffed a laugh. “I mean, there’s matchmaking services,” he said. “Or online dating. Or we could go back to the club where we met and see if anyone catches our eye.”

Willie and Caleb being Willie and Caleb, of course, decided to do all three at once. Because why not. They made a dating profile together, and while it did lead to some pretty steamy sexting, nothing ever came of it. The bar scene was okay, but again, besides a few make-out sessions in the booths, and even some disappointed faces when they realised who the Alpha and who the Omega was, nothing changed.

Hell, they even let Dante and Fuego set them up on some blind dates, but that just proved to be absolutely disastrous. They did not talk about what happened at karaoke night. (They also did not talk to Dante and Fuego until the insurance had paid back what happened to Caleb’s car.)

In the end, the stupidest rich-people option was the one that was successful. Kind of. Because nothing they did could ever just be normal.

When they matched with Reggie, things had been great. He was cute and sweet and he liked both music and the idea of careening down a hill on a plank with four wheels. Willie liked the way Caleb could make him blush, and Caleb liked the way Willie and Reggie could talk for hours. His heats seemed to fit well with Willie’s ruts, in terms of intensity.

Except before they got to either of those events, it became pretty clear that while they really liked each other, they were better off as friends. Reggie also admitted he felt kind of weird about being scouted by the matchmaker to begin with, but that he’d been too flattered to say no, especially not when the scout showed him Caleb and Willie’s picture.  

“I mean, I hope we can still be friends,” he said, after a very awkward conversation.

“Of course, dude,” Willie said. “Who else is going to laugh at my meme references?” Not Caleb, that was for sure.

“We still have a dinner reservation for three on Friday,” Caleb reminded him. “I do hope you can make it.”

Reggie’s face did something complicated, and for a moment, Willie feared that the whole ‘let’s be friends’ thing was Reggie trying to let them off easy. “Actually, and hear me out because I know your last blind date went terribly…” And yeah, a few months and a new car removed from it, it had just been a funny story, one that Caleb told extremely well (Willie miming out things dramatically next to him until Reggie was howling with laughter). “I have this friend named Alex. He’s an Omega, and I just… I think he’d be perfect for you. And I don’t say that lightly.”

Yeah, Reggie had talked about Alex a lot. And Luke. They hadn’t met yet, they’d agreed to hold off on meeting each other’s social circles until they’d spent a heat or rut together, to see if they really were compatible.

It took some convincing, but in the end, Willie and Caleb agreed to meet Alex, and Alex agreed to meet them.

And they just… clicked. The way Willie had clicked with Caleb. Alex was an Omega, yeah, and he liked soft pinks and dance. But he was also very sarcastic, with a sharp tongue that delighted Caleb but had probably been a turn-off for more traditional-minded people. He was down for all of Willie’s chaotic schemes, but also not afraid to reign him, or give his own opinion.

In short, Reggie was right. Alex was perfect for them. They just weren’t sure if Alex thought the same about them. Until Willie’s rut started looming on the calendar. Alex was also acting a little shifty on their date, which had just been lunch and a walk on the beach. Willie was silently rehearsing ‘okay, no hard feelings’ in his mind, willing himself not to cry. Another fun and not-stereotypical reaction to his rut.

When Alex untangles his hands from both of them, Willie grabs Caleb’s instead, squeezing hard. Maybe Caleb can do the talking. He knows how Willie gets right before his ruts.

“So um, my heat is coming up,” Alex said, shoving his hands deep in the pocket of his hoodie for comfort. “And- and I was wondering, I mean, I really like both of you, and I thought- if you’d be willing…”

“We’d love to help you with your heat,” Caleb interrupted, putting Alex out of his misery. He looked relieved and thankful, before looking at Willie, who could only nod. “When is it?”

“Next week.”

Caleb shot him a look, and Willie grinned. Proof that Alex really was perfect for them. “Same,” he said, holding his free hand out for Alex to take. “Guess we can help each other out, huh?” He waggled his eyebrows at Alex, who blushed and laughed, taking his hand. There was still a lot to discuss, but Willie had a really good feeling about this.

[ethernetmeep]

authorities say franz kafka got quote, “lost in the sauce”

[zackcollins]

King of the World || CGY vs TOR || 12/10/22 || 📸: Michael Chisholm ©

[jitteryjive]

i just watched the steamboat silly short they made in 2023 and that is definitely one of my new favorites. the tap dancing was actually really good animation (comparable to older tap scenes like my favorite in thru the mirror) and the concept is just funny in general (also i liked the easter egg where three musketeers mickey and prince and pauper mickey met)

[batboyblog]

Copy Right and Public Domain in 2024

Happy 2024 all! its also Public Domain Day! a magical holiday here in America where things enter the public domain. Works published in the year 1928 (or 95 years ago!) have entered the public domain, which means they belong to us, all of us, the public!

Mickey's Back!

Yes! I'm sure you've heard, but Mickey Mouse (and Minnie Mouse too) is entering the Public Domain today. This has been news for a few years and indeed Disney's lobbying in the late 1990s is why our copy right term is SO long. So what exactly is now public domain?

Most people know about Mickey's first appearance Steamboat Willie, but a second short film, Plane Crazy was also released in 1928 so will also be public domain. So what's public? well these two films first of all, you're allowed to play them, upload them to YouTube or whatever without paying Disney. In theory you'll be allowed to cut and sample them, have them playing in the background of your movie etc. Likewise in theory the image of Mickey and Minnie as they appear (thats important) in these films will be free to use as well as Mickey's character as he appears in these works will be free to use. Now Mickey's later and more famous appearance

will still be protected. Famously the Conan Doyle Estate claimed that Sherlock Holmes couldn't be nice, smile, or not hate women in works because they still held the copyright on the short stories where he first did those things even though 90% of Sherlock Holmes stories were public domain. It's very likely Disney will assert similar claims over Mickey, claiming much of his personality first appeared in works still copyrighted.

Finally there's copyright vs trademark. Copyright is total ownership of a piece of media and all the ideas that appear in it, copyright has a limited set term and expires. Trademark is more limited and only applies to things used to market and sell a product. You can have a Coke branded vending machine in your movie if you want, but it couldn't appear anywhere in the trailer for your movie as thats you marketing your movie.

Where trademark ends and copyright begins and how trademarked something in the public domain is allowed to be are all unsettled areas of law and clearly Disney in the last few years as been aggressively pushing its trademark not just to Mickey in general but Steamboat Willie Mickey in particular

Ultimately the legal rights and wrongs of this might not matter so much since few people have the money and legal resources of the Walt Disney corporation so they might manage to maintain a de facto copyright on Mickey through legal intimidation, but maybe not?

And Tigger Too!

All the talk about Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie has sadly overshadowed other MAJOR things entering the public domain today. Most people are aware Winnie the Pooh entered the public domain in 2022, but they might not realize his beloved friend Tigger didn't. Thats because Tigger didn't appear till A. A. Milne's second (and last) book of Pooh short stories, The House at Pooh Corner in 1928.

Much like Mickey Mouse only what appears in The House at Pooh Corner is public domain so the orange bouncy boy from the 1960s Disney cartoon is still on lock down. But the A. A. Milne original as illustrated by E. H. Shepard is free for you to use in fiction or art. His friend Winnie the Pooh has made a number of appearances since being freed, most notably in a horror movie, but also a Mint Mobile commercial so maybe Tigger too will have a lot of luck in the public domain.

Other works:

Peter Pan; or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up

Peter Pan is a strange case, even though the play was first mounted in 1904, and the novelization (Peter and Wendy) was published in 1911, The script for the play was not published till 1928 (confusing!) meaning while the novel as been public domain for years the play (which came first) hasn't been, but now it is and people are welcome to mount productions of it.

Millions of Cats

The oldest picture book still in print, did you own a copy growing up? (I did)

Lady Chatterley's Lover

The iconic porn novel that was at the center of a number of groundbreaking obscenity cases in the 1960s and helped establish your right to free speech.

All Quiet on the Western Front and The Threepenny Opera in their original German (but you can translate them if you want), The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie, and Orlando by Virginia Woolf will also be joining us in the public domain along with any and all plays, novels, and books published in 1928

for Films we have The Man Who Laughs who's iconic image inspired the Joker

Charlie Chaplin's The Circus, Buster Keaton's The Cameraman, Should Married Men Go Home? the first Laurel and Hardy movie, Lights of New York the first "all talking" movie, The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Wind, as well as The Last Command and Street Angel the first films to win Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively will all be entering public domain

For Musical Compositions (more on that in a moment) we've got

Mack the Knife by Bertolt Brecht, Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love) by Cole Porter, Sonny Boy by George Gard DeSylva, Lew Brown & Ray Henderson, Empty Bed Blues by J. C. Johnson, and Makin’ Whoopee! by Gus Khan are some of the notables but any piece of music published in 1928 is covered

Any art work published in 1928, which might include works by Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keeffe, Alexej von Jawlensky, Edward Hopper, and André Kertész will enter the public domain, we are sure those that M. C. Escher's Tower of Babel will be in the public domain

Swan Song, Public Domain and recorded music

While most things are covered by the Copyright Act of 1976 as amended by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, none of the copyright acts covered recordings you see when American copyright law was first written recordings did not exist and so through its many amendings no one fixed this problem, movies were treated like plays and artwork, but recorded sound wasn't covered by any federal law. So all sound recordings from before 1972 were governed by a confusing mess of state level laws making it basically impossible to say what was public and what was under copyright. In 2017 Congress managed to do something right and passed the Music Modernization Act. Under the act all recordings from 1922 and before would enter the public domain in 2022. After taking a break for 2023, all sound recordings made in 1923 have entered the public domain today on January 1st 2024, these include.

Charleston by James P. Johnson

Yes! We Have No Bananas (recorded by a lot artists that year)

Who’s Sorry Now by Lewis James

Down Hearted Blues by Bessie Smith

Lawdy, Lawdy Blues by Ida Cox

Southern Blues and Moonshine Blues by Ma Rainey

That American Boy of Mine and Parade of the Wooden Soldiers by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra

Dipper Mouth Blues and Froggie More by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, featuring Louis Armstrong

Bambalina by Ray Miller Orchestra

Swingin’ Down the Lane by Isham Jones Orchestra

Enjoy your public domain works!

[whoskimii]

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ small thought

just a sloppy lil' thing to feed my children

˖˚₊ warnings ⋆. 𐙚 ˚ fluff-ish smut (?) ahead, p in v, implied unprotected sex (don't be silly, wrap your willy :3), overall soft toji for a change.

we all picture toji liking messy, dirty sex, right ?

sure, he loves a good session of nice, hard sex. he loves having your legs over his shoulders because the position allows him to slide in deeper and hit that sweet spot of yours.

loves it when you whimper his name over and over again. he never gets tired of the way you let out a small gasp right when you're about to cum.

could listen to it all day, really.

but can we please picture a soft, loving toji ?

maybe that thought isn't the most familiar but i think that this hunk of a man would like to settle down at some point. he's not as young as he used to be, he's aware of that. hasn't got the same endless stamina anymore.

without sleepy sex very early in the morning, toji would be nothing. not even worth a cent (literally :3)

he loves the way you don't share a word and yet, you're still able to communicate with each other. just with mere lingering kisses and needy caresses.

lives for the way your knees press into his sides when he gently enters your soft cunnie :( he hugs you, letting his lips glide along your skin as he slowly thrusts up your little hole. whispers soft praises into your ear because poor man knows his cock isn't the easiest to take.

he would hate it if his baby felt pain. that's why he's gentle.

besides, he knows his darling gets overwhelmed easily.

the calloused pads of his fingers play with your twitchy clit. the way you clench around him has his cock pulsating inside you.

he loved messy sex when he was younger. but now, it's time to settle down.

[min-imum]

part 1

nsfw, mdni

content warnings: this is part 2!!! part 1 linked above, gn!reader, lingerie, mingyu has a big dick (everyone act surprised), light bondage…?, unprotected sex (sounds nice in theory but it’s not in practice. wrap your willy don’t be silly), a little bit of crying!, ummmmm

mingyu hurries out of the building at 5.59pm. he pretends he doesn’t hear seungcheol hyung screaming for him from the second floor and books it — his goal is to get home as fast as he can.

it’s just one minute, seungcheol hyung won’t be that mad about it… hopefully.

when mingyu bursts through the door, hair disheveled, bag thrown haphazardly over one shoulder, clutching his phone in a death grip, you’re lazing around on the couch.

In That Damn Lingerie.

well, not just the lingerie — you’re also wearing a sheer little robe over it, and if anything, it just makes mingyu even harder in his pants.

you bounce up to him to greet him with a smile, but before you can even offer to take his bag off him, he drops it onto the floor and grabs you by the hips to pull you into a bruising kiss.

“shit, baby,” he moans. “it was torture waiting for work to be over. you’re such a minx.”

you giggle, letting him run his hands over your body with a crazed look in his eye. “just wanted to give you a little present while you were at work.”

he doesn’t know what to touch, his hands roaming everywhere across your body. he starts from your hips, then moves down to grope your ass, then slides them back up to run his palms over your chest. you whimper and arch into his touch.

“gyu,” you moan. he hums, kissing along the length of your neck from your ear to your collarbones. you grab his biceps for support as he sucks harder and leaves marks to replace the fading ones from a few days ago.

“dolled up all for me?” he asks in a low voice. you both know the answer, but he wants to hear you say it.

“yes,” you gasp. “all for you, gyu.”

he lifts you up easily and carries you to the bedroom, laying you down on soft sheets and kissing you again. his lips are reddened and bruised from the kissing and you have no doubt you look the same.

when he finally finds it in him to peel away from you, he leans back and tugs his shirt over his head. his body never fails to make you squirm — the defined lines between his pecs and outlining every one of his abs are testament to the strength contained in his body.

he peels off his pants next, and the length straining against his boxers makes you drool. this is what you’ve been craving all day.

“gyu,” you whine. “touch me.”

he kisses you again as he helps you out of your robe. as much as he loves it, it’s getting in the way. his eyes roam your body, now clad in just the red lingerie from earlier, appreciatively. the pictures are nothing compared to the real thing.

“you don’t know what you do to me,” he grunts. “the pictures earlier, and now this…”

you’re absolutely gorgeous. the red compliments your skin tone and matches the flush on your cheeks. seeing you wear his favourite colour makes the blood rush down to his dick embarrassingly quickly. he groans as his cock, still confined in his underwear, brushes against the bed.

however, he’s been staring for a little too long, and you’re getting impatient. you spread your legs and pull your bottoms to the side.

“i prepared myself already,” you tell him. “fuck me, please, gyu. i need it. i’ve been waiting for you all day.”

you’re going to kill him.

“okay, baby. fuck.” he exhales harshly as he finally removes his boxers. his cock springs up, engorged and painfully hard, and he hisses as he strokes it once, twice, with a lubed hand.

he slaps the tip of his cock against your hole, teasing, making you whine — a bit of payback for the suffering he had to endure after you sent him your present.

“gyu, stop teasing,” you beg. “just put it—”

he grabs both your wrists and presses them to the mattress above your head, then slides his cock into you in one smooth stroke. your mouth snaps open in a silent scream.

no matter how many times you’ve taken his cock, he’ll always stretch you good.

“keep your hands here, baby,” he instructs.

you nod obediently, and he releases your wrists to hoist your legs over his shoulders instead, and then he fucks you like he means it.

every thrust stretches you out deliciously, making you moan in stuttered little ah-ah-ahs as he fucks you relentlessly. tears slip out of your eyes in pleasure, but you keep your arms above your head like he instructed, fingers twisting harshly in the sheets.

above you, mingyu groans in pleasure at the tight heat around his cock. “shit, baby,” he pants. “you feel so good.”

your eyes roll back in lieu of a reply as his cock hammers at your spot. you babble incoherently, unable to form words.

“so pretty for me. so good.” he praises.

“g— cum, cum,” you whimper. “gonna…”

“cum for me.”

you orgasm with a scream, your warmth tightening around his cock so hard it makes his hips stutter. he looks down at you, tears running down your face, hair splayed out on your pillow, lingerie rumpled. he thrusts into you thrice more before he comes with a curse and a groan. his face twists in pleasure as he empties into you and fills you up with his cum.

mingyu holds you tight for a few moments before letting you go and pulling out slowly. his cum leaks out of you from around his cock.

“don’t move, baby.”

he grabs his phone, then snaps pictures of your disheveled state — your flushed face, your bruised neck, your crumpled lingerie, and his semen leaking out of you. “you look so pretty like this,” he tells you.

this is premium jack-off material for the next time he has to go on tour without you.

finally satisfied with his pictures, he starts to clean you up thoroughly with a wet cloth. you let him remove your lingerie for you to add to your laundry pile. he slumps down on the bed next to you once he’s done and giggles when he finds you already asleep.

“goodnight, my love,” he whispers anyway, kissing your forehead and pulling you close to him. you snuggle into his chest, seeking his warmth even while asleep, and he wraps an arm around you protectively.

he falls asleep with you, safe and satisfied, in his arms.

[snailpebbles]

teach me kisses? - OP81

summary: oscar teaches you to kiss ig. gone right.

wc: 2k

tags: fluff, tooth rotting, maybe suggestive, uhh kinda sad but not for them lmao, not proofread

⋅˚₊‧𐙚‧₊🍊˚ 🧡୨♡୧ ⋅🔸˚₊‧꒰ა🟠໒꒱ 🍊‧₊˚

It was safe to say Oscar was a little more than concerned to receive a text from you in the middle of a relatively chill day, asking for him to come over. Of course he does seeing as it's impossible to deny you, his best friend of six years. He rushed around his flat unsure of what to grab, so he settles on a multitude of items: Advil, Tylenol (for variety, you tend to get picky), a hoodie with his cologne, and another hoodie (once again, variety).

While making the drive to your flat, he stops by a corner store to grab a few more items on the rare chance you might be upset with him. The bell dings as he steps into the family-owned shop, most definitely older than him if the kind old lady behind the counter was anything to go by. It's mostly empty, the short aisles containing various items, but he knows what he wants. Settling on a nice bouquet of pink tulips alongside your favorite soda, Oscar makes his way to the counter.

The cashier smiles at his items and makes idle conversation with the young man, feeling some sort of interest within him.

"She the lucky girl, or are you a lucky man?" She asks, chuckling softly as she fixes up the flowers to look more presentable. Oscar's face tints pink, an awkward side smile pulling on his lips.

"Oh shes- well-" He stumbles for his words, suddenly seeing you in a new light he'd previously pushed down in the fear of losing you. "lucky man." Is the answer he settles on, giving a slight huff of laughter to ease his own nerves that the old woman doesn't share. She hands him the flowers and soda, patting his left hand as she does.

"My Willis and I have been together since the fifties, so listen to me when I tell you...cherish each other." A nostalgic smile lights up her face, previous youth shining through. Pictures hang on the corkboard behind her, all featuring that youth beside a young man.

"He was lost in the war, but those few years were the best of my life." She sighs softly, a shaking hand tracing along a picture of Willis. "You keep that girl close, or my umbrella and I just might have to find you." Oscar nods at her comment, taking it to heart.

"I'd never hurt her, Gods help me if I did." He mutters, placing his credit card back in his wallet, a picture of you beaming at the camera greeting him momentarily further softening his heart.

⋅˚₊‧𐙚‧₊🍊˚ 🧡୨♡୧ ⋅🔸˚₊‧꒰ა🟠໒꒱ 🍊‧₊˚

Your doorbell startles you even through you'd been pacing in front of it for the past ten minutes, debating every choice that has led you here. Trembling hands brush invisible dust off your pajamas and regret fills you for not looking more presentable. Peering through the peephole, you are greeted by Oscar rocking on his heels in the hall, your favorite flowers in hand.

The door flinging open surprises him, as does your hand tugging him inside. Within a flurry of motion the tulips are put in a vase, the soda is already half chugged, and multiple thank yous meet his ears. You're a tornado of movement and he has to catch you by the shoulders, stilling you in front of him with a worried gaze.

"Did something happen? Are you alright?" He asks, eyes scanning you and definitely not lingering.

Definitely.

"No I'm fine Osc, no need to act like a worried mother." You wave his concerns off, moving to set on your comfy sofa, soda still in hand. He settles down beside you, placing his stuffed to the brim backpack by his feet. He unzips it and a hoodie half falls out, one that he places in your lap. "Why..are you cold?" He smiles awkwardly at your question, now feeling like an idiot.

"No uhm, well I was worried so I might have...over prepared." Before he can hide his backpack you're already rifling through it, awing at each thoughtful item.

"You brought me drugs! How kind." You snicker, holding up the Advil and Tylenol. Oscars already red face only turns a darker shade and he snatches them away from you.

"I didn't bring you drugs- well technically I did- but I thought you were sick or something!" He defends, placing the bottles back in his bag. An apologetic smile forms on your face and your hand falls to his shoulder, appreciation only rising for the sweet man before you. What country did you save in a past life to warrant such blessing?

"Not sick, but I do have a bit of a request for you." Your hands twist nervously in your lap, the inside of your bottom lip chewed raw at this point. Oscar dips his head to meet your gaze, making you feel warm all over from his attentiveness. "You need to promise me that you won't laugh, okay?" Oscar nods, shifting closer to you.

"I promise I won't laugh." He murmurs, worry internally taking him over as thoughts rush through his mind. Did you take your ex back? Are you sick and lying to him? Oh God do you have a new boyfriend?? This one truly makes him sick, but he refuses to dwell on his reaction.

Inhaling deeply, exhaling through your mouth, you blurt out what you want with your eyes squeezed shut.

"I need you to kiss me."

Oscars heart stops briefly, then kicks back up into overdrive. Is this what a heart attack feels like? Kiss you? You? His lips on yours? Oh God.

His silence makes you nervous so you peek, and the air is punched out of your lungs as a result.

His face is red and he's stone-still, lips parted and eyes ever so slightly widened. Is it bad to say you enjoy seeing him like this?

"Okay." The words finally leave his lips in the form of a breathless whisper, tongue darting out to wet them subconsciously. Surprise smacks you in the face, never once having anticipated a yes so simply. An urge to explain fills you; to justify such a request.

"See I just- well I have a date tomorrow and it's been a long time since I've ever kissed someone, so I figured you could help me relearn." You explain, hands waving around in the air to further your point. As you speak, you don't notice the way Oscar steels back up, shutting back down. How could he ever think you'd be into him when you're so amazing? All of those emotions are forced back into an old box, edges worn out from his mind picking at it on late nights.

"Right. Yeah." He nods, swallowing the bile wanting to rise. He should be happy for you, for taking such a step after the shit-storm of your last relationship. Jealousy edges into his mind, seeping into the cracks and his ego, protectiveness shifting into possessiveness for a split second. You're his, not some random guy who can't even qualify as a man. He's always been there, not this- this idiot.

"So uh, do we just..?" You bring your legs up onto the sofa, sitting criss cross and shifting to face him. The nerves teeter on uncomfortable, but excitement balances it all out for you. His lips are so kissable, it has honestly pained you for years that you may never feel them against your own. Oscar takes the lead of course and his slender yet strong hands cup your jaw, pointer finger drawing circles just in front of your ear. You feel frozen in time, hands useless in your lap as you can't seem to draw your attention anywhere but those lips and the light stubble surrounding the area.

"..You need to close your eyes." He reminds you, his voice sounding a whole lot more gravelly, if not hoarse. Why would it be? What would cause such a-

Warmth. His lips, a delicacy you knew internally you craved, bring a warmth you'd forgotten the embrace of long ago. Oscar sharply inhales at the first contact and struggles to restrain himself, your hesitancy in the kiss the only reminder that you need slow and gentle. He abides by this and tries to stay focused while you lose any thought except the need to keep him as close as possible, right on you where he belongs.

Your eyes had fallen shut awhile ago, but who can say? Time feels meaningless when Oscars hands are trailing down to your hips, the kiss at some point having deepened into an intimacy you weren't sure even existed. He lifts you into his lap with an ease that sets you on fire, scorching a path up to your heart and burning up the oxygen in your lungs. Not that you mind. You'd happily give him your air if it'll make him stay attached like this. Oscar memorizes all of you as you do him, burning your skin with his touch and peeling away layers of lies you'd both put up for a false pretense of simple friendship.

Maybe you've fallen into wonderland because you certainly feel mad. He's tearing out your soul with how gentle yet compassionate his kisses are, soft gasps and sighs filling the otherwise quiet flat, only to mingle with birdsong outside the window. Would you let him kiss you on that balcony for everyone to see? A Juliet he'd most certainly keep. He tugs you closer, chest to chest and heart to heart, both fluttering wildly as if in a cage. Every touch he gets is full of you, any late night dream far surpassed as you give up any control to him, bending under gentle actions like putty. God and your taste, one in the same as it is for you. Closer and closer you become, the outside world ceasing to exist just like any false boundaries you'd both foolishly believed like it'd save you from the damnation of love.

"Osc.. Oscar.." You mumble breathlessly as you part, both panting for air and refusing to give the other space with the way your foreheads stay pressed together. "I lied. There's no date." The white lie is finally revealed, one you'd said out of fear for rejection.

"...Thank fuck." He mutters, laughing under his breath as his lips meet yours once more. He can barely kiss you though, not when he's smiling so widely. You giggle, so he does too and suddenly you're both laughing heavily, falling into one another.

"Be mine?" The question leaves you without consequence, your heart and head airy with love. Oscar nods into your collarbone, still placing kisses there with reverence.

"I've always been yours." He says simply.

"Me too."

⋅˚₊‧𐙚‧₊🍊˚ 🧡୨♡୧ ⋅🔸˚₊‧꒰ა🟠໒꒱ 🍊‧₊˚

"C'mon! We're gonna get soaked!" Your laugh fills up the corner store, rain hammering down on the two of you. Oscar trails in behind you, hand tightly linked with yours as a bright smile stays firm on his face.

"Thought you liked when we were-" He starts but you slap his shoulder, covering your grin with your free hand as you scoff. He grins back, leading you through the short aisles to wait out the storm and maybe get a few (a lot) of cheat snacks. Oscar grabs Snickers, you grab Hersheys. He takes a Sprite, you take a Dr. Pepper. (You'll later end up forgetting that chocolate melts and get a whole pizza instead, walking in the park while eating out of the waterlogged box.)

"That everything?" The old lady behind the counter asks as Oscar goes to pay, just barely beating you to it while ignoring your protests. He thinks for a moment and then grabs a bouquet of pink tulips, grinning like he'd just won a race. Your heart warms and you peck his cheek as thanks, his pale skin going an identical shade of pink to the petals. Maybe one day he'll realize that that's why pink tulips are your favorite.

She checks you out and waves goodbye since the rain has since cleared up, watching as you walk out swinging each other's hand. Her gaze falls to the corkboard behind her, a small smile on her lips as she traces her lost loves face.

⋅˚₊‧𐙚‧₊🍊˚ 🧡୨♡୧ ⋅🔸˚₊‧꒰ა🟠໒꒱ 🍊‧₊˚

hello I haven't written in forever and I also don't know why I gave the old lady a backstory ????