#yes i know everything was not normal normal leading up to the interview but

[cabesswtaer]

i don’t think we realize how groundbreaking the kevin and jean interview is going to be. like. imagine if you’re the fan of literally the most famous collegiate exy team ever and everything is normal normal and then all of a sudden these two are like “yeah it was a cult and also. the yakuza” i feel like most raven fans would just drop dead.

[zyafics]

HIII!!! I love ur writing sm <3 If you're taking requests, I was wondering if you could do one about a reporter reader who used to date Rafe but they broke up and now she has to interview him??? Set in college if possible! Thank you so much! I hope you're having a good day 🥰

hi baby! yes, i do take requests and i absolutely love this one 🥰 i made reader work for a network company but she's still in college and he plays basketball! (but fair warning, i know absolutely nothing about basketball so if i got the terminologies wrong, look away!!) i hope you enjoy <3 this is angsty as fuck

ALL FOR THE GAME | Rafe Cameron

MASTERLIST (Oneshot) | College Basketball Player x Ex!Reporter!Female Reader .ᐟ

Content — college au, athlete/reporter, prior breakup, heavy angst, hurt/no comfort

Word Count — 4.2K

You couldn't believe it.

It's considered lucky. For someone in your position—having received this entry-level job a couple of weeks ago—to have the opportunity to interview an athlete. In fact, many people would call it a great honor.

And it is. Under normal circumstances, you would be more than happy to oblige—elated, even—because people at this stage in your career rarely get such an opening. Especially since you're in college, fully prepared for this internship to be nothing more than grunt work.

Yet, this? This would allow you to advance your career at an expedited rate only offered to nepotism. You should be thrilled, overcome with joy, jumping at your feet and thanking whatever deity you believed in for such a chance.

But you don't.

Because the person to interview is Rafe.

Rafe Cameron, the top prospect of the NBA draft picks.

Rafe Cameron, your ex-boyfriend.

Your boss waits for an answer. He proposed the question a few moments ago, about covering the press conference for the last game of the season. Because of a sick reporter who called out at the last minute, your objective is to build a profile on Rafe Cameron. Since he's the leading prospect, with scouts all over the country looking at him, many people want to know more about the rising all-star who's done nothing but dominate the court.

This proposal, however, was done more out of common courtesy. No one would be stupid enough to say no, and when your boss raises a brow, signifying his manifesting annoyance from your silence and lack of celebratory cheers—you stammer.

"Um, um," you say.

"Um, what?" He prompts. "Will you be doing it or not?"

You shouldn't. There are many reasons why you shouldn't attend Rafe's basketball games. There's resentment because when you step back into that arena, back onto that court, you're reminded of how Rafe picked it over you. There's lingering sadness, residing heavily against the back of your heart, dulled from the passage of time, but not completely forgotten. And lastly, there's anger, because sometimes, all you want to do is scream, cry, and yell at the man who shattered your heart into a billion different pieces.

But that doesn't matter, does it?

Romance has no place in a reporter's life because you're nothing more but a projection for the audience, a vessel for the readers to learn about something else. You don't have feelings; you're a prop. And, certainly, it doesn't matter to your boss, who's only asking you because you're the last choice.

"Well?"

Seconds away from retracting the offer, something in your chest tightens. Logically, you know the choice to make. But your heart doesn't agree. It still hurts, aches, and burns at all of the past memories. It wants nothing more than to bury itself in a hole and pretend that such a critical part of your history does not exist.

But you can't. Life only moves forward. So, all you do is move with it.

"I'll do it."

By the time you arrive at the stadium, all you want to do is run. Anxiety pricks at your spine and your palms grow clammy by your side. Everything inside you is blaring like a warning, cautioning that this is a mistake, that you aren't ready, and that you should turn back.

Despite the badge dangling around your neck, you almost listen. Put your career on hold for a man who hasn't given a single thought about you since the breakup. You can't let him win, and with that reminder, you move with the mob, flocking to their seats.

The atmosphere is charged with exhilaration, and you're reminded of everything before. It's automatic. How easy it is for you to return to old patterns, to follow them, and to find yourself trickling down the steps and towards the courtside seats reserved for family and friends of the team.

Until a hand is placed on your lower back, and a security guard guides you to the press box instead.

It's quieter. The enclosure of the room dulls the energy of the crowd, with a thick sheet of glass separating you from the rest of the people, and reminding you of your purpose.

You take a seat on a cushioned chair, reserved for your network, and look around the place. You're among the most seasoned reporters in their field, chatting with one another, familiarity engulfing the air that somewhat alienates you. They pay you little mind—saved for a curious-yet-judgmental glance at how you wore a jersey compared to their formal suits and pencil skirts. When you follow their line of vision, you realize it wasn't an ordinary merch of the UNC team but Rafe's.

"Fuck," you mumble. You hadn't realized you picked out his jersey; it was left in the back of your closet and you couldn't see yourself attending your college's game without a visual form of support. This probably appears to the rest of the journalists that you're nothing more than a superfan who managed to weasel their way into their network.

It makes your stomach flips with nausea. You want to separate Rafe from you as much as possible, and with a quick run to the bathroom, you change out of the merch and throw it over your tote, straightening out your blouse underneath. When you return, the players are slowly filling out to court.

The visitors' team enters first; UNC follows. You count each player that exits the locker room, watching their expressions as they grin and absorb the energy of their home stadium, as they walk down the length of the bench, as they talk among themselves and share playful jests and banter. You didn't even know you were holding your breath until Rafe stepped out last, to the loudest cheer of the crowd, with a solemn look on his face.

You watch as Rafe searches the stands. Not in the same manner as his teammates, where they're acknowledging fans, or sending flirtatious winks to pretty girls sitting front row. It's different— with purpose. He's searching for something—someone—and your heart clenches in your chest at the thought of Rafe having found your replacement.

But it's been months, hasn't it? It should be more than fair game for him to date whatever he wants. You can still act professionally with this developing news, but it's striking down at your armor.

However, whoever he's looking for, he doesn't find. Rafe goes to huddle with the rest of his team as their Coach gives a final motivational speech before releasing them.

The game starts with a tip-off, and once the referee throws the ball in the air, Rafe takes it into his possession.

He sprints across the court, slicing through the opponent players, and scoring points on the board. Rafe is powerful, knowing exactly when to exchange his hands and pass to his teammates, where exactly to cut through, and when to commit to a play. Commentary heard from the built-in speakers can attest to it, as their primary focus is on how Rafe is taking the last game of the season by storm.

But, while everyone's eyes are glued to the game, as much as you try not to, you can't do anything but stare at Rafe.

He's just as incredible as he was when you were dating him; if not, more. In some way, it makes your heart tighten, knowing that this validates his reason for the breakup. You just wish he felt some semblance of the pain you feel. But as much as you hate it, you're also proud. Rafe has come so far, and trained so hard, to make it to where he is. If he secures a win for the last game, it will be nothing but a guaranteed track to the NBA and luxuries and fame ahead.

All without you.

By the time the game ended, Rafe scored the last shot in a close game, delivering the end of the conference with a secured UNC victory. Everyone in the press box stands from their seats, heading to the media room where they'll be meeting a panel of UNC athletes for questions.

Yet, you linger. You step up to the glass, watching as the erupted cheers of the audience surround the entire stadium, much to the glee of the UNC team, while Rafe stands in the middle of the court for a few seconds, soaking everything in. His eyes pan across the bleachers again, in search for something, before his expression falls and he retreats to the locker room.

When you enter the room of journalists, you slip into a seat. It'll be a while before the players come shuffling in, and you take each second to rehearse and calm your nerves. In one hand, is a tape recorder, while the other is a notepad of the written questions you plan to ask.

UNC's Publicist steps out first to provide an official statement and give a brief overview of the conduct of this press conference. She'll be the moderator, giving everyone enough time to ask all of their questions, and she'll be selecting the networks to her own accord. After everyone comes to the general consensus, the door opens and the Coach steps out with his players.

You watch with bated breath as Rafe is the last to enter, freshly showered and changed into grey sweatpants with a matching UNC zip-up jacket. His headphones dangles around his neck, while his expression exudes nothing but boredom and reluctance. Rafe has always hated interviews, especially post-games, during your relationship. At least that's the one thing that hasn't changed.

You drop your gaze to your lap, swallowing hard as you calm your racing heartbeat. It's been months, yet you still feel the same emotions coursing through you as if no time has passed—longing, hurt, sadness. You whisper positive affirmations, reminding yourself that it's just a job, and that'll be short and simple. You won't even have to speak to Rafe, because your boss may have said to find out more about Rafe Cameron for your profile, nowhere did he say you have to ask him specifically.

When Rafe sits on his chair, he lazily scans the room, a habit of his to pass the time, before he spots you among the crowd. In the third row, second seat; your favorite choice to sit. You don't see it, but a corner smile lifts to his face, demeanor changing, and he straightens up in his seat.

Throughout the conference, the publicist hands the microphone off to whoever she selects. They often direct their questions at Rafe, to which he gives monosyllabic and deadpanned answers. Then, when they try to seek more clarification, Rafe gives them nothing, much to their grimness.

You keep your head low, writing down notes, and drawing doodles on the edge of your notepad. Anything to avoid making accidental eye contact with Rafe. But, regardless, you feel him. The heat of his stare remains on you the entire time, especially when the publicist approach you and hands you the microphone.

It’s time.

With trembling hands, you stand from your seat. You turn your attention to the front of the panel, introducing yourself, your network, and your job. Smiles spread across Rafe's teammates as they recognize you, and you offer a polite one of your own.

Beginning at the furthest player at the end of the table, you ask, "How would you describe Mr. Cameron as a teammate?"

He grins as if he was prepared for this. "Rafe's an incredible teammate and captain. He's a capable leader, who's strong on the court, but also strong on having his teammates' back. You saw it back there—" That earns a small laugh from the reporters. "But, yeah. Rafe's one of my favorite teammates, if I'm being honest."

You tilt your head at that conclusion, because, if you remember correctly, in freshman year, he often rivaled with Rafe and got into fights over minor things. Regardless, you nod, thanking him for his response, and moving on to the next player with the next question.

"What do you think about Mr. Cameron's plays throughout the season?"

"Is that all you got for me, Mrs?" The second player teases playfully, causing heat to warm your cheeks. "Whatever, I got this. Well, let me think. Rafe's always had solid stats. He's one of the hardest-working players on and off the court, and he always keeps his head focused. Even when he had a bit of a bump a couple of months back, he adjusted his plays and bounced back. That’s his resilience."

Your breath hitches at the implication. You try your hardest not to sneak a glance at Rafe, but you can't help yourself. Turning to your side, you discover Rafe watching you, his expression grimacing at the confession of his teammate.

Months ago. The only thing that changed was your breakup. Does this mean he was as affected as you were?

You try not to think too much about that. Thanking the player again, you move to the next, asking more about Rafe's character—his prospects for the NBA, and his experience managing a student-athlete. You didn't ask just about Rafe, you asked about the games and conferences too, but most of the players always return their answers to Rafe. Positively. As if they had this unspoken agreement behind the scenes to hype Rafe up to his ex-girlfriend.

Time goes on, and you start to immerse yourself in the role. It wasn't as difficult as you expected, especially because you're entertaining a team who've known you all throughout their collegiate career. They answered the questions with enthusiasm and a playfulness that can only be recognized by years of familiarity. You can feel the energy from the reporters shift, stewed with envy, because of how the players are showing favoritism to a novice reporter who barely has her foot in the door.

Rafe watches you the entire time. How truly riveting you are in your role. How you command the room with your questions, how you captivate the players, and how you grow more comfortable as you talk to your teammates. He waits patiently as you make your way down the table, for his chance to talk to you.

But just as he's about to be next, you return the microphone to the moderator. You were going to leave him hanging. Before you can fully hand off the mic, a voice commands the room.

"What about me?"

It was Rafe. You lift your head to find him leaning against his own microphone propped on the table, his blue eyes pinned on you, his expression full of want. Your lips part, but no words fall through. The publicist doesn't take back the microphone.

You stammer. "What about you?"

"Don't you have any questions for me?" He questions, as the crowd murmurs with surprise. On any other day, Rafe would've gladly taken the lack of questions aimed at his face. You've done your research; you've seen his previous interviews.

"I..." You can't seem to answer him. All eyes—from the Coach, to the players (who are smiling their head off), to the reporters—turn to you. "I've asked all my questions."

"I'm sure you can think of one more," he declares, his eyes not once straying from your face. As if he's taking the time to memorize all of your features, to absorb any changes. "Come on, hit me."

Everyone waits. Eagerly. With jealousy. The media room stills with a palpable silence, and you can't do anything but retract your arm, holding the microphone back up to your lips.

You blink, racking your brain for any questions. You truly did ask all of them, and there's nothing appropriate enough to ask in front of a room full of people who are recording and monitoring your moves. So, you settle on something safe.

"How did you feel scoring that winning shot?"

Rafe takes a deliberate moment to consider his answer. His silence tells it all. Before he leans down against the mic, his lips centimeters from the pop filter, and he says, "Empty."

Flashes of the camera go off, and hushed whispers are heard throughout the room. But none of that matters to you. Your eyes remain on Rafe, your heart skipping beats from his confession, and you tame enough of your voice before asking a follow-up. "Can you explain why?"

He nods. "Basketball is great and all, and I'm grateful for everything that has happened, and all I have accomplished. Hell, I'm even grateful for this team right here that's been such a hardass on me since day one," he gestures to his teammates on the panel, and they all grin and laugh. One even blows him a kiss. "But, at the end of the day, it's just a game. Without the people you love by your side, it's meaningless."

You truly feel like all the air has been sucked out of your lungs and tears crowd your waterline. When his words finally deliver through, it's almost a straight shot to your chest. This was the admission you'd been waiting for, but it didn't feel satisfactory whatsoever. It's painful, all of the old wounds opening by their stitches, and grief comes crawling up your throat, demanding to be felt.

You don't answer him. You can't. Rafe watches you carefully, trying to gauge your reaction, trying to see if his words had any impact, but you hide them well. For now. With tears stinging your vision, and seconds from unraveling at the seams, you drop the microphone onto the chair and leave the room in a rush.

That's when he realizes he fucked up.

Rafe stands from his seat, ready to follow after you, but his Coach commands him to sit down. His gaze remains on you until you exit the room, but with direct orders, he can do nothing but slump back into his chair.

When Rafe finishes the rest of his interviews, with more reluctance than he had before, he wants nothing more than to go back to campus to search for you. But he doesn't know if that's such a good idea. Clearing out, Rafe steps out of the doors.

To where you were waiting.

"You had no right," you snap, as Rafe heads to the exit of the stadium. He whips around at the sound of your voice, finding you leaning against the wall. As much as he knows he fucked up, he can't explain the happiness he feels at seeing you still here.

"For what?" Rafe prompts with an easygoing smile, "Talking? I'm pretty sure that's what the press conference is about."

But you don't take it so easy.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," you huff, "You used my words against me."

During the breakup, Rafe had said something along the lines of focusing on his basketball career. You had rebutted that basketball can't be the one thing in his life. At the time, he disagreed, prompting the necessity of the breakup further. It had hurt to hear your words twisted and used against you.

"It was friendly," he reassures. "Just like the rest of my teammates. Talking like we're friends."

"We're not friends and you know that."

He frowns. "We said we would be."

"No, you said that," you hiss, clenching your hands by your side, memories slapping you and prickling your skin. "To rid yourself of the guilt, or to make it seem like permanent. I don't know. But it doesn't work that way with me, Rafe. We aren't friends."

His brows pinch together, and agitation flares through his hard features. "So, that's what it's gonna be like? You come to my games and you interview my entire team but you ignore me because we broke up? That's unprofessional."

You falter. "That's not fair."

"It isn't?" He challenges, stepping closer into your space. "How do you think I felt when you were interviewing every single one of my teammates about me, but refusing to talk to me? To look at me? What does that suggest?"

"That I got everything I needed from your teammates."

"You could've gotten it directly from the source."

"I didn't need to,"

"You could've,"

"Why are you so adamant about me talking to you?"

"Because you're acting like a vindictive bitch."

You stagger back as if he struck you, and Rafe instantly regretted the words that left his mouth. But he can't take them back. Your lips part, and you stare at him in disbelief, but you come up with nothing to defend yourself.

With the hardest glare you can muster, you proclaim, "Fuck you, Rafe."

And you turn to leave.

Rafe quickly follows after you. "Wait—that's not—I didn't mean that."

"I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Just like you didn't want to talk to me in the conference room?"

"You broke up with me!" You snap, stopping in your tracks with such abruptness, that Rafe almost ran into you. Turning back around to face him, you say, "You were the love of my life, and you left me, and you expect me to keep it professional?"

Rafe says nothing.

"I'm trying," you croak, tears crowding your vision again, and you hate how vulnerable and pathetic you feel in his presence. Like it was back to that night in the car, where Rafe said it was over. "I'm trying to do this right."

Rafe watches your face with anguish, but he can't say anything. You're trying hard to keep your composure, and regain some semblance of stability, you say with a even voice, "I'm glad everything is working out the way you want it to. I'm glad you get this bigshot career and you're about to make it in the NBA, and I'm glad you found it so easy to move on but that's not how it worked with me." Your voice cracks. "I loved you. I can't just forget about it like it's nothing."

His voice is small when he answers. "I didn't."

"You didn't?" You repeat with disbelief. "Rafe, you're thriving. You barely look like our breakup had any impact on you. You're about to secure one of the biggest deals in NBA history. What else could you possibly be missing?"

"You."

His dark eyes connect with yours in utmost vulnerability and it cripples you. All your aggression and anger, all your pent-up frustration—it makes you upset that Rafe manage to disarm you with one word.

"No," you step back, shaking your head, "You can't do that."

"It's the truth."

"It's too late."

Rafe looks pained at your declaration. "Don't say that."

"Don't say what?" You sniffle, your vision blurring with hot tears. "My truth? Did you expect me to wait around for you to come to your senses? To beg for you to take me back?"

"I didn't..." Rafe stammers, searching your face for any indication that it isn't too late. That he still had a chance. But he doesn't find any. "I was honest back there. Any win without you feels empty."

"Stop,"

"I made a mistake."

"Rafe—" You shake your head again, sucking in a deep breath, and needing him to listen and step back. "I'm not here to talk about that. I don't want to talk about that."

"But I do,"

"But I don't," you declare firmly. "I just... I need you to understand. You can't do that. I'm trying to move on with my life. And I understand that we're going to be seeing each other, no matter how I don't want to. But I'll get used to it. I'll numb that pain. But you can't do that. Here; back there. It wasn't fair to me."

Your words sound too permanent. Too real. Rafe can't stand it.

With desperation, he pleads, "Can we talk?"

"We're already talking."

"No, I'm talking about us," Rafe says, taking a step forward. Only for you to take one back. "Please."

"There's nothing to talk about it."

"There's so much to say."

"Name one."

"I miss you."

"Rafe," you cry, tears streaming down your face that you can no longer contain. He hates seeing you cry. He hates it more to be the reason. All he wants is to pull you into his arms and apologize, over and over, to soothe the pain, but it looks as if it would hurt worse if he tried to touch you. "Please stop. You're breaking my heart again."

He made a mistake. There are so many times he can say that. When he saw you in the media room, for the first time in months, it came rushing back to what he's missing. How much he's losing you. He wanted to ask you so much—about how you're doing, to learn how you got the job, to uncover more about how close you are to achieving your dreams.

But he was barricaded. By responsibilities, obligations, and duties. He couldn't ask you in a room full of people. He couldn't help you when his father pressured him to break up with you for his career. He couldn't do anything, then. But he wants to do better now.

He says your name, so defeated, in a last-ditch effort. But you shake your head.

You need to leave this place with whatever is left of your pride and dignity. So, you straighten your spine, take out his jersey from your tote, and hand him the last remnant of your relationship. "Congratulations on your win, Mr. Cameron. I wish you the best in your career."

And when you turn to leave this time, he doesn't stop you.

IMPORTANT: if you want to follow my fics and updates, follow @zyafics-library and turn on notifications!

[bearbunnycheetah]

🐆🐻✨CHAPTER 3: SUNNY SIDE OF THINGS✨🐻🐆

Note: Stuffs been going wild so I posted this WAYY later than I wanted, but I hope you guys still enjoy!

Percy reaches for her keys and opens the door, turning on the lights to her apartment. They flickered to life and illuminated the space. The sisters both looked inside, it was a pretty nice looking place all things considered. 

A small living room to the left with a tv, an open kitchen to the right, and what appears to be a mini hallway leading to three doors infront of them. Percy’s home had a nice dull blue wallpaper covering mostly everything. Molly looked at a clock on the wall, 10PM. Way past her bedtime at this point.

“You two need some rest, we can discuss the layout of my apartment and other things in the morning. Are you two sure you don’t wish to take my room for the night?”

“Sleeping in someone elses room is weird.” Lorelai said, crossing her arms as she looked around.

“Yeah, we can take the couch or the floor. We don’t really mind! I promise!” Molly smiled apologetically, Lori rolled her eyes.

Percy nods. “Alright, please go ahead and sit down. I will go ahead to get some pillows and blankets for you two.” She smiles at them, then leaves the room.

Molly waits for Percy to be completely gone, then lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She sits down on the couch, then grabs her phone from her pocket. Molly opens the group chat she has with her friends, and starts typing.

—————

Molly: Hi guys, anyone still awake?

PHANTOM OF POTIONS PAST, GRIMLORD OF DARKNESS!: HIIII! Yes I am indeed awake >:]

Molly: Oh, hi Trixie! I’m assuming Feenie’s asleep cause it’s her bedtime?

PoPPGoD: Yeahh probably! Why are you up so late anyway? Did something happen?

Molly: Yeah, my dad got arrested.

PoPPGoD: WOOOOOOO! 

Molly: Trixie…

PoPPGoD: Oh whoops, sorry- what happened?

Molly: The cop that interviewed me a bit ago about the museum apparently found out about my situation and took me and Lori in. Currently in her apartment right now.

PoPPGoD: I dont trust them coppers… but as long as ur OK, im OK! >:D

Molly: Thanks Trixie… I’ll see if I can go more indepth on what happened tomorrow at school. I’m getting sleepy.

PoPPGoD: Oke, sweet dreams!

Molly: Night!

—————

Molly leans back into the sofa, then smiles. Hopefully she’ll be able to go to school tomorrow and talk to them.

“I’m back, apologies for the wait.” Percy walks in holding several pillows and blankets, all in mostly blues, yellows, and whites.

“Dibs on the couch!” Lorelai said, grabbing some pillows and immediately making herself comfortable. Her knight costume poofed out of existence in a flash of glitter into her normal outfit.

“But- aw, fine...” Molly sighed in defeat, standing up from the couch.

Oh well, the floor is probably fine. Considering it’s Percy she probably keeps it pretty clean. Theres a rug too so maybe it’s a bit comfier..? It takes a few minutes for Molly to finally get to a comfortable enough position to lay down.

“Goodnight, you two.”

��Goodnight, Percy!”

“…Night.”

And with that, Percy turns off the lights and goes to her room. Immediately falling asleep when she lays down in bed. The noise of the city melting together into a cacophany of sounds that were oddly comforting, she’s probably gonna take a few days off from work to help the two adjust. 

Percy should wake up early tomorrow, her usual breakfast was just toast and some water but these two probably needed more food than that. Maybe something like cereal? No, far too sugary. She wasn’t even sure if she had anything like that. Toast, water, orange juice, eggs-

Wait, eggs?

There was a smell of something being cooked from the kitchen, Percy stirred and opened her eyes. Oh dear, it was morning already? She looks at her alarm clock. 5:40 AM. How peculiar, she gets up from her bed and puts on her slippers to investigate.

Percy walked into the living room, the pillows and blankets were folded neatly and placed on the coffee table. While the couch where Lorelai was sleeping had an… iridescent bubble in its place.

It clipped into the floor and couch as if it was a bugged model in a video game. She stared in utter confusion for a bit before a voice from the kitchen piped up.

“Morning Percy!” Molly said, holding a pan. Why was she making breakfast?

Percy flinched, completely forgetting that she got up to see who was awake this early. “Ah! Good morning to you too, Molly.” Percy turns to her and gestures to the bubble. “May I ask why your sister has turnt into a sphere?”

“Oh, it’s just an epithet thing.” Molly puts the pan in the sink. “Lorelai can make these things called ‘dream bubbles’ where she makes these fantasy worlds, sometimes she just sleep-inscribes.”

“I see… Why are you up so early?”

“Oh! Well… I wanted to repay you for letting us stay here so I thought I should make breakfast!” Molly points at the table. There was buttered toast and eggs, either boiled or sunnyside up. “We should probably go get groceries and stuff, there wasn’t a lot in your fridge to work with…”

“Noted. But thank you for this, Molly.” Percy goes to sit down, then picks up a boiled egg and inspects it closely. “So, about your sister…”

“Don’t worry, I can go wake her up.” Molly looks at the bubble for a second, then walks over to the couch.

Percy watches in curiosity, she knew Molly and Lorelai had epithets from their files. “DUMB” and “AUGMENT” respectively, but she’s never seen it in action. Percy watched as Molly knocked on the bubble for a few seconds, calling Lorelais name repeatedly to wake her up. After a few minutes she rolled her eyes, reaching her hand out as a small green glow appeared. 

Molly moved her hand closer to the iridescent surface and a hole appeared like a rift in the air. Slowly the gap grew bigger until it was about the size of Molly herself. She entered the bubble and the hole dissapeared along with her.

Percy decided to go and make some coffee while she waited since she still felt a bit tired from last night, more and more time passes and… POOF!

The detective turnt around, alarmed at the sudden sound. Then there stood a groggy Lorelai and a mildly upset Molly.

“Good morning, Lorelai!” Percy said, grabbing her drink without looking and returning to the small dining table. Honestly you probably couldn’t even consider it a dining table, more like a table for one that crammed three chairs.

“Yeah, morning.” Lorelai wiped away the fog from her eyes, then quietly went over to the table grabbing a plate. Molly followed.

“I decided to go ahead and work from home while you two get settled here.” Percy takes a sip of coffee. “Since you two have school I will be responsible for your education for the time being.”

“Me and Lorelai usually change between having to work and having to go to school. I attend school on odd days and she attends school on even ones so that means-” 

“You have to go to school and I get to stay here and relax!” Lorelai interrupts her and grins, Molly scowls at her.

Percy thinks for a second, she never thought the situation was this bad. Who on earth would let a child work instead of attend school!? Oh wait, Martin would. “I… suppose we can still use this system, even for just a few days as you two adjust.” She smiles. “And since I’m not very well acquainted with Miss Lorelai, then perhaps we can use this as a bonding opportunity!”

The three of them continue talking. Percy explaining the layout of the house, the chores, and potentially getting the two of them a room to share, more and more time passes till they all finish and go do their own thing.

Lorelai made another bubble in the corner of the living room, Percy did the dishes, and Molly got ready for school.

Molly already had her schoolwork in her backpack, so she had no need to go back to the emporium to retrieve her things. That was nice! She sat at the couch waiting, when Percys voice piped up.

“Are you ready for school?” Percy asked, walking up to Molly.

“Uh, yeah! Are you gonna drive me there?” 

“No need, your public school is conveniently just a short jog away from my apartment! If you count 20 minutes short, I mean.” The detective held up a metal lunchbox, it had the SJPD logo on the center, so that probably meant it belonged to Percy. “I’ve also taken the time to go ahead and make you some lunch.”

“Really..?” Molly walked up to the lunch box and grabbed it from Percys hand, staring at it. “Theres… Really no need to do that, I usually just ask my friends or buy some stuff at the cafeteria.”

“I personally do not think the cafeteria food they serve is enough for a childs daily diet.” Percy explains. “You can just think of it as a thank-you for making breakfast.” She smiled.

Molly stopped staring at the lunchbox realizing that was probably weird, then turns to Percy to smile at her too.

“Well then, I’ll go ahead and drop you off at school. I’m assuming your sister will be fine if I leave her for a few minutes?”

“She can last in bubbles for hours, she’ll be fine.” Molly explains.

And then the two of them leave the apartment. The streets here were much, much louder than Molly expected. She covers her ears as she walked, which Percy took note of. More time passes and Percy drops off Molly at school. 

Molly waved goodbye at her as she walked away when a sudden jingling bell sound grew closer and closer until-

“MOLLY!!!”

Phoenica Fleecity and Trixie Roughhouse hugged Molly as tight as they could, which was less bone-crushing and more soft and fluffy due to Feenie. “Trixie told me everything! We’re so glad you’re okay!”

“She did?” Oh right, Molly sent a message to the group chat. 

“Really happy that dad of yours is outta the picture now!” Trixie said, grinning.

“Haha, yeah. I am too…” Molly hugged them both back, the hug lasted for a few seconds before the bell rang.

“…How about I tell you guys everything when lunch comes around?” Molly asked.

“Oh sure! Stay safe Molly!” Phoenica smiled even harder then let go of both of them, walking off to her class.

“You do too…” 

“…So did Lorelai get arrested too?” Trixie piped up.

“Trixie!” She playfully shoved them with an elbow. “Don’t be like that!”

“Yeah yeah, I know! Just checkin!”

Note: MAKING THESE CUSTOM BACKGROUNDS WERE SO TIME CONSUMING. IT LITERALLY TOOK LONGER THAN THE ACTUAL CHAPTER ITSELF AND DELAYED IT FOR LIKE TWO WEEKS DEAR GOD. Hopefully now that this is out I can go back to answering asks for the characters and posting art too! Super proud of this one!

~Cherry

1ST CHAPTER | << PREV | NEXT >>

[fanficwriters-posts]

Hiro hamada x spiderman! Reader

Nobody knew reader was spiderman until reader swoops in, in their spidersuit, and saves the main 6 from a villian they couldn't beat. But ends up getting super hurt and having to take their mask off.

That sounds interesting and inspiring! 😃

Hiro Hamada x Spiderman!reader

It was like any other day in a normal human life. I got out of bed, take a quick shower, brush my teeth, pick out my clothes, put on the clothes, grab my necessary items for school and my homework, go downstairs, eat my breakfast my mother prepared for me, kiss my parents' cheeks before i leave to go to Hiro's place.

I do it every single day, it's just the same routine. Until one day...

There was a school field trip to this campus in New York City and mostly it was because Professor Granville didn't want any of us to slack off while she's away so she decided to bring us with her and make us learn about Alchemax with Doctor Octavius being our tour guide.

I got a little bored and was sidetracked with this spider that has a 42 number on its back. I was sorta staring for a few seconds until Doctor Octavius caught my attention away from it and lead us into another room. I didn't even realize the spider escaped its closure. Not did i felt it crawling up my pants and to my hand.

When Doctor Octavius introduced us to one of their latest inventions, i was amazed and wanted to take a picture. That's when i saw the spider. It bit me and i nearly drop my phone from shock. I grab it from the back of my hand and i put it on a table so no one will notice.

Hiro came over to me, i think he saw me when the spider bit my hand. He checked to see what was wrong and I just told him that my hands were just shaking from excitement. He found that amusing and grab my good hand to bring me back to the rest of the group.

Thankfully, that was the end of the tour and we all got home. Me? I was sweating the whole way back so i went straight to my home. A lot of things happened.

I ran really fast like i don't usually do, I can jump really high, i can hear almost everything that's going on, I can even stick to anything. Walls, metal poles, etc. But what made me so shocked is that i can shoot spiderwebs from my wrists. I found that out when i put down my backpack and try to reach for the bathroom.

I decided to experiment on myself and turns out, i have super-strength. I've seen these in the Spider-Man comic books and i didn't think it would happen to me, too. I was so psyched about it but... i didn't tell any of my friends. I was scared that they might report this to professor Granville and have me change back to normal.

But, i wanted to be a hero. Like those Big Hero 6 guys. So, i trained myself in this old, abandoned factory that i can use as my training arena. Of course, i had to put everything together first before i can start.

I've been training myself for 3 months just so i can do everything perfect. Somehow, in the process, i didn't realize that i got myself sorta fit and tough. I even cut my hair a little shorter.

Once i know i'm ready, i started designing my suit while watching the news about the Big Hero 6. Sometimes, i write down the villains and their powers in my notebook that i keep to myself.

And if you're wondering, what about school? Yes, i still go to school and everything went on smoothly. Though, sometimes they ask during the first week about why i'm so happy but i just tell them that the Alchemax field trip made a whole new perspective in my life.

I did everything i could to keep my secret from everyone and it works so well. And now, i'm a new superhero of San Fransokyo. (Hero name)! Heck yeah! I saved a bunch of people, get interviewed by the press, even got my own superhero action figure. Everything went smoothly on my side but with all the homework that started piling up, i couldn't keep up and let everything to the Big Hero 6.

I wasn't aware of what the villains were up to behind my back.

Present time

I'm in Hiro's lab doing my homework per usual but this time he wasn't here or Baymax. I called him and he said he had to help around in the cafe with Baymax before he gets here. I just said, "Take your time." And "Love you." Before we hung up.

When i set down my pen, a notification appear on the screen of my phone while i was watching (Favorite Cartoon Series) and i press it.

"This just in, a group of robot has attacked downtown and with Big Hero 6 on the job- Wait, sorry." The news reporter spoke before he press the earpiece he has on. "Oh! It looks like the Big Hero 6 are down. Take it away, Carol." The screen switches to another news reporter and she's in a helicopter.

"Thank you, Bluff Dunder." Carol said to the microphone in her hand. "It seems like our heroes have been outnumbered by unknown robots and can't seem to find a way out of the corner. Our former lovable mascot, Noodle Burger Boy have gathered robot mascots from all around fast food restaurants into villainy. If only (Hero name) was here to aid them in their battle."

I couldn't believe my ears and immediately i texted Hiro that i needed to get home because my parents called me and change into my spider suit. I grab my things and my clothes into my backpack before i swing out of the campus and drop off my bag at my bedroom window.

I head straight to downtown and... Oh yeah! I can go camouflage mode but right now is not the best time to use it because these are robots we're fighting. They might have heat-signature visions, but it wouldn't hurt to try it out. I landed on the rooftop above the Big Hero 6 and i went camouflage mode as i slowly crawl down the building over the heroes and robots.

"There's no way of escaping, heroes! Give it up!" Noodle Burger Boy exclaims with this girl robot beside him and Hyper-Potamus on the other. There were a few other robots i've never seen before.

"What do you want with us, Noodle Burger Boy?" The guy in purple ask the robot, standing in front of his team.

"The whereabouts of the new superhero, (Hero name)." Noodle Burger Boy replied before the robot girl beside him speak up, "She can be of use as our ally."

"What? No way! She will never side with you! She doesn't even side with us! Because we never ask." Another hero spoke but he's wearing a blue monster suit.

"Then tell us where she is. 'Cause we'll make her." Noodle Burger Boy tells them before the rest of the robots got into stances, ready to attack.

"That's my cue." I muttered before i un-camouflaged myself and jump down between them.

"You wanted to see me, Noodle Burger Boy?" I ask him, my voice high and mighty.

"Oh! There she is!" Noodle Burger Boy tells his group of robots, clapping with joy.

"(Hero name), what are you doing here?" The guy in purple asks me, walking up to me. I look back to him and stop him.

"Stay back. This is gonna get a little ugly... For me." I tell him, my voice slightly deepen.

I turn back to the evil robots and i shot my web at one of them, swinging them to the others before i leap up and attack the rest. They fought back and of course, a hero such as myself cannot take on this many but i try to.

I took the fight elsewhere so that no one would get hurt, using my spiderwebs to swing me and let them chase after me. I landed on a dock and turn around to face them. Finally realizing how many there are.

"Oh, boy." I whisper in shock. They're made out of metal, i should've thought this through.

"No where left to run, (Hero name)!" The girl robot exclaim with a menacing grin before she shoots multiple rockets at my way.

I gasped and dodged it as my spider sense went off. I thought i was save for a couple of minutes until the robot, which i think is Crushroom, punched me so hard that it send me into a side of a boat.

I groaned and got myself out before i stick my feet and hand on the wall of a building. "Okay, this is a bit unfair, don't you think? I mean, there's literally some of you but you're made out of metal and i'm made out of flesh, myself."

I hear the Big Hero 6 coming from my right and i look up. When my eyes landed on the guy in purple, i feel a bit of familiarity to him. Like i knew him from somewhere. Obviously, behind that orange glass shield he has black hair but his face... Somehow...

And it's not right to be deep in thought when you're being chased by a bunch of robots is not highly recommended. My spider sense went off but i didn't have time to react before i was shot off of the wall and fall to the ground. I fell! A great 6 ft from the building and i think i got scratches on my suit because i was not full conscious.

I got up from the ground and i pant heavily from the great impact. I look up to the rest of the robots and i use this advantage to shoot my spiderwebs at their faces to blind their sights. The Big Hero 6 took care of them as soon as they arrived and i had to leave the scene but my limbs were aching with pain. And they're killing me!

Don't blame me. This is my first time getting actually hurt during a mission.

I hear the big red robot land behind me and help me stand up. "Are you alright, (Hero name)?" The robot asks, his voice calming.

"Yeah. I put my guard down for a second and they just shoot me." I replied, holding my side. I look up to the rest of the team and i think a quarter of my mask was torn.

"What were you thinking taking those crazy robots on your own?! You could've died!" The big guy in green exclaimed at me with worry.

"Not to mention putting your life at risk just to save ours." A girl in pink with long blond hair spoke softly.

"Super cool! But dangerous. But SUPER AWESOME!" The guy in blue yell with excitement.

"You could've asked us to help you." The guy in purple steps up, his height same as mine but i was sorta bend down from the pain.

"Yeah. I just... You guys were already in trouble. I just wanted to give you guys a break." I tell them.

I grunt in pain as my side aches even more and i nearly fall forward but the guy in purple caught me before i hit the ground.

"My boyfriend will not like this at all." I muttered under my breath as i let him support me.

"Your body cannot take anymore muscle use and you have a cut on your face. In order for me to heal you, you must take off your mask." The giant red robot said before he approaches me.

My eyes widen and i hold out my hand. "No, no, no! The hospital is fine! You don't have to heal me." I say quickly, holding the guy in purple's shoulder.

"Oh, come on. You can hardly stand up by yourself, let alone swing back to the hospital." Said the girl in yellow.

I groan in defeat and look up to them. "I know where you can heal me, but, you have to promise to keep it a secret." I tell them.

All six of them agreed and took me to my training arena because i have first aid kit and a bed there. Not plain. I decorated them so that it doesn't look so bland.

The red robot lay me down on the bed while the others look around at the training place i build.

"You built this place yourself?" The girl in yellow asks, standing in front of one of my deadly obstacles.

"I like to challenge myself and make it a whole lot more interesting." I replied to her as the robot place a pillow behind my head.

"Huh." She muttered. "Awesome."

"Alright. Let's take off this mask of yours." The robot said. I sigh heavily.

"It's a big no-no. But from one hero to another, i guess." I say to him before i take off my mask and set it aside.

"(Name)?!"

I was startled by the sound of my name and i look up to the guy in purple with wide eyes. "Y-you know me?" I ask him nervously.

He walk towards me and take off his helmet. My eyes widen even more and i stare at him in shock. "Hiro?!" I exclaim in surprise.

The two of us stare at each other for a solid 5 minutes while the red robot heal the wounds on my body.

The rest of the BH6 came and take off their helmets which made my heart nearly jump out of my chest. I look at each of them before i look up to Hiro again.

"Wait, wait! You lied to me about help Aunt Cass?" I tell him, going to sit up but he held my shoulder and keep me down.

"Y-you lied to me about hanging out with this whole new group of friends when it turns out you were here! Training yourself!" Hiro said back.

I frown a little and look down to my lap. "I..." I sighed heavily and lay down on the bed. "I didn't want to tell you because i was afraid that you guys might tell Professor Granville and that she might take me back to Alchemax and make my powers disappear."

Hiro sit down on the edge of the bed beside me and he hold my hand. "So, this whole time you lied just so you can be a hero?"

"In my defense," I quickly said. "You guys inspired me to become one. I thought that with this power, i might be able to help but i just didn't have the guts to say anything, yet."

Hiro frown at that and he brush my hair out of my face. "And yet, here you are, laying on your bed with Baymax healing your wounds."

"I'm sorry for not telling you. For not telling any of you." I apologized, looking up to them with sincerity. "I know i'm supposed to trust you with this but..."

"Hey, don't worry about it, (Name). I mean, we hid all this from you. We should be the ones to apologize for not telling you that we're heroes." Honey Lemon speak up, walking towards me with a warm smile.

"We could've told you but someone didn't want to because he didn't want to risk your life." Fred steps in, looking at me with a smile.

I look up to Hiro from him and he just look away sheepishly with a blush across his face. I chuckled and i hold his hand. "Aww, really? That's so thoughtful of you!"

He smiled back as he turn his head back to me and he lean down and peck my forehead. "If any of them knew that you were connected to us, i wouldn't know what i would do if something happens to you, (Name)."

"You're my boyfriend, Hiro. You have all the right to be worried but you have to trust me with protecting myself. I can handle anything." I tell him to reassure him, my smile never falter.

Hiro chuckled and nod his head. "You're right. I should've told you and i should've listened to my friends, too."

"I told you she'd be cool about it." Fred tells them which made us all chuckle.

And let's just say that from now own, we tell each other everything and we help each other. I'm not part of the BH6 but i still help around. Hiro and i's relationship became stronger also mine with our friends.

With great power, come great responsibility. And that responsibility is protecting everyone i love and this city.

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Gay wrongs tournament, round one of the major bracket

Propaganda:

For Nandor and Guillermo:

I feel like accessory to murder and cause of the murder counts, right? 

Classic vampire/human who wants to be a vampire except there's an understanding in the show of how messed up that is, down to Guillermo helping chop up the bodies of Nandor's victims to hide them for him. Then there's the added wrinkle of Guillermo finding out he's a vampire hunter by blood and actually very good at killing vampires. There is more than one incredibly erotically charged scene with Guillermo holding a stake to Nandor's chest. Their dynamic is fantastically complex, from Guillermo starting as Nandor's somewhat disgruntled servant to him besting the vampire in combat and becoming his bodyguard, to Guillermo getting tired of waiting and getting another vampire to turn him leading to a long jealousy arc culminating in Nandor nearly killing him... there's just so much going on with these two. Nandor flew to space just to impress Guillermo. They do a number of heinous things to humans and vampires alike, but through it all they are so in love and so rich with pining. One of these days they'll kiss, I'm sure of it. It's just a monumental slow burn with many vampiric atrocities along the way.

They aren't romantically canon yet, but dear lord. Both are canon queer, Guillermo is specifically gay while nandor is mentioned to be pansexual in interviews. Yeah they are everything and nothing. They fought and can kill eachother but they literally can't do it emotionally. Also forbidden love trope, vampire x vampire slayer /familiar/ body gaurd / best man. They make me unwell.

For John and Jack:

So, they both are literal murders. One of them is a little bit more insane than the other. Okay, the little bit part is not right, totally insane that is John, yes. But gonna love him though. He had been in rehab for alcohol, drugs, sex and murder. Don't kiss him, he might be wearing poisoning lipstick. They are canon mlm. They had been stuck in a two week time loop for five years, which was like leading a married life for them. They didn't actually marry, but they were partners, both in business and sexually. They worked together for an time agency. Then Jack's memories of two years were erased and he left. He went into  independent self deployment, doing scams using his knowledge of future events. After that he build an alien hunting institute in Cardiff, Wales. When John and Jack see eachother again after years, you don't know whether they will they kiss or fight. They do both. Did I tell you that along this story Jack became an inmortal who can't stay dead? No matter how or how often he dies or is killed, he keeps coming back to life. This is all very scraping on the surface, but oh boy, would it be at least a novella to describe them.

They worked together in the Time Agency where they did horrible things to the extent where Jack had two years of his memory stolen so that he couldn’t know what he’d done. They were also in a time loop together for five years where they canonically thought of each other as the wife (John was a good wife :3), and were basically married. Then they had a divorce arc and they both separately went rogue from the Agency to become conmen, although they still worked together/clashed on occasions, always still with that spark of passion. “Frenemies with benefits” Jack called them once, although John preferred “my lover, my rival, my nemesis and destiny. And bane of my bloody life.” Canon finds us where Jack has tried to reform and be a better person, but John is still chasing cons, and all he wants to do is bring Jack back to the stars with him, back to the crime and the glitter of the galaxies (it doesn’t work and he shoves Jack off a building but Jack got himself immortal so he’s fine <3) anyway I am very normal about them xoxo

In John's introduction to the series he shows up on a roof where some guy is mugging someone, grabs him by the throat and dangles him over the edge of the building while this guy begs for his life before dropping him just because he felt like it. When John and Jack interact for the first time in the show there's a super cool guitar riff, very evil western vibes, they walk up to each other, look deeply into each other's eyes, make out, then start throwing punches to Blur's Song 2. In one of the audio dramas we're told about various times where these two conned people, stole a bunch of money and gold and gems and stuff, then had sex with whoever it is they conned before (sometimes) killing them. When Jack devided he was done and left John to die John escaped and married the queen of England (Victoria) then locked Jack up somewhere to take his life force and live forever, destroying the timeline in the process. John has tried to kill all of Jack's friends at least twice to have him all to himself. He found Jack's long lost brother and when the brother turned out to be a terrible person with a vendetta against Jack John did everything he could to save Jack. Their relationship is canon but very one-sided most of the time

just this video

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG translation] Joker Out: We won't screw up

A radio interview with Bojan Cvjetićanin and Kris Guštin on the radio station called Radio Koper, from 01.01.2024. The interviewer and author is Iztok Novak Easy. You can read the translation below or listen to the audio in Slovene from the source.

~

['Carpe Diem' starts playing and continues to play in the background]

Interviewer: Hello, Bojan.

Bojan: Hello, dear friend.

Interviewer: And Kris.

Kris: Hi. It's good to see you here.

Interviewer: Thank you. How would you describe the year that just ended in a few sentences?

Bojan: In a few sentences? Yes, a year that changed our lives significantly and brought us closer to what we imagined our musical dreams to be.

Interviewer: What about you, Kris?

Kris: We have been using the word turbulent all day, today. In fact, it makes sense in at least two ways, because it has actually been very turbulent for us. Mentally and physically. We have also taken so many flights where we have experienced more turbulence than ever before.

['Carpe Diem' gets louder for a few seconds]

Interviewer: Moving on with this year. Eurovision, all the travelling that came before it, Stožice, the tour that followed, the recording in between, and so on. What would you put first? I'm asking you, Kris.

Kris: Even though we went to Eurovision this year, the main event for me was still the concert in Stožice. After all, we announced it a year before the event, which means half a year before we really even started to deal with Eurovision. For us, the whole year was split into before Stožice and after Stožice. Everything we were doing before Stožice was kind of leading up to it, so, once it happened, at least for me, it completely changed the shape of the year. So I have to say Stožice maybe even more than Eurovision.

Interviewer: What would you, Bojan, point out as the most valuable or what are the most valuable new pieces of knowledge or insights that you have gained this year?

Bojan: I would say the most valuable insight is that life on tour really requires a healthy rhythm. I would say that we very quickly realised that there is no room for hedonism or egocentrism on tour, and that it is an extremely complex machine that stops very quickly if the pieces start to fall apart. So the realisation that we, as a group, know how to work but also that we have to do so in harmony is the most valuable thing, I think.

Interviewer: I recently read that Eurovision fans awarded those who made an impact at this year's contest. You have become the kings of charisma. More than 50% of the votes. What is your comment?

Bojan: I mean, it's... not the kings of charisma, it's just the way this competition is, these titles in the end are more of a joke than for real. But it's absolutely wonderful that our name was even included in the five or six categories that were awarded. The fact that we won proves that this year we have been very much present in this Eurovision bubble. I would say that we were a very strong link among all the representatives of the countries at Eurovision. So there were a lot of good vibes and a lot of fun surrounding us. So it was nice that the listeners and the viewers picked that and, like you said, out of 80000 votes, more than 40000 were for us, so that is such a nice start to the New Year. And also, I would say, a very nice end to this Eurovision story.

['Carpe Diem' gets louder and it ends]

Interviewer: Your European tour is behind you. From Helsinki to Belgrade. A lot of sold-out concerts. I read a review of the Belgrade concert in Dom Omladine. All praises, Joker Out. A sociological phenomenon. The new Beatlmania* and so on. How do you manage to stay normal?

(*Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s.)

['Ne bi smel' starts playing in the background]

Bojan: I stand by the fact that all five of us are extremely down-to-earth and normal guys to begin with. That we have a very nice and safe community, waiting for us at home, watching over us and supporting us. That is, of course, our families, our friends and our team. So I would dare to say that we don't have a lot of room to screw up, because there are enough people around us who can grab us and hold us and bring us back down to Earth in an instant. So we don't have this tendency to suddenly become total jerks, but we are who we are and the moment we come back from the stage to the backstage, the gig is over and there is only genuineness left. I mean, on stage we're really totally genuine too, but still. We're on stage and it's a show. So yeah, I would say that we don't allow ourselves and others don't allow us to change who we are.

['Ne bi smel' gets louder for a few seconds]

Interviewer: Kris, Helsinki, The Hague, Wroclaw, Madrid, Barcelona, as I said Zagreb, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Rijeka too. Which would you say was the most emotional?

Kris: So I'll say this: it's really hard to pick one concert or one place that was really the best. Personally, I will say that Amsterdam was the most emotional experience for me, because it was the first time my Dutch family attending a concert of ours. Because before that, ok, they watched us at Eurovision, but after that performance, it's hard to really understand what we do besides that. They know that I do music, but they never really understood what I do until they came to the concert and saw their fellow Dutchies singing in Slovene for the whole concert, while they had never learned one song or a few words of Slovene in their whole life. And they were all enthusiastic until the end and it was a real honour to perform for them.

Interviewer: What about you, Bojan?

Bojan: I have to say that it was extremely emotional, in terms of the fact that we were totally shocked, that people were singing in Slovene in countries you wouldn't think of. I mean, let's say that the further north we went, the more and more it blew us away. As for me personally, perhaps the most heartfelt was in the countries of the region, so to say, the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Interviewer: Your version of Đurđevdan in Belgrade went viral on tiktok. Was it spontaneous?

Bojan: Yes, totally spontaneous. When we went off stage Jure was feeling unwell and couldn't go back on stage for the encore and I took the acoustic guitar because people were screaming for the encore, and when I came on stage, I said, "Which one are we going to do?" and some of the fans in the front screamed "Đurđevdan" and I said "C'mon". And Đurđevdan was the final encore song. And it turned out to be a great moment.

[an audio recording of 'Đurđevdan' from the concert plays]

Interviewer: Did you notice any particularity, perhaps a difference, between the British organisers, the Spanish, the Scandinavian and those from what you called our former country? Maybe how you were treated by the media?

['Vse kar vem' starts playing and it continues to play in the background]

Kris: If we just focus on the organiser. Before we started our tours abroad, I had never come into contact with organisers. Here, in Slovenia, we treat everything a little differently. Maybe in Slovenia you have such organisers at Kino Šiška* because they are used to a lot of foreign performers. But things are different and I have to say that we have been lucky that we have been less and less involved with them because we have had a bigger and more experienced team around us who have been trained for abroad from before. So, I would say that things are a little bit better abroad. Far from Slovenia being pure chaos and wild, I somehow felt safer and more confident when I was doing concerts abroad, in terms of the performance itself. As far as the media is concerned, of course in Slovenia we were one of the most talked about artists, so we got a lot of attention that we might not have received abroad. Abroad, we had Eurovision media, maybe some national television. So, as far as some commercial networks are concerned, we are still getting there. On the other hand, in the Balkans, all of a sudden it was "wow". All of a sudden the tabloids asked 'What's up with the girls, where are they, where's the party?' and things like that. It's a completely different scene than in Slovenia.

(*Kino Šiška has been the central Slovenian institution of the contemporary concert scene since 2009, complemented by activities in visual and performing arts.)

Interviewer: Do you have anything to add?

Bojan: Yes, I do. Like Kris said, when it comes to organising concerts, things tend to really... the biggest difference is that when you look at the plan and the timeline that you get before the concert, that timeline really makes sense and is accurate to the minute and it sticks to what is written. But I would say that in the Balkans, this is quite impartial, but in the Balkans we were really, I would say, treated like kings. In all aspects. As for the media... At least for me, it was the first time in the Balkans that a music journalist came and asked questions with 100% respect. At no point in the interview was there any hint of cynicism, which is practically in every interview here in Slovenia. Whenever there is some success or praise, there is a small 'but' in the next sentence. There is always something negative to point out, while someone who has a positive attitude also writes a really 100% positive article. And if someone is negative, they write it negatively. So that really really fascinated me. I have to say that the interviews in the Balkans this year were also heartwarming.

['Vse kar vem' plays louder for a few seconds]

Interviewer: Talking about positive things, have you ever had a negative experience? Maybe one... Have you ever had a hard time recently?

Bojan: Yes, absolutely. I'll say it like this, this year we gave our all, everything we had. We didn't have an ounce of energy left, that we could have saved just in case, but we went 800% with our heads through the wall. In every situation. And it left an impression on us, because we were tired and I was so tired that it started to show in certain stressful situations that we weren't used to before. For example, the stage was 1000% the safest place for me, but then by the end of summer, ['Padam' starts playing in the background] when I experienced a panic moment on the stage that then lasted for the whole concert, it left a mark on me and that stress and panic still lasts, for almost half a year from then. So, it's not a joke, when they say that you have to take time for yourself and slow down once in a while. But here we are, that moment has arrived, thank god. Next week we're going to London for two months, where us five are going to make music in peace. Well, in between we're going to fly to two concerts but almost two months in peace. So, yes, I'm very excited for that time.

['Padam' gets louder for a few seconds and continues to play in the background]

Interviewer: Maybe it's important in regards to this: when things start happening like in your case the task of choosing the people to surround yourself with, it's very hard. How do you manage situations like this? Where did you draw the line? How did you choose the people who help you? The people, like you say, who watch over you?

Kris: In the past it was always like this that we started working with people with whom we naturally developed a bond. With whom we have developed trust before we started the business collaboration or rather business relationship. And that basically functioned really well until Eurovision, then our presence suddenly broadened from Slovenia to the whole of Europe and the whole world, and here what we know how to do, and what the majority of people from Slovenia know, it's not enough to properly tackle the market. So we had to make a few quick decisions, we had to welcome a few people from abroad to our team that we might not have welcomed so quickly in Slovenia. But we said that this is the moment, when we have to trust certain people to help us. We established that trust in advance as much as it was possible. Now we have in our team, for example, people we got to know during Eurovision with whom we have already developed a relationship but we are still developing it and waiting. At the same time we had to say goodbye to certain people in Slovenia, even those who were a part of our team from the very start, because our situation is drastically changing, because our schedules no longer align, in regards to life, ambitions and business. So for me one of the hardest things this year was that we had to say goodbye to people who were with us from the start, because we're moving forward.

['Padam' gets louder for a few seconds]

Interviewer: In March and April you have a new concert tour. Before that, Bojan, you said there will be time for creating.

['Sunny Side of London' starts playing in the background]

Bojan: Yes, next year will be a little experimental from all aspects, so, not just the concert aspect but also from the creative aspect. We'll be creating music abroad for the first time. So, the next two months in London are devoted to writing, making the songs, rewiring our brains.

Interviewer: In English?

Bojan: In Slovene, English and Serbo-Croatian language. Maybe another one, but for now these three are planned. English will dominate for sure but all three languages will be on the album. In March and a little bit of April, we're going on this one month tour. Then we're going to a studio in Germany for one month, where we'll record the album. That is the studio where we recorded 'Carpe Diem' so we're already used to it. We're planning to put the March tour to good use with trying out what we will write and play in our rehearsal space in January and February. So the March tour will be the most playful tour until now, because at each concert we'll try out two, three songs from the new album, at the next concert we'll play another one. So each concert will be actually different and a different experience for the fans and for us. After the studio we are going on a festival tour that will probably also be quite extensive. Then we will return back home at the end of summer and slowly release the album in October, which means another tour for sure and then it's happy new year and merry Christmas and here we are.

['Sunny Side of London' gets louder for a few seconds and continues in the background]

Interviewer: Earlier I mentioned Finland, where you were already during the last tour. One of the concerts is already sold out, as far as I know, in Helsinki. Can you explain this phenomenon? Finland? Is this that story that developed from Eurovision?

Kris: Yes, for sure. I think Finland was the first country ever where we got a golden record and it was for Carpe Diem. We learned about that on tour, when we were in Finland. No one exactly knows the reason why Finland stands out the most. It's definitely the fact that they are big fans of Eurovision, so more of them came in contact with us. Besides that, we had a nice friendship, or rather, Bojan did, with their representative. That gave us additional exposure in this country. But there is clearly something with us and our music that resonates with their ethos and despite all the exposure they had something to hold on to, once they got to us.

Interviewer: You were talking about the golden record. If I mention a few numbers now. Your former PR representative, booking manager, I don't know what else he was responsible for, we're talking about Gregor, of course, he mentioned 45 million streams on Facebook. Now there are more, for sure. Your fee was raised 30 times and it's going up. In short, there are a lot of numbers. What does this bring?

Bojan: This brings a lot of things. Now, in the music business it's common that when you have a bigger fee you have to make a bigger and better production. In the end, it literally comes to proportionally the same fee you had in the beginning, but with a bigger show. In regards to that, our life absolutely hasn't changed. Maybe I could say that it could have if we had stayed in Slovenia... I can say that for sure. If we kept doing concerts in Slovenia we could get more out of it, in a financial sense. In regards to all the other aspects, in other words, how inspirational is it for a musician in how much it fills you, it's incomparable. We don't do music because of money, if we did we would probably either do a different kind of music or do it in a different way. But what drives us, is creating and that new faces in the crowd sing. Especially now, when we started going abroad, it's something incredible. To listen, to see the crowds queuing to come to your concert.

Interviewer: Can you also comment on my question?

Kris: Half of people will always resent you for changing and the other half for staying the same. No matter what you decide and because I personally know that a musician needs to grow in their career, so then I'd rather see that half of the people resent us for changing than for staying the same.

['Demoni' starts playing loudly for a few seconds]

Interviewer: Okay, our chat was recorded at the time that we on Radio Koper realised that Carpe Diem was the most played song in this past year. I told you earlier that the second one was 'Novi val', last year at this time, it was the most played song too. The song that now has an English version, with the great Elvis Costello in the main role. I still don't get it how you managed to pull that off.

Bojan: We don't get it either, honestly. Elvis Costello is someone who was musically connected with the band literally from the start. So, when we first drew the line under this shagadelic rock'n'roll and we called our music this made-up genre it coincided with Elvis Costello, who was acting and singing in the Austin Powers movie, where "shagadelic" came from. So it's an unbelievable common thread that came full circle in the end. Elvis has, in his own words, co-authored with very few people, Paul McCartney is one of them. So, when he told me that he co-signed this song with me, I wasn't really able to grasp that.

Interviewer: Okay. You are a part of the new wave. You're inviting us to the carneval. Generation of love and hope and so on. You are a part of some kind of a new wave that happened several years earlier, the so-called new wave 30 or 40 years ago. You know that there's this phrase that embodied musicians who had changed our story as well, and I dare to say that it was part of the reason why many things unraveled the way they did, for the better. I have a feeling, that you are also, please tell us for all five of you, a part of this new wave that wants things to lead in a better direction.

Kris: I definitely count on all five of us knowing and understanding and feeling that we are a part of the new wave and if I connect to the previous question about Elvis, I think he felt it too. Because this is the bond that we have with him, besides all the surface level things, shagadelic and I-don't-know what else. The bond we have with him is that we both started creating in a vacuum of new music and we made something out of it and I think he could feel it even without beeing present on the Slovene music scene. And if he could feel it, we have to trust ourselves that we are doing something right and we're leaving something meaningful behind us.

['New Wave' plays in the background]

Interviewer: Bojan.

Bojan: We are... the five of us, young people in 21st century, we grew up with the notion that from what we learned from books, everything will be better, all the mistakes have already been made and the world learned something, and now we can flourish. And unfortunately, it is becoming clearer by the day that not only have we not learned from our mistakes, but the mistakes have clearly been learned by those who want to, I would say, take these mistakes to a higher level for future generations who will learn about them in textbooks. So after all the musicians, all the songs that were encouraging peace and love, we are clearly just another wave who can do the same. I hope and believe that for those who want to hear it, we can change their world view and can make their everyday better to a degree that they don't feel a need to share their wrath and indignation with others. In reality, times are stressful and horrifying and we can only make them better by a tiny smidge, and we can appeal to people to be a part of the new wave. I think that the most we can do is that people might be able to recognise within themselves that "maybe I can do this better, I can do it more nicely, and if we share music, if we share love, this new wave can wave stronger."

Interviewer: Good luck.

Bojan: Thank you very much.

['New Wave' starts playing loudly]

~

Transcript by a member of JokerOutSubs, translation by @varianestoroff, marusapersic and another member of JokerOutSubs, proofread by a member of JokerOutSubs.

[merrybloomwrites]

Ian Hecox- Cafe Meet Cute

Summary: A rough morning gets a little better due to a run in with a stranger at a coffee shop.

Word Count: 700

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

You couldn’t believe how this day was turning out. You really thought this interview would be leading to you getting your dream job.

Only to find out the whole company is a complete sham. You’d wasted your entire morning driving over an hour, waiting nearly another hour, only to speak with a representative for fifteen minutes. Finding out that they basically do the opposite of everything you’d seen online, and would actually be paying minimum wage, really puts you over the edge. 

So now you’re back on the job hunt, starting fresh when you thought it’d finally be over. But first, you need to drive yet another hour back home. Caffeine is definitely a must right now. 

You’d noticed a little cafe on your way in earlier and decide that seems like the perfect place to spend way too much money on a simple coffee. You’d had a rough morning, so you totally deserve a little treat. 

The coffee shop is just how you expected. Very modern, but with cute little decorations, and a menu full of words you don’t understand (but prices you unfortunately do). 

You’re looking at the menu trying to find a word you recognize, and must look very perplexed because another customer says, “Need help translating?”

“Excuse me?” You say, startled by his sudden appearance. 

“Sorry, you just looked confused. This place is a touch pretentious but the coffee is excellent so it’s worth it. But their menu is practically in another language,” he explains. 

You look at the random person and find an attractive man, roughly your age, and finally say, “Actually yea, I could use some help.”

He gives you a warm, reassuring smile before asking, “What is it you normally get?”

“Typically an iced latte.”

“Any flavor in it?” He asks. 

“I’ll often do mocha, or caramel, or vanilla. I like it pretty sweet,” you reply, suddenly self conscious of your own preference. 

“Don’t be embarrassed, it’s okay to have a wrong choice,” he says, laughing to show he’s just teasing. The light banter has you blushing even more. 

“How do you feel about lavender?” He asks next. 

“Can’t say I’ve ever had it in coffee before. Had it in a cocktail once, and I liked that.” 

“Okay, wait here a minute,” he says and promptly walks away. You’re confused as to what he’s doing, since he left without giving a recommendation, but you listen and wait for him. 

You’re shocked when he comes back carrying two drinks and hands one to you. 

“This is for you, hope ya like it,” he says cheerfully.

“Thank you! How much do I owe you?” 

“Nothing. It’s on me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh! I’m Ian,” he says, gesturing to himself with his free hand. “And you are?”

“I’m Y/N,” you reply.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. And yes I’m sure. Especially since I kind of guessed and you could still hate it.” You laugh at his statement, still slightly uncomfortable about the free drink, but you can tell he’s more than happy to get it for you.

He watches as you take a sip and seems relieved when your face lights up. 

“This is delicious! What is it?”

“Essentially it’s an iced vanilla latte with lavender.”

“I guess I really am a fan of lavender then.”

“Phew, I was nervous,” he says and you both laugh. “So, do you live around here?”

“Not really, I came for a job interview.”

“And I take it by your tone it didn’t go well?”

“You could definitely say that,” you answer.

He looks at you for a moment and says, “I was going to go for a walk along the beach. If you want to join me you can vent about how bad it was.” 

“I’d like that,” you say. 

The two of you spend the next hour walking together, getting to know each other before you start the drive back home.

Later that night you reflect on the day, happy that it wasn’t a total waste. You might not have gotten the job, but you did get Ian’s number, as well as a date scheduled for that Friday.

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

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Another Damien story coming up next week!

[kahvilahuhut]

just a normal workplace conversation

Summary: What happens when you have two people, who have known each other since university, work on the same project leading different teams? Definitely completely normal conversations that definitely stay on the the same topic all the time (sarcasm). What else can you talk about on your way from one room to another.

Tws: mention of a wound

---

"Hey, Toby. Do you have a moment? Can I get your thoughts on something?"

Tobias turned around and saw Aleena leaning on the door frame, hologram gloves on. He waved his hand. "Sure! If we also get more coffee on our way to your little hologram room," he glanced at his three empty cups standing in the same corner of his desk, one clearly leaving a stain on his to-do list.

"Still a coffee freak, I see. Have you ever tried matcha?"

"Green tea is for evenings when you gotta calm down but don't want to sleep yet. Speaking of, hang on, need to write this down or I'll forget," he opened his whiteboard marker and wrote 'buy more genmaitcha' on his notes section of the board.

"I disagree with your tea opinions but sure, do whatever you want."

"Funny how you're talking about tea when all our office had back then was english breakfast and some flavored green tea."

"It had earl grey too."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway," he closed his whiteboard marker and placed it in his lab coat's pocket, "what do you need my thoughts for? Though, if it's something anatomy related, I probably barely have any thoughts."

Aleena smirked and motioned him to follow. "Weren't you the guy with the heaviest physiology book in dorm?"

"Bold of you to assume I ever opened it," he chuckled. "I think I mostly used it as a press for things. Like if I accidentally fucked up my notebook's front page and couldn't straighten it out with bare hands or a ruler. Never been into collecting leaves, though. I even managed to skip the whole school year that had it."

"City kid."

"Hey, I was raised in suburbs, we had trees and plants there! A pair of pigeons used to make a nest in front of my house. I just, you know," he shook his hands, "don't want to touch anything dirty. One of the reasons I suck at gardening, too."

"Honestly, that explains while you prefer working in a clean lab environment."

"Hah, nothing better than the smell of dimethyl sulfoxide," he paused with a wide smile, "Get it? Because it doesn't have a scent. At least when it's pure."

"Missed your humor, lab boy. And your sweaters. Is that a bee?"

"Yes! I think the first time I knitted one like this was almost seventeen years ago. I've made at least four of these. First one got ruined when I accidentally knocked a wine bottle while leaning to- Well, anyway! Glad you noticed. I think Samuel hates it. Saw him today when I came to the office in the morning and he just stared at me and my sweater."

"He hates everything related to you, it seems, if I can be honest?" She looked around to make sure that no one was close by, "I heard he wanted to pick someone else as the lead chemist, and the project board overruled him."

"Oh, god, you should have seen his face when I mentioned in the interview that I've only been doing part-time roles for last decade due to health problems. I mean, he's a Mackie guy, though, so no surprise there."

"They seem to have not liking you as a personality trait. Which is funny, considering how your wife works there."

Tobias laughed. "I think Klara's the only reason why their agents haven't shot me in some dark alley yet," he paused, "Can you blame them though? Imagine a guy who tried to whistleblow one of your projects now appears on your new project rekated to the previously mentioned project."

"Christ, Toby, you know how to have fun, don't you," Aleena laughed and opened the door to hologram room. "Speaking of projects, that's one of the things I need your help with. I found something while looking through the old project's files. Since you were there, I thought you could explain it."

He walked in after her, slightly wincing at the bright lamp shining in the middle of dark room. "Oooooh. I'm already having a bad feeling about this." Tobias wasn't sure himself whether he said that about the thing Aleena was asking him about or that he forgot to refill his migraine meds in the bag.

"You said the same thing about taking Frank as one of the ad faces."

"Was I wrong?"

"You tell me - is he good in bed?"

"He sucks. Interpret that however you want."

"Alright then, keep your dirty secrets." She walked to the round, grey area on the floor and pressed a button on the screen next to it. A hologram appeared, showing a scanned part of a hand, stab wound clearly visible. Aleena switched on her gloves and waved her hands to zoom in on the inside parts of the wound. "This was the problem, wasn't it? The substance clogging literally everything around the wound."

Tobias nodded. "Uh-huh. And then they decided to use it as something to cause lethal damage with. And failed."

"Yeah, well. I was thinking, you know," she swiped her hand to the right and an animation appeared, "what if we managed to somehow make it only block the wound, like some kind of magic band-aid?"

"When they closed the project they were indeed theorizing that, if I remember right."

"So it might just work?"

"Hell yeah it might work."

[madalice31]

It’s annoying that I keep seeing articles talking about Aaron Taylor Johnson and his wife and how they’re so flabbergasted by everyone’s “fascination” with their age gap.

🙄

Like literally she was 42 and he was 18 when they met and started dating. Hell he might have been 17 going on 18 but i can’t remember. On one of his first movie projects I might add, like this was before Kickass. And she directed him in that first movie. In fact, by the time kick ass two rolled around I think they were already married. She married him before he even turned 21.

You can’t tell me he was not groomed. That’s just point blank. There has been a power dynamic imbalance since they got together. I mean seriously, he was a year older than her oldest kid.

The white media won’t drag her like the black media dragged Draya tho. They’ll just smile and nod and say it’s okay now that he’s in his 30s.

But let’s not sit here and act like this shit is normal. Notice how she’s had a grip on his career ever since? She’s literally a director and producer in the industry. She has weight. This man barely does anything with a romantic interest and I guarantee he would be in a lot more movies if he wasn’t married to her. And most likely he would have much larger parts in the films too. Like aside from bullet train, he’s had such a minute part in every other movie. My bf and I would get excited to see his name attached to a film, only to watch it and realize he has such a small role. It’s like they use his name for clout. Like I’m still trying to remember when he pops up in Tenant. And his name is never top billed when it should be.

I think Kraven will be the first movie he leads since the A Million Little Pieces movie, and he was directed by his wife in that as well! She overly involves herself in his career. She claims they “take turns” on projects so they’re not apart from each other for too long. But it seems his career suffers the most from that arrangement because again, it’s not like he’s off for months and months on a project. He’s not the lead! So he’s there for maybe a few weeks and he’s back home. Hell in a recent interview she was complaining about being away from him for 6 weeks (the longest they’ve been apart) and how they were “never doing that again.” This man is doing press tours for a project she has nothing to do with and and she’s coming with him to every interview. Like why? Ain’t you supposed to be home with the kids bitch? While he’s doing his own thing for a few weeks? Oh yes, that’s right, she needs to control everything he does. God forbid he’s away from her for long enough to realize maybe he’s not actually happy with her.

He likes to defend her by saying he pursued her but it’s like dude, you think so? You know what that sounds like? The 12 year old student who was raped by his teacher and defended her by saying he pursued and wanted a relationship with her. He grew up, married her, and got her pregnant all while she was in prison for being with him. Guess where they are now? Divorced. So just because Aaron thinks the relationship was his idea doesn’t make it right. She had the responsibility to say no, you’re entirely too young for me. Instead she decided to just “go with the flow” and let “a good thing happen” to her after two kids and a divorce 🙄.

Please. 8 or 10 years apart, I’ll give you that. But 20 to 30 years apart AND you met the person when they were still a teenager? I’m not tryna hear that age is just a number bullshit.

Smh. He’s so far gone tho, I doubt he’ll divorce her. He might pull a Hugh Jackman years from now, but at least Hugh was in his 20s when he got with his much older wife. I don’t think she was able to brainwash him the way Aaron’s wife has done. Plus Hugh and his ex never had kids. I’m sure kids being involved makes it harder for Aaron if he’s even thinking about or thought about leaving. So I guess we’ll just see how the cookie crumbles.

I like him as an actor, but I’ve always found their relationship disturbing. So I wish they would just shut up about it and be low key. Cause one thing they seem to steer clear of talking about is the actual beginning of their relationship and the fact that he was a vulnerable, 18 year old first time actor when they met, literally just as career was starting. And he’s never mentioned about how his family feels about him being with her. Never even made a passing comment saying that they love her or anything like that. Just saying, the signs are there.

The quiet on the set documentary clearly shows how young actors are not protected. In this case he was legal, so she got away with it. Smh. I wish him the best.

[burkhxrts]

IMGONNAGETYOUBACK! [chapter three] | A. Judge

"you know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love, the slowest way is never loving them enough." -taylor swift

summary: after a long first month, you find that aaron's been avoiding you. you decided to take matter into your own hands and confront him.

warning(s): ANGST GALORE!!! cursing, fight fight fight!!! they're honestly both in the wrong but who cares.

You feel useless. 

It's been too long of a month, in your opinion, and the fact that you have to spend every living breathing moment with your ex makes it ten times worse. Not to mention, the fact that he’s been avoiding you every chance he got. Every time you stepped into the Yankees locker room and made eye contact with him, he’d freeze, and claim that he had somewhere to be. The anger inside you bubbled up like boiling hot water. Who does he think he is? 

Today was the very same. After a late inning loss, you stepped into the clubhouse, watching as each player got surrounded by swarms of reporters. You spotted Meredith, the lead reporter for the YES Network, make her way towards Aaron. He was standing at his locker, the usual stoic expression on his face, as he answered a few questions. His gaze flickered briefly toward you, but the moment it landed, his shoulders stiffened and he quickly looked away, offering a polite but strained smile to the reporter in front of him. He never acknowledged you. Not a wave, not even the slightest nod. Just a wall of cold indifference.

You were sick of it. Sick of him pretending you didn't exist, sick of the games he was playing, and sick of the way he made you feel—like you were some afterthought in his life when you'd once been everything. You just wanted him to treat you like a normal person.

Taking a deep breath, you steadied yourself. This had gone on long enough. If he was going to act like this, you weren’t going to sit back and let him walk all over you. You were a professional now, a journalist for the Yankees. You had every right to be here, and you wouldn’t let him push you out of his life just because he was uncomfortable.

You walked toward him, trying to keep your steps calm and collected, but your heart was pounding in your chest. The closer you got, the more you could feel the tension in the air. It was like a force field—one he had built between you both, and you were done respecting it.

Meredith gave you a quick glance as you approached, then moved off to interview another player, leaving you standing in front of Aaron. He didn’t even look up from his locker at first.

“Can we talk?” you asked, your voice sharp and deliberate. The question came out colder than you intended, but you didn’t care anymore. “Now?”

He froze at the sound of your voice, his entire body stiffening as if you had thrown a bucket of ice water over him. Slowly, he turned toward you, but there was no warmth in his eyes. There never was anymore. Just that same look of avoidance that had been there for weeks now.

The clubhouse was dead now, the only remaining people you and Aaron.

“What’s up?” he said, his voice strained and overly casual, as if he didn’t already know what you were going to say.

You could barely stand the fake politeness in his tone, the detachment that practically oozed from him. Your patience snapped. You didn’t need him to pretend. You didn’t need him to act like everything was fine.

“Stop doing this, Aaron,” you said, your voice low but firm. “Stop acting like I’m some ghost that you can’t even acknowledge. You’re avoiding me at every turn, and it’s getting old.”

His expression flickered with something you couldn’t quite place, but it quickly melted into that same impassive mask. “I’m not avoiding you,” he said, though his words rang hollow.

“Bullshit,” you shot back, unable to hide the anger now spilling over. “Every time I walk into a room, you act like I’m invisible. I deserve better than that, Aaron. I’m not the one who walked away, remember?”

His jaw tightened, and for a brief moment, you saw a flicker of guilt in his eyes. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared. He exhaled, shifting slightly on his feet. “I’m not trying to hurt you, Y/n. I just… I don’t know what you want from me.”

Oh, you knew exactly what you wanted from him. But that wasn’t the issue here, was it?

“I want you to stop treating me less than the other journalists because of what we had. I want you to stop acting like you can just sweep me under the rug,” you snapped, taking a step closer to him, your pulse quickening. “I’m not a stranger to you, Aaron. And I’m tired of playing this game where you pretend I am.”

His eyes flickered to the ground, a moment of hesitation passing before he looked back up at you, and this time, his voice was quieter, laced with something you hadn’t expected. Something raw. “I’m married now,” he said, the words landing like a punch to your stomach.

The room seemed to close in on you as the weight of his confession pressed against your chest. You knew he was married, so why is he acting like it's a big hidden secret?

“I know,” you said, voice barely above a whisper. “I know you’re married. But that doesn’t mean you get to ignore me. That doesn’t mean I’m nothing to you. I’m still here, Aaron. I always have been. And you’re treating me like I’m just some fucking bystander in your life.”

He swallowed hard, his eyes betraying a flicker of guilt. “It’s not that simple, [Y/N]. I don’t know how to balance all of this. I don’t know how to be around you and not feel like I’m betraying my wife... or betraying you.”

You shook your head, fighting back the sting of angry tears. “I don’t give a shit about betrayal, i've already experienced it before, remember?”

“Don’t do that,” he said, his voice low and tight, like a warning. “Don’t try to make this about that. You know it’s not the same.”

You could feel your pulse pounding in your ears. “Then what is it, Aaron? Huh? What’s so different about me? “About us?”

You were right in front of him now, too close, the distance between you both almost nonexistent. The space in between was filled with all the things that had gone unsaid, all the things he had been avoiding—all the things you both hadn’t finished.

He exhaled sharply, pushing past you, his frustration rising to meet yours. His hand ran through his hair in a rare show of agitation. “You don’t get it, do you?” he said, his voice thick with emotion, something raw and vulnerable creeping through. “I can’t make you understand what this is like. I can’t explain to you how fucking hard it is to love someone and still feel like... like there’s something else pulling at you.”

You stiffened at his words, feeling an unexpected pang of something in your chest. Something akin to the grief you’d carried for so long. It’s hard, Aaron? You wanted to scream, to lash out at him for being so oblivious to how much harder it had been for you—how long you had struggled to make sense of the mess he left behind.

But you held it in. You had nothing left to lose now, no dignity to protect.

“Yeah,” you said, your voice trembling, “I get it. I get it all too well.” You couldn’t help but step back, the weight of the situation crashing down on you in waves. “I get it, Aaron, because I’m the one who’s been living with it. I’m the one who spent years waiting for you to come back. Hoping you’d figure it out. Hoping you’d choose me—choose us—over whatever the hell it was that pulled you away.”

Aaron's eyes softened for the briefest moment, and it was enough to make your heart skip in your chest. God, he still does care, doesn't he? But then the moment passed, and he straightened, swallowing hard as if trying to force down whatever feelings were threatening to surface.

“I didn’t leave because I didn’t care about you,” he said, his voice tight with emotion. “I left because I did care. Because I knew I wasn’t... I wasn’t the man you deserved. Not then. Not now.”

“Then why come back now, Aaron? Why come back into my life if all you’re going to do is hurt me again?” The question hung in the air, thick and painful, like the weight of the past pressing against both of you.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stared at you, as though weighing every word he said. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, rough, like the confession he was about to make had been locked away for too long.

“Because I can’t stop thinking about you,” he admitted, his gaze steady on yours, the truth pouring out in a way he had never allowed before. “Because when I see you, when I hear your voice, it feels like I’ve never left. Like everything before—us—wasn’t just some lost dream. And it’s fucking killing me, [Y/N]. It’s killing me because I know I can’t have both.”

You felt your chest tighten, the weight of his words sinking in, pulling you under. The past rushed back like a flood, memories of days spent with him, your heart so full of love and hope. You had loved him. And in that moment, despite everything, a part of you still did.

But you couldn’t ignore the truth—he had made his choices, and you had made yours. He was married. He wasn’t the man you needed him to be anymore, even if you still craved the version of him that once was.

“You can’t have both,” you repeated, your voice cracking. “You can’t have me and expect me to be okay with it. I’m not going to be the other woman, Aaron. Not now. Not ever.”

He flinched, as if your words had hit him harder than anything you had said before. For a long time, neither of you said anything. The weight of the silence felt suffocating, thick with everything unspoken between you. Every moment of regret, every shared look, every kiss you’d stolen in the past—all of it hung in the air like a burden neither of you could escape.

Finally, Aaron spoke again, his voice barely audible. “I don’t know what to do anymore, [Y/N]. I don’t know how to make this right.”

You rubbed at your eyes, fighting back the tears that had begun to slip down your cheeks. You weren’t going to cry in front of him. Not like this. Not when everything was so complicated.

“You can’t make it right,” you said, voice trembling with the effort of holding it together. “You had your chance, Aaron. We had our chance.”

And with that, you turned on your heel and walked away.

[piggledy-higgledy]

As anyone who’s been looking at my page semi-frequently will have noticed, I am a big Richard Armitage fan. Mostly in love with his portrayal of Gisborne in BBC’s Robin Hood, but I also enjoy most of his other work and consider him a very talented actor (and a very sweet person from what we can tell.)

There has been a lot of furore lately about his latest project, “Obsession” (a series unfortunately promoted as an erotic thriller by Netflix), which is a remake of 1992 film “Damage” (with Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche) and based on the book by Josephine Hart. He portrays William Farrow, a married, middle aged, successful surgeon, who has an affair with his son’s fiancé, Anna (Charlie Murphy) -an affair so obsessive that it costs him everything: his career, his family, his son’s life, even his own self (more on that later.) The series features a lot of sex scenes, very light BDSM elements, and a LOT of nudity from RA on a level most fans never thought we’d see (RA being famously private and modest.) The fandom has been divided over this, with some looking forward to it and some being sure it’s not for them at all. From what I can tell (and I might be wrong) most people were put off by either the copious amounts of sex (and the trailer leaned very heavily on that) or the unsavoury morals of the main characters. Which is fair, if it’s not your cup of tea, don’t watch it.

I *did* watch it, and because opinions have been so strong, I wanted to share my thoughts. No disrespect if you prefer to pass. I hope it might be helpful for anyone on the fence and still making up their mind whether to watch or not. Happy to chat more about it if anyone likes! There WILL be spoilers.

Before watching it

I have personally felt very intrigued about this series and I was excited about watching it. Not so much because of the nudity or explicit scenes -or, rather, because of them, but not in the way you might think. Richard Armitage has played very, very few roles where he was primarily the romantic lead, and none later in his career. He tends to be cast in active roles, a lot of dark, violent characters, tense action. When there is romance it’s not the main aspect being explored. And he has NEVER (with the notable exception of Between the Sheets, which was so early in his career I doubt he necessarily had much choice to turn down work) done anything close to this level of sexual screen time. Why now? What made this different? I really wanted to know.

There was another reason I really wanted to watch Obsession. What Richard Armitage does best, in my opinion, is give characters depth (even characters that were clearly not written that way *cough* *Guy* *cough*). He is an incredibly detailed actor and uses his face and eyes to a stunning degree to convey things that go far beyond the dialogue. He has spoken about how he creates complete backstories for all his characters. This project is literally made for his type of acting. There is hardly any action, and leagues of unspoken material. RA called it “one of the most fulfilling pieces of work he’s ever done”. I needed to see why.

After watching it

I binged all 4 episodes in one night. And then again the next morning. And again today. I finished the first episode and thought “Yes, I understand why he wanted to do this.” (He also said in an interview that there was a moment in one scene that he’d never achieved before on film. Having watched this, I believe him.) Is this the kind of series I’d normally gravitate to? No. But I’m glad I watched it. Every single actor was incredible. The filming was beautiful. I just… don’t know where to start.

The story:

In my opinion “Obsession” is not about infidelity or sexual exploration -it’s about William and Anna’s experience with obsession and addiction. Anna isn’t just having an affair. She is addicted to being in control and to using sex as a means of asserting that control. (We learn that she had a brother who sexually abused her for years and committed suicide when she finally put a stop to it. And throughout the series, she reacts to strong emotions by initiating sex. Charlie Murphy described the character as a “dominant submissive” and that’s spot on, not just in the way that she sets the rules and boundaries of their sexual relationship, but in the way that, having been abused, asserts her control on the situation she had to submit to as a young girl by controlling when and how she submitted). William is not just having an affair. He is obsessed and addicted to Anna to the point that it completely deconstructs him as a person. He is the counterpoint to Anna’s character, in that he has no control. He doesn’t initiate, he doesn’t resist, he can’t or won’t control his reactions or his impulses and he completely loses control of his life as a result of his actions. In the final episode Jay, the son, discovers the affair and in shock, falls off a railing to his death. There is a scene where William faces his wife after everything is revealed and watching Richard Armitage convey all those emotions without saying a word is some of the best acting I’ve seen in my life. I don’t know what part of himself RA drew from to act the guilt and grief and absolute devastation in that scene but it was… amazing and heartbreaking. Even then, the obsession wins. When Jay dies, we see Anna walking away while William cradles the body of his son, paying her very little attention. I completely believe that he is broken in the scenes that follow. But after a few days the addiction takes over and he still seeks out Anna, convinced they can now be together (“there’s no version of this with just you,” she’d told him earlier on, but he clearly thinks otherwise). And we get the following:

W: … I let uncertainty in. (NB: What is uncertainty but lack of control?)

A: And look what happened. I don’t think… we can ever separate who we are from what we’ve done.

W: But… we can’t let it all be for nothing either (NB: William’s voice breaks here. He’s lost everything he ever cared about, she’s the only thing left. Does this phrase mean he thinks there was depth in their affair? Or does it mean that he is looking for meaning and depth so that he can cope with the fact that he sacrificed everything for an obsession and an addiction?)

A: Jay died because of us.

W: Still I wouldn’t change it (TNB: THIS! This phrase upset so many viewers! And of course it did, it was supposed to. The acting is, again, amazing. This isn’t said to Anna, this is introspection. William is looking inside himself, realises he wouldn’t change it, realises how much of himself he’s lost.)

A: You don’t regret it?

W: How can I?

A: We caused so much pain

W: But it’s done now.

A: I am so sorry for what happened. But I wish we’d never met. (She walks away, leaving William sobbing. Because there. is. nothing. left.)

The sex:

I hate that this was marketed as a sexy series because it created all sorts of hype and expectations that were misplaced imo. The story was never about the sex. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm said a couple of days ago on Twitter that it’s about “sitting in the discomfort of human behaviours” and that is spot on. Like I said above, this is a story of addiction. Anna is not addicted to the sex -she is addicted to using sex for control. That’s why Anna and William never kiss (she is the one controlling their physical interactions. William leans in to kiss her in many scenes, she never lets him.) That’s why the music is so jarring in all the sex scenes. That’s why there’s no foreplay, that’s why William never lasts long. That’s why they only ever have sex on the floor or in public, never in a safe, comfortable place like a bed. They are not comfortable. This is not a comfortable situation. We, as viewers, are supposed to be uncomfortable. The infamous hotel pillow scene was meant to demonstrate the turning point in William’s addiction, the complete loss of control, I think. It was never supposed to be funny or sexy -it was meant to disturb us because this intelligent, cultured, previously collected man becomes completely animalistic. Which is why he sobs afterwards -I think this is the point when William realises that (as Ingrid puts it later) “he is lost to her”. William’s face after their first sexual encounter is the face of a man under the influence. When she gets up to leave he makes this movement with his fingers like he is trying to hold on to her, but only grabs air. It’s just a twitch -but it’s Richard Armitage and we know how detailed he is in his acting, and I am sure it was a gesture with meaning.

The intimate scenes in Obsession are sometimes sensual, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes genuinely hard to watch but never gratuitous.

Why a fan of Richard Armitage or anyone writing for his characters should watch it:

Again, you do you, but hear me out: This series is a veritable treasure trove of body language, voice/cadence, facial expressions that you can then apply to your favourite RA character. The longing. The conflict. The loss of control. The vulnerability. The eye contact. The fact that the lover’s name is Anna, which is also my name. Also, I’m being completely serious when I say that this is some of the best acting I’ve seen him do *ever*. If you can only bring yourself to watch parts of it, do that. There were some scenes that genuinely made me tear up. Look after yourself, respect your boundaries, but sample what you can because it’s a veritable banquet.

PS: I am focusing on Richard Armitage for this review because I came to Obsession from that fandom. But every single actor gives an amazing performance. I especially adored Charlie Murphy as Anna, Indira Varma being astounding as Ingrid and the criminally underrated Marion Bailey as Anna’s mother, Elizabeth, who packs SO MUCH into so few scenes.

[withlove-amber]

Girls Night Confessions

alden parker x reader

(Y/N) needed a break. First, she chased a suspect for two blocks, only to have them escape. When she got back to the NCIS building, the team tried to make her feel better, but she couldn’t help feeling like everything was her fault. So she was more than grateful when Parker gave her an extra pastry from the box. Unfortunately, his sweet gesture did not make her current crush on him any easier. Second, she had to get recertified in the pepper-spraying course. And as a result, she couldn’t see anything besides the tears that constantly blurred her vision throughout the very long day. Lastly, her neighbor had her boyfriend over, so that meant sleep went out the fucking window. So when it was time for girls’ night with Jessica, Kasie, and Delilah, she could not have been more desperate for an escape.

The night was filled with laughter, gossip, and alcohol. Like, a lot of gossip and alcohol. When Kasie suggested they watch a rom-com, everyone was all for it. So that’s how they ended up on their third rom-com of the night, finished three bottles of wine and two bottles of tequila, and it wasn’t even 2 am. Everyone was going to be so hungover the next day. (Y/N) wasn’t sure if it was because she was drunk, but she could not stop daydreaming about her silver-haired team lead by the name of Alden Parker. No matter what she did, she kept picturing the different situations on screen, replaced by her boss. The way the lead male and the lead female stared into each other’s eyes the next morning after a night filled with passion and romance, sent shivers down her spine at the thought of Parker’s kind, hazel eyes staring into her own. 

Jessica noticed (Y/N) daydreaming during the movies, and decided to ask her what she was thinking about. (Y/N) lied, and said the reason why she kept zoning out was she was just a little tired. But Jessica was sure there was something else that must be going on inside of her head. After their final movie, she asked (Y/N) again what was up. (Y/N) tried to lie again, but Delilah and Kasie started to get a tad bit suspicious too. At this point, they were all starting to get a little worried for (Y/N), because although she kept saying she was fine, (Y/N)’s body language and the distance in her eyes told a much different story. 

When they asked a third and final time, Jessica followed up with, “Is it something about the silver hair that does it for you, (Y/N)?” All three of them watched (Y/N)’s face turn bright red, and not just from the copious amounts of alcohol. Jessica smirked at her friend’s non-verbal response, and said, “I knew it! But seriously, is it the hair?” “It’s a combination of a lot of things. He’s kind, thoughtful, smart, funny, strong, courageous. And yes, the hair definitely is a plus.” (Y/N) confessed. Kasie sat on the sofa, shocked as to how she didn’t figure it out earlier. ‘I mean, she already calls him her ‘safe haven’.’ Kasie thought. Kasie, Jessica, Delilah all promised not to say anything to anyone (especially Parker). Plus, it would break their girls night motto: what happens at girls night, stays at girls night. (Y/N) promises she’ll make a move soon, to get them to finally stop talking about it, but she just needed to figure out how. 

The next Monday morning, both Jessica and Kasie kept making faces at (Y/N) whenever Parker would come around. At one point, Jessica handed (Y/N) a note that said, “Make a move, sister! Or I’ll tell him!” Neither (Y/N) nor Jessica realized that Parker was getting suspicious. He noticed the little things. Like when she rode in the back of the NCIS van with Jessica and Nick, instead of sitting up front with him, like normal. And when they got to the crime scene, she chose to take pictures of the scene, instead of interviewing the witnesses like usual. He wondered why she was so distant, especially when she kept visiting Kasie in the lab or Jimmy in autopsy. Little did he know what was said at Kasie’s place, during girls’ night.

[angelofverdum]

Agatha All along S01E08-09

What the hell? I've thousands of questions. Come back.

I have so many feelings about the finale. My mind went from "Jac Schaeffer, you're brilliant" to "What the hell, Jac?"

I loved Agatha and Niky's backstory. The way they created the ballad was one of the sweetest things Marvel has done. The fact that Agatha kept killing witches using the ballad was amazing because in a way she was still scheming with her son.

I was expecting the road to not be real, but not that Agatha was the writer of that ballad. Where is her Grammy for songwriter of the year?

Also obsessed with the idea that part of Agatha's power is being annoying. She upsets these witches to the point the want to kill her.

The way she looked for the door every time knowing damn well there was no door cracked me up.

Jen was my favorite witch from the coven, besides Agatha obviously, so I'm so happy she made it out alive and well. She should be in Agatha all along season 2 doing magic together.

I love Agatha as a character so much. How can they do her so dirty? There are two problems with the finale: Billy and Rio.

My problem with Rio, as a character, is that you give me all these implications of a complicated backstory with Agatha, for what? Hey, I wasn't expecting much tbh because it's not that kind of show but they could at least give us something.

How Agatha and Death were lovers? Rio is literally death. How did they cross paths? How do you start dating death? I didn't want a whole season about it but damn.

When Agatha was giving birth Rio gave him more time with her son. She didn't show up once. Rio gave Agatha six more years with her son. So, they were lovers before giving birth then Rio took Nicky and they didn't see each other until now? Then why is Agatha so mad at Rio?

The first part of the season made it seem like Rio did the most awful things to Agatha. Tell me how your kid dying of a natural cause is worse than sacrificing him for the darkhold?

Also, the big thing about being "THE green Witch". Yes, I know Jen explained briefly about the meaning but it was so whatever. And what do you mean Agatha was literally fighting death? Rio shouldn't be able to kill anyone.

Now Billy made me sigh.

My problem with Billy is why the fuck would you make a show with a female lead about a man? You kill the show's female lead to create a story for a man, and then she becomes the sidekick. That's insanity.

I'm fine with them using the show to introduce Billy bc Agatha is part of Wanda's world but damn. Everything was him? Was it Billy All along?

Then she dies to save him and becomes a ghost somehow because those are details that we don't need to know, apparently. Fucking Billy then tries to banish her because why? Because she outsmarted him? She knew the road wasn't real? She killed Alice? Like fuck you Billy and your fuckass brother too.

And I hated that ghostly effect. It looked so cartoonish. Couldn't she look like herself without that effect? the wig was fine HaghAtha is sexy too.

And Jac saying that they planned to turn her into a ghost all this time is crazy to me. She has everything planned and she decided to give Billy a whole-ass episode instead of a glimpse of Agatha and Rio meeting each other.

If you read Jac Schaeffer's interviews about the show you can see she has so many good ideas. So, what happened baby? Was it Kevin Feige?

Anyway, I wish all these made-up shows didn't matter to me that much and I could consume media like a normal person.

[thommi-tomate]

Interview with Jupp Heynckes about Thomas Müller

By: Kicker

Mr. Heynckes, Thomas Müller scored for FC Bayern for the 499th time in an official match in the recent Bundesliga match against SC Freiburg. He has 235 goals and 264 assists. You knew this player as a coach in Munich from April 28 to June 30, 2009 and in the two seasons 2011/12 and 2012/13. Why does Müller stand out?

To judge this player and appreciate his record, you have to see the full picture of Thomas Müller. Thomas is a traveler between worlds on the football field, which means that he is neither a striker nor a defensive midfielder, but an attacking midfielder endowed with a special goal-scoring instinct and a gift that is granted to very few players: he has a fundamental endurance and exceptional speed. This combination has always distinguished him physically. Moreover, he is an absolute team player who always and without exception puts himself at the service of the team.

Does this also characterize Müller as a person?

Yes, he is authentic, sympathetic, empathetic, funny, original with his sayings, optimistic, positive and able to lead. Thomas doesn't duck away in awkward moments, he always faces up and has a clear, decided opinion on football and the circumstances in a team. That's why I've always spoken highly of Thomas Müller, because he's an exceptional player, not only because of his footballing qualities, but also because of his personality. I like to compare him with my former teammate Hacki Wimmer, who was just as strong a midfielder as Thomas at Borussia Mönchengladbach and also gave everything for the team. He was self-sacrificing on the defensive end, moving forward, but not as goal-threatening as Thomas. Today, Thomas is a mature professional who knows for himself when he has played well and not so well, when he needs to be critical or hold back publicly. He is now in the late autumn of his career, which is quite normal when you have 300,000 kilometers in your legs and are 34 years old.

Thomas Müller describes himself as an Raumdeuter. Does he have this particular feel for a promising goal situation?

Yes, he intuitively recognizes situations in the game that could be dangerous for a goal. A strong runner and hard worker, he also goes where he thinks he needs to be present and finishes. With his now very good eye, he has great peripheral vision, plus calmness on the ball, so he plays precise passes and hits very good crosses. Thomas doesn't stand out as a footballing giant, but his overall image could be of a great painter like the Italian Rafael.

What was Thomas Müller like in personal interactions?

He was always accessible in communication, ready to talk and receptive. He understands football as a game, recognizes currents in a team and sees through the mechanisms outside. With Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm, he mediated within the team and forced self-cleaning processes before the coach had to take action. It's a gift when you have players like that as a coach.

In the Bundesliga, Müller, who made his debut in a 2-2 draw with Hamburger SV on August 15, 2008, has recorded 200 assists and 144 goals in 448 matches and 33,089 minutes, he needs 96 minutes for a scoring point, so he manages to score or set up a goal in almost every league match. How is this consistency possible?

First, he was very rarely injured, so he had continuity in his career. Then he has the ability to anticipate, he foresees developments on the pitch. When Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben used to go off on the wings or Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry or Leroy Sané do it today, Thomas sprints off from deep or instinctively adapts his position to requirements when he's already in the penalty area, he goes into the five-meter area or pulls back from there toward the penalty spot. He also likes to orient himself towards the second post. He has this behavior down pat and has also perfected it. Thomas has it all in his blood.

Under you as coach, Müller scored 47 goals in 135 appearances over 9754 minutes, plus 53 assists, making exactly 100 scorer points. Where did you see his ideal position?

Thomas is a highly intelligent player whom I used mainly as a forward midfielder or second striker. He could also play on the right side and accepted this role without grumbling. He got to grips with this task and then came through there as well. The optimal place for him was behind the striker.

Müller set up by far the most goals for Robert Lewandowski: 64, including 48 in the Bundesliga. Why did Müller and Lewandowski harmonize so well?

It worked so well with Thomas and Robert Lewandowski because Lewy recognized and sensed exactly when he needed to break away from his opponent - at the precise moment when the ball had left Thomas' foot, and never before. This interplay was based on the intuition of the two, it was blind understanding. Thomas hit the crosses exactly the way Lewy needed them: the striker had to go forward, run or sprint into the crosses or put-ins, often with prior backward body deception.

Were Müller and Lewandowski the most effective striker duo in Bundesliga history?

Every time is different. Of course, they were a great pair, but Thomas played just as efficiently with Mario Gomez or Mario Mandzukic. However, Lewy has already benefited a lot from Thomas.

Under Pep Guardiola, Müller collected at least 40 scorer points in every game, and in 2015/16 his best mark was 45. Does Müller need more space for his game or does it help him more when things are tight up front?

When Thomas has space, that's an advantage for him because he's also very fast. But since he is a very skilled player, he knows how to adjust to all conditions. In general, he moves very well thanks to his immense running strength and is always playable. When he comes under pressure there, he doesn't take the ball but just lets it clatter. His passes have the right sharpness and precision, they also get onto the right foot of the teammate - many professionals lack this gift. Thomas plays simple football, not fancy.

87 scorer points are the best score for a German player in the Champions League. FC Barcelona is the foreign club against which Müller scored the most points. In nine duels, he scored eight goals and served to two goals. In the semifinal before winning the title in 2013, Müller scored the 1-0 and 4-0 at home, and he set up the 3-0 by Mario Gomez. In the second leg, he scored the 3:0. What does this data say about Müller's international class?

For Thomas, the games in the Champions League were always highlights, and he saw the duels with Real Madrid or FC Barcelona as a major challenge. His special motivation was there to be felt. He knew how to adapt to his opponents, and he knew exactly when he needed to be even more focused. That's why this international top score comes as no surprise to me.

Was he nervous at any point?

No. Rather highly concentrated and well prepared, tense. Anyone who has been German champion twelve times like Thomas is no longer nervous.

Did you see Müller more as the final provider or the enforcer?

I have always seen the whole football player Thomas Müller, both elements for the offense distinguish. In addition, he was always driven by an immense will to perform, the utmost professionalism. Even if he exudes a certain lightness on the outside, in truth he is totally focused. That's why I always had such a high opinion of him.

Müller scored 149 of his 235 goals with his right foot, and he also scored with his chest - against Bochum in 2009/10 - or with his left upper arm against Hannover in the 2013/14 Cup. Is Müller underestimated because of his sometimes seemingly clumsy movements?

What I said before about him as a footballer makes any answer to this question superfluous.

Müller didn't have it easy with every coach. Did you also have doubts about him at times?

I never had any doubts about Thomas Müller. I got to know him in 2009. Back then, we still managed to reach the Champions League in the six weeks we worked together at the end of the season. After the season, we played six friendly matches, six days in a row. Thomas played every one of those games. It was amazing. After that, I transferred to Bayer Leverkusen and called Hermann Gerland in Munich and said, "Hermann, I want Thomas." Hermann replied, "You're crazy. I've already talked to Louis van Gaal and told him that Thomas is a good kid we have to promote." I then dropped the courting of Thomas.

Müller was never Footballer of the Year. Is his value not appreciated accordingly?

Has he really never been Germany's football player of the year?

Never.

That is an oversight on the part of the jury. I would like to join this group (laughs), my vote would go to Thomas. He would have deserved this award 100 percent. For me, he is exceptional and one of the best players in the history of FC Bayern, which is rich in great players and to which he has been loyal throughout his career. It is a gift for any club to have such a player. I have always held him in immense esteem, Thomas Müller is unique. What he has achieved in football so far is a magnificent, admirable lifetime achievement. And once he steps off the big football stage, I will miss him. When he plays, Thomas is always an eye-catcher. There will never be another player like him: Just as there will be no more Franz Beckenbauer or Gerd Müller, there will be no more Thomas Müller.

[mymegrokosmos]

Things were going well. Almost too well. You pinched Wooyoung's arm where it rested around one of your shoulders. He yelped in response, giving you a look that said you were going to pay for it later.

"What was that for?"

You shrugged at his raised eyebrow. "Just making sure I wasn't dreaming."

"We've been over this, you're strange and you can feel things in dreams."

"I still maintain that's normal."

You turned his wrist to check his watch anyway. He sighed but leaned in to rest his cheek against the top of your head.

"It isn't but whatever you say."

"I can read the time so apparently I'm not dreaming. This is good."

"Did you want to be?" Mingi slid into his usual seat across the table. "Dreaming that is?"

"Not today Min, but I appreciate the offer."

He shrugged, popping a fry into his mouth. "Well, you know where to find me."

"I do."

As a dreamweaver he was the last resort but if you really needed some sleep Mingi could knock you out like Morpheus. It was never nice the next day, the sleep hangover typically lingered for a few days, but over the years it had occasionally been a necessity.

"On a completely unrelated note, I might just have a lead on a job for you."

You perked up a little at that. "Yeah?"

Mingi shrugged. "Nothing fancy, it's just at the café across from Wooyoungie's flower shop."

"Just because the guy he thinks is pretty works there doesn't make it his anything but go on Min."

Woo rolled his eyes at you. "For your reference, I have an interview there on Monday."

You poked his cheek. "I will ask for details from you later."

"Come over for dinner, you can sleep over and I'll catch you up on everything you've missed while you were dealing with your whole life implosion crisis."

You nodded, if only because it meant one less night of excuses to make and explanations to bullshit.

Mingi tapped the table. You looked over to see him pouting and had to bite back your smile. He was very much used to being the baby of your little circle even though he wasn't technically the youngest.

"Sorry Min, you had important information for me?"

"Yes. If you still want to hear it."

"Go ahead little dove."

"Okay, so..."

[umlewis]

European GP 2007 - Thursday press conference

Interviewer: "Lewis, how are you? I hear you've had some flu." Lewis: "Yeah, I'm okay. I've just not had a great week. I was a bit ill at the beginning of the week but I'm feeling a lot better now." Interviewer: "And a busy day today. Tell us about what you've been doing so far?" Lewis: "It's normal. We have plenty of appearances to do and some working with Mercedes Benz. The weather's not been great. People say it's typical English weather, but if you look at Silverstone I think we had a good weekend." Interviewer: "And also some karting today as well." Lewis: "Yeah, we did the Vodafone karting event and it's really nerve-wracking going back in a go-kart because I'm a bit rusty. I know Nico's been in a kart since me." NR: "You're lucky I wasn't at the event." Lewis: "But I was on form. I was actually quite impressed. It's good to see the youngsters. It's incredible to see how quick these young kids are, how committed they are." Interviewer: "More committed than you remember being at that age?" Lewis: "I wouldn't say more than me, but I'm just remembering how committed you are at such a young age. It's good to still see that people are like that." Interviewer: "What is your approach now to the coming races? Halfway through the season, you are leading the championship. People have been talking, even McLaren have been talking, about adopting a relatively conservative approach." Lewis: "Of course we have to bear in mind that we have to try and finish every race and maintain the level if we can, but that doesn't mean that we slack. We're going to keep on pushing hard to beat everyone. That's how we have been all season. The whole team is pushing extremely hard back at the factory to improve the car. I'm working hard at my training to improve my game. Yes, we go into the race thinking 'Okay, we need the points.' But we want to win, so it's a balance." Interviewer: "A difficult balance?" Lewis: "I don't think it's difficult. Maybe it would be for some people."

[QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR:]

(Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Lewis. Of course next week will be very important for the situation of McLaren in this championship. What is your feeling, knowing that everything you have worked for could be cancelled? LH: I'm not really bothered about it to be honest. I don't think that is going to happen, so I'm not worried, I'm very confident. I'm confident in what the team has done over the years and I have every confidence in the team now. I don't believe anything like that would happen. On my part that is all I'm going to say. Otherwise you should speak to Fernando.

(Carole Capitaine – L'Equipe) Question for Lewis. At Silverstone you said you had a problem with the set-up on your car. What do you expect from this race? LH: I expect it to be better. We went down a certain route…. You only have P1, P2, P3 and it's not a lot of time to find the perfect set-up. Sometimes you go down one route and its too late to go back to another one, you don't have enough time so you continue with that and hope it is good enough. We didn't have the right set-up for once at Silverstone. Going into this weekend we understand where we went wrong, we think we come here a bit stronger.

(MC) How good was the Spa test for you? LH: The Spa test went well for me, I had a nice clear day with no rain. I think everyone else had some rain over the next couple of days. It was a real boost of confidence for me. We got there and the car felt better than it has felt all season so I was very, very happy. We did the team briefing and I was just comfortable with my set-up. When you drive a car that you are comfortable with it is just a pleasure. So for once I enjoyed testing.

(MC) So would that have actually been a step forward in terms of set-up for future races? LH: Maybe for that track. But in terms of just making sure we have the right direction I think we have gone back to where we were before and we have to continue to make sure we improve in that area.