#or forget the first part and just borrow the model of:

[zorlok-if]

Feel like I've hacked my brain.

During a morning walk I think about what I'm most dreading/least excited to do with my writing project and figure out the simplest way to complete it.

Then I get back, do it immediately, and feel really accomplished. This sense of accomplishment motivates me to continue writing and get more fun things done.

I write for the rest of the day coasting on that high but take breaks (and sometimes additional walks) anytime I feel it becoming less enjoyable. Rinse and repeat until I feel like that's enough.

This shouldn't be revolutionary but, damn, it's really working. I'm only enjoying what I'm doing and I'm getting a lot done.

[theforlorne]

SFW hcs coming up! I love this dynamic, and there's a touch of plot sprinkled throughout. I haven't included NSFW due to the fact that I ask for ID first to prevent minors from accessing sexually explicit material. If you're happy to provide proof of age, then I'll write a part two for you with the NSFW hcs. But for now, I threw you in an extra five SFW hcs to make up for the loss!

Thank you so much for your kind words too! I'm super happy to know people are enjoying these ♡♡♡

SFW Gabriel x Girly!AFAB!Reader Headcanons (Gabriel x Reader) [Requested]

A general selection of headcanons for Gabriel x a Girly!AFAB!Reader.

Teen and Up Audiences, No Warnings, F/M, Other/M, Tag(s): Headcanons, AFAB!Reader, Reader Uses She/Her Pronouns, Insecurity, Blood, Gift Giving, Fluff, Flowers, Pet Names, POV Second Person WC: 1,589

Apologies for tagging you in this again, @gloriousnachoblaze, I'm reposting all my works to my main blog!

♡ Imagines and Headcanons Masterlist ♡

♡ Buried somewhere beneath the oversized pink cardigan was an angel fumbling her words. All gestures and nervous laughter, you were simultaneously trying to apologise for bumping into him, compliment his armour, and explain that you were lost. That was his first interaction with you, but not the last. With your penchant for looking every which way but forwards as you walk, you would bump into him time and time again. Growing familiarity would lead you to greet him with vibrant enthusiasm each time. Likewise, he finds himself helpless to the whims of fate. When you were lost, he would help you find your way. When you wanted to catch up, he would delight in your company. When you ask him if he wants to accompany you on your walk, he agrees. Who was he to say no? The simple truth is that he appreciates your often fleeting interactions. Conversation flows, and he keeps it no secret that he admires the breadth of outfits you decorate yourself with. Like the pink you wear, you seem to be the embodiment of its symbolism: love itself. Heaven sorely missed that innocence in his eyes.

♡ Who was he to say no? That becomes the sentiment of your budding relationship. Politics, war, and obligation fill most of Gabriel’s time. It is his purpose to engage with those things, and he does so with no complaint. Yet you, with such vigour, would light up Heaven itself with the zeal you express for that around you. No matter how many times you read the same romance novel, you remain engrossed in it from the second you pick it up. He asks to borrow it so he can talk to you about it, and the next thing he knows, he’s your model to style how you please. He is relaxing on pink pillows with you as you paint both of your nails. No matter what you ask him to do, the answer is a resounding yes. Not because he can’t say no, he just relishes being a part of the world as you see it. And he would worry when he realises that the world he is a part of is far detached from yours. Those things he does out of love are contradictory to the experiences you share together. Violence and bloodshed holds no place by your side.

♡ Gabriel is as scatterbrained as you once he begins to worry. Every table is at risk of being knocked over with a hip bump. Corners and doorways become his biggest enemy. The Council aren’t too happy when he shows up late to his summons. The otherwise cheerful angel would become quiet and reserved. Picking up on the sudden change in behaviour was easy, yet you forget to ask him about it the first time. When you see him again, you’ll pull him to the side to ask if he’s okay - apologising for not doing so earlier. There’s so much he would want to say, but he’s at a loss for words until he figures out what he’s experiencing himself. Still, he would reassure you that he enjoys your company. It’s not the answer you deserve, and he knows that like a sword knows death.

♡ There’s nothing to hide anymore when you catch him returning from Hell one day, and everything comes out in a big, bloody mess. You’re holding his hands in the most delicate way as you wash the viscera from them. He’s insisting that he can clean himself up. He says that you can talk when he is presentable. ‘Presentable, presentable, presentable’ - you ask him why he thinks he isn’t presentable the way he is, and he would tell you that you wouldn’t enjoy his company if you saw the things he did. As you begin to wipe down the side of his helmet, you allow it to sink in that you’re there with him. You haven’t left. After that, you let him handle things himself, and he has time to process things alone. For all his pride in his strength, he acknowledges that his ‘worth’ is where he finds himself struggling. He shelters you from the violence, but if he is not a skilled fighter in your eyes, then what is he? Is it enough?

♡ Two things happen. You become the reason why he voices his stress out loud. You also become the person he offers himself to entirely - even the parts that aren’t so pretty. Divided between duty and desire, Gabriel continues to share in your world. The moment he feels the warmth of your arms, he recognises it as the same bliss he’s felt by your side all along. To love love itself with the same ferocity is his driving force. Likewise, the adoration you afford the space around you continues to linger in your eyes when he holds your attention. It’s everything to him. Although, he tells you in confidence that he has no idea what he’s doing. 

♡ Remember the romance novel? That’s Gabriel’s guide on how he is supposed to act until he finds his footing. Sure, some of it is super cliche, but it makes you smile. Books are often your gateway into discussions about your relationship that teach you about one another. The learning curve is nothing more than time spent together enjoying each other’s presence. Every love language is spoken between you in an exploration of comforts and boundaries. His bad pick up lines are just as effective when you use them against him, and there’s no denying that his replication of your favourite written date was sweet. Yet no love stories could compare to the one you were blessed with in your own reality.

♡ Bouquets and various floral arrangements take over your room, rendering it into something akin to a florists in time. Gabriel is the culprit. You buy him flowers once, and he sets about finding you some in return only to realise none suit your particular aesthetic. A few long nights, and he’s hand crafted the perfect collection. It would include laurel leaves, delicate, pink roses, baby’s breath, and a Brindisi lily to accent the display. This isn’t mentioning the fact that he decorates the bouquet with a beaded twine wrap. He’s gone out of his way to learn all their names so he can run you through each one. Symbolism? Gabriel has memorised all that they stand for. The unsuspecting hobby sneaks up on him, and you become the recipient of almost every arrangement he makes, sometimes with your help. It’s relaxing to sit and tend to each flower to the backdrop of chatter or music. Even when picked, flowers don’t die in Heaven, so you’re soon looking for new spaces to put them.

♡ When things are calm, your nights aren’t often alone. Many a time you’ll fall asleep as he reads out loud. The soft down of his wings would envelop you like a blanket, making it hard to stay awake. Even the hushed tone of his voice lulls you to sleep. You never stand a chance. He is careful not to wake you as he takes in your sleeping form. Touch is physical like fighting, something he is accustomed with. Nevertheless, your gentle touch is novel to him, and despite the occasional insecurity, he savours how your hand fits in his. The brush of your side feels like a satin robe. When you kiss his cheek, he is reduced to a stammering mess. Gabriel is holding you as tight to his body as he can when he gets the chance. A feeling of needing more encompasses him regardless of whether you’re in his embrace or not. He is going to wear your jumpers to feel close to you if you let him because there is never ‘enough’.

♡ You’re his light. Gabriel thought about this for some time - what he’d call you, that is. Hope is something he has regardless, and to call you his love doesn’t feel sufficient. As divine as you are, light seems fitting. But that is not the sole reason why he deems it appropriate. He finds you when he looks up past Heaven. Everywhere in the universe there are the same, twinkling lights of the stars above. They are a constant reminder of how much care was placed into the creation of literally everything that anyone will ever interact with. And somehow you are a devoted vessel for the same light be it through nature or nurture. Galaxies can only envy the life that you carry within you. Perhaps that is why you’re always so energetic. No one soul can contain such magnitudes of endless spirit within them and manage to restrain the outpouring of expression that comes with it.

♡ While he hasn’t told you yet, there is something you do that brightens up every interlude in your shared time. Subtlety isn’t your strong suit, so he pretends not to notice you tying pink ribbons to his armour. On occasion, you’ll surprise him and slip one past his attention. Those times are far and few between though. It warms his heart when he feels the slight tug against his body signalling a bow being tied in secret. Then, in the privacy of his own room, he’ll remove it and sew it down the arm of one of his shirts. He’s five ribbons in on either sleeve, and they provide a burst of colour on the white canvas. One day he’ll show it to you. Until then, he’ll continue to collect each and every ribbon you hide on him.

[thefairestandherfavoriteguy]

Ok. I read the pinned post and I'm just genuinely curious about how Ashton Vargas and Neige LeBlanche work as a couple here?

Neige: (smiling warmly, clasping his hands together) "Well, it all started after I graduated from Royal Sword Academy, about four years ago. I decided to pursue acting full-time—I really wanted to bring magic and joy to others through my performances. That’s when I met Ashton. I was searching for a personal trainer to help keep me fit for the demanding roles I was taking on, and there he was."

Ashton: (cutting in with a proud grin) "Let me just add, I wasn’t just some random trainer. I’m a professor at Night Raven College—teaching PE, flight classes, and the whole athletic curriculum—but I also work part-time as a personal trainer. When I first saw Neige walk into the gym, I thought, 'Great, another celebrity trying to survive my training regimen.' But he surprised me."

Neige: (laughing softly) "Oh, you were so intimidating at first, but I liked that about you. You pushed me harder than I’d ever been pushed before, and as we spent more time together, I realized how kind and caring you were beneath all that muscle." (glancing affectionately at Ashton)

Ashton: (blushing slightly, rubbing the back of his neck) "Yeah, well… you showed me a side of life I didn’t know I needed. Neige isn’t the kind of person to date someone casually, and let me tell you—he made it pretty clear early on that we were in this for the long haul. And I wouldn’t have it any other way."

Neige: (nodding earnestly) "That’s right. We’re definitely getting married someday. I mean, how could I not, with someone like Ashton? He’s my everything. I even like borrowing his clothes—his jackets are so comfy—and I love surprising him with little things, like the sweaters I knit or the pies I bake for him."

Ashton: (smirking) "And don’t forget that floral perfume you bought me. Neige loves the scent. Me? I think it’s a little… unmanly. But I wear it anyway because it makes him happy."

Neige: (giggling, his cheeks turning pink) "Oh, Ashton, you make make me happy no matter what you wear. You should see the photos of us online—there are so many where we’re just smiling at each other. My fans… they’ve basically united to become our 'shippers.' They even gave us a mini fanbase!"

Ashton: (grinning proudly) "Yeah, they’re our number-one shippers, all right. Neige made sure to give me a cute alias before we revealed my identity to the public. He’s full of surprises. And those pet names he gives me?" (his voice softens) "Dove, angel, darling, ma chérie… Even if they’re unmanly, I can’t help but like 'em. One time, he called me 'absolutely darling,' and, well… it changed me forever."

Neige: (beaming, leaning closer to Ashton) "It’s true! When we decided to go public, Ashton became so popular—he started getting invited to interviews and even got modeling opportunities. I didn’t think he’d enjoy it as much as he did, but it was lovely to see him shine."

Ashton: (chuckling) "Why would I deny Neige the chance to model with his beloved? The camera loves us—though I also act as his bodyguard during interviews and photoshoots. Can’t let anything happen to my angel, after all."

Neige: (giggling softly) "My old friends the Seven Swords adore Ashton! They instantly made him part of our family—um, friend group. And Ashton… he’s such a big cuddler. My little cuddle bunny." (giggling softly) "He’s also so affectionate in public. He’ll just hold my hand or stand close to me, and it makes me feel so loved."

Ashton: (leaning back thoughtfully) "For me, it was definitely a case of opposites attracting. Neige has this warmth and gentleness that softens my more... rough edges. But I’ll admit, the age gap was something I struggled with at first. Thirteen years isn’t nothing, and I was afraid to take the risk. Honestly, I thought Neige might break my heart. What if we couldn’t make it work?"

Neige: (reaching over to place a comforting hand on Ashton’s arm, his voice gentle and reassuring) "Oh, Ashton, your feelings are valid. It’s normal to feel uncertain, especially in a May-December relationship. But I hope you know that age doesn’t change how much I love you—or how much we mean to each other. You’re my heart, and I’d never hurt you."

Ashton: (smiling softly, taking Neige’s hand) "Thanks, dove. That means a lot." (his expression shifts to a confident grin) "And don’t let his appearance fool you—despite how delicate he might look, Neige is surprisingly strong and fit. I mean, look at him: well-proportioned, toned—those thin arms and legs, those slim shoulders, and that narrow waist… impressive, right?"

Neige: (blushing slightly, chuckling nervously) "Ashton!"

Ashton: (laughing) "What? It’s true! And I make sure he takes care of himself, too—stretching and taking breaks from sitting at his desk when he’s working. We even do couples yoga together. There’s something satisfying about lifting him and popping his back—it’s practically therapeutic."

Neige: (laughing nervously) "You’re not wrong about that. And Ashton’s always so helpful when we go grocery shopping, especially when we need to buy a lot of supplies. He’s great at carrying everything."

Ashton: (nodding firmly) "Of course. It’s important to keep the fridge stocked with protein—especially eggs. A solid diet makes all the difference." (he says with a wink)

Neige: (pausing, then with a shy smile) "But speaking of things Ashton helps with… I spend a lot of time writing and drawing my own little romance story, and Ashton reads it. It’s kind of a hobby."

Ashton: (cutting in, smirking) "You mean your amazing BL manga called ‘Someday My Prince Will Come?’ Don’t get all modest on me!"

Neige: (flustered, his cheeks turning pink) "Ashton! I wrote that for myself—it was supposed to stay a secret. And it’s not very good compared to other manga…"

Ashton: (grinning proudly) "Not good? Are you kidding me? I already asked Sam if he’d sell your work at the student store. It’s doing great!"

Neige: (blinking in surprise) "It is? I had no idea."

Ashton: (nodding) "Oh, yeah. Even Crowley’s taken an interest in your work. Can’t deny talent when it’s right in front of you." (he chuckles)

Neige: (beaming, his tone growing serious) "Ashton’s supportive like that, but he and my agent… well, they butt heads a lot."

Ashton: (shrugging, his tone shifting to a somber one) "What can I say? I don’t see eye-to-eye with them on how to handle Neige’s career. But speaking of not seeing eye-to-eye, we broke up once—or I thought we broke up. It was the darkest time of my life."

Neige: (interrupting, his voice filled with warmth) "Aww, honey bunny, we’ve been over this. I didn’t break up with you—I was on a trip, and I couldn’t take you with me."

Ashton: (blushing slightly, looking sheepish) "Yeah, well, when you left, I thought it was over. I didn’t go to work, I couldn’t work out… my muscles felt heavy, and I couldn’t even get out of bed."

Neige: (smiling gently) "And when I came home, I found empty ice cream tubs on the floor and Ashton sobbing on the couch, singing along to ‘Look Away’ by Chicago. I felt so awful for him."

Ashton: (clearing his throat quickly, his tone shifting) "Okay, okay—enough about that." (he smiles) "Let’s talk about how we hike and jog together. And how Neige makes me coffee with little hearts, birds, and even squirrel shapes in the foam."

Neige: (resting his head on Ashton’s shoulder) "It’s my way of saying I love you every morning." (snuggling close, his voice soft yet playful) "Life with Ashton is an adventure—and every day feels like a new chapter in our story. Thank you for letting us share a bit of it with you."

Ashton: (grinning proudly as he wraps an arm around Neige pressing a soft kiss to his forehead) "And trust me, our best chapters are still to come."

[professoruber]

Incorrect Quotes: Bruce giving money to the Bat-Family | Part 3

Previous Part: Link | Next Part: Link

Damian: Father. I require monetary resources.

Bruce: Do you mean pocket change or something... more?

Damian: More.

Bruce: What for?

Damian: ...

Bruce: Damian...

Damian: It is... unnecessary to go into detail, father. You can trust though that it is merely a modest amount and strictly required.

Bruce: Son. Just tell me what this is for first.

Damian ...

Bruce: ...

Damian: Tt. Fine. A boy on the tennis team at Gotham Academy has once again insulted your honour. I know you told me to ignore such jests... but it seems my silence has only emboldened

Bruce: <Sighs> As much as I appreciate the thought, what exactly are you intending?

Damian: I wish to learn from the greatest tennis masters of the world, so I may utterly obliterate this fool and render him an example. Do not worry, this will be a wholly non-lethal defeat; in fact the reason I wish to learn from tennis masters despite my vast array of applicable skill is so that a single of my moves could be deemed an attack. I must adopt the stance, heart and finesse of tennis.

Bruce: <Blinks> I... see.

Damian: So... will you grant me your blessing and monetary support for this endeavour to defend the honour of both yourself and our family?

Bruce: Have you tried talking to anyone that this boy makes you feel uncomfortable?

Damian: I am not uncomfortable, I am peeved. And for your information, I have. The elder brother of a compatriot of mine, Mia Mizoguchi as you might recall her name being, is the captain of this tennis team. However this rival who questions our family's honour is a cunning sort, I will grant him that. He has done well to keep his slander amongst friendly ears, and action anything which could justify punitive action from his superiors.

Bruce: Hm. Seems like you're in a bit of a tough one from the sounds of it.

Damian: Indeed. Defeating him in his sport of passion will not only publicly humiliate him, but also remind him of the strength of our family.

Bruce: While I... suppose I can see your logic there. But I think you're forgetting a key detail.

Damian: Which is?

Bruce: This fellow student of yours is not a enemy to vanquish. He's a child, speaking his mind.

Damian: But he voices horrible accusations against your honour! Claims you are a "mindless playboy", and that my adoptive siblings and I are your illegitimate children of various women whom you were forced by the courts to care for, and that you are a drunkard, and are a bad role model.

Bruce: I understand why hearing all that upsets you, and that is perfectly fine. As I said, I appreciate how much you care about my... honour. But devoting yourself defeating him in tennis isn't the answer.

Damian: <Huffs and crosses arms with incredulous expression> Then what is, father? Shall I just continue to hold my tongue?

Bruce: I want you to enjoy school, not treat it like another battlefield. If this boy is really being this bad, then there's other ways to deal with him. You're smart, and you got good friends such as the Mizoguchi girl you mentioned. Bring attention that he's crossing a line... and if that does not work, tell me; and I can handle it through the proper channels.

Damian: Tt. Fine. I will... try once more to expose him and his lies.

Bruce: Good. On a related note... I understand that Mia Mizoguchi has been causing you to grow interested in Serpents & Spells? <Takes out S&S Guidebook> I got this for you, so you don't have to keep borrowing hers. This seems like something you'd much rather be spending your time on compared to avenging my honour in tennis.

Damian: <Blinks> I... uh... thank you, father. Uh... I must go now and... contact Mizoguchi that I will reconsider her invitation for a lunchtime tabletop one-shot.

Bruce: Good. Have fun, son.

Damian: I… will. Thank you once again, father.

[rallamajoop]

Resident Evil's Dulvey Beer

I was going to make a post about this cute little RE7 easter egg I found in Moreau's quarters in RE8, in the form of a couple of bottles of Dulvey beer (Dulvey, of course, being the part of Louisiana where RE7 takes place). But since I can apparently no longer notice a detail like this without accidentally tipping myself down an endless rabbit hole of Additional Context, there is more. Oh so much more!

So instead, lemme tell you all about the weird, probably-accidental meta-narrative of RE's Dulvey Beer, and all the best/worst things that a little innocent asset recycling can bring to your franchise.

See, those bottles of Dulvey Beer (TM) aren't (just) a callback, they're reused assets from RE7 itself. You can find more bottles bearing that logo in a number of places around the Baker estate: on the table in the living room, lying around Zoe's trailer, etc. There's even a fridge in a side-room full of them.

But if you do notice Dulvey Beer at all, it's most likely to be because a bottle is rendered in lovingly high-def on the main game screen.

Nor is RE8 the first time this particular asset has been reused. There's Dulvey beer all over the place in RE2 and 3 as well. There are bottles lying around the sewers where workmen left them. There are bottles sitting around the security station in the Umbrella lab. Those brewers over at Dulvey beer must really be doing well for themselves!

In fact, one of the earliest trailers for RE2, creatively shot from a rat's POV, opens with a close-up of a spilled bottle of everyone's favourite Louisiana beer.

And really, why not reuse it? It's a perfectly good, existing beer-bottle asset, and who's going to notice? (Me. I'm going to notice. And apparently multiple other people who were onto them from the moment that trailer first dropped.)

Moreau's far from the only Dulvey Beer enthusiast in RE8 either. You'll regularly find bottles lying around in kitchens and junk piles ‒ oft as not next to a bag of Half-Whole Flour and a carton of orange juice (being some of the other most often reused assets from this franchise).

One place you won't find any, however, is in the Winters' home. Whether Ethan used to be a beer-drinker back before post-RE7-trauma left him unable even look at the label of the world's-only-beer-brand without experiencing horrible flashbacks, I do not know. But by the time of RE8, he is clearly (as Rose observes) a wine drinker. So much a wine drinker that there are places in his home where you can see nine different bottles of wine in the same shot. (Jeebus, Ethan, there are healthier ways to deal with trauma, y'know!)

But the Winters aside, Dulvey beer is everywhere. What presumably started as an asset meant for just this one family of Louisiana hillbillies has now implicitly become the only beer sold in Raccoon City too. By RE8, Dulvey Beer's international distribution has spread so far and wide you can find bottles even in isolated villages in Eastern Europe! Forget Umbrella, the global domination of Dulvey Beer has gone well beyond anyone's wildest dreams!

Realistically, of course, what we're seeing here is simply an artifact of casual asset recycling. When every RE game since 2017 has used versions of the same engine, it'd be foolish not to borrow perfectly good assets created for previous titles. It's more than likely the team behind RE2 just grabbed the existing beer-bottle asset without even noticing the label, or that they might have inadvertently cast a backwater like Dulvey as the home of America's Favourite Beer (TM).

Most fans wouldn't notice either. Resident Evil is not exactly the kind of franchise that primes you to pay close attention to every little detail.

A little 'lazy' asset reuse can even work in a game's favour. There's only a few generic wine bottle models in RE8 (all labeled 'Regina Rose'), but given that Miranda-as-Mia states outright that she's bought them 'local wine', is it any surprise to find those same bottles throughout Dimitrescu's castle and wine cellar? (Hopefully it's one of the her non-Maiden's-Blood, low-hemoglobin-content vintages, because otherwise, yikes.) But then, where else would Miranda source her wine from?

So whether that connection was intended or just an accident of asset recuse, it's a nice little detail for the attentive gamer. (Mind you, if that same asset does appear anywhere in RE2 or 3, some questions may be warranted.)

Sadly, I am obliged to admit that I could find not a single bottle of Dulvey Beer anywhere in the Spanish territory of RE4. Unlike Eastern Europe, apparently Spain is 'foreign enough' to warrant a whole new batch of generic kitchen/storeroom assets with Spanish names, and the only beer I could find anywhere comes with a new, confusingly blank label.

You can't even really tell that the label is blank from the angles here, but believe me, I spent long enough futzing around with the photo mode from different angles to be sure.

They're so blank I couldn't even say with 100% certainty that these are meant to be beer, but I guess Capcom will be able to get away with reusing them wherever the next game is set, regardless of the local language. And at this point, I can only look on that potential future with disappointment.

Farewell, Dulvey beer! If this really is goodbye, I'll gladly pour a cold one out for you.

[pavedinashes-if]

Care to tell some facts about the ROs?

Of course I'd love to! I have added some facts that are tiny teasers and some more random where I decided to avoid spoilers at any cost, so it is a wild mix. Thanks for the ASK!

Your Neighbour (Police Officer):

they're fresh out of an engagement - You'll meet their ex.

they live in the same district your step-mom lives (in their Ex's flat atm)

they suffer from nightmares

they are a sucker for any Vampire franchise

Your Ex (Rich Kid):

they still have a photo collection of you

regardless of the endless fights, you shared your most memorable moments together

their parents couldn't stand you - at all

they have a thing for lucky socks

Your New Foe (Lawyer):

they come from a poor background and had to fight a lot to get where they are now

it's actually not your fault they can't stand you

they take care of their grandparents

Your Best Friend

Always played cupid for you

You both had your school evacuate due to fire alarm

When you got dumped at Prom, they offered a dance AND wild kiss, for everybody to see. Just friendly, right?

They have the weirdest Skittles addiction - they appear out of nowhere at any times

Your New Friend (Musician):

they believe in love at first sight, not necessarily in until death does us part

they tend to suddenly just disappear for days - without any warning

they are politically active, with consequences

they were born in the same city as you

Your Childhood Friend (Student):

they still have the little wooden lemon you stole for them in Kindergarten

you started Skateboarding together, when you were no more than 4 years old

their parents thought you'll be together forever, and that's what they wished for

their extraordinary grades allowed them to choose between many scholarships

Your Rival (Pro Skater):

Skateboarding is their plan A to Z

they seem like they have everything under control, but they don't

they are jealous of everything you are, can do and represent

they were never in love...

Your Best Friend's BF/GF (Model):

you once saved their life - they won't forget, ever

they borrow clothing they like and never return - consider it a gift to them

they always liked you...

they actually hate planes and traveling

Your Boss (Club Owner):

they know absolutely everybody in the HH night scene

they won't admit they have a soft spot for you (which will still show)

there's some rules you mustn't break nor question

they have the most amazing penthouse in all of HH

The Doctor:

they don't have any clothing nor furniture in red

they have 2 sphinx cats

they worry about the responsibility coming with the age gap between you two

they are a huge football fan (St. Pauli)

Your Supplier (Drug Dealer):

they're a huge Anime, Disney & Pixar fan

they earn some extra cash with illegal car racings

they never knew their parents

they love sneaking into the movies

NEW REVELATION: A Stranger (Executive Vice President):

they have a large luxury car collection

they prefer good, representative company over anything else

their favourite place is the bear fur in front of their supersize fireplace with some whiskey...and you

sexuality is not that important to them

[thedenofravenpuff]

As usual, you are spot on, on the unspoken parts.

Yes Clipsy fitted all Sun's criteria, but don't forget her first response to Sun was to call him ugly. Sure LATER she calls him ugly cute, but that's when he's out of earshot.

Sun has some VERY specific criteria. Besides wanting a woman who is an animatronic, and the repeated joke that he admits to like toxic traits, he is also clearly a strong believer in being the pursuer. The women showing interest in him off the bat, he clearly assume to have something wrong with them. And being just full on insulting from the start is also an easy way to scare him off. A lost cause.

Why I think the show writers genuinely WANT him and Andromeda to seem like a match. For one, she ain't immediately insulting him, she's even insisting it is no lie when not calling him ugly. Don't forget the thumbnail's focus on the two locking eyes.

Yet we have Sun respecting her personal space, and her focusing on anything to help with Day and Night.

And as you point out, no one is actively INSULTING HER true to their usual behavior. I have no clue if Andromeda is another borrowed VR model or legit made for the show. IF made for the shows, I got my money on her in the future being a love interest for Sun once she has worked through her loss and grief for Day and Night. I feel we are given clues for this possible development, even down to Sun telling her they are indeed not original denizens of the dimension she ended up in. Why else would he say this, but to let her know how casual dimensional travel can be?

I like the potential, but will sit back and watch things unfold. I'm sure if we are indeed expected to assume Sun and Andromeda being made for one another, it'll at least take two and a half story lines before than becomes truth.

I've been seeing a lot of YouTube comments under the videos with Andromeda today, and I just felt like talking about some of those real quick. I'll try to keep it short, but no promises

The whole subject is shipping her with Sun. Moon thought she was pretty too, but people are more focused on her and Sun, I guess

Like Moon pointed out, it'd be weird and bad for her to suddenly get with Sun after what's gone on with Day and Night, and it'd also be a Not Great coping mechanism for her. All in all, an immediate relationship wouldn't be a good idea

BUT

Andromeda and Sun DO seem to have some chemistry, and they'd make a really cute couple. A relationship between them MIGHT work, but not anytime soon. Not until everything with Day and Night gets worked out and Andromeda has some time to process it, at least

I know the Sun in Sven's dimension was apparently engaged to some lady named Rosemary, and that's sort of what a lot of people are expecting for OG Sun. That he'll find a Rosemary and start dating her. We're ignoring the fact that not every dimension is the same in terms of relationships, though

The prime example is Monty and Terra. A lot of places we've seen have it set so that they're together, but in the case of new LAES, they hated each other. It was implied that Roxas was interested in Earth instead, but idk where that's gonna go tbh. Then with TEAPS, Monty is with Ballora instead, and Earth/Terra doesn't exist. Hell, Ruin was even with a Monty for a while, and from what we know, Earth/Terra never existed in their original dimension, either

This even happens with Sun. In the case of Novafrost, Nova and Frost are implied to be together. Then Sunny is with Roxas. Then Day was with Andromeda (and possibly also Night, since the two (I guess???) didn't see each other as brothers). All while OG Sun is chronically single

So,, even if Sven's Sun is engaged to Rosemary, there's a chance that that might not be the standard. Or that OG Sun might be an exception.

He and Andromeda MIGHT be a couple. Or Moon could even be with Andromeda. But it won't be for a VERY long time. That's only IF the shows wanna go that route. They might decide to have Sun be with someone else, or they might have him be the one Sun who stays single forever (because somehow that's funny??)

Idk man. It was funny for a little bit, but it's starting to get old, just like all the ugly jokes that are made toward Sun and Moon. It's all old, and it's not funny to me anymore. I just want Sun to find someone and be happy, and not be called ugly anymore. On god, that would be the best thing TSAMS could do right now, in my opinion

[kierewrites]

How the Tables Have Turned

navi - masterlist

Bakugou x Reader

Mood Song: pink sand

Summary: Only one person seemed to get under Bakugou's skin these days, and it's none other than MHA's newest foreign exchange student, who also happens to be a model. The blond has made it his mission to get under your skin now, and the perfect opportunity just so happened to fall in his lap.

Warnings: none just a short little drabble of bakugou being a little shit

One would imagine that a new student, let alone a foreign exchange student, would be bursting at the seams with nerves upon entering a state of the art elite hero school.

But much to everyone’s surprise, and Bakugou’s frustration, the new student was far from that.

You walked around like you owned the place. Head up in the air, poised smile on your face, elegant posture as you sashay to each class. It didn’t take long for you to make friends, and it took much less time to make an enemy.

Anytime you entered the room Bakugou’s hair would rise, just your presence alone got a reaction out of him. You were the only person in that room who wasn’t rightfully terrified of him. He’ll never forget when he first shot you a glare in the hallway; you didn’t squeak or avoid his gaze like the normal extras do.

No, you giggled. Those striking eyes of yours sweetly kept their focus on his menacing glare and you let out the most angelic giggle his ears have ever heard. He couldn’t describe what feeling came next, like his face was melting and his chest was going to explode, but he knew he didn’t like it.

Not at all.

You had to be toying with him, right? Trying to manipulate and get him under your skin so you could control him somehow, definitely. 

That’s the only possible explanation as to why you would flip that perfect hair of yours over your shoulder and give him the most adoring expression as you asked to borrow a pencil. Or why anytime he passed you he would smell that sickeningly sweet perfume that always seemed to follow you around.

It was all a game to you, and Bakugou didn’t like losing.

For once he wanted to see that stupidly composed stature of yours fall apart. He wanted to see those pretty lips of yours part in surprise as and those round cheeks flush, catching you completely off guard and bringing you down to Earth.

Of course you had an advantage, one that made his teeth grind at the thought, you were a part time model outside of your hero work. Any insult Bakugou could possibly mutter fell off his tongue before he could even mutter it, not even sure how he could come for such an untouchable force.

You had to know what you were doing, what else could explain the overwhelming heat in his chest anytime you were in the same room with him? You needed to be knocked down a peg, put in your place. He wasn’t sure how, but it was his only goal these past few weeks.

Bakugou felt his teeth grit as he realized his thoughts had been plagued by you this entire class, not even realizing his own scheming mind until Aizawa dismissed class.

The sound of a loud huff beside you caused your head to perk up, your eyes glancing to the blond student beside you with a small pout to your lip.

Much to your surprise, your transition to this new school had been nearly seamless. It took you no time to make friends, and you really felt like this could be your new home away from home.

But, there was one box still left unchecked: Katsuki.

The second you met him he was already looking at you with disgust, you weren’t sure what it was you could have done, but you tried your best to remain as sweet as possible. The last thing you wanted was to make an enemy in a school full of powerhouses like this. A situation like that could jeopardize your hero and modeling career.

Beyond a strategic standpoint, there was another… more emotional roadblock that had your heart sink. Katsuki was one of the most beautiful people you’ve ever laid your eyes upon. Even if you wanted to feel frustration towards his behavior, you couldn’t. Anytime you would catch his normally tense face in a more neutral state, you couldn’t help yourself from stopping to stare.

Deep down you knew there was a soft person inside that man, and you were determined to find it. Kill em with kindness your parents would always tell you.

Swallowing thickly, you noticed the boy beside you seeming to be in a worse mood than usual, so you decided you would try to stay out of his way today. You were exhausted from this week’s work anyways, so it was probably best you gave him some space.

Letting out a sigh, you bent down to stuff your notebook in your bag until you noticed a pair of small legs standing before you. Blinking, you looked up to see Ochaco standing before you with a familiar magazine in her hand.

“Y/n, this is totally you isn’t it!” Ochako said with a wide grin, a smile forming on your lips as she pointed at your posed figure in the magazine cover.

It was at this point you realized you had the attention of most of your classmates, the group either standing around your desk or turned back in their seats to face you.

“You got me.” You said with a warm smile, leaning back in your seat as your classmates began to speak up.

“I knew you were a model, but a covergirl? That’s amazing!” Mina squealed, grabbing your arm and shaking it which led you to both begin giggling together.

You didn’t even think about the photoshoot you had last weekend, it was a definitive yes that you would be on the cover, so you didn’t really think about it. The last thing you expected was to hear it from your classmates first.

Honestly you were trying your best to keep your model life behind closed doors, not wanting to come off as arrogant, but you did feel a bit of confidence swell in your chest at the sudden interest of your classmates.

Glancing over to the seat beside you, you were shocked to see Katsuki still sitting in his seat, his eyes were narrowed on the cover as if in deep thought, but you swore you saw the tips of his ears turn red.

“Do you have any compliments for me, Katsuki?”

Everytime he heard his first name fall from your lips, it’s like he was a deer in headlights. Normally he would vaporize anyone who sounded out the first syllable, but the way you so prettily spoke it in that velvet voice of yours like it was your favorite word. He knew his classmates were curious of his behavior, but he could never muster up the gall to yell at you.

Just the sight of you leaning over your desk, those eyes practically sparkling at him as your hair fell on either side of your face. You knew you were perfect. Smug and beautiful, his worst nightmare.

All the blond could do was pray nobody could see the heat rising to his cheeks as he clicked his tongue and jerked his head to the side, “You shut the hell up covergirl.”

A small giggle left your lips, the same one that physically made Bakugou shiver as you looked him up and down. You knew his bark had no bite, but you decided to leave him be as more questions arose.

Suddenly you found yourself talking about the magical day. You’ve done hundreds of shoots at this point, but this was your first cover. You met so many designers and photographers, even if you didn’t make the cover it was still the experience of a lifetime.

“Whoever your designer was killed it, did you get to keep the outfit?” Toru spoke, her gloved hands gripping at your desk excitedly, “Did you get to keep the wardrobe?”

“Yup, the designers were so nice they said the entire collection was mine,” You spoke with a wide grin, “I honestly think I connected with them the most, they were so kind and really helped me get comfortable in front of the camera. This was my first shoot in Japan.”

“Did Chisato Tsumori design the look? My parents are good friends with her, the designs look similar.” Momo explained, analyzing the cover intently before looking at you.

Blinking in surprise, you shook your head before smiling to Momo, “That would’ve been another dream designer actually, I love her work, but she wasn’t my designer…”

Momo nodded at this, still analyzing the cover as you continued.

“I had the honor of being styled by the Bakugou’s.”

The quiet chatter in the room suddenly stopped, all eyes on you now, especially a pair of vermillion ones, but you didn’t notice as you got caught up in your excitement.

“It’s always been my dream to be styled by them, they were so kind to me and hearing their story was so inspiring. I’ve never met a duo fashion designer team, and they’re married!” You continued, your hands folding together as you smiled, “They found each other here in Musutafu and have been a power couple ever since, it was such a romantic story.”

A snort was heard amongst your classmates, your attention turning to Hanta and Denki as they looked to you with wide grins, “Well you know what they say, the Bakugou’s are known for their… romantic attributes.”

A few of your classmates laughed at this, an all too familiar growl coming from the blond next to you but you just tilted your head confused.

“Huh, I actually didn’t know that Denki, are they well known here?”

Denki was practically in tears as he doubled over in laughter, your eyes widened as Hanta looked to you between snorts, “Oh yeah, we know em real well.”

At this point you could sense there was clearly some sort of inside joke you didn’t know about, your classmates either looking concerned or amused, so you decided to keep explaining in hopes they would tell you more.

“Well I can’t blame you, they were the nicest couple I’ve ever met in this city. The husband was always making sure I wasn’t dehydrated or tired, and I’m practically best friends with the wife now,” You spoke, grinning at the thought as you remembered Mrs. Bakugou’s words, “Her and I were gossiping for hours about her son, apparently he’s a real handful.”

The sound of a pencil snapping caused you to jump, your head quickly whipping to the blond beside you as his red eyes practically shot lasers through your skull.

“She said what?”

Now you were completely confused, Hanta and Denki were practically in tears at this point, Mina trying to hush them as she slapped them on their shoulders. From the many different expressions from your classmates, you knew something was up.

“Alright, is there something I’m missing guys?”

“No! No!” Denki cried in between laughs as he tried to stand up straight, “Keep going, what else did Mrs. Bakugou say about her son?”

Furrowing your brows a bit, you hesitantly continued as you thought more about your prior discussion with her, “Well… I don’t want to dish out the poor guy’s business, but she did keep trying to hook me up with him. Said I would be a good influence on him.”

Now multiple laughs were heard amongst the classroom, though a few concerned gazes remained, but for some reason they weren’t directed towards you. They were all directed towards the annoyed blond beside you.

Blinking owlishly, you glanced over to see the ash blond besides you fuming, literally. His fists were clenched, smoke fizzing out of one while the other held the broken half of a pencil. His glare was harsh on you, but for some reason his anger didn’t exactly seem directed towards you.

“What’s his deal?” You asked sheepishly with a chuckle, glancing for help from your classmates but their concerned and amused expressions remained, “Alright, someone tell me what’s going on. Did I say something-”

You weren’t able to finish before Eijiro kneeled down besides your desk, resting his elbows on it as he gave you a sympathetic look, though amusement was still riddled in his expression.

“Y/n, remember how we’ve been trying to teach you to address acquaintances by their last name?”

Suddenly your eyes widened, your hand covering your mouth as you gasped, “D..Did I say the wrong name for the Bakugou’s? I’m so sorry, I’m still new at this-”

Eijiro cut you off again, now offering you a toothy grin before gripping your head and directing it towards the blond beside you.

“Your fellow hotheaded classmate beside you is known as Katsuki Bakugou.”

It took you a few minutes to process Eijiro’s words, your mind blanking a bit as you played it back in your head until it all suddenly clicked. Bakugou. Katsuki Bakugou. Katsuki’s parents were…

“T..The Bakugou’s… those are your parents?”

Bakugou wasn’t really sure what to think. For starters, he was beginning to realize you were a bit of an airhead. But even more he was frustrated that his mom just chatted about his private business to a stranger. And even worse, to you of all people.

Worst of all, the thought of him going on a date with you nearly made his brain fail. Seeing you all dressed up, probably with your hair and makeup done and all frilly in some stupid girly dress. All dolled up for him… the thought made him feel something he couldn’t even describe.

But the more the situation unfolded, Bakugou finally saw it.

Once overcoming his initial frustration, he was able to take in the sight before him. Just like he had always imagined it, your face flushed as you buried it in your hands in an attempt to conceal your embarrassment. Your cheeks puffed out as you stared at him between dainty fingers with wide worried eyes. Finally that damned uptight composure of yours had fallen.

And he was going to capitalize on it.

A sly smirk spread across his lips, an expression that had you peak your head up, confused with the sudden change in behavior as Bakugou moved his face close to your own.

“They sure are princess, I’m glad you think so fuckin highly of them, as you should.” Bakugou sneered, purely enjoying as you backed your head up a bit, clearly intimidated by his advances.

Meanwhile, you felt like your heart was going to explode out of your chest. Bakugou’s nose was practically touching your own as he looked down at you with a smug, menacing expression. You felt like your world was going to crumble until you felt his rough finger jab into your cheek, causing you to gasp.

Music to his ears.

“Can’t wait for our date, miss good influence.”

And with that, the blond stood up, grabbed his bag, and shoved his way through the crowd and out the door. 

Everyone was stunned by the display, watching as the smug boy strolled out the door as if nothing happened. Meanwhile you were frozen in your desk, too shocked to move. Between your embarrassment of forgetting his name, and now having to worry about a date with the guy.

You should be happy, deep down you knew this is what you wanted all along, but now things were different. Instead of feeling confident around him, now even the thought of the blond made your face heat up even more.

“No way that douchebag just got a date out of that.” Denki whined, the rest of your classmates beginning to chat again as everyone grabbed their bags.

Somehow you found yourself standing up and grabbing your own bag, listening to some of your friends continue to talk about the photoshoot itself, but all that was ringing in your head were those last words the smug hero spoke to you.

“Can’t wait for our date, miss good influence.”

[alovesreading]

Constant Repeat | Part 9

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.  

Word Count: 20.4k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.  

A/N: This is gonna be a rather lengthy author's note but it's needed. Y'all must definitely know the wonderful @imagine-that-100​ and her masterpiece of a fic Nothing Revealed In A Common Crisis. I'm not exaggerating when I say that fic changed my life in many amazing ways: it introduced me to the 1975, I made friends with N and she's now my best mate and such a special person to me, and through becoming friends with her i gained the courage to start writing again and finally post my fics. I hold @nriacc so close to my heart, so it's a massive honor that N allowed me to borrow Wheels and Curly to use in this story, giving them an alternate universe story line that melts my heart. I'm so beyond excited for you to read this chapter and the rest of this UK trip because it's so fucking fun and eventful. I'm looking forward eagerly to see all of your reactions! I'll shut up now, but I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!!!

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

It was cruel how slow time had been going. A month had never felt longer, and days were specially slow as she was back at the Focus Creeps office everyday.

Organizing all the clips she had gotten from the recording had only kept her busy for the first week back, and after that it had just been torture to get back into routine.

The one good thing was that, since Aaron had a new PA, Ella was properly getting more into the videography aspect of it all and being mentored directly by Ben.

She had studied for that type of job, all she had ever wanted was to be behind the camera in any type of production and finally being able to do it, no matter how small the production was, was a dream come true.

However, it was a lot of work and, whilst she loved it, managing the crew and instructing a whole team for a production could get really stressful. She still had her PA brain in her so regardless of not needing to, she would take on more responsibilities just to ensure everything would end up perfect on shoot day.

Needless to say, just the thought of the holiday approaching made her incredibly giddy.

The day she had gotten to drop Breana off at LAX had been the day she had started getting nervous. The model had been able to get off work and fly over a week earlier than Ella, and even though she had offered to wait another week so they could fly together, Ella had encouraged her to go ahead.

Bre was already dying to see her boyfriend, so why would Ella want to keep her another week away from him?

The silver lining of the situation was that she'd get to be with everyone in only a week. Just seven more days to wait were nothing in comparison to the three endless weeks she had already waited so it'd be fine.

When she got home that afternoon, she went straight to get her suitcase which was hidden away in a corner of her closet. Ella laughed to herself as she packed away, the whole scene being soundtracked by Bowie. That was probably the first time since she moved out to college that she had packed her things with that much time in advance.

She had just rolled up a pair of black pants when 'Modern Love' was interrupted by a call. A call from the one and only, Alex Turner.

Beaming at the contact name, she swiped on her screen to answer and it wasn't even a fraction of a second later that she heard "Hello my darling!" being shouted by a very obviously drunk Alex.

Ella could hear chatter and music in the background, but his loud slurred greeting had been heard without difficulty. "Hi Al! Having fun?"

"Erm," The singer hesitated dramatically, "A bit, yeah."

"Sure sounds like a bit of fun." She replied sarcastically, making him giggle.

"Far less than it would be if you were here."

Ella tried hard not to laugh again, "Oh wow, I'm worried now I might not remember this trip."

"Oh it'll be memorable alright." Ella couldn't hold her laughter in any longer, giggling loudly at the slurred statement and he smiled to himself hearing that sound, "Remind me why aren't you already on your way with Bre now?"

She sighed, "Because I have a big shoot this week and I couldn't miss it because I'll be filling Aaron's place and working directly with Ben."

"You're so fucking amazing, darling." Alex started, completely amazed at her stories now that she was hands on working on the directing aspect of their productions, "I want you directing our music videos from now on." He demanded as seriously as a drunk man can.

"I think drunk you might not be making the best decisions." She quipped with an immense smile on her face.

"Yeah, no." He was quick to disagree, shaking his head profusely like Ella was there to see him. "That'd be the best decision actually. I'll give Ben a quick call."

"Alex, stop it you idiot." Her cheeks were already heating up so she took her phone away from her ear and put it on speaker to place it on her bed as she continued packing. "It's only one more week. Six days if you count this day as over."

He groaned loudly, "Six more days is too long. I can't wait to see you."

Ella was fully melting. It had been so excruciating to be away from the lads, especially from Alex that she kept thinking about what it would be to hug him again. To lean on him for support as she doubled over in laughter, to cuddle him again. She missed him loads, and she'd realized just how important he had become to her when he had left.

She tried to play it cool though, "Okay but you should be more excited about Glastonbury rather than me coming, Al."

"Well you are coming to see us at Glastonbury so it's basically the same thing." Alex defended himself, when in reality he really wasn't able to point out which of those two he was most excited for.

Ella could only shake her head and smile to herself, "You're funny."

"'Course I am." Alex chatted back with an almost offended tone.

She wanted to taunt him a bit more, he was always hilarious when drunk. "That wasn't necessarily literal."

"Yeah, yeah sure–" Alex started but was interrupted by Matt yelling, "Ellie!" out loud as he had come out looking for Alex and heard her through the speakers of the singer's phone.

"Jesus Christ, my eardrums just burst." Ella exaggerated as she folded a black top and rolled it to fit into her case.

Matt scoffed, "Why are you such a bitch, I was about to tell you how much I missed you."

Feeling accomplished by getting that reaction, she giggled but admitted, "I miss you too Helders."

"Did you drop Bre off today?" The drummer asked first and foremost. He was eager to see his girl, a month had been way too long already.

Ella was proud to announce, "Yes. Got back a few hours ago. She texted me she was boarding about twenty minutes ago so your girl is on her way."

"Thank fuck. That plane better speed here." The hours the flight took were always the worst wait for him, they had been every time.

"I'm sure Bre is making the pilot go as fast as they can to get to you as soon as possible." Ella joked, being able to picture the scenario so clearly. But as she picked up her favorite pair of high heeled boots, the leather slipped between her fingers and landed with a loud thud on the floor. "Oh shit!"

The silence from the lads' side was loud, but Ella's was louder so Alex inquired very quickly, "What are you breaking Eleanor?"

Whenever he used her full name, her insides twisted in a knot. Ella rolled her eyes at the feeling and sassily replied, "Nothing Alexander, just dropped a pair of shoes I was about to pack." She hoped he felt the same way when she called him by his full name.

If Ella had gotten an answer to that, it would've been yes but it was overcome by the giddiness Alex then felt over the fact that she was already packing for the trip. "You're packing already?"

"Yes. Apparently I can't stay still now thinking about this trip." And it was true, she probably took a look at her tickets at least twice a day just to check if they were still real.

"Well it is quite eventful, innit? Glasto, Nick's wedding, the music video..." Alex listed with a loopy smile on his face. It would be the perfect first stay in the UK for her, and he couldn't wait to make it even better.

But Ella was suffering through the wait so it just made her whine for him to stop. "Stop because I will cry from having to wait another week."

Alex flustered at the noise but he was reminded he wasn't alone when Matt laughed beside him. The singer sighed, really putting his drunk mind to work out a solution to the problem, "Why isn't teleporting a thing yet?"

Ella snorted in laughter, "It would make it all so much easier, wouldn't it?"

He really started going deep in thought, thinking about how if they were just grasping the logical ways of the concept then the government or whoever would already have something developed. Or they should, at least. "I'm sure there has to be something that–"

Alex's heavy rant was prematurely interrupted by the usual troublemaker in the friend group. "Ellie?"

"Yes, Matthew?"

"Don't forget to pack your skimpy underwear, you'll be going out on the pull here. We need to get you a rebound!" Matt was so drunk, he missed the amount of people walking past them and turning to see him after being so loud about his plans for the American girl.

Ella cackled, deciding between a few skirts she had laid out on the bed. "It will be noted."

But at the same time Alex cussed out his best mate, "Oh fuck off Helders."

Matt frowned at him, "What? I'm just looking out for her! She needs to get every faint memory of that dickhead fucked out of her brain."

Alex hated thinking about that being the situation, he wouldn't have it. "Jesus– Just, fucking shut up."

"I do actually," Ella agreed on Matt's logic, "But let's not talk about it." She sighed in slight melancholy.

"See?!" Matt fought Alex loudly, making Ella laugh loud at him.

Alex turned to the drummer about to threaten him, "Helders I will fucking–"

Ella stopped them before they could do anything, "Okay don't fight now. I'm not there to record."

"Don't worry, I'll ask Jamie to record as I kick his arse." Matt said confidently, almost ready to run back in and ask for Jamie's help.

But she was quick to kick the drummer's ego down a few notches, "I doubt that'll happen."

"Bitch!" Matt gasped out loud, completely offended.

"Thanks for the support, darling." Alex replied with a smirk, raising his eyebrows at his friend.

"Yeah, you just say that 'cause you want his–" Matt tried to say but it was all muffled what she heard next. Ella held her breath to try and listen but nothing could be heard other than shuffling.

About a minute later the line went clear again and someone cleared their throats, "Sorry 'bout that darling, he gets on my nerves."

Ella shook her head, only imagining what it was that they had just done. "He has that effect."

"Well I can't wait for you to get here, darling. It's gonna be fucking amazing I promise you." Alex would make sure of it like his life depended on it.

Her excitement bubbled up inside her once more, "I know it will, I'm so excited. Finally started watching Game of Thrones to practice my accent."

He remembered getting a picture of the three seasons on DVD she had gotten not long after they had gone back to London and how she said she'd watch it soon to prepare for her trip. "Oh darling, I cannot wait to see you miserably fail at that."

"Hey!" Ella warned him before switching to her very fake and forced british accent, "It's quite good actually." Alex couldn't not let out the loudest laugh at it though, which made her laugh back as she tried to say, "Don't laugh!"

He tried to stop but he couldn't so it was about half a minute later that he could properly say, "Sorry, that was just bad."

"You're mean." She pouted to herself, rolling a pair of jeans.

He hummed and sarcastically said, "Sure I am." Ella was about to call him out for it when they heard, "Alex!" being yelled out by Nick. "Okay, I gotta go now but, erm, I'll call you tomorrow alright?" He stumbled in his words, his tongue tangling because of being drunk and excited.

Ella smiled at that, "That's perfect. Enjoy the rest of your night, Al. Love you." She just couldn't help but add.

Alex swore he would never get over her saying that, even if she didn't mean it like he wanted her to. "Love you too, darling. Bye."

"Bye." She said almost breathless as his words hit her like she hadn't heard him say that before.

The line went dead and they both sighed before going back to their activities. The week needed to pass faster.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Ella had been walking around LAX with a skip on her step. Her flight was due to leave California at seven in the afternoon and she'd be landing in Montreal at around three in the morning. She had a connecting flight, of course, but she had made sure to make her calculations well and she knew she'd get there in time.

She had made sure to leave her house and order herself a taxi with enough time to spare, taking LA's traffic very into consideration. The counter of the airline she was traveling with had been packed but she got her boarding pass about forty minutes later, with two hours left to go through TSA and then rush to her gate.

Being mindful of how long it would take, she had already taken everything that could beep off her body and placed it inside the big bag she was carrying with her. Though she shouldn't have needed to worry because being the time it was and the fact that it was LAX, the line for TSA moved specially slow, taking her about thirty minutes to get through.

And, of course, her gate was the one furthest away so she was power walking through the airport, not without making a quick stop at McDonald's first. When she finally found her gate, she'd sat in the waiting area with her laptop open in her lap to edit some pictures.

She'd had to do some shoots on digital for a brand that was working with Focus Creeps and despite it not being her favorite medium, they had turned out amazing. She had studied quite intently everything about photo editing in university, so really she was just putting old skills to use when editing them.

When she was almost done with the first batch of pictures, and eating the last of her chips now that her burger was gone, she noticed that the time in the top right corner of her laptop said 7:16PM and they hadn't been called yet, so she started to fidget in her seat.

There was just one person at the counter but they didn't have the airline's uniform. She could see a plane parked right at the gate though, and people driving the boarding bridge in place. Her legs bounced up and down as she watched her surroundings for any signs of them boarding soon.

Just when Ella was about to panic because the person who was at the counter left, her phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her. She pulled it out, grateful for a small distraction from her building anxiety and her face relaxed at the notification of Alex's text.

(27/06/2013 19:17) Hope the airport isn't too crazy at the minute, darling. How's everything going? Have you boarded yet? x

She bit on her thumb, looking around for anyone from the airline getting the counter ready for boarding but no one was there yet so she fully focused on texting the singer.

(27/06/2013 19:18) We were supposed to board twenty minutes ago, so I'm slowly getting nervous. Every minute counts, you know? I can't miss y'all at Glastonbury Al :(

(27/06/2013 19:19) Don't you worry darling, you'll make it just in time. And I'm sure you'll be boarding in no time, just listen to some music, yeah? Maybe some Beatles to set the mood x

(27/06/2013 19:20) I think it'd be better if I blast some Arctic Monkeys, wouldn't it?

(27/06/2013 19:20) I suppose that works too, they're overrated though x

(27/06/2013 19:21) Okay now, don't talk shit about them when I'm only traveling this long to see them.

(27/06/2013 19:21) Hahaha sorry darling x I cannot wait to see you, the lads can't wait either and Bre has been screeching about your first time over here since she got here.

(27/06/2013 19:22) You always know what to say, Al. I feel like I'm gonna puke from excitement now and not anxiety. Can't wait to see y'all.

(27/06/2013 19:23) Everyone's already planning so much shit for when you get here. Just a little heads up for you x

(27/06/2013 19:23) Jesus Christ... I'm scared of the hangovers to come already.

(27/06/2013 19:24) It'll be fun, that's all that matters. What Bre and Matt are planning though, I have no idea about.

(27/06/2013 19:25) Oh no, they're in charge of the parties before the wedding right?

(27/06/2013 19:26) Exactly, so we must be in for a wild night. Gutted we can't be together for those x

(27/06/2013 19:27) Who's gonna save me from Bre then?! She's gonna have me black out, I can't handle alcohol as well as she does.

(27/06/2013 19:27) You can't handle alcohol at all, darling xx

(27/06/2013 19:27) Thanks for the faith, Al. So sweet of you x

(27/06/2013 19:28) Won't apologize for the truth x But Katie and my best friend will be there, they'll take care of you x

(27/06/2013 19:29) Rude! :(( I'm so excited to meet everyone properly!!! x

(27/06/2013 19:29) Just stay away from tequila and you'll be fine darling x And everyone is excited to finally meet you too xx

(27/06/2013 19:30) Such good advice xx P.S. someone's just set things up for boarding! I'll text you when I get to Montreal xxx

(27/06/2013 19:30) Have a great flight, darling. Love you lots xxxx

(27/06/2013 19:30) Thank you Alex, love you too xxxx

Ella stood up from her place with a bright grin on her face. She'd never not react like that to his sweet words.

Once she got her thoughts together, she hung her bag on her shoulder, after stuffing her laptop back inside it, and walked to throw away her McDonald's bag.

As soon as she was able to, Ella boarded her flight. Feeling so elated as she walked to the plane's door and through the hallway up to her seat. She loved being in planes, even though going out of the country had never happened for her before.

She found herself unable to stay still when she got to her seat. There were so many things making her insides feel like jelly, she had a little silent cry in the plane as it took off. Ella was grateful nobody beside her could really see her as she had a window seat, her eyes glued to how everything was looking more minuscule by the minute outside until it was just clouds.

Eventually, she pulled out her laptop again and continued editing, she had a little bit over five hours to kill and since she had no other way to distract herself, she was going through the pictures faster than anticipated.

How she was going to brace the seven hour flight from Montreal to London, she had no idea. She probably would have to come up with concepts for future shoots, work with words rather than with reference pictures since she had no wifi.

Ella had been amazed, watching Montreal under the plane when they were about to land. The lights of the city lighting up everything for her to see, she felt like a child being amazed at such a simple thing, but it looked so beautiful she had to take a picture. She used her phone first but it did little to no justice to it so she pulled out her camera and took a few pictures just to see if it would show on film as beautiful as her eyes could see.

Even walking around the Canadian airport was fascinating to her, because all the signs were in French too, which made her think about just how amazing it would be to visit France.

Thankfully, walking through the airport and finding her gate had been a breeze so she could sit down calmly and just sort through some stuff that she had been procrastinating for long. Before starting to organize her scans though, she sent Alex a quick text.

(28/06/2013 04:20) Landed in Montreal a few minutes ago, and at the gate waiting for the next flight! Only an hour left to wait and then I'll be on my way. I cannot stay still!!! xx Also Canada is beautiful, I love it! xx

Due to the lack of wifi connection, she sent it as a regular SMS, not really caring about being charged. She just hoped it went through as she went back to her laptop screen to work the next hour away.

But her bubble of giddiness had burst when she and all the others who were waiting for their connecting flight, were surprised by someone from the airline crew going up to the gate's waiting area microphone and informing them all that their flight had been delayed six hours because of some issues with the plane that was supposed to take them to London.

Ella scoffed in disbelief. Of course this would happen to me, was all that came to her mind.

When they told them their luggage would have to be picked up from baggage claim and they'd have to check in once again, it hit her just how much time she'd be losing.

She started panicking as she walked out to baggage claim, spotting her flight number in the furthest conveyor belt.

She had debated texting Alex again to tell him about the whole situation, just to let him know, but when she properly made her calculations and realized how much later she'd get there, her whole attention was drawn to fixing the issue.

People saw her rolling her big suitcase around the airport in a haste, her bag continuously falling off her shoulder but it was the least of her concerns as she approached the counters of the airline. She saw the big line of people and was about to cry, but thankfully she spotted some people assisting at the very end of the queue that could help her.

Ella told them about her situation and they apologized profusely. They told her to wait as they saw what they could do and after twenty minutes in which she just watched them type away, call and speak with different people behind the counter, she was told she could get a ticket for another plane they had which was leaving in two hours.

When the time was very scarily going closer to six in the morning, she had been able to check in her suitcase and run to go through security once again. She was grateful everyone had been lovely in every checkpoint, because if she had been faced with another obstacle, she was sure she would've broken down in the middle of the airport.

Never in her life had she walked so fast, and it was only when she got to her gate did she allow herself to fully sit in the panic. On her way, she had been doing the math and she realized she'd be landing in London cutting it very close to their set. It was when she remembered she still needed to get driven to the place the festival was at, that she found she'd get there after the lads had gone on stage, probably in the middle of their set.

Without letting another minute go to waste, she called Alex and tried her hardest to keep herself composed. At least she had a ticket and it would be a minor setback, not six hours.

"Hello, darling!" He exclaimed and she could feel his smile through the phone, her shoulders slowly loosening up at the thought of being beside her best friend soon.

"Hiya, Alex." Ella greeted, trying to copy his enthusiasm but she failed incredibly and Alex knew her so well now that he immediately knew something was wrong.

He walked away from the noise around him, they'd gotten to the festival early and they were all drinking and watching the final touches to the stage setup. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Ella bit her lip, trying not to get too worked up and push herself to tears. "I am, I am. Just— My original flight got delayed six hours..."

Alex's heart dropped, "Oh darling." He muttered, filled with sadness.

"Okay but listen," She continued, trying to switch the situation around—more to try and calm herself than anything else—, "I managed to get a new ticket, but it leaves in about an hour. So, if my calculations aren't wrong, then I might be landing around eight in the evening."

He hummed, "The drive is about two hours and a half, it's okay darling. You're getting picked up by the driver we hired, you'll make it."

She sighed, "I hope I make it on time..." She knew she wouldn't be there from the start but just the knowledge of being a few minutes late to their set wouldn't make her weep at that very moment.

Alex just had to reassure her though, because anything could happen and it was out of everyone's hands so the last thing he wanted was for her to blame herself. "Even if you get here a little late, we just want you here. It's okay Ellie. I promise you, darling."

If Ella hadn't been in public, she would've let herself sob, but she had to inhale deeply to keep herself at bay and focus on the fact that she was on her way to them and that was all that mattered.

"Okay, Al. I'm just gonna distract myself as I wait and, uhm, yeah. I hope this one doesn't get delayed." She tried to joke but her heart sank at just the thought of it.

"Touching wood as we speak, Ellie." He truly was, knocking softly on the wooden table that was set beside him.

She laughed quietly, "I guess I'll see you soon then Al, but just in case I don't get there in time," her voice went a little quiet as she was getting sad at the thought, "Good luck okay? You're all gonna do so amazing, I have no doubt."

"Why don't you just wait until you're here to tell me?" Alex just wanted her to stop thinking like that, she was gonna make it regardless and that's what mattered to him.

"Alright." Ella agreed softly, trying to feed off his positivity.

"Have a great flight darling. Love you. It'll be alright okay?" That sweet conviction of his that he always showed when it came to her laced around his words had her melting and calming down in her seat.

She nodded, smiling tightly at his words. "Yeah, it will. Love you too Alex, see you soon."

They exchanged quiet goodbyes and just like that the call ended.

The panic had gone away and its place had been taken by excitement again. She just wished time would go faster because she had little patience left inside her and it had only been fifteen minutes she had been waiting at the gate.

Working on organizing her scans had been wonderful for her, not only because she had so many that she had forgotten about, but she had been able to see her growth as a photographer and it had made her a little bit proud of herself.

It had been a burden to see the ones with Julian in them, or the ones that she clearly remembered had been taken by him but they were good shots of her where she felt and looked beautiful so she would focus on that rather than give that man any more of her thoughts.

She'd known ever since that day at the beach that she was done with him, over the whole situation and, since she wrapped her mind around that realization, she'd only felt peace. He thankfully hadn't made any more appearances or tried to contact her—of course that also was because she'd made sure to block all contacts that could tie them together any longer.

That all had worked like a charm and surrounding herself with work and keeping in touch with her friends and family had helped her heal.

When she was sorting through the pictures she'd taken in March, that were mostly frames of her birthday party as Bre had been drunkenly taking many pictures of everyone, the crew had started to board.

Ella was glad to see they had started boarding earlier than anticipated and she was on her plane seat in almost no time. And to her luck, she had been seated beside a very lovely woman who had the most beautiful ginger hair Ella had ever seen. That had been the start of the conversation and the girl, who's name was Gabby, had thanked her and started conversation with her right then.

It seemed like the friendship had been sent from above as the two spent most of the flight talking about everything and anything: their jobs, their hobbies, why they were on that plane, the things they were most excited for when they landed.

"Rockstars..." Gabby has started after Ella told her she was on her way to visit her rockstar best friends, "Be careful, you never really know about them." She warned, based on past experiences that made a melancholic smile tug at the corner of her lips.

When the plane landed, they had gone through all of the checkpoints together up until the baggage claim area.

Ella and Gabby exchanged Instagram accounts and they promised each other to keep in touch and maybe plan something while Ella was in London.

It seemed like luck was on Gabby's side because her suitcase was one of the first ones to come out only 20 minutes later, leaving Ella with a long hug and a "Take care sweetheart."

Without the ginger beside her, Ella had been well aware of every minute that was passing and how if everything was going according to schedule then it would be less than two hours that the lads would go on stage.

Maybe if the driver just floored it, she'd be able to make it just in time. She prayed that was the case.

But time kept running and she watched people getting their baggage and leaving, everyone but her. It was a group of twenty people maybe that was waiting with her, and suddenly the conveyor belt stopped carrying cases which made Ella even more fidgety.

When she watched the clock go from nine o'clock to quarter past, she'd had enough. She sighed, fixing her bag on her shoulder to turn around and leave—after all, if her case was found, it had her information attached to it and they'd contact her so she couldn't care less about it—, but then cases started rolling in again and the third one was hers.

Ella practically ran towards it and pulled it up with a strength she didn't know she had in her. As soon as she had a hold on it, she walked fast towards the exit in search of the driver the lads had gotten her.

It took her a few glances around the crowd of people waiting for her to find her name on a small sign. 'Eleanor Hayes' read the sign in the man's hands and she approached him with a relieved smile on her face.

They exchanged pleasantries and he took the suitcase from her as they walked out to the car. It was outside that it hit her where she was. Seeing cars driving on the other side of the road and everyone talking in thick accents around her was enough for her to smile hard.

Even if she was two hours away from the guys, they were standing in the same soil and that was enough for her to breathe calmly for a while.

Ella got in the back seat of the car, and once again she felt like she couldn't sit still. The worst part was that she wasn't even able to call Alex or text him because her phone was basically useless.

So she put her earphones in and connected them to her phone to play some music. Something inside her knew exactly what she needed to hear then and so she scrolled all the way down until she found that song she hadn't been able to stop listening to since that day.

Her eyes watched out of the window, how they were driving on the left side of the road, how different it all was but something felt constant and growing inside her. But then 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards' started and her thoughts drowned before she could even allow herself to point out what it was.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Ella had made light conversation with the driver when they were walking up to the car and he had taken her petition to go as fast as he could to heart. He knew she needed to be there by ten in the evening so he had done the best he could.

Yet that hadn't been enough, because they got there at a little bit over eleven.

The driver had lent Ella his phone so she could call an assistant to the band's manager who was waiting for her to arrive.

The girl had been lovely and told Ella she'd be coming to get her and about thirty minutes later, with her heart leaping on her chest, Ella was walking up to the balcony at the side of the stage.

She was almost in tears seeing and hearing the massive crowd go incredibly insane at the sight of the lads coming back for the encore.

Ella had barely registered the manager's assistant telling Breana that Ella had arrived until Bre had jumped on her to hug her, and that was when the tears had started falling. Ella was so overwhelmed that she was just now processing the long day she'd had and it was hitting her like a ton of bricks.

She was so entranced by the guys getting their instruments and about to perform again that she had only been able to smile and wave at the girls around her. She recognized Kelly of course but she didn't know who out of the two other girls that were there was Katie and who was Alex's best friend.

Alex started strumming his guitar and teasing the crowd with the lyrics to 'Soul Love' by David Bowie, everyone at the balcony laughed as they sang it back to him but he was quick to cut them off when he said, "I'm only messing, I'm only kidding."

He walked backwards for a few seconds before going back to the mic and this time teasing them with 'Yellow' by Coldplay, which made the crowd sing it back to him even louder.

"I'm only messing, I'm only messing." He tried saying but the thousands of people ignored it so he laughed looking at Jamie and shaking his head, "I'm only kidding. Pipe down now, pipe down." And since they still didn't listen, he went ahead and started singing the next song which was 'Cornerstone'.

Ella hadn't even known that they had a string section playing with them until she heard them join the guys during the second verse and she swore she had ascended.

Nothing would ever compare to hearing Alex's stunning voice, accompanied by the violins and cellos, and the crowd so wholeheartedly singing along.

Alex was enthralling standing there just talking to the masses of people and getting them to cheer loudly at him when he suggested an old monkeys song that they didn't perform often. Ella was trying to guess which one it would be when the violins started the gorgeous melody of 'Mardy Bum' and it all sounded even better when the crowd sang along.

It was mesmerizing to say the least. Ella had thought seeing them perform Outside Lands in 2011 had been insane enough, but nothing compared to this. She had never witnessed something like it before and it was leaving her breathless.

A few tears fell down her cheeks and since Bre was holding her close, resting her face against hers, she noticed. The model turned to her best friend, cooing and gave her a loud kiss on the cheek.

Ella was sad she had only caught the end of their performance but so glad to at least have caught a bit of it. She wouldn't have forgiven herself if she had missed it completely.

She watched as Alex changed her acoustic guitar for his Fender jazzmaster when the song was done, and in no time he started playing the chords to 'When The Sun Goes Down'. The crowd was so loud almost completely drowning his voice, making everyone at the balcony sing along.

Just before the song fully kicked in after the first verse, Alex stopped and encouraged the crowd to get louder and louder. It was mental to see how much control he had over them, making them scream as loud as they could with a small movement of his hand.

Finally when they continued, Ella just fully let go of any inhibitions and started dancing with Bre, jumping on her spot and singing along loudly. The girls had done the same, all of them faking playing a guitar and headbanging.

One of the girls she didn't know had wolf whistled and yelled "That's my best friend!" which had Ella instantly knowing who she was. She was glad she had just spent most of the song with her arm swung over the girl's shoulder and both had danced together like they'd known each other their whole lives.

It all got even cuter when Alex asked the crowd if they could help him sing happy birthday to his mum. Ella had melted as she and everyone sang along, Alex had a permanent grin on his face loving the energy and how perfect the night was going.

Ella watched intently as Alex welcomed Miles on stage, whooping and clapping for her friend. She had only been able to see Miles playing 505 with them on video and caught glimpses of it in the studio when the guys were playing around and strummed along for a few seconds, but she was sure this one time would be life changing.

When Alex sang "I'd probably still adore you with your hands around my neck", she felt Bre teasingly choke her which made her laugh. That made her almost miss Alex doing it to himself softly in front of the whole crowd. She had to keep herself from letting her eyes roll at that, not only because she was in public, surrounded by people but she had to not think about Alex like that.

She couldn't. They were just friends and no matter how attractive she could find him, she couldn't let herself and her thoughts wander beyond that point.

The song reached its climax and she was taken aback by the crowd's volume once again. It was nothing compared to how loud they got by the end of the song, when the lights grew intensely and lit the whole stage as the band waved them goodbye, blew them kisses and left.

Once the guys were out, that's when Ella properly turned and gave Bre the biggest hug to say hello.

"I missed you so much!" Ella had said hidden away in her neck, "Today was awful."

Bre let go to check if she was crying or not, she only found Ella's eyes pooling with tears, "I knew I should've gone with you." The model cooed and hugged her back again, "Let's go back down to their trailer and I'll introduce you to everyone."

Ella sniffled and followed Breana, who was keeping her fingers intertwined with hers as everyone walked out and back to the band's trailer.

She expected the lads to be out there already, but they told them that they had gone to be quickly interviewed at the BBC Radio area. So she took the brief moment of tranquility to properly take a moment and meet the girls officially.

Kelly was the one walking towards them so Ella was quick to meet her in the middle and give her a quick hug.

"Hi! It's so nice to finally meet you!" Ella said enthusiastically, and the bride-to-be hugged her back tightly.

They swayed a bit in their place before letting go of each other, Kelly was a little bit tipsy by then and the lads and Bre had been talking about how excited they were for Ella to get there that she was ecstatic to meet her.

"You too Ella!" Kelly agreed and then turned to see the other two ladies coming to them. Kelly waved them over for them to hurry and both of them started giggling as they quickened their pace.

When they caught up to where they stood, Ella smiled brightly at them, "Hi! I'm Ella, so nice to meet you."

She hadn't known exactly if she should hug them or shake their hands but the answer was given to her when the brunette one crushed her in a tight hug which surprised her.

"I'm so glad we can finally meet!" Ella had reciprocated the hug because she truly needed it and it's only when the girl let go that she said, "I'm Flo. Welcome to England, love."

"Oh! Alex's best friend, the artist! I've heard so much about you." Ella replied, looking at the pretty girl smiling even harder in front of her.

"I sure hope so. I've heard loads about you too, it was about time you came so I could properly meet you." Flo winked and it made her blush, she was intrigued by the amount of times Alex would mention her if his best friend had been so eager to have her here.

Ella giggled and then turned to give the blonde girl who, by process of elimination, would be Cookie's girlfriend. "You must be Katie then?"

"That's me. Hi Ella, so nice to meet you." Katie said with a sweet smile and a tender brief hug.

Ella reciprocated and held her with the same tenderness. "You too. Congratulations on the engagement, by the way. Lucky guy Cookie is."

Katie laughed and waved her off but before she could disagree on that, Flo jumped in saying, "Isn't he?"

Ella nodded, already feeling that Alex's best friend would be one she'd grow the closest with. Katie felt the need to say something about her then so he pointed at the things that they knew from the lads.

"We've seen your pictures Ella and, bloody hell, we might need to hire you for some shoots because you leave me astounded."

Ella smiled brightly at that, her cheeks tinting red as she watched them all throwing compliments around. Bre threw one of her arms around Ella's shoulders and said, "Think maybe we should just take a day away from the guys and play with the camera."

All the girls agreed on it and Ella was totally willing to do it. "I'm down if you guys are down, that'd be amazing. I came up with a few concepts on my way here, actually."

"It's settled then. Girls day will be a photoshoot day with Ella." Flo settled raising her cup in the air.

"You tell us Kelly if you want it before or after the wedding just so we don't interrupt with any plans." Ella was quick to say, remembering the big day coming up.

"Let's do it after. We have loads of time before we leave for our honeymoon."

Flo smirked at her, "Oooooo the honeymoon. Big anticipation for that Boss, make sure you're well rested beforehand. I speak from experience."

"Wait, you're married?" Ella asked in slight shock. Alex had failed to mention that big little detail.

Flo showed off her ring wiggling her eyebrows, "Very happily so." And then she turned to look around for her husband, "Where is he? Curly?!"

And as if it was magic, the lanky man with the long hair Ella had seen earlier at the balcony had popped out of nowhere with a cigarette in hand by the trailer.

"Sweetheart?" He asked and if it wasn't for the way they had kept quiet, they wouldn't have been able to hear him.

"Come here a second, say hi to Ella."

And like every one of her wishes was a command, he appeared right behind her with a smile on his face. He dropped the cigarette to the ground and stomped on it as he offered a hand out to Ella and introduced himself, "Nice to meet you, I'm Matty."

Ella gave him a kind smile, holding herself from cooing at the way he held Flo close to him. "Hi Matty, I'm Ella."

The man smirked, "Oh we know, famous Ella. You're quite the talk around here."

Breana laughed, knowing how much of Ella they had all heard and seen through the band, especially in the past week and earlier that very day.

Ella blushed at the information, "Jesus... Good talk, I hope."

Flo smirked looking at her, "Oh very good talk, especially from Alex. He's been like a broken record since he got back."

She had no idea what to say so she just blushed quietly for a few seconds until Breana pinched her waist and she jumped, "That's... good, I guess."

"Indeed it is." Katie added with a subtle smirk and a raise of eyebrows which only had Ella blushing even harder.

"Okay, yous stop it." Kelly said, finding it adorable how she reacted to everyone's teasing. "You're getting her all red, bless her."

"You know what you need?" Matty asked playfully and Ella shook her head as she lacked a response, "A drink."

"Oh yes. You're far behind." Informed Breana who had been drinking almost all day with the girls.

"What would you like?" Flo asked nicely, wanting to get her new friend going as the night had only just started.

Ella had a think about it but just shrugged when she couldn't decide on anything she particularly wanted at the moment, "Surprise me."

Flo smiled hard, "I love you already."

So Flo and Matty left to make her a drink and the other four girls stayed outside whilst they talked. It had been mostly about the wedding, Ella had managed to convince Kelly that it wasn't gonna be an issue for her to take pictures all day so Kelly allowed her to be another one of their photographers but only at the reception. Because "I don't want you feeling like you're at work during the ceremony, you're our friend.", was the reasoning she'd given her and Ella smiled at her and promised she'd only pull her camera out during the reception.

Miles had appeared then, interrupting the wedding chat to crush Ella in a tight hug, "Fucking finally! We've been waiting for you!" The scouse had made her giggle with the scoff he'd let out after that.

"Sorry, had to get a new flight and it was shit." Ella replied with a struggle from how tight he was holding her.

Miles left a wet kiss on her cheek and pulled back, "Don't apologize. You're here now."

Ella nodded with a sweet smile, letting herself indulge in Miles' side hug and starting up a conversation with him and the rest of the group.

About five minutes later, when they were trying to get information out of Breana about Kelly's bachelorette party or hen do—as the british girls called it—Matty and Flo finally came out of the band's trailer with multiple drinks in hand.

They were carefully coming down the stairs managing to grip onto two cups on each hand when behind them someone yelled, "Oi! What were those two doing alone in our trailer?" It was when they continued saying, "You nasty bastards!" that Ella recognized it was Matt walking back with the rest of the band following behind.

"Oh my god!" Ella yelled, letting go of Miles and completely missing whatever Matty had yelled back at them because she was too busy running towards them.

She had her guestlist wristband on so security didn't stop her when she jetted off to hug the first person she saw, which was the drummer.

Matt had barely even seen her when she threw herself at him, "Ellie! You're here!"

"I missed you so much, I'm so sorry I was late." She truly was sorry but he wasn't having it.

Matt held her tighter and shook his head, "No need to apologize Ellie, it's all fine. You're here!"

Before she could apologize once more, the rest of the band joined them in the hug. They all crushed Ella in between their bodies and said her name in unison which had her laughing.

By the time they'd all let go and given her space, she had shed a few tears. She turned around with a pout and hugged them one by one, apologizing again and again for being late, for which Alex had gone and hugged her again when she was done hugging everyone.

Alex held her tight and rubbed up and down her back, "I told you that all that mattered is that you'd be here darling, and you are."

"I caught the encore." She mumbled in his ear, sniffling.

He loosened his grip on her and made her look up at him, "Did you like it?"

"It was insane Al. The crowd was so loud! And the strings!" Ella fanned her face to gather herself, "I will cry just picturing how it was from the very start."

"Don't cry darling." Alex cooed, brushing some of her hair behind her ear and wiping a tear that had fallen down her cheek. "We'll catch a rerun of it on TV next week, it's okay."

She didn't have time to keep protesting because Alex started leaving kisses all over her face until she giggled. It was only when she couldn't breathe from laughter that he stopped, getting a hold of her hand and followed the lads walking back to where everyone was gathered.

When they got there though, Ella was met with someone she didn't know. Thankfully, Alex was quick to introduce them to her.

"Ella, this is Penny, my mum. Penny, this is Ella." He let go of her to let her freely hug his mum.

And that Ella did, holding Penny tighter when she'd said "Oh it's so lovely to meet you, sweetie."

"You too. Happy birthday, by the way. That was a lovely serenade you got just then."

Penny cooed, "Oh thank you. And it was, wasn't it?" She turned to her son to steal a hug from him, "Thanks to this one."

Alex relished in his mum's embrace, leaving a kiss on top of her head. "Love you mum." She saw as she was all ready to walk out, her friend waiting for her beside his manager by the entrance of the backstage area. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, so sorry to leave you lot but I can't be camping out anymore. I'm not fit for this lifestyle now." Penny joked, looking at everyone who was watching the interaction intently.

Ella scoffed, acting like Penny was saying just pure lies, "What are you on about? I was gonna take you out dancing to celebrate!"

Alex's mum laughed at that, gently grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Oh sweetie, that's a tempting offer, that."

Flo joined in Ella's antics, "We'll bring the party up north next week then Penny, get yourself ready."

"That better be a promise." She pointed at the girl she had seen grow up, and Flo blew her a kiss in response.

Alex left Ella with their friends to walk his mom back to her friend, making sure they were all set to leave. And as he went back, he couldn't believe his eyes.

He had been anxiously waiting all day for her to arrive, his heart beating a bit faster the closer it got to their set. He tried blaming it on headlining Glastonbury for a second time but he knew deep inside that really wasn't it. Yes it was making him nervous, but most of all it was because of Ella.

When he had walked on stage, he had anticipated that his thoughts would be fully taken over by the crowd and the place they were at, but he had been wrong—the thought of where Ella was, held a place in the back of his head throughout the whole set.

And when they had been taken to BBC Radio's lounge to get interviewed and saw the mirrorballs hanging from the ceiling, along with the cow print on the floor, he was taken back to Ella.

Ella, Ella, Ella.

He'd been so fucking glad to see her there as they came back. And now, walking back and seeing her laugh with his childhood best friend, it was a sight that had him grinning brightly to himself.

The group seemed to be talking very eagerly about something, and he was just beyond happy that Ella fit perfectly with them all. His smile only faltered when he was getting closer to them and Ella snapped her head in his direction with a deep frown and a gasp.

"Alex Turner, how could you keep this information from me?!" Ella asked loudly, as she had just been embarrassed for not knowing something that seemed like everyone knew.

Alex giggled, frowning back at her, "What?"

"You've never told me that your best friend's husband is in a band as well?" Matty had just said he was excited for the next day and Ella had asked what was happening, which Flo had laughed hard about when she realized Alex had failed to mention it to her.

"Oh," he cringed, "Sorry darling." He apologized to Ella first and then turned to Matty to make sure he hadn't taken offense by it, which he hadn't but just in case Alex said, "Sorry mate."

"S'alright." Matty waved off with an amused smile at Ella's bright red cheeks.

But Ella didn't agree, "Yeah, it's not for me but whatever."

Alex laughed, noting that she had a drink in hand and he guessed that would have to do a little bit with her current mood. "What are you drinking Eleanor?"

"It's called 'none of your business', isn't it Flo?" Ella asked the brunette seriously.

Flo tried to match her seriousness but her smile couldn't be held back, "That's right."

Alex took the drink from her, only to take a sip and when he did he realized what it was. "Angel, you gave her a jagerbomb? She can't handle alcohol, she's gonna be plastered by half past."

"Well, I'll blame this beautiful angel right here." Ella nodded towards his best friend, playing with the word he had just called her, and Flo did a small curtsy back at her.

Alex hadn't expected this duo to be such trouble. He feared them and Bre together would be even worse and he didn't know what to expect.

"Of course you will." Alex shook his head with a smile, and Flo winked at him. She knew him like the back of her hand, and she could just see it all written on Alex's face. He was whipped.

It had been a lovely night, slowly and with the help of the drinks, the buzz the lads had gotten from the night had gone down and by three in the morning, they were all ready to go to sleep. Especially Ella, who despite having multiple jagerbombs with Flo, had succumbed to her exhaustion from her long day traveling.

The lads had their tour bus parked somewhere in the fields, so after the group said bye to Matty and Flo who were staying with the rest of their group, they took on a long drunk walk back to the bus. It had been filled with giggles at the clumsy steps they'd take, especially Ella and Bre's who were holding onto Miles' arms and subsequently making him trip with them.

The walk back had been exhaustingly long to them all in their drunken states, so when they finally reached the massive vehicle, they jetted off up the stairs by the door and chose the first bunk they saw.

Thankfully no one had chosen their bunks yet so there wasn't any bickering about someone stealing someone else's bed but it was hilarious to Alex, who had been the last to go up, to see everyone lazily slump into the beds and groan in relief when they could finally rest their bodies.

Due to how drunk everyone was, they had passed out almost immediately and slept deep and uninterrupted all throughout the night, even through the choir of snores coming from Nick and Matt.

That was until the noise outside woke them up at around eleven and they all realized that if they didn't properly wake up soon and get ready for the day, they'd miss Matty's band.

So, like they had been shocked back alive, the girls started getting ready quickly. Ella was so thankful for the bathroom in the bus being a decent size and it hadn't been much of a burden getting ready in the enclosed space.

She was also grateful for the girls around her, who were going on and on about all that Ella was going to see and what she couldn't miss, warning her about different things around the field but making her more excited about it all by the second.

They all had a bite of food on their way to the stage The 1975 would perform on, and they got there just in time. Matty's band was due on stage in ten minutes, when the group walked up to where Matty and Flo were standing by the steps that would take them up the stage.

Ella was well aware she stood up like a sore thumb from how she was dressed, not that her black shorts and her The Doors shirt were strange but her black and silver cowboy boots were. She had earned herself quite a lot of glances as they paraded around the place, but she couldn't care less.

Matty pointed them out right away but with a compliment because he truly loved them, "Fucking love your boots Ella."

"Awh thanks Matty." She looked down at them, already muddy and dusty but she loved it, it reminded her of home.

His wife had taken the chance to tease him then, "Be careful, he might try to steal them. He's taken half my wardrobe."

Matty bit back saying, "We're married so what's yours is mine. Technically not stealing."

A very tall guy with a man bun walked behind Flo and clicked his tongue as he threw an arm around her shoulders, "He got you there baby."

"George, you're supposed to be on my side always." Flo complained, but leaned into George's touch.

"For that you've got your cousin." The tall guy argued with a smirk, which made Flo elbow him on the ribs.

Matty cackled watching George doubled over in pain and Flo took that moment to turn around and call over the two other members of the band to meet Ella.

Another very tall guy with a buzzcut came their way, along with a slightly shorter brunette, and when they stood beside her with soft smiles, Flo introduced them to Ella.

"Ella, this is George," She pointed to the tallest one who had just been hurt in the ribs, "This is Ross." She then signaled to the one with the buzzcut and finished by pointing at the brunette, "And this is my cousin, Adam."

Ella smiled at them, "Nice to meet y'all."

They all reciprocated the pleasantry with smiles of their own and they started small talk until they were called on stage.

The big Monkeys group stood on the side of the stage, watching The 1975 get cheered on as they grabbed their instruments.

As they played their first three songs, Ella made a mental note to listen to their music when she had the time because they were amazing live and they had this sound that she wasn't really used to listening but she'd just loved. They all had great stage presence, just by enjoying performing and dancing around, and it was funny to hear all the things Matty would just say in between lines.

Their little group had all cheered along with the crowd by the end of 'You' when Matty jumped on George's drumset and played the end of the song headbanging as he looked down towards George.

They all looked amazing on stage, and when the next song started and the crowd got even louder, they fed more off of their energy and somehow got even more hyper.

Ella was particularly entranced by George, seeing every single one of his facial expressions as he hit the drums had her just gawking at him.

She had leaned back a bit knowing that was the only way Flo and Bre would hear her say, "He's fucking hot." as she pointed at the drummer.

Alex's best friend laughed loudly at that, making Matt and Alex turn around to see what had happened and when she informed them of what Ella had just said, Matt joined the laughter while Alex only rolled his eyes in amusement.

"You fancy George then?" Matt asked loudly over the speakers.

"I mean look at him!" Ella had said, he truly looked amazing, "Oh, and Ross! Flo, even your cousin looks hot right now!"

"I'm glad we share opinions when it comes to George." Flo winked at her, "I'll make sure to relay the message."

Ella blushed just thinking about it and shook her head, mortified, "Oh god, no, don't."

"But you need a rebound!" Matt fought and Bre nodded intently.

"No, that'd be so messy!" Ella shook her head just thinking about how she wouldn't be able to act normal if she actually made a move on one of Flo's friends.

"That'd be messy alright. The nice kind of messy." Flo said and that just made Ella double over in laughter.

They kept listening to the rest of the song after that, and Ella was sure she'd have the chorus stuck in her head forever. 'Chocolate' was a hit, no wonder it had been their breakthrough.

She pouted when Matty said the next one will be their last, leaving her to wish to see a longer set of theirs in the future.

The strong riff of the guitar had her already hooked but it was the lyrics to it that made her slowly become obsessed with it.

When Matty turned around to point at Flo as he sang "She's got a boyfriend anyway", Ella gasped realizing this was about her. She screeched then when Matty turned back around to face the crowd and the lyrics got more interesting.

She couldn't help but become entranced by how proud Flo looked of Matty, it was so sweet to see the way she wholeheartedly sang along, her smile never leaving her face.

The end of the song was just heavy and perfect, made it erratic and Ella was absolutely loving it. Especially when the last line Matty sang was changed to "You've got a husband anyway" as he pointed at himself while looking straight at his wife.

Flo blew him a kiss and Matty turned around to play the outro of the song with all the energy he had, it was captivating. Ella was taken aback when it hit her that she was now friends with all these incredible musicians, it was truly a dream that had her pinching herself.

When the guys came off stage, it was pure adrenaline they were running on. Matty didn't take a second to kiss his wife earnestly, and Ella could almost cry from how adorable they were.

The rest of the day had been spent with them all running around the festival, sharing drinks as they tried to catch up to artists in different stages, bumping into friends like Zackery who had taken a few pictures of them—and introduced the band to a group of artists who had designed and hand painted a leather jacket for them at their request for a song in the upcoming album.

Ella had been loving how different yet similar the festival was when comparing it to Bonnaroo. The messy muddy fields, the loud chatter and laughter, the smell of good food in the air mixed with the good weed. She was on cloud nine and she didn't want to leave.

That night they watched The Rolling Stones and it had been absolutely insane seeing Mick Jagger on stage. She was sure she'd lose her voice from how loud she screamed when Mick Taylor was invited on stage and when they performed '2000 Light Years From Home'. She was sure she'd never be able to listen to The Rolling Stones the same ever again.

Sunday hadn't been any different. They had enjoyed every bit of the festival like it was the last they'd ever attend.

Ella had been so grateful to have experienced all of it, and she had made sure to tell Alex that multiple times. The group was so glad they had the massive bus to drive them back home and they needn't worry about a thing through the whole drive but be completely comfortable and enjoy the peace after the bustling weekend. It had ended up being almost three hours due to the traffic, but that had allowed them to rest longer so they didn't complain.

She'd asked to be dropped off at the hotel she was staying at and Alex had offered to go with her and then walk home as she wasn't staying too far away from his flat, but she declined because she knew he was exhausted and so was she so she walked in alone at four in the morning to check in.

It was amazing that it hadn't been a struggle to get checked in, she had been expecting something going wrong with that too after all that had happened at the airports when she was on her way there but it hadn't been, so with her keys in hand she made her merry way up to the fifth floor and to her room.

The little energy Ella had left in her was put into taking a shower, brushing her teeth and just plopping onto bed. The weekend had felt longer than just three days, it felt like it had already been a week since she'd had to run around Montreal's airport like a madwoman looking for a new ticket.

She sighed happily as she snuggled into the plush pillows in the dark, her eyes closed but behind her eyelids was the whole weekend playing like a film and she found herself filling up with warmth. She couldn't wait to see what else this trip would have in store for her, she only hoped it was all good.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The greatness of the London Eye had Ella trying to gather herself in search of words. She had been struggling to truly believe where she was since she woke up to a view she wasn't used to, gloomy and no sun out, the sky teasing a rainfall later, a little chilly when she went out the balcony for a smoke and the bustling of a city she was yet to get to know.

Alex had called her—thankfully they had figured out the whole cell roaming situation during the weekend so she wasn't uncommunicated and alone—, telling her to get ready as he was coming to get her and they'd be walking around London so she could get her proper touristy stroll around the city.

She had personally asked him for one at Glastonbury, when they were eating as they walked between stages, and he had gladly agreed to it. He wanted to be the one to witness her reactions to one of the cities he held so close to his heart.

Ella's steps slowed as they got closer to the attraction, people already in a long line at eleven in the morning.

"Holy fuck, it's huge." She gasped, staring all around the giant metal structure.

Alex just watched her mesmerized expression with a smile, "D'you wanna get on it?"

"Erm, not really. But I might as well have to, right?" She was looking at the very top of it which was barely in her line of sight but she would have to bear it because why would she come all the way there to not get on it.

"Flying all the way here to not get on it would be regrettable." He said honestly, it looked scary but it was a great experience, one that he didn't want her to miss.

Ella sighed, her brows a little furrowed as she gathered some courage, "Alright let's go."

They quietly walked to the end of the line, which had resumed moving slowly, and Ella felt her heart racing in her chest. Not only because of how she was shitting it thinking about how high she'd be once inside but from the memories coming aggressively to the forefront of her mind.

Valentine's day, Belmont Park. With Alex beside her, just like at that very moment.

She smiled to herself, the thought of that day no longer bitter by any grudges she was holding. So she thought mentioning it might distract her and keep her from shaking. "At least it's a shorter wait than the one we did at Belmont Park, remember?"

Alex gave her a sweet smile, really enjoying the opportunity to think back to that day but he also wanted to take the moment to tease her as she was fidgeting in her place. "Still afraid of heights, darling?"

"Yes but don't remind me, or I'll make you take me to the next place to not get on." Ella smiled slightly embarrassed, her cheeks tinting a faint pink.

"You silly thing." Alex laughed breathlessly, reaching out to grab her wrist and pull her into his side to hug her, "Just think about all the stunning pictures you're gonna be able to take."

She melted into him, looking up and grinned brightly at him, "You just always know how to get me on your side, don't you?" It really did seem like it to her, how fast he could make her twist her arm into stepping out of her comfort zone so she'd enjoy herself.

He just stared down at her adoringly, counting every freckle on her cheeks and admiring how the makeup she had on just accentuated every little thing on her face. So he said sincerely, "I'm glad I do." because he was truly grateful he could.

About ten minutes passed, silence between them was comfortable but sometimes broken by small talk about random things they'd remember or things she was hoping to see and the possibilities of places they could visit.

They had stayed holding each other the whole time: Alex's arm around her shoulders, his fingers clutching her tightly, and Ella's arm around his waist, her thumb rubbing little circles over the fabric of his shirt.

That was until she had remembered about Alex and who he was and she had started overthinking and noticing more and more the glances the people in line were giving them, so she gently pushed herself away from him and he had to slowly let his arm drop from its place around her.

Alex gave her a questioning look and Ella recoiled into herself as she gave him an answer, "I just keep thinking people are looking at us– well, you. And I don't wanna get you in trouble."

"What do you mean?" The singer frowned, not really understanding in which way she'd do that.

"Well, I just feel like they keep glancing over here and I don't want you to get swarmed for being recognized." Her voice was small as she explained, scared of sounding stupid but in her head, it made sense.

He chuckled softly, brushing off his status. "Darling, I'm not that big of a deal."

But Ella wouldn't let him try to downplay it, "Sure you aren't Mr. Rockstar." She rolled her eyes with amusement, "This is your home country, and you're massive here."

Alex just shook his head to have her let go of her worries, "Not gonna get swarmed, darling." And then he further explained, "You know most—if not all—known people that do, is because they get their agents to put out their locations for paparazzi and media's attention right?"

"Oh?" Ella blushed, feeling oh so stupid, "Do they really?"

"Yeah, and it's bullshit. You'll never find me doing that so don't worry. We're safe." He assured, tucking her into his side once more and he smiled when he felt her arm snaking around his middle once again.

"It's just because you love the mysterious act, though, isn't it? Maintains the appeal." She pinched his waist to accentuate the teasing, making him laugh.

"Dickhead."

They laughed together then, falling back into a comfortable silence, just relishing in the warmth they got from each other. It wasn't awfully cold but it was chilly and it was how used she'd gotten to Californian weather that had her performing worse in weather that she used to be able to bear when she lived in Tennessee.

Alex kept her warm and cozy so Ella found herself really snuggling into him and he accepted it with a smirk on his face. Moments like this was all he wanted.

The minutes passed and Ella couldn't help but be hypnotized by the whole scene, especially when they moved further and further up the line until they ended up in a corner where they had the perfect backdrop of the Thames and the city of London.

He felt her get away from his hold again but when she saw her reaching down to grab the camera hanging from around her neck, he breathed calmly.

"Stay there, I wanna take a picture." She instructed, seeing that his position was perfect for a picture.

"Here?" Alex asked, not sure if she really wanted a picture of him right there and then.

But Ella showed him the prettiest smile and said, "Yep, just like that." and Alex couldn't say no, not that he'd really ever tell her no. "Smile for me, sweets." The pet name rolled off her tongue so easily when seeing him standing like that in front of her.

"Sweets?" A massive grin broke out on his face hearing her call him that, his insides melting at the simple word.

Ella pressed the shutter instantly, exhaling in relief at having caught that face in time. "Perfect."

"Sweets?" Alex asked again just to check he hadn't imagined that.

"Yeah..." She timidly confirmed, rolling the film and tucking the lever back in its place to turn off the camera and let it softly drop back over her chest.

He watched her take small steps towards him again and accepted her back in his arms with a "M'kay darling."

Ella poked his ribs making him jump before asking "You don't like it?"

Alex was quick to retort, "Who said that?"

"I don't know–" She tried to start but he was quick to dismiss the whole thing.

"I love it." He backtracked quickly and firmly with an honest smile on his face that had her biting her tongue and fighting back a smile just as big as his.

In no time, the line moved sporadically and it was sooner than expected that they were boarded into a capsule with a family of five.

Ella stepped inside with wobbly steps and Alex followed closely behind. "Oh my god..." Her words were breathless as she was taken aback by the view around her.

"That line was quicker than I expected." The singer thought out loud as he got beside her, both of them standing close to the windows.

But when she heard the glass doors closing and felt the capsule moving to the right, she took a big step back and reached back to hold his hand. "Al, you're gonna have to stay near me because this is freaking me out."

He squeezed her hand in his and giggled, "I'll stay right here."

"Okay..." Ella mumbled unsure but soon her whole attention was taken by how perfectly she could see it all in front of her. "This is so beautiful."

Alex could feel her hands growing sweaty and starting to shake so he took it upon himself to distract her. "You can see it all from here. Look," He pointed to their left, "That's Westminster bridge, the Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Parliament." He listed as his finger pointed at each of the landmarks, making sure she was correctly watching each as he talked, "We can see it a bit better now that it's going up, oh and there's Buckingham Palace as well."

It looked so small from there but it was still breathtaking, "Oh wow..." Her heart was swelling in her chest now, just from being able to experience this, "We can see the whole city, Al!" She whispered with such excitement that made Alex want to coo at her.

"It's quite the view, isn't it." He took the smallest step towards her until he was pressed softly against her back and he leaned in to watch her face.

She turned to him completely mesmerized, "I think New York has got some big competition in my book now."

"A tough one between them two." He agreed, resting his chin on her shoulder for a second before standing back up straight again and pointing to their right now, "Oh look, over there is St. Paul's Cathedral. We're going there later 'cause I know you'll love it. And way back over there is the Tower of London and Tower Bridge."

Her eyes swam around the panoramic view and it was all well until she made the mistake of looking down to her feet and her heart sank. With her eyes closed, her panicked words came out incredibly fast, "I'm loving this view but I just accidentally looked down and I feel like I'm gonna have a panic attack."

"You're okay darling, I'm here." Alex promised, taking his hand that was still intertwined with hers and wrapping that arm around her waist, "Just take your pictures, I won't move an inch."

She gulped and let her eyes open up again, feeling slightly better in his hold and slowly untangled her fingers from his to lift her camera, "Okay."

It certainly worked like magic. The second she started looking at the city through that viewfinder, it was like she had completely forgotten she was hundreds of feet above the ground in a spinning wheel, completely focused on capturing the panorama as best as she could.

Alex watched intently as she worked, noticing the little things she did like biting her lip as her finger hovered and seemed to hesitate for a few seconds over the shutter until she caught the perfect moment and it was just a triumphant smile as she turned the lever and then the cycle began again.

Ella counted the shots in her head and only stopped when she had only twelve frames left in the roll.

Letting her head fall on Alex's shoulder, she had to ask, "How long does this take again?" Only because she had felt like she'd lost track of time.

"Half an hour but it's already been fifteen minutes so we're halfway there." His fingers rubbed circles on her waist, sometimes the pads of his fingertips managing to get under her shirt and erupting goosebumps on her skin.

She felt like she was burning up so she let her camera drop back down on her chest and turned around to face him. "I'm just gonna stare at you now because if I look out I'm definitely gonna freak out." She giggled a bit, trying to trick herself into thinking that looking at Alex wouldn't have her chest tighten just as much.

"That's fine by me." He replied with a smirk.

But she didn't entertain his teasing, only giving him a sincere, "Thank you." in return.

His face fell into a sweet smile, "Nothing to thank me for, darling. I'm buzzing to have you here right now." He wasn't afraid to admit it at all, because he truly was beyond happy about the whole situation.

"See? Sweetness!" She softly exclaimed, bringing one of her hands up to cup his cheek but before Alex could get his hopes up on anything happening, she squished his cheeks with her hand, "You're just pure sweetness."

Ella felt his face go warm under her touch so with a giggle she let her hand fall back down. "Your hair looks great today." He looked great. In a pair of blue jeans, a white shirt and his brown leather jacket—he had changed the Chelsea boots for white high top converse and a pair of sunglasses had been tucked into one of the pockets of his jacket.

"You like it?" Alex asked innocently like the simple compliment hadn't made his heart rate stutter.

She nodded, "You know I do. It always looks amazing but whenever it's just like this, without gel..." Her fingers combed through the freshly cut greaser looking hairstyle, "It's so soft."

He nudged her hand with his nose softly and joked, "Are you messing it up?"

She chuckled, combing through it again and again to give it its perfect shape, "I'm fixing a few strands here." She used both her hands then to bring a few of the strands to fall on his forehead like she loved. "There you go."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Look good?"

Ella's answer was quick, "Beautiful." And she didn't waste a beat to ask, "Can I have another picture?"

"Of me?" Alex asked naively and she just hummed, so he shrugged and nodded, "I suppose."

"I wanna have one of this very moment. With you, my favorite tourist guide." She joked in the end to make it seem less like she was baring her heart out to him.

"Right." He chuckled, his eyes crinkling around the edges slightly.

But she wanted more, she wanted to see his grin fully reach his eyes. "C'mon sweets, show me that gorgeous smile."

Her teasing worked because he felt his cheeks warming again and he had to keep himself from averting his gaze from hers, "Stop." He only said, half a warning but mostly a plea for mercy on his heart.

"What?" Ella inquired like she had nothing to do with it, if she only knew all that she did to him. "Amazing, t'was perfect." She complimented once more.

Alex had to change the topic then because he felt like he could combust any second, "Are you taking them in black and white?"

She had mentioned it earlier when he'd called her, as she was debating whether or not it'd look better. "Decided against it last minute. I don't know, there's something about the atmosphere today that I just wanted to capture the closest to reality I could."

He hummed, understanding what she meant, "You can always take the black and white ones later, you're staying three weeks after all."

Ella smiled brightly at the reminder, that many days just sounded so promising and she couldn't ignore how this was one of the very few times she felt ecstatic thinking about the uncertainty of what the future had to hold.

"So glad I am. It's barely been three days and I already know this is one of the best trips of my life."

"It's only just getting started darling." Alex winked, making a giggle bubble up her throat again and what a lovely sound that was.

Just like that, they had done the full ride and they hadn't realized it was done until they heard the doors open back up, way too entranced in their own little bubble. It was lucky that the rest of the people inside their capsule were on holiday and no one from the family had interest in finding out who they were or interrupting what they were doing.

When they walked out, Alex let out a loud laugh when Ella thanked God for firm soil multiple times, said so devotedly like she wasn't a determined atheist.

From there, they walked through Westminster Bridge to get to Big Ben. Ella had gasped as their feet took them across the bridge and asked Alex to pinch her because she felt like she was dreaming.

She couldn't believe her eyes were actually seeing all of that for themselves in real life and not through stock pictures on Google.

Seeing her glowing from her excitement had Alex's heart breaking as he had to give her some bad news. "This actually has me fuming now because this is just one of those things everyone wants to see once in their life but, a few years back they closed all Big Ben and Parliament tours to people who aren't UK citizens or residents so unfortunately I won't be able to take you inside for a tour."

Ella clearly deflated but it was in an instant that she really turned the situation around in her head. She shook her head standing in her place, making Alex stop beside her on the sidewalk, and she pointed at the landmark right in front of them, "But I'm seeing it right now and that's what counts, Al. It's okay."

Alex hummed reluctantly, still disappointed at not being able to give her the best experience. "We can walk around it, I'm half sure there's some places you can manage to take a peek inside."

She giggled and grabbed his hand, fingers intertwining as she went ahead and dragged him behind her to finish their walk through the bridge. Alex didn't say a word, his smile permanently stuck on his face as he watched her walk enthusiastically in front of him.

She had changed her roll of film right when they got to the street across the monumental place. Alex chuckled as she made him help her by covering her device with his jacket so that her first roll didn't mess up as she put it away, and the new one didn't either as she locked it and rolled it inside before placing the lid back in its place.

They resumed their walk, Alex closely walking next to her with a hand hovering on her lower back as she kept her hands engulfed around her camera but he felt the need to keep his touch on her.

Ella had taken so many pictures already, and about fifteen minutes later she had grown worried she hadn't stuffed enough rolls in her bag before leaving her hotel room. Half the frames she had captured had been of him, either smiling at the camera or unaware as he walked beside her with a burning cigarette resting between his lips.

There was a particular one in which she had stopped without saying a word and he had kept walking a few paces before noticing she wasn't beside him anymore, and when he turned around to search for her, the shutter went off.

Her heart kicked in her chest at the memory of that one picture she had taken of him, back at the start of 2012 when the lads had just come back over to Los Angeles and she had taken them around the city, the one where he was looking back at her with the rest of the band walking in front of him.

Her throat ran a little dry as she placed her camera back down to rest on her chest and watched Alex walk back towards her.

"You've been taking so many pictures of me already, let me take yours." His voice sounded almost like a beg and her knees went a little weak.

Only because of the way he'd said that had made her feel, Ella sighed with a smile and pulled her camera back up, "Alright, I'll show you how to."

She showed him the basics around her in a simple manner and he seemed to catch it all quite quickly. After all, he had seen Matt taking pictures and had gotten ahold of the drummer's cameras throughout the years so it all came back to him when Ella had done her brief run down.

Alex listened to her instructions of having him take a few pictures of their surroundings just so he could get comfortable, and it only took two to have him nodding and reassuring he was ready to take her picture. Ella nodded with a shy smile and took two steps back to stand in front of the camera.

Truth be told, Ella had always preferred being behind the camera and not in front of the lens but it was just because she never thought she was interesting enough to be the constant subject of pictures.

Alex couldn't think of her more differently. Seeing her with a bright smile that had her eyes closing, her hands intertwined in front of her as she softly leaned her head to the side and her hair so perfectly falling over her shoulders had him thinking about how if she looked this breathtaking in front of the camera in such a normal setting, then she needed to be in front of it at all times.

That's why right after the shutter sound went off and she relaxed again, he rolled the film and took another picture without warning her.

That made her shriek and hide behind her hands, "Alex no! It's gonna look so bad!" Ella's words were muffled as her hands covered her face.

"I'm looking through the viewfinder and you look stunning, darling." He was quick to reassure her, "Now could you please drop your hands? I want to take another one." His skilled fingers rolled the film once more as he tried his best to convince her with his eyes.

That unfair look in his eyes made it so impossible to resist anything he could ever suggest. "Last one?" She made sure to ask him before giving in.

"Fine, last one." He agreed with a sigh, his stomach doing somersaults at having gotten away with it.

She slowly let her hands fall back by her sides and it wasn't until he said, "That's it. Beautiful, darling." that he took the picture as her face broke in another massive grin that made his heart skip a beat.

Ella ignored the way her tummy was fluttering as she reached out for her camera, "Alright sweets, that's enough." She wasted no time to push the lever back in its place and hook the camera strap around her neck again, the camera falling to rest on top of her chest.

"Only for now." He countered smoothly, making her scoff out a laugh.

After that they continued walking, leaving Big Ben and Parliament behind to make way to Westminster Abbey.

The massive church was breathtaking. Its structure was gothic architecture perfection inside and out, which accompanied by the stunning gardens and sculptures just made Ella be more in awe.

The gray sky tied everything together, the birds flying around and resting in the old walls and peaks, the tinted windows looking straight out of a painting.

Ella spent a full roll there, small gasps leaving her mouth every corner they turned. She had even been so entranced by the devotees kneeling on the seats and offering their prayers, unbothered by the rest of the people walking around them. Religion was a concept that fascinated her because of how much she just didn't get it like those people praying did.

Once out of that place, they walked to Buckingham Palace and it was a funny stroll since Ella couldn't stop bouncing on her feet like a little girl, asking loads of questions she could come up with about the Royal Family.

"You know," She started with a small smirk on her face, "Prince Harry is fit."

Alex cackled at the way she said it, listening to her try and incorporate British slang in her vocabulary had been endearing all weekend and he was glad she wasn't stopping it. "Oh really?"

Ella hummed eagerly, "I wonder if he'd give an American a chance."

"So you're aiming for the Royals now?" The singer inquired rhetorically with a cheeky smile.

She shrugged, smirking back at him, "Why not?"

Alex chuckled, "That's ambitious."

"Well I like to think of myself as an ambitious person."

With a nudge to her hip, he grabbed a hold of her hand so they could walk a little faster, "Alright Miss Ambitious, we're almost at your lover's place."

From afar Ella could see the palace behind the trees and she thought about the different instances a person could be allowed into the place. "I'm sure we could get in if you just said you're from the biggest British band in history."

"The Beatles are way older than me and half of them are dead so I don't think they'll believe me."

Ella snorted at how nonchalantly he'd just said that and turned her head to look at him as they kept on walking, "Oh you're being humble now."

Alex scoffed playfully, like her words had offended him, "When am I not?"

"I can list some instances." She shrugged again with a teasing smirk on her face.

His eyes narrowed at her as if challenging her to start talking, "Enlighten me then."

But all Alex was met with was silence as they finally got to the big black and gold arches and crossing the road from there was the monumental place standing there in all its glory. The Victoria Memorial was even bigger and more spectacular than she'd seen in pictures, the gold against the gloomy sky and the greenery around was leaving her breathless.

So Ella dropped Alex's hand and started snapping away, frame after frame until they walked closer to the gates of Buckingham Palace and she caught a glimpse of the beefeaters standing there like they were frozen in time and just that got her even more excited about it all.

"They look like little dolls! Oh my god, look at them!" She waved them hello so enthusiastically making Alex hold giggles back and when the guards just stood there without moving a single inch, she turned back to pout at Alex.

The shaking of his head and the "You're so painfully American," he gave her contrasted immensely against his growing smile.

"Hey!" Ella gasped and poked him in the ribs, "Don't call me out like that, I was blending in perfectly well." She joked but she was well aware she hadn't been.

"Yeah, sorry. You were, darling." Alex corrected, faking agreeing with her, "Everyone's a tourist here, so yes you were blending in perfectly well." He changed his words to tease her further and the way her jaw dropped a bit and she frowned at him made him laugh.

They were there for about twenty minutes, walking slowly and taking their time so Ella could capture the moment the best she could. She had taken a few of Alex when he wasn't noticing but at the third one she'd gotten caught, meaning she got pictures taken of her by Alex.

As they waited for some people to move around so they could get a better view from a different angle, they were playing a game that had started with Ella making funny guesses about members of the Royal Family and their hobbies, which had earned her multiple laughs from Alex as she really had no clue about anything to do with the Royals.

Eventually, when the place started getting more crowded, they decided to move onto the next place which Alex had said would be Piccadilly Circus so they could get some lunch and then continue on.

Trafalgar Square had been captured in multiple of her frames and she had finished her film roll as they walked up to the restaurant they were going to eat at. Once again Alex had helped her change her roll covering her camera with his jacket, giggling as she struggled to properly roll it as she couldn't see well what she was doing in the darkness they were making for the film to not get fucked.

Once Ella had managed to set everything up, Alex had asked her if he could have the camera for a bit and of course she said yes. The prospect of getting Alex into one of her passions had her smiling as he took pictures of a place he already knew so well and since she knew he was capturing the views for her, she took her own time to take everything in: the streets, the people, the chatter going on around her, the restlessness of the city, the smell of smoke and coffee every time they walked past a coffee shop, the memories in the making around her that she'd never get to know.

She loved it all.

Ella was so entranced by the scene and completely caught up by her thoughts that she'd missed the multiple times Alex had managed to sneak a picture of her. Only really catching him smiling proudly at her as he lowered the camera from his eyes when she had turned to point at a girl who was wearing an Arctic Monkeys shirt as she smoked outside a restaurant.

Alex chuckled, letting the camera hang around his neck and getting a hold of Ella's hand to then keep walking to the place that was not very far away from where they were then.

When they got there, Ella had been surprised by the fact that Alex had gotten a reservation for them and he had almost perfectly timed it all. They only showed up ten minutes early to their table and it wasn't a fuzz for them to wait.

He offered her a cigarette and, between chatter, they waited for their turn to come up. It had been relatively easy as they finally talked about the adventure it had been for Ella to fly over and it had ended with them hugging as Ella got a bit upset again over not being able to see their full set.

With a promise to find out when they'd be replaying their set on BBC, they went back to get seated as it finally had turned into the time they had the reservation for.

They didn't rush through their meal, enjoying every minute they could get in the lovely restaurant and talking about absolutely anything that came to their minds. And after a pouty Ella—since he hadn't let her pay for the meal—had let Alex take a picture of her with the English streets in the background, they had left the place to resume their stroll.

Their pace was slower then, Alex had suggested taking a cab to get to the next place so she didn't have to walk that much but Ella declined it saying it was alright plus she loved how they could just simply walk places around the city unlike in Los Angeles. It was only when they got to Covent Garden and walked past the underground station that she asked why they hadn't used it yet.

"This one has 193 steps to go up and down it. I was being kind not taking you through it to get here but we can take it to get to St. Paul's if you'd like."

Ella had gasped at the information, because who the fuck in their right minds would make a station have that many stairs. "193?!" She asked again and Alex nodded amused at her disbelief, "Why?"

He chuckled and shrugged, "Been asking the same question for far too many years."

"That's insane." She said under her breath as they continued walking, then remembering his suggestion, "And no, let's not do that. Can we take the bus? I've yet to get on one and I really want to be the cliché American being amazed on every type of your public transportation."

Alex's laughter reached her ears, making her grin brightly at him. "Of course we can." He assured her and Ella scrunched her nose at him for being adorable, but then he continued, "And you're being the best cliché American. Really off the charts performance, darling." making her roll her eyes in amusement.

Between teasing comments, giggles and playful nudges, it didn't take them long to get to the Apple Market and there Ella was instantly blown away by the amount of shops and market-type kiosks of trinkets, hand-made jewelry, souvenirs and art.

They took their time walking around, really ignoring the retail shops because Ella was far more interested in taking her time to look around the little stands in the middle of the place, and it was all so beautiful.

The variety of goods that were offered out for everyone was amazing, and she gasped when they made it to a stand that was offering analog cameras, leather and handmade camera straps, camera cases and lenses.

She had thought about getting one of the few medium format cameras that were there but decided against it after a good few minutes of internal debate. Alex had watched her amused the whole time and giggled when she went from staring between a Halina, a Rolleiflex and a Pentax to getting one of the leather camera cases along with a strap and bought it.

It was bad how indecisive she was because she had spent so much time in the first few shops that she felt the need to rush through her indecision which ended in her buying at least one thing from every shop she had purposely stopped by.

There was a little red bus in her bag, along with a few magnets, her new camera case and strap, a locket, a few pins, a set of coasters and the last kiosk they were looking at was full of rings, necklaces and more handmade jewelry.

Ella easily fell into conversation with the lovely old man who was the owner of the little store. She had complimented him after he told her it was him who made every piece by hand, and she took her time to look intently through it all.

A few minutes passed of her taking a closer look at the different accessories but since she couldn't make a proper choice, she turned to Alex for help.

With her lips pressed she grabbed his wrist to pull him closer and in a bit of panic, she looked up to him and asked, "Could you choose for me please?"

Alex bit his bottom lip not to chuckle at the soft frown on her face and nodded, "Anything in particular, darling?"

Ella looked back at the table, giving it a quick sweep and she found her attention mostly on the hand jewelry. "Maybe a ring?" She tried saying but it sounded more like a question, "They're all stunning." She added then in a quiet whine like it hurt her that everything was too pretty and she couldn't choose.

The singer hummed and stepped closer to the table under the gaze of the old man who had a small smile on his face seeing them two together. Alex took less than a minute, his decision being made when he found one which had a pretty green stone in the middle of the gold band of the ring. "This one." He grabbed it and it seemed to be just the right size, so grabbing her right hand in his, he slipped it on her ring finger. The sight of her Pure Desire tattoo sparking too many thoughts in his mind that he had to push aside.

Ella was breathless seeing him putting the ring on her but she fully felt like she had forgotten how to breathe when he added, "Matches your eyes." with the sweetest smile.

Her eyes didn't move from his for a few seconds that felt eternal to them, dropping to the ring and then back up at Alex to ask, "Does it?"

"Yes," He nodded, completely satisfied with his choice, "Stunning." He complimented, but he wasn't speaking about the piece of jewelry because his gaze was firm on Ella's gorgeous eyes.

She scrunched her nose at him, he was just too cute for her to handle so with rosy cheeks she turned back to the man in charge of the kiosk and deemed that being the last purchase of the day. The lovely man was smiling brightly at them and agreed with Alex when he noticed Ella's hazel green eyes.

Alex had puffed his chest out in pride of it, saying a smug "I know" to the old man and making Ella laugh as she paid. He practically had the color of her eyes permanently imprinted in his mind, he didn't ever have to think hard to remember them and how it felt to get lost in her eyes.

She left the old man with a long hug and Alex gave him a hand shake before the two moved onto the next stop which would be St. Paul's Cathedral. And just like Alex had promised her they would do, they took a bus to the church.

It had been hilarious capturing her smile with her camera as one of the red busses approached them and he had been hearing and seeing her little giddy noises and how she just couldn't really stay still in her seat.

The cathedral had been breathtaking and, again, Ella had snapped away multiple pictures as they walked around. She had been fairly wary of the lots of people worshiping their religious figures then so she tried not to take too many so the shutter going off wouldn't interrupt them.

When they left to go to the next place, they ticked off another thing off Ella's list as they rode the underground to go over to the Tower of London. The only thing she had been overly excited about was the way the stations looked because then being in the tube felt just like taking the train in New York, only cleaner.

Alex had managed to get a picture of her standing there waiting for their train to arrive, and he hoped the frame had captured the big grin that tugged at the corner of her lips making her eyes crinkle at the edges before she had hid her face behind her hands.

The Tower of London had been quite informative, at first she had walked in completely amazed by the structure and architecture of the castle so she was taking picture after picture of the inside and the greenery of the courtyards but then they started walking into the exhibitions and she had forgotten about her camera to read the signs around the rooms.

Going to see the crown jewels had been hilarious to Alex since Ella had been trying so hard to keep her cool as there were beefeaters guarding the exhibition. The White Tower had been rather concerning because of the torture chamber that was located there, and the Green Tower had been as well as it was where the execution memorial was held. And the last bit of the place they had visited was the Bloody Tower which had left Ella gasping as they found it was named that because of the murders of two princes which had been suspected to be done by their own uncle.

They talked about everything they had seen as they slowly walked out of the place and under the Tower Bridge, it was getting late and the sun seemed to be getting ready to set already. She yawned and hid it under her right hand, Alex getting a hold of her left hand and intertwining their fingers so she would walk with him at his pace.

"Where are we going?" Ella asked intrigued, they weren't going very fast but it was like he had the intent of getting somewhere on time.

"Just a bit further down here." He pointed forward with a tilt of his chin and continued walking.

Ella had no other option than to walk along him, and it had been the best day strolling around the city with him so there wasn't a bit in her that wanted to complain about a single thing.

They walked past a Starbucks and to her right she saw a little stand that sold boat tickets. They were walking right by the Thames after all so it wasn't rare to see all the people that were walking ahead of her and stopping by the railing along the short brick column.

As they walked closer to the people gathering for the view of the bridge, Ella finally saw the sculpture that stood there in a fountain and she let out a little gasp of awe.

"That's so cute! I'm gonna take a picture." She squeezed Alex's hand before slowly letting go of it and quickly turning on her camera and getting as close as she could between the people gathered there to get a good frame of the sculpture with the view of the bridge and the city behind it.

She snapped a pair and went back to Alex, excusing herself as she made her way through the people in the way.

"Are we not staying here?" She inquired when Alex grabbed her hand again and pulled her along with him, seeing as everyone seemed to stand next to the fountain to watch the sun go down.

Alex shook his head, "There's a few benches over there and way less people, so we can sit and watch the sunset quietly and alone."

Ella intertwined their fingers properly again with a grin and let him guide her to where he was referring to. It wasn't longer than another minute when they saw a lonely bench by a tree which had the perfect view of the bridge without it being spoiled by the people standing at the railing.

They sat down and sighed in relief, their backs and their feet aching after the long day, yet their smiles were stuck on their faces as they moved closer to each other and Ella let her head fall on his shoulder.

Alex left a kiss on her head before resting his head over hers, making Ella snuggle closer to him and inhaling deep in comfort.

"Thank you." Her voice was low and soft, with the echoes of the people chattering around them, he almost missed it.

His head turned slightly to be able to glance down at her, "What for?"

Ella kept her gaze on the city, being slowly bathed in orange and pink hues as the sun fell to bed down the horizon. "For today. It was lovely and you're the best tourist guide ever."

The last bit held such playfulness that earned her a snort from him, "I'm glad you liked it, darling." And Alex truly meant it, closing his eyes and relishing in the feeling of having her close to him.

"Absolutely loved it, sweetness." Her hand went to grab his—they had let go when they got comfortable on the bench—, intertwining their fingers and rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "You know if the rockstar gig doesn't work you can just take people around the city and make them pay you for your charm." He felt her move her head a bit and when he looked down at her, she had her eyes set on his face with a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Alex lifted his head to match her smirk and played along, "Charming am I?"

"You know you are." Ella rolled her eyes as if it annoyed her telling him the truth so she added, "Don't let it get to your head, it's already too big as it is."

The singer scoffed, straightening his back so he put a small distance between them, "Oh wow, thanks."

The American girl let out a small "Nooo," and hooked her arm through his to bring him back into her side. "I'm joking, I'm joking."

He hummed doubtfully but let her pull him closer. "You better be because you've got a bigger head than mine." He quipped back at her, making her gasp.

It was her turn to put some distance between them as she pulled herself off him with an offended frown, "Excuse me?"

But Alex looked at her completely disregarding her expression and teased her by saying, "Mhm, you're excused."

Ella gasped, "You're such a little shit." and poked him in the ribs, cackling when he jumped and let out a little yelp. She was so glad she got him back beside her after a whole month, "I missed you so much."

"Missed you more darling." He reciprocated, snaking his arm around her waist to pull her into his side. "We should go watch a film soon, I know it won't be the same but we haven't gone to the cinema together in far too long and I miss going to Los Feliz with you."

A bright grin broke out on her face, thinking back to the times they had been able to go to Los Feliz together. "Isn't it amazing? I'm so glad I got you obsessed with it too."

And without really thinking it through, Alex admitted something that had been making rounds in his mind for a while, "Making me consider moving to LA, you."

She rolled her eyes playfully, shaking her head looking at the view in front of them, "Yeah sure."

But, staring right at her and pinching her side so she'd look at him, he promised, "Swear down."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she chatted back, "Don't believe you, Turner."

His right hand came to clutch his chest like her lack of trust hurt his heart, "Rude. I thought you loved me and I was your best friend."

Her gaze stayed on his, unwavering and trying to gather her thoughts so she could answer but the only thing she came down to say was, "Touché."

She scooted back close to his side and rested her head on his shoulder, his fingers that were holding her waist had started rubbing circles on it over the fabric of her shirt. Ella was glad she had been able to control the shivers his touch gave her and took a deep breath as they watched the gorgeous sights in front of them.

The sky was turning lilac then and the dying sun was painting the cloud a beautiful pink and orange. It was breathtaking seeing the city coated by the colors, it was truly out of a painting and it somehow got even more beautiful as the minutes went by, the shades growing more intense and the urge of capturing it bubbled in her chest.

"This is stunning." Her words were breathless as she turned on her camera, trying to remember if it was four or five frames she had left in her current roll but only shooting three just to not mess up any of her previous pictures on the roll.

Alex watched her focusing as she watched the landscape through the viewfinder, her eye squinted and her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"Can I get a picture of you?" He asked as soon as she brought her device back down to rest on her chest.

Ella hesitated for a second but before she could agree, she remembered the lack of proper lighting, "The flash is gonna ruin the sunset and if I don't use it, it will look too dark."

He thought of it only for a second, knowing she knew more about it than him but came to a different solution, "With my phone then."

She hummed like she was considering it, but her decision was taking longer than what he wanted so he bumped his head against hers softly and said, "C'mon darling."

When Ella turned to see him, Alex was grinning at her like he knew she was going to fold and she rolled her eyes when she finally agreed, "Okay just a quick one." She turned off her camera before she could move, purposely taking longer to do that.

Switching seats so he could take the picture properly, and taking her camera from her, Alex pulled up his camera on his phone and turned the flash on. "How does Bre get you to let her take your picture?" He wondered out loud as Ella shied behind her hands and took a few deep breaths.

Letting her hands drop, she shrugged and smiled, "Because it's Bre."

But before he could snap the moment away, Alex rolled his eyes and said, "Right, I forgot you're secretly in love with her still."

"Oh shut up." She hit his knee with hers, truly meaning it when she replied, "She's my best friend."

With that he smugly raised his phone back up, and with a, "And so am I, so smile for me darling." he waited for her to give him a big smile to take the picture.

He lowered his phone as he went to his camera roll to see how it had turned out, "That look alright?" Ella asked shyly, trying to see the product as he was grinning like an idiot at his screen.

Alex nodded intently, "Yes, I love it." And he wasn't lying, her eyes had closed from how big she had smiled, her cheeks rosy almost as much as the pink in the sky and once again he was brought back to that day they spent together in the west coast when he couldn't even begin to appreciate the sunset behind her as he drove because she looked so beautiful.

She demanded softly with a tug of his wrist, "Show it to me." And when she saw herself on his screen, she felt her cheeks heat up, "I look so..."

"Pretty?" He quickly finished the sentence for her.

But she shook her head, putting that to the side for the moment for her own good, "Blushy. My cheeks match the damn sky."

"You always are darling." He confirmed to her, "Don't think there's been many instances since 2011 when I've seen you and you've not been blushing."

She was properly embarrassed then, thinking about how dumb it was for her to always be blushing and for him to have noticed every time for the past two years, "Okay don't call me out now."

"Anyway, you look beautiful." The singer came back to see the picture once more and smiled to himself, "I'll send it to you now."

Her phone pinged with a notification of his text then and unlocking it to see it now on her screen, she sat comfortably again, shoulder to shoulder with him. "Thanks sweets."

His arm came around her shoulder and brought her into him, "You're welcome darling."

The minutes kept passing by and with it the sun lowered even more until it was completely gone and the sky went from orange, pink and lilac to a deep blue pierced by many stars which glistened as much as the lights of the city did.

Exhaustion was catching up to them, her eyes were closing and she was struggling to keep them open. Alex noticed when her hand started falling slowly from the top of her thigh where it was resting to the space between their legs.

So, softly getting a hold of her hand, he played with her fingers and asked in a low voice, "Should we head back to the hotel darling?"

Ella groaned but nodded, really wanting to get in bed and rest now. "Please?"

He pouted at her tired expression and slowly stood up after giving her a little squeeze, "'Course. Let's go."

Alex extended his hand out to her and she accepted it, letting him pull her up. "Thank you." She stumbled a bit, bumping into his chest where she rested her hand so she could stabilize herself.

He took advantage of how close he had her so he left a kiss on her temple and mumbled, "You're welcome." against it.

Turning around to leave, Alex grabbed her hand but she only moved an inch before she called out a "Wait." that he had barely managed to hear with the rumble of the city in the background.

"What's wrong?" He turned back to her with a small frown, he had her camera hanging from his neck and she had her bag hanging off her shoulder so he wasn't sure if there was anything she'd forgotten.

The bench was empty which confirmed she wasn't forgetting a thing but her frown softened up when she continued with a "Nothing just– c'mere," And she dropped his hand to open her arms up for him to walk into.

He of course obliged, taking a big stride her way and clutching her tight, her arms wrapped over his shoulders and his around her waist. She giggled when she felt her camera in the way of their chests pressing together, making for a rather awkward position but it was a hug from him so it was everything but. They swayed a bit in the embrace and he heard her say, "Love you Al, thank you for today." in his ear.

Filling up with warmth, the biggest smile showed on his face and he didn't waste another second to reciprocate, "Love you too Ellie." Kissing her cheek first, he pulled back to look into her eyes and make her understand that, "There's no need to thank me, darling. It was my absolute pleasure."

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A/N: Personally, my heart burst writing this, and rereading it made me tear up. Wheels and Curly being here along with the rest of t1975, Alex and Ella reuniting, and then being absolutely adorable makes me wanna cry. Once again, a million thank yous to @imagine-that-100​ for being wonderful and allowing me to have them here and expanding the multiverse a bit more, and I hope y'all enjoyed catching a glimpse of them in an alternate timeline because I certainly did fucking adore writing them in. If you haven’t read @nriacc​ yet, what are you waiting for? Anyway, I'm wondering now if you have any predictions about what's gonna happen in this trip, I would love to see what those predictions are and if there's anything you want to happen hehehe. Thank you so much for reading! See you in two weeks with the next!! xx

Taglist: @imagine-that-100​ @red---moon​ @kennedy-brooke​ @faveficz​ @indierockgirrl​ @ladydraculasthings @moonvr​ @unwantedlovergirl​ @eaglestar31 @nikisfwn​ @funniestpersoninnyc​ @andrearroe​ @justacaliforniandreamer @alexturnersgf69 @yourorganiccigarette

[borrowedtimeandspace]

Caught Up in Circles

3. Impulsive

From this list of gt prompts.

AU: Time After Time; Twelve AU

~~~

As it turned out, patience and self control wore thin more quickly than Zepheera had expected.

The first few weeks were alright. She'd busied herself with setting up a home base, collecting things from various classrooms and offices that weren't the Doctor's (couldn't have him noticing things going missing and catching on before Zepheera was ready) and made comfortable enough accommodations under the floorboards. Right beneath the TARDIS. If it went anywhere, she wanted to know about it right away.

Observing the Doctor from afar was easy enough for a seasoned borrower. She kept to the shadows, always had one eye on his movements until she had a decent handle on his habits and schedule. He did have lectures to attend, and while he was there, she took the opportunity to explore his office, search through his things for any indication of when in his timeline this was, anything familiar to her.

She'd quickly found his pen cup full of sonic screwdrivers on his desk, a pair of which were the exact ones she remembered her Doctor using all those years ago. There were a few older models as well that she'd caught glimpses of before, and some that weren't familiar at all. If she weren't trying to keep her presence a complete secret, she'd give in and reach up to touch the devices for even a second of nostalgic comfort. This meant he had met her before, but how long ago was that? 

She also took note of the pictures that he kept there. One of a woman with an abundance of curly hair, and another of a young girl, both of whom were unfamiliar to Zepheera. The girl's photo looked older, black and white and all, while the other one seemed more recent. A faint memory tickled in the back of Zepheera's mind, of the Doctor mentioning a granddaughter. Perhaps that was who the girl was. She had nothing to go on about the other woman, but he must have cared a lot for her to have her picture up near that of his long lost family.

All that she found in her search led to more questions than answers. Even though it seemed that it would cause no harm to her personal timeline to approach this Doctor here and now, there were still so many uncertain factors. After months, the TARDIS still hadn't moved, and it seemed as though Bill's account of the Doctor's decades-long tenure at the university would indicate that perhaps he had retired from all the traveling. Maybe he'd finally settled down somewhere, a feat that her Doctor would have never managed. If that were true, then having Zepheera pop up out of nowhere might bring up memories of a time he'd rather forget.

Or fond ones.

Zepheera would obviously hope for the latter, but there was simply no way for her to know. She needed more information, and not just facts. She had to get to know the Doctor, this Doctor, without actually interacting with him at all.

So she continued to wait and watch, for months on end. Watching him foster a student-tutor relationship with Bill Potts, waiting for…something. Zepheera didn't quite know what she was looking for, but she was certain she'd know it when she saw it.

Despite her lack of communication being a completely voluntary choice on her part, it started to take a toll on Zepheera. Part of her wanted nothing more than to pop out of hiding and tell the old man that she had found him, that she had missed him and his box and the amazing adventures they'd had, and that her life could never be the same after meeting him.

Another part, in equal measure to the first, was terrified by that same idea.

One day, while one of Bill's tutoring sessions was wrapping up, Zepheera couldn't take it any longer. She watched the Doctor drag Bill around the shelves to collect a handful of books on whatever subject he was on now, one eye on them and the other on Bill's satchel on the floor by the Doctor's desk. When both of their backs were turned, she broke into a dead sprint and didn't stop until she'd climbed into an all-too-familiar pocket.

Before Zepheera could put a second thought into this spur-of-the-moment decision, the human snagged the bag and left the Doctor's office behind.

~~~

Bill had not a single notion that anything was different as she made her way home. Most of her mental bandwidth was taken up processing all the information the Doctor had presented to her, and wondering about the passages he'd indicated in the books he'd leant her. She had the whole weekend to go over it all and take a few notes before her next session.

For now, she aimed to have a relaxing night in.

She called out for her foster mum when she got home, partly relieved to be answered with a silent flat. Moira wasn't so bad most of the time, but Bill was hardly in the mood for another lecture about how much time she was spending with her tutor.

Heading right for the kitchen for a cuppa, she set down the small pile of books in her arms  and dropped her satchel onto a stool without much thought.

Until she caught the slightest "Oomph!" coming from it.

Bill froze and stared at the bag while her brain caught up with what she'd just heard. "Uh…hello?"

After only a beat, the side pocket of her satchel squirmed, and a familiar bob of brown hair popped out of it.

"Zepheera?" Bill's eyes widened. It had been months since she last saw the borrower, and she'd had no contact from her since Bill smuggled her into the Doctor's office.

Tiny violet eyes met Bill's after Zepheera brushed her mussed hair out of the way. "Heya, Bill," she sighed, like this were any other day and they were passing by one another.

Bill had so many questions, she didn't even know where to begin. Had Zepheera been living in that office? Was she spying on the Doctor, and Bill by extension? Once in a while, she thought she'd noticed something moving out of the corner of her eye during her tutoring sessions, but there wasn't anything there by the time she looked. Was that her all this time?

Eventually, she settled on, "Are you alright?"

A tiny hand waved off Bill's concerns. Obviously she would have been more careful if she knew her bag had a passenger. "Barely bruised," Zepheera murmured.

Bill was relieved that that seemed to be true as Zepheera climbed out of the pocket and onto the seat of the stool with no issue. Still, Bill noticed something off about the woman. They hadn't exactly gotten to know each other well when they met last, but there was something sheepish about Zepheera's manner. Bill hadn't exactly banked on seeing her again after they'd parted ways. Maybe Zepheera hadn't exactly expected to come here, either.

"Do you want a cuppa?" Bill offered. 

Even at her significant height advantage over Zepheera, she could see tense little shoulders slump. "Tea would be lovely, thanks."

[burnyouwithacigarettelighter]

part i, autonomy in your coherence | c.g

With something like time that runs round with the world — ignoring it’s inhabitants and stealing things that you’d hidden away for safekeeping — you’ve taken up the hobby of art, furiously sketching faces that are six-feet under.

The skill is beautiful and horrific all the same, watching like a person with amnesia as the portraits begin to lose their depth, the freshness, the personality that came free with who you’d chosen to print on the page.

You’ve forgotten your feelings for Carl, because he didn’t feel the same.

You just wished you did a better job at it.

WARNINGS: mentions of death, suicide ideation

this is a continuation of watch you burn away and i recommend you read that, first! this is also part of a series, so here is the masterlist if you need it!

(cross-posted on ao3!)

Your father once told you he had a patient that died from heartbreak.

“Your heart can’t really break, though, right?” You’d said. A doctor for a father and a laboratory technician for a mother made you more than aware of things, seeing through the myths and pretty white lies of figures like Santa and the tooth fairy.

(They had gone through with it anyway, because although their child knew, it was a gateway to normality in such a busy home.)

Your father scratched his chin, unsure how to respond. “My patient had died from a broken heart, though the process wasn’t as simple as it’s term name. A broken heart — the nonliteral meaning — can be the cause and the domino toppling to many things that could lead to death.”

“Like what?” You’d said with little admission into the conversation, having been flicking through a novel you’d picked up a while back (which featured a one eyed pirate and his partner who’d ended up dying in the end — not that you knew, yet, at least.)

“I don’t know, er,” Your father swirled his coffee lightly, gesturing wildly with his free hand, “Mental health issues, for one. Erratic actions, depression, a lost sense of self. Obsession.”

“Huh,” You muttered, looking up at your father for the first time. “A lost sense of self? Really?”

“What is your father teaching you?” Your mother said, stepping into the kitchen with a questioning expression. The conversation ended there, without so much as a thought after.

You wish you pried your father for further answers. What you’d give to get the workaholic of a man to dump his duo psychology medical major thoughts unto you with little care.

The knowledge would be gold in your time of need, when pulling and pushing distance further between you was like venturing through a field of thorns.

(Perhaps you just missed your parents. But that couldn’t be it, right? They’d died and you had lived, their blood on your hands and the gun in your fingers, their glazed over eyes and your own that nearly matched, cold and willing without a drop of emotion.)

But you’d gotten through it for him— without him. Without anyone, quietly harboring scratches and bleeding from the field with little effort.

If someone asked, you would tell them with full and honest confidence that you harboured no more attachments. You were a naive teenager, running through your feet and over yourself for something that was just a crush.

Crushes are — in their whole singularity and purpose —  temporary.

They are brief, and momentarily something that causes ripples and waves in your thoughts, just the slightest mention or faint sight makes you detour down a road of sickly sweet dreams and fantasies.

He was first love (like? You didn’t love him, no, it was a crush and it was something for the unattainable and the inappropriate — in which with full truth, he was.) so you poured the honey glazed remembrances and rose coloured lenses over your memories, because he was a first love, and you know that those were cracks in the heart, growing vines and constricting the part that was him — the part that’d always, always be there, without a doubt.

(However much you didn’t want it to be.)

The leaves and the venomous flowers that sprout in decaying grooves come with age, and you are older now.

You bear fresh scars that litter your entire being and wear newly buried bones of people who were once not just that, the dirt still sitting in the crevices of your nails, and you seem to forget their voices with each passing day.

With something like time that runs round with the world — ignoring it’s inhabitants and stealing things that you’d hidden away for safekeeping — you’ve taken up the hobby of art, furiously sketching faces that are six-feet under.

The skill is beautiful and horrific all the same, watching like a person with amnesia as the portraits begin to lose their depth, the freshness, the personality that came free with who you’d chosen to print on the page.

More and more, the faces look like reference art rather than a taken from life picture, which was all telling them to sit still and watching their eyes crinkle at the edges when you show them the result, voices echoing and asking if they could have it.

Everyday, as it has become a peevish habit like biting your nails or obsessively reminding yourself your stove is off, you draw pictures of everyone.

If you are close enough with them, you ask the subject to sit and model for you, analyzing every breath and laugh they take when you crack a joke or engage them in meaningless conversation just to see how the light hits their brows when they raise, the shadows pooling in their aging lines.

Everyday, you wish and hope and even fucking pray that their portraits continue to be something of anxious routine, rather than trying to dump their image out of your head and onto paper so you can see their faces one more time.

His image seems to change with each moment he sits in for you, once a face with two piercing blues, then a patch and eyes that looked at the dusty wooden floor, and later, someone who looks at you straight, something that told you he was a survivor, who bore his battles proudly, the scar on the right of his face sitting ruggedly and bewitchingly.

You draw him, exactly the way you see him, and when you show him the picture, he laughs, and says “You made me look too pretty,” and you shake your head, “It’s exactly the way I see you.”

You do her, too, upon request. When she sits, you draw her almost like it was professional, drawing the curvature of her face with exact precision, intense shading, marking the features she holds. The dip in her nose, the straight of her hair.

(You often forget who you’re drawing in these moments, and when you step away from the canvas you’re hit with whiplash. It’s subconscious, the way you do these things to please him, wanting to see so clearly how his face spreads delicately with delight.)

It takes a little while for you to convince Ron. When you first propose the drawing, he gives you a confused face, before walking off to do shooting practice. He’s gotten better with the gun over the years, and doesn’t respond when you tell him you know why.

(His mother didn’t come out of it alive, and his brother didn’t come back without harm. The younger boy was alive, but would grow up with only his brother by his side and one less limb to account for.)

The second time, he makes a snide comment, albeit with no bite, about how ‘you must be a horrible artist, to ask me of all people to model for you.’

The third time, you’ve dragged him to the small office you makeshifted for the drawings in the garage. He studies every slit of paper you’ve ripped out of your book, the unfinished sketches or yet-to-be painted canvases piling up against the walls. Complete works sit proudly on your wall, displayed for the world to see.

His hands hover over the paints sitting on your desk, charcoal, dirt, sticks, paintbrushes, handmade dyes, wallpaper cut-outs.

“Why?” Ron says curiously.

“‘Why?’ what?” You echo, fiddling with a fork you grabbed from the kitchen, splaying out a thick lather combination of beet dye and cement onto your finger to check the consistency.

“Why do you draw these portraits? I get the others because,” He says, leaving the words “because they’re dead” hanging in the air between you two in mutual and regretful acknowledgement, “But you draw these everyday. You drag Carl and Enid off, or just sit on the benches and draw Maggie and Glenn knee-deep in the dirt.”

You sigh a dreadful breath, wiping the rest of the beet-cement mix onto the page with the pad of your fore-finger. “We’ll forget them one day.”

He looks at you, unblinking. The dead, the gone, and the soon to be long forgotten only existed in your memories, in your words, and when the time came that the world had moved on and stopped, they would cease. Their whole memory relied on the living, nothing about them able to reach and grasp life on their own. Memory was all that was left, and it was all you could do to wash away regret.

“And the rest?”

You bite your tongue hesitantly, your movements rigid, “You see their portraits. Everyday they get less and less coherent. When — when time comes , these drawings will be the only thing getting me by.” You whispered.

The ball had dropped. Coping and grief in it’s big and ugly form, preying on your conscious hungrily, taking shelter in your largest worries. Claws sunken in your flesh, the monster was a thing that felt like it would never go away, because it would loom right alongside death itself, watching and waiting for the moment they’d deemed someones time to have been enough.

(It would never be enough. Enough meant they’d pop in from next door and ask to borrow something, enough meant they’d swipe dirt across your face to make you angry — enough meant they would come in everyday and sit for their portrait once more.)

A creaking on the floorboard caught your attention, eyes watching as Ron’s feet walk to the corner of the room, before hopping onto the wooden seat with little effort.

“I’m not going. I never will. But — do it anyway. I’d… like to see how I look on paper.” He said cheekily, picking up a thin pencil off your desk and handing it out to you.

So you did. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes snowballed into hours in the dim lighting of the garage, asking the blond to turn his body, stretch his head and make different expressions, fulfilling and destroying the little worm of worry sitting in your head.

When you’re done with the charcoal, turning it around for Ron to see and to inspect, he asks, “What about you?”

“And what about me?” You say. His questions never make sense without further discussion, but the boy always has to wait for you to pry and ask him to elaborate.

“You don’t have any drawings of yourself. You’re the artist, the photographer, the one who makes these things that will stay longer than the memories and the words — so what about you?”

It’s rare that Ron delves into his emotions and the things he really means, but when he does, it’s something that stays, for a long while.

“I,” You didn’t have an answer for it. You weren’t one to do a self-portrait, it not being the same as having someone to sit and take from. “I don’t want to.” You finished simply, an ice cold realization coming to reality in you.

“Why?” He says the same words as before, but the words hold a heavy weight.

“I don’t know.”

You knew.

Maybe one day, you’d wished that you’d wash away like seafoam on the beach. You wouldn’t leave a single portrait behind of you, and the memories and the words were left mum behind his lips, because you knew how he got in a loss.

Quiet and unfeeling, it was so selfish of you that you’d counted on how he got in that state to leave you behind, neglecting you like the fruits of your memories you’d never get to bear.

Ron’s gaze bore into you like he knew exactly what you were thinking, telepathically taking in every thought you’d conveyed at your dispense.

“You should.” Is all he says, before stepping off the wooden stool and out the door.

What was wrong with you? You feel so… entirely foolish. Obsolete. Embarrassing.

You walked past the remnants of those who were gone everyday, obsessively creating canvas over canvas of them and the only thing you could think was that you’d wish to position yourself beside them?

This world was catching up to you, and fast, but you’d just have to run faster than it could.

[hotarutranslations]

To All Of The Members - Kaga Kaede Graduation Messages

To the members I've worked with, as a Hello Pro Kenshuusei within Hello! Project.

Many of the girls working as trainees at the same time as me, were strong willed and didn't want to lose, and that influenced me as well. This isn't limited to those who have now debuted, its the same for those that have gone down a different path.

As members, we had recitals and auditions many times, and we failed many times.

There were so many people around me with such power that I was also able to resolutely do my best.

The people I met after debuting, There are those that are shy, always bright, funny, There are so many different personalities in Hello! Project but, What we all share in common, is the passion we put into our performances.

Everyone likes singing and dancing but, surpassing the boundaries of an idol, From the bottom of my heart, I think that each group is a professional artist.

Every time I watch the other groups lives, "That girl was really great there" "This next new song from this group is good" "I wish I could do something like that" I've talked a lot with others like this.

I think its really amazing that I can like you all so much, despite being rival groups.

I've seen many times, where girls will feel down comparing themselves to others but, I think comparing oneself because you want to reach further, is a way to take thought into action.

I was able to do my best up until now, as I was surrounding by ambitious members. Really, thank you very much.

I think we all have aspirations and ideals, but I want you to move forward with confidence as you as members create a Hello! Project with the charm that only you have.

Also, to all of the members of Morning Musume

I have caused you a lot of trouble. I'm sorry that, I had to take a lot of time off, from being sick this year.

Rairi Our time together was short but, I had a lot of fun watching Rairi's various faces! Also, there is a lot to learn with a lot of skill required I think this was a really tough fall tour but, thank you for doing your best. Since the more time passes the more you forget the difficulties of being a newcomer, I'd like you to stay close to the 17th generation when they join. There will be tough things from now on but, since there are also a lot of fun moments, please enjoy everything in Morning Musume!

15th Generation Your personalities and preferences are varied in you 3 but I seriously think its nothing but charming. I'm not worried about the 3 of you because, you have a clear idea of what you're lacking and what you want, and I know you're going to work hard!! If I were to express one worry: you may be easily influenced and may be taken in by the atmosphere surrounding you, or a single word may make you feel negative. I want you to stick with what you think is right. You will be alright if you consider others feelings and straight-forwardly do your best. I'm looking forward towards your futures!!!

Yokoyama I'm really glad Yokoyama and I are in the same generation. In Kenshuusei we were at the top and bottom, we don't like the same things, Kaga is too indoors-y to meet in private, you borrowed my DVD's and didn't return them (it was finally returned recently) I don't know how we got along at all but, I really don't have anything like, 'I don't like this part of Yokoyama'. Because we respected each other, I think we were able to spend these 6 years working together in a good sense without conflicts. Really, thank you. Although I'm graduating first, I think Yokoyama will be fine, even if your position is more difficult from now on!! lol Thanks for taking over the blog by yourself,,,

12th Generation-san Especially when I first joined as a member, I was just imitating the actions of the 12th generation. That's exactly what is to be a senior role-model, so thank you for always standing in front of me. Until just before the 15th generation joined, we were often grouped as 12th, 13th & 14th generation; we once had a serious conversation, where we thought about what we can do for Morning Musume. I really like that each of you in the 12th generation are pursuing your own personal interests and perfecting them. Thank you very much for these 6 years!

Oda-san I've talked to you a lot from our time as Kenshuusei and even after becoming a member you're a senior who is particularly easy to talk with. Even now we talk about music and anime, I think because its Oda-san, we can continue talking about things deeper and deeper. You can dance, sing and talk, but I'll continue to support you from now on as your lack of tsukommi's may remain the same. (the one who is actively boke←) Lets go to a delicious Korean restaurant again!!

Ishida-san Ishida-san, who would not have thought for even 1 millimeter when I first joined we would become such good friends,,,lol No matter how you think about the start was in Hello Pro Dance Gakuen but, I really really remember Ishida-san saying around that time "I want to talk with my juniors more,". I think its amazing that Ishida-san can think that and take it into action immediately!! I've also thought "I want to talk with my juniors more," as well, but I'm not really good at speaking, but I think its thanks to Ishida-san that we've become so close. For myself, It was Ishida-san who brought a lot of new dance elements to Morning Musume as well. Really, thank you very much. Please call me whenever you want to dance!!

9th Generation-san I often see the two of you like to joke around and have a relaxed attitude but, your commitment to yourself in Morning Musume is certainly strong, we can always feel that "You like Morning Musume" from the things you say towards us. You taught me a lot of things I could only learn from the experience of the 9th generation. Thank you very much. I don't know how much I helped Morning Musume these past 6 years, but I'd be happy if I helped a bit.

Thank you very much for helping me in these 6 years. I will be praying that you'll live happily and healthily in the future, as a fan from now on. https://ameblo.jp/morningm-13ki/entry-12778396054.html

[littlesniggy]

Reaction to s/o wearing their shirt (Monster Trio + Ace & Sabo)

Anon: Hello! I really like your writing (especially the recent lyric event drabbles!) and would like to request if that's okay. HCs for the monster trio + ace&sabo: realizing you're wearing nothing but one of their shirts cause its laundry day lol? Please & Thank You

Thank you so much! I'm glad that you liked the event! And thank you for requesting! I really enjoyed writing this.

Luffy

He doesn’t even notice you wearing his shirt, he just thinks it’s a new shirt you got at the last place you stopped. And he probably won’t say anything to your “new” shirt and his attention will only wander down your body, noticing you’re wearing nothing else.

“Did you forget your pants, Y/n?” he will ask, looking at you curiously. When you tell him that it’s laundry day and that you had to borrow one of his shirts (you have to point it out) he will finally notice.

There is some silence for a moment between the two of you, Luffy seeming like he is thinking intensely at the moment before shrugging his shoulders and smiling at you. “Oh, okay. Looks good on you. Did you do my laundry as well?”

If you were hoping for some sexy times, tough luck. You would need to tell him straight away what you want, otherwise he will stay the oblivious but adorable bean he just is. Only wearing one of his shirts won’t do, in my opinion. I’m sorry.

Zoro

He will look at you slightly annoyed when he realizes that you’re wearing his shirt. Don’t you have your own shirts? Why are you wearing his? “Oi, woman? Why are you wearing my shirt?” his gaze will wander down your form and he will blush the sight that is gifted to him, immediately averting his eyes.

“And where are your pants? Get dressed, for God’s sake!” he will throw you anything he can grab at that moment, ordering you to cover yourself. It’s not that he doesn’t like it. But there is this certain perverted cook who is not under any circumstances allowed, to see you naked, even if it’s only partly!

You, sensing his inner conflict, smirk and try to rile him up even more, moving your (his) shirt up and down, exposing sometimes more and sometimes less parts of your body, while walking towards him.

“But I don’t have anything else to wear. It’s laundry day and I can’t just walk around only in my underwear, now can I?” Zoro’s face gets redder at your words, pushing you away from him out of embarrassment. “Then time it better next time! I don’t want the shitty cook to see you like this!” The chances are not bad that you get him to do some dirty stuff with him but he first needs to calm down from his embarrassment until he can truly appreciate how you look.

Sanji

I think you will have to add one piece of clothes to the laundry you’re currently doing since Sanji’s nosebleed will ruin the shirt you’re currently wearing. He will absolutely love it and will swirl around you like a bee around a flower. You can literally see the heart eyes in his face and how his brain slowly but surely waves goodbye and leaves his body.

“Y/n-chuwan! You look absolutely stunning in my shirt! Can you wear it from now on every day? I would really love to see you wear my clothes more often! You look so sexy! Now I can die as a happy man!” you know the jest. It could be a little annoying, especially if he doesn’t stop and keeps going on and on.

The only way to shut him up would actually be either just walk out on him or, if you want to have some fun, seduce him. It doesn’t need much to seduce him however, you just need to open up the top button and he is all over you.

Ace

Lol, what shirt? This man is walking around half-naked himself so I kind of doubt that he would have a shirt lying around somewhere. But let’s say you find one, just some old, maybe dirty one, he will be all over you but not like Sanji.

He will lean against the door frame and look you up and down, a mischievous grin on his lips. “Where did you find this old piece? I thought I threw it away years ago.” He chuckles, entering the room and closing the door behind him. You will tell him that it’s laundry day and you “didn’t have anything else” which was obviously a lie since he knows how much clothes you have.

“Laundry day, huh? Glad I didn’t throw this shirt away then. Cause we wouldn’t want you running around naked, right?” he will pull you closer to him and let his hand wander up and down your thigh, looking you into the eyes.

His hand will halt when he reaches your hipbone, the smirk growing wider. “I suppose your underwear is in the laundry as well?”

Sabo

“You look good in my shirt. Is there a reason for you wearing it?” he will ask, rounding you like a designer musters his model, appreciating how his shirt fits the model perfectly. The only difference is, he would love to take this piece of fabric off of you and not show you around in it.

“You do your laundry quite often, Y/n-chan. This is the second time this week I catch you wearing one of my clothes. Do I sense a pattern?” he smirks at you, stopping behind you and wrapping his arms around you. “Are you complaining, Sabo?”

He chuckles next to your ear, kissing your cheek with a smile. “I’m just pointing out the obvious but I’m not complaining.” His hands caress your body through the fabric and soon he will turn you around, peppering you with little butterfly kisses.

It just gets this man going seeing you in his shirt, especially if you’re not wearing anything else. You can be sure that all of this will lead to some steamy and sexy times but I think this was your intention in the first place.

[dootdootwriting]

sharing clothes - ei, diluc, kaeya, and thoma

my part of @starglitterz's fluffvember event! sorry for the lateness aha,, i was at thanksgiving with my family this week

so without further ado, prompt #24, sharing clothes, with ei/raiden shogun, diluc, kaeya, and thoma! gn reader; mentions of bra's in kaeya's part (not suggestive though dw)

warnings: spoilers for the inazuma archon quest

EI

- starts out with you telling her she probably needs more casual clothes

- you only ever really see her in formal attire, and considering she hasn't left tenshukaku in quite a while, you figure it might be beneficial for her to wear something, well, a little more comfortable

- so you show up one day with some of your extra comfy clothes

- "dear... what are these for? i appreciate the gesture but i am quite alright with my current attire"

- "yeah but you can't possibly be comfortable in the same clothes every day. i brought you sweatpants."

- "sweat... pants?"

- ei is extremely hesitant at first, but once she puts them on you can see the excitement in her face, no matter how hard she tries to hide it

- from now on whenever you spend the night with her, you always leave with one less article of clothing. at first you thought you just somehow were extremely forgetful, but after a while you noticed the pattern.

- "ei, have you been stealing my clothes?"

- "i suppose you could call it that. i prefer the word 'borrowing.' i'll give them back eventually, but i do like them. they remind me of you."

- she keeps them.

DILUC

- gives you his coat whenever you're cold

- shhhh it's ok he doesn't need it, he has a pyro vision. he'll be fine.

- and it smells nice

- eventually it gets so frequent that once the weather starts getting colder, you just end up leaving the house with his coat on...

- he doesn't mind at all, he finds it really adorable

- it gets to the point where he asks you if you want his coat or your own coat when you go out

- (the answer is always his of course)

- and then you start stealing his shirts

- diluc notices immediately and confronts you about it. why are you stealing his shirts

- well sir they are comfortable and yours what more of an explanation do you need

- he just kinda sighs and gives you a kiss on the forehead

- please just tell him before you steal a shirt

KAEYA

- loves it loves it loves it

- he'll steal your clothes too don't get me wrong. but he also loves seeing you in his clothes

- you'll walk in on him putting on your shirt and he'll just totally deny it. what no. there's no way it's yours he just happens to have a totally identical one. come on now.

- bonus points if you wear bras he'll steal those and model them for you. you try to tell him off for it but it's just too funny

- you're the type of couple that one of you will have everything in the wash and be like "yo babe can i borrow a t-shirt"

- though if it's you asking kaeya will ask for a kiss in return 100% of the time. he's just like that

- very good about keeping your clothes clean though! if he borrows something of yours and IF he decides to give it back (big if) he'll return it in perfect condition so you can't be mad at him

- 7/10 might steal your clothes forever

THOMA

- you steal his jacket

- at first he's like !!! nooooo give it back please not the jacket sobsob (it's special to him)

- but then he looks at you longer in it and you PROMISE you'll take good care of it and he squints

- oh no. it looks ridiculously hot on you

- okay so maybe you can borrow it every so often

- and in return he will steal something of yours

- clothing exchange time bay bee. he chooses a hoodie and doesn't take it off for like a week. you have to remind him to wash it

- people around the estate see him doing chores without his jacket on. is it total eye candy? yes and they have you to thank for it because you're doing commissions with the very same jacket draped over your shoulders

[spiderling-space]

I said this just as a passing thought but then I wanted to explore it more so I divided into 4 parts.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

MC is poor and Crowley doesn’t give them enough money to compensate what they need and desire. There ain’t a good place with good working conditions for them as well. But New Year is coming and the need for new year’s calendar is rising. So MC borrows money from Kalim as the capital for creating homemade calendars. But regular calendars won’t bring much money so MC is going to take suggestive and sexy photos for each month just like those sexy firemen or bikini model calendars and sell them. All students minus Ortho who isn’t included are assumed to be +18.

👑🏹Pomefiore🍎🗡

👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑

Vil Schönheit

Vil is highly aware of current trends and what is going on in the NRC. So when he hears there is a new calendar done by (Y/N) that is popular at NRC. He wants to know why and how it became the most trending topic.

He hears it has to do with interesting pictures of (Y/N) on the calendar so he can’t go and check it out personally so he sends Rook to get him one.

Rook brings him the calendar, Vil asks to be left alone. When alone, Vil starts going through every page, paying attention to all the details from the angle of the photo to the makeup of (Y/N). The whole photoshoot could have been better but he supposes it is enough for a baby potato.

Vil is impressed by (Y/N)’s boldness and how they use their body to earn money. He tells Rook that he disposed of the calendar meanwhile he actually keeps it in his bedside drawer. He will check it out when he wants to destress though no one but he will know about it. He has an image to keep. He also wants to make comments on how to dress better, better makeup and photo angles to (Y/N) but then they would know he keeps the calendar.

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Rook Hunt

Rook was ecstatic about what Vil asked him to buy (Y/N)’s calendar. He was observing people and their reaction to it and he has seen some of the pictures when other students were flipping through the pages.

He buys one for himself when he goes to buy one for Vil. Rook says that he will scrutinize each picture to (Y/N) while making eye contact, which causes (Y/N) to laugh nervously.

After Rook delivers Vil’s calendar to him, he goes back to his room. He starts with January and his eyes roam on every detail. He memorizes their figure, then he moves on the other months, spending minutes on each one, learning every part of (Y/N)’s body. He also thinks December one is extra charming, maybe they had done it for him.

Rook find all pictures beautiful and writes a poem for each one of them about how he sees them and how they make him feel. He will sign those poems to (Y/N) when he sees them next time whether or not they are alone. He thinks they can be of use to spend his alone time other than hunting.

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Epel Felmier

There weren’t many people around Epel’s age in his village and his parents didn’t tell him about this type of stuff. He hears people talking about (Y/N)’s calendar and thinks it is just a calendar, not knowing what type of calendar it is.

He buys one for himself as a way to support (Y/N). He doesn’t even check what is in it and walks back to his room.

He was planning to throw it to a corner of his room and never look at it since calendars are useless nowadays but at the same time, he didn’t want (Y/N) to hear he threw away their work to trash so it would have stayed in his room forever. Then he hears his classmates and dormmates teasing him about it, how he is into that stuff yet not looking like someone who would be into that.

Epel checks the content right then and there which causes his cheeks to flare. He rushes to his room and tries to calm down. After cooling off, he again looks at their pictures. He thinks he shouldn’t look at them and have certain thoughts but he can’t help himself. He will not mention this to anyone but he is certain Rook knows what he does on Epel’s free time with that calendar.

💀Ignihyde🔥

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Idia Shroud

Idia doesn’t really care what happens in NRC as long as he or Ortho isn’t concerned. He learns about the existence of (Y/N)’s calendar during the online gaming session with his dormmates. He certainly knows what type of calendar they are talking about since he has the same thing for anime characters.

He isn’t one to follow trends but it is about (Y/N) so he wants to buy one for himself but he can’t send Ortho to buy for him and (Y/N) doesn’t sell online. Henceforth, Idia walks out of his room at night, thinking that there would be fewer people but he was wrong. He waits around Ramshackle until the crowd is dispersed then he knocks on the door and extends the money while asking for the calendar. The less interaction is better for him.

Idia dashes back to his room the second be buys the calendar. Since Ortho is in the room, he hides it in his coat. He doesn’t take off his coat until Ortho goes to sleep mode. He then goes under his blankets and turns on the small light he made to read manga at night.

Idia knows he is getting off by just taking a peek at the pictures but he can’t help it. Once he is done with the whole calendar, he hides it where his hentai and playboy calendars are. Since there is a chance that Ortho waking up because of his erratic breathing and fast heartbeat, he can’t take any action so he just goes to take a cold shower to get rid of the tent in his pants.

He will make sure Ortho will never see or hears about the calendar so he will pull a Black Mirror on Ortho.

🐲Diasomnia🐉

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Malleus Draconia

Malleus never knows what is going on in NRC since he keeps to himself most of the time and at other times, he is not invited to things. He usually finds out things from Lilia.

He goes to Ramshackle in the middle of the night, as usual, hoping to see (Y/N). (Y/N) sees him and comes to his side with something on their hand. They greet each other and then (Y/N) offers him what they are holding asking if they want to buy their homemade calendar. Malleus doesn’t use calendars made by humans since fae’s and human’s concepts are different but he agrees to buy. They say it is nothing personal as they just try to make living.

Malleus wonders how human calendars look so when he transports to his room, he starts looking at it. His eyes widen as he has never seen this much explicit content before which would be considered inappropriate in The Valley of Thorns. He knows he shouldn’t look at those pictures but he can’t help himself as he checks out each page countless times. He puts the calendar on his desk in his room.

Malleus asks Lilia if what he feels is what he was taught about mates and mating and he patiently listens to Lilia’s answer. He also orders Lilia to buy every single copy of this calendar since he thinks (Y/N) is only doing this to “make living”.

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Lilia Vanrouge

Lilia knows what’s going on the second sales blow up and he knows the nature of the calendar. He is amused by what humans can create and impressed by (Y/N)’s bravery.

He is one of the first ones to buy. He teleports in front of all the customers and hangs upside down as he asks for one copy for himself and for Silver and Sebek. He hopes Malleus will find out this by himself.

Lilia gets back to the dorm and gives the gifts to Silver and Sebek and just teleports to his room. He has seen them all and has done them all. He wonders if (Y/N)’s picture will have an effect on him.

Lilia is amused that the pictures managed to stir something in him and is going to use them for his personal destressing time. Lilia will ask (Y/N) to make the following year’s calendar too in case they won’t be in Twisted Wonderland for it.

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Silver

Silver isn’t aware of what’s going on in the NRC as he was spending his time sleeping or guarding Malleus.

When Silver was eating a snack, Lilia comes and gives him a calendar. He asks why he would buy him such a gift since they don’t need one but Lilia disappears without answering.

Silver takes it to his room when it is night time and he is going to sleep properly in his bed. He prepares for bed, taking the calendar with him to check out his gift. He freezes when he sees such lewd pictures of (Y/N). He wonders what he father wants him to do with this. He received The Talk from him but he is unsure of what to do.

Silver falls asleep while looking at the pictures. His dreams are filled with those pictures where Silver and (Y/N) do certain things. Silver wants to talk about this with his father but he forgets the plot of the dream.

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Sebek Zigvolt

Sebek doesn’t care what that magicless human of Ramshackle does. He just focuses on guarding Malleus. He doesn’t care to know what the calendar fuzz is about.

He cannot refuse a gift from Lilia even if the gift is the homemade calendar. Lilia tells him to use that as a way of destressing and that he is likely to become less uptight after using it.

Sebek takes this advice to the heart. As soon as he is done with his knightly duties and has eaten dinner. He promises Lilia that he will use it throughout without knowing what that actually means.

Sebek opens the calendar and drops it when he sees the first image. He recalls The Talk he received from his father and knows what Lilia meant when he told him to use it. He considers it as an order and starts to work on it. He doesn’t want to admit that it actually helped him to relax. Yet, when Lilia sees him the next morning, he knows what Sebek did.