#Europe This Is Your Final Countdown

[lxndonorris]

home race - Oscar Piastri

Y/N x Oscar Piastri Theme: Smut (you've been warned) you're in a long-distance relationship with Oscar and surprise him at his "home race" x word count: 3250+ taglist: @game-set-canet open for requests :) EN: Another big piece and I hope you'll like it. My first time writing Oscar.

You sat in your living room, staring at your phone. The screen displayed a countdown timer you set months ago when you and Oscar, your boyfriend, decided you could handle a long-distance relationship.

Living in the United States while dating a Formula 1 driver based in Europe wasn't easy, but the two of you made it work. You spoke every day, sent each other thoughtful gifts, and cherished the moments you could spend together in person.

The countdown finally hit zero. It is time for your big surprise.

Oscar is in Monaco for the Grand Prix, and you planned to surprise him for months since the season started. You told him you wouldn't be able to make it due to work commitments, but in reality, you managed to arrange everything perfectly, with a little help from the Mclaren Team.

You had your flights booked, your accommodation sorted, and a special pass that would allow you into the Mclaren motorhome, where Oscar would eventually be.

When you boarded your flight, you felt a mixture of excitement and nerves. You knew how much this surprise would mean to Oscar. The past few months have been challenging for him, dealing with the pressures of being a professional F! driver while missing you. You wanted to make this moment unforgettable.

After a long flight and a quick check-in at your hotel in Monaco, you head straight to the racetrack. You are wearing a Mclaren team hoodie, jeans, and a fitting cap, blending in with the team. You find your way to the motorhome and, with the help of a team member who is in on the surprise, get inside and wait for Oscar.

The atmosphere in Monaco is electric. The sun shines brightly over the azure waters of the Mediterranean, and the roar of engines echoes through the narrow streets of the city. The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious races on the calendar, and the excitement is palpable.

The qualifying session just ends, and he pushes his car to the limit and secures second place on the grid. The team is ecstatic, and Oscar feels a rush of adrenaline as he climbs out of the car, waving to the cheering fans. 

Inside the motorhome, your heart races as you finally hear footsteps approaching. The door opens, and you turn around to see Oscar standing there, a look of shock and disbelief on his face.

"Y/N? Is that really you?" Oscar's voice trembles with emotion.

You smile, your eyes filling with tears.

"Surprise!"

Oscar closes the distance between you in an instant, wrapping you in a tight embrace. He buries his face in her hair, inhaling your familiar scent, and holds you as if he never wants to let go.

At the same time, the faint scent of him swirls around you, and with a deep breath, you take it in, closing your eyes for a second to relish in this moment.

"What are you doing here?" He murmurs, his voice choked with emotion. "I can't believe you're here."

"I wanted to be here for you, at your home race." You say softly. "I've missed you so much, Oscar Piastri Leclerc."

Both of you pull back slightly to look at each other, your eyes meeting with an intensity that speaks volumes. Oscar cups your face in his hands, his thumbs gently brushing away the tears that escape down your cheeks.

"I've missed you too, Y/N. More than you can imagine."

You kiss—a tender and passionate kiss that seems to make up for all the time you spent apart. 

When you finally break apart, Oscar can't stop smiling.

"You look amazing in that Mclaren gear," he says, his eyes roaming all over you as they sparkle with admiration.

You chuckle, feeling a warmth spread through you. "I have to show my support for my favorite driver."

As you stand facing each other, the air between you seems to be charged with electricity. You feel the tension and excitement from qualifying still radiating off Oscar. 

Tentatively, you reach out, letting your hand run across his firm chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heaving chest beneath your fingertips. His whole body is slightly tensed, still buzzing from the adrenaline rush.

Oscar's eyes soften as he looks at you, a smile spreading across his lips.

"It's so good to see you," he murmurs, his voice filled with awe.

You smile back, your gaze drifting over his racing suit. "You look so good in that green and yellow racing suit, Oscar. Really, you do. It suits you perfectly."

The special suit, designed to honor Senna, clings to his frame in all the right ways, accentuating his athletic build. The vibrant colors contrast beautifully with his complexion, making him look every bit the star he is.

Oscar chuckles, a hint of pride in his eyes. "Thanks. I didn't think I could pull off these colors, but hearing it from you makes me believe it."

Your fingers linger on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breath. "I missed you so much," you whisper, your voice thick with emotion. 

As your hand continues to stroke his chest, you feel Oscar's hands move to your waist, his fingers lightly gripping the fabric of your jeans. He pulls you slightly closer; your bodies now mere inches apart. The intensity of his gaze makes your heart flutter.

"Do you have some free time?" You ask, your voice soft and teasing, eyes glimmering with anticipation.

Oscar smirks, a playful glint in his eyes. "For you? Always."

The corner of your mouth lifts in a smile, your hand moving up to his shoulder. "Good." You breathe deeply, feeling the tension between you increase even more. "Because I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."

Unable to resist any longer, you lean in and kiss him passionately. The moment your lips meet, Oscar melts into the kiss, his arms tightening around your waist. The warmth and familiarity of the embrace make everything else disappear, leaving just the two of you in your own private world.

As the kiss deepens, you steady yourself against his firm chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart beneath your palm. His hum of approval sends a thrill through you, and you take your time, savoring the moment, relishing the closeness you missed for far too long.

With a teasing glint in your eye, you reach for the zipper of his racing suit. Slowly, you begin to unzip it, feeling the resistance of the fabric give way. Oscar's breath hitches as you draw the zipper down to his tummy, exposing his tight black fireproofs beneath.

You let your hands slip inside, and stroke his chest. "You look so good," you murmur, your hands resting on the exposed fabric. The smooth, taut material hugs his body, accentuating his toned muscles.

Oscar's eyes darken with desire as he looks at your hands running across his chest, a mixture of amusement and longing playing on his features. "You're making it very hard to concentrate," he says, his voice low and husky.

You chuckle softly, your fingers tracing patterns on his fireproofs. "Good," you whisper, leaning in for another kiss. 

This time, it is slower, more deliberate; each touch and caress a reminder of the desire crackling between you.

As your kisses grow more intense, you feel the heat rising between your bodies. Oscar's hands roam over your back, pulling you even closer, as if he can't bear to let you go.

With your hands still roaming over his chest, you draw a line down to his abs, feeling the firm muscles beneath your fingertips. Each touch elicits several low growls from deep inside his throat, the sound sending shivers down your spine. As you continue your exploration, Oscar leans his head back, his eyes closing as he savors the sensation.

You decide to take things a step further. 

"Let me help you." You breathe deeply, gently pushing the upper half of his suit off his shoulders. 

Oscar obliges, his breath hitching as you peel the fabric away, revealing more of his muscular torso. The sleeves hang down from his waist, the tight fireproofs beneath barely able to contain the immense tension building inside him.

His muscles bulge with each movement, with each breath he takes, the strain and excitement of the day evident in every contour of his body. You can't help but admire him, your hands now tracing the lines of his arms, feeling the strength beneath his skin.

Oscar opens his eyes and looks at you, his gaze filled with desire and affection. "You're driving me crazy," he growls, his voice rough with need.

You smile with a playful glint in your eye. "Flex for me." You reply, your fingers continuing their journey across his entire upper body.

With a mischievous grin, Oscar obliges again, flexing his arms and chest, showcasing the impressive muscles that have been honed through countless hours of training. The sight makes your heart skip a beat; a rush of admiration and desire floods through you.

"Like what you see?" he teases, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

You bite your lip, trying to keep your composure as you let your hands roam over his flexed muscles. "You have no idea," you reply, your voice filled with genuine awe.

He chuckles, the sound low and rumbling from deep inside his chest. "I'm just glad you're here to see it."

One of your hands traces the contours of his biceps, feeling the power and strength beneath your fingers, while you let your other hand roam freely across his chest and even further down to his crotch.

You feel his hunger building up inside his pants; the fabric bulges just along his member tenting visibly. With two fingers, you trace the tangible outlines of his lust again and again, eliciting more and more deep growls from his throat.

Oscar is thoroughly enjoying himself, responding to your teasing with a mixture of laughter and passion. You see the gleam in his eyes, the way he savors every touch and caress. 

Then, with a bold move, you slip one of your hands underneath his fireproofs, feeling the intense heat of his skin radiating against your palm.

Oscar's breath hitches at the sensation, his eyes so dark with desire. With a swift motion, he swipes the Mclaren cap from your head and lets it drop to the floor. A playful chuckle escapes his lips as he leans in, capturing your mouth in a deep, fervent kiss.

The kiss is electric, filled with a hunger that threatens to consume you both—the long separation and the yearning that built up between you. Your fingers splay across his warm skin, feeling the hard lines of his muscles beneath your fingertips. 

Oscar's hands roam over your back again, pulling you closer, before he takes the lead, guiding you through the room and across a huge empty wall. Gently, your back meets the wall, steadying the two of you fully. 

You feel the rhythm of his heartbeat, fast and powerful, matching your own. The world around you seems to fade away, leaving just the two of you locked in your passionate embrace.

His hands are now all over your chest, his touch both soft and possessive. Each caress sends waves of electricity through you, making your pulse race as far as his race car.

Oscar's kisses trail down your neck, leaving a warm, tingling sensation in their wake. His lips are gentle yet insistent, making a path that sets your skin on fire. The sensation is almost overwhelming—a perfect blend of tenderness and desire that makes your heart swell with emotion.

Amidst your intimate moment, you take in Oscar's familiar scent, a comforting aroma that envelopes you in a sense of security and belonging—a mixture of his cologne, mingled with the faint trace of adrenaline from the day's events, and the subtle hint of his natural scent.

Breathing him in, you feel a wave of warmth wash over you, and his scent is like a familiar embrace, making it even harder to concentrate.

Now, his hands slide underneath your hoodie, his fingertips dancing across your skin. You shiver at the sensation, your body responding instinctively to his touch. The contrast of his warm hands against the cool evening air heightens your senses, making every touch feel even more intense.

"You're amazing." Oscar breathes against your neck, his voice rough with emotion. "I need you."

Your breath hitches, your hands grip his shoulders for support as you tilt your head back, giving him better access. "Oscar," you whisper, your voice trembling with a mixture of desire and affection.

His hands roam freely now, exploring every inch of your torso with a reverent touch. You feel the strength and control in his fingers, the way he holds you as if you were the most precious thing in the world.

You arch into his touch, your own hands exploring the hard planes of his back, feeling the tension in his muscles. The fabric of his fireproofs is smooth and cool against your palms, a stark contrast to the heat radiating from his body.

"Oscar." You murmur again, your voice barely audible as you revel in the sensations he is creating. "I need you, too."

He lifts his head, his eyes locking onto yours with an intensity that takes your breath away.

"I'm right here," he replies, his voice steady yet husky.

Licking your lips in anticipation, you let out a long, exhausted sigh. At the same time, you feel one of his hands make its way down your chest and right to your jeans. In one swift motion, he unbuttons it, just to make way for his hand to slip inside.

Your breath hitches right away as you feel his fingers tracing patterns in all the right places.

Even though it's hard to keep your composure, you manage to return the favor, letting one of your hands run down his back, along his spine, around his waist, and between his legs.

As you touch him, Oscar lets out a low, primal groan, the culmination of all the teasing and desire building up between them. His response sends a thrill through you, igniting a fire that burns hotter with each passing moment.

The tension is palpable; both of you are aching for a release, craving the other's touch.

Together, you help each other undress just enough to make it work. Panting and growling, he tugs at your jeans until they are sliding down to your ankles, so his hands stroke your thighs delicately.

Then, it's your turn to help him. Pulling at the suit clinging to his skin, the two of you manage to pull his length out of his pants, just for you to hold it and play with it.

Exhausted, Oscar leans in, kissing you passionately. You melt into him, offering yourself for what's to come next.

The moment he slides inside your body, it sparks a tingling sensation inside your stomach, and you let out a low grunt. Simultaneously, he moans right into your mouth, making it even harder to keep a straight face.

He is the first to take the lead again.

With your back against the wall, he begins to grind his hips against yours, rhythmically, sensually, and it is easy for you to catch up. The two of you move in sync with one another, letting out low growls, moans, and grunts.

Your hands wander all over his chest, stroking him through his firerpoofs. Oscar's breath comes in ragged gasps, his eyes dark with desire as he watches you. 

The sensation of your touch through the fabric sends waves of heat through him, encouraging him to increase the pace and strength of his thrusts. In return, he steadies himself against the wall behind you while his other hand lingers on your breasts.

Your movements are slow and deliberate; you are fully aware of his most sensitive spots, and you encourage him more and more. Pinching his nipples, tracing the tangible outlines of his abs, and feeling his muscles bulge harder and hader.

Panting and moaning, Oscar's body grows stiff and rigid; unable to contain himself, he bites his lower lip before he grunts angrily.

"Fuck."

You revel in the power you have over him and the way he responds so intensely to your touch.

With each stroke, you feel him growing even more aroused, his body still tightening instinctively to your touch. His hands grip your breasts tighter, sending waves of pleasure through your entire body.

The two of you move as one; every thrust sends you closer and closer to the edge, and the way he grunts deeply tells you he feels the same.

As you lose yourself in the heat of the moment, you know there is no turning back. Your passion burns bright, consuming you both in a whirlwind of sensation and emotion.

With one final, heavy thrust, both of you let go of all that pressure and tension and scream out in ecstasy.

Several exhausted moans leave Oscar's lips, and he leans forward, grateful for the wall steadying him. At the same time, you lean your head back, moaning deeply.

You rest your head against his shoulder, swallowing hard. His body embraces yours right away; his firm shoulder is the perfect place right now.

Out of breath, the two of you barely regain your composure before you lock eyes again, both of you smiling contently.

"That was so good." He moans, exhausted, before he leans in, kissing you deeply.

"Oscar." You breathe into him, kissing him back.

After your passionate moment, you share another tender smile, your hearts still racing with the intensity of your connection. 

With gentle touches and soft kisses, you help each other get dressed again, your movements slow and deliberate again.

As you adjust the sleeves of his fireproofs, you look up at Oscar, your eyes filled with affection. "You were amazing today," you say, your voice filled with pride. "I am so proud of you."

Oscar smiles back, his expression softening. "I am so glad you are here." He replies, his voice tinged with gratitude.

As he begins to change into fresh clothes, you watch him closely, unable to tear your eyes away. 

Oscar moves with natural grace; every movement is fluid and confident. You can't help but admire the way his muscles shift beneath his skin as he removes his racing suit and tight firerpoofs.

He catches your gaze, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. Sensing your admiration, he makes a little show out of changing, exaggerating his movements slightly as he slips out of his fireproofs and into a fresh pair of underwear you hand him.

You laught at his antics, enjoining the playful side of him that he reserves just for you. As you pull on the pair of jeans and the Mclaren shirt, you feel a surge of affection for him, admiring the way he looks in the team gear.

"You look amazing." You say. "But then again, you always do."

Oscar grins, his eyes shining brightly. "I have to look my best, especially with you around." He replies, his tone teasing.

With a final adjustment to his shirt, Oscar turns to you, his expression softening. "Thank you for being here," he says, his voice sincere. 

You reach out and place your hand on his chest again, gently stroking him once more. "I'll always be here for you." You reply. "No matter what."

[octuscle]

this is an urgend call for help! I'm a 29yo teacher in europe and I have a problem with one of my students. He's 18yo, the star of the soccer team and of the whole school. he's looking at me and talking with me in a very special way. So I think he has a crush on me. I've to give him a lot of detention but he seems to enjoy it. Last time he says at the end: "soon you're one of us - your countdown is on...' pls tell me he hasn't used your program. If he has, stop this countdown immediately

According to a scribble in the student restroom, you are supposed to be the school's sexiest teacher for the third year in a row. Someone has sketched your cock next to this note. Obviously life-size, because the doodle is impressively large.

Well, you can't be the sexiest teacher for the third time because you've only been here at the school for two years. Before that you were at university. First in Milwaukee. Then actually only for two semesters in Lund, Sweden. But you fell in love with Sweden. And now you are very happy to have got a job as a sports and math teacher at the sports high school in Malmö. Sport here at the school usually almost automatically means "soccer", but as a native American you have less to do with it. Your sports are badminton, athletics and windsurfing in the summer.

You almost despair of the soccer star. A stinking lazy pupil. Certainly not stupid. But really lazy and uncooperative. According to his coach, he is the most disciplined person imaginable on the pitch. Here in math class, he's definitely not. Absolutely not! "Soon you'll be one of us - your countdown is on". That was yesterday… Today, once again, he didn't even show up for math class. Shit, he's ruining his whole career. Besides, you kind of miss him… He's not just a student… He's also kind of… A buddy! Damn, you can't have thoughts like that with a student!

You are looking for your student on the soccer field. Of course he's there. Of course he doesn't have a guilty conscience. Shit, of course you can understand him. After all, soccer is your life too. It was always your dream to become a professional soccer player. But unlike him, you were simply never good enough.

You try to talk him into his conscience without being such a bourgeois. You want to come across as cool. But on the other hand, you also know that you have to assert yourself as a teacher. It's your last traineeship. You'll graduate next year. Now you're still somewhere between the teachers and the students. It's a shitty situation. And the jock just laughs at you when you reprimand him. He says you'll soon be in detention together.

You are actually a really hard-working student. You are very keen to do well in your exams. You definitely want to work as a teacher at this sports high school. Soccer and math. That would be exactly your combination of subjects. But you can't study tonight. The day as a volunteer at the school was really exhausting. Before you go jogging for another hour, you look in the mirror as you change into your sports clothes. The fucking spots just won't go away. You still look a bit like you're still in puberty. But you finally seem to be growing hair on your chest. Maybe you will become a real guy after all. Whether the soccer star likes hair on his chest. Or if he has any himself? The thought of him gives you a boner!

When you wake up the next morning, you pick up where you left off yesterday. With a boner. My goodness, since you've been doing the internship here at the school, you've been kind of hard all the time. Of course, you've got a whole lot of damn tight guys among the other freshmen at your university… But the boys here at the sports high school are in a different league. They wank wherever they go and wherever they stand. And since you've been here, you've joined in.

You've been given a single room at the sports boarding school for the duration of your internship. You have a washbasin in your room, but you share the toilet and shower with the boys from the upper school. You're 21, hardly older than the guys who will be graduating this year. But you're still not allowed to fuck them. Even as a freshman and an intern, you are formally a member of the teaching staff. What a load of shit! How you'd love to let the star of the soccer team fuck you in the shower. It's obvious he wouldn't be averse either.

The internship sucks. Sitting in class without being able to shape it but already knowing everything is even more stressful and boring than it is for the students. Nevertheless, you try to look like you're paying attention and taking notes. This is actually more of a strategy to avoid falling asleep. You can hardly wait until soccer practice finally starts. You can just play along. You're more of a pupil than a teacher. The coach praises you and says that you're wasting a great talent as a sports teacher. He asks you to take the team star under your wing for a while. He could certainly learn a lot from you. Hehehehehe, you think to yourself. I'm sure you could from him too!

After training, you go to the gym for a bit of strength endurance training. Suddenly the soccer star is standing behind you. He runs his hand under your sweaty jersey and plays with your nipple. Thank God you're alone in the gym. You take off your jersey and he sucks on your nipples like a puppy on its mother's teats. Shit, his smell of wet grass and sweat alone is driving you crazy. With one hand you take your boner out of your pants. With the other, you push his head down. He blows like the devil. And you cum like a fire hose.

A delicate fuzz appears on your upper lip. That's the only good thing about fucking puberty. Your voice is cracking. Your pimples are annoying. And every other morning you wake up in a huge mess in your bed. Every morning that Lars hasn't blown you first. Or you blew him. You're congenial on the soccer pitch. Whatever congenial means. But the coach always says that. You think you're totally congenial in the shower and on the toilet and in all sorts of other places too. The fact that Lars and you met here at the boarding school is damn lucky!

You've been inseparable since you were 18 at the latest. During the week at Intermat, at the weekends either with your parents. Or at his. Your parents are cool. Although you're not sure if they know what you're up to.

Lars and you both think school sucks. You're here to become professional footballers. You don't need fucking math or history for that. Your coach predicts a glorious future for both of you. The man is cool. He's ancient, probably already 30 or so. But much more relaxed than your other teachers. And he'll cover for you if you skip math again. But only if you've used the time for fitness or technique training. If you don't show full commitment, the coach has no mercy.

It is an honor to have been accepted at this school. You have no intention of disgracing the school!

It's a common saying that the two of you only exist in a double pack. Your classmates have turned 'Lars' and 'Zlatan' into 'Latan'. It's no coincidence that your name is Zlatan. Your parents are huge fans of Zlatan Ibrahimoviv. And the fact that you made it to school here in his community, that you are the second Zlatan to become a national player from Rosengård, makes your parents proud. But if you become a national player, Lars will also have to play for the national team. That's a matter of honor. You look at yourself in the mirror. The fuzz on your upper lip isn't quite ready for a cool beard like the one your role model has. And your parents never allowed you to have long hair. But since you've come of age, you've let it grow. It won't be long before you look like the great Zlatan!

You don't like it when Lars and you are put on opposing teams in tournaments. But Coach is right, of course, he needs to train your killer instinct. An opponent is an opponent. Even if you occasionally get shagged by the center forward. And how you get fucked. Shit, your cock is already famous in the changing rooms near and far. But against Lars' beast… You're nothing…

It's pouring with rain. The soccer match was a mud fight. But you won. "As we agreed, the loser has to blow the winner" you tell Lars after the final whistle. "I can't wait to suck your cheesy boner clean" Lars replies with a grin. Even though almost everyone knows that you are a couple, you are usually rather reserved in public. But today… Fuck it!

[theygotlost]

good afternoon here's my big rant on my pet peeves for subtitles in movies and tv

This is a post that I’ve thought about making probably for years now but never got around to. I might add more later if I realize I’ve forgotten any

When it comes down to it, the purpose of subtitles is this: to reflect exactly what the audience can hear, precisely when it can be heard. If you fail to do this, your subtitles are bad and you should feel bad. Although I don’t have concrete examples for most of these off the top of my head, I promise I have experienced them all firsthand at least once.

-> Watch for spelling and typos. Obviously.

-> Syncing issues.

This should go without saying, but the captions should be synced as closely as possible with dialogue and sound effects. Subtitles that are out of sync are worse to me than no subtitles at all. They’re unbearably distracting and I have to turn them off. I’m fortunate enough that I can keep watching without them, so imagine how frustrating this is for someone who needs to keep them on no matter what.

-> Jumping the gun.

This is basically an example of out-of-sync subtitles that are slightly too fast, but it gets its own category because it ruins the viewing experience in its own unique way. In particularly dramatic scenes, actors will often draw out their lines or pause between phrases. Captions sometimes fail to reflect this by displaying the entire sentence all at once, allowing the audience to read what someone is about to say before they actually say it, which deflates all the dramatic tension of the scene.

-> Phantom captions.

This one is less self explanatory, but it’s kind of similar to syncing. Sometimes there will be significant intervals of time between lines of dialogue, especially after a scene ends and a new one begins. The interval may include music, sound effects, or complete silence, but what I’m calling a “phantom” is a caption that stays on the screen after that last line of dialogue is delivered until the next line is spoken. I don’t remember what I was watching, but there was one that was glued to the screen for SEVERAL MINUTES over what was supposed to be an atmospheric break between scenes and it drove me nuts. In my experience this happens more often with older subtitling for DVDs and some old videos and less with modern streaming. 

-> Straight up spoilers.

Sometimes, a character will speak whose true identity has not yet been revealed to the audience. If I’m not supposed to know the character’s name yet, don’t just… tell me right there in the captions whenever they say something. Descriptors like “disembodied voice”, “man”/”woman”, “mysterious figure”, etc. will suffice.

-> Lack of musical descriptors.

It usually helps to describe the genre or emotion of the music that’s playing rather than just writing [music] or 🎵. That being said, if there is a song playing that’s particularly well known in the mainstream, I think it’s useful to actually include the name of the song. This one I do have a concrete example for: in Arrested Development, Gob always blasts The Final Countdown during his acts. But the captions on my DVDs for the show always describe it as [stagy pop]. Like yeah I would say that song is some pretty stagy pop, but I think a lot of the humor comes from knowing that it’s specifically The Final Countdown by Europe because it’s such a perfectly corny selection that Gob would make.

Another musical failure is not transcribing pertinent lyrics. If the song is playing in the background, then that’s understandable and it can be kind of distracting if there’s dialog happening on top of it because the audience isn’t actually meant to be paying close attention to the song. But if the song is front and center, like for a musical number or montage, then the lyrics can be pretty important. Last year when I watched Arcane on Netflix with my family (a recent, high budget production from the biggest streaming platform ever), the show had the nerve to write [man rapping] over a musical sequence. Imagine if all subtitles ever just said [person speaking] for the entire movie.

-> Affectations.

If a character starts using a silly voice or accent, or if the sound of their voice changes in any way, describe that. If the audience can hear the difference, the subtitles should reflect that difference. And they should reflect it informatively and accurately; for example, don’t just say [mock accent], but specify [mock French accent]. 

-> Paraphrasing.

I don’t even know why this is an issue, but it’s alarming how many times the subtitles just… straight up don’t match what the characters are actually saying. It’s like the transcriber was forced to write all the captions from memory, so they kinda sorta say the same thing, but the wording is different and some sentences or phrases are missing. When I brought this up with my mom she theorized that the transcriber was working off the script for the movie because hey, that’s all the dialogue already written down, right? But it completely fails to account for revisions, improvisation, or actors delivering their lines even slightly different than how they were originally written.

And last but certainly not least, one of the biggest offenders in bad subtitling…

-> [Speaks foreign language]

If someone says something in another language, please, for the love of god, do not just write [speaks foreign language]  and call it a day. Specifying the actual language is an improvement, but this descriptor only works if the audience members are truly not meant to know what’s being said (which is sometimes the case). If a character is only saying a single word or phrase in another language, transcribe it. As in, write down the actual words that they said. If you don’t speak that language, find someone who does. You are insane for transcribing a character saying “hola” or “abuela” in an otherwise English sentence as [speaks Spanish] (real examples I saw respectively in Rango and JANE THE VIRGIN. THERE’S SO MUCH SPANISH IN THAT SHOW). 

If the audience is supposed to know what someone is saying in another language, English subtitles will usually be hardcoded. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, LET THE CAPTION SAYING [SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE] COVER THESE UP. This is actively impeding understanding, not helping it. Jesus christ

* Please keep in mind that I’m not deaf or hard of hearing and I don’t have auditory processing disorder; I almost always watch movies and tv with subtitles whenever the option is available because it helps me absorb information better. If I don’t even strictly NEED subtitles and these are issues for me, I can only imagine how much more difficult it is for those who rely on them more heavily. I invite you to add your own perspective!!

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Finding Forever With You - Steve Harrington X Female Reader

Title: Finding Forever With You

Steve Harrington X Female Reader

Additional Characters: Astrid (daughter), Reader's mother, Reader's father (Mentioned), Robin, and unnamed ex boyfriend (Mentioned)

WC: 5,000

Warnings: Post-Season Four events, Reader has a mother and father, italics, Reader is a single mother, teen pregnancy mentioned, very briefly mention of abortion, cursing, nicknames, banter, flirting, teasing, very brief mention of dresses, brief mention of crying, slight angst, and fluff

With your four-year-old daughter resting carefully on your left hip, you pushed the glass door of the Family Video store open, the bell above you ringing throughout the establishment as it closed behind you. Your daughter - Astrid - wiggled around in your arms, kicking her around her little feet as her bright blue eyes frantically - curiously - looked around the room filled with VHS tapes of various TV shows and movies.

She was lightly muttering the same part of 'The Final Countdown by Europe,' though she wasn't singing the actual words, per se... For the past week or so, she would only sing the instrumentals; your home was constantly filled with like 'dum-da dum dum da-da da da da's', and it didn't help that you often did the same thing. For the past month and a half, Astrid always sweetly demanded to listen to the song, so your house was constantly filled with that one song. But you loved singing with your daughter, and you never minded the constant singing, or the constant replaying of the song at home. If your daughter was happy, you were happy. And you were incredibly happy. 

Astrid was the light of your life. 

You were still so young when you had her. You had just turned fifteen a couple of weeks before you had her. Nine months before, you and someone whom you had trusted - your then-boyfriend - had been dating for less than seven months. At that point in your life, you had thought that you were in love... Or what you had thought love was as a teenager - that you and your ex would go through high school together and eventually marry after graduation. You had dreamed about a life living in a nice suburban home, with a white picket fence, and maybe a few pets... Maybe, eventually children. You hadn't expected that children would come quicker than you ever imagined. 

You often wished you could've gone back in time and taught your younger self the things that your not-so-there mother had not. When you had first found out that you were pregnant, it felt like the end of the world. You were terrified, for lack of a better word. You didn't know what to do in the beginning, sticking to going about your days until you figured out something to do - or something to say to your mother and your - at the time - boyfriend. Well, you had gained the courage to tell them only a month after you found out, and... It didn't go so well.

Your mother, though terribly disappointed, made sure you were taken care of. More so than usual, which slightly unnerved you. You were so used to her going off to Bingo nights, or falling asleep on the recliner during Jeopardy. You were not used to her actually staying home and spending time with you, albeit worrying over you and her newfound growing grandchild.

She did sit down with you, and you both had a conversation that included a long apology from your mother, along with a conversation that involved the possibility of terminating the pregnancy. Though, you couldn't find it in yourself to go along with it. During the month before you told your mother, you had spent many late nights thinking everything over. Yes, things were scary, and yes, you knew your future was going to change drastically, but you also knew that you could survive through it all. With that knowledge came a certain resolve - you wanted to keep your baby. 

And the moment you got to hold her in your arms - nine months later... You had never known so much love until you looked at your daughter for the very first time. The very moment you heard her cry, the very moment she was placed in your arms, the very moment she opened her little eyes... You felt like nothing else existed but this tiny, little person in your arms. Everything else was suddenly irrelevant. Though you regretted a lot of things in your life, you never, never regretted having your daughter. 

Now, the ex... Well, he became an ex for a reason. You had told him of your pregnancy after you had told your mother. And things did not go well. In short, he was not present at the birth of Astrid, nor did he partake in naming her, or her first birthday, or anything else after that. You didn't really know what happened to him, and you didn't really care. However, before you had to drop out of high school, you had heard from some friends that he moved to Hawaii with his family.

You continued to study at home, teaching yourself various subjects, and picking up books from the library when you had the chance. You soon found yourself above high school level before long. That, and taking care of a newborn, was enough work on its own. The first couple of months were hectic, but you - as always - survived. And with the help of your mother, who was more than willing to assist you and her grandbaby, it slowly settled into a routine for you. And for the next four years - now in your early twenties - you did whatever you could to make sure your Astrid was happy, healthy, and safe. 

"Mommy! I want a Disney movie!" Your daughter exclaimed in your arms, becoming a bit restless not being able to run around. You paused your movie searching, bringing your eyes away from the shelves of children's movies to look over at your daughter resting restlessly on your hip. You couldn't help but smile, seeing her bright blue eyes and even brighter smile as she tried to reach out with her arms, her little hands trying to grab at 'The Little Mermaid' VHS box on the lower shelves a few inches away. "Down, please!" She then asked, looking back up at you, her smile unwavering. 

"Alright," You nodded, lowering her to the ground, "But, please do not go far from me, okay? You can choose two movies," You emphasized the fourth word, watching as Astrid became more and more animated; jumping up and down. Before you could say anything else, she was off; going down the aisle, a couple of feet away, and still in your sight. You didn't have to wait long, before Astrid came barrelling down the aisle towards you, holding two VHS boxes in her arms. "Those are your two?" You asked and the young toddler nodded, her curls bouncing as she did so. "Alright, let's check out." You took the two offered VHS boxes from her, before taking her hand. 

Astrid took your hand with a smile, skipping beside you as you walked up to the checkout counter. She went back to humming 'The Final Countdown' when you gently tapped the small silver bell on the counter; the sharp ringing echoing throughout the store. You waited for a moment, hearing a door in the back open and close as you felt a soft tug on your hand.

Looking down, Astrid looked up at you, tugging your hand again for good measure. "May I have up?" She asked, and you nodded, placing the VHS tapes on the counter, and picking her up; resting her back onto your hip. "What is for dinner?" She then asked, making you hum.

"Mimi is making her homemade pizza," You responded, earning a small cheer from her, her arms stretching up into the air before wrapping around your neck. 

"I love Mimi’s pizza," She said quietly, leaning her head against the side of your head. 

You smiled softly before answering, "Yeah, her pizza is pretty amazing."

"I want a pep slice," She mumbled.

You chuckled fondly under your breath at her pronunciation of pepperoni, "Alright."

"Sorry to keep you waiting" You heard a voice, making you turn back to the counter and away from Astrid. You watched, shocked, as the Steve Harrington walked behind the counter. You did your best to hide your surprise, and you had guessed that you had done a good job since he didn't bring your odd expression up. You had known... Well, had known about Steve Harrington in your first year at Hawkins High, before you dropped out for the preparation of your daughter's birth. But, during that first year, you had known about him - and seen him out and about in the school halls. 

You remembered Steve as King Steve - the young teenager with a charming and energetic personality, one that lured in everyone within a ten-foot radius of him. He had the power to make all eyes turn to him, making him seem to be the center of attention. People seemed to gravitate to him, especially the ladies... He loved to spend time with his friends, leaning up against the lockers during passing periods, talking and laughing. He was the party king... Always at a party, no matter if it was a school night. He was carefree... Doing what he wanted, drinking what he wanted, smoking when he wanted... Being what he wanted.

You didn't fully care much for him then. He was loud, a bit of a bad boy in some of the teachers' eyes, and he was a bully. Though, despite yourself, you thought he was cute. Above all, you really liked his hair. Especially now, as you looked at him, you couldn't help but admire his hair... You wondered what hair spray he used, if any... "Find everything alright?" He asked, looking up at you after flipping the VHS tapes around to see their covers.

You slipped out of your thoughts quickly, nodding, "Oh, yes. Thank you." You shifted Astrid on your hip, adjusting her as you grabbed your wallet, "How much do I owe you?" At no response, you looked up, meeting Steve's confused gaze.

His eyebrows were heavily furrowed, his lips in a slight pout, as he simply stared at you before seemingly snapping out of his own thoughts, and letting out a nervous chuckle, "Sorry," He slid the two VHS tapes over, before looking back up at you, "Do I know you?"

You let out your own nervous laugh, breathing it out as you gave him a small awkward smile, "I used to go to Hawkins High for a while." You shrugged a shoulder, "I only went for Freshman year though."

With a smile, he snapped his fingers, "Yeah! That's where I know you! You had Mrs. Johnson's class right? Second period?" His brown eyes sparkled with recognition.

You nodded, your smile growing slightly, "Yes, I did. I’m Y/N."

"Y/N... Beautiful name." He tried out your name, and you had to admit, you loved the sound of it coming from him. Steve hummed before running a hand through his hair once, "I'm Steve, but you probably already knew that." His gaze then shifted to Astrid, who was peeking out from the sleeve of your shoulder, her little hand clutching onto your shirt. "And who might you be?" Steve's voice softened a bit.

Astrid, being a bit shy around strangers, buried her face against your neck, her cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. "Her name is Astrid. She's a bit shy around new people." You gently bounced her, your free hand rubbing against her back.

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Astrid.” Steve spoke, continuing to smile, "Well, that'll be two dollars.”

~~~

Over the past couple of months, you and Steve had grown closer with every visit to return the VHS tapes. Each interaction was filled with laughter, each of you sharing your common interests; you found yourself spending a lot of time just standing at the counter, getting lost in your conversations with Steve; hell, you were also getting lost in his eyes, but you weren’t going to admit that to anyone.

It was evident that a bond was forming between the two of you, the usual anxious nerves in the pit of your stomach were replaced by something warm, something that made your heart beat a bit faster, and made you unable to wipe the smile from your face. You hadn't felt this happy, just talking to someone, in a long time. 

"How much do I owe you this time?" You asked, pulling out your wallet, only for Steve to shake his head.

"My treat," He began, "I insist, sweetheart." He flashed you a smile, and you felt your heart flip in your chest - Steve’s insisting had become somewhat reoccurring. Throughout the week, every couple of days, Steve would insist on paying for however many VHS tapes you wanted to rent. No matter how much you protested and insisted, he'd insist right back; ever the gentleman he was. In your head, the whole, "I insist," reminded you of the book 'The Princess Bride'. It was one of your favorites, and you couldn't help but be reminded of it whenever Steve said those three words.

Gathering the four VHS tapes in your hands, you smiled, albeit sheepishly; you still weren’t used to that nickname he started giving you only a month ago, "Thank you, Steve. That's very kind of you."

From the backroom, your smile widened slightly at the sight of Robin walking out, her backpack on one shoulder. She paused at the counter, returning your smile; though with a look over at Steve, her grin turned into a smirk; a knowing look in her eyes. “Hello, Y/N… Dingus.” She greeted the both of you.

“Buckley,” Steve sounded slightly annoyed, but after seeing the two interact for a while, you knew that was just how their friendship was; you thought it was funny - endearing - like siblings.

“So,” Robin looked over at you, “How are you?” She asked you, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker.

You shrugged your shoulders, “Good, how about you?”

Robin glanced over at Steve, who had his arms crossed - impatient - her smirk widened slightly, “Oh, I’m good… Just heading home to work on some homework. I’ll see you both tomorrow?”

You could help but chuckle, “Probably, good luck, Rob!” You waved to her, and she waved back, leaving the Family Video. Turning back to Steve, you froze slightly, seeing the look on his face. You couldn't place it, but there was an intensity about it. Almost like a soft glint in his brown eyes - an unreadable emotion hidden deep in them. 

Before you could think too much about it, he cleared his throat, shaking himself out of whatever trance he had been in, becoming suddenly nervous; the complete opposite of his usual charming and confident self. “Y/N, I was wondering..,” He paused, swallowing thickly as he dropped his gaze to the counter, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. You waited, patiently, allowing him the time that he needed to say whatever it was that he had wanted to say. “I was wondering if you’d be interested in going to dinner with me… Or catching a movie?” He finished, daring to look up at you with those brown eyes of his, seemingly hopeful, though you could still see how nervous he was.

You blinked… Once, twice, feeling your face become incredibly warm and your heart begin to race at the very sudden and unexpected question; though, deep down, were you hoping he’d ask you out? Maybe.

As Steve shifted his weight from one foot to the other, waiting for your response, but your mind was racing with conflicting emotions. On one hand, his charm and genuine interest in you made your heart flutter in a way you hadn't felt ever before in your life. And on the other hand, the thought of revealing your biggest secret to him – that you were a young mother to Astrid – filled you with a deep sense of apprehension.

You couldn't deny the attraction you felt towards Steve, but the thought and fear of him rejecting you once he found out about Astrid loomed over you like a dark cloud. What if he couldn't handle being with someone who already had a child? A toddler no less. What if he saw you differently, or decided that he didn't want to be a part of your life completely because of it?

You pushed those negative thoughts away. 'It would be nice to go out with Steve though. Maybe he'd take me to a nice restaurant... Candlelight, classical music... Or maybe he'd take me to a small diner down on Eagle Way. Burger and fries, maybe sharing a chocolate milkshake...' You let your mind wander, 'He’d drive me home, listening to ‘Soft Cell.’ He’d drive slow, to spend more time with me… Maybe even a kiss goodnight...' You knew that Steve was incredibly sweet, charming, funny, and so on, but going on this date would give you more time to get to know him better - in a more personal setting, and to see where this relationship might go. You definitely didn’t mind seeing where this relationship could go. You knew that your mother would probably watch Astrid for the night if you asked. And so, you decided to go for the risk. 

"Actually, Steve," Steve subconsciously held his breath as you began, his nerves sizzled, "I'd love to go to dinner with you." You answered, a mix of nervousness and excitement swirling in your stomach. You took in a deep breath and forced yourself to look up at him, smiling softly when you noticed the grin spreading across his lips. 

"Awesome- I mean, shit, uh, cool. Yeah, cool," Steve fumbled, trying to play it cool obviously, and failing spectacularly as a bright red blush spread across his cheeks and ears, his hand coming up to run his fingers through his hair once more. "I can pick you up. Is seven okay? Is Friday good?" He asked, trying to keep himself from rambling on too much.

You chuckled lightly, taking note of how adorable he was - his perfect hair as his fingers ran through the soft strands, his big, hazelnut brown eyes that shone with excitement as he grinned. You swallowed, forcing yourself to keep your voice even as you spoke; your own cheeks burning. "That works for me."

~~~

It took a few hours to figure out what to wear. From a cute long-sleeved dress to just jeans and a soft sweater, you chose the latter. There were other options too, but you quickly sent them out of the running. You knew that Steve wouldn’t care what you wore, but you wanted to look nice. This was your first real date in years. 

"I'm happy for you, honey," Your mother voiced from your doorway as you fidgeted with the fabric of your sweater. Your mother watched you, a gentle smile on her lips as you let out a sigh, turning around to face her. "You look beautiful," She told you, stepping into the room.

You hummed, grabbing the small pile of dirty clothes from your bed and tossing them into your hamper by your full-length mirror. "Thanks," You said, the butterflies in your stomach seemed to grow bigger with each step that you took and with each second that passed. "Is Astrid asleep?" You asked, staring at your reflection in the mirror, fiddling with your hair as your eyes met your mother's through said mirror.

"Yeah," She nodded, "Out like a light." She wandered further into the room, standing beside you; her arm wrapped around you, pulling you into her side. "I hope you have a good night out. It's been a long time since you've gone out anywhere." Her voice held a hint of sadness in it. 

You chose to say nothing in response, only nodding before you slid out of her hold. "I should get my shoes on... Steve will be here soon." You grabbed your bag, and your mother hummed, nodding as a somewhat sad smile graced her lips.

"Don't stay up too late." She tried to joke, lifting the small tension and your nerves slightly.

"I won't, mom." You spoke, giving her a small smile before walking down the hallway; she followed as you paused in front of Astrid's door. Carefully opening the door, the light from the hallway sprinkled in; you let out a sigh, seeing Astrid sleepy peacefully in her unicorn themed room, ner nightlight in the corner of her bedroom softly beaming a pinkish color. "I completely trust you with watching her, mom, but I can't help but worry."

Your mother sighed, "I was the same with you," She spoke quietly as you shut your daughter's door, "It was really hard for me to leave home without you in those first couple of years... But after your father… I'm sorry, again, for not being there for you in your later years. If I had only-"

"It's fine, mom, really." You paused at the bottom of the stairs, "We talked about this, I'm fine. Perfectly happy. Yes, I wish some things were different, but we can't change the past." Slipping on your shoes, you let out a small shaky breath, looking over at the clock on the wall. Five minutes to spare. Checking through your bag, you huffed, rolling your eyes. "Shit. I'll be right back, I forgot my wallet." You turned and headed back up the stairs. 

Your mother stood by the door, watching the upstairs landing for a sight of you, before the doorbell rang. She cringed lightly, hoping that the doorbell wasn't loud enough to wake her granddaughter. Opening the door revealed Steve, dressed in a striped polo shirt, brown slacks, and brown shoes; looking a bit more formal than usual. Your mother immediately smiled, seeing the two bouquets of flowers in his awaiting hands.

Steve hid his tingling nerves behind his charming smile, offering one of the bouquets - white lilies - to your mother, who's smile widened at the gesture. "These are for you, Mrs. L/N." He said, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Pleasures all mine," Your mother took a small whiff of her flowers before resting them carefully in her arms, "My daughter talks a lot about you. You must have made a good impression." 

"Must have," Steve let out a small laugh, his eyes then finding you past your mother’s figure, walking down the stairs; his expression softened, completely taking you in.

"I'm sorry, I forgot my wallet-" You paused at the end of the stairs, looking up as you stuffed your wallet inside your bag. "What?" You asked, seeing the way that Steve was looking at you, you bit your lip, your brow furrowed in confusion.

Steve’s eyes widened slightly as he watched you walk down the stairs. Then, there, Steve saw his forever with you. He cleared his throat before he spoke, "Damn… I mean, nothing, nothing..." He said, offering you the bouquet in his hands. “You just… You look beautiful.” Your eyes widened, at his words and seeing the colorful bouquet - your favorite flowers were situated perfectly in the light blue paper that wrapped the bundle up.

"Oh, Steve," You muttered, taking the bouquet and bringing it up to your nose, "These are beautiful." You inhaled deeply, smelling the flowery scent. "And thank you." You gave him a warm, grateful smile before reaching up and planting a quick kiss against his cheek. “For the flowers and the compliment. You look rather dashing tonight as well.”

"Anytime, Y/N." He responded, his cheeks flushed. "We should probably get going-"

"Mommy!" You, Steve, and your mother's head whipped around as Astrid came running down the stairs, tears streaming down her cheeks. Steve, frowned a bit, seeing the young toddler in distress, and that sympathy turned right into pure confusion as Astrid instead of leaping into your mother's arms, came right up to you.

You quickly sat the flowers down on the small table by the door, your motherly instincts taking over, before reaching down and taking her into your arms. You lightly bounced her, trying your best to calm her as her little fists rubbed at her wet eyes, "What's wrong, honey bunny?" You asked, only receiving little sniffles in return, until a moment later, she spoke. 

"I had a nightmare," She mumbled, before digging her face into your shoulder, her arms wrapping tightly around your neck.

You sighed, “It’s gonna be alright,” You spoke, before you remembered Steve was right beside you. Turning, you looked up at him, seeing the confusion written all over his face; his eyebrows were furrowed, and a small - still confused - frown painted his lips. Your mother took one look at the both of you before leaving the room entirely, not wanting to intrude on your private conversation; muttering that she needed to put her flowers in a vase. You shifted Astrid a bit so you could see her face better. "Do you wanna talk about it?" You asked softly, your hand rubbing soothing circles onto her back. Astrid shook her head quickly, letting out another sniffle as she clung onto your shirt.

“Nuh-uh,” She only muttered back.

Looking back up at Steve, you knew that it was time to tell him; you couldn’t hide it forever. "Astrid's my daughter." You spoke quickly, gently as you tried to remain as calm as you could, for yourself and your daughter; though you couldn’t help but feel tears burn the backs of your eyes. Those words fell from your lips without hesitation, a feeling of relief washing over you, the heavy weight being lifted from your shoulders. "I had her when I was really young, that's why I dropped out of high school; so I could better prepare myself for her, and to better take care of her." You turned your gaze away, your free hand coming up to brush through Astrid's curly hair; during the short while, she had grown quiet, peeking her head out between your shoulder, her cheek pressed up against it. "I was worried about telling you at first. I didn't know how you would handle the information." You paused, swallowing the lump forming in your throat, "I should've told you... But I wasn't ready... And now it's happening." You laughed quietly, "I'm really sorry." 

"Y/N," Steve began, moving closer to you and placing his hand on your cheek; your eyes met his.

"I would understand if you want to cancel our date."

"Cancel our date?" He asked, his thumb brushing against the apple of your cheek, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Your eyes widened, "You- what?"

The corners of his mouth tugged upward, and your heart swelled in your chest. "Y/N," He spoke softly, "This changes nothing for me. I wouldn't care if you had one kid or six, I still want to spend time with you, and get to know you more." His voice went quiet, "I really like you, more than I have ever liked anybody before."

You blinked, your eyes beginning to water slightly. "... Really?” You questioned, your voice slightly trembling as you stared at the man in front of you. Your heart nearly stopped. It felt like you were drowning, unable to catch your breath, and all of your thoughts flew out of your mind - completely blank. The world seemed to freeze, and you could hear everything; every sound, each beat of your heart. All you could see was him. If this was love… Well… "Steve-" Your hand came up to grab his hand from your cheek, he interlaced his fingers with yours.

"I’m serious," He interrupted, "Plus, I am reportedly great with children. I babysit them all the time." He grinned, his statement making you laugh. “They don’t call me ‘Mama Steve’ for nothing.”

You couldn't help but roll your eyes, shaking your head lightly with a small chuckle. "God," You breathed out, "I can't believe you."

Looking back over at Astrid, your daughter stared right at Steve - quickly forgetting her nightmare, before she pointed a finger at him, "My mommy told me that she likes your hair."

Well, that was certainly an ego boost for Steve, as his smile turned into a smirk, glancing at you before looking back at your daughter. "Oh, really?" He asked, and Astrid nodded, "Well, that is great information to know, Astrid. Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome," She nodded, before her blue eyes suddenly brightened, seeing the bouquet of flowers on the small table by the door, "Oooh! Flowers!" She exclaimed, reaching out from your arms to try and grab them, and you couldn't help but laugh. “Pretty! I want them!”

"Alright," You sat her down, handing her the bouquet, "Could you bring these to the kitchen for Mommy? Mimi is still there, I believe."

Astrid nodded fervently, jumping up and down in her ‘Rainbow Brite’ pajamas, holding the now seemingly large bouquet in her arms, "Okay, Mommy!" You then leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead before she ran to the kitchen, yelling out an ecstatic 'I love you.'" And Steve mentally took note to bring Astrid her own flowers when he picked you up for your next date.

You mimicked her ‘I love you’, letting out a small sigh before turning back to Steve, "Well," You spoke up, "Are you sure you're not weirded out that I have a daughter?"

"I would never be weirded out by something like that," He shrugged, "And to answer any questions that might pop into the gorgeous mind of yours, yes, I am curious, but in a positive manner. But, again, this changes nothing." He stepped closer to you, gently squeezing your hand in his. "It would be an honor to go out on this date with you, truly, beautiful..."

You felt your cheeks flush, biting your lower lip, smiling, and laughing - almost giddy - at his statement. "Well, if we’re using nicknames, Mama Steve,” You teased lightly, feeling as if you were floating. "If you insist." You smiled softly.

Steve raised a brow, his smirk widening, "If I insist?" He questioned, causing your cheeks to heat up even more, if that was even possible. "Oh, I insist, sweetheart."

---

Main Masterlist | Stranger Things Masterlist

[kelin-is-writing]

kelin may i hear more about rockstar touya \(★ω★)/

I was planning to post other headcanons before going for these, BUT I’ve got some for Rockstar!Touya that are pestering my mind these days and your asks come in the right moment, so bear with me please 🤧

࣪𖤐… ROCKSTAR!TOUYA

The first time Touya knew that he wanted to become a rockstar was in middle school, right at the age of thirteen, his influent CEO of a father was trying to mold him into a carbon copy of himself to rival Yagi Toshinori’s Enterprise. While taking a break from studies, he saw his sister watch on TV a rock concert of “Loudness” and to say Akira Takasaki is his role model is the least. That’s a true legend to him.

After “Loudness” and Akira Takasaki, he discovered “Metallica” and Kirk Hammett which made him go like “HOW??? HAVE??? I??? MISSED??? ALL??? THIS???”, scolding himself for taking so long to fall in love with the electric guitar and its sound. The next week he’s blasting full volume “The Final Countdown” by Europe inside the Todoroki Mansion like the good old stamp rock fanatic he is, getting himself scolded and grounded by Enji who is a fan of traditional Japanese music so yeah…

At one of the Todoroki family gatherings during the weekend, he was scrolling down his phone looking first of all where to take guitar lessons and second for a guitar to buy, but he knew his father would never agree to get him one. That’s when his grandfather, peeking at his grandson’s phone, butted in and asked Touya if he’s interested in music. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing to answer that question, since he’s the father of his father, but he did and hell has it been the best thing he did!

On his fourteenth birthday, Enji’s father bought Touya his very first electric guitar, a good old Fender Stratocaster CUSTOM MADE for him. It’s snow white like his hair and has a his name engraved on the bottom left side of the guitar, while on the other side there were engraved tiger’s fangs, all in turquoise… The color of his eyes. And this has been by far Touya’s best birthday ever.

After finishing Middle School he choose to attend an Art School, taking the music classes as main classes of course; he may or not have done it to piss off and raise Enji’s blood pressure from how mad he got for choosing something different from Finances and Management. Oh his father was livid and Touya was so proud of himself for that.

He has formed a rock band, of which he’s the guitarist and vocalist, with Tenko Shimura (Bassist&Vocalist) and Shuichi Iguchi (Drummer) called “The Villains”… Are we even surprised about this name? Really? Because I am not. Tenko suggested, Iguchi supported strongly and Touya just went with it because complaining and thinking about another name was “Too much effort”. He likes it a lot but will never admit it.

At the age of nineteen, Touya owns a Fender Stratocaster (Custom Made), an Elite Stratocaster, an ST-83-80 Japan (1983) black, Lone Star Strat, IC350 black, IC50 black, ICHI00 white, Gibson SG Standard mahogany and a Jackson Pro Series DK Modern HT6 MS. He also owns four acoustic guitars for songwriting, like a Martin GPC-X1E, Martin 000-28 Modern Deluxe, Taylor GS Mini-e Rosewood SN LTD and a Taylor AD22e. Did he pay all them with Enji’s credit card? Hell yeah. Did he do it out of spite? Absolutely. Did he care about his father’s blood pressure rising even more? Not even remotely.

His favorite groups are Loudness, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Europe, Scorpions, Slipknot, Three Days Grace, Green Day, Skillet, Linkin Park, The Rasmus, L’Arc-En-Ciel, UVERworld, Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses and Evanescence to list some, because there are many more he adores honestly. He isn’t a picky ear as long as the song gives him chills and inspires him, being someone who’s driven by emotions that’s what makes him likes something he hears.

Atsuhiro is their homeroom teacher, at the Art University they attend, who introduces them to Giran, a friend of his, who has an agency for new talents and after they sent him six of their songs wants to launch their very first album by August to make them debut at the “Rock In Japan Fes.”

Touya, being the emotional driven type of musician, is the one put to write the lyrics for the band’s songs and most of the times are hits, especially because his and Tenko’s voice brings to life the emotions of the lyrics in a way that it reaches the listeners right into the heart and soul.

You will never catch Touya’s fingers empty, there’s always rings decorating them and some rings are even custom made by his cousin Geten, who owns a Jewelry shop that he promotes a lot on his social media. One of his most precious rings is the one that he got made for him, with his birthstone carved in it, when he turned eighteen.

He has three earrings on his right ear: an helix, mid helix, conch and low helix. Four on his left one: two helix, a low helix and one on the lobe, plus three nostril piercings on the right side of his nose.

After “The Villains” debuts and proving his father that he could succeed through music without his help nor his name, Touya owns now a black card that he lets Fuyumi and Shoto use to their heart content.

Last, but not least, be ready to be the muse of Touya’s songs the instant he falls head over heels for you. The moment it happens everything, and I mean everything, to him becomes about you driving Tenko and Iguchi to pure exasperation.

[farmerstarter]

"Songs the Bachelors and Bachelorettes Listen To" Headcanons (Part 1: Bachelors)

This is inspired by @stardew-shitposterino ! I saw their post, where you can read here, and I wanted my own take on it. This was super fun to write. I'll have part 2 with the bachelorettes posted tomorrow. Also, the wildest shit just happened, I got into a biking accident lol! Anyways. Thanks for stopping by! All likes and reblogs are appreciated 🌷🤍

ʚ🏈ɞ ˚ · . Alex :

🏈 I'd like to imagine Alex would listen to the most bubbly songs while exercising. He plays Cupid by FIFTY FIFTY while lifting weights.

🏈 Half his music playlist is filled with music that Haley listens to because he can't be bothered to curate his own.

🏈 Hypes himself up before practicing gridball by listening to "Eye of The Tiger" by Survivor and ends his practice by listening to "The Final Countdown" by Europe.

🏈 Doesn't shuffle his songs so he knows he's supposed to do one exercise when a certain song plays. Like, "Oh it's 'OMG' by NewJeans, I should be doing push ups rn"

🏈 Knows old songs by Nat King Cole, The Ronettes, and Percy Sledge to name a few because his grandparents like to listen to them during the weekends.

ʚ📜ɞ ˚ · . Elliott :

📜 Knows Sea Shanties because of Willy. Elliott reads on the bench by Willy's Shop while Willy was fishing and the fisherman just started singing. It would be cute to imagine that it happened because Elliott was tapping his foot in a slow rhythm and Willy started singing along with it.

📜 Elliott's knowledge on sea shanties gets even more deeper the more he hangs out with Willy. Willy invites Elliott to join him on his boat to do some deep fishing and Elliott knows like ten sea shanties by the time they get back to shore.

📜 He knows some classical pieces and plays them on his piano when he doesn't want to write for the day. Sometimes he'd compose his own songs on the spot.

📜 Dude goes main character mode and listens to songs by Cigarettes After Sex, like "Heavenly" and "John Wayne", sitting on the sand while watching the sun rise.

📜 He's a hopeless romantic, he listens to a lot of love songs. Ranging from old to new love songs, Elliott enjoys listening to the lyrics to somehow get inspired by them. It's funny to think that some of Elliott's compliments are low-key lyrics. Like, "I wish you bluebirds in the spring and to give your heart a song to sing" ('I Wish You Love' by Lisa Ono) and "Mine to have when the now and the here disappear" ('Again' by Doris Day). And it's completely unintentional. He doesn't even realize he's doing that. He just listens to romance songs too much.

ʚ🛩️ɞ ˚ · . Harvey :

🛩️ Listens to The Carpenters. "Yesterday Once More", "Top of the World", "I Won't Last A Day Without You" all that stuff. He plays it in the clinic but only when Maru isn't there because he doesn't want to bother her with his song choices. Sometimes, he'd hum out the tune while examining patients. He just enjoys how soothing they sound.

🛩️ Speaking of soothing, he likes listening to slow songs to fall asleep to. Has a whole playlist for it too that's exactly 8 hours long. He goes straight to sleep when the first song finishes and wakes up just when the last song ends.

🛩️ He has a Walkman Cassette Player. He uses it when he does his aerobics classes. Listens to just about any song on it, really. Anything that makes it seem like time is going faster is great. OH. Wait. Maybe, the ladies end up having Harvey's cassette play on a stationary cassette player that Caroline has after Harvey lets them listen to it. They all found Harvey's song choices delightful.

🛩️ He offers music therapy. They're informal sessions at most but Harvey spends a lot of time making personalized playlists. Like full on carefully and heavily curated to match specific needs and moods for his patients. It skyrockets his music knowledge to the roof.

ʚ🎸ɞ ˚ · . Sam :

🎸 He has the most random and eclectic music taste. Ranges from Rock Music and Skate Punk to Vocaloid and Video Game music. He'd be listening to "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses for one moment then listen to the "Donky Kong Country Theme" the next.

🎸 He tries to copy the guitar riffs in some songs, not stopping until he can play it in one go. By the time he's done that countless of times, both Jodi and Vincent know what song he's playing based on the first few seconds of it.

🎸 Is the one to initiate a sing along in the Stardrop Saloon on Fridays. And he's always down to do karaoke. He's even suggested some more music-centered activities to do in town events. And he managed to convince Mayor Lewis to have him be DJ during the Summer Luau but only when he promised not to add anything disgusting into the potluck.

🎸 Teaches Vincent to play the drums when the kid doesn't have any classes. It all started with Sam letting his brother hit the crash cymbal for the end of a song he was playing. Then it all went up from there. Sam starts with the basics then lets Vincent play whatever. It's a noisy few weeks in the household but Jodi appreciates her boys spending more time together.

🎸 He has playlists for all situations.

ʚ👾ɞ ˚ · . Sebastian :

👾 This dude listens to Bonobo and Aphex Twin when programming. Better yet, Sam made him a playlist specifically for when he's programming and Sebastian doesn't skip any of the songs. That's a lie. He skips the songs that Sam put in there to mess with him like "CBAT" by Hudson Mohawke and Sam's poorly sung cover of "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade.

👾 You know how some of us would stay up until 3 am to complete a project before a deadline and listen to energetic songs while doing them so we won't fall asleep? Sebastian does that. Songs like "Caramelldansen" by the Caramella Girls, "Bumblebee" by Bambee, and "Superstar" by Toy-Box to name a few. Just the idea of Sebastian hunched over his computer with those songs playing while Sam is fully jamming in the background is great.

👾 Listens to the dirtiest songs with the straightest face ever.

👾 I'm all for villagers interacting with each other so consider Sebastian and Elliott being unlikely acquaintances after Sebastian showed Elliott the wonders of the synthesizer.

👾 When his mind wanders, he ends up humming out the tune that Abigail plays with her flute.

ʚ🐣ɞ ˚ · . Shane :

🐣 Sings to his chickens. He does, you know he does. Even sings in accents when he's bored enough. Jas found out he does that after going in Shane's coop, thinking a stranger was trying to steal her uncle's chickens. But no, it's just Shane singing "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton with a British accent.

🐣 Always has his headphones on during work at the Joja Market so no one would bother him. There wouldn't even be a song playing, he just wears them. One time Sam tried to get his attention but Shane outright ignores him even when Sam pointed out his headphones aren't even connected to anything.

🐣 I like to think that Shane is a fan of Indie Folk and he listens to songs by Bon Iver when walking to work. "Beach Baby" is his favorite song.

🐣 Since Shane's always the last one to leave the Saloon, Gus would let him pick what songs to play in the jukebox until the saloon closes. Even after Shane stopped drinking alcohol, he and Gus would spend time together at the late hours of the night talking, listening to whatever song Shane played.

[supernovafics]

series masterlist | last part — next part

pairing: modern!actor!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 3.2k words

warnings: explicit language, lots and lots of angst (sorry!)

summary: the weeks start passing by in a quick happy blur. the end of filming is coming sooner rather than later, but you and steve never talk about it ending, though. until you finally do. 

CHAPTER SIX | ❝𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆❞

Filming was slowly but surely coming to an end. 

It was something that you couldn’t help but remind yourself of as each day passed, and as double digits turned into single, it started feeling like some sort of bittersweet countdown. 

Things started to ebb and flow on set, an easy sign to tell that things were reaching their end. Some days were really hectic, with last second changes or fixes you had to handle, and other days moved slower because there wasn’t much happening and everything was actually going smoothly. 

You couldn’t figure out if it was funny or maybe more worrisome that you and Steve never specifically talked about the end; you and him never talked about your “arrangement” soon being over. Of course, both of you were well aware of that fact, but whenever you were together, and as the days slowly winded down, you never mentioned it to one another. 

However, weirdly enough, your conversations would easily shift toward talks of your futures. With you talking about how you would be heading to Europe soon to work on Jessie’s next film as the Assistant Director. It was a job that didn’t even feel truly real until Jessie let you read the script, which you breezed through one morning and loved it, and you began having meetings with the Producers and other people involved in the film. 

And then Steve would talk about going to New York City soon to do a press tour for a movie that he filmed last year that was coming out in a few months. And there were even short mentions about his new and more long-term assistant, Martin, that would soon be taking over until Sheila was back from maternity leave. 

The inevitable ending was implied in those talks about the future, but neither of your uttered words that were anywhere close to, “I can’t believe this is ending soon.”

It felt like two completely separate things, even though they were perfectly related to one another— your futures that you both knew wouldn’t involve each other versus what the two of you were currently doing and how you were with each other practically every night. 

“You awake?” Steve asked you, voice soft. On this night, the two of you were in your apartment, specifically in your bed. It was dark and quiet, and it was also quite late, but you knew that he wasn’t planning to leave. Not spending the night at one another’s places after having sex was one of the unspoken rules between you two that had been broken night after night until it didn’t seem as if it had even been a rule in the first place.

Your eyes were shut but you were nowhere close to falling asleep because your thoughts were moving too fast.

“Yeah, I’m up,” You whispered back and then shifted around so you were facing him, adjusting the t-shirt you were wearing as you did so. Your eyes were fairly adjusted to the darkness, so you could somewhat make out Steve’s face. “Can’t sleep.”

“Me neither,” He responded as he moved a bit closer to you. “Why can’t you sleep?”

“Thinking too much,” You said with a quick shake of your head as you further closed the small hint of space between you two and let your legs tangle with his beneath the blanket. “What about you?” 

Instead of answering your question, he asked, “What are you thinking about?” 

You weren’t entirely sure how to properly sum up your thoughts that felt both scattered and incomplete. However, the darkness made it feel a bit easier to say what had been on your mind, as messy and confusing as it had been. 

“We never talk about this ending,” You said quietly as you gestured between you and him. “We talk about the future, which kind of implies that we both know this will be over soon, but we’ve never actually said it. And I don’t really know why but that’s been on my mind a lot lately, especially as filming gets closer and closer to ending.”

Steve didn’t say anything in response to your words, and that kind of made sense to you because you weren’t sure what he could’ve responded with or what you wanted him to respond with. The thoughts you’d been having felt open-ended, as if there was no answer to them. However, actually vocalizing it all made you realize something. 

“But, I don’t know, now that I’m saying all of that out loud, I’m thinking that maybe the end doesn’t really matter because we’ll still be friends when all of this is done; our friendship never has to change or end like everything else.” 

Steve was still quiet and you almost thought that he’d somehow fallen asleep, but you were quickly proven wrong when he shifted in the bed and turned so that he was on his back and staring up at the ceiling. 

His silence in that moment made you realize that he never answered your previous question, so you decided to ask it again. “Why couldn’t you sleep?” 

You noticed his eyes fall shut for a brief moment as one of his hands came up to brush through his hair and he let out a small sigh. You had initially expected him to say something light-hearted, but now you had no idea what he was about to say because from the previous actions, it was simple to tell that he was nervous or stressed; you had learned enough of his mannerisms at this point to be able to read him quite easily. However, that didn’t mean that you could read his mind; although if you could it would have made the impact of his next words a lot less strong. 

“I think I want more,” Steve’s voice was soft as he spoke. “I don’t want any part of this to end.”

His words sent something that felt equivalent to an electric shock through your body, but at the same time, you were too stunned to make any sort of movement. 

“But…” You trailed off when words failed to form on your lips, mainly because your brain felt like it was barely able to function right then. You forced yourself to think of something, anything, to say. “What about everything we agreed on?”

“I know, but I feel like everything is completely different now. This past month has been really great, the greatest month I’ve had in such a long time. And in the beginning, I didn’t think I’d end up caring for you as much as I do now, and I definitely didn’t think I’d want this to be anything more than what it has been, but I do,” Steve told you, he sounded nervous saying all of this, but also so sure of himself. He was putting his heart out on the line and you got the sudden urge to do the same, but when he turned on his side to face you again, you also found yourself wanting to look away. Things became quiet for the briefest of moments before he continued. “I want this. I want you. I want us. I don’t want to be just friends with you. I don’t think I can be, honestly.”

All of that felt so unexpected, and you actually found it hard to process or even accept an ounce of what he was telling you. It wasnt that you didn’t think it was true— in fact, it actually hurt so much more because you could clearly hear the honesty in his tone— it was just that right then it felt easier for your mind to disregard it and push it away, instead of thinking about believing it. 

“Steve, we can’t,” You told him, your voice was barely above a whisper and your words sounded shy and unsure, which made sense since your mind was nothing but a mess of confusion and contradictions. The thoughts you’d just been having mixed harshly with what Steve was telling you, and it wouldn’t have surprised you if your head exploded from the overload.

“I can’t imagine us going to only being friends and pretending like none of this ever happened,” He said and then quickly continued speaking. “You’ve never thought about us being real, or never wanted us to be more? Not even a little bit?”

The answer to his question was an easy one. Of course, you’d thought about it. Of course, you found yourself wanting it. You could’ve told him how there had been countless moments where you wanted to give him a quick kiss anytime you briefly saw him on set because any little moment you saw him managed to brighten your day, or how whenever you were hanging at either of your places you almost always wanted to slot your hand in his for no reason other than you just wanting to be closer to him. 

However, you didn’t feel like you should say any of that. 

Because you had wholeheartedly convinced yourself that something real could never work between you and him and it was hard to force yourself to think otherwise now. Especially because you always reminded yourself that there were way too many reasons why a relationship couldn’t work. 

You were suddenly so grateful for the darkness because the fact that you couldn’t really see Steve at that moment made it easier to say your next words. “No… No, I haven’t. Us outside of this context, outside of these nights we’ve been having, doesn’t make sense. Our lives are so different and we wouldn’t work. Like, in a week, when filming is over, we both are going to be doing completely different things and that’s not gonna change. Long distance would suck and we’d probably just end up hating each other.” Your words were coming out slightly rushed as you told him the reasoning that you had continuously told yourself any time you started feeling even the smallest bit of something more for him. And as you said it all aloud, it made it feel even more upsettingly true. 

You took a breath as you found his hand beneath the blanket and gave it a light squeeze. “During all of this, you became my best friend, and I really don’t want that to end or change. And if we actually did something, I think the only outcome is it ending badly. So, I think it would be best if we just stayed friends because I can’t lose you as my best friend. The talks we have and the little jokes we share; that friendship is so important to me. You’re so fucking important to me.”

Steve squeezed your hand back and a few long silent moments slowly passed before he muttered out a soft, “Okay.”

Things stayed quiet from there, with both of you simply looking at each other but barely making out each other’s faces in the darkness and hands still intertwined. There were two things you almost did in that moment— took back everything you had just said to him, and let your heart take precedence over what your mind was telling you was the logical thing to do. 

However, seconds slowly turned into minutes and you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything. Instead, you pushed away the hint of regret you were feeling, and then allowed yourself to finally fall asleep; the silence and lack of light allowing you to do so easily.  

You were unsure how long you had been sleeping before you woke up because you felt the bed shifting. It was still completely dark in your bedroom, so you knew that it was nowhere near morning just yet. 

You let out a quick yawn and then rolled over so that you could turn on the small lamp on your nightstand. You squinted in the newfound brightness as you rubbed your eyes and looked at Steve who was now standing close by the foot of your bed, attention elsewhere. “You’re leaving?” 

He looked at you for a brief moment as he put on his pants. “Yeah… Sorry, I was trying not to wake you.”

“You don’t have to go,” You told him and then sat up a bit. It felt a little foreign telling him that when staying over at each other’s places felt like such second nature at this point. “I want you to stay.” 

Steve was quiet and you could see how deeply he was thinking about either what he wanted to say or how he wanted to say it, or maybe even both. 

“I think we should end this part of it all now,” He said softly. He had still been looking away from you, eyes focused on grabbing his shirt from off of your floor, but then his gaze met yours. “Filming is over in a week anyway, and I think it would be easier if we stopped this, y’know? And just fully go into just being friends.” 

He was essentially saying what you had convinced yourself you wanted to hear, but if you were being a thousand percent honest with yourself, you didn’t like hearing it. 

It was then that you felt a shift happening, the rare but all too familiar feeling. The one that told you that this moment was about to be a defining one in your life, and it was being pushed in a certain direction. Right then it was hard to imagine how you would later look back on this moment because there were way too many possibilities and all of them, even the really bad ones, felt plausible. 

You thought you would’ve felt this shift at the beginning of everything, when you and Steve started this arrangement. So, it felt a little weirder that it was hitting you at the end. It made you confused and you didn’t know if things were going to move in a bad direction or a good one; your gut feeling was telling you bad, but you sincerely hoped it was wrong. Everything felt too far gone now and like there was nothing you could do to stop or reverse what just happened. It felt impossible to take back everything you had said now, and your mind was still contemplating whether or not you even wanted to; if it would be worth it or just make things worse. 

You ultimately nodded at what Steve had said because you couldn’t figure out what to do instead and you felt as if you’d been quiet for far too long.  

“Okay… Okay, yeah, you’re right. That makes sense.” You knew that your voice sounded unsure and awkward, but you tried to hide it behind the tiniest of smiles. “Okay, so I’ll see you tomorrow on set.” 

He gave you a small smile back. “Yeah.”

For some reason, the words “I’m sorry” were on the tip of your tongue, and you didn’t necessarily know why you wanted to say it. And then there was the other part of you that wanted to make some sort of joke to ease the awkward tension, but your mind felt effectively blank.

Steve looked at you one more time before he stepped out of your bedroom. “I really do see you as my best friend too.” 

His words managed to ease something in you, soften something. It made you think that this decision being made was the right one.  

Maybe everything would actually be good. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

It didn’t take too long for you to feel like an idiot. 

And it wasn’t because you felt like you had done the wrong thing by dismissing everything Steve had said to you; how he told you that he wanted more and you disregarded it all. Because you had woken up the morning after feeling entirely regretful, but you didn’t allow yourself to do anything about it. And as the hours went by, the feeling settled in your stomach and made a home there, but it didn’t hurt you as much. It lingered but it didn’t make you want to cry, like it had when you first woke up and quickly remembered what happened. 

Instead, you felt like an idiot because you actually managed to make yourself believe that everything between you and Steve would be completely normal and okay. 

You barely saw him that day on set— when you showed up to his trailer with his coffee and breakfast sandwich he wasn’t there so you just left it on the counter for him, and the same thing happened with his lunch too. Whenever you did manage to see him, he would only give you a quick hello before immediately heading off somewhere else. And that was almost exactly how the next few days went. 

He was avoiding you and doing a damn good job at it. And it was hard to really do anything about it because the more you tried, and failed, to make things normal again between the two of you the more awkward you started to feel around him because none of it worked; he just continued to push you away. 

The interactions you were so used to having with him— deep talks about everything and nothing or funny and random storytimes also about anything and everything— all too quickly became less and less frequent until your conversations were reduced to nothing but him talking to you whenever he needed something or wanted to ask you something work related. 

He didn’t become rude again, though. Other than simply being polite and professional, he just seemed so indifferent. And that made you kind of wish that he was just an asshole to you again because it would’ve proved that he felt something toward you, even if it was animosity. But, he didn’t and you only became more and more confused.  

If this whole situation didn’t make you feel so fucking sad, you would’ve found it at least a little ironically funny that he had said that he saw you as his best friend, but him being so distant and pushing you away didn’t feel like any sort of “best friendship,” it more so felt like he didn’t want to be your friend at all. And you couldn’t find the courage to call him out on it because you felt as if all of this happening was your fault anyway; that in some ways you did the first push. 

And then you decided that if he could cast you away so easily— with what felt like not even a second thought because he didn’t once talk to you about why he was doing this— you could do the same. 

You became good at coping, at pretending that nothing was wrong even though it felt like absolutely everything was going wrong. 

You acted as if it didn’t hurt you so badly that your nights were once again quiet and lonely. And you especially acted as if everything in your apartment didn’t now remind you of him. That the two party hats, from the night he surprised you for your birthday, sitting on your dresser didn’t make you feel so irrevocably sad that you had to put them in your nightstand drawer so that you didn’t have to look at them anymore. 

You had friendships end before, and ones that ended so much more volatile than what happened with Steve; high school was something adjacent to a rollercoaster for you. However, none of those endings felt as painful as this one. 

It felt like you lost so much more than just a best friend. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

next chapter!

[emmerrr]

adam parrish hcs

because it’s his day!! it’s today!!!

adam always kicks off his shoes without undoing the laces then gets annoyed when he has to untie them to put them on again

so for his birthday ronan dreams him up a pair of velcro sneakers

they’re super bright and obnoxious (neon green or something) but they ALSO light up when you stomp your foot AND they glow in the dark

adam: “they’re hideous. i love them.”

he hums when he concentrates really hard but doesn’t really realise he’s doing it

usually 70s or 80s songs that play a lot on the radio when he’s working at boyd’s

so he gets a lot of songs stuck in other people’s heads accidentally

adam: *humming the final countdown by europe while doing his homework*

ronan, later: 🎵it’s the final countdown, na na naaaa naa, na na na na na naaa🎵

adam: why are you singing that

ronan: are you fucken kidding me

he’s forever fixing things around the barns or 300 fox way

leaky faucet, loose door-handle, stiff window, squeaky hinges? adam’ll fix it

i already have a hc that ronan makes adam a new mixtape every time adam heads back to college for a new semester

but i think that adam makes mix-cds for ronan too

he has an older laptop that still has a cd-drive in it because it’s second hand

so he makes cd’s for ronan’s car, filled with songs that ronan finds irritating as a payback for the murder-squash song

think like uptown funk, hollaback girl, call me maybe, happy, somebody that i used to know -- stuff that probably got way overplayed and/or was annoyingly catchy

he leaves them in ronan’s car after he drives it so the next time ronan drives it and presses play he’s bombarded with 🎵A FEW TIMES BEEN AROUND THAT TRACK SO IT’S NOT JUST GONNA HAPPEN LIKE THAT CAUSE I AIN’T NO HOLLABACK GIRL🎵

(but maybe adam sneaks some songs on there that remind him of ronan too. maybe. just maybe)

gansey teaches him how to play chess and adam rapidly becomes better than him and now every time they play he wins

gansey always thinks this will be the time he wins until adam makes a move that turns the whole thing around and gansey realises adam could’ve ended it several turns back but was just humouring him

through carefully cultivated habit his expectations for his birthday are low to non-existent

but he has friends who think the world of him and who also have the worst poker faces of all time

so when blue arrives to take him out for a birthday breakfast it takes him all of two minutes to get her to admit they’re throwing him a surprise party

“you better act surprised or ronan is going to murder me”

they get back to the barns later on and there’s a bbq going and lights floating in the air around the deck and gansey, henry, matthew, ronan, opal and the fox way ladies are all there.

“SURPRISE!!”

adam, trying to act surprised: um wow thank you guys oh my god what a shock

ronan, narrowing his eyes: sargent i fuckin’ knew you’d cave

anyway he spends his birthday surrounded by people who love him who would do anything for him :’))))

[mrvlbimbo]

Just read your eds x bimbo headcanon about the triplets and im squealing🥰🥰 You could go with Ronnie (Dio), Ozzy (Black Sabbath), and Joey (Europe), to name them after people in the bands. They don't rhyme exactly, but it's close🤷 also I based Joey off of the band Europe cause a lot of people believe Eddie is playing Final Countdown in the Vol. 2 trailer.

- 🦩

My heart 🥺

That’s so cuteeeeee

Maybe they’re like close to identical (a lot of twins and triplets are) so she has to get them band merch of each band so she can tell them apart.

Eddie teaching them guitar when they get old enough

I went to my first concert when I was literally not even a month old and my parents put little earmuffs on me, imagine that with Eddie ughhhh

Like he’s got one kid on each arm and the other one is on his shoulders.

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Monsters of Rock 1998 Hair Metal / Hard Rock / Arena Rock /Heavy Metal / Pop-Metal

Good lord, this had to have been one of the most heavily advertised albums of all time, man. I don't know how much ad money the Razor & Tie label shelled out for all of their 'As Seen on TV' comps back in the day, but the commercials for Monsters of Rock and Monster Ballads were fucking inescapable throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, especially. Like, you'd be watching something on cable, and the commercial for this album would come on, so then you'd change the channel, and the same commercial would be playing on there too! And then you'd just force yourself to sit through it, and eventually, through repetition, the entire sequence of little song snippets that gets played throughout the ad would become a permanently etched medley inside of your goddamn mind, destined to haunt your soul for the rest of eternity:

🎶Cum on feel the noize, girls rock ya boys…my, my, my, I'm once bitten, twice shy, babe…poison!…*synths from Europe's "The Final Countdown"*…round and round, what comes around goes around, I'll tell you why…she's my cherry pie, cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise…we're not gonna take it, no! we ain't gonna take it…she's only seventeen, seventeen…here I go again on my own…I'm no fool, nobody's fool, nobody's fool…so hold on loosely…🎶

Now, the hair metal era may have been the dumbest and most ridiculous period of mainstream rock that we've ever borne witness to—and it's very difficult for me to think of another commercially successful subgenre in which rank stupidity has been such an inherently defining trait—but thanks to a combination of my own nostalgia for these damn Razor & Tie ads and my sometimes weird and ironic affinity for bad shit, after listening to this album, there is really nothing more that I want to do than hitch a ride back to 1990 so I can live out a super corny fantasy as a badass suburban high school senior who cruises through town in a boxy, red sedan with the windows down as these silly songs blare out of my speakers 😎.

But like I said, I am also under no illusion here; I'm fully cognizant of just how patently absurd so much of this music was. And when it comes to the pinnacle of pure trash, I really don't think anything ever quite managed to top Warrant's signature 1990 anthem, "Cherry Pie," which is obviously on this album. Like, have you heard or thought about this tune recently? It really might be the single-dumbest song that's ever been recorded in human history. And as the single-dumbest song that's ever been recorded in human history, it has thankfully and, I guess quite fittingly, been memorialized in some way, since…*checks notes*…you can currently go see the pizza box that its lyrics were originally transcribed on at the Hard Rock Cafe in Destin, Florida… 😭.

🎶I scream, you scream, we all scream for her Don't even try, 'cuz you can't ignore her!🎶

Also, Winger's "Seventeen." Yikes; you can probably guess what that one's about! Talk about songs that haven't aged well at all 😩:

🎶She's only seventeen (seventeen) Daddy says she's too young, but she's old enough for me🎶

Yeah… This one's catchy and all, but, um…no. 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎 Really glad we've finally realized as a society that, at the very least, fully-grown adults singing lustily about minors is a very unacceptable thing to do. I mean, it took way too long for us to get here, but at least we've finally made it to this point, right? And I think "Cherry Pie" is probably about a minor too, by the way, but that's also up for debate 😑.

To be clear, though, not every song on this album is embarrassingly dumb and/or skeevy hair metal. I happen to think Living Colour's alt metal classic, "Cult of Personality," is a genuinely great banger. And I also dig the southern rock smoothness of a song like .38 Special's "Hold On Loosely" too; but most of the rest of these are just pure dunderheaded hair metal classics, and a key, overarching feature of this stuff was just how fucking maximally mindless it all was. It's hard to put a finger on what exactly allowed this madness to spread so widely and flourish for nearly a whole-ass decade in the first place, but thank goodness grunge came along when it did and dethroned this stuff from its perch as rock music's top subgenre in the early 90s, because, seriously, this shit was so excessive and outrageous.

All that being said though, and as good and necessary as grunge was back then, I can't help but imagine what a kick-ass time it would probably be to have almost any one of these Monsters of Rock songs come on at the bar while you and everyone else around you are in a highly intoxicated stupor; like, "Black Hole Sun," "Man in the Box," "Interstate Love Song," "Even Flow," etc., might be total jams in and of themselves, but songs like those are probably not gonna do the same trick as something like Alice Cooper's "Poison" can in that type of situation. I mean, when you're fully committed to annihilating some brain cells, it's good to have music that's way ahead of you in order to accompany your experience, right? 😅

Highlights:

Quiet Riot - "Cum On Feel the Noize" Great White - "Once Bitten Twice Shy" Alice Cooper - "Poison" Europe - "The Final Countdown" Ratt - "Round and Round" Warrant - "Cherry Pie" Whitesnake - "Here I Go Again" Winger - "Seventeen" Living Colour - "Cult of Personality" Twisted Sister - "We're Not Gonna Take It" Judas Priest - "You've Got Another Thing Coming" Cinderella - "Nobody's Fool" .38 Special - "Hold On Loosely" Autograph - "Turn Up the Radio"

[joes-sha-la-la-la-girl]

Love Bites: Chapter 5

Series Masterlist

Two months passed by slowly for Y/N as she couldn’t wait to go on tour. Ultraviolet celebrated Christmas and New Year together, having a good time drinking and just being boisterous.

Finally the time had come for the tour to start. Doug has been begging to go with them since ‘Rock of Ages’ was filmed but Y/N put her foot down. She remembered the disastrous conversation that ended the discussion.

*

“Doug for the last time, why would you want to come on tour?” Y/N asked as she ran a hand through her hair.

“To spend time with my girlfriend, is that too much to ask?”

“Doug we’ve been over this.” Y/N groaned.

“And it seems that we have to go over it again. I should come with you.”

“What about all your complaining about lack of money. You are the one who is insistent that I get a ‘real job’ yet you are more than happy to quit yours. What will we do for money then?” Y/N had to admit that maybe it was wrong of her to pull that card but for the last month and a half Doug had been going on at her about joining on tour. Nobody else’s partner would be joining and Ultraviolet simply couldn’t afford the extra expense of another person.

That and she didn’t want him there. She wanted to enjoy this time and not have another repeat of the night in the pub after their show. Y/N dread to think what Def Leppard really thought of her after Doug’s little performance then.

“Fine. You probably don’t want me there so you can fuck whoever you want.” Doug spat at her and with that he turned around and stormed off.

*

Doug hadn’t mentioned anything about joining her on tour again, but passive aggressive comments were made, making Y/N countdown the days until she would leave. Of course to start with they would be in between the UK and Europe and in the middle of March they would be going to America until the end of June.

The day they had to leave, Doug was barely talking to Y/N. He seemed to still have a chip on his shoulder and Y/N wasn’t going to do anything to cause an argument. She was too excited for that. 

She double checked that she had everything packed and sat all her bags by the front door. Benji would be coming by to pick her up for the first venue along with his girlfriend. They had to be early to sort out their luggage. Doug had said nothing about seeing her off, which made her relax a little bit. At least she wouldn’t have to risk a scene in public, or in front of Def Leppard.

“I’m now off.” Y/N called as she saw Benji pull in outside. She didn’t get a response and sighed to herself as she went to go find Doug. He sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea. It was obvious that he could hear her shout for him.

“I’m going now.” She told him as he continued to look away from her.

“I heard.”

“Fine. I’ll see you in a few months then. With that she made her way to the front door and collected her bags. Doug had followed and stood a few steps behind her. 

“You’ll call won’t you?” Doug asked her, causing her to turn around. If Y/N didn’t know him as well as she did then she might have thought he cared. But she knew that he only wanted to keep checking up on her. To keep the peace she nodded her head and opened the front door.

No more words were shared between the two as Y/N picked up her bags and made her way to Benji’s car.

“He let you come then?” Benji spoke as soon as she shut the door.

“Reluctantly, yes.”

That was all that was said on the matter. 

*

When they got to the venue, Y/N and Benji were met with Tammy and Johnny who had come together. The aura of excitement that surrounded the four was thick as they waited to put their bags on the bus they would be using. It was nothing fancy but enough for the four of them.

Y/N heard a commotion coming from behind her, where the five Leppards were making their way towards them, all of them displaying the same energy as Ultraviolet. 

“Are we all ready?” Joe asked as he clapped his hands together. Everyone cheered like a bunch of children, earning odd looks from the venue staff. Peter Mensch and Ultraviolet’s manager Gavin came up to the group, smiles on their faces. 

“It’s great to see you all getting along so well. You will all be spending a lot of time together over the next few months.” Peter told them all as he looked at Gavin.

“So if Y/N, Tammy, Johnny and Benji want to come with me and we’ll sort your bags out then go to soundcheck.” Gavin looked in between the people he was talking to. Y/N could feel the adrenaline build up inside of her, all her dreams about to come true. A quick bye was said between the bands before they went their separate ways with their luggage. 

As Ultraviolet weren’t that popular yet they didn’t have the money for over the top stage outfits so they made due with what they had at home. This meant that the band were responsible for their own clothes and that they had more bags to transport with them. 

After they dropped their bags off, Ultraviolet made their way to soundcheck. This would be the biggest crowd that Ultraviolet had played in front of and throughout soundcheck, Y/N could feel the nerves creeping up on her. She was getting reassuring looks from Tammy who could already tell from her best friend’s demeanour that she was scared.

However, there was one person in the room who managed to calm Y/N down. Joe had come to watch, along with Sav and Rick. No one could guess where Phil and Steve were. As Y/N sang into the microphone, she made eye contact with Joe who had a gentle smile on his face. The kind of smile that could put all the world to rights and it was directed at her.

The butterflies in her stomach were going haywire as her focus was on him. It was like his gaze was removing any worry from her whilst his smile was uplifting her to perform to the best of her ability.

At the end of their soundcheck, they made way for Def Leppard to do theirs. Y/N went backstage to the makeshift dressing room that was set up for them. Due to lack of room, the two bands would be sharing and Y/N and Tammy would have to change in the bathroom for some modesty.

Y/N was sitting backstage doing her makeup when Def Leppard finished. The rest of Ultraviolet were dotted around the room and chatter filled the previously peaceful silence immediately. Smiling at them all, Y/N stood up and went to her small bag where she had that evening's outfit stored before she went to the bathroom to change. 

Trying not to take too long, she quickly swapped her clothes before putting her jeans and old t-shirt in the bag. As she walked out of the bathroom she was met with something solid.

“Sorry love.” She heard a familiar deep voice announce as he put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. Y/N peered up into Joe’s green eyes.

“I wasn’t looking where I was going, sorry.” Y/N told him as she found herself still in his grasp.

“Don’t worry Y/N.” Joe smiled at her. “You were great earlier.” He told her, referencing the soundcheck.

“Thank you.” She squeaked, which made Joe smile even more, showing the dimple on his left cheek.

The two stood there in silence as they stared into each other’s eyes. Joe thought that she might just be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, especially as she looked up at him with those doe eyes of hers.

They hadn’t realised how long they had been standing there until they heard two people clearing their throats. Looking over they saw Sav and Tammy watching them.

Would anyone like to be tagged when I update this series?

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

Possible Season 5 songs

So, I just wanted to share some songs that I think might be included in season 5, or, at least, songs that I think would fit in well. Bear in mind that I don't exactly remember every single song featured over the course of the show, so there could be repeats here.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears For Fears

I think this could work as the season theme like Thriller and Separate Ways. They could do a dark remix of it.

2. Maneater - Hall & Oates

Could be a good song to play after the new monster makes its fatal debut.

3. I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany

I really like it when they add in songs that dissonantly reflect the on-screen action. Imagine this song playing when someone is suddenly taken into the Upside Down or we cut to wherever the hell Max's consciousness is. "I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone around."

4. The Final Countdown - Europe

It's a bit cliche, but it could also work as a season theme. It's also just such a iconic 80s song that I feel like it has to be used in some way.

5. Boys Don't Cry - The Cure

They kinda have to after all of the theorizing from Will's poster in season 4. Bonus points if Mike sings it to Will using that guitar we caught a glimpse of in his room.

6. Where is My Mind? - The Pixies

Seems like a good song for when someone is trapped in the Mindscape. Max, maybe?

This is just a few thoughts I had. Feel free to reblog with your own ideas.

[octuscle]

My biggest dream was to backpacking in europe between the end of high school and the beginning of college. But I didn't do it. In a few days I'll celebrate my 50. birthday and my wife told me she has a special present for me realizing my dream from my youth and getting a young lover for herself when I'm back. Now I've this countdown on my phone from your corporation. What's going on?

You think it's a bit silly when you get on the plane. With hand luggage only. A large rucksack. Nothing else. Otherwise, when you get on the plane, you usually have a suit on and your laptop with you. Today? T-shirt and functional pants. Cell phone with extra powerful power bank. You feel dressed up. And you look really dressed up too.

When you wake up shortly before landing in Paris, you stroke your chin. Shit, you can't have grown that much beard between New York and here… Anyway, now you have to make your way to Gare de Lyon somehow. The TGV to Vezelay leaves in four hours. And from there, the first stage takes you along the Way of St. James to Strasbourg. With your little bit of school French, you'll manage quite well. In the metro, you look at your reflection in the window pane. You are a miserable tourist. An ageing man in ugly functional clothing. But the beard looks pretty cool…

When you finally arrive at Vezelay station, it's late. You are tired. You've booked a hotel room near the station for your first night in Europe. A bit of comfort. By the way, the Chronivac timer has expired. The display shows that the transformation is in progress.

The hotel is relatively elegant. You stand out at breakfast. Yes, you are freshly showered. But you could go to the hairdresser again. And although you've had a fresh shave, you've already got a shadow of a beard again.

Now it's getting serious. You're standing in front of the hotel. The rucksack on your back. You're already hot. And your first stage of the day is 25 kilometers. How much is that in miles? And why are you doing this to yourself…

The day is hell. You're sweating like a pig. Your feet hurt. You have a sunburn. On the one hand you're hungry, on the other you feel like puking. And when you arrive at your stage destination, you realize that you can't get accommodation without a reservation. As you pass a building site, the foreman asks you if you are looking for work. You reply that you need somewhere to sleep. He replies that that is not a problem. If you give him a hand, you will be given dinner and a place to sleep. You don't really feel like doing any more physical work. And you've always been a failure as a handyman. But somehow you know how to mix concrete and pour a foundation. And as you drink a beer in the evening sun at around 7:30 p.m. and talk to the other craftsmen, it feels very normal. One of the carpenters asks you if you're from the north of France. Because of your strange dialect. You look at him questioningly. And say that you're from Buffalo. He asks if that's near Lille. You have obviously arrived in France.

When you wake up the next morning in your bunk in the trailer, it's 05:30. You were expecting a hell of a muscle ache. But you feel like ripping out trees. You wash yourself briefly with ice-cold water in the rain barrel and then continue on your way. You've promised to help out for two more days before you move on.

Your wife mocked you when you said you wanted to take time out to do two months of work and travel in Europe. Sometimes you realize that she is simply much older than you. But shit, so is the French president's wife. And he should be about your age. 45 years old, as far as you know. Just four years older than you… Well, he's got further than you. But you look hotter than him. And the fresh air is obviously doing you good. Your wife is really suggestive when you facetime. You didn't even know she was into phone sex. But it's a nice change. Normally you tend to fuck colleagues on the building sites where you're helping out. It's more of a man's world. Something for real guys. And if you're anything, you're a real guy.

You've been on the road for six weeks when you finally arrive in Strasbourg. Shit, it's expensive here. Prices completely spoiled by tourists and European bureaucrats. Fortunately, you soon find a job here too. Not as a construction worker, though. But as a waiter in a bistro. And you can even sleep above the bistro. On the very first evening, you notice that very few guests spend the whole night here. A constant coming and going. And when you have to go to the toilet across the corridor, a not at all bad-looking guy in a stuffy suit asks you if you'd like to come up to his room for a moment. He slips you 50 euros. A hell of a lot of money for a blowjob or something. Should you feel cheap or like a hooker? Who are you kidding? Back home on the other side of the pond, you're the toyboy of an ancient lady. She's already 50 years old.

Strasbourg was awesome. But you only have three more weeks before you have to go back. The new semester at university starts. And your GILF is waiting for you back. She told you yesterday how much she misses you. You went out of your way to make her squeal with ecstasy at the end of the phone call. The PayPal payment arrived immediately. Together with the money you earned as a hustler and waiter in Strasbourg, you can now enjoy your last days to the full. You love the wind on your nipples. Maybe a hot trucker or something will pick you up as a hitchhiker. Tonight you should be in a place called Karlsruhe. Then it's not far to Frankfurt. And from there it's back to Buffalo. Someone there is eagerly awaiting her young lover.

[raw-lesbian-energy]

Song Challenge

@syddsatyrn tagged me in this and as a musical theatre kid who grew up on classic rock I simply cannot back down-

The rules: spell out your URL with song titles, then tag as many people as there are letters in your URL (I don’t know that many people but we’ll see)

Songs:

Sweet Child O’ Mine - Guns N’ Roses

Hey Jude - The Beatles

You’re Gonna Go Far - The Offspring

-

All You Need Is Love - The Beatles

Natural - Imagine Dragons

On Top Of The World - Greek Fire

No Big Deal - Amphibia OST

-

Welcome to Amphibia - Celica Gray

Riot - Hollywood Undead

I Do Adore - Mindy Glenhill

The Final Countdown - Europe

Ex-Wives - Six the Musical

Say It - Girl in Red

Tag List:

@lapis-arts @alilweirddragon @honneibun @softlee @themissakat @cutetanuki-chan

(Yeah that’s all I got lmao)

[whispers-soundtrack-project]

Songs For The End Of The World

Playlist Part Four

Part One * Part Two * Part Three

Link to the Spotify Playlist is at the bottom of the post

The Final Countdown (Europe)

We're leaving together, * But still it's farewell. * And maybe we'll come back * To Earth, who can tell?

Aftermath (Muse)

States are crumbling * Walls are rising high again * It's no place for the faint-hearted * But my heart is strong

Point of No Return (UNSECRET, ft. Sam Tinnesz)

Pins and needles, facing evil * When all lines are drawn * Screams of violence pierce the silence * Like a raven's claw

In The Passage (Dan Fogelberg)

There's a sound in the wind that blows * Through the wild mountain holds * Like the sighs of a thousand crying souls

Galaxies (Owl City)

Call back the cap com * Tick off the time bomb * Let felicity fly * Armor the air lock * Blanket the bed rock * And kiss the planet goodbye

Traveller in Time (Uriah Heep)

If I could go back the same way I got here * And see the people that I once held so near * I'd do my best to find an answer for you * But first I must wait 'til I'm set free

This Is War (Thirty Seconds to Mars)

It's the moment of truth, and the moment to lie, * The moment to live and the moment to die, * The moment to fight, the moment to fight, * To fight, to fight, to fight!

Something Wicked This Way Comes (James Warburton & Diana Haunts)

Fall down to your knees * Pray for sweet salvation * As the gloaming slowly creeps * Comes while you are sleeping * Until nothing's what it seems * There's nothing left to believe

End Of The World (Aphrodite's Child)

You should come with me to the end of the world * Without telling your parents and your friends * You know that you only need say a word * So end my play with the end of the world

Fire On the Mountain (Rob Thomas)

How do you sleep while the city's burning? * Where do you go when you can't go home? * How do you drink when there's blood in the water? * Where do you turn when the world moves on?

[firecooking]

Here me out, in the tugs fandom there are 3 depictions of captain zero

1. Shitty mustache ( looks like it's pencil drawn)

2. Mustache that curls into a zero ( it curling to represent how he's the antagonist and also it resembles a 0 )

3. No mustache ( because he's either terrible at facial hair or artist just didn't draw him with one)

In your au is there an inside joke that zero can't grow proper facial hair?

I have been a conosuier of human Captain Zero's for years, and that theory does hold water!

I think the only Zero I can think of until a few that cropped up around this year with a beard that was drawn more than once is Dan-the-countdowner's over on deviant art. God speed Dan you where like the only guy drawing human Captains for years.

Also, your asks are always on deck in my ask box when I have a few minutes of free time, please don't think I'm ignoring them, sometimes it takes me a while to formulate my answers. Also I don't often do drawing requests, but I make an exception for my TUGS au's!

Anyways, on to my au! There will be a detailed explanation under the read more but tldr:

When Zero was a younger man he always kept himself clean shaven, after his time in he army he attempts to grow a mustache, which was universally hated and every one regarded as a bad move. Post War 1918-pre Zip 1920 is lovingly known as the rat years in the photo albums that reside around Zero Marine Bigg City.

Before the Great War Captain Zero clean shaved every morning, brushed out, cared for, and styled his hair, and generally looked put together and intentional despite living with rather wild, wavy, longer hair. I picture him around a 2b/2c if he makes an attempt to care for it but when he's not doing anything particular its just a frizzy/fluffy 2a, he has pretty fine hair so it's never consistent unless Zero makes the effort. His hair keeping short also makes it less wavy than it might be if he let it grow out.

He'll never admit it but he never really liked looking anyone in the eyes as a young man, and he still doesn't like it. His long bangs covering his face made him feel more calm and helped hide the fact he was avoiding eye contact.

When he signed up for the draft, Star had made a few passing comments about his hair, but Zero never thought anything of it. He's always remembered Star had had longer hair, and the Army wasn't that different to the navy, right?

After he was drafted and was in training, one of the first things that happened was his hair was trimmed back to fit in his helmet better and his daily grooming routine was reprimanded as a waste of time for a medic. He was told to change it or lives would be lost. So change it he did. This change consisted of not doing his hair routine save for 'basic maintenance' [ie, none] as needed, and only shaving one or twice a week, his facial hair never did grow very fast and was rather sparse anyways.

When he got back from the war, he vowed to grow his hair back out, but he was a different man returning home.

With his new found free time in the mornings meant he could always find time for tea and some breakfast. Making for a slightly less 'tired bitch of a captain' according to his three tugboats [data gathered from eaves dropping on their nightly poker games]. With his shaving routine fully altered and him no longer being picky about being clean shaven, he decided to try out facial hair, his father always maintained a beard, so why couldn't he? Genetics were on his side! He often forgets he's adopted.

It never did grow in fast, or very full. Even with Zorran's best efforts to help, Zero never really had more than a slightly bushy mess. And his hair never really got back to it's same length/health after the war, he always blamed it on the fact it was cut back, and not the fact he was a depressed mess after Europe who had stopped grooming almost entirely for years.

When Zip was due to be christened, Zero finally went down to a barbers shop to get himself cleaned up for the photographs at the urging of his tugboats and mother.

The barber took one look at him and told him the mustache needed to go and that his hair was initially damaged from lack of care during the war and then exacerbated by lack of care after. Zero on a whim let the man do what he felt was right, it was a new decade after all.

Zero's up cut was initially very low maintenance for him and he quite preferred it that way. Zero didn't keep up steam with his hair care the same way he did before the war, but he could manage to brush it in the morning to keep it from getting as bad as it had been.

Once Zasha comes into his life and he realized she has much curlier hair than he ever did [a mix of 3 b/c], he starts to pick hair maintenance back up as he learns how to take care of her hair. He's gotta be a role model and a good father after all. He still never gets back to how he was before the war, but at least his hair is healthy instead of oily, frizzy, and out of place.

More importantly he's taking regular showers and grooming again. His tugs count both of those things as a win.

He never figures out why he was less particular about the way he looks after the war. He was living a life of crime before the war. In the army he never injured a soul or took a life, unlike his days collecting debts as an 'accountant.'

He doesn't see how the war to end all wars could have changed him.