#because like we’re more similar to each other than either of us are to the majority of denominations in (limited via my experience) the us

[thecommunityoftrustworthysinks]

didn’t want to get into this on the last post cause it would be derailing of a very high order, so im making my own post about it:

if you are under the impression that christianity is split into catholics (who have mysticism, stained glass, hymns, literal communion) and evangelicals/protestants/etc (who have bare churches, contemporary music, symbolic communion, watery theology) PLEASE read up on more non catholic specific denominations.

lutherans and anglicans (potentially presbyterians? unsure) have many if not all of those things. i was raised and am lutheran and we’ve always believed in a literal communion, we have vestments, we have hymns, we have liturgy, we have rituals, we have sacraments, we have stained glass. like. “protestants” werent the ones getting rid of icons, that was calvinists. MOST of modern day western christians that you’re thinking of come from calvinism (after luther) and 17th century puritanism. lutherans still get their core texts from, y’know, luther, back in 15-something. a lot of people even don’t consider lutherans to be entirely protestant but somewhere between the two. not that there’s never any overlap, but like. please im so sick of it. (and this doesn’t even get into how orthodox christians also exist and are neither catholic nor protestant)

[ellecdc]

broken bowls & hearts

🩷's request: i just had the most horrid day. I was at a bookstore with my friends to buy a gift for our mutual and she was gushing over the books and i just... well my heart was breaking. because I couldn't read, and i used to love to read when i could see properly. I have my kindle but the feeling of a paperback and not being able to read just made me so upset and my friends don't even consider they were all like "just open ur eyes and see" i wanted to cry. & to make things worse, i broke a glass bowl in the kitchen and I couldn't even see it. I stepped on a shard and basically had to wait for my roommate to cancel some plans to come help me out i get so useless it's unbelievable. can I request a moonwater or wolfstar with a visually impaired reader who is in either of the situations? really sorry to ruin the vibes but oh i couldn't stop crying

poly!wolfstar x visually impaired!reader who breaks a bowl and calls the boys for help [2.3k words]

CW: fem!reader, mention of injury/blood, questionable friends... Sirius contemplating violence

Sirius had just pulled his phone from his pocket to see what you were up to (and if you felt like hanging out) when Remus’ phone started to ring.

“Are we officially at that point in our relationship that we can predict each other’s thoughts?” Sirius asked as he melted further into Remus’ side on the sofa while Remus answered his phone.

“Hey dovey! We were just about to call you.” He greeted with a wide smile as if you could see it.

Sirius sat up straighter when that smile fell slightly. “No, we’re never too busy for you…” He explained as Sirius poked him in the arm which translated to put her on speaker phone you sod!

Thankfully, Remus was well versed in Sirius-ese and did just that.

“-you guys doing something right now? I don’t want to interrupt.” Sirius heard you finish around what he assumed was your thumb as you no doubt chewed on your cuticles. 

“Doll, I was just pulling my phone out to see if you wanted to do something; we’re sitting on the couch rotting away.” Sirius called likely louder than necessary now that you were on speaker phone.

You hummed in acknowledgement before taking in a quick breath as if stealing yourself. “Do you think you guys could maybe come over? I uhm, I need some help.”

“Sure, dovey.” Remus offered quickly, Sirius also speaking overtop of him to say “of course.” 

“Is everything okay?” Remus continued then, a worried kind of divot appearing between his brows. 

“Yeah I, uhm, I broke a bowl and can’t…see the pieces now. I can wait until my roommate gets home but-”

“No!” Sirius shouted, a similar yet much more gracious objection slipping from Remus, too. 

“No dove, don’t worry about it at all. Just sit tight and we’ll be over soon, alright?”

You offered them a simple alright and thank you before Remus ended the call. 

⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆

No sooner had Remus pushed open the door to your flat were you calling out to advise them to keep their shoes on.

They moved through your flat with ease and familiarity (and Sirius following the sound of your voice like a scent detection dog) to find you in your kitchen. 

Sirius’ smile was completely involuntary when he spotted you perched on the edge of the counter in an attempt to avoid the ceramic shards on the kitchen tile, but the smile was quick to fall when he noticed a few spots of blood on the floor.

“Baby.” Sirius exclaimed as Remus took careful, shoed steps towards you. 

“You didn’t tell us you were hurt, dove.” Remus chided gently; glass crunching beneath his feet as he stood in front of you. 

“Where are you bleeding from?” Sirius asked as he scanned your person for any sign of blood.

“My foot.” You murmured, kicking out said foot slightly and letting it fall back against the lower cabinets with a thud.

“Why didn’t you tell us on the phone?” Remus queried as he rubbed the leg of your injured foot.

You simply offered him a shrug. “It doesn’t hurt and I don’t think it’s that bad.” You responded quietly. 

Remus and Sirius shared a concerned glance before Sirius looked back towards you.

“I’ll clean all this up while Rem tends to your foot, okay gorgeous?” Sirius explained without waiting for your agreement, moving to the pantry where he knew your broom and dustpan were stored as Remus went to fetch the first aid kit from your washroom. 

Sirius had cleared the glass from directly below you by the time Remus returned to the kitchen so that he could kneel in front of you. 

“Awe, our poor sweet girl; the bowl bit back, hm?” He murmured as he examined your bloody foot.

He grabbed a pair of tweezers and held your leg stretched out completely so your foot fell flat. “I’m gonna pull the piece out, okay?”

You nodded and looked casual for all intents and purposes, but even from across the kitchen Sirius could see the whites of your knuckles where you were clutching the countertop. 

You winced only slightly when Remus pulled the tweezers away from your foot, pressing a placating kiss to your knee as he stood to dispose of the bloody shard of glass. 

Sirius finished up the sweeping and shone the light from his phone across the floor to ensure he hadn’t missed any pieces before grabbing some disinfectant wipes for the blood. 

“What were you making?” Remus asked - likely both in an attempt to make conversation which you seemed disinclined to do as well as get to the bottom of what happened here - as he wiped some antiseptic cream on your foot before securing a plaster over it.

“What do you mean?” You asked quietly; and though your staunch refusal to look in Remus’ direction as you spoke to him may appear to some as rude, Sirius could see telltale signs of shame permeating your being. 

“When you broke the bowl; were you making yourself something to eat?”

You let out a short breath from your nose as you stared resolutely away from either boy. “I was trying to put away the clean dishes.” You muttered somewhat harshly. 

“Do you need more help? We could-”

“No.” You insisted, finally turning to face them allowing Sirius to notice a shine in your eyes that he couldn’t before. “No, I-” you took a steadying breath that was bordering shaky and closed your eyes. “I just needed help cleaning it up, and with my foot, thank you.”

And though Sirius could tell that you really did mean that ‘thank you’, he could also tell that the words tasted bitter in your mouth. 

“We’d come and help you with anything, you know that, right?” Remus asked softly from his place by your feet, thumb swiping tenderly over your knee where his hand was resting. 

“I know.” You whispered back; your thumb back at your lips as you chewed at your cuticles much like you’d been when you first called them. 

“Did something else happen today?” Remus continued gently. “I get the sense that this might be about more than just a broken bowl.”

You sucked in a loud breath from your nose as you screwed your eyes shut, and Sirius could finally see evidence of the tightly wound tension he’d been sensing from you since he first entered your flat. 

“I can’t read.” You finally let out with a sob, and both boys had to fight the urge to let out a nervous laugh because…yes you could?

“What do you mean, gorgeous?” Sirius tried carefully.

You shook your head, hiding your face behind your hands as you tried to control your breathing. “I- I miss holding a fucking book; I miss breaking the spine and letting the pages fan my face as I close it. I miss going to the bookstore and running my fingers along the rows of books in search of the one with the prettiest cover to see if the plot is worth such an exquisite jacket. I can’t… I can’t even re- read!” You wailed at the end of your sentence, Remus straightening up from his crouched position in record time to pull you into his chest as he shot Sirius a bewildered look. 

“Baby… You can still read; you do read, all of the time. That’s what your kindle is for, yeah?” Sirius tried, but from Remus’ grimace and the pitiful sound that emanated from the back of your throat, Sirius could tell he’d gotten it wrong.

“It’s not the same, hm?” Remus offered for your sake, rubbing broad strokes against your back as you sobbed into his chest. 

“Is this because of your shopping trip earlier? Did something happen at the bookstore?” Sirius queried then, and you straightened slowly from Remus’ chest before wiping angrily at your face; sorrow seeping swiftly into ire.

“What happened, dove?” Remus pressed, and Sirius could hear the careful caution in his voice as he considered you. 

“I just…” You tried, letting your feet thunk against the cabinet again in agitation. “I just felt so sorry for myself when we were there, alright? It was my fault because I got all caught up in my own head but,”

Sirius and Remus waited after you tried taking a calming breath, but you didn’t seem particularly inclined to continue your thought.

“But what, doll?” Sirius encouraged, perhaps not as gently as he should have but he was starting to smell trouble and he couldn’t help that his protective hackles were rising. 

“But Steph was gushing about the book we had found for April’s birthday present which is good but, I don’t know, I just… I commented about how I wish I could still read a book, and all Steph had to say was ‘you’ve got eyes, don’t ya? Open ‘em up and look.’”

You ended the sentence with a pained breath and Remus had you curled up into his chest again as fresh tears started to fall. 

“And you drop kicked her, right?” Sirius spat darkly; red hot fury emanating from his chest as he pictured his sweet girl standing distressed in a bookstore when he wasn’t there for her.

“No!” You whined back as Remus murmured a warning ‘Sirius…’. 

“Okay, so you told her to go to hell?” Sirius continued, earning him a firmer ‘Sirius, stop’ from Remus following a wail from you. 

“That’s fine, gorgeous, I’ll do it. Where’s your phone?” He started as he began his search for your phone, no sooner did he turn his body was his arm grabbed roughly by Remus as he was dragged back towards you.

“Hug your girlfriend, Sirius.” Remus hissed at him severely as he stationed him between your legs before exiting the kitchen quickly.

Every sob that shook your body seemed to dislodge something hard and heavy in Sirius’ chest and replace it with wet, cold sadness as he held you tightly against him, as if the pressure of his embrace could somehow fix this for you. 

“I’m so sorry, sweetness; you didn’t deserve that at all.” He mumbled into your hair, gently swaying the two of you back and forth and pressing a few kisses where his lips met your head. 

“It’s, ugh, it’s not even just that.” You moaned. “It was fine, I’m fine. You know? I was just feeling sorry for myself, and I’m always cracking jokes anyway so she probably thought it was fine to do the same but then I come home and I can’t even put my fucking dishes away without having to call for help like it’s an emergency. I’m so useless.”

Sirius felt some of that fury seep back into his chest as he ripped himself away from you and grabbed each side of your face none-too-gently.

“Hey, look at me.” He demanded, forcing your face towards his and holding it close so that you had no choice but to look at him.

“You are not useless.” He pressed, spitting your phrase back at you like it was a dirty word.

“Well I certainly feel it!” You shot back; obstinance colouring your eyes that Sirius loved so much, even when you didn’t, even when you felt betrayed by them. 

“That’s fine.” He allowed simply, still not releasing your face from his grasp. “You’re allowed to feel any which way, but that does not make it true. I do not appreciate you speaking about my girlfriend that way, got it?” 

You seemed surprised by his scolding for a brief moment before you closed your eyes and new tears fell from the corners. 

Sirius pulled you back into his chest when he noticed Remus standing in the threshold of the room, eyebrows pinched in commiseration. 

After a few moments of gentle rocking with Sirius, Remus broke the silence. “Dove, I can see perfectly well and I’ve broken dishes; I’ve also tried cleaning it up myself only to end up bleeding, as well.” 

“I once called Remus home from work because I had a splinter, babe.” Sirius added, causing Remus to smile when he heard a wet sort of chuckle muffled by Sirius’ chest.  

“We all need help sometimes. That does not make us useless.” Remus concluded, moving to stand beside Sirius and pressing a kiss to your temple. 

“Now come on, I need your help with something.” Remus said as he began to walk into your living room. 

“How come you don’t need my help, Rem?” Sirius called after him as you sat up and used your sleeve to wipe away the last of your tears. 

“Because I need help reading and you hate that.”

Sirius groaned theatrically and turned to look at you with a grimace. “Sorry gorgeous, I can’t help you with this one.”

You giggled again with a sniffle and then shrieked when Sirius lifted you off the counter because you ‘absolutely cannot walk on that injured foot of yours, doll; you’ll just have to let me carry you everywhere from now on’.

Remus situated himself comfortably on your sofa and Sirius placed you in between his legs so that your back was against his chest as he wrapped his arms around you and placed a paperback book in your hands. 

“Think you can hold this for me, my love?” Remus murmured as he hooked his chin on your shoulder, watching as you let out a sigh and allowed him to open it to the first page. “Thank you.” He whispered when you didn’t decline, pressing a kiss to your shoulder before replacing his chin and beginning to read from… Well, Sirius didn’t really know, nor did he care.

He was too busy signing up your ‘friend’s’ email and social media accounts for spam contests and chainmail. 

And if he stole her number from your phone to sign her up for telemarketing calls? Well…could he really be blamed? She made his perfect girl cry, for god’s sake.

[nasa]

Let's Explore a Metal-Rich Asteroid 🤘

Between Mars and Jupiter, there lies a unique, metal-rich asteroid named Psyche. Psyche’s special because it looks like it is part or all of the metallic interior of a planetesimal—an early planetary building block of our solar system. For the first time, we have the chance to visit a planetary core and possibly learn more about the turbulent history that created terrestrial planets.

Here are six things to know about the mission that’s a journey into the past: Psyche.

1. Psyche could help us learn more about the origins of our solar system.

After studying data from Earth-based radar and optical telescopes, scientists believe that Psyche collided with other large bodies in space and lost its outer rocky shell. This leads scientists to think that Psyche could have a metal-rich interior, which is a building block of a rocky planet. Since we can’t pierce the core of rocky planets like Mercury, Venus, Mars, and our home planet, Earth, Psyche offers us a window into how other planets are formed.

2. Psyche might be different than other objects in the solar system.

Rocks on Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Earth contain iron oxides. From afar, Psyche doesn’t seem to feature these chemical compounds, so it might have a different history of formation than other planets.

If the Psyche asteroid is leftover material from a planetary formation, scientists are excited to learn about the similarities and differences from other rocky planets. The asteroid might instead prove to be a never-before-seen solar system object. Either way, we’re prepared for the possibility of the unexpected!

3. Three science instruments and a gravity science investigation will be aboard the spacecraft.

The three instruments aboard will be a magnetometer, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and a multispectral imager. Here’s what each of them will do:

Magnetometer: Detect evidence of a magnetic field, which will tell us whether the asteroid formed from a planetary body

Gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer: Help us figure out what chemical elements Psyche is made of, and how it was formed

Multispectral imager: Gather and share information about the topography and mineral composition of Psyche

The gravity science investigation will allow scientists to determine the asteroid’s rotation, mass, and gravity field and to gain insight into the interior by analyzing the radio waves it communicates with. Then, scientists can measure how Psyche affects the spacecraft’s orbit.

4. The Psyche spacecraft will use a super-efficient propulsion system.

Psyche’s solar electric propulsion system harnesses energy from large solar arrays that convert sunlight into electricity, creating thrust. For the first time ever, we will be using Hall-effect thrusters in deep space.

5. This mission runs on collaboration.

To make this mission happen, we work together with universities, and industry and NASA to draw in resources and expertise.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the mission and is responsible for system engineering, integration, and mission operations, while NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Services Program manages launch operations and procured the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Working with Arizona State University (ASU) offers opportunities for students to train as future instrument or mission leads. Mission leader and Principal Investigator Lindy Elkins-Tanton is also based at ASU.

Finally, Maxar Technologies is a key commercial participant and delivered the main body of the spacecraft, as well as most of its engineering hardware systems.

6. You can be a part of the journey.

Everyone can find activities to get involved on the mission’s webpage. There's an annual internship to interpret the mission, capstone courses for undergraduate projects, and age-appropriate lessons, craft projects, and videos.

You can join us for a virtual launch experience, and, of course, you can watch the launch with us on Oct. 12, 2023, at 10:16 a.m. EDT!

For official news on the mission, follow us on social media and check out NASA’s and ASU’s Psyche websites.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[ithebookhoarder]

It's completely fine if you don't do this but I loved your Colin one, so can you do how the other brothers would react if they found out you were pregnant??!?!?!?!

Unexpectedly Expecting (Anthony / Benedict Bridgerton x AFAB!reader):

A/N: Thank you for sending this in! I'm combining this with another request - I hope that's ok? 👇 As both were on a similar track, but I can always do more later on this because who doesn't love imagining the Bridgerton boys with little ones?! 🥰

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, mentions of childbirth, references to doctors and medical professionals, pregnancy symptoms like nausea and morning sickness, mentions of trouble conceiving a child, sex references, swearing, blood (let me know if I missed any!).

Masterlist:

Anthony Bridgerton:

As Viscount Anthony would likely be expecting to have children and heirs of his own and yes, it would be a concern if you weren’t falling pregnant as a couple. However, I think it upsets him more than anything because of how upsetting it is for you. He loves you and seeing you beating yourself up and making yourself sick with worry is heartbreaking. 

He has so many siblings and they have children so the Bridgerton estate and line will continue, he soothes, hoping it would take some pressure off of yourself. If you fall pregnant then that would be a blessing, but you weren’t a failure. In fact, for all he knows, he could be the issue. It’s impossible to be certain either way and he would never let you take that on yourself. Any arguments you’d have would be about that and nothing else. 

“If you think I will sit here and allow you to abuse yourself in such a way then you are sorely mistaken, my love-“

“-You don’t understand, Anthony! This is my fault. Even if you do not agree. To society, to the rest of the world, the blame will lay solely on me! That’s all that matters!” 

“No! You are all that matters and I will not allow you to keep torturing yourself this way. We will stop, do you hear me? No more talk of heirs or blame or anything to do with the subject. Let us just enjoy our life as it is for now. The future is unimportant.” 

Violet would side with Anthony, as would all his siblings. They love you too and want you to be happy - even if Violet does offer some tips and insights on ways one could assist with falling pregnant, but only at your request.

Still, when you’re not with child months later you start to lose hope. 

It gets worse as more of the Bridgerton siblings start getting married and falling pregnant. They would never rub it in your face, but it doesn’t make it any less painful when you see them or their partners caressing their bumps or discussing what names they could choose.  

You’d wish them well, obviously, but inside you feel like you’re dying. Even Anthony holding you close and pressing a comforting kiss against your cheek does nothing to raise your spirits. 

With each passing day you become just a little more certain that you’re not destined to have a child… which is why you’re utterly stunned when you miss your monthly bleed - not once, but twice… 

You didn’t say anything at first, obviously worried that it was just delayed from your recent stress. However, when it happens again you start to dare to hope for the impossible and you’re all but racing to get a physician to confirm the diagnosis. 

As soon as you do, you’re racing straight back to your husband to share the good news. You don’t care if he is in a meeting, at his club, with his family or even in the middle of the street. You still sprint to his side and blurt the news for everyone to hear.

The tears are instantaneous, as is the cheer of delighted disbelief he gives, throwing his arms about you and spinning you around until you’re both dizzy. “This… this is the greatest blessing we could have received, my love. I’m so happy… we’re going to be parents? We’re having a child?… oh, lord. We’re having a child.”

This man has been acting as a father to his siblings for so long you have no problem imagining him taking to the role like a duck to water. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be scared out of his mind to think of the responsibility of raising a child of his own. 

You can expect this man to be badgering his mother with a never ending list of questions - heck, he’d even swallow his pride and ask Simon and Daphne for advice if it came to it. After all, ‘if Hastings can do it, it can’t be too difficult’.

You’re laughing too hard to even try and correct him.

This man would be so protective of you whilst you were pregnant - especially after the troubles you’ve had getting to this point. 

“I really think you ought to have a maid accompany you when you journey to and fro. I should hate for something to happen to you."

“Anthony, I’m only going for a walk around the garden!”

“But still-“

Anything you could possibly need he has already bought three of them. No expense is spared for you and your unborn child - including summoning doctors from their beds in the middle of the night if you even think something might be wrong with either you or the baby. 

Speaking of doctors, he would fight anybody who tried to banish him from your side when the time comes. He and his mother, should you wish her there, would be at your side the whole time. They would be your biggest cheerleaders and would do whatever they could to ensure you were cared for and supported, whether it be mopping your brow, holding you as you pace around, or advocating for you against any doctor who tries to violate your wishes about the birth. 

And when you are finally handed a crying, wrinkled, cherub with Anthony’s eyes… well, it’s all worth it. You have never felt a love as pure as this, except for when you met Anthony, and nothing can ruin such a perfect moment. 

Benedict Bridgerton:

Benedict would be so calm about possibly having children with you. If you do have children, then they will be loved and adored - obviously. But if you don’t? Then that doesn’t matter. It means you two can continue your adventures together for a while longer, travelling wherever your heart desires, visiting galleries and indulging in your bohemian lifestyle with all your friends.

You have your freedom - even more so now that you’re married. Society doesn’t care what you do now that you’re no longer on the marriage mart. It’s liberating, and any pressure to produce heirs comes from only you or your loved ones, so it’s non-existent.  

However, if you did want children then Benedict would be more than eager to help create them… and get creative about doing so. 

“Benedict! That is not how a child is conceived… no wonder you’re a student of the arts. The academy of science would never admit you with such a lack of understanding about basic anatomy!”

“You’re right, my dear, but you have to admit - this is a hell of a lot more fun.” 

He would be nothing but supportive of you and so gentle every time your monthly bleed approached, especially if nothing happens. He understands how your hopes rise and how hard it hits you when you realise it hasn’t yet worked. He’d never insult you or diminish your feelings. 

If anything, he would be quick to shoulder any possible blame, refusing to let you even begin to suggest that it has anything to do with you or your body. You are perfect. End of - and he’ll fight anyone who suggests otherwise. 

“You can’t rush things, angel. After all, the best things are worth the time and effort. Michelangelo took over four years to finish the Sistine Chapel, and Da Vinci sixteen years to paint the Mona Lisa. Some things are worth the wait… and if it doesn’t happen how we wish, then we’re already creating something so beautiful between us. Our family will be perfect, no matter how it looks, how it comes about, or even when it does.”

And when it does? Well, then you’ve never seen him look so happy, tears pouring from his eyes as you confirm the good news.

You also fear for a moment that he’s about to swoon, he goes so pale and he even starts to breath heavily as he paces back and forth, muttering ‘I… I’m going to be a father? A father? Me?’. His imposter syndrome would hit him with full force and it would take several weeks for him to process it enough to calm down and be excited rather than terrified. However, he’d never have been anything other than positive towards you. You know it’s his love for your unborn child that makes him panic about being a good father.  

Also, he would be SO supportive once you are expecting. He would be there holding your hair back if you felt nauseous and bringing you endless cups of tea without you even asking. 

He wouldn’t complain in the slightest about staying in with you, rather than going to whatever social events his family had organised. As he argued, it gave him ample time to finish whatever piece he was working on next and he got to keep you company in the meantime. 

I just feel he’d paint something for the baby, whether it be a piece to hang on the wall of the nursery, or the wall of the nursery itself. You’d find him stood in front of the nursery wall, covered in paint, but beaming ear to ear. 

“It’s beautiful, Benedict.”

“Well, our baby should be allowed to enjoy the full beauty of a spectrum of colours, rather than just ‘white’ on the walls - and the sooner they begin to understand the art of composition, the better in my opinion.”

You would also be receiving gifts from all your artistically minded friends, which is heart-warming. They’d crown them their newest ‘little liberal’ and would devote themselves to ensuring your off-spring would have a well-rounded eduction about the higher arts of life - something Benedict is keen to endorse.  

“When are they not ‘too young’ to have an art tutor?” 

“Maybe wait till they can hold a paint brush first, Benedict.” 

“What about poetry?”

“Again, I think they should probably learn the alphabet before we try them on Wordsworth or Donne.” 

Given what he says in his book I know he’d secretly want a girl but you know that as long as it’s happy and healthy then that would be enough. After all, it would be yours, made from your love in a living, breathing creation greater than any painting or sculpture. 

He would be awe struck when you hand them to him, afraid he might break them somehow. He would just sit and stare at them for hours, admiring them like the finest sculpture.

“I promise to be the best possible father you could ever want, my love. I will do whatever I can to protect you and make you, and your mother, feel cherished. I won’t let you down… even if you turn out like most of your Uncles and have no idea what the difference is between a sonata and a sonnet.”  

[heegyukeluv]

love-battery (lhs) - req

pairing: heeseung x afab!reader

synopsis: Heeseung always would make you feel recharged just by being around. And you did the same to him.

my's note: hi hello here's a very fluff cute little thing! it's a request (thank you for requesting <3), so i hope you like it!!!! (have to say that when i chose the name of this fic, the jinyoung's song with similar name started to play on my head non-stop help)

warnings: skinship, established relationship, fluff, pet names, explicit language (i can't help myself. i'll always use at least one 'fuck' lol).

wc: 3k

NOT PROOFREAD.

Even with your boyfriend’s tight schedule and the fact you both lived quite far from each other, you and Heeseung always managed ways to meet up and hang out for at least an hour or so – enough to work as a full recharge for Heeseung.

However, for the last whole month you only saw Heeseung three times. You were used to seeing him almost every day, either by going to his and staying for a bit or he coming to yours for the same reason, and it was pissing you off how annoying adult life was being so far, unabling you to do your daily basis chores, let alone drive to Heeseung’s studio to be with him.

Heeseung normally had a tough routine as a producer by spending long hours in his studio, staying up all night working on his music and constantly dealing with tight deadlines. Your favorite hobby was to grab a coffee and some snacks to surprise him by showing up unexpectedly; and of course, to sit on his lap while he kept doing his things. 

But now you were the one fighting against time, as you had to deal with your last year in college, struggling with your final project and with your respective project partners – who would have thought that working with people would lead you to be that stressed, huh?

Your life was a total mess at this point, your sleep schedule chaotic, your body aching, begging for a pause to get some proper rest, but you really couldn’t give yourself that luxury; all the submission dates getting closer and closer making you go crazy in desperation.

And on top of that, you haven’t seen your boyfriend, the main source of your happiness, in almost two weeks.

“This is so frustrating, Hee,” you said with a realistic sad tone, when you decided to ignore the blank page on your laptop waiting for a new plot to pop up in your mind, and give your love life a little more attention, calling Heeseung. “It’s almost like the world doesn't want us to be together.”

“Don’t say such things, my love. Not even as kidding,” he interrupted you to say with a gentle voice. “We’re going to figure out something, yeah?”

“I’m sorry, Hee. But– I’m dealing with a bunch of stupid assignments with stupid deadlines in this stupid degree I chose, and you’ve told me early this week that you were pretty chill with your work. But I didn’t even have time to invite you over the days you said you’re free! Not to mention that if you were here I’d be paying more attention to you and getting fucked with my project.”

“Y/N–”

“And when I’m free you’re the one swamped with work! And, please, I’m not blaming you, babe, please don’t take it the wrong way. I love you and I love that you can work with the thing you’re passionate about. I’m just… Frustrated,” you unloaded with a long sigh, voice trembling a bit since your feelings were, also, a mess and your heart aching. “And I miss you so much. I wish we lived a bit closer, so we could meet more often in moments like this.”

You heard Heeseung soft breathing through the phone. He decided to let you vent instead of cutting you off, because he, more than anyone, knew how overwhelmed you felt whenever you had to deal with submission dates and projects. It was your third project in your whole degree, this one being the most important one, and Heeseung saw you in shambles during your working time in the smaller ones, fully understanding how hard it has been with this final one.

“I’m sorry you’re having to go through all of this, pretty girl,” you could feel the comfort in his tender, sweet tone. You wiped out a single tear that tried to escape your eyes, curving yourself into a little ball on your couch. “But you don’t have to do this alone, my love,” you heard a weird noise through his phone, very similar to a door unlocking. Your door unlocking. You frowned. “Don’t freak out, bae. I’m entering your apartment right now.”

Your heart dropped in your chest. “What?” You whispered in disbelief, your phone falling off from your hand, your eyes widening as you watched your boyfriend walk through the front door, smiling big and bright at you.

His dark red hair was attractively messy because of the motorcycle helmet. He also carried a big backpack on his back and a plastic bag with the logo of your favorite food place.

“You’re kidding me,” your voice was barely a whisper at this point, your lips curving into a smile that grew bigger and bigger, still finding it hard to believe that the man talking to you on your phone was now in front of you. Your beloved boyfriend was now in front of you. “Lee fucking Heeseung!” You almost squealed, walking in his direction right after he put his helmet and his backpack on the ground, to jump on his open arms which were waiting to embrace you in a tight hug.

Your legs instantly wrapped around his waist and your arms on his shoulders, his firm hands gripping on your thighs to hold you close and steady as you buried your face on his neck, inhaling his scent as if it was your favorite drug. You heard Heeseung chuckling at your reaction and you finally noticed how fast your heart was beating, everything feeling unreal. All the frustration you felt waving off your body quickly.

“Hi, baby,” Heeseung said in an affectionate way, with you still hidden on the curve of his neck, making him let out a small laugh at your adorableness. He missed you so much.

Your fingers tangled in his soft hair, pulling him into yourself as if you could become one before you started to kiss every piece of his exposed skin, from his jawline to close to his ear, to his cheek, the tip of his nose and finally his glistening, dreamy lips.

Heeseung let out a contented sigh when he felt your sweet taste, walking carefully through the living room so he could sit on the couch with you on his lap, the contact never breaking. He deepened the kiss by slightly brushing his tongue on your bottom lip, electricity running all over his body once you let him in to feel him closer, so intimately; his hands sneaked into your shirt, caressing the bare skin of your waist just because he needed to touch, to feel you more.

“I missed you so much, my love,” you whispered when you parted away to catch your breath, pecking his lip countless times as you said “Missed. You. So. Much. Oh. My. God,” and the last one lasted a bit longer, making Heeseung giggle and kiss you properly one more time. 

“I missed you too, pretty.”

Heeseung was looking at you with so much love, his eyes sparkling in joy for finally having you that close, touching, kissing you. He caressed your cheek while his gaze wandered all your face features, as if he was trying to memorize every one of them, completely endeared by your beauty.

Heeseung looked at you as if he just discovered what love is. 

You weren’t different, though. Your soft touch on his strands of hair, scratching slightly as your contemplated every piece of your very good-looking boyfriend, not holding yourself when your fingers started gently to trace his face; his big deer eyes now turned into little crescents, his pretty nose that you loved to kiss, the little charming mole on his forehead, and his so, so attractive lips adorning the most beautiful smile you ever had the chance to see. You were so in love.

Heeseung felt like he could stare at you all day and he would never feel tired, actually to have you close always worked as a battery recharge. And for you, Heeseung did the same, making all your bad feelings wash away easily because you had him, and you knew you could rely on him.

Ironically, the sound of your laptop on the coffee table indicating that its battery was running out, pulled you both out of your little love bubble, startling you slightly. The reality check hit you with full force, and the bottom of your stomach sank immediately.

You gulped, looking at Heeseung with a hint of sadness before you sighed and said, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy you’re here, but I–”

“You have things to do, I know,” Heeseung cut you off mid-sentence. His kind voice, the small peck on your cheek, and his cute smile making you shiver and melt. “But don’t worry about me, okay? You do your things, I’ll be around for whenever you finish, and then we can cuddle,” he said simply, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“You’re staying?” You questioned with eyes sparkling in confusion. “I don’t want you to mess up your sche–”

Heeseung now stopped your talking with a sweet kiss, and then another, and another, and one more just in case. “I’m staying, baby,” he chuckled at your tilted head, expressing that you were very much confused. “As I said before, I’m pretty chill this week,” he explained with a warm smile, mirroring yours. “Anything I have to do, I can do from my computer or phone, so I’m all yours this weekend, my love.”

Heeseung fell even deeply for you when he saw your eyes shining like you received the best news of your life. And for you, you actually did. To have your boyfriend for a whole weekend after days without being able to see each other, you truly thought you were dreaming. 

So to have Heeseung feeding you while your hands worked on your writing was definitely something that you hadn’t planned for your friday. He was openly giving his opinion as well after you cutely asked him to, paying attention to every detail you shared with him about the plot you were working on. 

“So your idea is that after he leaves the house, you give an extra zoom on the door knob because someone is going to open, even though the house is supposed to be empty?”

“Yes! And then it’s revealed to be actually his ‘dead’ twin!” You explained excitedly, noticing Heeseung gazing very passionately at you. You blushed, feeling suddenly too aware, because your story now has been read by someone other than you. “I– I know it’s kinda simple and boring, but I mean– I got the approval to keep working on it, so…” You shrugged, trying to act cool, but your pout was showing how insecure you actually felt.

“It’s not simple or anything bad, my love,” Heeseung couldn’t resist the urge of kissing your small pout as he reassured you. “It’s impressive how your creative mind works, I’m really proud,” he said with his voice filled with sincerity.

You gave him a shy smile before going back to writing, heart beating fast with his genuine words.

Heeseung never left your side. You needed him around you every single second, not only to compensate for the days you were apart, but because Heeseung was really your source of energy. So to write on your computer while having his fingers intertwined with yours became a natural activity during the moments you were working on your project. You could feel Heeseung’s love stare at your face during those moments, completely in love by your focused expression. 

Sometimes he would leave your touch to reply to some of his co-workers on his phone, giving them the attention they needed, but in the meantime his head would be resting on your shoulder, completely addicted to your touch and to having you close – his hair tickling your neck making you lose focus for a few minutes.  

You both wanted and needed each other with the same intensity. Heeseung always loved your clinginess, emphasizing how lovable you looked with your pouty face whenever he had to leave the bed to go to the bathroom or grab some food in the kitchen and “leave you to die alone”, like you normally would say in a very dramatic way. Especially because he himself was pretty clingy too, holding you in a tight back hug whenever you had to go back home after visiting him at his studio, refusing to let you leave his side.

To move in together was a big dream. However Heeseung always talked with you about finishing your studies first before committing your relationship on that instance, so you could have your freedom without him disrupting your focus; he also knew that he wasn’t ready to have you so close for that long, afraid of scaring you off by how much he would be around you, maybe losing his own concentration on his work. 

And this behavior was being shown at that moment, by you doing the lunch and him hugging you from behind.

“I have to be honest, I don’t really see this as ‘helping’, Hee,” you said with a playful chuckle, not really bothered by his big hands resting on your hips as well as his chin on your shoulder while you did all the work. He was clinging like a koala, making it challenging to move around the kitchen.

“What do you mean? I’m clearly helping you,” he said with a babyish voice, making you giggle. You could tell he was pouting too. “What if you get hurt? I have to be close, y’know? To save you from danger.”

You laughed hard, throwing your head behind and profusely resting it on his chest. “The danger?”

“Yeah, the knife and fire and stuff…” He explained like it was obvious.

You turned down the heat on the stove, moving away from it so you could face your boyfriend, just to meet his big, adorable eyes looking at you with a dramatically pleading expression. “You’re right,” you said softly, cupping his cheeks and planting a kiss on his lips. “Thank you for protecting me from the dangers of my kitchen,” you added a hint of sarcasm to your very affectionate tone, without holding your smile when he nodded proudly, before pulling you closer to kiss you properly as now your self-proclaimed hero. 

After you finished cooking – with Heeseung’s help, of course –, you both shared the meal, doing constant “love shots” but with your food, just so you could feel each other’s touch.

Heeseung didn’t let you go back to work on your project when you finished eating, saying you needed a bit of resting time with him. And how could you oppose such truthful words? 

So you spend quite a long time of your Saturday afternoon embraced in Heeseung’s arms and scent all over you, making it difficult to choose anything different from being on the bed cuddling him. 

After changing positions many times, you now were on top of Heeseung, face buried on his neck while he hummed some random song, hands gently caressing your back and scalp, making you wonder if taking a quick nap at that moment would mess up too much with your project work.

As if a sense of responsibility hit you, remembering all your deadlines and especially that you had to finish at least the plot writing by Monday – in two days –, you forced yourself to try to move away. Your body refused, though.

“I should go,” you said, muffed into his skin.

“Yeah, you should…” Heeseung added, not moving an inch to help you with that. In fact, he held you closer. Your warm body against his own helping him to relax. 

“Like, reeeally gotta go…” You didn’t move as well, trailing kisses all over his neck as you refused to get up.

“Definitely you do…” His voice was a bit raspy in a sweet, tender way that made it even harder for you to leave. He was about to fall asleep.

You sighed, “I missed being like this with you.” You lifted your head just enough to see his serene expression; eyes closed, lips slightly parted and a calm breathing. You almost cried with the fact that you truly needed to go back to your life instead of staying there with Heeseung. 

Your hands caressed his face with all the care in the world, making him open his eyes, “I missed it too, pretty. I miss you every moment I’m without you, actually.”

You noticed a soft flush  on Heeseung cheeks and giggled at the sight of your ‘so cool’ boyfriend blushing in front of you. 

You always appreciated how Heeseung was not only a good listener to your worries and maybe overwhelming thoughts, but also unafraid to show you his most sensitive and vulnerable side in order to make you comfortable on doing the same. You cherished his presence in your life with all you had, not being scared of loving him so openly, because he did the same for you. 

“I love you,” you whispered, leaning in to tease a kiss. He smiled against your lips, closing his eyes again.

“I love you too, my love,” he murmured, mirroring your tone and capturing your bottom lip with his own, to pull you near and finally kiss you. 

You decided to stay for a bit longer, because Heeseung’s hands roaming your body with such care and tenderness, his sweet mouth working on yours, and his loving whispers against your skin were too irresistible.

The best excuse you found for yourself was that you were revitalizing so you could work better, your creativity would flow easily and you would finish it in no time.

And, well, he would be around you anyway, because he just couldn’t never get enough of your pretty face, or your joyful presence, or your addicting warm touches.

After all, Heeseung always worked as a recharger to your love battery, and for him, you were no different.

[arowyn-m]

I meant to do this ages ago but knowing the leaks exist is driving me insane so I’m devoting my energy to it now—

Obsessed with the idea of Arcane characters becoming their opposites in S2 so I’ve attempted to summarize each character in 3 words—a good quality or strength, a bad quality or weakness, and a neutral trait.

Vi: Protective, Hotheaded, Sentimental

Caitlyn: Empathetic, Naive, Perceptive

Jinx: Creative, Impulsive, Childish

Ekko: Nurturing, Aggressive, Distrustful

Heimer: Patient, Unresponsive, Pessimistic

Jayce: Charismatic, Shortsighted, Proud

Viktor: Self-sacrificing, Stubborn, Reserved

Mel: Wise, Manipulative, Perfectionistic

Singed: Calculated, Sadistic, Cryptic

Sevika: Loyal, Impatient, Honest

Ambessa: Cunning, Ruthless, Selfish

Assuming that these are solid descriptors for each character, and S2 will show these characters becoming their own opposites, we can expect good qualities to become bad ones and vice versa. Neutral qualities may also be turned on their heads:

Vi: Vulnerable, Apathetic, Repressing

Caitlyn: Cold, Experienced, Blinded

Jinx: Destructive (in maybe a different context than S1), Deliberate, Mature

Ekko: Neglectful, Avoidant, Trusting

Heimer: Impatient, Proactive, Lighthearted

Jayce: Unlikable, Farsighted, Humble (or Humbled)

Viktor: Selfish, Compromising, Outspoken

Mel: Foolish, Sincere, Self-accepting

Singed: Careless, Empathetic, Unambiguous

Sevika: Independent, Patient, Aloof

Ambessa: Candid, Merciful, Self-sacrificing

Further analysis below ->

A lot of these qualities are probably going to be tweaked. I don’t think we’re going to get a wildly empathetic Singed, but rather we’ll see some more of his personal motivations, which will show him to be more feeling than he seems.

I honestly don’t see us getting a straight-up self-centered Viktor, so part of me believes that he’ll be “selfish” in the context of his personal ambitions. He’s been working in tandem with Jayce for years; been willing to give up time for other projects that aren’t Undercity-centric. Viktor’s focus is going to be entirely on physically healing the Undercity—a project that only he seems to see the value in. That’s probably going to be the “selfish” aspect we see from him.

Or at least I really hope so.

Viktor’s selflessness is such an integral part of his character that it’s hard to imagine him suddenly becoming self-absorbed, but if the writers handle it well, then 👍

Similar issue with Jayce—I don’t see Jayce becoming humble so much as being humbled or put in his place (maybe by Ambessa, who looks poised to usurp Piltover’s Council judging by previous story beats and her strong presence in the S2 poster.

I like Jayce as a character and really think the fandom doesn’t give him enough credit for caring about those around him—but he’s pretty full of himself, and I only see him leaning further into that trait as those he trusts (Mel, Viktor, Caitlyn) are either pulled away or abandon him.

Sevika’s possible development in particular is quite interesting specifically because she is a follower by definition. In S1, Sevika would not have made a good leader, but maybe she will in S2.

Sevika could start acting independently to contrast her previous loyalty. Even when in an alliance she can have independent motives. We know she’s going to team up with Jinx but it’s unlikely that Sevika is going to be personally devoted to her, and maybe this alliance is a temporary, spur-of-the-moment decision.

If Sevika starts being independent, I’ve no doubt she’ll later become Renata Glasc.

okay that’s it! Feel free to add to this or take away or completely contradict me I’d love to continue to think about and discuss what defines these characters :)

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

Hello! Kind of a weird meta question that may be too early to call, but what are your thoughts on Vegapunk? For some reason, I can’t seem to get a good grasp on how to feel about them. Normally, I am all aboard with each arcs’ respective “ally” character - but I just can’t seem to fully get behind Vegapunk.

the important thing to understand here, i think, is that vegapunk is not meant to be an unambiguously good character. he’s not! he’s a brilliant and complicated man with many flaws whose inventions, while well-meaning, have done immense harm to the world! and i think it would be a mistake to assume that the story expects you to view him as entirely good just because he is, at present, an ally of the strawhats.

egghead arc is, in large part, about the collateral damage of vegapunk���s brilliance. this is demonstrated to us both on the worldwide scale (his creation of war machines) and on the interpersonal scale (what happened to kuma). i don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re shown the catastrophic destruction of lulusia by one of vegapunk’s creations right at the beginning of the arc.

vegapunk is the smartest man in the world, but correspondingly we’ve been shown he’s also selfish, overconfident, and doesn’t consider consequences. until things reach a head in egghead arc, he’s unwilling to go against the government in any but the most plausibly-deniable of ways, even as his creations are used to commit atrocious acts of violence.

and it’s not as though he was forced into government service with no other options available- he’s obviously subject to coercion by the elder stars, but he also declines dragon’s offer to join the revolutionary army explicitly because the government pays better, even while standing in the ruins of ohara. like, it is noteworthy that vegapunk’s personified greed is an antagonistic force in this arc.

vegapunk is a character trying to make amends by the time of egghead arc- by helping bonney, by investigating the void century- and like i said, it’s clear that his intentions have always been to help the world; but that doesn’t absolve him of responsibility for all the damage he’s done, either.

additionally, i would say that the designated ‘ally’ character for this arc, if there is one, is bonney, not vegapunk. her role as the emotional core of this arc is quite similar to law’s in dressrosa. vegapunk’s narrative role is, i think, somewhat more complicated than that.

[ahsokaismyqueen]

Reunions and Future Plans Pairing - Steve Harrington x HendersonSister!Reader Summary - For the first time in a long time, you and Steve haven't seen each other in three weeks since you started college. So he decides to surprise you. Word Count - 2.2k Warnings - Just some slightly smutty situations! Steve Harrington x HendersonSister!Reader Masterlist

You stumbled into your dorm room and landed face down on your bed. It had been possibly the longest week of your life. You’d been going to classes for three weeks now, and the material was starting to get more difficult. You’d spent ages in the library, but had finished your first essay. Now you were looking forward to laying down with your book until it was time for your nightly call with Steve. 

Which is why you almost didn’t get up when someone knocked on your door, but when they knocked again a couple of seconds later, you let out a groan, knowing that they weren’t going to go away. “Please tell me you didn’t forget-” but when you opened your door, your eyes widened in disbelief and a smile formed on your face. “Steve?” 

There he stood, a bundle of flowers in his hand and a grin on his face. “Miss me?” 

You threw your arms around his neck, tugging him inside. “Of course, you dummy!” Missing him didn’t even begin to cover it. You talked to each other, either with cerebro or the phone, and you weren’t far away enough that you couldn’t drive to see him whenever you wanted, but you hadn’t gotten to see him since you started classes. It was a big adjustment going from seeing him almost every day to not at all, and you were kinda hating it. 

Steve dropped the flowers on your table before he reached under your thighs to lift you into the air. “Calling me a dummy doesn’t make me think you missed me that much.” He said, but the tone in his voice told you he was teasing. 

“You know I use it as a term of endearment.” You said, nuzzling your nose against his. A giggle left your lips as he started carrying you back towards your bed. 

He placed you down like you were made of glass, wasting no time as he settled between your thighs. “You could try being nicer though. Like, ‘oh Steve, I’ve thought about you everyday, and I can’t stand it when we’re apart.’” 

You tangled your fingers in his hair as he hovered over you. “What about if I wrote Mrs. Steve Harrington in my notebook like fifty times? Does that count?” 

Your words took him aback, and you had to fight back a laugh at the expression on his face. “Did you actually do that? Because if so, I want to see.” 

“Mhmm, I guess you’ll never know.” You teased, pushing some of his hair back from his face. You still couldn’t quite believe he was here, looking down at you like you were a river he’d found during a drought. You were sure your expression was similar. “But, if I was trying to be nice, I’d tell you this is the happiest I’ve been in three weeks, and I’ve missed you so much I thought I might be going crazy. Because there’s no logical reason I should be missing you like this when you’re only a phone call or half an hour away.” You wrapped your legs around his hips, tugging him closer. “But I have.” 

Steve’s smile was radiant. “Damn, I was going to say Robin and your brother are driving me crazy without you.” 

“Jerk!” You fake glared at him, shoving him off of you. Of course it was a tiny bed, and there was nowhere for him to go other than against the wall, so he ended up pulling you with him onto your sides. 

“A jerk who loves you.” He said, and you couldn’t help but smile as he nuzzled into your neck and pressed kisses against your skin. “A jerk who was so depressing that Robin couldn’t stand the sight of it any longer and gave him the rest of the day off as long as he promised to come see you.” 

“Robin gave up a Friday night for you?” Robin had very few Friday nights off because of band, and the fact that she gave one up for Steve was a big deal. You definitely owed her the next time you saw her. 

He nodded, pulling back enough to look at your face and tuck some hair behind your ear. “Everything’s harder when you’re not around. I can’t concentrate at work, my brain feels like mush, I think Keith almost fired me the other day when I almost let an old lady rent Friday the13th instead of 16 Candles-”

You gasped, slapping your hand over your mouth to hide your grin. “You didn’t.” 

“I knew the movie had numbers in it! I just . . . couldn’t remember how many.” Steve replied, groaning. 

Unable to hold it in anymore, you let out a giggle. 

“It wasn’t funny!” But you could tell by Steve’s voice he was about to laugh as well. 

“You almost traumatized an old lady, Harrington. It's a little funny.” You said, not trying to hide your smile anymore. 

“It wasn’t on purpose!” Steve wrapped his arms around you and rolled you onto your back once more, resting his head on your chest with another groan. 

Reaching up, you ran your fingers through his hair with a soft smile. God you loved him. Ten minutes ago you’d been so exhausted you didn’t think there was a thought left in your head, but one hug from Steve Harrington and all of the stress seemed to melt from your body. “I’m really glad you’re here. Have I said that yet?” 

“Mhmm, I’m glad I’m here too.” He said, and butterflies started flying around your stomach as he leaned over to nuzzle his nose against your breast. 

Three weeks without having sex with Steve had been absolute torture, and your body lit up almost at once with his touch, but your gaze was drawn back to the door. Letting out a sigh, you stopped him. “Steve, as much as I wish we could do that right now, I have no idea when my roommate is coming back, and I don’t know her well enough yet to let her see your ass.” You joked after Steve’s hand slipped under your shirt. 

His hand moved back to a more respectful place on your hip. He pressed one more kiss to your breast that had you desperately wishing you had a single apartment, then placed his chin on your stomach, looking up at you. “Okay. What were you planning on doing tonight?” 

You shrugged, and your fingers began to massage his scalp. “Nothing really. I finished my essay so I was just planning on reading my book the rest of the night.” 

Steve’s eyes had closed as you touched him, and at your words, he turned his head so he could rest his cheek against your stomach. “Sounds good. You do that, and I’ll stay right here.” 

Raising your eyebrows at him, you couldn’t help but grin. “Are you going to fall asleep on me, Harrington?” 

“Maybe,” he tightened his arms around you, burrowing into your stomach like a pillow. “Sleep better when I’m with you.” 

“I’m not sure if I should be offended by that or not.” You weren’t. Not at all, because you knew that you slept better with him too. It was why you slept in one of his shirts every night. He didn’t know that though. 

Steve grumbled something that you couldn’t understand, but didn’t open his eyes, so you reached over and grabbed your book. 

You had no idea how long the two of you laid there. You weren’t even sure if he was asleep or not. He didn’t move much, and you were wrapped up in your latest fantasy novel. It was only when you reached the description of a boy with dark curly hair whose main language seemed to be sarcasm did you lose focus. “Hey, Steve?” You said quietly in case he was asleep. 

“Mhmm?” He said. 

“Have you seen the kids any? Max, Lucas, Mike, Dustin? It feels weird not looking after them, and Dustin . . . hasn’t talked to me much. Mom says he’s out every time I call.” 

Steve sat up a little then so he could look at you. “I think he’s joined some club at school. He hasn’t talked to me about it much, but it’s him, Lucas and Mike. Haven’t seen much of Max.” His hand brushed up and down your outer thigh in a comforting motion. “You don’t have to worry about them, you know?” 

“Easier said than done.” You said, letting out a sigh. “I feel like I’ve been helping take care of those kids my whole life, and with the way the last couple of years have gone . . .” You shook your head before looking back at him. “I keep waiting for something to happen.” 

He pressed a soft kiss to your stomach, “if it does, we’ll deal with it then.” 

You smiled at him, and started to get back to your book when Steve spoke again. 

“Can I ask you something sorta off topic, but also not really?” 

“Of course.” 

He hesitated and that made you curious. Steve didn’t often hold back on saying anything, and the fact that he was now piqued your interest. “Do you want your own kids? Not right now.” He quickly added, “I mean . . In the future.” 

This time you were the one who hesitated. You had thought about it of course, how could you not? You’d spent so much of your life looking after kids, you couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to have some of your own. Then Steve came into the picture and suddenly the kids you were picturing had features, some of yours and some of his in a perfect mix. You couldn’t help but wonder if he pictured the same. “Yeah. Definitely.” You admitted. “What about you?” You asked even though you already knew the answer. 

He grinned, and his eyes took on a far away look, like he was picturing the future. “I always dreamed about having a big family. Kinda hate being an only child and seeing how close you and Dustin are . . . I want all my kids to have that.” 

You’d never really thought about the fact that Steve was an only child, and what your relationship with Dustin must look like to him. To know that he loved it so much it was what he wanted for his own kids made you smile. “All your kids, huh? That implies more than one.” 

“Yeah,” he said, still lost in his daydream. “I always pictured like five or six.” 

Your eyes widened in disbelief, and your fingers stopped moving in his hair. “I’m sorry, did you say five or six?” 

Your words seemed to snap him back to the present, and he grinned sheepishly at you. “I probably shouldn’t have said that part should I?” 

“No! I mean -” You didn’t ever want Steve to feel bad for telling you something. “It’s just . . . That’s a lot. I guess I never thought about the number I wanted.” And if someone had asked you outright, five or six wouldn’t have been the number that came out of your mouth. “Why five or six anyway?” 

His face flushed, and he gave you a look like you should already know the answer to that. 

Dustin, Max, Lucas, Eleven, Will, Mike . . . Hell, if you counted Erica that was even seven. Suddenly, thinking about all the kids Steve wanted didn’t seem like such a big number. “You know, for someone who claims to hate being the babysitter all the time, you sure do seem to love it a lot.” 

Steve’s body relaxed once again, and he pressed a tender kiss to your stomach. “I think it has a lot to do with my co-babysitter.” 

“Well your ‘co-babysitter’ would like to see how she feels after one.” You told him, shaking your head. 

A grin started to form on Steve’s face. He crawled up your body, leaving little kisses in his wake until he was hovering over you, his hands on either side of your head holding his weight. “Henderson . . . Are you implying that you want to have kids with me?” 

Your eyes widened as your earlier words caught up with you. You hadn’t meant to imply that, but you had. This time a flush was on your cheek. “I - um . . .” You tried to think of what to say, but the only thing you could think of was, “shouldn’t you be freaking out right now?” 

His smile grew as he leaned closer. “Why would I be freaking out? You’d be the best mom ever.” 

Your heart rate must have spiked at least 120 at that. You grabbed a hold of his hair, tugging him down to meet your lips in a passion filled kiss that left you both breathless and desperate for more. When you rolled your hips against him, Steve groaned, pulling away abruptly. 

“Come back to Hawkins with me for the weekend.” He pleaded. 

You let out a little laugh. “Steve . . .” 

“I’ll drive you down, and drive you back up Sunday. My parents are at a conference, and if I have to go back to that house by myself I might actually lose my mind.” He said, leaning down to press his lips against that spot on your neck that drove you crazy. 

“You’re so needy, Harrington.” You teased, “it’s a good thing I love you so much.” 

Steve pulled away from your neck and nuzzled his nose against yours. “You just admitted you’d consider having kids with me. I need to be inside of you as soon as possible.” 

Needless to say, you both were in Hawkins in less than an hour.

[spacelazarwolf]

“Sex based oppression” is terf rhetoric. There is nothing about having a vagina that makes you magically more oppressed. What you’re talking about is misogyny, which transfems experience too, probably worse than you

i had to get parts of my body surgically removed so i could stop worrying about having an accidental pregnancy either through failed birth control or rape that my government has legally required that i would have to carry to term and give birth to whether i wanted to or not regardless of the medical consequences. so yeah actually there is something about having a vagina that makes me a target for a specific kind of oppression. and i genuinely do not know how we got to the point in the Discourse where we’re legitimately trying to argue it doesn’t. just because it’s something trans people who don’t have uteruses don’t have to deal with doesn’t mean they don’t also face a fuck ton of other misogyny and oppression. some of my fiercest supporters when roe v wade was struck down were trans women, and when our state government started going after all trans healthcare we were all there to support each other. bc, and i know this may be a foreign concept to u, we give a shit abt each other as human beings with diverse experiences. we talk about our similarities and differences and ways we can support each other even if we don’t personally know what it’s like to face a particular kind of bigotry. we’re all in the same sinking ship. stop making it sink quicker and help us with the fucking life rafts.

[memecucker]

The family tree of humanity is much more interconnected than we tend to think. “We’re culturally bound and psychologically conditioned to not think about ancestry in very broad terms,” Rutherford says. Genealogists can only focus on one branch of a family tree at a time, making it easy to forget how many forebears each of us has.

Imagine counting all your ancestors as you trace your family tree back in time. In the nth generation before the present, your family tree has 2n slots: two for parents, four for grandparents, eight for great-grandparents, and so on. The number of slots grows exponentially. By the 33rd generation—about 800 to 1,000 years ago—you have more than eight billion of them. That is more than the number of people alive today, and it is certainly a much larger figure than the world population a millennium ago.

This seeming paradox has a simple resolution: “Branches of your family tree don’t consistently diverge,” Rutherford says. Instead “they begin to loop back into each other.” As a result, many of your ancestors occupy multiple slots in your family tree. For example, “your great-great-great-great-great-grandmother might have also been your great-great-great-great-aunt,” he explains.

The consequence of humanity being “incredibly inbred” is that we are all related much more closely than our intuition suggests, Rutherford says. Take, for instance, the last person from whom everyone on the planet today is descended. In 2004 mathematical modeling and computer simulations by a group of statisticians led by Douglas Rohde, then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, indicated that our most recent common ancestor probably lived no earlier than 1400 B.C. and possibly as recently as A.D. 55. In the time of Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti, someone from whom we are all descended was likely alive somewhere in the world.

Go back a bit further, and you reach a date when our family trees share not just one ancestor in common but every ancestor in common. At this date, called the genetic isopoint, the family trees of any two people on the earth now, no matter how distantly related they seem, trace back to the same set of individuals. “If you were alive at the genetic isopoint, then you are the ancestor of either everyone alive today or no one alive today,” Rutherford says. Humans left Africa and began dispersing throughout the world at least 120,000 years ago, but the genetic isopoint occurred much more recently—somewhere between 5300 and 2200 B.C., according to Rohde’s calculations.

At first glance, these dates may seem much too recent to account for long-isolated Indigenous communities in South America and elsewhere. But “genetic information spreads rapidly through generational time,” Rutherford explains. Beginning in 1492, “you begin to see the European genes flowing in every direction until our estimates are that there are no people in South America today who don’t have European ancestry.”

In fact, even more recent than the global genetic isopoint is the one for people with recent European ancestry. Researchers using genomic data place the latter date around A.D. 1000. So Christopher Lee’s royal lineage is unexceptional: because Charlemagne lived before the isopoint and has living descendants, everyone with European ancestry is directly descended from him. In a similar vein, nearly everyone with Jewish ancestry, whether Ashkenazic or Sephardic, has ancestors who were expelled from Spain beginning in 1492. “It’s a very nice example of a small world but looking to the past,” says Susanna Manrubia, a theoretical evolutionary biologist at the Spanish National Center for Biotechnology.

Not everyone of European ancestry carries genes passed down by Charlemagne, however. Nor does every Jew carry genes from their Sephardic ancestors expelled from Spain. People are more closely related genealogically than genetically for a simple mathematical reason: a given gene is passed down to a child by only one parent, not both. In a simple statistical model, Manrubia and her colleagues showed that the average number of generations separating two random present-day individuals from a common genealogical ancestor depends on the logarithm of the relevant population’s size. For large populations, this number is much smaller than the population size itself because the number of possible genealogical connections between individuals doubles with each preceding generation. By contrast, the average number of generations separating two random present-day individuals from a common genetic ancestor is linearly proportional to the population size because each gene can be traced through only one line of a person’s family tree. Although Manrubia’s model unrealistically assumed the population size did not change with time, the results still apply in the real world, she says.

Because of the random reshuffling of genes in each successive generation, some of your ancestors contribute disproportionately to your genome, while others contribute nothing at all. According to calculations by geneticist Graham Coop of the University of California, Davis, you carry genes from fewer than half of your forebears from 11 generations back. Still, all the genes present in today’s human population can be traced to the people alive at the genetic isopoint. “If you are interested in what your ancestors have contributed to the present time, you have to look at the population of all the people that coexist with you,” Manrubia says. “All of them carry the genes of your ancestors because we share the [same] ancestors.”

And because the genetic isopoint occurred so recently, Rutherford says, “in relation to race, it absolutely, categorically demolishes the idea of lineage purity.” No person has forebears from just one ethnic background or region of the world. And your genealogical connections to the entire globe mean that not too long ago your ancestors were involved in every event in world history.

[fictionalcharactersaremypassion]

I've Got Somebody To Love

“Ay, lover, get up. We’re going out for breakfast.” 

It was decided on a whim. Ian sometimes makes remarks about doing couple-y things with Mickey. It’s just not his thing. He’s more than satisfied staying home, eating pizza bagels and watching a shitty movie. 

But he’s far more open now. He’ll go out to a shitty diner so they can eat overly salty food while the waiter tries to make small talk that he’ll ignore, just so Ian can be happy. And he’ll do it because he loves him. Plain and simple. 

“What?” Ian pushes himself up, rubbing his bleary eyes. 

“You deaf or somethin’?” Mickey swats at his foot still under the blanket. “We’re going out for breakfast. No pop tarts for us today.” 

“Why?” 

“My God-do I need a fucking reason to take my husband out?” Mickey is in the midst of grabbing a shirt, and if that shirt so happens to be Ian’s, well so fucking what? He shoots Ian a look of exasperated disbelief. “Jesus...” 

“No,” Ian is a little more awake and he props himself up by his elbows. He stares curiously at Mickey. “But you do hate mornings. And people.” 

“Yeah, well. I’m doing it for you. Said you wanted to do that sometimes. Get your ass up and let’s move.” 

Ian’s grin is blinding. His eyes are all big and doe-y like fucking bambi. Mickey’d be lying if he said it doesn’t make his damn heart beat a little harder. “You know I love you, right?” 

“Yeah, whatever,” Mickey grumbles, going into the bathroom to slather toothpaste on his toothbrush. He tries to suppress his own smile, though he’s more than sure Ian’s already seen it. “If you’re not ready in ten, I’m leaving without you.” 

Ian stretches his arms, just laying there for another minute or two. “I was having a really good dream, you know,” he hums. 

“Oh, yeah?” Mickey says when he’s done in there, his clothes already thrown on. 

Ian catches him by the loop in his jeans, and pulls Mickey a little closer. He peeks up at him through his eyelashes, his voice going low. “Fucking mind-blowing blow job.” 

Mickey grins, holding onto Ian’s chin. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah. And maybe I'll get something mind-blowing from you too someday."

His words set in and Mickey shoves him away, laughing. “You’re a fucking dick.” 

Ian’s laughing too, rolling onto his back again. “You should’ve seen your goddamn face.” 

“Fuck you, man,” Mickey says when he calms down, shaking his head. “Ay, you’re laughing now but not you won’t be later when all you’ve got to touch your dick is your left hand.” 

Ian just raises a lazy arm to flip him off. 

Mickey shuts the door behind him, plopping down on the couch to wait. While he does that, he glances out the window, immediately wrinkling his nose at the sight across at the other side of the building. The couple’s blinds are open, allowing him to see them attempting some kind of yoga position. Thank fuck Ian never actually made him attend that stupid fucking yoga class this place offered. 

Yeah, he’s definitely not doing whatever the hell they're doing. 

What are they doing? Mickey gets up to peer closer. They’re making a box shape, he realizes with his eyebrows furrowed. Or a square? Either way, it’s weird as hell, them all stretched out and held onto each other’s ankles like that. 

Jesus, he could write a fucking book on all the weird ass shit that goes on in this place. 

“You ready?” Ian’s out now, running both hands through his hair. It’s grown out a bit since they’ve been here, not like how Mickey’s had been when he broke out of prison, but he’s got a couple pieces of longer hair like he did back when Svet and Yev were still in the picture. 

“Yeah,” Mickey turns around, and feels warmth pool in his stomach. 

There’s a familiar red and gray checkered flannel he’s wearing over a brown t-shirt. His jeans are dark too, just like Mickey’s. Overall, he looks almost strikingly similar to his fifteen year self, without the fringe, plus his freckles are much lighter now. 

And holy fuck does he look good. Ian’s fiddling with his phone, unaware that Mickey’s blatantly staring. At least for a moment. 

“What?” He says, puzzled. 

And well, at one point back when he was under Terry’s thumb, scared out of his fucking mind and hating himself for who he really was, Mickey would’ve shot back something in response just to get the attention off him. 

Now, he doesn’t have to. 

It kind of hits him right then and there too, even though he’s been open to showing Ian how much he loves him for a while now. 

He doesn’t have to hide it anymore. 

He’ll never have to go through anymore of his life pretending he doesn’t find Ian fucking Gallagher attractive or some shit. And it’s really fucking great. 

Mickey smiles softly, standing in front of him, holding onto a fistful of the flannel. Ian’s hand comes around to rest on the back of his shoulder, and they just stay like that. “You look really fucking good, man.” 

“Okay,” Ian says, amused. 

“M’serious,” Mickey murmurs. “Reminds me of some kid I used to like back in the day.” 

“Oh, yeah?” 

“Some freckly, alien looking fucker. Real annoying.” 

Ian laughs softly, kissing Mickey sweetly. “I could probably say the same about the bastard I have to live with.” 

“Go easy on that bastard. It ain’t easy to live with your ginger ass,” Mickey teases. 

Ian swats at his ass when they let go of each other. “At least I wipe the toilet seat,” he shrugs, grinning when Mickey rolls his eyes. 

“For the love of God, we were in fucking prison!” 

“That’s no reason to leave piss on it!” 

If that couple across the way ever unties themselves, they would see the two of them making gestures with their arms, seemingly yelling until Ian pushes Mickey against the window for a searing kiss. 

Breakfast would have to wait. 

[nathanbatemanfucker]

In Plain Sight: Family Dinner

summary: nathan meets your sisters— alternatively, you get grilled by your family (nathan joins in of course).

pairing: nathan bateman x f!reader

contents: this entire series is 18+, SIBLINGSSSSSS, talks of dating, bi!reader, teasing, food mention, mentions of caretaking/sick parent, kissing, nathan is so in love (so is reader)

wc: 1,465

an: back at it with these two again. i adore them. i love them. this is lowkey chaos. and nathan sort of fits in perfectly with her family’s chaos which i was expecting to struggle with a bit. thank you to @juneknight for always being there to listen and brainstorm, you’re too good to me!

in plain sight masterlist | tiana | planted | little hamlet

3 months post To Atomize

“If neither of you are ready he doesn’t have to come. But, he’s very excited to meet you.”

Emma and Phillipa are sat on the couch as you stand— more like pace— in front of them. You shouldn’t be nervous, it’s not like this is the first time they’ve met someone you’ve been involved with. Nathan isn’t just somebody is he though? Asshole boss turned slightly less asshole boyfriend. The word feels weird in your mouth, not just because 6 months ago you were calling him Mr. Bateman, but because he seems like so much more than that.

All of his talk of being obsessed, about being consumed, well you feel the same way. You aren’t sure that the term boyfriend really compasses that. But, who would you be to shut that down— saying it doesn’t feel right, or strong enough— when Nathan had the most smug, giddy look on his face when he called you his girlfriend for the first time?

“Oh my god, don’t be a chicken, we’re ready,” Phillipa gripes, leaning back against the couch to more easily fish her phone out of her pocket.

“Hey, don’t call me a chicken.”

“You’ve been dating Mr. Bateman forever,” She says, scrolling on her phone. “It’s been on Twitter.”

“Its been 6 months. Call him Nathan, he's not some stuffy old man.” You say. Well— he’s not old at least. “And please don’t mention Twitter, I’m perceived enough these days.”

Emma pipes up finally, “Phil says that’s a hella long time.”

You narrow your eyes at the older girl who’s giving your younger sister a similar look. “Phil says hella, does she?”

“Emma you swore you wouldn’t tell!”

“I didn’t! I used it in a sentence!”

“Okay, okay— we don’t yell at each other.. You’re both sure?”

“Yes!” They say together with different levels of eagerness, though they’re both excited.

You regard them with wary eyes. Nathan’s excited. They’re excited. Your nerves are certainly there, but you are too.

“Alright but I need you both to be on your best behavior. Be the sweet girls I know you are. And no more cussing. Either of you.”

—

Nathan’s been uncharacteristically quiet but you know that he’s just gathering information, feeling things out. But, Phillipa takes that as nerves and being the rebellious teenager that she is, she wants to have some fun.

She mixes up the pasta in front of her, examines it as she nonchalantly asks, “Nathan, where do babies come from?”

Nathan bites back a nervous laugh. “Don’t they teach you that in sex ed? I mean scientifically speaking it’s a bore but—“

“Nathan,” You grit out in warning, your eyes meeting his.

He gets the message straight away, going in for a different method of attack. “I could make a baby with my bare hands. Program it to never cry or eat, to sleep its 16 hours.”

Emma perks up. “Like a babydoll? Mine is broken.”

“Emma, a new doll is on your Christmas list. It's not broken, you just want the new one,” Phillipa says, reaching for the red pepper flakes.

“I could build her one that's better than anything you could buy on the market. Those things crap out, they malfunction.”

Your brow furrows as you look over at Nathan, this is not where you expected this conversation to go, though you’re not ungrateful. “You’re going to build my sister a doll?”

“Oh, please? Please, please, Mr. Bateman!”

“I told you to call him Nathan, Em.”

Phillipa leans in, “Hey, what about me? Emma gets a doll what do I get.”

“Nathan isn't here to give you thinks, Phil, he was just here to meet you.”

“That depends on what you like Philippa. I can do anything,” Nathan proclaims, leaning back against his chair and crossing his arms.

“Nobody can do anything.”

“That was before you met me. Name it.”

“I’m gonna think of something super impossible.”

“I look forward to proving you wrong, Phil.”

Phil studies him for a moment, trying to decide if she’ll say what’s on her mind. “You’re cooler than anybody she’s ever dated.”

“Oh really?”

“Phil, please,” You plead, completely abandoning eating in turn for twirling your pasta anxiously.

Phillipa ignores completely ignores you, grinning at Nathan’s interest. “Yeah, the last guy she brought looked like Goofy and sounded like Mickey Mouse.”

“Mickey Mouse, huh? You into rats, sweetheart?”

“What about the lady with the curly hair? I liked her,” Emma says softly.

Nathan’s brows raise as he trains his gaze on you. “The lady?”

You pinch the bridge of your nose between your fingers. Your sisters and Nathan grilling you— together. This was simultaneously the best and the worst idea. They had to meet of course, what with you being pretty sure you want to spend the rest of your life with Nathan. But did they have to gang up on you like a well choreographed dance? Especially on the first go of it.

“We were friends. How do you even remember her, Em, you were a toddler?” You look at her with eyes that say back off but she’s 7, in her own world, having a great time.

Nathan’s building her a babydoll for gods sakes.

Emma grins, “She always gave me candies.”

“Wait a fuc—“ He stops himself, mindful of your sisters, repeating with just as much shock as before, “a lady?”

“Friends,” You emphasis again.

“I literally caught you two kissing,” Phil says, rolling her eyes.

“Philippa—“

Nathan throws his head back, laughing loudly, “Not much of an explanation for that, is there honey?”

“It never went anywhere— not that I owe to any of you to explain,” You give all of them narrowed eyes, your face feeling hotter than the surface of the sun.

“They were all nice at least,” Philippa muses, twirling some pasta around her fork.

“Like I would bring home somebody that would be mean to either of you.”

“Phillipa says people say Nathan’s a jackass,” Emma announces before stuffing more garlic bread in her mouth.

You fix Phillipa with an icy look, and she quickly looks away, suddenly very interested in the basket of garlic bread in front of her. “When I told you to spend more time with your sister, that really did not include teaching her swear words.”

“I like swear words!” Emma protests.

Nathan leans in, smiling wide, eyes glittering mischievously, “Emma, so do I.”

You lean closer to Nathan, whispering, “Honey, you’re not helping.”

“Right. Lips zipping,” He whispers back, straightening up.

You turn back to your sisters. “Less swear words, more dinner. Or are you finished?”

“I’m finished. Can we have the brownies Phillipa made?”

“Of course, little one. Phillipa? Nathan?”

Phil just gives you a nod, while Nathan says, “All good, sweetheart.”

Dessert is much more mellow, and afterwards Nathan offers to do the dishes for you so that you can make sure your sisters get to bed alright. Once you’ve said goodnight to them, you return to your room. You find Nathan there, fingers tracing the trinkets and family heirlooms that sit on your desk.

You shut the door quietly behind you, “I told you they were…”

“Like you?” Nathan suggests, his mouth sitting in that smug grin.

You scoff. “Nosy. I’m not nosy.”

“You’re pretty fucking nosy.”

“Am not.”

“I didn’t say I disliked it about you honey, don’t get your panties in a twist,” He reaches for you, crowding you against the wall near your bed.

“My panties are untwisted, Nathan,” You say matter of factly, unimpressed with him.

He grins, pressing a kiss to your cheek, your jaw, your neck. “Can I take them off then?”

“My sisters are down the hall, so is my mom,” You whisper, a little breathless and Nathan takes note of that.

“I thought you liked covering my mouth?” He asks, pulling away from your neck to wag his eyebrows at you. You stare up at him, eyes alight, mouth flat. He wants to kiss you until his brain melts out of his ears but digresses. “Alright, alright. I’ll behave.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bateman,” You say, your voice a little exasperated though there’s a smile pulling at your lips. You detangle yourself from him, starting towards the door. “I’ll get you some towels to shower and check on my mom.”

“You’ll let me know if she’s up for company?” Nathan watches you deflate, sorry that he even asked. But, he’s eager to meet the woman who raised you. He wants to ask questions and know more about the both of you.

“Yeah, I’ll let you know,” You murmur.

“If not, I’ll just write her a note. You know I’m good for it,” He murmurs, nodding head towards the note he’d written you that sits on your nightstand. “Come back here. Please.”

When you cross the room to him, he pulls in close, his mouth capturing yours in a kiss that makes you so dizzy you can’t remember that you were sad.

“What was that for?”

He raises a brow at you, “What, I can’t kiss my girlfriend whenever I want?”

“You and that word are really going strong?”

“You jealous?”

“Nathan, that would make a negative amount of sense, my love.”

He starts to kiss at your neck like before, using a little more teeth this time. “Oh that’s new. I like that. Say it again.”

“To the shower, Bateman.”

nathan taglist: @missdictatorme, @hon3yboy, @runa-falls, @campingwiththecharmings, @toracainz, @steven-grants-world, @clemdango04, @jdbxws, @crispysublimecupcake, @sub-aro, @faretheeoscar, @cupidysm, @whentheskyispinkandabitblue, @nova-ivy541, @sparkypantelones, @veritable-trash, @mangoslushcrush, @thhriller @tenderhornynihilist, @queerponcho, @redcake333

[imagine-that-100]

Chicken Shop Date

By @imagine-that-100​ and @alovesreading​

Description: Matty Healy x Reader (Female) | You and your best friend Amelia came up with a very simple idea of taking celebrities on awkward chicken shop dates, and somehow, it’s managed to become both of your jobs. In the past, you’ve found sitting across from some of the biggest stars on the planet and eating chicken nuggets easy. But then Amelia manages to score you a date with the man who you’ve been obsessed with since you were nineteen; Matty Healy.

Word Count: 18.3k

A/N: Okay so, Matty’s chicken shop date really had me and @alovesreading​ spiralling so we decided to make an even better version of the date. This will more than likely be 2 parts and the second part will be posted on A’s account so make sure you’re all following. We wrote this in like 53 hours and we’re super proud of it. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do, and we can’t wait to see what you think. Enjoy and thanks for reading x

| N’s Masterlist | A’s Masterlist |

Going on chicken shop dates with your favourite celebrities at one point in your life seemed like something entirely plucked from yours and your best friend’s imaginations. You guess that is all it was at one point, but you never for a second imagined it would become your job.

It’s a stupid, fun idea that you and your best friend Amelia ran with and now you’ve gone on ‘dates’ with some of the biggest stars on the planet. It was beyond your wildest dreams and it’s opened up so many opportunities for the both of you that somehow, you’re now both invited to big events that these stars also attend.

You and Amelia were both at the NME awards earlier this year, surrounded by musical legends that the both of you knew you needed to try and ask on your ‘dates’. The amount of award shows the both of you were asked to host their red-carpet shows were also insane to the both of you.

The imposter syndrome really kicks in for the both of you when you’re at these events but you both remind yourselves to use your fake confidence that you use on your ‘dates’ and it somehow gets you through. But you wouldn’t ever take for granted the opportunities the both of you were getting now.

Both of your calendars were full with work that you never imagined possible for either of you. And you’d been on dates with people like Finneas, Yungblud, KSI, and a bunch of other cool celebrities. Amelia had some good ones along the way too, and it’s been quite funny sometimes when you would argue amongst yourself of who would get the date.

Quite early on in your and Amelia’s chicken shop dates, both of you decided that you would go on separate dates with the celebrities that agreed to them. A way to keep each episode fresh with similar but ultimately different personalities as the both of you awkwardly flirt your way into getting celebrities to lower their guard and play off you.

Both of you were so happy when it worked, and you thought it would just be a fun side project for the both of you. But the guests kept getting bigger and bigger and you were able to quit your shit job because now you were earning a very comfortable living and you have so many opportunities that years ago you could only have dreamt of.

It was at the NME awards back in February that your date today was arranged. Both you and Amelia saw that event as a way you could ask people to come on your show. And whilst you were tasked with trying to make a drunk Sam Fender agree to come on the show, Amelia went straight for Matty Healy because she knew you wouldn’t have the balls to do it.

Amelia was the one person who knew just how much you enjoyed the 1975’s music and how much you have done for years. Subsequently, she liked their music too because you used to never stop playing it, but she was definitely a lot more chill about them than you.

That night at the NME awards was something Amelia truly believed she’d never forget though. When you’d gone off to talk to Sam, she went and introduced herself to Matty before sitting at his table.

It really took her no time at all to get Matty to agree to a chicken shop date as he already knew about the show and how it usually goes down. Matty agreed on the spot and he told her that they were going to release their new album sometime in October so it would have to be close to then for promo reasons.

Of course, Amelia was used to this as album promo was the reason why she’d got dates with other music artists in the past, so it made sense. And Amelia would do anything to make it work because she wanted you to have this experience of going on one of your dates with someone you actually fancy.

But what made your best friend really have to hold her grin back was when Matty asked, “Is it going to be you or Y/N doing it?”

Amelia is about to say that he can choose if he wants to but that it’ll more than likely be you doing it. But Matty answers his own question and asks again, “No offence to you, but can Y/N do it?”

“Course, I’ll be in touch.” Ameila tells him before wishing him a good night and going back to her table to get herself another drink.

By the end of that night, you both made the rounds and came back with a nice long list of people that had agreed to go on dates with you both. But considering Amelia went home with Aitch that night, she didn’t tell you about securing the date with Matty straight away.

And even when she did and you had a small, tiny meltdown over it, she kept to herself that Matty asked for the date to be with you. You just assumed that she was letting you have this date because you’ve loved the band for the longest time and she’ll let you carry on thinking that, for now. She doesn’t plan on telling you that Matty asked for you personally until after you date.

When the enquiry officially came through for the chicken shop date, Matty was quite excited about it going in his calendar. In his free time, Matty had seen a few of both of your dates.

Of course, he’d seen the ones that truly gave the both of you, your now viral audience. The Louis Theroux one got the rap going viral, so that lifted your platform up even more. Not to mention the ones where Amelia went on dates with Jack Harlow and Aitch, because she lost her composure and didn’t fully maintain her cool, unbothered character.

But in the UK the two of you definitely became well known when Amelia and Aitch started their little romance that had all stemmed from their date. Matty planned on asking what actually happened when he had his own chicken shop encounter though. But he had to admit, he was glad that it was confirmed that he would be going on his own chicken shop date with you.

It may be superficial of him to admit, but he finds you more attractive than Amelia. You really are a gorgeous girl in Matty’s eyes, and he thinks going on a date with someone he actually somewhat finds attractive will be a win for both of you. From the episodes of the show he’d seen, he thinks that you are also funnier, and he has no doubt that he’ll be able to play off you well when he’s in the hot seat on the other side of the table from you.

He met you earlier on that night at the NME Awards, before Amelia had collared him for a date, and you were even prettier in person than you were on camera. Funnier too when you weren’t in character. You told him that night that you really appreciated his music and he told you that he liked the show, but your encounter was cut short because his girlfriend came on stage to perform so he had to go and watch her.

You didn’t see each other for the rest of that night, but he was glad when Amelia came over and asked if he’d be up for a date. Initially, he thought it was a bit of a weird thing for him to agree to when he’s literally attending an event that his girlfriend is also here for, but he was really proud of his new album and wasn’t going to pass on some promo for it.

Matty would say he certainly relaxed about the date a little more when he realised it was coming up and he was freshly single. Whilst he was still a little down in the dumps about yet another failed relationship, he was excited to actually play off you on this date properly. He could freely flirt without any guilt to come with it and he was excited for it.

And today’s date seemed to creep up on the both of you all at once.

Standing outside the chosen Chicken Inn this time has you unable to stay still. After doing this for so long, the nerves were something you were used to, and you had been able to learn to keep under control but knowing that Matty was the one who would walk in at any moment was making you feel like it was your first ever date.

Usually for your dates, both you and Amelia researched your guests to get the best out of the jokes you’d make. However, you’ve known everything there is to know about The 1975 since you were 19 years old, you did absolutely no research at all for this. All you did was prep funny little gags you could make, in hopes to make the episode funny. But that hasn’t stopped your nerves at all.

You glance at Amelia, a slight hint of panic in your eyes that she didn’t miss. She blows you a kiss and gives you a tight lip smile that has you thanking everything for being able to do this with your best mate.

But that relief only lasts a few seconds as you all hear the heavy door being pushed open and you see the musician walk in as he closes his umbrella with Jamie, his manager, walking closely behind him.

Amelia and the crew are quick to greet them with “Hello!” and smiles, but the words die in your mouth.

You watch the two guests waving at everyone, to then hug Amelia and when it’s your turn to greet them, you slowly rise up from your seat.

Jamie goes first so you smile as you accept his handshake. Handshakes you could do, is what you think but when it’s Matty’s turn you feel yourself getting nervous again as he looks you up and down with a smirk before hugging you.

You were wearing heels which made you a few inches taller than him, so he decides to wrap his arms around your waist and rub your back whilst you hug him over the shoulders.

It was a surreal moment for you, to say the least, and it all gets even harder to believe when Matty says, “You look amazing Y/N.” in your ear.

You find yourself looking at Amelia for he had said that loud enough for everyone to hear and when your eyes fall on her, you see her smirking at you. You had a cheetah print top on, red leather pants and a red bandana tied around your wrist. It had been an idea you and Amelia had to dress up like the girl in the Robbers music video just for the laughs, and you had expected a joke about it not a compliment. However, you’re not even sure if it’s just a compliment or if he’s clicked that you’re dressed like this on purpose.

When you let go of each other, you look down at him and smile, “Thank you, so do you.” And it’s maybe the whole situation that has you clouding your better judgement because your hand goes to pet Matty on top of his head and he rolls his eyes.

That only makes you laugh though, his smile creeping through as he tries to act annoyed at you only making your cheeks feel warm.

You signal him to sit in the chair across from you and he obliges, handing his umbrella to Jamie and sighs when he looks up at you.

“So, the chicken shop date…” Matty trails off, adjusting his tie and then brushing his hair back with his right hand. A small strand of it falling on his forehead making you bite the inside of his cheek to not smile as big as you want to.

You nod, “The chicken shop date, exactly. Are you ready?”

Someone from the crew places your chicken boxes in front of you two, and he watches as you give them a sweet smile and thank them. It was interesting seeing you not being blunt and awkward like in the videos.

Usually, you tend to encourage your guests to start eating before the camera’s start officially rolling just to get them comfortable. And you do the same now with Matty, he’d already told you that chicken nuggets and chips, like what you eat on your various dates was fine, so you both start slowly scranning on that as you prepare him for how the interview usually plays out.

Briefly you go over what he already knows, that you’re not meaning to be rude about anything when you put your character on. It’s not that you’re not interested or not impressed by what he’s saying, it's just the unbothered, chill character you put on. And once Matty seems settled enough with you, you give the nod to your crew and get things going.

But what shocks Matty is when the director tells you they’re rolling, it's like a flip is switched. You stare down at him with a challenging expression, like you’re trying to get him to break and say something.

Only he stares back at you, trying to have you break first, but you won’t give him that. So, you lean to your side and pull out a bottle of Volvic strawberry flavoured water.

Placing it on the table, you see a massive grin break on his face as he reaches for it. You have to try and not beam at him yourself.

“Do you- Do you know about that bit? Is this an in-joke?” Matty asks, managing to keep his chill composure back.

You frown, “Is it- The what?” instead of smiling like you desperately want to.

“That I like this?” He plays with the bottle, glancing from it to you and back.

You shrug, acting all proud of yourself for the reaction you got from him. “I know.”

Matty giggles, “How’d you know that?”

Your smile manages to break through a little and you look from him to the camera to make it seem more awkward. “I just know you like that. I know your likes, your dislikes…”

“It’s like Nardwuar.” He states, clearly amazed, really thinking about how you and Amelia managed to find this out. Maybe you had reached out to one of the lads, that had to be it.

After opening your can of Tango, you bring up your can so he can clink it with his bottle, “Cheers.”

Matty does, saying, “Cheers,” as well and when you take a sip of your beverage keeping your eyes on him, you’re baffled at how this was all happening.

“You know you were late, right?” You point out after you feel like you’ve had enough of your drink.

He frowns, “No I wasn’t.”

You raise your eyebrows, unimpressed and call him out further. “That’s rude. You don’t do that on the first date.”

“I was like five minutes over time.” Matty looks at everyone behind the cameras and then back at you, as if he was trying to make sure people would back him.

You pick at your chips, fighting back. “More like quarter past.”

“It was Jamie’s fault.” Matty settles for saying, like that would make it look better.

“Why are you trying to blame someone else, I know it was your own fault.” You make a show of staring at his hair, trying to silently tell him you knew his hair took him a long while to perfect like he wanted to.

“There was traffic.” He uses it as a second excuse but you’re not having it.

“You live like ten minutes away.” You out him, “You must have set off at the time you were meant to arrive if that was the case.”

Matty asks a little worriedly, “How do you know that?”

Instead of answering, you out him like you want to, “So, how long did it take you to get ready for this date?”

Matty fully ignores your intentions to make him admit he took long to get ready and calmly switches the direction of the inquiry. “I'd like to say that I kinda dressed for the occasion but this is kinda how I dress.”

“How you dress, or how your stylist dresses you?” You use a chip to point at him.

“Isn't that the same?” At this point, Patricia and him were always talking about fashion and clothes so she didn’t even need to dress him for these types of press events, he could do it himself and know it was good and she would approve.

“It looks like you're going to a funeral.” you state with a blank face to tease him but he gives you nothing.

“Maybe I am.” Matty swiftly plays along.

So you try a different approach to have him show some emotion. “Speaking of funerals… You’re old.”

That gets him instantly, his frown so deep it almost makes you burst out laughing. “No, I’m not.”

“You are, like very old.” You insist, slowly nodding your head.

Matty sighs, “No, I am not. I was born in 198–”

But you talk over him to continue with your gag, “So you were born in 1975.”

“No.” He plainly responds, with an exasperated look on his face.

You proceed to add more to it, “You know Liz Truss was born in 1975, and DJ Khalid so you're in good company.” The slight shrug of your shoulders has him slowly turning to everyone around you two.

“I was born in the 80s.” Matty feels the need to remind everyone in the room, looking at them all and not you.

So you keep pushing it, “Yeah you were born in the 80s, keep telling yourself.” You pout at him when he turns back around to face you.

His voice raises in volume just a notch, “I was born in the 80s. I was born in 1989 and I'm still young and relevant.”

There’s a few beats of silence when you’re just staring at him with a straight face. Then you just let out a tiny sigh and say, “Sure.”

Matty has to bite his tongue. You played it so well, and the way you could so easily get on his nerves like that was making him look at you more intently. It's much more different seeing you act like this in a video than having you doing it in front of him.

He's loving every second and the date has only just started.

“You have new music coming soon.” You decide to open the conversation back up with a topic that actually really interests you but you have to take it into a different direction.

“I do.” Matty nods, flicking the salt from the chips off his fingers.

You wait to swallow the bite of chicken you had in your mouth to continue with your teasing, this time hiding it behind showing interest on his upcoming album. “So ‘Being funny in a foreign language’, is that right?”

Matty only nods, eating some of his nuggets so you continue with your bit. “Can you be funny in a foreign language?”

He rolls his eyes, swallowing his food to clear things up for you. “It’s not meant literally. It came from–”

You don’t even allow him to explain, you just plainly interrupt him. “I can be funny in a foreign language.”

He unscrews his bottle and raises an eyebrow at you. “What? Like tell a joke?”

You don’t even tell him yes, you just start speaking Spanish. And you know it’s not a joke what you’re gonna tell him but he wouldn’t know. “¿Sabes que me gustaría hacer?” (Do you wanna know what I would like to do?)

“What?” Matty asks blissfully unaware that he was answering your question.

“Me encantaría quitarte ese traje en este momento.” (I would love to take that suit off right now.) You smirk at him, biting on a chip and trying not to laugh at his naive excited expression because he had no idea what you had just said.

Amelia cackles, making Matty giggle in front of you. You feel his soft kick on your feet to encourage you to tell him, “What was that then?”

You sit up straighter, staying smug at how you just very honestly flirted with him and he doesn’t have a clue. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I would.” Matty nods eagerly, and his face softens in an attempt to push you to come clean. As if his puppy eyes would break you, and they could but you had to commit to your job.

You pout in fake pity then, “It’s a shame we don’t always get what we want.”

He turns it on you, “You got me on a date with you, haven’t you?”

And you play along as sarcastically as you can, “Oh yeah, ‘cause I’m so in love with you.”

Matty laughs at that, you’re really good at staying in character. “Am I even your type?” He teases, trying to get more hints from you.

“You’re here so you have to be.” You state quite simply, and he sees the honesty in your eyes. “I’m quite picky actually.”

Something inside of him sparked but he tries to continue to play it cool. “See, I didn’t think I’d be your type.” Because Matty truly didn’t think he would be, if he only knew you were having cold sweats from being sat in front of him.

“Well, you are when you have the curls out. Not that much right now.” You eye him up and down, keeping a straight face. He looks so incredibly good though, it’d be a lie that you weren’t finding him fit as fuck at the moment. But it wasn’t a lie that his curls had always made you feel some type of way.

Matty scoffs, “You don’t like the gel?”

You contort your face to exaggerate your fake disagreement. “No, you’re not 2013 Alex Turner. I prefer the curls.”

He frowns deeply, “2013 Alex Turner?”

“Yeah, you know with the whole greaser slick back hair,” You mimic combing back your hair like Danny Zuko would in Grease and when Matty shakes his head you sigh defeatedly. “Not important. The real question is do you have a type?”

He takes a small pause, “Erm, well, I’m straight.”

“Yawn.” You reply quickly and roll your eyes.

Matty hunches a little bit and narrows his eyes at you, “You’re not?”

“No, I'm not boring like you... Anyway, so, you're straight?” You turn it back around to him, in any other setting he would try and get more out of you but glancing up and seeing the camera had him get back in character and continue talking about himself.

Matty remembers the never-ending conversation that is all over social media so he frowns annoyed, “Yeah, that's been up for debate.”

“Has it?” You frown, knowing full well it has because you’ve definitely questioned his sexuality privately before now, but you play dumb and uninterested.

“Yeah, well for a little bit, on Twitter and stuff. Just wanna say that.” He waves his hand around dismissing the relevance of said debate.

You smile then at the very lame play of words that come up to your mind, “You’re setting the record straight.”

“I’m setting the record straight.” Matty repeats, stealing a glance at the camera before looking back at you, “So, girls.”

“So just any kind of girl?” You ask for clarification, knowing you’d get something funny out of him.

He stutters for a bit until he finds his words, “But I do like hot women, hot girls.”

“Yeah,” You shake your head like you're unimpressed but equally you agree, “I know you like hot girls, yeah.”

“That's alright.” Matty adds calmly, not seeing anything inherently wrong with admitting that.

You give him an up and down, and then tilt your head slightly to the side as in disapproval, “Quite predictable, I think.”

“You know, you’ve gotta enjoy your life.” Matty goes for a chip as he stands his ground, and you look very closely at his every move.

“Yeah I know, I like hot girls too.” You agree entirely, but you grimace when you ask, “But what about funny, what about interesting?”

The chip he puts in his mouth is sticking out the side of it while he agrees with the point you’re trying to make, “Oh yeah, funny and interesting is cool.”

“Yeah, yeah but hot is better?” You watch him nod as he fully eats the chip.

His nods don’t stop, “Hot is definitely the most important thing.”

You avert your eyes then, feeling yourself about to break character. It’s getting to you how bizarre this whole situation is and how your job is to flirt with the man you’ve fancied for almost a decade. What is your life?

You half heartedly smile, sounding offended and uninterested as you say, “Okay, that's great.”

“Listen, you're gorgeous.” He states quickly, staring at you while he brings the bottle up to his lips.

You very quickly interject, “But am I hot?”

“Yeah, you’re hot,” Matty’s quick answer almost makes you lose your cool but you somehow maintain it. Matty’s about to take a drink when he continues, “But I'm going on tour for a very long time.”

“What, so you're not available?” You ask, like it’s an inconvenience to you.

“Like I said before,” Your date reminds you, “I didn't think I would be your type.”

You sigh like you’re already tired of reminding him he is definitely your type, “You’re literally on the other side of the table on a date with me, Matty.”

His eyebrows raise and the corners of his lips fall as he nods, “I did agree to it.”

You smile at him then, a soft one that has all of his attention drawn on you. “And if you stop gelling your hair I'll agree to see you when you get back from tour or, you know, I could come along and be your… Groupie.”

He holds back his laughter, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he does so and you can’t ignore the way your tummy flutters at the sight so your lips slightly raise in a smile. “For a second, I genuinely felt a flirt before you did that bit.”

“What no.” You half smile and your composure breaks seconds after he does.

Matty nods, a smile on his lips, “That was actually a thing.”

“No I was,” You try to come back from it but you’re slightly too flustered, “Was good.”

You desperately want to smile at his smile. But thankfully you muster up enough to make your face blank again even though the man across the table for you is making it hard.

“I get it now,” Matty leans back in his seat and smiles, “So you actually do flirt with people.”

“Yeah, I'm like a really good flirter. That's one of my special… Skills that I can do…” And you don’t know why you say it because you know you’ll embarrass yourself, but you can’t stop yourself from adding, “Amongst other things.”

“Other things?” Matty grins at that, and raises his eyebrows, clearly interested as he asks, “Like what?”

You take a deep breath to stop the smile that's pulling on the corner of your lips, but to give an answer but also not give an answer, you push your tongue to your cheek and tilt your head to the side a bit.

Matty smirks at that and gives you knowing eyes. But thankfully he doesn’t tease you more because he just crosses his arms and leans forward to rest them on the table before asking you, “Did Amelia actually go out with Aitch?”

And you lose all composure and burst out laughing after a few silent seconds of staring at his cute grin.  

Making you lose yourself has Matty’s grin getting even bigger. Regardless of him knowing that this would be a part you cut from the final edit of the date, he had broken your character for the briefest of moments and it was joyous for him to see.

He endeavours to do it again before your date is over.

“We can talk about that later.” You promise him, as you get your cool again.

Matty watches as you slip back into your character and your shoulders relax as you pick up another one of your chips to continue the date. He’s impressed by the ease in which you switch back and how you could just pick up where you left off like nothing had happened.

Getting back to your food, you ask him before having another chip, “What do you think is like your least attractive trait that you have?”

It surprises you just how quickly Matty replies, “Probably my personality?”

But you have to hide it, agreeing with him like it was the most factual statement he’d ever said, “Mmm yeah.”

“Yeah.” He agrees along with you.

“Speaking of your big personality…” You lead on to the next gag you want to make, because there’s no way you’re doing a purposefully awkward interview and not bringing up the fact he’s still not done something.

You continue to tell him, “We saw you at Reading. Amelia and I.”

He hums and takes a gulp of his drink, “Did you like the set?”

You force yourself to act like you hadn’t screamed every lyric of his from the very start until they left the stage. “It was alright.” You shrug, looking down to grab another chip, “You didn’t play my favourite.”

“Which is?” Matty was intrigued now, he would’ve guessed he had definitely played everyone’s favourites that night.

“Antichrist.” Your eyes don’t leave him so you see the way his face falls.

His eye roll and groan was automatic, “Oh for fucks sake.” he swears under his breath.

You also add another controversial moment that you remember the press had gone wild over, “And Amelia didn’t like the spit on the camera.”

Matty catches onto the mention of only your best mate to tease you, “Only Amelia didn’t like it?” And when you nod, he smirks, “So you enjoyed it?”

You shrug with a blank expression on, giving absolutely nothing away, “Maybe.”

And before Matty can say anything during this now hilariously funny awkward silence that you’re trying not to smile at, you move the subject quickly on.

You take a breath before you say, “You’ve tweeted about doing a podcast.”

“Yeah.” Matty confirms.

But without missing a beat, you plead, “And I was gonna say, like, please don't.”

“Yeah, no, it’s probably good advice.” Matty says after a little giggle.  

“You’d just make it all about yourself and we just don’t need that. Society would be good without… more.” Your hand awkwardly moves in the air as you try to point at him.

Matty fully ignores the insult so he can flirt again, liking the way you were forcing your smile back just a minute ago. “I reckon you’d make a great podcast.”

A smile breaks out on your face, and your hand comes up to your chest as you reply, “Oh, why, thank you.”

Nodding, he continues to reassure. “You have a nice voice. You could actually have me paying attention to any topic you’d talk about.”

“Even if it’s just Kardashian gossip?” You try to keep it funny, ignoring the way his comments are making you feel.

His eyes don’t leave yours when he says, “If it’s you talking then I’d have it on constantly.”

You really hope you aren’t visibly flustered because that comment has certainly made you feel some type of way that you have to push every thought relating to it to the back of your mind. “Are you saying you want to hear my voice on a daily basis?”

“I wouldn’t hate it.” Matty shrugs with a smirk.

You have to subtly bite your bottom lip to keep your expression collected. “I’ll talk to my agent, we can arrange that.”

But Matty glances down at your lips when you do it and you catch him as he didn't meet your gaze until after you finished that sentence. Your heart skips a beat, he’s making you want to ask for a break.

So you raise an eyebrow at him, a silent questioning for his actions but Matty only keeps his smirk on his face which has you sighing and reaching out for a sip of your drink.

To get the conversation flowing again, you take from what he’d just said about paying attention and ask him, “What were you like in school? I can imagine you were a loud one.”

Matty chuckles and nods to confirm that one. But then he sighs as he starts giving you the details of a young Matty Healy, “I didn't really concentrate at high school cause I saw it in the way of, kind of, getting in the way of my… Visionary genius.”

“You've always been a genius, would you say?” You ask, eyebrows raised, fully playing along like you believe him.

“I wouldn't call myself a genius, I-”

Interrupting, you point out, “You just did.”

“Well, I described my… So yeah, I've always been a genius.” Matty concedes and lets the joke roll which has you unapologetically smiling at him.

“But, so school was annoying.” Matty raises his eyebrows when he asks you, “Imagine being a genius and having to go to school?”

Shake your head slightly, blankly stating but with the ghost of a smile tugging at your lips, you tell him, “I wouldn't have to imagine.”

There’s another few seconds that pass where you can tell just by the way your date is looking at you that he’s finding what you do impressive. And you can almost see the cogs working together in his brain so he can piece by piece get where he wants to lead this next.

But you’d never have imagined that he would come out and say, “I do genuinely find you quite attractive, to break the fourth wall.”

At this you really try to hold your smile, because hearing that is your teenage fantasy come true almost ten years later. You swear your heart starts beating faster and your stomach feels like it’s doing somersaults.

You can quite literally feel yourself screaming on the inside, not to mention Amelia’s eyes burning into the side of your head. Best friend telepathy is real as you’re sure you can feel her screaming at you inside her mind.

“It's a weird concept…” Matty looks from you to the crew and Amelia before back to you, “This is quite meta, this is kinda like high art.”

You smile and nod like he’s cracked an enigma, telling him plainly before taking a bite of a nugget, “Dating me is an art.”

Matty chuckles, “I’m sure it is.”

“So if you find me attractive,” You lean forwards a bit before you quote his song at him in an awful attempt to flirt like your character would, “How about we go, where nobody knows?”

“Oh wow,” Matty rolls his eyes, clearly understanding the reference but he’s far from impressed by it. Regardless though, he leans forwards as he plays along and sarcastically asks, “Shall I hide a gun under my petticoat?”

“Will it be a gun or will you just be pleased to see me?” You ask with a suggestive eyebrow raise before you eat the last bit of your chicken nugget.

Matty once again stares you down and as you chew your food you do exactly the same back to him. You’re not giving up after that great line and you can tell he’s dying to laugh. As are you really, but that’s just because he played right into your hands. You have this man right where you want him and he knows it.

However, you change up the game very quickly when you break eye contact to look down to grab another chip. When you meet those brown eyes of his again, you take a bite of your chip and state, “You're an Aries.”

All amusement falls from his face then and he visibly deflates, closes his eyes and sighs, “Oh god.”

“What? So are you not into astrology?” You ask like you can’t believe such a thing, but you knew this man so well, it was painfully obvious he hated it.

Matty looks at you with a face that’s begging you to be taking the piss. “Are you?”

“How do you know your big three then?” You remember that time he tweeted about his sun and moon sign.

So he rests his elbows on the table and leans on his hands to take a closer look at you. He’s smugly smirking as he asks, “You’ve been keeping up with my tweets?”

You don’t know how but you manage to stay still, hiding the fact that the new distance between you wasn’t making your heart rate rise. “They show up on my timeline from time to time.”

“I bet you have my notifications on.” Matty plainly states, a grin on his face.

You frown lightly, bringing back your teasing around. “You write some mad things there though.”

“Well that’s me, isn’t it? The same thing happens in my songs.” He shrugs as he pushes himself back to sit straight.

You hum, feeling calmer at the increase of distance. You ask like you don’t know each of his songs word for word, “Right… What’s that one about bursting into someone’s hand?”

“Part of the band.”

You snap your fingers and point at him, “That’s the one.” You bring in a joke then, to alleviate the tension you were feeling. ”You know, I prefer oat milk.”

It took everything in you to hold back the joke you actually wanted to make, about how he could burst into your hand anytime he wanted. That would have been one step too far considering you’ve only met him twice.

It takes him a minute to realise why you’ve said that but when he catches up on it, a snort leaves him and the sound makes you smile.

“That reminds me… Good for you.” You start back up, remembering something else from the song.

Matty’s face falls in confusion again, “What?”

“1400 days, 9 hours and 16 minutes? I wouldn’t be able to do it.” And whilst you’re actually really proud of him for that, you feel the need to make him laugh with a twist on the line.

He offers a tight lip smile, taking it very literally “Oh, thank-” But you interrupt him and finish your joke.

“You’re basically a virgin again.” You add, gasping slightly like it’s impressive.

Matty stays still for a few seconds before shaking his head, his expression showing how unimpressed he was about your joke. It’s not that it was too far though, or else he would’ve stopped you right there. “No that’s not-”

But you interrupt once more, “I’ll get you a purity ring next time I see you.” You promise with a smile, which has him shaking his head as he tries not to laugh.

You give yourself a few seconds to enjoy the moment and then you’re back resuming the conversation. “What’s your favourite lyric? That you’ve written?”

He sighs, trying to come up with an answer from the top of his head but he just can’t. “There's too many to remember. Do you have any favourites?”

He really is trying to get some more out of you even if it was through analysing your preferences on his music. And you do have favourites, but you’re not playing right into his hands.

You press your lips together before telling him like it pains you to reveal, “There's almost too many words.”

“Yeah,” Matty nods, “I tried to cut down on the too many words on this album.”

“Really?” You ask, and when he nods almost a little upset about it, you drive the point home by asking again, “Do people say, just please stop with the words.”

Matty fights the urge to chuckle, “To be honest, yeah.”

“Yeah.” You nod like you agree although inside you want to tell him to never stop.  

“Because it does get a lot but I've been quite… okay, my favourite lyric at the moment is ‘I’m in love with you’.”

“Awh,” You smile sweetly at him, “Thanks.”

Matty put you in your place, “No, I wasn't talking to you. I was just saying-”

And because you knew that was coming, you ultimately have to shoot him down and scorn him, “That’s your favourite lyric you’ve ever written? ‘I'm in love with you’?”

Matty rolls his eyes at your tone, “I’m just trying to be earnest and open, and you've just said my lyrics are pretentious.”

You act annoyed at his victimisation, “I’m just saying out of all the lyrics to pick, you've chosen ‘I’m in love with you’ which anyone could say and people do say all the time.”

Matty smiles at that and simply says, “Exactly.”

Entirely unimpressed with that answer, you give him a disinterested look before asking, “So where’s George?”

He takes a sip of his flavoured water, looking up trying to genuinely think about an answer but he has nothing for you, “Not sure actually.”

“Why don’t you know where your best friend is?” Your face contorts, acting like his lack of knowledge on the matter was the most ridiculous thing.

But Matty frowns back at you, curious about the random inquiry. “Why do you want to know where my best friend is when you’re on a date with me?”

“Because I want to go on a date with his girlfriend.” You state calmly like the answer was as clear as day.

Matty continues to play offended, “And you're telling me this as you're on a date with me, why?”

“Because it could be a really nice pairing for us”

He tries to join the dots then, “For us? Like a double date.”

But you take him completely aback when you answer, “If a double date is in the bedroom then sureee...”

It was a miracle his jaw didn’t drop but he was frozen staring at you with a chip midair on the way to his mouth. “I didn’t take you for one to fuck on the first date.”

“Well you don’t know me, do you Matty?” You bite back, daring him with your eyes.

Matty was quick to talk back at you though, “You know me then Y/N?”

And you could say yes, because there’s a lot you can learn by following them for almost a decade but he didn’t need to know that.

“Touche.” Is what you say back, and you know he’s smirking at you but you’ve just let your eyes fall to your chicken box so you could take a little breather.

It seems that your date does the same because the both of you dig around your take out boxes for a brief moment. You absolutely love that you get paid to eat chicken nuggets and chips.

You decide to divert away from your prompts for a moment and ask him something you’re actually genuinely curious about, “Are you needy?”

“Yeah, we're all a bit needy.” Matty tells you honestly.

“Yeah.” You nod as you dig for another good chip, but as you do that you see Matty’s hand scoot towards your takeout box and you look up at him confused.

Pausing, you see as he awkwardly retracts his hand but then places it down again as if he’s not just been caught.

You whisper, trying not to let your amusement seep into your voice, “Did you just try and touch me?”

“Well I- I thought- There has to be a moment,” As Matty stumbles on his words you offer your hand out to him and bite the insides of your cheeks to stop from smiling as he continues, “So it's like, ‘I'm a bit needy’.” and you have to stop yourself from screaming when his warm had takes your cold one.

“See and now we-” Matty starts but you interrupt him.

“Your hand is warm, my hand is cold.” You almost gasp at how warm his hands are and you hold onto his hand a little tighter.

“See,” Matty takes your chilliness as proof that, “You're nervous.”

“I’m not nervous,” You lie through your teeth, although you’re sure nerves don't make you cold. “I’m deoxygenated.”

Matty looks a little repulsed when he checks, “You're deoxygenated?”

“Yeah.” You nod, “That’s what being cold is.”

Matty says nonchalantly, “That’s a turn off.” And he lets go of your hand.

“Oh sorry,” You scoff, offended like you had even a chance with him anyway. And you sarcastically add, “I’ll breathe better for you.”

Sarcasm drips from his voice, “Gee, thanks.”

“Why don't you just buy me some…” You trail off, not really knowing where to go with this now.  

“What?” Matty asks, completely baffled, “Oxygen?”

“No, a heated blanket or something,” You add in a little flirt, “To keep us both warm.”

“Or some gloves.” He shoots you down again.

You pause for a second then before you release a disappointed sigh, “Alright then, I guess we won't cuddle later.”

“I’m just thinking about your other dates… They could get jealous and not come on.” Matty uses that as his out and you decide to play along for now.

You hum in agreement, “I suppose.”

As you pick up another chip, Matty asks you, “Is there anyone else, like Drake you've got like- Has like anyone else cool said they wanna go on a date with you.”

“Err.” You think about what's coming up on your calendar.

But Matty says, “This is kinda like your slut era.”

“Well,” You grin and nod excitedly, “I actually think in 2023 I'm going to be even more slutty.”

Matty slowly nods and is quiet for a second before he says, “Wow.”

There was a strict no referring to Matty’s recent ex girlfriend, FKA Twigs, in the brief for this interview but absolutely nothing about referring to the ones before that. So you go in hard with it.

“Really hoping to get Halsey on here.” You smile brightly, and you pick up your can of Tango and offer it to him as a ‘cheers’ as you say, “Congrats for making it to twenty-eight, by the way. Rude of her to think you wouldn’t.”

Matty knocks his bottle of Volvic against your can and you take a sip just after you admit, “You know, with you coming on this date, I was really hoping to experience that religion she chats about.”

You flirt proudly and you love the way he smirks back at you. But you deflate his massive ego when you tilt your head to the side and continue, “Little embarrassing you need those blue pills to help you though.”

Matty immediately shakes his head, defending himself quick, “That was not-”

“Don’t worry, I will be taking the piss for how she says lilac.” You interrupt in a very dry and disinterested voice. You look into his eyes and sadly nod, “I can see why that relationship didn’t work just from that.”

Matty maintains a straight face but you slowly see a smile creeping on those lips of his. You do him a favour and say something else before he breaks.

You sit up a little bit straighter, with an excited grin on your face as you tell him, “I also can’t wait for my date with Alex Turner now.”

“Oh, you got Alex Turner to agree to this?” Matty asks, genuinely surprised at hearing that name fall from your lips.

“Well, not yet,” You smile sweetly, “But seeing as the two of you both date the same women, I have faith.”

Matty pauses at that and you think you might have pushed it too far. And you really have to clench your teeth together to stop yourself from apologising too quickly or ruining the gag. Because you found that fucking hilarious and you’re really hoping he would have done too.

But this long pause he’s doing where he’s just staring you down has you worried. And you don’t think you’ve ever felt relief like it when he breaks and smiles.

“That was a low blow.” Matty grins and he scorns you as he points a chip at you before he eats it and both of you laugh, needing to break the tension.

“I know you'll cut this bit,” Your date informs you, and he smiles as he says, “But I could get you the date with Alex, Wheels would kill to see it.”

You smile at that and at the mention of his nickname for his ex-girlfriend who is married to Alex Turner now. You’ve always found it quite cute that he is still really close friends with her, and she’s such a good artist, you would love to have her on the show. Which you don’t even hesitate to tell him.

“I would like to go on a date with her too, to be honest.” You smile.

And Matty knows just how much fun the two of you would be in a room together, so he promises with a grin, “I’ll hook you up later.”

You hum, accepting the help. “Maybe I should have Ross here. He’s fit.”

Matty, who was about to pop a chip in his mouth, pauses his actions for a second before continuing with a nod. “Yeah he is. He’d hate this though.”

You pout at the news, “Awh well. Oooo, what about George? George and Charli…”

He’s fully offended then at the second mention of his best mate, and the now erasure of his name when you talk about going on a date with George and Charli. “What? So I’m out of the double date now?”

You wince, “Well…”

But then Matty remembers watching a Chicken Shop Date with Charli so he frowns in confusion, “Didn't Charli come on a chicken shop date already?”

“With Amelia, that isn’t with me, is it?” your voice comes out sharp, like you were angry at the reminder you didn’t get to go on a date with her.

Matty raises his hands, “Oh, sorry.”

And then you just further play into the exasperation act, “Get your facts straight before you question me in future, god.”

It’s the way you sigh, absolutely done with the situation that has Matty containing his breath so he doesn’t laugh but you look at him, cheeks blown but the chuckles trying to come through and you just can’t not burst out laughing with him.

Hearing Amelia laughing with you and the crew not being able to hold their giggles back has you unable to calm down for the next minute. You let your head hang, silently laughing, so your hair covers your face.

You’re sure you’re blushing, so you try to gather yourself before showing your face again.

When you do though, your cheeks are still hot and when you fan yourself as you sigh, Matty smiles seeing you flustered.

“Right, okay.” The singer hears you mutter under your breath and when you brush your hair behind your ears, you’re back in character.

“Do you like taking risks?” You ask after taking a small bite of a chicken nugget.

Matty had picked one up as well and he takes a bite of his, nodding. “I like taking risks in my art more than in my life.” He quite likes this question, but he knows that he’s in for a change in direction, that’s what you do best.

“Like black and white music videos.” You add with dull enthusiasm.

Matty narrows his eyes at you, dropping the half eaten chicken nugget back inside his box, “Lots of people have done that.”

“Have they?” You quickly ask, frowning.

He looks at you like he's worried, as if he's not sure if you're joking when he confirms, “Yeah.”

“I thought you invented that.” You say with honesty laced in your words.

And there it goes, he thought. “Yeah and then neon.”

Your face lights up, “Yes, I heard you invented neon.”

“Tumblr was my idea.” Matty continues to list, and you nod like it was common knowledge. “Doctor martens.”

You smile and tilt your head then, uncrossing your feet and swinging them enough to know you’ve hit his. “Got mine on. Very comfy, you designed them well.”

Matty looks down, leaning back to see under the table and he shakes his head seeing you're wearing the heeled version. He tells you, “Gotta get them off, you're taller than me in them.”

“Well you can take more than my shoes off if you fancy.” You dare him with a raise of your eyebrows.  

He groans in response and you sigh, “Don’t act like you aren’t gonna write a song about this later.” You pop a chip in your mouth and stare at him.

Another concerned look shows up on Matty’s face and he sarcastically replies, “Oh, yeah, definitely.”

“What is it gonna be? ‘She took a video of us eating chicken and put it on the internet’?“ You almost blush, that was the cringiest thing you could’ve ever said.

Matty slowly looks up from his food, and fakes appreciation for the line you half stole from him. “That’s a very good line actually. I’ll pinch that one, but sorry, I don’t give credit.”

You feel the need to interrogate him for that, “Is that how it usually goes then? You have someone tell you lyrics and you just take them and say it was all you?”

He nods, unapologetic of his fake admission. “Pretty much.”

“No, but really how does it usually go?” You ask as genuinely as you can whilst staying in character. You want to start your next planned bit but he had to be unaware of it so you could get his best reaction. “Could you just tell me a bit about your songwriting process?”

“I suppose that I sit there, and I…” Matty starts then and you pull out a pack of Richmond Super Kings from your coat pocket.

As you’re pulling a fag and the lighter out, you notice Matty’s stopped talking. You look up at him and see he’s watching you, confusion written all over his face for you to see.

You tell him, “Sorry, carry on.” as you put the fag between your lips and light it with ease.

If Amelia was doing this interview, you know that this bit would have been hilarious because she doesn’t know how to smoke. But you used to smoke in your teens and you still partake from time to time so lighting up really isn’t an issue for you.

“I kind of look at the news… And I think about what's happening…” Matty continues to tell you, but you're paying him no mind now.

When you edit the video, you’ll be putting this bit in black and white so you’re fully pretending to be in a music video. But what both you and Amelia both thought would be funny, was that you should try and do smoking tricks.

So as your date continues with his songwriting spiel, you somehow manage to conjure up the muscle memory of doing a smoke ring. And when you do it, you sit up a little taller feeling proud of yourself.

Impressed, Matty stops to tell you, “That was cool.” as the both of you watch as the ring slowly gets bigger and eventually disappears.

“I am cool,” You smile at him, but instruct him to, “Carry on.” as you take the next drag of the cigarette.

But you should have just quit while you were ahead because when you try and do the thing Matty does all the time in the videos that you’ve seen of him, where he dangles it from one corner of his mouth and breathes the smoke out from the other side but it doesn’t work.

“And think about what's funny… And I think about how I'm feeling.” And Matty abruptly stops and he watches your struggle.

You look up at him and ask, “Is that right?”

“You don't need to do this.” Matty looks and sounds like he feels sorry for you.

You try and look down at the cigarette but ask point with your hands at the direction you want the smoke to come out of your mouth from, “How do you do it when it comes out of that side? I could never do it.”

“Give it,” Matty demands leaning forward to take the fag from you, “I’ll show you.”

You watch as he puts it between his lips and he looks like he’s just put it further into his mouth so the filter is almost against his teeth. Matty begins to explain, “So, like that-”

“Yeah, I knew that,” You lean across and take it from between his lips and when you do it, to make it worse, you purposefully don’t do it right and you know your mouth is practically fully closed. You just prompt Matty,  “Yeah, carry on.”                  

He looks like he’s hurting himself by watching your struggle, “No, because your lips are closed in the-”

You interrupt and just about mumble with your mouth closed, “Just carry on.”

And when Matty deflates and closes his eyes, letting his head hang as he says, “I sit there and I think about the world and about myself and I write.” it takes everything in you not to burst out laughing at his defeated disposition.

“Right I- I-” You stumble on your words as you take the fag out of your mouth and waft away the smoke, “This is really not me anymore.”

“This is never gonna work.” Matty sighs as he watches you stub the cigarette out in your food.

“I just.” You begin to defend yourself as you continue to put the fag out on one of your chicken nuggets, but then Matty offends you.

He simply states, “So unattractive.”

“That was attractive,” You defend yourself, as you look back up at him, “And this was a lesson for you.”

Matty makes a slicing his neck hand gesture a few times, but you just talk over him, “Don't smoke.”

He giggles at that which has you breaking character for a second too because that was a tragic section and you know you’ll cringe watching that back later. But then your date grabs your attention again.

As he picks up the pack of fags from the table, you quietly tell Matty, “Those are fake cigarettes, by the way.”

“They are fake cigarettes?” Matty asks significantly louder, which has the both of you laughing a bit.

“Amelia thought I could get arrested or something if I smoked inside.” You laugh and you have no control over it anymore, you just let yourself continue laughing at the situation.

Matty looks down to the ground and starts laughing with you, which has your giggles dying down as you press your lips together to not smile as big as you wanted to.

When he looks back up at you, Matty finds you just looking at him and he takes the opportunity to take his time and do the same. He twirls the strand of hair falling over his forehead as he keeps his gaze on you and you bite your tongue to keep yourself from blushing under it.

He looks at your clothes again, catching the look of the red bandana tied around your wrist. His eyes go up and down and then it suddenly clicks for him. “Oh, I've just now got it.”

“Got what?” Matty really takes his time to stare at you, which makes you feel slightly uneasy but now you’re just confused.

“You’re dressed like the girl from the robbers video.” He points out, rolling his eyes amused at the effort to make a reference with your clothes.

You hold back a laugh, and your eyes widen to play being so stunned at the speed of his thinking. “Wow, you are truly the einstein of your generation. We’re like twenty minutes into our date and you’re just noticing now.”

“I like the twist to it. I love the leather.” And Matty truly means it, the red leather pants look amazing on you.

You finally are able to play on the joke that you’d dressed up like this for, “I feel like maybe we should recreate the music video. You know, do an updated version of it.”

Matty keeps his expression blank as he meekly asks, “Is this just you trying to get me to kiss you through a bandana?”

“Yeah you caught me.” You shrug, without a hint of excitement on your face.

“So is Robbers your favourite then?” He shifts in his seat, actually wanting to know about your favourite song of theirs.

“The video?” You ask and he nods, not really meaning only the video but it was a start. You continue to lie through your teeth as if it didn’t somehow shape you as a person, “Oh yeah, it’s great if you love a shitty plagiarised version of a classic.”

It wasn’t what Matty was expecting, but just as he was about to open his mouth to get back at you, you went for him again, “It’s kind of like you! Aren’t you just a watered down version of Adam Levine?”

Matty glares at you then, completely unimpressed by your teasing. And just because he was still curious about your favourite, he ignores you and brings the topic back around.

“In all seriousness, do you have a favourite song of mine?” Matty asks, genuinely wanting to know.

“Why?” You ask hopefully, “Are you going to sing it to me?”

“If you want me to?” Matty shrugs slightly amused, “What’s your favourite song?”

You think about it for a moment, before you settle on, “Undo.” not entirely because it’s your favourite but you know where you can go with it.

Matty’s face falls, expecting something fun like It’s Not Living, so he has to ask, “You want me to sing Undo to you?”

“Yeah.” You nod, “Just the chorus.”

“How does that even go…” Matty’s eyes go wide as he thinks to himself for a second, before he starts singing quietly, “I wanna see you undo it, I wanna-”

You interrupt to tell him, “I wanna see you undo my leather pants too.”

Matty bites his cheek then, as he really should have seen that one coming. Both of you end up staring at each other again until you tell him another one of his tunes.

“I like that song you start most of your albums with.” You say as you pick up another nugget and take a bite.

“Oh,” Matty nods understanding which you mean, before he starts singing, “Go down, soft sou-”

“Yeah, you can.” You interrupt again, this time really having to stop yourself from grinning.

Matty frowns as he’s clearly confused, “What?”

“Go down on me…” You say a little quieter, and you pause for a few seconds before you say, “You can.”  

He’s taken aback by this, and you watch him as he leans back blinking slowly. A little, “Oh.” is the only thing that falls from his lips in response.

“Please.” You say quickly before leaning back into your seat and taking a long drink so you don’t break character.

And when you get no response, as the man across from you is keeping his cards very close to his chest, and you feel like you could crack up at any second, you decide it’s best to wrap up.

“Matty,” You smile, “This has been really fun.”

But your date shocks you when he says, “I’ll go on another date with you.”

“Oh.” You say and Matty can hear the surprise in your voice. You even sit up a little straighter, liking the sound of that, “Okay.”

You’re fucking buzzing that you didn’t have to ask yourself.  

And when Matty even asks, “If you want?”

You hum in agreement and smile a little, but then you see him offer his fist bump you and you frown at him like he’s just ruined this whole date.

“I don't wanna fist bump you.” You frown at him, almost like you’re cringing.

And he makes it worse when he mimes spitting into his hand for you to shake, and you shake your head and look at him like he’s an alien, “No, don't spit in your hand.”

And then your stomach drops when he puckers his lips and points up to them.

Embarrassment gets you quickly as you awkwardly say, “No, I can’t. I don't wanna kiss you.”

He surprises you when he asks an almost offended, “Why?”

“Because I just smoked a cigarette.” You say without missing a beat hoping that would be the end of it.

“Come on.” Matty grins, now leaning forwards on the table.

“I'm not, no.” You say a little louder, getting embarrassed now as he’s grinning at you.

He encourages with a big grin, “Come on.”

“No.” You shake your head as you begin to panic.

“Come on.” He’s enthusiastic now and you really can’t function anymore.

You just hold your breath, not knowing what to do as Matty stares at you. You half think he’s joking but then he very seriously says as he looks into your eyes, “You’ve gotta commit to the bit, let's do an earnest kiss.”

You look down, having to breathe for a short second before looking back up into those brown eyes of his. He’s grinning like a fool as he says, “Let's kiss, for real, right now.”

You take a second to think if you can do it, and ultimately you decide that you can’t. “No.”

Matty pauses and just stares you down for a few seconds until you crumble into your next excuse, “I can’t reach.” You shrug.

“I can reach.” Matty challenges.

You shake your head a little, “I can’t reach you.”

“I can reach you.” Matty repeats and as he starts to stand up to get closer.

“I can’t reach.” You say again and he gets closer, almost too close for your unprepared self. So you quickly hold your finger up and put it against his lips, “Okay wait, let me prepare myself.”

“Come on,” Matty encourages, “Don’t be pathetic.” but he’s saying it with the biggest smile as he sits again.

You take a breath and look down before you look back up and see the mischievous grin still on his face. ‘You can do this Y/N, come on’ You tell yourself and after a deep breath you put on a brave face.

“Okay,” You lean forwards and rest your elbows on the table like he is and you’re desperately trying not to get more embarrassed.

You can’t pussy out of this one because you’ll never forgive yourself and you know you’ll never hear the end of it from Amelia. And you truly don't want Matty to think you’re pathetic.

“I'm not doing the work,” You tell him, letting your flustered self be free now, “You do the work.”

“It’s 2022,” Matty frowns, but a smile is tugging at the corners of his lips when he asks, “Shouldn't you be doing the work?”

You say the first thing that comes to mind, “I did the work, I asked you on the date.”

Matty corrects you, fully smirking now, “Amelia actually asked me on this date.”

“Okay, I paid for your food, you kiss me, I think that's fair.” You point out, and you can feel your cheeks getting hotter by the second at the mere thought of him about to kiss you.

And when he doesn’t move for a solid five seconds, and you're getting more flustered and embarrassed at the thought, you snap and ask him, “Are you going to kiss me or not?”

“God, shut up.” Matty sighs before he picks himself up and leans across the table to kiss you.

The moment his lips touch yours, you’re sure your heart goes into cardiac arrest. Never in a million years did you think this date would lead to Matty Healy’s lips being pressed against your own.

Without being dramatic about it, the kiss is a long peck, but for you it lasts a lifetime. Because when you think it’s about to be done, you feel Matty’s hand cup the side of your face and pull you in for another one, one that is much less awkward than a peck on the lips.

It’s an actual kiss, where both of your lips move together for it to be remotely good, but obviously not going as far for any tongues to be involved. It was just a very nice sweet kiss and the cherry on top is the gentle stroke of your cheek just as he pulls away.

You’re fully not in character anymore when he moves away, you’re just so embarrassed. You can’t believe you’ve just kissed Matty Healy.

He sits back and says, “That wasn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”

You can feel your cheeks heat up now, and because you have no other words you say, “Thank you.”

Matty half grins and shakes his head and you can tell he’s about to get up from the table, and he says, “I’m going.”

So you say an equally awkward, “Thank you… Bye.”

“See ya.” Matty says as he stands and he walks over to Jamie.

All that’s left for you to do is to look embarrassed, which you can’t really help at the moment. You’re malfunctioning and you don’t know where to look. The ghost of Matty’s touch so very present on the side of your face, leaving you feeling things you won’t be able to shake up in at least a few hours.

You’ve never been so thankful to hear Tyler shout, “And cut.”

Your small crew does a little round of applause and to keep yourself busy and to try and regain some composure, you just take your phone out. As you calm down, you take a picture of the fag and ash in amongst your chickken nuggests and chips.

“Can’t believe one finally broke you, Y/N.” Your director laughs.

And without looking up, you tell him, “Shut up Ty.”

At that you hear your crew laughing and you're sure Matty is too. But you don’t look up, not until your best friend comes over and giggles, “That was quite possibly our best episode yet.”

“Amelia fuck off a minute, yeah.” You smile awkwardly, pushing her away.

But she doesn’t let you, instead she smushes her cheek against yours in a side hug and she gets you laughing again. But she embarasses you too when she whispers in your ear, “He fancies you.”

At this you shove her away, “Fuck off.”

“Can’t, need you to do the promo pictures now.” Amelia grins and kisses your cheek before standing back up and turning towards where Matty is currently standing by the window with Jamie, “Matty, are we okay to get some promo shots now?”

“Yeah course. Jamie needs to go over something with you as we do, if that's okay?” You hear him ask Amelia and she nods before heading over to talk to his manager as Matty comes back over to join you.

You smile at each other and you feel the embarrassment take over once again. But you try to maintain a somewhat normal and professional person by saying, “Thank you for that.”

“The kiss or the date?” Matty grins as he retakes his seat.

“Get fucked.” You shake your head, feeling your cheeks start to heat up now and you start to unapologetically laugh.

Matty chuckles freely now too, and he confirms, “The date… It’s fun. I see why you like doing them.”

“Yeah, they keep me busy.” You smile, encouraging a now normal conversation between you in hopes that it’ll make you feel more at ease around him.

“You guys ready?” Your photographer Poppy asks the both of you, and after you put your phone back into your coat pocket, you give her the green light once Matty is comfortable too.

There’s certainly an atmosphere between you and him now, one that you certainly are trying to ignore as you start smiling for your pictures. You can’t help but think he’s quite cute in the way that he poses for them, always tucking his hair back behind his ears, but he keeps that one little strand out for you to silently simp over.

You’re taking the pictures for no longer than five minutes, and once they are done, you ask Matty if you can get a few bits on your phone so you can make a TikTok and an Instagram Reel. Of course, he says yes as he’s up for playing along and watching you be even more creative.

You get your phone out and ask him to give your camera the eye in a few different ways. He looks so fucking sexy in his suit in front of you and you find that your cheeks heat up from just watching him through the camera. Thankfully, he’s easy to direct and he eats the food like you tell him too in a somehow sexy way, it should be illegal to look that good whilst eating a chip.

Matty even helps you with your side of the short video. He holds your phone for you and he encourages you to smile awkwardly at him and he loves seeing that even now you’re still a little flustered. And you take the phone from him to record the last bit yourself where you still awkwardly smile at him as you move the camera to and from you fast.

Even at that Matty is impressed because once he presses the button to stop recording, you change immediately and you’re back to your bubbly self again as you thank him.

Next you get your polaroid camera out that you always bring with you and once Matty tells you it’s okay, you take a picture of him. And because he won’t take no for an answer, he takes the camera from you and takes a picture of you posing as you eat a chip. The both of you chat at the table for a few more minutes about questions Matty has for you about your chicken shop dates and you do until you’re interrupted.

After Amelia and Jamie are done going over whatever it was, she asks Poppy to get another few promo pictures of you and Matty standing up beside each other. You send her a knowing glare but you stay professional and get up when Matty does and you succeed in not losing your shit when his hand finds your hip so he can hold you next to him.

You get a normal picture of the both of you smiling before another crew member of yours hands Matty his takeout box to hold for another picture. And in the next you steal a chip from it and take a bite.

And when Poppy thanks the both of you, you step away from each other as the crew start packing up the cameras. Pleasantries are exchanged between you and Jamie as Amelia chats to Matty a little more, no doubt coming up with more ways to embarrass you, which certainly turns out to be the case.

Just after you all start talking between yourselves, Matty checks his phone and he notices the time. He encourages Jamie to get ahead of the traffic and whilst they quickly say goodbye to each other, Amelia tells you what she and Jamie spoke about.

Thankfully it was nothing major, just that the bit about you knowing that Matty only lived 10 minutes away from this Chicken Inn needed to be cut from the final video. Nothing else was mentioned, and apparently Matty had given the green light for you to use whatever you liked from the whole video. You truly love it when your guests give you free rein to have your creative freedom.

Once Jamie had taken off, your crew starts packing down and you and Amelia stick around to help out if needed. You always do, although, you’re never wanted or needed because Tyler, your director, is OCD about his equipment and he doesn’t trust either of you enough with it, which you don’t exactly blame him for.

So both of you stand in the corner of the room with Matty and stay chatting to him whilst he wants to stick around. The conversation moves from the ‘date’ the both of you went on to Matty asking you how the both of you had found being in the public eye and different experiences you’ve had since doing so.

And as you’re halfway through telling him how mental it’s gotten, and that both you and Amelia are hosting the GQ awards red carpet next month, and how baffling it is to you, your best friend realises the time and has to go herself. Her ‘oh shit’ pauses your story and you’re reminded that she’s going out herself tonight and she needs to get home to get ready to head out into central.

That commute is an hour in itself so she’s probably going to be late to her commitment later if she doesn’t leave right now. She gives you a guilty look as you can tell she doesn’t want to leave you with the ‘overseeing’ of the crew putting the stuff away, but you tell her to go and that you’ll be fine.

She thanks you before saying goodbye to Matty and she gives him a hug, and then she gives you a big one which is a lot tighter than her usual hugs, so you know it has a hidden meaning. Since filming stopped, you could see in her eyes just how excited and happy for you that this episode had gone well, and she knows that you’re thrilled on the inside and you’re bottling it up.

“I’m coming round to yours tomorrow, don’t forget.” Amelia tells you and you nod, playing along as if that was actually the plan all along.

You know she’s just planned that so you can scream with each other about today's date and about how teenage you has just lived one of her dreams and she can die happy knowing she got to experience a kiss from the lead singer of her favourite band. You truly wouldn’t be surprised if she showed up at your flat with a cake.

“Go or you’ll be late.” You hurry her out, not wanting her to inevitably embarrass you more by saying anything else in front of Matty.

The both of you watch your best friend as she thanks and says goodbye to the members of your small crew and she quickly disappears out of the front door.

Now that it’s only the two of you, and the crew that’s packing everything up, there’s this sort of anticipation building up. You both know it, you can see it in Matty’s eyes and it’s making you giddy.

So he pushes the boat first, telling you, “I need to go for a fag.”

Biting your lip to hide your knowing smile, you grab his wrist, not really thinking about it, “Let’s go through the back door.”

You give smiles to the workers that see you walk past, but it’s only when you step outside and the cold air hits your face that you take a deep breath.

The small outdoor area the building has isn’t exactly the nicest, it’s just simple tiles on the ground and it’s bricked up like the rest of the houses around here. But it has to be better than the alleyway behind it where all the bins are kept and at least if you keep close to the building there’s a small canopy that keeps today's drizzly weather from getting to you.

Matty can see how tense you are, being accentuated by the speed in which you release your hold around his wrist so he jokes to make you relax, “So you did actually want to go where nobody knows?”

He smiles satisfied when he hears you chuckle, “You’re such an idiot.” Your smile breaks on your face freely now and when Matty sees it’s there to stay, he can’t help but stare.

His eyes stay on you as he pulls out a cigarette and places it between his lips, that’s why he catches you watching his every move and so he offers, “Do you want one?”

You debate within yourself, struggling to see if the craving is really worth it but seeing as you're about to start shaking from the situation in which you’re in and not necessarily from the cold, you nod.

When the cigarette is given to you, you quickly place it between your lips and Matty lights it up for you. He watches you take your first drag as he lights his own and it’s such a stark contrast to how it was inside. Scratch him saying it was unattractive, you look so incredibly stunning right now that he can’t take his eyes off you.

“So, you going to tell me what happened between Amelia and Aitch?” Matty starts the conversation off with something he knew could take the edge off, and when you playfully narrow your eyes at him while blowing some smoke out of your mouth, it makes him chuckle.

Back when Amelia’s Chicken Shop Date with Aitch came out, it sparked a lot of comments from everyone who saw it. Their chemistry had been very obvious, and it had been talked about everywhere on your and Amelia’s content. And afterwards, when they started talking behind the scenes, people had made loads of theories as to what they were doing and what their relationship status was.

Of course, you didn’t grace the public with any official statement to the rumours, because in reality they started fucking each other. And it wasn’t like your best mate owed anyone any explanations, so you just let the wave of gossip pass until it eventually died down and the masses moved onto the next pile of hot gossip.

“What do you think happened and I’ll tell you if you’re right.” Is the best you can give him, not wanting to talk about Amelia’s business when she wasn’t there to approve.

Without a second thought, Matty just spills his suspicions, “I think they started fucking each other, maybe did a friends with benefits thing for a while but then he said that he couldn’t commit to anything long term because he’s going on tour and he’s young and immature and he doesn’t want to be tied down.”

Your eyebrows raise hearing that, the detailed explanation making you want to tease him, “It's like you’re speaking from experience.”

“Well, now you know what happened with Halsey.” He replies nonchalantly, taking another drag of his cigarette.

You give him a small chuckle, “Wasn’t difficult to guess at the time to be honest.” Because it really hadn’t been.

“You’ve known about my music for that long?” Matty genuinely inquires. The Halsey situation had happened so long ago, it felt weird thinking back to it and being about eight years since then.

His surprise makes you frown, “Why do you sound so surprised? You say it yourself that you make good music, why wouldn’t I have heard it back then?”

“Ah, but you knew about Halsey.” Matty says, like it meant you had been obsessed with him since then.

You raise an eyebrow, “She wrote a song about you.”

He had everyone talking about them both when he turned 28 and tweeted about it, and Matty knew that but he wanted to see how much he could push you. “But you said you knew at the time… You're a big fan of mine, aren't you?”

You stare ahead, watching the tiny drops of rain fall down lightly. You two were taking cover under the bit of roof that was sticking out and covering about a foot and a half from the wall of the back of the place.

To tease him, you give him a smirk and a side eye as you say, “I can go off people very quickly you know.”

But Matty had all that Amelia had told him inside under his sleeve, “You’re really gonna stand there and lie to my face.”

The disbelief in his voice has you actually confused, “I’m not lying about anything.”

“Amelia’s just showed me a picture of teenage you with my name on your top.��� He retaliates all smug and you freeze on your spot.

You will throttle your bitch of a best friend tomorrow. He doesn’t even have to go into more detail because you know exactly the picture he’s on about. Your white ‘lol you’re not Matt Healy’ top that you proudly wore everywhere back in 2013 and 2014.

You roll your eyes and admit, “Okay, yeah, fine. I do like your music.” You sigh, closing your eyes, “So much for best friends never betraying each other.”

A cackle leaves Matty’s lips then, making you open your eyes and turn to him with a hint of a smile. “She’s also told me about your riot tattoo…” He takes a step towards you, positioning himself in front of you so you can't stay looking ahead and evade his gaze. “Right there.” He takes your wrist in his hand and rubs underneath the bandana with his thumb.

You lick your lips, looking down at his touch and you shake your head before looking back up at him. “What else has she bloody told you?” You bring the cigarette back up to your lips, “Fucks sake.” You mutter under your breath after taking a long drag, only to drop what’s left of it on the ground, an action that Matty follows.

He lifts the piece of red fabric enough to see the word inked on your skin. “Why’d you cover it up?”

You have to control your breathing but with the way his thumb keeps brushing over your first tattoo, there’s goosebumps breaking out on your skin and you’re sure he notices, but you hope he alludes it to the weather.

“Because that's a turn off.” You argue but Matty’s quickly shaking his head.

He looks back up at you, letting your wrist down slowly. “No it’s not.” He reassures, and you feel like you can maybe breathe again by the loss of contact, but his eyes find yours and they stay there for a while, making it harder to keep your cool.

You open your mouth, not even sure about what you were going to say as the short distance between you has you malfunctioning but Matty beats you to it when he says, “You’re a tough one to crack, aren’t you?”

That smirk you have seen so much throughout the years comes back and you match it when you reply with another question which he might’ve said was not nice if it wasn’t for the way it made him feel. “Is it bad I like to keep people wondering?”

Matty tilts his head, taking in a short breath through his teeth, “A little bit cruel maybe, but nothing I wouldn’t mind enduring.”

You hum, “Like enduring the rain wetting your back right now?”

Matty thought you wouldn’t notice but with the rain intensifying, of course he had wanted to cover you from it. But to look more casual he just shrugs, “It’s only a drizzle, innit?”

It was like he had just jinxed it because you watch the drizzle turn into a shower and you can’t stop yourself from laughing. “You were saying?”

Matty shakes his head, grinning at you so big that it reaches his eyes. And you do the same but when he takes a step backwards and then another one so he’s fully under the heavy rain, you gasp.

And he doesn’t even give you the time to joke about what he’s just done because he walks back towards you.

Shaking your head, you only manage to say, “No, no.” as you think he was going to hug you and get you all wet, but he grabs your wrist and quickly pulls you with him into the rain.

“Matty!” It’s all you can say between gasps. It’s so cold and you can barely keep your eyes open, you’re just squinting from the water on your face. “You dickhead!”

He just continues to laugh and it’s such a contagious noise that you can’t try and fake being annoyed at him, you join his laughter. “Live a little Y/N! Just enjoy the rain.”

You scoff, but it’s only to hide the fact that you really are enjoying how mundane the moment is despite it being hard to believe who you’re experiencing it with. “Very easy for you to say, you have like three layers on.”

He realises then, he should probably get the umbrella out just so you don’t get drenched for longer or else you’d get ill, so he walks up to you and opens it up over your heads.

“You’re no fun.” Matty jokes, and when you roll your eyes at him as you try and fix your now wet hair, he just has to get you back to how you were before the rain interrupted.

So Matty purposely takes another step to shorten the distance between you. But then he leans forward, wrapping his right arm around your waist and bringing you impossibly closer to him.

“C’mere,” His voice falls to a whisper that sounds only a little louder than the spatter around you. “I don’t want you getting wet.”

The smirk on his face and his sarcasm has you rolling your eyes again, but he cannot ignore how you’re biting your lip as you fail to hide your smile.

“As if I’m not already drenched, thanks to you.” You bite back, and when you feel his thumb rubbing on your lower back, you can’t help but shiver.

Matty’s smirk gets bigger at that, and it continues to grow on his face when you react to him saying, “Only for the wrong reasons, love.”

You feel yourself blushing, so you decide to ignore what he’s just said for your own well-being. You’re truly on the brink of a freak out at this whole situation, 19-year-old you is screaming at the top of her lungs somewhere deep inside you.

“You’re really gonna have to make it up to me if I get sick and miss the next week of work.” You threaten, and it’s honestly an empty one because you don’t have much going on but you can’t think about anything else at the moment. Only Matty pressed against your front with his arm around your waist. Your mind is completely blank, and you have no idea what to say.

But you should’ve expected him to expertly make that the perfect start of another flirty comment.

“Do tell how you would like me to make it up to you.” He squeezes your waist lightly, and it all but makes you jump as he intently stares into your eyes.

You keep his stare, “Matty…” His name sounds like a beg when it leaves your lips and he fucking loves it.

So Matty continues to push your buttons, “Perhaps a cuddle… Isn’t that what you wished for earlier?” And he’s glad he can recall all that you said perfectly because he continues saying, “Believe you also pleaded for me to go down on you…” and your breath hitches in your throat.

Your voice sounds almost too weak when you reply, “Pleaded is a strong word.”

He hums, “But you did say please.”

You curse yourself for saying that, because you’re now just suffocating in this tension and you have no idea how to get out of it. Not that you really want to though.

You’ve already had a taste of his lips and being so close to another kiss really has your knees weak.

It’s like Matty reads your mind, or it might’ve just been that he had seen your thoughts shine through your eyes when he adds, “Maybe a get well kiss? Would that make you feel better?”

You’re unsure what happens next, as you barely hear the whimper you let out but Matty doesn’t miss it and you can’t control yourself when you say, “It might help.”

That’s all Matty needs to hear before he finally closes the distance and presses your lips together. At the same time, you both take a deep breath through your noses and like something had lit you both alive, you grow unable to keep it soft like you did inside.

Your arms wrap around his shoulder, and you don’t even care about the accidental knock you give the umbrella and how it wets your arms, you’re too focused on getting to feel this kiss for as long as you can.

Matty hates that he has to hold up the umbrella because all he wants is to hold your face like he had done before, and maybe it was the way he held you tighter against him that has you knowing so you bring one of your hands to cup his jaw while the other tangles in the hair at the nape of his neck.

When Matty deepens your kiss, he pulls you into him more and you find that you really don’t have that much control left over your impulses. Because when his tongue is suddenly teasing yours, you moan at the same time you pull your hand back from his hair to grab his tie.

You pull the fabric towards you, so he has no option but to keep this kiss going. And Matty is almost taken aback by your brazen attack. He knew you were nervous before this but just by this alone he would think you were the most confident woman on the planet.

The feeling in your stomach right now is something that you hope you'll never forget, because you can’t imagine this happening ever again. If you could stop time, you’d do so in a heartbeat because you don't want it to end.

So much so, that when you hear a nearby back door fly open Matty pulls away for the briefest second thinking you’d been caught. Clearly though, you don’t care because you grab his jaw and guide him back to your lips so he can kiss you again.

And Matty isn’t one to argue a kiss from a stunning woman like you. He kisses you back until you pull away from him when you lose your breath.

It seems that you’ve both lost yourselves in the gesture, as you keep your eyes closed and rest your foreheads against each other’s as you catch your breath.

Matty hasn’t kissed anyone since him and his ex split up and he certainly remembers the way he was with her initially. It was the same excited but nervous feeling he has in his stomach now.

He’s so fucking glad he’d gone on this date with you now.

After another minute of a breathless silence, your date is the one that breaks it.

“This isn’t what you do after all your dates, right?” Matty smiles with a joke, but there’s a small part of him that wants the reassurance that what’s happening here is special.

“No.” You breathlessly giggle at that and gently shake your head, “This is a first, don’t worry.”

He hums to acknowledge that, and it’s only then that he notices you let go of his tie. You part your forehead from Matty’s then so you can look as you flatten down his tie, but you don’t attempt to fix it.

Both of you are still breathing heavily and you’re savouring the feeling of being held so tightly to him. Another minute passes the both of you by then, the silence between you not deafening like it was inside as you have the sound of the rain hitting the umbrella above you and the ground around you to keep you sane.

And as you watch each other now, you’re not holding anything back, your guards are down and it’s freeing getting to stare into those brown eyes of his. Matty could watch you all day, he almost hesitates to start a conversation again just in case he shortens this between you.

“I get back from tour around the twentieth of December, but then I go back home for Christmas.” Matty tells you, his hot breath fanning your face as under the umbrella it seems to keep the hot air which is now making both of your damp skin get that muggy feeling. You wouldn’t change it for the world though because he smiles as he continues, “But I'm back for New Years. Might drop you a message then.”

You want to tell him that you’d absolutely love that, and that truthfully nothing would make you happier than meeting up with him without all the cameras and under the pretence of promo. But your sarcastic nature gets the better of you.

“Yeah, well, if nothing else,” You smirk as you remind him, “Please get me that date with your ex-girlfriend and her husband… Please.”

Thankfully it just makes the man, who’s still holding you to him like you might disappear, laugh out loud. You giggle yourself, finding the whole of today fucking mental, but nothing prepares you for hearing him half scorn you by saying, “You really should stop trying to get other dates when I’m trying to arrange our second one.”

Second date. Yeah, you’ve definitely gone insane and this is some sort of delusion.

“Well, stop with the gel in your hair and I'll think about it.” You smile, knowing that if he does message you, there isn’t a bone in you that could ever say no to him.

But you tell him sincerely with a soft smile as you glance up at his wet curls, “You look a lot better with it natural.”

Matty sighs, “You should have told me before the date.”

You giggle with a light frown, “I'm no one to mess with your image, Matthew.” And with the confidence that you now had in front of him, you tease him, “In other ways but not your image.”

Tutting, he warns you, “I’d stop if you’re not going to let me take you home now.”

“Okay, I’ll stop.” You bite your lip, trying not to recoil under his gaze.

But his face softens up when he tells you, “I had fun today.”

You give him the sweetest smile, one that has him melting inside, “So did I.”

And Matty can’t stay longer without asking then, “If I hypothetically asked you on a real date you would say?”

It doesn’t even take you a second to reply, “I would hypothetically say yes… Providing you have no gel in your hair.” You add at the end to try and keep the joke running.

“That’s hypothetically good to hear.” His smile gets bigger when you giggle.

“Enough with your hypotheticals.” You playfully scold him, but then you find yourself looking all around his face, appreciating every little detail and trying your best to memorise them. You brush back the wet curls that are falling on his forehead, swiping the drops of water with the pads of your thumbs.

Matty hums and lets his eyes fall close at your soft touch, and it’s when you smile at the peaceful silence that you realise just how long you’ve been outside and how he and you both were meant to leave very soon.

“How are you getting home anyway? Do you need me to call you a taxi?” You ask, already noting your phone was inside so if that was the case, then the two of you would have to go in again and wait there.

Matty opens his eyes and blinks slowly, “I’ll order an uber, don’t go worrying yourself.” Your worry was so adorable, but now it was time for him to do so, “How are you getting home? Where do you live anyway?”

You are quick to have him relax about your ride, “Crew will drop me back at the office and I get the tube home to Brixton.”

His face contorts as he realises that you’re going to have to go on the tube in your wet clothes. “That’s gonna be one uncomfortable ride back to Brixton. You’re all wet.”

You offer him a sarcastic smile, “And who do I have to thank for that?”

“Erm, well, you have a couple more things to thank me for too.” Matty’s eyes fall down to your lips, and you lick your lips just to subtly tease him some more.

You find yourself looking down at his lips again though, and then back up at him only to find him already staring at your eyes. “You’re an idiot.”

Matty leans forward with a smirk but doesn’t kiss you, instead his lips hover over yours by less than an inch and the way they brush over yours when he says, “You said so before.” has your eyes rolling back and it’s you again that seals the kiss.

This one feels different though. You are both just as desperate to lose yourselves in each other but it’s soft enough to know that you’re savouring the moment in attempts to remember the feeling of each other's lips until you meet again.

And the patience stays when your tongues move against each other’s, when he clutches you to him a little tighter, when you tangle your fingers in his curls and pull on them. Hearing and feeling him groan has your mind and heart racing.

It doesn’t last long, as you both are now aware of the time you’re taking but Matty thinks being selfish is necessary sometimes, so he presses his lips against yours again, this time only in a long peck.

But it’s enough to leave you both grinning like idiots, but neither of you can be bothered to care. You just stay there holding the other, until a loud honk pops the blissful bubble you were in.

“You should probably order that Uber now, the crew should be almost ready to leave.” You suggest, biting the corner of your swollen bottom lip.

Matty has to hold himself back from kissing you again, nodding as he pulls out his phone from an inside pocket in his trench coat.

It doesn’t take him long to call for one, and the app sadly tells you both that it’s arriving in 3 minutes, so you’re left to make small talk whilst it makes its way back. But neither of you mind, you feel like you’ve said what you needed to in between those kisses and none of you would forget the arrangement you had made.

So, the next 3 minutes are spent talking about how long it would be until the video would be done and posted, how they’d send it to them first and how it’d probably be the same with the pictures.

When the Uber is about a minute away, you two walk down the alley with the umbrella still over you and up to the front of the chicken shop. Your steps slow as you both try to put off having to say goodbye, but the moment arrives nonetheless and before you know it, Matty is crushing you in a hug with his Uber waiting behind him.

You are both reluctant to let go but when you glance over your shoulder to look at the grumpy expression of his driver, you know it's time to let go.

Matty is quick to remind you when he can look into your eyes again, “See you on New Years?”

You nod, with a massive grin on your face, “New Years.”

And because he wants more assurance - not that he needs it - and also because he doesn’t want you to get soaked again, he makes you take the umbrella from him.

At first you don’t want to accept it, you could easily just run a few feet back until you were inside the shop but he doesn’t let you give it back. “Take it.”

You stubbornly accept, but then Matty adds, “I want it back. On New Years.”

He has you giggling as easy as that, “And I’ll give it back. On New Years.”

“Good, ‘cause it was 200 quid.” That's the thing he leaves you with before he turns and quickly walks into the rain to get in the Uber.

You shake your head amused, and Matty manages to read your lips when you say, “Of course you spend 200 quid on an umbrella.” before he waves at you when the car starts to move.

And you wave back, letting out a sigh.

You don’t catch yourself standing outside the shop for another minute, just trying to grasp what has happened today, it’s Tyler calling out your name from the front door telling you to get back inside and away from the rain.

He and the rest of the crew had seen the hug and how Matty left you his umbrella but the director was now curious as to know where had you been from when you left with him for a smoke up until two minutes ago.

“You were out there a fair while…” Tyler trails off as you shake the rain off the umbrella to close it.

You know this is him trying to get some information out of you, so you just playfully glare at him and sarcastically say, “Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.”

They all know you’re not saying something, but you will be leaving them to their guesses until you actually muster up the courage to spill a secret or two. You trust this group of people with your life, but you wouldn’t tell any of these before you told Amelia.

You helped your friends get everything into the van you all came in, and before you know it you’re on route home. The trip to the office was quick, and you waited with Tyler to make sure that you got all the content downloaded onto his laptop and then put it on a backup external harddrive before a memory stick that you were taking home. You definitely didn’t need another disaster where you lost the footage to a date again. Especially not this one.

Truthfully, you couldn’t wait to start editing this one together, but you’d have to give yourself a few business days to recover. Their album is out in 3 weeks time and you can easily get it all together in the next week or so to have Jamie approve everything in time. You just need this weekend to process what’s happened today.

Something that’s still not fully hit you on the tube, nor when you go to your closest takeout on your way back to your flat. It hits you when your front door closes and silence washes over you.

As you put your food down, you release the squeal you’ve wanted to make since your idol sat down in front of you. And now you freely let your cheeks heat up at the memory of everything that’s happened today. You don’t even put music or the TV on as you eat because you’re so wrapped up in the memories of it.

You’re unable to process the things you said to him and the way you shamelessly flirted. The more you think about it, the more embarrassed you get and you let out small yelps as you recall some of the ways you chatted him up as you feel your cheeks flame. But that fact the flirting worked is the thing that you really can’t fathom.

You can’t believe he kissed you too, both on camera and again outside multiple times. The tingles on your lips and the way you can still feel where he held you close to him is one reason you don’t think you dreamt up the entire day. The only thing that stops you from believing that you had is Matty’s umbrella that’s propped up by your door.

And you can’t quite accept that he said he was going to get in touch when he got back off tour. A second fucking date. You might cry if you think about it long enough. But you really need to not get your hopes up.

Even if it does happen, little does Matty know that you’re certainly going to see him again before New Years. But after today, you think that you’ll stick to the back corner of those Pryzm gigs so you don’t have to deal with any embarrassment, especially when you know that the chicken shop date will come out the day after, the day their album releases.

You think adding to the mystery of ‘will he, won’t he’ will keep you sane. You can happily remain hopelessly deluded that this New Years meeting would happen. And if the end of December comes and nothing comes of it, you will just be pleased that you have this date to look back on forever. It certainly keeps the grin on your face for the rest of tonight.

But what gives you that glimmer of hope is an Instagram notification you got just before you crawl into bed. Needless to say, you fall asleep with a smile on your face.

@trumanblack started following you

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

| Part 2 | Part 3 |

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Ahhhh we really hope you enjoyed it! Please let us know what you thought, we want any and all reactions please! What do you think is going to happen next? Remember to follow @alovesreading​ as Part 2 will be posted on her account! (We haven't written part 2 yet but we will work on it as soon as I’ve finished @nriacc​, also hope you Alex stans liked your multiverse moment)

Please let either of us know if you want to be added to the Taglist x

Taglist: @drinkurkombucha​ @vinylandcoffeecollection​ @red---moon​ @better--oblivions​ @kennedy-brooke​ 

[ilovepinof]

HI! I’m currently making a Dnp Youtube playlist so I can fully introduce them to my mother (since shes going to TIT with me). Do you have any favorites/recommendations??

I’m adding more post hiatus vids since thats the energy we’re mostly getting on tour, but i’ll take anything :]

A silly bonus: The other day I gave her a short rundown of the timeline, and she pauses me and goes “Oh they live together?”, and I said yes expecting her to inquire further but she just went “Very nice.” 😭😭😭 so either shes completely clueless on the dynamic or understood it immediately, but I found that funny.

(I literally saw a big post about this yesterday I wish I could find it but alas I will try to give my best suggestions)

This post can be useful for anyone who has friends/family going to TIT with them that may not know much about Dan and Phil!

This post could also be useful to share with any friends who want to get into Dan and Phil

Feel free to pick and choose, you obviously don't have to watch every single one of these with your TIT buddy.

Category 1: Dan and Phil Lore - There are a few current videos that can give insight into past&present Dan and Phil lore without having to go super duper in-depth with her about everything.

Dan and Phil React to Every Phil is not on fire! #1 - I feel like anyone whos seeing TIT should be aware of Pinof lore but maybe thats just me because...I mean look at my username. I think watching PINOF react #1 is good enough because its the core trilogy and explains their origins well

Are Dan and Phil Connected? - I'd describe this video as taking a ton of shots of Dan and Phil lore rapidly at once, though she wouldn't understand everything she could at least begin to know stuff!

Both Pizza Mukbangs!! Here is mukbang 1 & here is mukbang 2. I feel like these two videos really encompass a lot of what Dan and Phil have gone through in the last few years and lay a good foundation of the tour.

Halloween Baking - SLIME AND SADDNESS CINNAMON ROLLS - Dan and Phil baking is a core part of Dan and Phil content and cannot be missed. This one doubles as a fun activity! You can bake and watch Dan and Phil together! Me and my (non phannie) partner did this and it was so much fun.

Any WDAPTEO - Heres a link to the most recent one

One final option in this category would be either of the dnp react to phan twt videos because it would explain the fans more but I don't feel as if this is necessary.

Category 2: Dan vs Phil - I feel like Dan vs Phil really shows a lot about their individual characters and dynamics. I'd start her off with these videos to get her into the world of Dan and Phil a little. Here are the ones I suggest.

Dan vs Phil IS BACK! Switch Sports

Is Dan smarter than Phil?

Dan vs Phil - FALL GUYS!

PARTIAL KITCHEN REVEAL SHUFFLEBOARD SHOWDOWN!

Category 3: Misc - Videos that I could not fill a full category for but I think would still be good.

This game ended our friendship - Bread and Fred - In a similar way that I feel like Dan vs Phil shows their dynamics well, I think it's important to also show the chaos of their team work. This one was one of my favs I rewatched it so much.

Who is the liar? Dan Phil or Pj - Whats a better way to get to know someone than Dan and Phil with one of their good friends? I highly suggest any Dan Phil Pj Soph video!!

GOLF WITH SLITS - Dan and Phil Play: Golf with Friends #9 - An iconic channel series.

Category 4: (some of) ILOVEPINOF's fav comeback videos - These videos were just my personal favorites. Think of this list as kind of "extra things you could watch" because they're all reallly good videos in my opinion.

Dan and Phil's raging Trombones

Trunk Dexting with Pan and Dhil

Dan and Phil Dress Each Other

Forcing Dan to Watch MORE Tiktok Likes

THE BACHELOR PARTY - Dan and Phil play The Sims 4: Season 2 #5

[chirpsythismorning]

Fun fact: In the original pitch for Stranger Things, El had a little brother.

After being rejected by almost 20 studios for the Montauk pilot, the Duffers were finally green-lit by Netflix. It was at this time that they began casting and then writing the first season officially, which included reworking a lot of that first episode.

This led to the removal of the brother reference, and with it, removing any sort of arc El could have had about her apparent brother.

But the thing about this moment, is that it might not have been scrapped entirely...

Going into the final season, no one can explain why or how El recognized Will back in 1x02. And while there are plenty of things on the show that are left unexplained, with a small portion likely left that way with the intention to uncover it later, what sets this moment apart from the rest is that there are very few possibilities here.

Because for starters, the story presents El's ability to see people in the void in s1 as requiring either a picture of that person for reference, or having met that person before.

But when El see's this picture of Will, she's never met him before. Or maybe she has, but we wouldn't know because they never showed us. They could have just not done this scene at all, given that it's clearly a copy/paste/edit of something scrapped from the pitch. Or they could have even still included it, but explained it.

One explanation could be that the lab had shown El a picture of Will before, similar to what they did with the Russian agent they wanted to spy on. But then that begs to question, why would the lab show El a picture of Will? Why would they want to see what he was doing? That alone is incriminating in and of itself, implying that Will is more connected to the lab than we realize.

The only other, and frankly most likely explanation, would be that El stumbled across Will at some point on her journey between escaping the lab and Will going missing. This is actually something that happens in The Other Side comic, which explores all the things Will may have experienced during his time in the Upside Down.

Though it’s worth noting the comics aren’t technically canon, and I highly doubt they would outright spoil everything in relation to Will’s time there, years before it was intended to be revealed. But still, let's humor this for a moment given that I do think Will's time in the UD is going to be very relevant in s5, which means it's highly likely they will finally address how exactly El saw him.

Basically, in the comic, Will see’s El walking through the woods, almost apparition like, glowing as she passes by, while also sporting the Benny’s burgers shirt. This means they would have crossed passed within a short span of time, between when El escaped Benny’s when the agents arrived, but before she was found by the boys.

Though it’s worth noting that we’re seeing this all from Will’s perspective. This means from the UD, Will was capable of seeing El on the other side, despite them being on different sides. And not only that, but she also looks back at him.

What confuses me about this, is that it doesn’t make sense for El to be in the woods, only to randomly decide to pop in to the void for a moment. She was trying to escape the lab and everything that came with it. I doubt she had any desire to lurk back there for some reason, not until someone encouraged her to. Not to mention, it would make no sense for her to go there and see Will if she wasn't even looking for him in the first place. And so this would mean Will and El could see each other, with Will being in the UD, and El being on the other side.

While it does seem pretty far off, given that you would think Will and El wouldn't be able to see each other from different sides, it is true in the story that El not only recognizes Will, but knows that he is in danger. She mentions that he is hiding specifically.

Which means she has likely seen him within the last 24 hours regardless.

This, in combination with Will being able to respond to El in the void at the end of the season in Castle Byers, when no one else outside of Terry and flayed-Billy have been able to, seems to imply that there is indeed something special about Will that makes him capable of communicating with El from the UD. Not only that, but El also seems to have an ability to be in this constant knowing state of how Will is doing, without even checking again to confirm. She's just certain of it. And she seems terrified about it.

Going forward, El never uses a picture of Will to find him. She never did. And more often than not, they don’t show us what she see’s either, not until the very end. And that’s the moment they reveal that he was able to communicate with her.

Again, there was really no reason to have El recognize Will. If anything it complicates things. But the fact that they chose to introduce this concept, with a scene from the original pitch that was related to El’s younger brother, with her pointing at his name cryptically, startling Benny, only to revamp it and have El not say anything at all while pointing at the picture of Will, startling Mike… It just really makes you stop and think.

Which brings me to the other aspect of this that might have people doubting, which is that El’s brother was originally younger than her.

We know Will is not younger than El, so how could this apply to him?

Well, it might be helpful to consider that in the original script, El was actually 10 years old, while the boys were always 12. Meaning that for some reason, they decided to age her up to the age of the boys, aka the same age as Will…

Ever since @erikiara80 shared this brother discovery with me, I have been sort of reeling. It then led to other little discoveries of changes they made between Montauk and Stranger Things.

It’s important to understand that the Montauk bible and the original script precedes what we ended up with in the final product, with it finally changing and evolving months, maybe even a year since that original vision. Even casting occurred before writing started for the first season. We know this because casting announcements were made in June and August of 2015, with writing not starting until August going into early 2016, simultaneously while they were filming.

And believe it or not, what I've discovered is that a lot of the changes they made between their original plans and what we see in the final product, have to do with not only Willel, but also Byler.

If you've read the original script for Montauk, you'll know that Mike's crush on Jennifer Hayes was focused on right from the jump, along with the birthmark on his face being focused on, which was the main cause of the bullying he experienced.

This has actually been talked about recently, and some of the claims people make do fit with what I am genuinely starting to consider here, which is that the initial plan for what makes Mike an outcast shifted.

I think when they completed casting, and started actually deep diving into what they wanted this world to look like, both from a short-term and long-term standpoint, they were presented with some pretty interesting discoveries, arguably already hiding in their initial plans without realizing it.

And this is where it sort of becomes a 'chicken or the egg' situation. Because which one came first? Byler or Willel?

I can't say for certain, because obviously this is all just speculation. But in the case that Willel came first, I think Byler would come very naturally after that.

The Duffers themselves are twins. Then they hire Noah, who is a twin. Then they're thinking and planning for El's past and how her family all fits into this, and they're thinking... wait a damn minute... We could totally Star Wars this bitch!

And then when they think it couldn't get any better, they uncover another layer that they hadn't planned or really considered in their initial plans.

While Will was always going to have sexual identity issues according to the Montauk bible, meaning that the writing process for him likely involved sitting down imagining scenarios that encapsulated this arc for Will from the beginning, they were simultaneously now finding very interesting aspects of Mike's character that made it hard not to at least consider the possiblity that Mike is not exactly straight.

Just think about it. The Byers and Wheelers are basically polar opposites on the spectrum of what a family looks like. While Will's discovery and acceptance of his queerness is interesting to explore because he comes from a low-income, single-mom household, all while having been bullied for years based on his perceived queerness, he also has a mother and brother constantly reinforcing that they will accept him no matter what. They've been sort of hitting us over the head with it for years, and so it wouldn't be very satisfying for his entire arc to merely lead up to something we've known all along. It's pretty much a given at this point.

On the other side of the spectrum, Mike comes from a more upper-middle class family at the end of a cul-de-sac, more aligned with what a nuclear family looks like. Mike's family is also presented as being more conservative, and while Karen does give that very queer-coded speech to Mike in s1 (I'm convinced they only wrote this after deciding to explore queer-coding more heavily with Mike), it also comes with comments from Ted and even still Karen that hint that they are probably not as open-minded and accepting as Will's family is to him. Which means Mike's arc would be a lot more about acceptance around him from his loved ones who we have been led to believe might not be as accepting of his queerness in contrast to Will.

And so as they're putting this story together, and they're being presented with something very interesting. Two similar experiences that play out in different ways because of the characters circumstances.

Will goes missing, and his twin sister with a buzzcut pops up and has the ability to help them find Will.

This leads to several moments where El is being compared to as not only a boy, but Will as well.

Now suddenly, their initial plans to have Mike's arc be about having a girl be interested in him and to hopefully have his first kiss and feel like less of a loser, starts to look a lot like what the experience a queer kid in his position might encounter growing up in the environment that he did.

And if you don't want to take my word for it, just hear the Duffer's themselves hinting at what they initially planned for Mike and the fact that it changed.

The changes don't stop there.

Believe it or not, 'It was a seven', did not exist in the initial pitch. When the boys went outside bickering over Nancy, they leave right after that.

Another thing that changed from the first script, was Scott Clarke's introduction:

And so you might be thinking, who cares? What does that have to do with anything?

Well, it's interesting because the line we end up with on the show is arguably one of the most on the nose Twelvegate proofs to date. Mind you, this is from the first episode:

Why chuck the original version, which was arguably more interesting and fascinating in terms of it hinting at the mysteriousness surrounding this story, only to replace it with him listing off tips about their upcoming test?

Well, I think it's the irony of it all. Here Mr. Clarke is practically telling us where to look to figure stuff out for ourselves what is going on, with all the kids filing out and ignoring him...

I relate to Scott a litttle too much in this shot here, any time I try to drop Willel evidence.

And the changes go on, as they obviously would.

Things like Terry Ives not even being El's mom, but actually a man who more so aligns with the characterization of Murray.

And one very interesting one I almost overlooked was in Hopper's introduction, where instead of a kids drawing done by who we assume to be Sarah, we actually see a picture on the wall of him and his wife and daughter... Interesting that they decided to switch it something that is a lot less definitive in presenting what Hopper's past looked like...

If you've made it this far, congratulations.

If you still think I'm out of my mind, just remember that El was going to have a brother in the original script, but they scrapped the scene and gave a near identical one to introduce her connection to Will instead 😘

[azapofinspiration]

So I’ve caught up to Mairimashita! Iruma-kun, and there something that really struck me about the series especially during the second year Battler Party Arc.

Iruma and the antagonists, the Return to Origins movement, have similar desires, though their motivation, methods, and ultimate goals are different.

Because both want demons to help unleash and fulfill their desires.

But as I said, everything else between them is different. As Kirio said, either Iruma or his own competing (though similar) desires will come to pass because they cannot co-exist.

The Return to Origins desire to unleash everyone’s desire is selfish. It’s pretty clear it’s an every demon for themselves sort of unleashing, causing chaos as people’s desires clash that will most assuredly leave destruction in their wake. Though considering that’s several members’ true desire that’s all right by them. They also seem to struggle to work together, even if they can pull through in the clutch, as most of them don’t seem to like each other (as seen with Poro despairing over who he’s surrounded with, Baal struggling to keep his stuff together for what he’s doing and following Poro’s directions even if it’s for his goal, Narnia not seeming to be a full part of the movement but clearly aware and taking advantage of them for his own goals (which I suspect is a more orderly and less welcoming world than the chaos they seem to want to incite)). Which makes sense, as cooperation is hard for demons.

Then their methods are trickery and manipulating people and situations just to set things up exactly as they want them.

And it’s all in service of their motivation to unleash their desires freely.

Contrast that with Iruma, who’s just learning what his own desires and ambitions, has two motivations at the moment: to stay with those he loves in the demon world and help those around him achieve their desires.

And he’s been shown, time and time again, to ask what those around him truly want to do. Going back all the way to the early parts of the story this has been true but he’s been getting more and more blatant to me it feels as the series goes on. Like, the whole thing with helping Sylvia do something dangerous just to fulfill her desire to make art, to see Beem’s art, and to let others get to witness and marvel over Beem’s art as well, just seemed to highlight it to me(as well as the steps he took beforehand trying to get permission to let Beem create in the first place and potentially still use the original though that was denied). Maybe because out of all the risky things they’ve done before, this felt the most dangerous as even her sanity was on the line.

But as Iruma said, people say impossible and he (along with everyone else in the Misfit class, as shown when Soi revealed his initial desires at the start of the Music Festival) takes it as a challenge.

And then there’s his methods. Because unlike the Origins group, he first goes to using collaboration and cooperation, dragging everyone else in and getting help to achieve the impossible. And his desire and the person we’re focusing on’s desires, become everyone’s desire as well.

And in the newest arc (with the Love Trio! I love it! Platonic, QPR, or Romantic, as long as these dorks are together I’m satisfied), it seems he might also be taking a page from Sullivan’s book and focusing on the importance of education as well.

And the result is that everyone has fun and feels successful, marveling over it as their combined desire is fulfilled.

Because that’s the end goal from him that’s the biggest contrast to the Origins group: he wants to make a demon world where people work together to fulfill their desires, allowing everyone one to have fun and be a part of it as well. It’s probably still somewhat chaotic and I’m not sure how it’d work with a more destructive or despairing desire (as seen with how Iruma isn’t sure how to help Kirio yet but that seems to be a final arc lesson), but overall it seems a lot more appealing.

I don’t know. It’s just something that I noticed and thought was interesting.