#cause the stupid lane is so big

[swim-culture-is]

swim culture is trying to figure out who goes in the wall lane

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[babyleostuff]

── OLYMPICS MASTERLIST

[🌊] DISCIPLINE: SWIMMING

PAIRING: swimmer!mingyu x swimmer!fem reader GENRE: fluff, friends to lovers(ish), idiots that doesn't realise the other one is in love with them too, mingyu is a tease but also down bad WARNINGS: the reader gets hurt (hits her head, nothing too descriptive), mingyu is a hottie WORD COUNT: 3k

SYNOPSIS: what will it take for you and mingyu to finally understand that you're literally meant to be?

natalia's note: @wonijinjin the broad back and bulging biceps are for you

“i can’t do this anymore.” 

mingyu's words hit you like a speeding train. 

you quickly lifted your head from where you were looking at your fingers splashing the water, facing your best friend. 

“w-what?” you asked, horrified. “what do you mean?” 

his shoulders dropped, causing the water to ripple around your bodies, and you couldn’t shake off the feeling that you wouldn’t like what he was about to say next. 

“i can’t do this anymore. i can’t watch you lose again and again,” he sighed, and dived under the red lane line, emerging a second later right next to you. “it’s,” he took a breath, “heartbreaking.” 

with how close he was to you now you didn’t have a choice but to look up, which was stupid because come on - you were in the water. a wole ass swimming pool. like, he could literally submerge himself a little bit more and you’d be eye level, but no. kim mingyu had to flash everyone in the damn room with his godly sculptured chest and shoulders. 

you mentally scolded yourself for losing the last ounces of your dignity over a man, because why was it so hard for you to peel your eyes off his pecs? and a quiet voice inside your head was telling you that mingyu didn’t do this by accident - he knew how it affected you. but it shouldn’t. you were best friends after all. 

and best friends didn’t look at each other’s chests. and wide shoulders. and bulging biceps. 

“then stop being such a bitch, kim mingyu,” you cleared your throat, suddenly very interested in the purple “paris 2024” banners over his head. “if it’s breaking your heart then that’s your problem, not mine.”  

mingyu rolled his eyes, and quickly lifted his hand to splash water at you, making you shriek. what a shame god didn’t bless you with quicker reflexes, so you could cover your eyes at least. it was funny how people used to tell your coach that it would be for the best to split your training sessions because you didn’t get on well with each other, while in reality you got on well a bit too much. 

“uh, excuse moi?” you cringed at his horrible attempt to speak french, “you’re calling the three time world champion and two time olympic gold medalist a bitch?” he put his hand over his heart. 

“then why don’t you want to race with me anymore?” you practically whined. “are you afraid of getting beaten by a girl? would that do damage to your reputation in the olympic village?” you giggled at his unamused stare. “i’m sure the gymnasts would be very disappointed to find out you’re not as big and strong as they thought,” you pouted at him, mockingly. 

“i told you baby, i don’t want to see you lose again, simple as that” mingyu put his hand on your shoulder. “can’t you race against ava or liv?” 

you weren’t sure if it was better to go underwater or to call for the medics at this point. this infuriatingly hot man just called you baby for god’s sake and he had his hand placed so close to your neck it felt as if he was cradling it. luckly you could blame the cold water for your shivering. the worst part - you were 99% sure you saw him make out with alexa before going to paris, so all of the sweet words and gentle touches were platonic. 

they meant nothing. 

which… were you even surprised? the hottest guy making out with the hottest girl on the team. both multiple champions. both insanely talented. 

still, you wouldn’t give up, and that definitely wasn’t because of your delusions that you could pull the hottest and the best swimmer on the continent, but because you didn’t want to lose your best friend.

“you’re not fooling me, kim mingyu. i think you’re just scared of me beating you.” 

he scoffed, and finally lowered himself into the water. thank heavens. “okay then. what do you say about one last race to finish this training off?” mingyu said, and sent you a challenging look, which he knew would rile you up even more. 

“deal,” you shook his extended hand. “but don’t come crying to me when you lose.” 

“as you wish, my queen,” he bowed his head, and snickered. “but-,” 

“no buts,” you cut him off. 

“ah, ah,” he pointed a finger at you. “if you lose you have to take a bath in the seine.” 

sometimes you wondered why exactly you had a crush on him because stuff like these reminded you he was only a man. more like a man-child, but that was if you wanted to be nitpicky. 

“that’s illegal, you moron.” 

you swore you’d drown him one of these days.

with the goggles over your eyes you swam under the lane line to have a whole lane for yourself, because there was no way you’d fit in one lane with mingyu. 

“okay champ, let’s see-,” suddenly you felt a tap on your shoulder. 

“je suis désolé, mais tu dois sortir de l'eau. les préparatifs pour la course vont bientôt commencer,” one of the volunteers was crouching by the edge of the pool with his hand outstretched in your direction. 

“uh,” you shot mingyu a quick look, “i’m sorry, je ne comprends pas.” i don’t understand. the only french you managed to learn before coming to paris, which you figured would come in handy, and as it turned out - it did. a point for you. 

“the competition,” the guy scratched the back of his neck, clearly trying to find the right words. “begin soon.” 

“do you want us to get out of the pool?” mingyu asked, pointing at him and you and then the outside of the pool. 

“yes, yes,” the volunteer nodded quickly. 

well, you could wave your race bye bye. 

maybe the universe didn’t want you and mingyu together, maybe all you were destined to be was friends? besides, one silly race wouldn’t make a difference, if anything, it would probably lead to you pulling a muscle, which would mean a big disaster with your eliminations right around the corner. 

your fate was to end up alone for the rest of your life, crying over a guy you could never have. typical. 

“shit,” mingyu sighed, taking off his goggles. “i really wanted to race you.” 

you sent him a quick smile, dismissing his teasing tone. the quicker you’d realise this wouldn’t work out the better for your poor heart. 

“yeah, that’s a bummer,” you said, grabbing onto the edge of the pool to pull yourself up. 

mingyu grinded his teeth and side eyed the volunteer. if it weren't for the dozens of people around you who were clearly starting to prepare for the race, he would have thrown the guy into the water with his own bare hands. 

“thanks for being a cockblock, dude.”

well, not literally, but this had to be the first time mingyu managed to talk to you without stuttering every other word and not acting that embarrassing. but no. someone had to sweep in and take this away from him. 

“be careful,” mingyu ran a hand over his face, and looked over to you, “the tiles might be slippery.” 

“you don’t say,” you said, and shot him a glare. “im not that-.” 

but before you could finish your sentence one of your hands slipped and you lost the grip, splashing back into the pool. 

“hey, hey,” mingyu immediately swam up to you, closing the gap between your bodies in seconds. “are you okay?” he put his arm around your waist, turning you around in his grip so you’d face him. 

shit.

“did you hit your head?” he asked quickly, taking off your cap. fuck, mingyu felt his lunch creeping back into his throat. if anything happened to you… 

“mhm, i think so,” you answered, disoriented. your vision was clearly unsteady and you were shaking in his embrace, though he didn’t know if that was due to the cold water or the hit. 

“fuck,” he muttered, running his hand gently over your head to look for any cuts or bruises. “we need to get you out of the water.” 

you nodded your head slowly, but that was a bad call, because it only made you more nauseous and made your vision even worse. 

“hey, don’t move. put your other arm around my neck and hold onto me,” mingyu said. 

“but i’m heavy.” 

“shut it or i’ll leave you here,” mingyu grumbled, and tightened his hold around you. 

with ease, as if he was born in the water, mingyu managed to get you to the edge of the pool with ladders, and called for help.

“i’m such a loser,” you mumbled, resting your head against his shoulder. “almost passing out in the middle of an olympic swimming pool,” you let out a bitter laugh, before whimpering. maybe making bad jokes right after almost cracking your skull open wasn’t a good idea. 

mingyu didn’t say anything but you could feel his body tense. 

“she hit her head on the tiles,” he said once the medics made their way over to you. 

they quickly helped him get you out of the water without causing you more pain and laid you on the stretcher. the medics whispered something between them, or maybe you were just so out of it that you couldn’t understand what they were saying, but you could clearly make out mingyu’s voice in between. 

suddenly, you felt as if you were being lifted off the ground, but your blurry vision made it impossible for you to see what exactly was going on. 

“min-mingyu?” you called out. 

“i’m here baby, don’t worry,” mingyu said, and reached for your hand, grasping it tightly so you’d know he was really right there next to you. 

“stop calling me that,” you said, your tone bossy as usual. 

“stop calling you what?” mingyu couldn’t help but giggle when he heard you scoff. good, that meant you weren’t that badly hurt. 

“baby.” 

“what if i don’t want to?” he asked, and ran a thumb over the back of your hand, smiling to himself when he felt your fingers wrap tighter around his.  

you shook your head, or at least you tried to. “then i’ll race you and if i win you’ll stop.” 

“you know i won’t let that happen,” he said softly. 

“stop messing with my heart, kim mingyu.” 

a champion, an olympics medalist, a man made of steel, and still, mingyu felt like he was melting under your gaze. your big eyes looking up at him, your soft lips parted in a slight gasp, your gentle fingers holding onto him for dear life…  

“i won’t,” he shook his head. “not until you stop messing with mine.” 

as it turned out, luckily for you, the impact didn’t cause much damage. “it caused panic more than anything else,” the doctor said. 

“so i’ll be able to race on monday, right?” you asked, twisting the rings around your fingers nervously. the olympics were something you sacrificed your whole life for - you couldn’t remember the last time you slept in, the last time you ate dinner with your family, the last time you had time for yourself, and if all of that would go to waste because of a stupid mistake… you didn’t know what you’d do. 

“don’t worry, you’ll be just fine for the race. i think your boyfriend overreacted a bit out there,” the doctor laughed. “maybe more than a bit.” 

you almost choked on the pills you were swallowing, your face burning with heat. the doctor feeding into your delusions was a big no no, and you definitely did not need that right now. 

“you might want to text him though, he was sitting outside the whole time we were running tests. had to send him back to the village,” he sighed, “he looked like a kicked puppy.” 

that was dangerous, and you needed to get out of there quickly. 

mingyu, on the other hand, couldn’t stop worrying. after the doctor sent him off, he didn’t really know what to do with himself, and he definitely didn’t know how he ended up sitting in front of the door to your room. 

god, he was being so pathetic. instead of telling you how and what he felt, he was acting like a lame highschooler trying to impress you with what? being a faster swimmer? mingyu was never good at flirting but this had to be his lowest low. 

„gyu? what are you doing here?” his head shot up, and there you were - safe and sound. no bandages, nothing. for the first time since he got out of that damn swimming pool he took in a deep, proper breath. 

“the doctor he, um…,” 

“i know.” 

“you know?”

“i know,” you nodded. why did he look so nervous all of a sudden? “shouldn’t you be at the gym? preparing for tomorrow?” 

right. the race. 

“i probably should,” more than “probably” to be honest. your trainer would most likely have killed him already if not for the fact that he was the best swimmer on the team. “but i needed to know that you were okay.” 

“you could’ve just texted, you know,” you said. why was he being so… un-mingyu?

he shook his head, and stood up to his full 6 feet 2. “let me put it this way,” he took a step towards you, “i needed to see if you were okay.”

was he really about to risk your whole friendship? all this time spent on getting to know you, your likes and dislikes, what annoyed you and how he could push your buttons to see that bright smile on your face that always made his day a bit better. he didn’t want to lose all of that. 

but… mingyu felt his hands reaching out for you on their own to make sure that you weren’t in pain anymore, to kiss any bump or scratch to make it better, to hold you close to his chest this evening and keep you safe from all the wet tiles. 

“listen,” he scratched the back of his neck. he needed to do something with his hands. “i have to tell you one thing, and please just let me say it because i don’t think i’ll have enough courage to say it ever again.” 

you nodded your head, your gaze slightly confused. 

it was now or never. 

“okay, so i know we’re technically only friends from work, but not really since we hang out otherwise, and we’ve known each other for how long now? three years? and that’s great, i love training with you, and going to competitions with you, and hanging out with you, but lately… or not lately, really. for a long time-,” 

„mingyu,” you sighed, but the boy kept on rambling. „min,” you tried again, to no avail. „gyu!” 

finally, the man in front of you fell silent, looking at you with eyes wide and mouth agape. 

“i,” you took a deep breath. you knew exactly where this was going. „i can’t do this right now,” you said, and watched the spark in mingyu’s eyes die out. “with what happened today, and the eliminations tomorrow… i just can’t deal with this right now,” god, this broke your heart. “i need some rest, and i need some sleep,” you added. “besides, i also have the relay tomorrow, so i need to focus. this is not only about me, but about the girls. i can’t let them down.”   

mingyu’s heart dropped. if he knew this would end like this, then why was he feeling so disappointed? but he couldn’t be mad at you, no. it wasn’t your fault you weren’t feeling the same, and it definitely wasn’t your fault for wanting some rest. the olympics meant so much to you, and he knew how excited you were for them - he wouldn’t take that happiness away from you. 

„of-of course,” mingyu said, though his voice, his body language, his gaze - his everything, screamed anything but „of course”. he nodded his head and shrugged. „i’ll see you later then.”

you quickly grabbed his arm before he could turn around. „gyu,” you said. „i can’t deal with this now, but i never said i couldn’t deal with this ever.” 

he was so cute, you couldn’t help but hide your smile behind your hand. with slightly dishevelled hair (probably from running his fingers through them too much), un-matching shirt and pants, which you were sure were from last season, and his mingyu smile that showed off his canines… you’d have to be stupid and blind not to have a massive crush on this man. 

„r-really?” 

you nodded your head.

“maybe we can talk about this tomorrow?” you said, and slid your hand down his arm to his hand. “after the eliminations?” 

mingyu looked down wide-eyed at your hand holding his. was this really happening? maybe he was the one to hit his head? his poor heart and fuzzy brain couldn’t actually believe that the girl he had been pining after for god knows how long was actually saying that… that she liked him back? huh, if this was a dream he hoped he’d never wake up. 

“yes,” he breathed. “we can do that.” 

“great,” you smiled, and mingyu felt his heart skip a beat. “you’ll be watching me tomorrow, right?”

“you know i will,” mingyu said, squeezing your hand, and this - your hand in his - this felt right. this was right, and this was how it was always supposed to be. “i always do.” 

and then he did something that almost knocked you off your feet. 

he quickly closed the gap between you, pushing your body gently against the door behind you, and placed a soft peck on your cheek. you almost didn’t notice how his strong arm had snuck around you, holding your waist in a featherlight touch that didn’t quite match his strong hands and big biceps, or how the other one cradled the side of your face, and how his thumb stroked your cheek. almost.

and it was only a kiss on the cheek. 

“good luck, baby.”

[inchidentally]

this one was interesting and actually not esp silly or weird ! I mean it's still overthinking and stupid but lgfjlsagflf anyway sorry massive text blocks ahead…

so these are obv two boys who are basically ready to put this weekend behind them and they've kind of already checked out. and while everything Andrea said was fair and true, you can see Oscar's jaw working as Andrea clearly built up to discussing his racing difficulties. there's this little moment where Lando glances at Oscar out of the corner of his eye when Andrea says "I think Oscar experienced some of these difficulties" that's so subtle but is like wow, Andrea rarely comes down on Oscar like this! he sucks in a big breath and grits his teeth and nods curtly in kind of a okay okay that's enough ntm on my boy Osco he's already beating himself up !!

Andrea then gives them their dues for putting both cars in the points … but then !! Papa makes the choice to bring up how this race was Lando's to win and it didn't happen !!

and first Oscar's head whips up and a tendon in his neck literally jumps and you can see his chest swell up - he literally looks indignant on Lando's behalf! Lando looks a little hurt at first but then he grimaces and concedes. but like. the fact that Oscar - who a lot of us could argue Andrea has taken Oscar under his wing as a boy who arrived at a McLaren that was already Lando's home and family - was the one to have that intense reaction to Andrea's criticism is because it's about Lando! Oscar literally bites his lips bc okay let's ease off no need to belabor the point Dad!

and that's just how Andrea intended it !!

in Imola last year after the coming together in the pit lane, Andrea responded by immediately being firm parent and even a little bad cop! truth was that the incident wasn't even a straight up 'battle' between Lando and Oscar but Andrea saw an opportunity to not only extinguish any petty rivalry but also to bond his two drivers together against mean old Dad. he made it clear that there would be no 'both sides' when it came to the two cars and that because both of them would be equally punished/scolded, there would be no point in future for them to try for preferential treatment. he made himself the common enemy (so to speak bc they adore him) so that they wouldn't be each other's!

now, yes a mention does have to be made that Oscar is unusually mature and genuinely respects Lando's experience and position - and genuinely likes him as a person! he was never going to be the type of teammate to cause unnecessary friction. but he's also partnered with a guy basically the same age but at a much more advanced stage in his career and like. it's never not amazing how he resets himself and can be genuinely happy for Lando's successes while he himself is without a trophy and blends into the team.

but Andrea saw all of that and rather than just hope that Oscar's good will and kind nature holds against his natural competitiveness and the even more natural urgency all young F1 drivers have of trying to keep their seat, he's made sure to lift Oscar up when no one else does BUT ALSO to make it clear that Lando is not some untouchable golden boy and that with Lando's added experience comes added expectation! Andrea instills equity, even when it means he has to play bad guy for a moment!

he'd much rather the boys go away grumbling together and feeling bonded over wounded pride than have them see him as a buddy and nice guy the way they do with Zak. Zak gets to be the fun uncle. Andrea has to be the parent!

and when it's Oscar's turn to speak he reiterates Andrea's comments about the difficulties (but stands up tall enough that Lando has to look up to see him) and says he and his team will do the work to learn from what went wrong!

him giving props to Lando for showing just what the car can do and Lando ducking his head and making himself busy cleaning the plate of his trophy <3<3

"thanks Osco" in that snuffly stuffy little voice ;__;

bc it makes them both smile !! and even though Lando makes sure to be the brighter/lighter side he does the same as Oscar and reiterates what Andrea said - !! I love that the reverse psychology worked bc Lando went from looking downright moody and grumpy after parc ferme to saying that they did in fact do a great job today !! and he says it while looking right at Papa bc he wants Papa to agree!!

and Andrea does that stern slightly grudging but fair nod in reply. Lando's peppy little "I'm now very disappointed with a second place!" with Oscar smiling and you can feel the mood lift off him and Oscar!

Lando felt so confident in fact that he actually remembered where they're racing next week and didn't need Oscar's help :D

a lot can be said about how bringing two young drivers together who genuinely are so close in ability (Lando's regular commentary last season about Oscar was how much he loved and hated that Oscar pushed him so hard) could easily have turned out badly by now but that Lando and Oscar both consistently say they don't want a rivalry to supersede the overall goal which is to bring success to the team AND that they have a fully open door policy between their two garages.

but also !! that McLaren have someone like Andrea who will put the thought and effort into the kind of parental guidance and boundaries that two young drivers need!

[justice4billiam]

I had this little thought.

Billy always calls you pet names and that’s just the norm because he’s a flirt and then there’s you who never calls him a single cute pet name ever. But one particular day you were like talking to the cat or dog or something and call it a cute nickname only to look up at Billy and see him red in the face because he thought you were talking to him for a second. So you go in for the kill with it and it practically does kill him. So now you only call him that nickname when you truly want to see him squirm

Billy Hargrove x Fem!reader

Word count: 4,152

Warnings: Nothing too bad. Just Billy being Billy. Maybe even a little less of himself actually.

Author’s Note: OMG. I am SO sorry about how long it took me to get this out. I'm such a perfectionist, and for some reason, even as I post this, it doesn't feel all that great, but I hope you like it all the same.

Oh Baby

Billy Hargrove made a splash from the start.

He came cruising into the small town straight from the sunny shores of California, his cocky attitude and smirking face challenging anyone who crossed his path.

Everyone knew he was too big for a town like this, attracting stares and whispers as naturally as he breathed.

Billy had quickly become known for his flirty nature with the women of Hawkins, his inventory of pet names given with devilish grins and gazes that lingered just a second too long.

Handing them out like candy on Halloween with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.

But you?

You were the exception.

You were the challenge he couldn’t quite figure out.

Oh, how he wanted to.

The one girl who didn’t fall, the mystery that kept his mind racing.

You had always kept Billy at a distance, a boundary he seemed determined to cross. His invitations to hang out were met with polite declines, his attempts at conversation answered with noncommittal hums.

It wasn’t that you disliked him, in fact you were very aware of just how attractive he was; you just weren’t interested in being another name on his list.

But Billy was nothing if not persistent, acting like he didn’t even hear you most of the time, taking your rejections as a challenge.

It was on a day when the sky was a clear blue that opportunity knocked on Billy’s door—or rather, your car broke down.

Your car gave up on your way home from work right when you needed it the most, leaving you stranded with the hood open, staring at the engine.

As spring neared its end, the heat had become unbearable already causing sweat to drip down your face as you stood on the side of the road.

And what a coincidence that Billy would drive by, his Camaro growling like a hungry beast.

His car slowed to a stop in the lane, right beside you. Leaning over, he rolls down the passenger window, and peers out with raised brows.

“Need some help, sweetheart?” he enthusiastically calls out, his voice laced with amusement, clearly savoring the unexpected opportunity before him.

The urge to decline was immediate, yet you found yourself hesitating.

Accepting his help meant opening a door you’d fought to keep closed, and you weren’t sure you could take the consequences of letting him in.

But the sun was unforgiving, and your knowledge on cars was practically nonexistent.

That left you with two other choices: a long, lonely ten mile walk home or risk waiting for a stranger’s help, which, given the obvious, seemed like a stupid option.

Billy’s offer, which seemed honest enough, suddenly felt like the lesser evil here.

You gave an exasperated sigh and nodded your head.

“Alright, fine.” You grumbled under your breath.

The sight of Billy's smug grin made you instantly regret your decision as he pulled over a little distance up, and as usual, he looked like a model; his blonde curls blew in the wind as he got out of his car.

He kept his gaze on you, the same cocky look on his face as he boldly adjusted the front of his jeans before approaching.

"Hi." He greets cutely, stopping right in front of you, a little too close for your comfort.

Suppressing the urge to roll your eyes, you meet his gaze with an even look.

“Billy,” you acknowledge, your tone flat.

You could already tell he was going to be insufferable.

Billy’s grin was all charm as he leaned in.

“Having a bit of a day, are we?” he teased, casually flicking away a strand of hair that clung to your sweaty forehead.

The eye roll was involuntary this time, and without a second thought, you swatted his hand away.

“Are you going to help or are you just going to stand there?” you challenged, taking a step back.

Normally, you wouldn’t let anyone get to you so easily, but he was right—you were indeed having a rough day, and Billy had a knack for being an infuriatingly good pest.

He matched your retreat with a step forward, maintaining the intimate distance.

His gaze was unwavering, a hint of amusement revealing his enjoyment of your obvious annoyance.

Billy inched closer, the trace of a grin on his lips.

“Easy there, sugar,” he hummed, his words a soft whisper against your ear, sending a shiver down your spine.

As he moved past you, his body grazed yours just enough to leave a faint but unmistakable scent of his cologne—a secret tingle that you tucked away, never to be spoken of.

It was a sensation that you'd have never felt before, one you’d vehemently deny if ever questioned.

“I’ll take a look,” he stated simply, his attention already on the engine.

You paused, taking a deep breath to brace yourself against Billy’s bullshit. You knew he thrived on getting reactions, and you were determined not to give him the satisfaction. Ever.

With a measured step, you leaned in, your gaze fixed over his shoulder. You tried to follow along with his movements but they were a mystery to you.

However, the concern that suddenly showed on Billy’s face was clear.

A sharp breath caught in his throat, his hand freezing mid-motion. It was clear from his expression—whatever he saw, it wasn’t encouraging.

Billy stepped back from the car, and you reached into the backseat, rummaging through the clutter until your fingers found the familiar fabric of an old T-shirt.

“Here,” you offered, holding it out to him. He took it with a nod, wiping the oil from his hands.

“The bad news?” Billy’s started. “Your car’s distributor cap is cracked, and the timing belt’s snapped,” he stated plainly. “It’s not going to start without some work.”

You let out a weary groan, hands instinctively covering your eyes.

Why was the day just getting worse and worse?

This is what you get for leaving work early when they clearly needed you.

Karma really was a bitch.

Billys fingers tried to gently pry yours from your face, but you pulled away, fixing him with a dull glare.

His chuckle was barely there, and the boyish smile that followed was a detail that, despite your better judgment, you found quite charming—even if he was a heartbreaking jerk.

“Look at it this way,” Billy began, a hint of mischief in his voice as he shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m pretty good with my hands. We’ll take my ride to the closest phone, call for a tow, and get your car sorted out quick.”

Taking a step toward Billy, your suspicion was clear.

“But why?” you asked, eyes narrowed as you frowned in his direction.

You know what he was like.

He’s in your gym class, usually tough on people, and he doesn’t do special favors. Billy isn’t the type to help out without an angle, and you guessed he might be trying to get on your good side.

But you have never been the type to fall for his bullshit and he knew that.

Billy’s irritation was evident.

He exhaled a deep sigh, his eyes briefly darting to the side before locking onto you with a fiery intensity.

 “Do I need a reason?” he challenged, his tone sharp. “You need the help or not? Because I’m not sticking around if you don’t want it.”

With that, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a practiced flick of his lighter, and quickly pocketed it again.

You rolled your eyes, a combination of frustration and nerves as you clasped your hands together tightly.

 “Uhm—no—I mean, yes!” The words tumbled out in a hurried stutter.

“Sorry, I’m not trying to be rude. Yes, thank you, I could really use the help,” you said, the genuine gratitude finally surfacing despite the awkward exchange.

The hardness in Billy’s eyes seemed to dissolve, replaced by a hint of warmth as he gazed at you. He took a drag from his cigarette, the tension visibly leaving his shoulders.

“Alright,” he sniffed, a trace of his usual flirtatiousness returning. “I’ll get your car fixed. And who knows? Maybe you’ll owe me a drink after this.”

You let out a soft, disbelieving laugh. “Keep dreaming,” you said, the doubt in your voice barely hidden.

He nonchalantly shrugged, the cigarette dangling from his lips as he pushed the hood down with a clunk.

Frowning, you watched him—it was clear that this was his plan all along. It was almost funny how obvious his intentions were.

But you felt like denying his help was a bad choice.

The thought of walking for miles was not at all appealing, and you were actually thankful for his offer to fix the car, knowing it would save you a significant amount on mechanic fees.

You offered a slight nod to Billy’s when his eyes found yours again.

You then walked over to your car, locking it with a deliberate push that made a sharp clicking sound. After ensuring everything was secure, you turned and hesitantly began to walk towards his car.

Billy strides were confident and unhurried, reaching the passenger door of his Camaro before you.

He opened it with a casual flick, the gesture almost too practiced.

You eyed him, the suspicion in your gaze clear as day, but you held your tongue to avoid sparking another tiff.

Instead, you communicated your question with a simple arch of your eyebrow as you took your seat.

As you settled into the passenger seat, Billy’s voice broke the slightly awkward silence, his tone laced with playful arrogance.

“You know, dreams are just plans waiting to happen,” he quipped, the cigarette bobbing with his words.

He flashed a quick, roguish grin as he shut the door, the sound punctuating his words.

You rolled your eyes so far back, you half-expected them to get stuck.

"You're aware of how annoying you are, right?" You couldn't help but remark as you watched him slide into the driver's seat, your eyes unintentionally diverting to his crotch as he adjusted himself.

Billy’s voice was low, a teasing edge to it. “Eyes up here, sweetheart,” he muttered, and you quickly lifted your gaze to his face, feeling your cheeks warm when you’re greeted by that infuriating smirk of his.

"And sure, I might be annoying," he conceded, smirking as he cupped himself through his jeans.

"But deep down, you're into it," he declared with certainty.

You gasped as the heat in your cheeks grew.

Quickly, you averted your gaze to the windshield, the outside world suddenly way more interesting.

He added, "even if you're not willing to admit that yet," his laugh was a low rumble as he capped off his comment by starting the car, the engine rumbling to life assertively.

He was infuriating, no doubt about it. Each smirk, each nonchalant shrug sent waves of annoyance crashing through you. Yet, there was something else, a whisper of a feeling you refused to examine too closely.

But deep down, you were pretty sure it was all a game to him. He didn’t actually like you; he was just chasing a thrill.

And even if you entertained the idea for a second, it would end as soon as you let him in—literally.

The moment he got what he wanted, the momentary excitement would fizzle out, leaving nothing but the echo of your own doubt and a raw, exposed part of you that you really didn’t want to deal with.

Choosing to ignore his advances was the safest bet, even if there was a small, secret part of you that wanted to knock him down a peg.

_______

Billy had kept his word.

The search for a payphone ended at the nearest gas station.

He stepped up to the phone, dialed the tow service, and with a casual strut, he said, “Yeah, I need a tow for my girl’s car. It’s over at Fifth and Lexington.”

You scoffed, your eyes wide with disbelief. His girl’s car? 

The words striking you bizarrely. 

Since when did you become ‘his girl’?

The thought was foolish, and yet, it unsettled you in a way you—again—didn’t want to explore.

But the fact that he knew your address without asking was even more disconcerting. How does he know where you live? 

That question nagged at you, adding to the mystery that was Billy.

He continued to speak into the phone, giving directions with a knowledge that bordered on intimate.

It was strange, yet there was a part of you that couldn’t help but feel a flicker of… something.

At the auto shop, Billy handled the costs with a casual ease, and you were left with a blend of emotions—surprise, a touch of gratitude, and a stubborn refusal to fully acknowledge either.

“It’s all taken care of,” he said, brushing off your attempts to pay him back.

So, as the tow truck pulled up at your house, you were ready this time.

You caught Billy’s eye, giving him a dull glare that said you knew exactly what he was about to do—and you weren’t having it.

With a swift motion, you handed the cash to the driver before Billy could even reach for his wallet.

His attempt to pay was unsuccessful, and the slight raise of your eyebrow made it clear you were the one calling the shots this time.

As the driver and Billy maneuvered the car into your garage, your gaze softened just a fraction, acknowledging his willingness to help, even if his insistence was irritating.

When the tow truck faded into the distance, you spun around to face Billy.

“I told you I could have helped you push it into the garage,” you said, exasperation seeping your words.

Your brows knitted together in a frown, a clear challenge in your eyes.

Billy’s response was a dismissive shrug, his smile unfazed.

“It’s fine,” he said as he shrugged out of his jean jacket and placed it in his front seat, his grin took on a teasing quality.

“Honestly, we’d still be out there on the side of the road if I waited for your help,” he joked, his voice light but edged with a playful tone.

Your gasp was reflexive, but the giggle that followed was more girlish than you expected, a sound that surprised you as much as the gentle smack you landed on his arm.

“I could’ve managed just fine on my own,” you countered, the roll of your eyes softening into something that felt dangerously close to affection.

He gave you a look that said he didn’t believe a word, but his nod was indulgent.

“Sure, sure,” he agreed, his smile broadening in a way that made your heart do an unexpected somersault.

Billy carried his tools from his trunk, his smirk sarcastic.

“Gonna watch me work, cutie?” he quipped, the playful edge in his voice clear. “I sure don’t mind an audience.”

You rolled your eyes, a response that had become all too common throughout the day and trailed after him into the garage.

“You’re insufferable, honestly, Hargrove,” you grumbled, though the annoyance was starting to wear thin.

He tossed a look back, his grin unwavering.

“But you wouldn’t have it any other way,” he teased, setting down his tools with a positive thud that resonated in the quiet garage.

Dragging a crate from the cluttered corner of the garage, you made yourself a makeshift seat. From this new vantage point, slightly off to the side, you watched Billy work.

The day was turning out to be pretty different.

Billy’s usual flirty jokes had a new feel to them, like he was actually trying to connect with you.

And seeing him with his hands in the car’s engine, he seemed to fit right in. It was strange to see him as more than just the guy who’s always either making a rude comment or trying too hard to charm you. Now, he was actually being helpful and knew his stuff. It was nice to see him like this, more real and down-to-earth.

As you kept an eye on him, you felt your annoyance start to slip away, and you began to see him in a fresh way.

It wasn’t a dramatic change, but it was real.

Billy was still Billy, but the good parts were starting to stand out more.

You just hoped that this nicer side of him wasn’t just an act.

With a dramatic sigh, you shoved your thoughts aside and stood up.

Despite your best efforts to avoid it all day, you found yourself heading straight into the very thing you had been trying to dodge.

“You want a drink?” The words came out softer than you intended, as you walked toward the door in the garage that led to the house.

Billy’s grunt drifted up from under the hood, his hands surely doing something important. Timing belt, maybe you mused, though your knowledge of car parts was very much limited to where the gas goes.

Heading into the kitchen, you actually felt thankful for your mom’s hospital shift this time.

It saved you from having to explain the boy in the garage.

The house was quiet, just the way you liked it. You weren’t lonely; you enjoyed your own company.

Sure, you hung out with school friends occasionally, but the calm of being on your own was something you cherished, even with your mom’s frequent work hours.

You took two Cokes from the fridge, their cans chilling your fingers.

As you returned to the garage, you paused to watch Billy.

Without his usual guarded demeanor, he seemed more genuine, almost endearing. 

He’s actually pretty decent like this, you thought, a quiet hum escaped your lips as you turned on the radio, filling the space with soft rock melodies.

Billy’s look caught you off guard, and warmth flooded your cheeks.

“What?” you asked, turning just enough to keep your blush from view.

His smile was soft, uncharacteristic.

“Nothing. You just have a nice voice, doll,” he said, his tone carrying a note of authenticity as he turned back to his work.

“Thanks,” you said quietly, placing his Coke by his tools, and sat down on your crate.

A small smile lingered on your face, enjoying the surprisingly comfortable presence between Billy and you.

You just sat there for a bit, humming along with the radio.

You tried not to make it obvious that you were watching Billy work, but he’s probably caught you staring. 

Every now and then, you’d catch him looking your way too. You didn’t say anything about it, though.

It was kind of nice, just being there together without needing to fill the space with chatter.

Your gaze drifted to the street when you felt a gentle pressure against your leg.

Startled at first, you quickly relaxed when you saw it was Pepper, your cat. The door must not have closed all the way behind you.

She rubbed against your leg once more, seeking attention.

“Come here, my baaaby,” you drawled, the word stretching out affectionately.

You picked her up and she immediately began to purr, content in your arms.

Billy’s movements paused, and he looked up, the late afternoon sun highlighting the surprise in his eyes.

The nickname had clearly caught him off guard, and a blush—a deep, rich shade you’d never seen—bloomed across his cheeks.

THE Billy Hargrove, always so sure of himself, now blushing and speechless.

He must have thought you were talking to him.

You couldn’t help but savor the moment, seeing the unshakeable Billy at a rare loss for words, all because of you.

With Pepper cradled in your arms, you rose to your feet, a newfound confidence lifting your stance.

You took a step toward Billy, your voice dropping to a teasing whisper.

“What’s wrong, Baby? Never had a girl talk sweet to you before?”

The nickname now felt like a playful taunt, a subtle shift in power as you watched him grapple with the unexpected role reversal.

Billy’s answer was a fumble, his words tripping over each other in a way you’d never heard before.

“I—uh, that’s not… I mean…” he faltered, his cheeks a deeper shade of red.

Witnessing Billy, always so sure and smug, searching for words was a delight you didn’t know you needed.

The smirk that spread across your face was instinctive, almost predatory.

“Don’t worry, baby,” you cooed, your head nodding slowly in feigned understanding. “I think I get it now.” The words hung in the air, heavy with implication and sweet victory.

Billy shook his head, his smile genuine and a bit surprised.

“Now that’s just not fair, doll,” he finally said, the words tinged with a hint of admiration.

He turned back to the car, his hands resuming their work under the hood.

You leaned in, a playful edge to your voice.

“Now you know how it feels for the rest of the female population.”

The sound of his laughter was unexpected, something you don’t think you’ve ever actually heard before, but you liked the sound of it.

A lot.

Billy’s voice was muffled by the engine.

“Wow, you’re actually fun,” he said, a note of surprise in his tone.

That drew a scoff from you.

“What made you think I wasn’t?” you retorted, setting Pepper inside and ensuring the door was firmly shut this time.

He looked up, giving you a look that was both accusing and playful.

“Well, it’s not like you talk to me, sweetheart. You usually act like I don’t exist,” he shrugged.

He had a point.

“Well—yeah…” you conceded, feeling a bit awkward as you rubbed your arm.

“I’m sorry for that. I just thought you were being nice because… well…” You trailed off, your eyes darting away as you felt your face heat up.

Billy exhaled, a note of understanding in his voice. “That’s fair.”

The casual admission made your eyebrows shoot up.

He continued, wiping his hands on a rag, “But I actually wanted to get to know you. Still do.” His words, simple and unexpected.

You took a moment to process his words. Could he be serious? After today, you found yourself hoping so.

This side of Billy was… different, likable even.

Releasing a breath you didn’t realize you’d been holding, you ventured, “I think I might want that too.”

Then, hastily, you added, “But I’m not sleeping with you!” just to set the record straight.

Billy’s smirk was anything but innocent as he nodded.

You shoved your hands into your back pockets, and for a moment, you both just stood there, silently assessing each other.

Then, his smile grew.

“I’m done here. Wanna try starting it up?” he asked, gesturing to the car.

“Oh! Yeah,” you said, a bit startled by the sudden change of topic.

You fished out your keys and climbed into the driver’s seat.

The key turned, the engine purred to life, and a rush of happiness bubbled up inside you.

You hopped out and, without thinking, wrapped Billy in a spontaneous hug.

“Woo, thank you, baby!” you shouted, the excitement making you bold.

Billy froze for a split second, the nickname catching him off guard, but then he relaxed and returned the hug, a chuckle escaping him.

Your own reaction caught up with you, and you pulled back, a blush coloring your cheeks.

“Oh—Billy—I meant Billy,” you corrected, but the moment had already passed.

Billy’s hands lingered on your waist, his smile soft but playful.

“I don’t know. I think I like ‘baby’ better,” he teased, his eyebrows lifting in a challenge and his eyes twinkling as they swept across your face.

You lowered your head, hiding from his intense stare.

“Oh, whatever,” you muttered, stepping back until his arms fell away.

You sighed, eyeing him again.

“But really, thank you,” you said with a nod. “I was this close to attacking the engine with a bat before you showed up.”

Billy chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

“Ah, it’s no big deal, princess,” he said, trying to act nonchalant. “Plus, I got to spend the day with the prettiest girl around. So, yeah, worth it.”

Your cheeks warmed at his words, and you saw his smile turn a shade more devilish at the sight of your blush.

Billy lingered there for a moment before he picked up his toolbox.

“Well, I should go,” he said, a note of hesitation in his voice.

You nodded, a quiet “Bye” escaping your lips, but as he neared his Camaro, a thought struck you.

“Wait, Billy!” you called out hastily.

He turned, a question in his eyes.

“What about that drink, baby?” you added, the last word emphasized with a mix of challenge and playfulness.

He paused, the blush on his cheeks visible even from a distance, but his smirk was undiminished.

“Eight it is, baby,” he replied, his voice carrying back to you with a hint of laughter.

As he got into his car and drove off, you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face.

Maybe Billy wasn’t so bad after all.

[ghysry]

Don't feel compelled to write this if you don't want to!, but I think it would be pretty cool to see TUA siblings interacting with reader in the six years without powers they can be with them since the first apocalypse and they become like family, reader can be one of the other 43 children with powers! Doesn't have to be with any specific character but I will admit Five is my favorite and they did my boy wrong in season 4

*Does a soldier salute pose* Five is my favorite too. I get you, Anon.

Oneshot! Tags: Reader x Five, Reader x Five Hargreeves, Comfort/..., I'm feeling evil today...

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

"I think this is better."

There's a reason why humans are off balance when one of their senses suddenly stops working - like the blind, or the deaf. Imagine living in a world where you can't see after years of being used to it, or living in a world where all you can do is read lips instead of hearing the sound of music. We hold our senses very close to us like organs ; because they are.

Which is why it took you an embarrassingly long time to get used to the fact that you no longer had the ability to control the state of matter. You know - the basics. Gas to liquid, liquid to solid, solid to gas, human to vapor, atom to extremely dense gas. It served you the most purpose, you were deemed the most powerful out of all the siblings, well, that is to account for the fact that you were never adopted by Reginald Hargreeves.

Ah..hm, let's take a detour down memory lane for how this happened.

"Fascinating..truly fascinating. How much would you like for them?" Reginald Hargreeves peered down onto the basket containing a blanket wrapped neatly around the quiet infant, their eyes closed and their small chest rising and falling with each breath. "I'm not going to sell my child to you, you creep!" Your mother, a fighter during her first weeks with her only child, kicks Reginald Hargreeves right in his no-longer-child-giving nuts, which causes him to double down and cough much later than a normal person usually would.

Alright, now that you know how you weren't adopted, back to the present!

Nowadays you work alongside your life time partner, or should you say, husband. Both in the CIA, both crowned as the youngest officers of peace within this barely secret government. Which leads you to here - you, in your usual spot on the couch, laying down with a groan as your back hurts, and then groaning even more when this man child--your man child--flops onto you with a groan coming out of his mouth himself.

"Augh you're going to crush me!" You tilt your head back, trying to get into a comfortable position as this big cat can't help but cling tightly onto you, even going as far as grumbling out nonsense on how he's not that heavy, and you're just too weak to stand his superiority, to which you rub at his nape and feel his throat rumble with a purr.

"You are so lucky I love you. Or else I'd tease you about the whole purring thing," Though you belittle him about his weird capabilities, you keep on scratching at his nape, then behind his ear, feeling the vibration on your chest. "Shut up.." he finally answers, leaning his head into your hand, a look of satisfaction crossing his eyes when you massage his back. He's way too old for this job, and so are you.

Five wraps his arms around you, tired eyes looking into yours, and before you could laugh at his face he's already digging it into your chest, inhaling your scent and complaining about his boss (which was also your boss) being stupid because he wanted Five to work on something more significant, rather than analyzing a group of insane geeks sitting around in a cult-support system whatever the matter.

To be fair, a lot of them have a point.

Five gulps when he lifts his head back up and stares at you, into your eyes, deeper into your soul. Years and years of fighting, bickering, war, the feeling of dying and being remade, the feeling of having to fight for your life against yourself, seeing your siblings, your only family, die right in front of your eyes without being able to do anything about it..he finally achieved peace. Peace with you.

"I love-"

"Five?" Your hand comes to ruffle his hair, eyes staring at the ceiling, feeling grateful for your sentient weighted blanket. "..hm?" He responds, arms tightening around your waist to the point where you feel like you can't breathe. Chuckling at this, you close your eyes, plunging the world into a deep darkness you've seen thousands, maybe even millions of times.

it's time to wake up.

Five shoots out of his bed, cold sweat beading down his face, his head hurting like someone had narrowly missed burrowing a bullet into it, one hand clutching the blanket he lulls himself to sleep into, the other trying to clench around a hand he knows isn't there.

"Fuck." He falls back down into his bed, which spells an awful lot like marigold, hands coming up to rub at his face and wake him. The familiar venomous feeling in his chest seems to encapsulate him when he blinks, your face is there every time he moves, his heart beats of you, yet the universe doesn't even know who you are.

Oh yes. You were never supposed to be here, were you?

[wosoluver]

To undo a mistake

Part 14/17 - previous - next

Lena x Bayern Player!reader

Lena Oberdorf Masterlist

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

"And we're home." Lena said as she closed the front door. When she turned, you had already thrown yourself over the couch.

"Let's get ready for bed yeah?" she said trying to get you up.

"I don't want to get up."

"Don't be a big baby, I'm not sober enough to carry you." she said kneeling down in front of you, as she took your heels off.

"Fine." You practically beelined to your bedroom. And she followed behind.

You washed your face and brushed your teeth, before exiting the bathroom.

"I have a brand new spare toothbrush, I keep in-" You immediately stopped once you saw her dressing in a pair of pijamas, of hers she had left in your house long ago.

"Thought you had sent me back everything." She said with a little smile.

"I forgot I had those."

"Really? Because they seem to have been recently washed." She said teasing you.

You only rolled your eyes, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of a confirmation.

That was one of your favorite pjs, and you had wore it all this time.

You quickly undressed as you put on a shirt and shorts, and then went to lay down. And behind you, Lena was sitting in your bed admiring the woman that you are with that stupid smile once again.

"I left you a toothbrush in there, if you please want to brush your teeth."

"Is that a request or a command?"

"Both?" - she agreed as she disappeared from view.

You were almost asleep when she came back. Giving you a kiss on the forehead and trying to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"To the couch?"

"You can't sleep on the couch. That's horrible for your back." you said it quietly as you patted the spot next to you, with your eyes still closed. "No cuddling though."

She didn't even try to change your mind, at this point she was so tired she would pass out anywhere.

You thought that was a great decision. Until the next morning.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

You had woken up with arm around you. And you could feel Lena's tranquil breaths on your neck, that brought you goosebumps.

You didn't know if you should stay and not wake her or stand up and get some sense into your brain along with an aspirin and a glass of water. You had decided on second option.

You got out the best you could without waking her. Which wasn't so hard, since unlike you, she was a heavy sleeper.

Walking into the kitchen, you decided on making breakfast, and being a Sunday meant having a not so healthy breakfast. Comfort food during a hangover was always the best.

You were setting up the table and finishing coffee when you saw her coming through the hallway, with a pouty face, that wasn't much like her. At least not when she was with you.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, why are you moody?"

"My head hurts like hell. I don't remember drinking enough, to get this hangover."

"Here." You put the aspirin in front of her, a long with a coffee mug.

She took in the set table in front of her. You aways did these on the weekends. Truth is you had lost that habit after the break up. But you wanted to thank her for taking care of you the night before. Also you had missed these.

"Did I cause too much trouble last night?"

"You don't remember anything?"

"Only 'till the chugging competition."

"After that we danced and then left 'cause your feet was hurting. We got home, cleaned up and went to sleep. And before you say anything, you ordered me to sleep in your bed."

"Yeah had a feeling I did. Sorry. But the couch is horrible!"

"It's fine, your couch is comfortable though, I've slept there couple nights, when we had a fight."

"It was not a couple of nights! It was only once."

And it was true, you had never had many disagreements. That made her recall that day, all those months ago, all the more shocking.

"True. And it didn't even last the whole night, I gave up at like three in the morning."

You both laughed, going down memory lane.

"So, what are you doing today?"

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

Fun fact I actually love to set up tables for breakfast / afternoon tea, like the 22 year old grandma I am.

Next chapter soon! 🩷

[zombholic]

CONSUMED — abby anderson

summary — the fame really consumed her.

description — rockstar!abby, poc fem!reader, explicit content, sfw & nsfw, modern au, no post outbreak.

authors note — this is probably gonna be my favorite series.

It was cold outside, February was always so cold. You were walking around times square with your two close friends Ellie and Jesse, this was on your guys bucket list to go to New York for a week and what perfect time than now.

The bright colors of the billboards, the chatter in the crowds and for some reason you still have this part deep inside of you wishing you would see her.

“I’m fucking starving guys, can we get something to eat?” Jesse spoke up causing you to snap back into reality.

“Always fuckin’ hungry Jess.” Ellie was being sarcastic, rolling her eyes before looking over at you.

“You hungry too?” Her hands rubbed your shoulders noticing you were shivering from the cold.

Nodding your head you three agreed on going to Chick-Fil-A, even though you were in New York and there were so many options it always came down to your guys favorite homophobic chicken place.

“Jeez, slow down I promise no one’s gonna steal your sandwich.” Ellie side eyed Jesse inhaling his meal.

“You got ops on you or something?” You giggled munching on your chicken nuggets.

“Y’all shut the fuck up, I wasn’t lying when I said I was hungry.” Jesse rolled his eyes.

You guys were sat near the big windows of the restaurant, clear views of the big billboards, New York is beautiful but how the fuck do people live here?

Your eyes roamed around the bright screens until you felt your throat swell up, heart felt like it dropped into your stomach.

Abby Anderson World Tour 2024

Clenching your jaw you looked away hoping your friends didn’t see your sudden change in emotion, unfortunately they picked it up almost immediately. Turning their heads to look at where your eyes were you felt the air in the room change.

“Fuck her, I hope she—“ “Ellie shut up” Jesse cut her off.

All of a sudden you weren’t hungry anymore, the memories were so quick to flood your mind all over again, the tears slowly filling up your eyes. You felt so stupid crying over your ex-girlfriend even though it’s been a year but you fell hard for her.

“Felt like I wasted four years of my life on her.” You sniffled refusing to let the tears stream down.

“Hey, fuck her and her stupid fucking world tour, let’s go watch a movie or something.” Ellie had Jesse pack up the leftovers.

She held you by the arm dragging you out the doors with Jesse trailing behind. Ellie was Abby’s biggest hater, the worst part is you know Ellie was heartbroken as well. Abby and her were best friends for as long as you could remember but she dropped everyone who loved her for fame.

You guys had went back to your shared hotel room, changing into your pajamas you guys cuddled up in the bed, laptop on your lap as you played some stupid movie Jesse picked out. You couldn’t help but slowly zone out into memory lane, you shouldn’t but for some reason your heart still ached for her.

“Baby! Come here!” Abby pulled you onto her lap with the biggest smile plastered on her freckled face.

“I didn’t have a choice.” You giggled feeling her nuzzle her face into the crook of your neck.

She pulled her laptop closer on the coffee table, pressing play on the youtube video she posted of her and her band playing one of their songs that she worked so hard on perfecting.

“My song got a million fucking views!” Your eyes widened, turning around to face her on her lap.

“Oh my god? Baby I’m literally speechless!” You pulled her into a tight hug, she grabbed your face smashing her lips against yours.

“Don’t forget about me when you’re famous.” You joked but shit little did you know she actually would.

You remembered that day so fondly because later that day she was receiving emails and calls from all sorts of people.

“Y/n? Hellooo?” Ellie waved her hand in front of your face.

“How does she zone out for so long?” Jesse nibbled on his snacks.

You lifted your head looking over at Els with your brows arched up confused.

“What?” “Can you skip the damn ad?”

[ask-alphabetboyluvr]

If bd jk asks byeol to get married now, will she say yes?

Thanks for chapter 59 ❤️ you’ve healed me in more ways than one! Am I correct this will also be the last chapter we see Jin? Cause it didn’t have the note like what you did in Hayun’s last chapter hehe love you Holly moly ❤️

she loves him, she loves him, she loves him—and yet she’ll say no. neither of them are ready yet to even consider marriage because there are a hundred and one external factors that they’re both too pragmatic to ignore.

jungkook is romantic and stupid when it comes to love but he respects byeol too much to do a proposal without actually discussing the logistics of marriage first. byeol would outline that she’s not ready and that she knows their funds need to used for more sensible endeavours first. they’ll commit in other ways first—a house, a pet, tomato plants in the kitchen, and a flock of origami birds in the corner of their living room with movies names on that they're yet to watch. 

i wouldn’t be surprised if they woke up one morning, tangled in their sheets with a puppy next to jungkook’s side of the bed, and just decide that the time was right. they’d be giggling and jungkook would be toying with her fingers, wondering why they look so bare. all very suddenly they'd think it’d just make sense for them to get married.

they’d call around to see who was free that evening. they’d go to a vintage jewelry store a few lanes away from their home and pick out rings. b would have a sparkly dress in her wardrobe that she’s been saving for a special occasion, and jungkook would go without a tie. danbi would pick up flowers from that market stall jungkook once got b apology wildflowers from and bring them over to help her get ready. jungkook would show up at jimin’s holding a suit and jimin would be waiting for him with a bottle of whisky he’s been saving for a day like this.

they’d go to a courthouse in the afternoon with jimin and danbi as witnesses, and then have a little party in the evening with the friends to celebrate and that would be it. no big grand affair. they might even go to a noraebang. think tae and iu in the love wins all mv.

they’d tell their parents a few weeks later, and the jeons would insist on a party—and this time, there’d be a big grand affair. it'd be fun, but neither of them would consider it to be their wedding.

as for jin, i'm toying with the idea of one final appearance. nothing huge, but also not for certain!!

[sentientcave]

WIP Wednesday - Impound

A little peek at that tow truck driver idea I was tossing around last week, for any interested parties

He shuffled through the papers deliberately. The sound of the cop’s rubber-soled boots squeaking impatiently on the dated linoleum floor was music to Simon’s ears. “Oh, of course. The squad car. Parked in a fire lane.” He tutted, shaking his head. “You’re lucky I got there before bylaw did. ‘S a big fine if they ticket you.”

They both knew that bylaw didn’t have the stones to ticket a cruiser. The fire department might, but they didn’t go around looking for trouble either. That was really more Simon’s area of expertise.

“You could have been impeding an investigation,” Price said, steely eyes narrowing.

Simon snorted. “At Ronnie’s? I fockin’ doubt it, unless you were investigatin’ how fresh the pastries were. Everyone knows that’s Laswell’s girl. Nobody’s stupid enough to cause trouble for ‘er.”

Price’s jaw was so tight that Simon was surprised his teeth didn’t start cracking under the pressure. He could almost hear the grind of enamel. “Fine. Just get the bloody gate open so I can leave.”

“Sure, no problem officer. Just a matter of the impound fees— Y’want me to bill the precinct directly, or are you gonna pay ‘em yourself?” He set the paperwork down on the desk top and fished the debit machine out of the top drawer suggestively. “Just need some I.D., if you don’t mind. Gotta keep things tidy on my end.”

Price snatched up the invoice. “One hundred and fifty dollars? Are you mad?”

“That’s the rate. Take it up with council if you’ve got a problem with it. You still gotta pay.”

Price was pretty near growling as he yanked out his wallet. Simon made a bit of a performance out of logging in the information on his I.D. on the slow computer, of punching in the total on the debit machine, and of checking everything to make sure it was in order. Price initialled the invoice where he was directed, pressing so hard it left a permanent indentation in the cheap veneer of the desk.

“Olright. You’re all set then,” Simon said at last, when he could drag his feet on the matter no more. He got out of his chair with a sigh, pleased to find that he stood a good three or four inches taller than Price, and walked out the side door without any further ceremony. Price was still standing in front of the desk, red-faced and angry. “Come on then.” Simon stopped just past the doorway, looking over his shoulder impatiently. “Haven’t got all day you know. Some of us have important work to do.”

He half expected Price’s head to explode.

Price stalked across the lot to his cruiser and threw himself into the driver’s seat while Simon went to open up the gate. The rev of the engine was the only warning Simon had to get out of the way before Price drove through it, cutting it a little too close for comfort. Simon raised his hand and wiggled his fingers in farewell, enjoying the glimpse of that furious blue glare in the mirrors before Price turned onto the road and sped off.

“Wha’ the hell was all that about?” Johnny asked, leaning out of the building, braced on the door handle, Roach a step behind him. “Ye pissin’ off the new police chief?”

“Yep.” Simon corralled the boys back into the office. “Fuckin’ hate cops.”

“Sure, but aren’t ye worried—”

“Not really. ‘F ‘e gets to be a problem I’ll talk to Laswell, get ‘er to put ‘er fuckin’ dog back on ‘is leash. Owes me a favour.” He snagged the singular tea out of the tray of paper cups and lifted it in thanks. “See you lads later. Goin’ home. When Kristen comes in to pick up ‘er shitbox waive the fees an’ tell ‘er not to park there again. Pretend you’re riskin’ your ass doin’ it, she’ll prob’ly give one of you muppets ‘er your number.”

Johnny and Roach looked at each other, and immediately launched into a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who would get to be the knight in dirty blue coveralls. Simon let the garage door bang shut behind him, and trudged across the dimly lit space to the back door. The acrid smell of weed smoke hung in the air, thin tendrils of it still drifting across the bars of sun coming through the back windows. Fucking muppets, smoking up while chief of police was steaming mad on the other side of the door. And they thought that Simon was the one who needed to be careful.

[talenlee]

The Fundamentalist As Liar

Earlier this year I wrote about Michael Winger, a truly awful stain of a man with a more successful Youtube channel than mine so who’s so big and smart now huh and I wrote about that man’s particular tendency to claim sight unseen the illegitimacy of positions against him. What this usually means is that he argues that Atheists aren’t really Atheists, because,

then he presents a list of unconvincing reasons and eventually cooks down to ‘they just want to sin.’ Like, one of the favourites of this position is the idea that look, all the things you want to say about the arguments that have convinced you, those things aren’t that important because they’re just a smokescreen, a rhetorical assertion that stands in place because there’s a real, simple, emotional demand: I believe this because I want to believe this.

And I think, based on experience and reading a lot of these ding dongs’ writing reaching back two centuries, that uh, that’s because that’s how their worldview works, so they assume it’s how everyone’s does.

The Fundamentalist Christian is a liar who believes everyone believes lies.

I haven’t done any kind of comprehensive study. I haven’t met every Christian Fundamentalist. What I have to offer on this is the story of my experience and also my experience of all the people I’ve met since who slotted neatly into the mental software I was already running. Software is the best comparison I can make, where the fundamentalist viewpoint is a platform that runs some pretty reliable programs on top of it. Those programs are great, and you know it’s an operating system since it can run conflicting programs alongside one another without necessarily having any kind of fault in memory handling. My point is that I can open up any apologist channel in the year of our lord 2024 and hear one of the same small pool of bullshit narratives presented with the same bullshit assumptions built into them.

When you see the arguments used over and over again, when you correct flaws in the argument, over and over again, you quickly lose the ability to imagine that these people are aware of what they’re arguing and whether or not the argument is just a cloak of words they throw over how they feel about things. There are some really egregious cases of it, such as Ken Ham and Kent Hovind, who have been making the same arguments my entire life and contend with correction by ignoring it and repeating the same script when you’re not in the room.

But there’s also the apologetics of those who want to be seen as serious or big thinkers, the kinds of nobodies who think that they have the presence and awareness to attack actual scholarship, and they dress themselves up with a sense of seriousness, a sort of vast pomp that gets really pissy when you remind them that the book they’re trying to argue is infallible has a zombie apocalypse and multiple talking animals in it. ‘Well you would bring those up,’ they sneer as if reminding them of things that are true is somehow a low blow, an unfairness in the conversation. Oh, you, you’ve shown how unsophisticated you are by pointing out a book full of obvious fictions has obvious fictions in it, and if that was all this is that would work! It is pretty dumb to treat a book of folklore as if it’s a history textbook and demand it hold to that standard!

But they usually get around to admitting they think the talking animals are real.

There’s this one that’s really famous because there’s a serious-sounding condescending prick named William Lane Craig promoting it, the ‘Kalam Cosmological Argument.’ The argument runs as follows:

Everything that exists has a cause

The universe exists

Therefore the universe has a cause

And people keep looking at this and going: Well hang on, hang on, what says the universe has a cause? what about uncaused events? What about philosophical infinities? what about- when the much simpler response is ‘that’s fucking stupid.’ Because they don’t mean ‘the universe has a cause, period,’ they mean ‘the universe has a cause,’ deep breath, then subtle mumbling, ‘and that cause is the Christian god who I personally believe in as the best explanation for everything.’

And so you have this seriousness being used to adorn and address something which is really just being used to smuggle not into the idea of an actual philosophical point but rather recentre on this person’s fanfiction interpretetation of a few divine figures in a book of folklore in which, again, there are talking animals, unicorns, a global flood and a bunch of lies about prophecy.

Oh yeah, the lies about prophecy. Man, Christians love talking about how much prophecy Jesus fulfilled. They’ll tout lists, which they then are confident you won’t look at because if you do you find they’re very unsatisfying and tend to include things that haven’t happened yet. But more damning than that is if you look at the prophecies and go back to where they say they’re from, and then ask, say, a Rabbi who speaks the language of the book, you’ll find that uh, actually, that’s not what the Bible is about.

And then they introduce the idea of dual prophecies where there’s a prophecy about this thing that happened and the Rabbi’s version of events is true and supported, and then the other version with the rewritten words is actually also about Jesus, and please ignore the way that again, they change the wording. And this is serious. This is serious adults who get mad at you for not respecting their obvious fucking scam bullshit, because they believe it.

And they probably do!

That’s one of the funniest things about liars, they tend to wind up believing their lies. Oh sure they’ll know they made things up but the lie doesn’t sit in the brain over time and eventually they rewrite it, over and over, until eventually they’re not really lying, they’re basically telling the truth, they were telling the truth, and I don’t know what you mean about rewritten words. And then they’ll remember you as being rude or hostile or sad or angry and oh look at that they don’t have to worry about whatever it was you said. This is very consistent behaviour.

You may have heard this phrase, the idea that one’s faith is being tested. This is the idea that having to confront that reality sucks is a direct contest with the faith that people embrace. ‘You just gotta believe’ and ‘fake it till you make it.’ And what do they do about it? They lie. And any time you talk to someone about this kind of testing, they’ll usually say something like ‘well everyone is tested like that,’ which nobody seems to think is a problem. Like, hey, is it that universal that everyone winds up seeing mistakes and then everyone tells themselves it’s no big deal? It has the same energy as a person asserting ‘well look I’m straight and as a straight person I’m sure we all want to kiss that person of the same gender as me, that’s obvious’ and you have to be like okay, you know what that means right?

The assertation that people know what’s wrong rather than that they’ve proven wrong is very satisfying if your entire moral framework is based around your personal disgust. This means you wind up with a social framework that doesn’t just say ‘you’re right,’ but asserts even further, you are default. Christians Fundamentalists are so used to this default status it smooths over their fucking brains. The arguments don’t need consideration they just assert themselves, and then lie to themselves afterwards about the questions.

This is why they think so many things that people can’t readily choose are choices, and then that choices that people make are illegitimate because they veer away from the default.

Every Christian chooses what parts of the Bible to ignore. Even Fundamentalists. The Christians who aren’t Fundamentalists ignore that the Fundamentalists they claim to despise are using the same book and know it better than they do. And I mean this, they all choose what to ignore. For example, one of the most bananas things I’ve ever heard from a fundamentalist is that no, slavery isn’t bad, and it’s not bad because God told them how to do it, so clearly he’s okay with it which means it doesn’t follow at all, even in the American South that slavery was bad. Which is pretty amazing to consider because that’s a guy who doesn’t choose to lie to himself about that part of the book.

(Don’t worry, he’s got other bits he’s making shit up about.)

It was a breathtaking claim. After he said it I asked him how mum was doing, and he told me she’s doing fine and he looks forward to seeing me again soon.

Been a few weeks stewing on that one.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[toastedjeans]

Full name + driving headcanons bc idk

Peppino Giuseppe Spaghetti. He can't drive a car, BUT he can drive scooters. He only barely got his license after a few tries cause he was really nervous, but eventually he got used to driving. He drives his little Vespa very cautiously since he's a small target on the streets. Parks on the side of the road, trying to take up as little space as possible. (Based on myself, just that i can drive cars but not bikes)

Maurice Spaghetti. His actual given name is Marco but he changed it, and he has no middle name. He drives a pickup truck. Got his license on the first try, but still drives like an asshole, and parks like an even bigger one. We're talking like, taking up three parking spots, with the rear sticking out far enough that it's in the way for other drivers. (Based on my brother LOL)

Gustavo Cannoli (i saw this somewhere before but i don't remember who said it. I love it tho). He's too small for most cars, but can drive short distances on Peppino's Vespa. He doesn't have a license, but nobody suspects anything since he drives very mannerly. Most of the time he just rides on Brick's back.

Scott Spencer Stick. Spencer is his actual first name but he doesn't like it so he decides to go by his middle name instead. Can drive cars, but hates how little space he has for his long legs. Puts his seat almost all the way back. Could probably drive bikes too, but feels too unsafe. Probably drives an SUV. Sometimes parks a little crooked, taking up a bit of space on the parking spot next to his. Doesn't bother correcting it, no matter how long he's gone from the car.

Hugh Mary Burton. Everybody just calls him by his last name. His mom calls him Huey (or used to, before she passed). Too big for most cars and bikes, and can't drive. Hitches rides with Mr. Stick. (It's a really big SUV trust me guys)

Philipp Belle Pepper. Uses Pepperman as an alias / artist name. Drives that cabrio he has in the ending credits since he's too.. shaped.. for any other cars. He isn't exactly reckless, just selfish. Will drive a little too fast or go into the wrong lane when not paying enough attention (due to checking himself out in the rearview mirror). Doesn't have a license. Don't tell Vigilante.

Vigert Irving Cheese (bonus grandpa -> John Ebenezer Cheese). I know people like Lantte as his last name but since his grandpa's last name is Cheese i thought it fit for him as well. He can't drive cars or bikes, so he doesn't have a license. Rides on rats or one of those weenie mounts if the rats are out of order or something.

Theodore J Noise. It's not short for anything, it's literally just a J. He doesn't have a license, but he drives both cars and bikes. Recklessly. If he gets a ticket he bribes the cops cause i mean. He's a celebrity after all. You can't arrest him. He'd bite the cops if they tried. Has a sports car and one of those off road bikes. (Fun fact: my mom calls those bikes "petrol mosquitoes" ("Benzin-Gelse") because of the sound of the motor.)

Bonus Noisey: all the Noisies can drive, and they'll sometimes drive Noise somewhere in a fancy limousine. Mostly when Noise is too tired or just doesn't wanna drive by himself. Or when Noisette forces him, or doesn't want him to drive by himself.

Hazel Belle Jolie aka Noisette. She'd absolutely hate the fact that she shares a middle name with Pepperman if she knew his full name. She has a cute little car, probably a cabriolet. Does have a license but doesn't drive very well. Not necessarily like an asshole, but just. A little stupid. Has definitely caused a few crashes and just drove away like nothing happened. Not because she felt guilty, but because she genuinely didn't even notice anything.

Fakey does not know how to drive anything. He does like watching traffic from afar but he's strangely hesitant to get near cars. Bikes are fine. He prefers running on all fours.

John Benjamin Pillar. He's incapable of fitting into any car and is too heavy for a bike. He doesn't need a car and i feel like he'd hate driving anyway.

Gerome William Pillar. He could drive a smaller car, but he doesn't have one. He prefers taking the bus or subway. Would ride in a taxi, but only if the driver doesn't talk to him / only talks very little.

Peddito doesn't have a car and doesn't need one. I mean, when you can fly everywhere you wouldn't need one either.

Anthony Dorian Solero aka Doise. His actual first name is Diego. Privately goes by Tony, but more often than not he stays in his persona. Does not have a license nor a car or bike, and would drive like a maniac if he did. He doesn't like driving anyway, and just rides around on his skateboard.

Totino Margherita aka Pizzahead. He doesn't have a license and can't drive cars or bikes. But he can pilot mechs and, surprisingly, helicopters. Unsurprisingly though, he doesn't have a pilot's license either. But if he had one, he would've gotten it illegally. Cheater. Has crashed multiple vehicles, and they all exploded, yet he survived every single time. Because cartoon logic.

[nothingxs]

FFXIV Write // Halcyon

“Stop right there!”

The young Miqo’te boy tucked the package under his arms as he ran down the Steps of Nald into the Steps of Thal, his feet moving as fast as they could to get him as clear of the Quicksand as possible, two burly men in Brass Blades uniform slowly gaining.

He looked right. Brass Blade, coming down the stairs. No good; wouldn’t be able to blow past him. His head swiveled forward. A couple of carts were bringing in tradecraft supplies and goods to the stalls. He weaved through the crowd, putting his shoulder as hard as his small frame could into the cart, a poorly-balanced crate toppling into the Sapphire Avenue and stymieing the Blades for enough moments to gain some distance.

A young Dunesfolk girl sat atop the outcropping behind the Aetheryte, looking at the chase unfold. With a grin, she hopped up, swishing her long black hair out of the way of her face, and waved the boy down. She pointed up the stairs with a laugh.

“Make a left!” came the instructions from the Lalafell as the boy cut as hard to the right as he could and ran up the stairs, three steps at a time in big hops, sliding as he got to the top and pivoting as hard left as he could.

Another Brass Blade, this one a massive Roegadyn man, had started to make the run from the passage from the Pearl Lane into the Gold Court and started to give chase as well; the boy’s turn had cut into his speed.

No matter—he moved as fast as he could and jumped up, quickly climbing up onto a stack of crates to his left, running and hopping across others in the path, onto staircases and then onto more crates. Sitting on the steps, a kid with scruffy black hair flopping around over his headband looked up and grinned as the Miqo’te sailed over him.

The Hyur kid stood up, waited until he could hear the pursuers’ footsteps, and shoved a large container forward and toppled it onto the ground, sending countless crystal beads scattering and rolling into path just as the Roegadyn man came.

The next sound was a “DAMNED—" cut short and a loud thud and crash as the Roegadyn slid forward. And the loud crunches and cracks of glass as the two earlier pursuers slowly tried to make their way around the mess on the ground.

The Miqo'te boy kept running, his lanky legs already carrying him down the path to the Miners’ Guild, where he took time to traipse around the corridors, weaving past workers and ducking past crates, looking every which way. Things seemed to be clear until he started hearing the loud commotion of footsteps coming from the Gold Court proper, and a simple loud order.

“FIND HIM!”

He kept running, leaping up some steps before turning right to head to the Coliseum, trying to mix in with a nearby group who were seemingly exploring. The group went down the stairs, and so did he, and as the family turned right towards the Gold Court, the boy pivoted left and ran into the area of the Coliseum. And with a quick dash, a shoulder went into the door of the Gladiator Guild.

He ran in and waved at the receptionist as she blinked at his entrance, and laughed. He went to the railing and slipped under it, landing between the stacks of equipment and the steps to the little practice pit. He sat down to gather himself, trying to catch his breath.

One of the gladiators, a middle-aged Hyur man who was sitting on the steps next to him, noticed him as he was trying to gulp down any air he could muster. He gave him a big, stupid grin.

“Causing trouble again?”

The boy took a few more heavy breaths before giving a little dismissive wave of the hand and a shake of the head.

“Nahhhhh.”

“Mhm.” The gladiator gave him a knowing smirk. “That right? Just runnin’ for fun, then?”

Almost as if on cue, the door to the Gladiators’ Guild swung open, and a helmeted woman looked inside, peering left and right for a few moments before giving an up-nod over to the Receptionist before looking around.

“Oi! Anyone come through here just now?”

The receptionist shrugged.

The gladiator shook his head and shrugged. “Ain’t had no one come through here.”

The woman cursed and bolted off as the door slowly swung closed behind her.

The boy exhaled out a held breath, coughing lightly.

“Riiight,” smirked the gladiator. “No trouble.”

“Not… even a little,” said the boy, finally catching up to his breathing.

He clambered to his feet, gave the gladiator a pat on the shoulder, and grinned. “Owe ya one.”

“Yeah? Th’ fuck are YOU gonna give me?”

The receptionist was trying her best to not break into a fit of giggles as the boy opened the door to the guild, peeked left and right, gave a little wave goodbye to the people inside and snuck off.

“…He’s going places, that Carran.” The receptionist smiled as she shook her head.

“Yeah.” The gladiator laughed before he focused back on the trainees in the pit. “Gaol.”

Carran had already made a hasty move out through the steps past the Coliseum, rushing past a few more corridors and up some steps to a twisting staircase, where an older boy in a tank top and slacks stopped him for a moment, throwing some robes over him before setting a bent, wide-brimmed, conical hat atop his head. He gave him a big pat on the back, nodding.

“I expect these back tonight.”

And the little fake thaumaturge hustled off with a small group of thaumaturges, headed out the Sultana’s Gate to get some live practice of their offensive magic against critters.

—

A bell or two later, as the thaumaturges continue to practice and talk, Carran is sat off to the side on a crate in the Scorpion Crossing, idly eating through an apple.

A gentleman in long robes, with a pointed, angular mask and a propensity for grinning approached him, his grin already near ear-to-ear.

“My dear friend! It would appear that YOU have made it here… on TIME, after all!” Words spoken in a strange, pitchy voice that could never settle on a proper pace, hitching in odd places.

Carran finished the last bite of his apple and tossed the core over to a refuse pile. He wiped his hands off on the robes before turning to look at him, grinning under the huge brim of the hat.

“Yeah. Sure have.” And from the sleeves of Carran’s loaned robe, he produced a small, thick red satchel. He offered it to the robed man, holding it up for him.

The robed man smiled in turn, taking the satchel in one hand, and opened it with the other. He rifled through the contents with a playful hum. He giggled an upsetting giggle, and his perhaps too-wide grin seemed to get wider. Carran’s ears flattened on his head.

“Yes. Yes! Perfect, my dear friend. Ab—solutely PERFECT! You have done me… a GREAT service! Indeed, indeed, indeed.” He reached to the massive sling bag held at his side, pulling it in front of himself, and as he deposited the satchel into it, he rifled through it. After a few moments, he let out a quick “a-HA!” and pulled from inside of it a small black box that barely fit in the long, lanky fingers of his hand.

“And I… promised you: THIS!”

He laid the box on the crate, then stepped back and did a flourish with his hand, bowing deeply. “Please, please! Inspect it, inspect it, and make SURE. That it… is to YOUR liking.”

Carran reached to the box, holding it for a few moments in his hands, and his eyebrows raised at how much heavier it was than it seemed. He pulled the top of the box off to reveal the contents: a vial rested on a plush bed of red velvet. He took the vial and lifted it above him to examine it. It was  filled with an odd, swirling and colorful liquid that seemed to glow strangely at certain angles and cast odd lights. He placed the vial back into the box, and the lid back onto it to close it before turning back to the robed man.

The man regarded him with a dangerous smile. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

“Well, WELL! What do you think? A fortune. A fortune. In a SINGLE bottle.” That giggle, again. “Aren’t you EXCITED?”

Carran forced himself to smile. “…Sure. Bet I’ll find a buyer for it in… no time, yeah? If this does what you say it does.”

His smile twisted into a terrible Cheshire grin.

“I am sure whoever drinks it will find whatever price is demanded well worth it.” Smooth, lucid, perfectly spoken.

Carran felt himself swallow right as his lips curled in an uneasy smile. A nervous chuckle escaped him, and he took the box, stuffed it under his friend’s robes, and nodded. “…You need anythin’ else, you—you let me know.” And with a quick hop off the crate, he hustled away, running back to join the other thaumaturge trainees as they got ready to return to the city.

—

She could not believe what she was seeing in the mirror the following morning.

“…Finally. It’s me.”

[broz0neglitters]

Keep me in the dollhouse

° ˛ ° ˚* Π☽˚ ˛ ✩ ˚˛˚*//__＼。✩˚ ˚˛ ♡ ˚ ˛˚˛˚｜ 田田｜門｜ ˚ ˚ ´´ ̛ ̛ ´´ ´´ ´´ ̛ ̛ ´´ ´´ ´´ ̛ ̛ ´´ ´´ ´´ ̛ ̛

-John Dory was all about being perfect. He would push all of his little brothers to be perfect on stage for the fans, but he would even push them harder when they were not performing; it soon overwhelmed the other brothers; His younger brothers felt like they're John Dory little dolls because John dory would keep dressing them up the way he wanted and tell them to act the way john dory wanted them to act But most of all John Dory wanted his four little dolls to be perfect-

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

Ever since Brozone made their Debut, the brothers felt like John Dory had got them in a chokehold with the amount of pressure put on them with practices, photo shoots, and so on. It was like John Dory had kept them all in the Dollhouse, dressed them up, and made sure they were perfect in every way possible

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"In some other lifetime, I roam free," Clay said to himself tired of being bossed around by his older brothers he wanted to be taken seriously

"Strutting down my own lane, my way, no kings, no slaves But right now." Spruce said

"He got us in a chokehold with all these stupid practices and stuff. We barely have time to do our things, and I can't even attend my sad book club," Clay said

"and I'm so hungry John Dory keeps making me eat all these orange slices. Even every restaurant I go to has orange slices on the menu named after me," Spruce said

Both clay and Spruce would always dream of one day just being free from John Dory control and just doing their own things such as Clay joining a sad book club; trolls taking him seriously and Spruce finally getting to recover from a ED And settling down with a wife and a kid and hopefully change his name leaving his boy band days behind him

Floyd also understands his two older brothers' pain he can relate to so much of it because John Dory doesn't give floyd enough credit because he was the one who made the Brozone album over while babysitting Branch and also wrote some popular Brozone hit songs (they were poppy's favorite)

"Guys; I know John dory is hard on us right now but we just gotta keep our heads held up high and plus is our only source of income." Floyd said

Floyd was right; Brozone was the only one keeping them financially stable. They were in a lot of debt before they formed Brozone, but they had to pay a massive price for their childhood and let John use them as his dolls for their income

John Dory wanted them to have the same hairstyle as Branch; He made them wear matching vests with different colors. He even took Clay and floyd to the hair salon to get their hair dye since it needed to fit the boyband theme. Clay didn't like his yellow hair; people kept calling him Banna hair and floyd. Well, he didn't mind the red hair, but still, he wanted his pink hair cause he felt like one of the girls. But John Dory didn’t want floyd to have pink hair since it is a girl's color

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

~Present day~

As all the brothers were sent to therapy thanks to Poppy, they couldn't look at John Dory. They all look so different from when they were in Brozone, With Clay being the tallest brother with messy green lime hair, Bruce no longer having the abs and settling down with a loving wife and 13 children, well, floyd got captured and almost die, but got save and well branch he was no longer bitty B...

"so boys is there anything you wanna say to your big brother?" Their therapist said to them

The room went silent for about 3 minutes straight as Clay cleared his throat " John Dory I don't know what you were thinking I think you sold your soul to the devil when you formed Brozone because I know for sure you wouldn't boss us around this much and set high standards for us sure it was our only way of income but because of you all of us are here in therapy." Clay said 

"Dollhouse, dressed up, perfect, messed up." Floyd said it didn't make any sense to john dory and the others but Bruce finally understood what floyd meant by that

"Floyd; right John Dory you're crazy for thinking that we were your little dolls so you could dress us up and make us act the way you want us to act it was like you're ashamed of us literally being ourselves so that why you push us to change our personality to match your perfect theme " Branch spoke for the frist time he was very quiet since after saving floyd he was still upset over what happened...

"John dory, we're not your dolls. We're your brothers. Even if we were in a band, you still shouldn't treat us like we're your dolls or your back up singers, but because of all the trauma you put on us, we have a hard time finding out who we are personally well it took years for almost all of us to be ourself again.." Bruce said

"All the trauma couldn't hold you down..." John said

"BUT IT DID JOHN DORY! BECAUSE OF YOU, I HAD AN ED BECAUSE OF YOU WE WERE FORCED TO PLAY DOLLHOUSE WITH YOU WHERE YOU DRESSED US UP AND MADE US PERFECT BECAUSE YOU WERE ASHAMED OF US BEING OUR TRUE SELVES." Bruce finally snap

"You're no victim. You guys don't know what I had to go through to get you to where you are today. Even if I did force you to dress up and act perfect, it was because we were under a record label. I personally never wanted to force you guys to do those things, but it was the company they say if I didn't do it then they will break up brozone and he will be in debt again" John said leaving the room

"well, I guess the session is over then I guess I can book you boys in for next week at 11:00 then." therapist said writing down a note

After John Dory left the room the 4 brother was speechless they didn't know to believe john dory or not it was hard because they haven't seen him in 20 year since the band broke up.....

------------------------------ I won't be opening requests due to time conflicts with my real life. I also have to tackle two jobs, and they do take time to write, but if you want to ask me any questions, feel free to private message me. I will respond to them :). Hope you all have a great day/night where ever you are <3 ---------------------

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[moonbiscuitsims]

My Stardew Valley project: Lots Layout plan in TS4

(This is not/will not be a save or a download as I use way too much CC for that, just a personal project and plan of lots I found suitable; I don't know how long this will take me or if I'll ever complete it but having a plan helps me so much to not get stuck later)

I'm sharing this in case it is handy to anyone wanting to do a Stardew Valley save in The sims 4 from scratch (lots off gallery are limiting with their sizes and needing specific lots, so I'm starting from zero unless a lot fits) without ugly set dressings or stupid backgrounds that don't make sense, and trying to group together the lots properly like they are laid out in the game so you can see them in the distance, or at least put them on an isolated lot with a clear surroundings if they have to be separated. It isn't perfect and is subjective and pack dependant but I spent a while today just laying out in my blank save (I use the srslysims blank save for this) where I wanna build what and who lives in each lot, so I'm sharing it in case it saves someone time or is useful Some lots are for a few sims living together to do two or more builds on one lot. This could possibly work with For Rent, but I don't dare try it lol. Others are just living alone. Others are just community. The main worlds I'm using are:

- Henford on Bagley:

The finwich area for the main Pelican town area ➡ 1= 1 Willow Lane (Sam Vincent Kent Jodi) + 2 Willow Lane (Hayley and Emily) these are here because of the river and the bridge leading "down to the beach" just everything is perfect for me. 2= Mayor's Manor, 1 River Road (Alex, George, Evelyn), 2 River Road (Pam and Penny trailer) this one is a little cramped and will have to be one next to the other but it can work. That way all these people live in the village centre. 3= Stardrop Saloon, maybe a little square if it fits, but probably not. 4= Harvey's clinic, Pierre's store. 5= Blacksmith and Library (+the little ice cream stand or market stall) 6= Joja Mart and/or Cinema (I'm doing both) 7= Bookseller with cute hot air balloon (this is random I wanted to do it, but it is usually just an empty area) 8= The farm 9= 24 Mountain road (Maru Seb Robin and Demetrius) 10= Quarry (set as generic) 11= Linus's tent 12= Adventurer's Guild and Mines (marlon gil and dwarf)

Willow Creek (Community Center)

It is on the big lot in willow creek, no surroundings or buildings, so It was perfect, and gives enough space to build the community center plus the childrens park and the natural area around it and it's by a river.

- Moonwood Mill as Cindersap Forest

I know it's a bit grungy and has industrial deco but I don't mind these buildings as they fit with the nature imo. It had the perfect amount of lots for what I needed, plus a river. 1= Wizards Tower 2= Travelling Merchant 3= Marnie's Ranch + Leah's Cottage 4= Krobus/Sewer (this is the main reason I chose this world and I know there isn't a beach but the sewer pipe with trash aesthetic and the large lot in the forest was enough for me) 5= Mouse Hat shop /Abandoned house

Granite Falls for Secret Forest:

I'm doing this one (using Zerbu's all worlds are residential) in Granite Falls in the National Park lot, I just liked how big it is, how tall the surrounding trees are, and that it has a little waterfall area.

Glimmerbrook as the rest of "Mountains" area (Railroad and Spa). I choose that lot of the railroad cause i can add a tunnel for the train with tool and it looks like its coming out the cliff

Sulani

Sulani as the Docks (with Elliots shack and Willy's shop) the build i've placed is from the gallery and is a water lot with the Night market (I really liked this and didn't want it separately) so I had to place it here. I do not actually like Sulani for this though, it is far too tropical and its on an island but I am forgiving it for the sake of having the beach lot. I wish Brindleton Bay had a beach lot near the docks would have been much better. You could change this and put it anywhere if you build your own beach as a pool but I hate doing that... In Sulani I'll also build all the Ginger Island stuff, but I still haven't played through that properly so I can't say what is going where yet.

Forgotten Hollow (witch's swamp/hut)

Forgotten Hollow as the witch's swamp /witch's hut area (again this is random but I wanna include it and make the witch for fun)

Oasis Springs as The Calico Desert

This large lot is perfect. It has a road, not too much going on around it except rocks and desert, and I'm gonna put everything here (Sandy's shop, Mr Qi's casino, and the desert trader outside). I will not be building the bus stop anywhere cause it is unnecessary. I forgot to mention but also the skull cavern might fit here or I'll do it on some other lot maybe OTHER INFO

Mods I'm gonna use to help the lots work as intended: I'm gonna play with littlemssams live in business mod to achieve the character being able to live on what should be a community lot and for it to still be functional, as well as chingyu's welcoming lot trait to avoid sims not being able to do what they want on these lots without being "innappropriate". For each of the lots and worlds I selected I spent time entering each and deciding which areas most closely resembled the areas from the game. For example if it had a lake or river nearby, or if the lot was big enough to build each thing. This could change but I think I'm happy with it. I might have to change some of this or make tiny builds to fit the multi build lots. Every single thing is super unfinished and empty, this is just my layout plan.

Conclusion: I hope this helps someone or if not and you even read this far that you like my idea :) If I forgot something or someone or said a name wrong, sorry, though I haven't fully finished the game yet. Basically I tend to get super overwhelmed and annoyed if there are stupid buildings or things that don't match, and am unable to just randomly plop any build anywhere like many players do due to obsessing over it not looking right around the build...maybe I'm a perfectionist or wish it was a blank world, but this is my next best thing. At least this was easier than my Cyberpunk save with way more foresty/countrysidish options 😅

[rippeanuts1950-2000]

i hate u i love u

Prev

Chapter 3)

He never flirted with her first.

Oh sure, Corey flirted with her on a daily basis but that was when she was winning an argument, not because she was just minding her own business. What is his deal? Is he trying to get her to let her guard down? Well tough luck, he lost that privilege three years ago.

These are the thoughts running through Laney’s head as she does stock check in the back. Remind her again why she took this job? It is a miracle enough that she got hired, considering her history with Corey but a part of her wonders why she still took it even though she doesn’t hang out with Corey anymore.

Mostly she knows it was for nostalgia. This shop was where she got her first bass. She remembers how six year old her held Corey’s hand as they tried to find the perfect instrument for her. Mr Riffin was so patient with them, especially Corey because he kept pointing out instruments that he thought looked cool to Laney.

(“We have to find you the coolest instrument, Lanes.” He had said. “Why Core?” Laney had asked. “Because you’re the coolest person I know!” Corey had answered. She’s pretty sure that after that moment she gained her crush on Corey.)

Laney shakes her head of the memory. It’s weird to think about it, the time before Grojband. Before they stopped being friends. The inner child in her misses it.

Whatever, what’s done is done. 

Speaking of things being done, she’s almost done noting down stock which means she’s gonna have to face Corey again. Sometimes she wonders what would happen if she quit.

*****

“That was fast.” Corey says when she steps out to the front. “We don’t have much stuff in the back.” Laney responds, refusing to look at him. “Did you finish what I asked you to do?” Corey nervously scratches the back of his neck. “So the funny thing is, I didn’t do that. Instead I wrote more lyrics to my song.” He answers. Laney scoffs. Well at least he didn’t try to lie to her.

“So the one time I need you to NOT write lyrics, you end up writing lyrics.” She snaps. Corey throws his hands up in a “so sue me” kind of way. “The words started flowing and my inspiration was going wild!” He argues. For some reason, his words make Laney want to yell at him more. “But you couldn’t have that when I was still part of the band?” She says bitterly. Honestly this sort of thing shouldn’t affect her as much as it does. But the fact that he started taking writing lyrics seriously and actually stopped relying on the diary after she left has always left a bad taste in her mouth.

Corey glares at her. “Oh this again? For the last time, I didn’t have inspiration back then! I was thirteen, stupid, and wanted our band to get big so that I could share our music with the world!” He exclaims. 

Laney slams her hands down on the register counter. “And what changed? Cause last I checked you did have inspiration from Trina’s diary entries. How do you have inspiration now all of a sudden?” She’s screaming at Corey at this point but honestly she doesn’t care. “I just do okay!” Corey says, crossing his arms. “Oh my god, could you give me an actual reason instead of that? You do this everytime I ask!” She snaps. Corey stomps over to the register, looking ready to yell at her like a mad man. Good, cause Laney will yell right back. “Did it ever occur to you that you leaving might have been my inspiration? Now that I don’t have you breathing down my neck about lyrics every five seconds, I know how to write lyrics without the diary.” He answers, and even though he’s not yelling Laney can sense the anger in his voice.

Laney shoves him away from her. At some point since he got over to the cash register he had somehow managed to get in her face. “I only lectured you so much about lyrics because you never tried hard enough to write GOOD lyrics on your own and you ALWAYS relied on Trina’s diary. And then like two minutes before we had to perform, you always made us drop everything to steal the stupid diary despite the fact I always told you to do it ahead of time. If anything, I was the reason we got anything done.” She growls, jabbing a finger against his chest. Corey scowls. “You held us back!” He yells. Laney freezes.

Did he just?

Oh this dumbass.

“I held the band back? Riffin, that is the biggest load of bull shit that has ever come out of your mouth. I’m the reason why Grojband fucking exists. I was the one who told you we should start a band. I was the one who asked Kin and Kon to join because you were scared they would say no despite the fact that we had been taking music classes with them since we were seven. I was the one who booked us our first gig. I was the one who helped you come up with the name! What did you do? Write bad lyrics and criticize me when I had valid objections. Held the band back, my ass. If anything, that was you!” Laney screams. Thank god Mr Riffin wasn’t in the shop that moment, she would have been fired for sure.

“Lanes, I-” Corey tries to say something but Laney cuts him off. “Shut up, I don’t want to hear it. And you lost the right to call me Lanes three years ago.” She says, ducking down and pulling her headphones and her lyrics folder out her backpack. She crams the headphones over her head, turns on Paramore, and pulls out the lyrics for i hate u, i love u. It’s been way too long since she last worked on it.

Out of the corner of her eye Laney can see Corey watching her as she writes, an apologetic look on his face. He sees her looking at him apparently, because after a few seconds of subtly glancing at him, he mouths “I’m sorry.” at her.

Whatever, what’s done is done and she’s gonna make sure the Newmans win the Battle Of The Bands.

*****

“What did you do?”

Corey glances haphazardly at Kin who is currently trying to play god with fusing genes or something at his little office space in Corey’s garage. Honestly Corey’s not even sure he cares to know what he’s doing after how he acted yesterday. “A lot of things.” Corey mumbles, rolling over on the couch. Kon, who is chilling on the floor in front of the couch eating cheese and chips for some reason, hands him a bag of chips. “Did Laney reject the Battle Of The Bands bet?” He asks. Corey takes the bag unceremoniously. “Nope, she said yes.” Corey says.

Kin lifts up his goggles and swivels his chair towards him. “How'd you mess up with her this time?” He asks, pulling out a notepad and a pen, ready to take notes on his friend’s issue. Sometimes Corey thinks Kin is convinced he’s a mad scientist/licensed therapist. Only one of those things is true. Unfortunately for Corey, he can not afford a real therapist so Kin is all he’s got.

“Let’s see, not only did I flirt with her unprompted, the next thing I did after flirting with her was get into an argument with her. And what does my brilliant brain decide to say when I’m losing the argument? That she held the band back.” Corey lists off. Kon starts gagging on a piece of cheese he had been eating while Kin’s pen explodes because he’s gripping it too tightly. 

“YOU TOLD HER WHAT?!?” The twins scream at him. Kin grabs Corey by the shoulders and starts shaking him. “Corey, you idiot! Laney was the original heart and soul of Grojband! Without her we almost fell apart, don’t you remember?” Kin rants. If Corey wasn’t being manhandled by him, he would have yelled at Kin.

Of course he remembers, he almost broke the band up because of it. Making music without Lanes sucked. He never thought he would miss her constant reminders to start writing lyrics soon or they were gonna be in deep trouble, but he did. Kin and Kon were great but he had known Laney since they were in kindergarten. She was the first person to believe in him outside of his dad and Trina(back when she was Katrina and not Trina). If it hadn’t been for Kin and Kon telling him that they should at least try and make music without Lanes did he realize that breaking the band up was a stupid idea. Now the band is as strong as it was before, just missing a bass player. Both in reality and in their hearts.

“I know, it was stupid and dumb and I regret every word I said. Except for the flirting, that I stand by.” Corey says, once Kin has stopped shaking him. Kon groans. “Corey, that’s not the point. You still said it and that probably lowered her opinion of us, again.” He says, shaking his head in disappointment. “If you love her, why do you act like this?”

Corey opens his mouth to argue but then closes it. “I…I don’t know.” He admits. This snaps Kin back from his quiet ramblings about blue haired idiots. He picks up his notepad and gets a new pen from out of his pocket. “Let’s dig deeper into that, shall we? Now I understand you and Miss Penn had been friends for years before the incident in 9th grade.” He says, tapping the pen on his pad. “Yes, Kin, we were. Why are you acting like this is something you don’t know?” Corey grouses.

“Restating it allows me to understand your mind a bit more which will make it easier for me to excavate it. Anyway, before the incident in 9th grade did you realize your feelings about Ms Penn?” Kin asks, waving Corey off. “No, it wasn’t until after she left did I even start to think about feeling that way towards her.” Corey says, picking at his nails. He really needs to repaint them. “Good, good. So when she left the band and stopped being your best friend, did it feel like a break up?” Kin continues. “Dude, you know he felt like it was a break up. We had to drag Corey out of his room because of how bad it got.” Kon cuts in. “Ugh, Kon you just ruined my dramatic ‘this is why you act this way’ speech! Thanks a lot.” Kin replies tersely.

“Your what now?” Corey tries to ask before Kin shushes him. “What I was going to ask after the break up question was going to be some questions about the Ewmans and how you felt after she made friends with them. But since that’s ruined, I’ll just get straight to the point. Corey, you subconsciously want Laney to hurt the way you did when she stopped being your best friend. In order to do that you hurt her verbally in hopes that she’ll feel the way you felt back then.” Kin explains. 

Corey blinks. That explains so much. “So how do I stop acting like this?” He asks. Kin shrugs. “I don’t know, unfortunately. I could figure it out by doing some brain scans. And possibly going into your mind and switching around a few things.” He suggests. Corey immediately shields his head. “No we’re not doing that!” He exclaims.

“Calm down, it was just a suggestion.” Kin says, as if Corey’s reaction is unjustified. Corey lets out a sigh. “Kon, what do you think I should do?” He asks. Kon raises an eyebrow. “I think it’s pretty obvious. Stop being a dick and stop flirting with her when she’s clearly not into you anymore.” He says. “But flirting with her is so fun!” Corey whines. “Well stop doing it because you always do it after you’ve been a dick to her.” Kon says, rolling his eyes. “It’s not rocket science, Corey.”

“So I should just leave her be until the Battle Of The Bands?” Corey asks. “I mean that wasn’t what I was suggesting but that does kind of sound somewhat of a good idea.” Kon says. “He’s right, it’ll probably make Laney feel better about having to leave the Ewmans for a month to hang out with us. Which will increase the odds of her joining us permanently.” Kin says, scribbling down some complicated math equation that apparently connects with Laney. “And that’s what I want to happen.” Corey murmurs. Kin and Kon pat him on the back. “That’s what we all want to happen buddy.” Kin says quietly. “So don’t mess it up for us.” Kon teases.

Corey grins. “I’ll do my best. Now let’s get practicing, we can’t get Laney back if we’re not good enough. ”

WE ARE SO BACK! So sorry about how late this is and that it’s short and probably not my best work. I’ve started writing the next chapter so hopefully the next wait won’t be so long. Let me know what you think and as always my asks open if you’re confused about something! I’ll see you next time, bye for now!

[pkmnprideflags]

Pokémon Character Etymology Comparison

Most of the time, the translators of the Pokémon games will a choose a name with a similar meaning to the Japanese one; for example, Takeshi comes from ishi, "stone," so he got the English name Brock. But sometimes they give characters random names that have nothing to do with their originals.

Because I'm a nerd, I compiled a collection of examples of this across the main series games, with the meanings for both the Japanese and English names listed. This is gonna be a long post; buckle up, folks.

Kanto

Guriin / Blue

Japanese Meaning: green

English meaning: blue. We’ve all heard of this one, but I couldn’t not include it.

Ayumi / Elaine

Japanese meaning: step or progress

English meaning: a lane. Possibly also chosen because it starts with E, as in Eevee? Sigh.

Shin / Trace

Japanese meaning: advance. Fits with the protags, Ayumi and Kakeru (to dash).

English meaning: uh…the protagonist is tracing his movements? He’s just a trace of what Blue was in the original games? It rhymes with Chase??? Who knows.

Dr. Yukinari Ohkido / Professor Samuel Oak

Japanese meaning: “ohkido” is a transliteration of orchid. Yukinari is similar to the given name of Unshou Ishizuka, the voice actor for Prof. Oak in the Japanese version of the anime; it’s unknown if that is related.

English meaning: So many questions. Why was he downgraded to a professor instead of a doctor? Why Oak instead of orchid, just ‘cause Oak sounds like more of an old man name? Samuel is similar to Salem Oak, a historic tree in New Jersey. Which is still a super random connection.

Nanami / Daisy

Japanese meaning: reference to a type of holly tree. Ironically is part of the Ilex genus, even though that forest is in a different region.

English meaning: the flower, duh. In Western cultures usually represents friendship and innocence. 

Masaki Sonezaki / Bill

Japanese meaning: First of all, yes, Bill kind of has a last name in Japanese. It has never appeared in the games, but was included in the Pocket Monsters Zukan, a supplementary material to Red & Green that is considered somewhat canon. Masaki comes from a type of shrub native to Asian countries, and Sonezaki is named after a region in Osaka, the city that that Bill’s hometown Goldenrod is based on.

English meaning: believed to be a reference to Bill Gates. Because computer man

Matisu / Lt. Surge

Japanese meaning: Seemingly a reference to Clematis, a genus of flower. I can’t find anything symbolically important about this flower that would apply to him.

English meaning: y’know, an electric surge. Could also come from “Sarge.” And they may have given him the specific rank of lieutenant because when abbreviated it kinda looks like lightning?

Kyou & Anzu / Koga & Janine

Japanese meaning: Doing these two together because their names correlate in Japanese. Both words are different ways of saying apricot.

English meaning: Koga-ryuu is a school of ninjutsu, and Janine is ninja with the syllables reversed.

Natsume / Sabrina

Japanese meaning: named after the Chinese jujube tree; big religious symbol in Islam, where it is rumored to be the Tree of Knowledge, and Buddhism through association with Vishnu.

English meaning: Psychic, brain, and possibly a reference to Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Kanna / Lorelei

Japanese meaning: contains the word for “cold”; full name comes from the Canna lily, which ironically must be moved to a warm location during winter.

English meaning: supposedly after a famous maritime disaster site in Germany, which means “murmuring rock.” We went from flowers to death and destruction so fast

Wataru / Lance

Japanese meaning: cotton; and also a reference to a Japanese dragon-water-god.

English meaning: ok bulbapedia’s stretch here is that lances were used in medieval legends to fight dragons. But that’s stupid. They just chose a cool name

Johto

Dr. Utsugi / Professor Elm

Japanese meaning: from a Japanese shrub in the hydrangea family.

English meaning: the elm tree, continuing the trend of the Japanese doctors being named after shrubs & getting localized into tree professors.

Akane / Whitney

Japanese meaning: the madder plants, which are associated with the color red because of the dye they produce.

English meaning: white (or possibly whiny). Dunno how she became associated with an entirely different color.

Shijima / Chuck

Japanese meaning: several options here. There’s a cultivar of the haworthia genus, the word silence, or a term meaning four islands. 

English meaning: to throw. Possibly a Chuck Norris reference as well.

Mikan / Jasmine

Japanese meaning: citrus fruit, specifically oranges.

English meaning: name of a plant; likely chosen as a pun on “mine” or “mineral.”

Yanagi / Pryce

Japanese meaning: willow. Often seem as a solemn tree; notably only grows in colder or temperate locations.

English meaning: it’s an ice pun haha

Ibuki / Clair

Japanese meaning: Chinese juniper plant, popular in Japan for its use in bonsai art. Also “breath,” a pun on Dragon Breath.

English meaning: Lair. As in a place that dragons live. Wooooo

Itsuki / Will

Japanese meaning: Zelkova tree, popular once again in bonsai and also for furniture and drum making.

English meaning: willpower.

Hoenn

Mitsuru / Wally

Japanese meaning: to be frail; also influence from “vine” and “crane,” possibly referencing the practice of giving origami cranes to those who are ill.

English meaning: supposedly from “wallflower.” I think it’s weird to focus on the social effects of his condition when the Japanese name is so focused on the physical aspects of it but whatevs.

Old Man Hagi / Mr. Briney

Japanese meaning: the Japanese clover plant.

English meaning: brine, salt water.

Mari & Dai / Gabby & Ty

Japanese meaning: mari is “ball;” Bulbapedia posits this might refer to the end of a microphone, but I’m not convinced. And dai is a topic of an interview.

English meaning: from the verb “to gab,” and…possibly a reference to TV?

Mayumi / Lanette

Japanese meaning: from a type of spindle plant. It’s in the same genus as the plants Bill and Celio are named after.

English meaning: from LAN (local area network) and net, as in internet.

Azusa / Brigette

Japanese meaning: another spindle plant.

English meaning: bridge, a device to connect several networks, like how Pokémon Box connects to RSE. And then the same suffix as Lanette.

Director Kusunoki / Captain Stern

Japanese meaning: camphor tree

English meaning: the stern of a boat. No idea why his title was changed.

Higana & Shigana / Zinnia & Aster

Japanese meaning: Higana refers to the red spider lily, a plant commonly associated with death and the afterlife. Shigana, literally translated as “this shore,” refers to the mortal world, with higana (“other shore”) referring to the afterlife.

English meaning: Both flowers. Zinnia is usually associated with remembering an absent or distant, but not necessarily dead, friend. Kind of a watered-down version of the Japanese name. Aster is named after a Latin word for star, and is usually associated with faith and wisdom.

Tsutsuji / Roxanne

Japanese meaning: the rhododendron species of flowers.

English meaning: you guessed it, rocks.

Tessen / Wattson

Japanese meaning: passion flower clematis, the same genus referenced in Lt. Surge’s name.

English meaning: you guessed it, watts

Asuna / Flannery

Japanese meaning: from asunaro, a type of cypress tree. Ironically would not be a good tree for Lavaridge Town, as it is not drought-resistant.

English meaning: flames or something? I’m not convinced this is a real name

Senri / Norman

Japanese meaning: senryou, an herb often used for Japanese New Year decorations; also 1000 li (Chinese unit of measurement), a distance equivalent to over 300 miles. Yeesh

English meaning: you guessed it, normal

Nagi / Winona

Japanese meaning: the Asian bayberry plant; also a word for calm/lull.

English meaning: wind, wing, or winnow, a verb that means to remove chaff from grain via a strong gust of wind. Her Japanese name is calm, her English name is a forceful gale.

Kagari / Courtney

Japanese meaning: from kagaribi, bonfire.

English meaning: from “country,” likely to go along with Team Magma’s land theme.

Ushio / Matt

Japanese meaning: tide

English meaning: likely from the “mast” of a ship.

Izumi / Shelly

Japanese meaning: spring, as in a water location

English meaning: you guessed it, shell

Purimu / Glacia

Japanese meaning: primrose, a flower with some species that have adapted to cold climates; or possibly the adjective prim, meaning formal to a standoffish - or cold - extent.

English meaning: omg glaciers

Daigo Tsuwabuki / Steven Stone

Japanese meaning: last name comes from a plant that contains a kanji meaning “stone.” Daigo comes from the Indian coral tree, the blooming of which is associated with impending typhoons and drought. Makes me think of how Steven starts investigating Groudon & Kyogre way before anyone else, as if he can sense what’s coming.

English meaning: steel and stone. Why are the english names so not complex in gen 3

Datsura / Noland

Japanese meaning: from datura, a group of poisonous flowering plants.

English meaning: presumably from the word “knowledge” cuz he’s a buff nerd

Rira / Anabel

Japanese meaning: from lilac, which might just be the color of her hair.

English meaning: bulbapedia claims it comes from “ability” but I don’t buy it

Ukon / Spenser

Japanese meaning: from turmeric, the spice and plant.

English meaning: supposedly from “spirit”

Jindai / Brandon

Japanese meaning: both a reference to a plant and to ancient times (lit. “age of the gods”)

English meaning: supposedly from “brave”

Hiisu / Tucker

Japanese meaning: from heath, the plant type. Unrelated to Hisui.

English meaning: supposedly from “tactics”

Kogomi / Greta

Japanese meaning: ostrich fern

English meaning: “guts” or “great”

Sinnoh

Jun / Barry

Japanese meaning: probably from Junichi Masuda, longtime composer and contributor to the Pokémon games.

English meaning: No one really knows! It was his first default name in Diamond and Platinum. It’s what the anime dubbers chose for him when he first appeared, and it’s been his name ever since.

Ayako / Johanna

Japanese meaning: no one knows for either of these names! Ayako has a lot of meanings, many of which have to do with kimono designs for whatever reason.

English meaning: ultimately comes from Hebrew, meaning “God is gracious.”

Mizuki / Bebe

Japanese meaning: from the dogwood genus of trees & shrubs. Notably not related to the group of plants the previous storage developers were named after. Fun fact, Selene also has this name in Japanese.

English meaning: BBCode, a programming language used to format forum messages.

Hyouta & Tougan / Roark & Byron

Japanese meaning: doing these two together since their Japanese names correspond. They’re both named after different types of gourds.

English meaning: Roark is rock & ore; Byron is iron.

Makishimamu Kamen / Crasher Wake

Japanese meaning: literally, “Maximum Mask.” Thought to come from the orchid genus Maxillaria.

English meaning: Crashing waves & wake.

Merissa / Fantina

Japanese meaning: an herb genus; also a Western name, indicating that she’s a foreigner.

English meaning: phantom, and also fantasia, a type of tango.

Akagi / Cyrus

Japanese meaning: bishop wood tree, known for its red bark.

English meaning: a Persian name associated with the sun. Likely chosen to fit with the Commanders’ planet names.

Puruuto / Charon

Japanese meaning: Pluto, fitting with the other Commanders’ planet names.

English meaning: Jupiter’s biggest moon. Not a planet. Good job, guys

Ryou / Aaron

Japanese meaning: Japanese clethra tree

English meaning: likely from arachnid and arthropod

Kikuno / Bertha

Japanese meaning: both the English & Japanese names share the theme of being similar to Kikuko/Agatha. Like Kikuko, this name references chrysanthemum.

English meaning: has the same sound as “Earth.”

Goyou / Lucian

Japanese meaning: five-needle pine; also enlightenment.

English meaning: light, possibly also illusion or hallucination

Shirona / Cynthia

Japanese meaning: white-fruited nandina, a flower associated with growing love and good homes.

English meaning: epithet for Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon; possibly chosen to contrast with Cyrus.

Kokuran / Darach

Japanese meaning: the pantropic widelip orchid.

English meaning: Gaelic word for oak. Probably a reference to Prof Oak tbh

Neziki / Thorton

Japanese meaning: staggerbush, a kind of plant.

English meaning: from “thorn.” Staggerbushes do not have thorns.

Unova

Banjirou / Benga

Japanese meaning: the guava fruit.

English meaning: the Malabar kino tree.

Tetsu / Curtis

Japanese meaning: iron

English meaning: comes from a French word that means polite or courteous

Ruri / Yancy

Japanese meaning: from lapis lazuli

English meaning: similar to “fancy” I guess.

Nobori & Kudari / Ingo & Emmet

Japanese meaning: up-train & down-train, respectively. Refers to global train track directions.

English meaning: Ingo is believed to be a pun on “ingoing” train, so you’d think Emmet would be some pun on outgoing, right? Nope. He’s a variation on “emit.” Why? Who knows

Dento, Poddo, & Kohn / Cilan, Chili, & Cress

Japanese meaning: the brothers are all named after corn: dent corn, pod corn, and…just corn.

English meaning: in English the brothers are named after herbs and plants: cilantro, chili peppers, and watercress.

Hachiku / Brycen

Japanese meaning: black bamboo.

English meaning: it’s an ice pun

Shaga / Drayden

Japanese meaning: from the fringed iris, therefore tying him further to Iris. 

English meaning: shortening of “dragon’s den.”

Vaabena / Anthea

Japanese meaning: from a flower genus that symbolizes “tender love.”

English meaning: epithet of Hera, the goddess of women and family. Also has some added musical symbolism - her name is similar to anthem, and Concordia is similar to concord, another word for harmony.

Giima / Grimsley

Japanese meaning: comes from a shrub; but also may reference words for the devil, deception, and the transliteration of “boogeyman.”

English meaning: grim or grimace + sly

Katorea / Caitlin

Japanese meaning: from Cattleya, a genus of orchids.

English meaning: roughly similar to Japanese name, with possible influence from “castle.”

Kakitsubata / Drayton

Japanese meaning: the Japanese iris, connecting to Drayden & Iris’s Japanese names. Also contains an anagram of tatsu, a word for dragon.

English meaning: similar to Drayden. And kind of similar to dragon if you squint

Kalos

Karumu / Calem

Japanese meaning: from calme, calm in French.

English meaning: looks similar enough to the word calm, but it technically comes from a Scottish name meaning “dove.”

Sana / Shauna

Japanese meaning: either Latin for “healthy” or Arabic for “brilliance.”

English meaning: probably just chosen because it’s similar; technically comes from the name John, meaning “God is gracious.”

Dr. Platane / Professor Augustine Sycamore

Japanese meaning: French for plane tree.

English meaning: sycamores are not plane trees; however, to be fair, Augustine Henry is a cultivar of plane trees. Officially headcanoning Henry as his middle name now

Koruni / Korrina

Japanese meaning: from cornichon, french for gherkin. 

English meaning: vaguely similar to Japanese; also, the words KO and arena.

Gojika / Olympia

Japanese meaning: the midday flower; also time.

English meaning: an unrelated genus of flower; also Olympian (godlike, superior).

Akebi / Aliana

Japanese meaning: from the chocolate vine.

English meaning: from the genus Aliana, and possibly a liana, a type of woody branch that grows from the ground.

Bara / Bryony

Japanese meaning: their word for rose.

English meaning: the bryony plant.

Korea / Celosia

Japanese meaning: Correa genus.

English meaning: Celosia, a genus in the amaranth family.

Alola

Nariya Ohkido / Samson Oak

Japanese meaning: nariya-ran is a name for the bamboo orchid, making his full name an orchid genus. Nariya is also similar to Yukinari.

English meaning: keeps the similarity to Samuel, but otherwise has no special meaning.

Kaki / Kiawe

Japanese meaning: kaki means fire; also, the Asian persimmon,

English meaning: kiawe, a species of tree often used for charcoal and long-lasting firewood.

Raichi / Olivia

Japanese meaning: transliteration of lychee, a tropical tree.

English meaning: from a flowering plant called maile, and possibly also the rock olivine.

Galar

Rurina / Nessa

Japanese meaning: from the Cupid’s Dart flower.

English meaning: lots of options here. There’s nesses, a type of shoreline; the infamous Loch Ness; the Greek name Nerissa, meaning “from the sea;” or a Cornish word meaning second.

Hisui

Omatsu, Otake, & Oume / Charm, Clover, & Coin

Japanese meaning: respectively, pine, bamboo, and plum; these three combine to form the symbols called the Friends of Winter in Chinese art, which symbolize perseverance and resilience.

English meaning: all three are named after objects that are believed to be lucky.

Tsuiri / Tuli

Japanese meaning: the beginning of the rainy season.

English meaning: supposedly from “Tulip.”

Sharon / Anthe

Japanese meaning: possibly from Rose of Sharon, a Biblical term referring to an unknown flower; likely also from the word for “gauze.”

English: the Greek word for flower; possibly also chrysanthemum.

Yura / Vessa

Japanese meaning: from “Yuraa!!”, Spiritomb’s cry before it battles the player.

English meaning: from vessel.

Paldea & Kitakami

Kaede / Katy

Japanese meaning: from the word for maple.

English meaning: possibly referencing katydid (bush crickets).