#so to see mitch finally get this kind of love from his hometown

[austronauts]

It's terrific because [the fans' love] is so well-deserved for Mitch. This guy has been really driving the bus for us, so for him to get that reaction and to know that the people are behind him - that's terrific

Sheldon Keefe about Scotiabank Arena’s reaction to Mitch

[littlemisslipbalm]

“I am not going to join your band”

Summary: You’re longtime best friends with Mitch Rowland and you’re in love with him. When he starts working with Harry you tag along and watch as Mitch falls in love with Sarah. But Harry watches them too and you realize you have each other. 

A/N: Why is this lowkey a Mitch fanfic at the beginning OMG - i didn’t mean for it to be like that but it kind of reads that way. I will definitely be doing a part 2 I just wanted to kind of set the stage for what is to come (likely another three part kind of thing). NOT (really) PROOFREAD AND FEEDBACK MUCH APPRECIATED (I love hearing from you)

Word Count: 2.6k 

Warnings: mentions of anxiety, otherwise this is just HS1 Studio FLUFF

Part 2

---

All your life had been exceptionally boring. And you had no complaints. You were from a family with two parents, two siblings, and a pet. You went to public school and performed well, but never excelled in anything because you didn’t care to. You chose to go to college just an hour away from your hometown, a small liberal arts school. Your life was, by all accounts, average. You weren’t super popular and you weren’t bullied excessively around town. You just existed there.

The only thing, or person, rather, in your life that you really thought made it exceptional was Mitch. Mitch grew up next door to you when you were kids, he was a few years older but he didn’t mind hanging with you. You eventually became best friends and did everything together. Sneaking in through his window to play with his pet lizard when you were seven. Sneaking out with him to drive around in his car and drink stolen alcohol when you were sixteen. You did everything with Mitch. You thought he was your soulmate. While he was quiet with others and that sometimes freaked them out, you either enjoyed the silence or got to see his truly imaginative and beautiful personality.

Mitch was a musician all his life and you sat with him when he learned to play on his thrifted first ever guitar and attended every one of his high school rock band’s shows, even if that meant sneaking into a bar at fourteen.  

Staying close to home wasn’t hard because that’s where Mitch was. Even if nothing ever had even remotely happened between you and Mitch, you held out hope. He had thought about it just once, if neither of you found anyone else it might be nice to have a family together, but he had dismissed it quickly. Mitch saw you as a little sister and loved having you as his best friend who he could tell anything to, but it was never going to be anything more for him.

So there you and Mitch were, living your little lives in Middle America, nothing to your names, but some average education, affordable apartments, and going-nowhere jobs. That is, until one day Mitch’s roommate called him up to ask if he could come play guitar for some musician’s album he was working on. The musician’s guitarist had called in sick and Mitch’s roommate had volunteered Mitch for the job. That’s when Mitch’s life changed, but what about yours?

It was heading into the second week of Mitch working on the musician’s album, who you had found out to be the famous Harry Styles. Mitch had come home after the first day and called you to come over. When you arrived, he told you how Harry and him had gotten along so well and Harry had invited him to keep coming back and playing on the album. You had never seen Mitch so excited and you were happy for him. You couldn’t help the twinge in your heart though when he kept bringing up someone named ‘Sarah’. She was apparently the drummer and had been very nice to Mitch, as well.

Now Mitch had this whole other life and you were sat there like what the hell am I supposed to do now? Then on that Saturday evening, after a long day in the studio for Mitch, he had come over to watch a movie and unwind with you, he asked if you wanted to tag along to the studio with him on Monday and see how it’s going. He was always telling you how cool everything was and you were quick to jump at the chance to both hang out with Mitch and see him doing what he loved.

On Monday, Mitch picked you up and drove you to the studio. When you got inside the building you were already amazed. The place was small, but so incredibly cool to you. You had never been to a real recording studio before and one of the things you and Mitch loved to do together was music - listening to it, playing it, buying it, so this was an unforgettable experience. Mitch walked through one of the bigger studios doors and the two of you entered the part of the studio that was where all the soundboards and tech was.

Harry, the man who had practically fallen in love with Mitch as well, was inside the room already. He turned to Mitch and beamed his large smile, his teeth a shiny white. You could tell why everyone in the world was in love with Harry just from that smile, it was truly an ‘award-winning smile’. “Mitch!” he exclaimed and gave him a tight hug. Mitch only smiled softly. When Harry pulled back his eyes flitted over to your figure standing just slightly behind Mitch. “You’ve brought a friend ‘round, that is so lovely!” he first said to Mitch and then turned back to you, “What is your name, love?” You extended your hand and said your name, Harry only glanced at your hand and then pulled you into a hug as well, a slightly less exuberant hug, but a hug nonetheless. You loved Mitch, but you didn’t understand how this bright and bubbly man had warmed up so quickly to Mitch’s quiet and solemn exterior.

Harry looked at Mitch with something in his eye you couldn’t quite place after the three of you chatted for awhile. “Well, you’re very lucky to have this man in your life, Y/N, he’s one of the best guitarists I’ve ever met, like, holy fuck, he is good.” You smiled at his praise for Mitch, and glanced adoringly at Mitch. Mitch only ducked his head at Harry’s enthusiastic praise. Whatever reasons Harry had for adoring Mitch, you were pretty sure it meant Mitch’s chance to get out of his old life, including you.  

Then, it was time for them to get to work. Harry and Mitch had already written one song together, or at least Mitch had helped Harry to finish it. Today, Harry wanted the band to play it for the first time all together. Harry had told you to make yourself comfortable on the couch in the soundboard room. You watched as the band set up all of their equipment and you felt your ears burn when you saw Mitch talk to the woman you identified as Sarah. You didn’t want to be jealous, you hated feeling possessive over a man that you weren’t even with, but you just felt like you were watching Mitch slip from your life more and more as every moment passed.

The band started playing the opening chords of what Harry had called Woman when he said into his microphone, “Take 1...of many for Woman.” You smiled as you watched Mitch get into his guitar playing for the song, he sounded amazing. But as much as you liked to watch Mitch play, you couldn’t help but stare at Harry when he began to sing. He was talented, beyond talented, his voice sounded angelic to you. He grooved a bit to the instruments as he sang the lyrics. It was a beautiful song, you thought, wishing you could have someone write a song like that about you.  

As the song reached over half way through, Mitch breaks into a rad guitar solo and for the first time since Harry began singing you looked back over to Mitch. That was kind of where the song ended, there was just a final time when Harry proclaims “Woman!” and it ends. You weren’t sure if it was normal to stand and applaud after a studio recording session, but you did anyway. You jumped up and down a little and clapped. The entire band smiled back at you and Harry leaned into the microphone, “Y/N, why don’t you come in here and join us?” You happily agreed and went into the adjoined room.

Harry told everyone to take a breather for about five, so the band was drinking water and chatting. When you got there you immediately belinned to Mitch and began to gush over how much you loved his solo and his playing throughout. Mitch talked in hushed tones back to you, saying where he thought he might speed up or slow down at parts. You didn’t notice Harry had walked up behind you and you jumped a bit at his voice. “Didn’t mean to give you a fright, love. How’d you think it sounded?” Harry inquired. You tilted your head to look up at him, while Mitch was perched on an amp, Harry stood tall beside you. “It was lovely, the lyrics were epic and I loved the beat of it. I was just telling Mitch how amazing his guitar solo was…” your cheeks brightening when you mentioned Mitch. Harry had some knowing smile again.

“You’ll have to thank Sarah for delivering that beat, however, Mitch and I wrote those lyrics,” Harry continued the conversation with you. You couldn’t believe how normal he was for being a world famous singer and boy band member - just a year ago. One Direction was a huge deal, yet here Harry was asking you how you’d liked the song  and talking to you like you knew a thing or two about music. You and Harry talked about the song for a bit more, Mitch staying silent for almost the entirety of the conversation, you noticed his eyes wandered over to Sarah who was talking to Adam, the bassist. Then, it was time for Harry to listen to the song when the tech crew came back. When he did, he made notes for both the band and the tech crew and everyone got back to work. On the third go around of the song, you decided you were done giving them a round of applause.

They worked on Woman for half the day. When lunch time rolled around, Harry decided he was happy with how the song sounded, ‘good for now’ was all he said, obviously still not satisfied with how it sounded. During lunch you sat beside Mitch and across from Harry. The more you got to know Harry, the more you liked him. He was very playful and free spirited, but also took his passion very seriously and was endlessly grateful for the opportunities he had been given. As you warmed up to Harry, you noticed Mitch being a bit more animated. Had he been keeping his guard up because he wasn’t sure if you and Harry would get along?

There was still sometime before the break ended, but everyone had finished eating. You excused yourself to the bathroom, but when you came back, you saw Mitch occupied with Sarah. You looked helplessly on as he smiled and laughed with her. You felt left out as you really didn’t know anyone else but Mitch there. Sure you had gotten to know Harry a bit, but he was a rockstar and a guy you barely knew, you couldn’t just go up to him and ask to become your new best friend. Harry noticed you standing alone and walked up behind you, this time knowing to tap your shoulder to make you aware of his presence. You turned around at the touch you felt on your right shoulder, you were greeted with Harry’s bright eyes and soft smile. “Do you play any instruments?” Harry asked you. That’s random. “Eh, I can play some piano and guitar. I love piano, but I don’t keep up with it as much as I should.” “Well, you should keep coming here with Mitch. You could get some practice in, we’ve got a piano here somewhere,” Harry said as he raised his head and started to look dramatically around the room. “‘S right behind you,” you smiled at the man who had given Mitch a chance and now seemed to be giving you a chance, too. Harry whipped his head around, “Ahh…Well I’ll make sure it’s tuned for you for tomorrow.” You thanked him and the two of you began chatting about Harry’s visions for the album.

Three Weeks Later

“I am not joining your band, Harry, I’m not even that good of a piano player!” You threw your hands up. “Will you hush? You’re amazing, quit denying it,” Harry grinned as he pinned your arms down to your sides and flipped you around, “Now play exactly what you showed me earlier.” He marched you to the piano and plopped you into the accompanying stool. You huffed a sigh and placed your fingers on the keys. “You don’t even have piano on all-” “Ap, bahp, bahp! Plaayyy…” Harry cut you off and then added, “Please?” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Such a baby.

You had been coming with Mitch to the studio for almost a month now. After your first day, Harry had retuned the idle piano for you and you had messed around with it when they weren’t recording. You and Harry had become closer over the time, he realized you were almost the female version of Mitch, but slightly less shy and slightly more opinionated. And you had realized that Harry was the kindest man you knew, only after Mitch. Mitch and Sarah had also become closer in the past three weeks. As much as it pained you to watch, you could never look away. The band and you started to go out every night and every night Mitch and Sarah always ended up sitting apart from everyone else wrapped in their own world. It hurt your heart so much, but you pushed through, happy to be around all the amazing people you had gotten to know. As well, whenever you were left alone, Harry always seemed to pop up, chatting about what was next for the album and what you had been doing on the piano earlier in the day.

Today, you had sought out Harry, wanting to show him something you’d been playing with since yesterday. When he heard what you played he brought up something he had mentioned a couple weeks ago, that you had thought was a joke, he wanted you to join the band - to play keys. You laughed it off, but Harry persisted. Now he was having you play the little random piece you had made up for everyone: the band and the crew. Your stomach was doing flips and your heart was in your throat. This was one of the main reasons you didn’t think you could be in Harry’s band, anxiety. It was minor, but you definitely had some - if your nerves in your physical body and your thoughts in your brain were any indication.

Finally, you began to play. It was the tune of what would become Sweet Creature. When you finished the early sound of it, there was silence. Sarah was the first to clap and then everyone followed quickly after. You ducked your head down and then looked up again with a smile on your face. It widened when you looked over at Harry and Mitch right by your side. You had never had people saying something of yours was great. Harry and Mitch stayed in the studio room with you, excited at the new prospect of a song. The album had reached a roadblock a couple days ago. Harry wasn’t liking any of the songs they were making and he was struggling to write any new ones. This, your art, was a breakthrough. After you had played, Mitch picked up one of the acoustic guitars laying around and began to play the same tune on the strings. Harry began to hum along. They twiddled with your tune a bit, but eventually they had to let it go for the time being. Lunch had ended and they still had to keep working on the other unfinished songs.

-

[horrorslashergirl]

My Slashersonas and s/o types

I got many asks about about s/o some of my OC would love, so I decided to write down for each of them. Also the ‘Type’ thing is what my OCs are: dominant, submissive, switch etc.

Richard Firewood (Pansexual)

Type: Cold Dominant

His type of s/o would have to be someone who is willing or not, depending on the situation, to give up their life and live with him at his hotel; he needs that someone to be completely dedicated to him, which means that they don't have to work so that they will be at their beck and call to Richard.

He owns a luxury hotel, he is very rich and can provide for himself and his s/o everything they need. His s/o has just to be his pet, following after his steps as they worship him.

His s/o has to listen and be submissive; of course, he will listen to what his s/o has to say if they have a certain desire or wish, but he has the final word and decision.

His s/o has to have class, as in they know how to act in public, don't embarrass him. If you are his, you have to play the cute and mannered partner. He is willing to teach you that if he sees some potential in you, but warning, his patience wears thin, so you better learn quickly if you want to stay with him.

He is a very busy man, so a clingy s/o annoys him. Yes, he loves the attention you give him, but what is too much might trigger him and you don't want an angry Richard.

Jackson Jasper (Pansexual)

Type: Warm/Caring Dominant

Being his s/o is much simpler than Richards because Jackson doesn't expect you to be perfect in all departments, he understands the fact that we all have flaws, but he does have certain expectations.

His type of s/o would have to be a housewife type or househusband seeing how he doesn't discriminate. Love is love, or in case what he wants he gets and he expects you to play that role; cleaning the house, doing the laundry, cooking breakfast and dinner.

He loves a clingy s/o, mostly because he is touch-starved and even when he goes on work trips with the truck he will pull you along, if the trips are short, after all.... There are animals and his dog, Jackpot that needs to be taken care.

Down and dirty; he needs someone who is more country-oriented than a town person. His style of life is simple, with no big technology. He does own a phone and a television, but that's about it. A s/o who isn't put off by a farm like life, someone who doesn't bicker about the mess the animals make. If you're like that, Jackson isn't for you, so you better keep the distance or he will drive over you with his truck.

His libido is pretty big, so an opened up s/o into sexual activities is a big must. A s/o that is all down to have fun between the bedsheets or many quickies around the house.

The Hacker (Pansexual)

Type: Sadistic Dominant

The opposite of Jackson above; The Hacker is a big city guy, surrounded by all technology and hates the rural areas; no Wifi? Fuck off. He lives in New York and the city that never sleeps is his favorite territory.

When it comes to  s/o type he needs someone exciting, someone, that is a constant rollercoaster. He is dominant, but having a complete submissive s/o that follows his every command is boring after one week. If you want to be his s/o, you will need to come with something new every once in a while, be it regular activities like going to a club, playing laser tag to all kinds of new kinks in the bedroom.

Someone smart; he has a genius-level intellect, so if you want to maintain a long-term relationship with him, you will have to get your smarts on. 

No nagging! He understands the fact that a relationship has its ups and downs, but don't tell him every 10 minutes to pick up his clothes from the floor, or that he should empty the ashtray from cigarettes and not to mention the cans of energy drinks from around his desk. He will do that! Don't tell him what to do constantly or he will make you disappear.

Bambi Miller (Bisexual)

Type: Caring Dominant/Playful Submissive

Her type of s/o has to be someone with manners because she is sick of the sleazy bastards and vain hookers in her hometown. She needs someone who respects her as she will respect them.

A warm and familist s/o; she has been an orphan since birth and she doesn't know what a family feels like. She wants what she didn't have as a child or teenager, someone that she can form an emotional bond. She did have sexual relationships, but the lack of the emotional prospect has left her with a bitter taste.

Someone old-school style; she doesn't need all the luxury life has to offer, she will be just content with a nice modest house that has a roof. She appreciates the smallest things life has to offer, even if it's just a pillow she can sleep on. 

Someone energetic and fun; she loves to go out and enjoy herself, playing darts, dancing, and having a couple of drinks, but be respectful towards her if it's the first date. She doesn't enjoy someone's hands inside her pants just like that out of the blue.

A s/o that can offer her assurance as in that she isn't alone, that life can change for the better, and just simply holds her in the morning on the front porch drinking coffee.

Dave Anthony (Pansexual)

Type: Insane/Cruel Dominant

His type of s/o would have to be human and small, considering he is over 7'0 tall that should work for almost everyone. He needs a s/o that doesn't break that easily and can keep up with his sadistic shenanigans; a masochistic s/o would be perfect for him.

His s/o can be anywhere; if the s/o entered his asylum, it's all done. You can be in Asia and he will simply teleport there. Your soul is bound now to him. There is no escape.

He isn't picky when it comes to a s/o, so almost anyone will do, but he does have some rules. He doesn't want someone evil for a s/o. He is attracted to purity. It's ironic seeing how evil he was as a human and more so as a poltergeist.

A feisty s/o perhaps? Just so he can break them, that's entertainment for him. What's the point of a s/o who is already broken? He cannot play with a broken toy.

Samuel Grayson (Straight and Demisexual)

Type: Attentive Dominant

A complete opposite of Dave; Samuel's s/o has to have a pure heart, but he won't hurt his s/o, unlike Dave. Samuel kills only the ones that are plagued by sins. A genuine s/o with a heart of gold is perfect for him, someone who can light his black and cold heart.

A loyal s/o; he hates cheating, so if you want to be with him, you better give up on dating, flirting, and all that. He hates liars and he will know if you cheated.

A s/o that loves dogs, seeing how almost half of his being are demonic Dobermans.

As a human he wanted to have a family of his own, so he needs a familist s/o, even if said s/o has a job to go to, he is patient. He will wait for you to get home and watch as you take care of his apartment, now yours too. 

Gerome and Axel (Pansexual)

Type: Sadistic Dominant/Smug Submissive

They need an understanding s/o, seeing how they are together in everything, even a relationship with someone. You get two hitmen in one shot, so you better have enough energy for two.

A lively s/o, someone who is smiling and always in the mood for fun, even if it's day or night because these two don't have a schedule.

Perhaps a housewife s/o type? Being mostly away and on their jobs, someone has to take care of their beach house. You can choose if you want to work too, they don't mind an independent s/o, but just so you know.... They earn a lot of money from being hitmen.

A flexible s/o; are you a dominant, a submissive? Either way works for them. Gerome is a more laid-back playful guy, while Axel is the opposite, being cold and with sharp edges, so a s/o who can balance them would be perfect.

Their s/o has to be understanding; they are hitmen and that's what they do, it's their job and they won't give up on that for anyone. Take them as they are.

Damiano Liberato (Straight)

Type: Sensual Dominant

He is very picky and his s/o has to reach certain standards; a trophy s/o that he can show off in public only to assert his importance and dominance.

His s/o has to be classy, always put together, after all, he is a fashion mogul and he doesn't settle for someone who wears jeans and sneakers. No, no. Absolutely no. His s/o won't ever embarrass him like that. It's an insult!

Genuine adoration; because of his past, Damiano needs someone who stays with him for HIM, not for his status or money. If he finds out his s/o is a golddigger, then said s/o will be turned into a grotesque mannequin.

Manners are a must; not only must you look impeccable, but your attitude needs to be the same; back straight, always answer when someone asks you something, pay attention. Little things that are vital when in a relationship with this fashion killer.

Azment (Pansexual)

Type: Loving Dominant/Playful Submissive

Being her s/o doesn't require too much work, just your undying attention, and love towards her. She isn't picky about it, to be honest; just don't leave the mansion or you will die. Easy as that.

Mitch Carson (Pansexual)

Type: Animalistic Dominant

He is more animal than human and doesn't really have many expectations from a s/o. His s/o would be more like a captive than a love interest. He views his s/o as a form of sexual relief and nothing else.

He needs a submissive s/o that will stay by his side and even if they try to escape him, he will chase them down. You are his and his alone, so you better stay put or he will collar and chain you like an animal. 

Mitch doesn't have any humanity left inside him, so he doesn't understand the concept of a s/o.

Azol (Pansexual)

Type: Degrading/Cruel Dominant

Much like Dave... Azol is a supernatural evil being with a sadistic pleasure in hurting and inflicting physical and psychical pain on his s/o, not fatally, but enough to make them cry, so a masochistic s/o would be perfect.

His s/o would have to be someone who is pretty much alone, and if they are not, well.... say bye, bye to your friends and family. 

A sassy s/o could work for him because he loves a challenge and loves to show off what real power resides inside him, teaching his s/o their place is the best game.

The Shadow (Pansexual)

Type: Sensual/Sadistic Dominant

Being a dominant, he needs a s/o who is submissive, playing the obedient housewife or better yet, maid; he has a busy life and is constantly working, so someone needs to keep his house spotless.

An intellectual s/o is a must; well not as intellectual as him, because he is a master genius and he knows it, but he doesn't want a mindless s/o that he needs to tell them what to do every five seconds.

His s/o won't need to work. He provides more than enough for both of you, all his s/o has to do is take care of his house, make dinner and be at his beck and call when the more.... lustful side comes out to play.

A respectful s/o; all childhood he has been criticized by the people that should have loved him. Don't question him, because what he does is for his and your best. Just stay by his side, loyal and things will be just fine.

He is a traditional type of guy, and doesn't get the idea of nowadays modern things and fashion; a vintage-like s/o would be perfect for him, decent and presentable.

Bahini Talibah (Straight and Demisexual)

Type: Caring/Loving Submissive

A s/o that would be perfect for her is someone with lots of patience and understanding because she has been through a worse ordeal in the love department and it takes time for her to trust someone on that level.

Someone who is simple; she doesn't need a perfect husband with money and all that material nonsense. She wants someone who will unconditionally care for her, be by her side when she needs emotional support.

A s/o that is a good listener. She has a lot to tell you, once you earned her trust, and to understand her better you need to hear out her stories because she has many interesting things to tell you, after all....she is over 100 years old.

Honesty; an honest s/o who will tell her everything they have on their heart, even if it's choosing a tv program, just be honest that you want to watch something else. 

Xaviera Lah-Mo (Straight)

Type: Obedient Submissive/Cheeky Dominant

She is a free spirit and needs someone who will match her wild soul, someone who isn't afraid to get into the far more dangerous part of the world; after all.... She is flirting with danger a lot; hunting poachers, observing wild animals that can kill her if she isn't careful.

A protective s/o; she can take care of herself, being good with the sniper rifle and into archery, but she lacks the strength into the body to body fight. It makes her feel loved to be protected.

Someone with a rough edge; she is spending most of her time in the wildness, far FAR away from the big cities. She prefers the quietness and tranquility of nature. A s/o that isn't fazed by few scratches or hard physical work, a strong s/o.

Someone with a sense of humor; she wants someone that can make her laugh, even if it's just for a few seconds and that's a hard one because she is a tough one to crack.

[mosh-4]

you’re great and you know it

harry styles imagine

you’re great and you know it - your family comes to one of his shows, and he meets them for the first time. 

you rarely get to see your family. you started touring when you were 19, and you spent every summer in college on tour. when you started touring, your first job was to help set up the stage. you made sure that each speaker was in place on its marker, and then after each show, you helped the crew strike the stage. you did this all summer, and you made enough money to pay off some of your college tuition.

eventually, before your 4th year of college, you needed to complete a stage management internship in order to receive your bachelor of fine arts in stage management. you applied to intern at a touring company recommended by the stage manager from one of your previous tours. somehow, you ended up on Harry Styles: Live on Tour. your job on this tour was as a backstage manager. you set up the dressing rooms and made sure each of the musicians had everything they wanted before each show. you spent a lot of time running errands to get snacks for the artists. you rarely got to see the band since you set up long before they arrived at the arena and tore down after they had already left.

one night, Harry stayed a little longer at the arena than he usually did, and you got to know each other. ever since then, you had both been super close. he stayed in your small hotel room every night, just because he tended to get lonely in his big room by himself, and it was nice to have someone to talk to. you hung out and made snack runs ever night in the hotel gift shop while he showered and got in his comfy clothes. when you got back, you would do the same while he made himself comfy on your bed finding a random movie on tv.

soon after that started, you started to become more than friends, and then eventually you made it official just between the both of you. you hadn’t had the chance to tell your family, but you weren’t sure if this was just a fling while you were both on tour. you didn’t know what would happen after the tour ended so you spared yourself the heartbreak of having to tell your parents that it was over. the less they knew, the better it was for everyone.

you hadn’t even considered telling your parents until they called and asked if there was anyway they could visit you during one of the shows that was near your hometown. you were kinda surprised by them wanting to come to a show. you had just expected to grab dinner with them when you were in town, not take them to work with you. of course, harry, the overeager boyfriend who wanted to do overly nice things for his independent “i don’t need anything-im fine-please don’t buy that for me-i love you regardless” type girlfriend, offered to set your family (FAMILY not just parents, ‘yes the cousins could come too’) up in a VIP box. you obviously declined and attempted to find resale tickets that wouldn’t burn a hole in your pocket on StubHub. with no luck (Harry even helped you look because he knew you were going to be stubborn about this), he offered again. you accepted and told your parents that your boss was very generous and gave them a box to stay in for the show.

--

             “how do i look?”

             “haz, you look great,” you say running your hand down one of the lapels on his jacket. “i really like this suit.”

             he turned back to the mirror. “mmhm, that’s what you said last show.” he gave you a pointed look.

             you met his eyes in the mirror, and you threw your arms around his waist. “what? can you blame me? each suit is better than the last. i love them all.”

             “yeah,” he murmured before throwing an arm around you. “i suppose you have a point.”

             you pull him to face you slipping your arms completely around his waist. “what’s got you so bugged out? i’ve never seen you second guess yourself this much.”

             he wrapped his arms around you. “suppose ‘m just a bit nervous. i just want to make a good first impression.”

             “haz, don’t worry about it.” you place your hands on each side of his head. “they’re gonna love you. i mean, they already love you. they just don’t know that you’re my boyfriend.”

             “yeah, i guess so.” he rubbed his hands over your arms mindlessly.

             “yeah, you’re gonna kick ass. just like you always do, right?” you said trying to get him to meet your eyes. you bend your head into his line of sight. “right?”

             he met your gaze. “right.” he pulls you into a tighter embrace, and you rest your head on his chest.

             you both rest like that for a minute before he finally speaks up again. “is that my sweatshirt?”

             you look down to the black merch sweatshirt that you pulled from his bag this morning. “yeah, it is.”

             “rude.”

--

             at 6, you met your parents, brother, aunt and cousin at VIP entrance. you chatted with the staff while they received their badges. once they got in, your cousin practically tackled you in a hug.

             you both laugh and exchanged “i missed you”s before you gave both of your parents, brother, and aunt a hug.

             “how are you? are you sleeping? eating?” your mother starts fussing over you.

             you gently pull her hands from your face. “yes mom. i’m doing fine. i’m sleeping and eating.”

             “good, good.” she finally let you go.

             “do you want to stop at a merch table before we go up? it’s less crowded now.” you said pointing to the nearest table.

you mom and aunt spent the next half hour at the merch table looking at all of the different options before deciding on a sweatshirt similar to the one you were wearing while your cousin bought the signature black “treat people with kindness” shirt. after that exhausting trip the merch table, you led them upstairs to the VIP box. after showing the staff member your crew member badge and your family’s badges, you were able to enter your suite.

             “wow, you’re boss is very generous,” your dad said. he hadn’t been to a concert in so long. you were excited that he was here.

you awkwardly scratch the back of your neck after he mentioned your boss. you try to ignore the fact that “your boss” that you told them about was actually your boyfriend that you hadn’t told them about.

             “umm, yeah. he’s great. super nice.” you said taking a seat at one of the bar stools next to your dad.

your mom took a seat next to your dad as you all chatted and caught up. your aunt soon followed sitting on your other side. your cousin and brother wandered out to the seats that were outside your box. you watched them make conversation pointing out all the things on the stage and watching the crew and staff wander about the arena. “i have something to tell you guys,” you say to your parents and aunt in a semi-serious tone. you were finally going to tell them about harry.

             their conversations halts. “oh my god.” your mom gasped covering her hand over her mouth.

             “YOU’RE PREGNANT,” your aunt shouted as your parents went wide-eyed at you.

             you jolted back in shock. “oh my god, no.”

             everyone let out a breath. “thank god.” your mom dropped her hand to her heart. “you scared me for a second. i’m not ready to be a grandma.”

             you roll your eyes at your dramatic mother. “what is it?” you dad calmly asked leaning to look at you.

             “i’m actually seeing someone right now,” you finally let out.

             “oh,” your mom said shocked. you hadn’t had a boyfriend for a while. “is he on tour with you?”

             you nod. “do you want to meet him?” you ask looking up at your family.

             “absolutely,” you aunt answered for your parents. “text him.” she grabbed your arm that was holding your phone and shook it. “text him. have him come up here.”

             you laugh. “he’s busy right now. he’s getting ready for the show.”

             your mom and aunt lean back in their seats. “oh,” your aunt said in a suggestive tone.

             “oh,” your mom repeated looking at your aunt.

             “is he in the band?” you aunt asked like it was a secret.

             you laughed. “kinda?”

             “damn girl, good for you,” your cousin shouted from the doorway. your whole family laughed along with you.

you slyly sent harry a text.

             “haz, they are so excited.”

           “good, i can’t wait to meet them.”

--

harry was phenomenal. he floated across the stage without a care in the world, confident as ever. he was amazing, and you were so proud of him.

you aunt turned to you expressing how impressed she was of him. throughout the show, you and your cousin danced and sang along to the music. you had a blast, and you were so glad your family was there with you.

at the end of kiwi, Harry looked up at your suite and blew a kiss in your direction. you smiled down at him with a hand over your heart. you shrieked and cheered loudly for him. you looked like a mad woman, and your family laughed at you. you didn’t care because your eyes were on your man. you caught him laughing at you before he turned his attention to the rest of the crowd. Sarah and Mitch waved to you as they moved to take their bows with Harry. You waved back at them laughing as you clutched to the railing that enclosed you in your box. you loved your tour family just as much as you love your actual family. 

when they finally left the stage, you helped your family pack up their stuff.

             “are we going backstage?” your cousin asked.

             “yeah,” you nodded your head. “is everyone ready? we are gonna take the back way to the backstage so you have to stick with me.”

             “yes, let’s go,” your mother said gesturing toward the door. it was getting a little late for your parents, but they wanted to meet your boyfriend. you sent him a warning text to let him know you were on your way to him.

you led them down to the backstage area. you passed through all of the guarded security check points with your badge. your cousin and brother were amazed at everything. they were pointing at everything and had to make a comment about it. you rolled your eyes at them. they could be goofballs sometimes.

when you reached the dressing room area, you turned to your parents.

             “so he’s in here,” you point to the door of Harry’s dressing room. “are you ready to go in?”

             “yes, let’s go,” you mom waved at the door.

you knocked twice before opening the door. you peaked your head inside to make sure he was still dressed before fully opening it. Harry was standing next to his suit rack hanging up his jacket.

             “hi,” you waved entering the room with your family following.

             he turned to you. “hey,” he greeted before pulling you into a hug. he finally looked up at your shocked family. “hi, (y/n)’s family.” he gave them a small wave.

             “holy shit,” you cousin whispered.

             you turned to your family with Harry’s arm still around you. “so this is Harry, my-uh-boyfriend.” you gestured to him. “Harry, these are my parents, aunt, brother, and cousin,” you said pointing out each of your family members.

             “hi, nice to meet all of you,” he said shaking each of their hands. “would you like to take a seat.” he offered gesturing to the sofas that were in his dressing room.

they all took a seat and began to gush about how much they loved the show. they asked you both question after question about your relationship as you leaned into his side with his arm still wrapped around your shoulder.

he looked down at you, and you smiled looking up at him. it was a good day.

--

later that night, as the two of you curled up in your hotel bed, you placed both hands on his face and stared into his eyes while he held you close.

             “see i told you.”

             “hmmm?” he hummed tiredly.

             “you’re great, and you know it.”

hope you enjoyed :) - mosh

[hopelikethemoon]

Freedom (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: Freedom  Rating: PG-13 Length: 3000 Warnings: None Notes: You can find everything about Maybe Today, Maybe Forever here. This is a Javier-less chapter, which is why I noted that this would be a very different type of update. This chapter is set in September of 1977, when Reader is 16. If you don’t know her backstory you can find info at the link above. If you want to know who I see as Mitch and Darla click on their names.  Summary: Reader finally escapes her situation.

@grapemama @seawhisperer @huliabitch @pedropascalito @rogrsnbarnes@thewallpapergoesorido @twomoonstwosuns @gooddaykate @livasaurasrex @ham4arrow@plexflexico @readsalot73 @hdlynn @lokiaddicted @randomness501 @fioccodineveautunnale  @roxypeanut @snivellusim @lukesrighthand @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts@synystersilenceinblacknwhite @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @exrebelshocktrooper@awesomefandomsunited @ah-callie @swhiskeys @lady-tano @beskar-droids @space-floozy @cable-kenobi @cool-ultra-nerd @himbopoes @findhimfives @pedrosdoll @frietiemeloen@arrowswithwifi @random066 @uncomicalhumour @heather-lynn @domino-oh-damn​ @cyarikaaa @ahopelessromanticwritersworld​ @im-still-a-pieceofgarbage @ksgeekgirl  @yabby-girl​ @xqueenofthecraziesx @punkass-potato​ @coredrive​ @pascalesque@theduchessofkirkcaldy @queenquazar @sabinemorans @buckstaposition @holkaskrosnou@yespolkadotkitty @fleetwoodmactshirt @seeking-a-great–perhaps @kochamcie @jaime1110​

“You’ll have your own room,” Mitch explained, glancing at you out of the corner of his eyes. “That’ll be nice, right?”

You nodded your head slowly, rubbing at your forehead as you watched the outskirts of the city bleed into the towering office buildings and quaint streets lined with brownstones and historic homes. You had never been out of your hometown and Philadelphia seemed like a daunting change of pace. 

Your life up until this point had been confined to a perimeter that contained your house and school. 

“And you’ll never have to live through another one of those floods.” Mitch rambled — he’d rambled a lot since he had picked you up nearly four hours ago. “That had to be scary.”

You shrugged, picking at the hem of your tee. “Not the worst thing to happen to me.” You admitted, glancing out the window again. “My mom acted like the world was going to end because she couldn’t get out of the house. Like goddamn mom, people are dead.”

Mitch cleared his throat, “I’m not looking to parent you, but you know Darla and I have a Tate—“

“Shit.” You laughed quietly, covering your mouth. “I’ll try to curb the cussing.” 

“Thanks.” He nodded his head. “And you know Darla and I are here for you, if you ever need anything.”

“I’m not looking to be a burden, promise.” You told him, winding your finger through a lock of hair as you watched out the window. “You don’t even have to feed me.”

“I’m not going to let you go hungry.” Mitch gave you a look. “Come on now, kid.”

“I can cook!” You scrunched up your nose. “I just don’t want you or Darla to feel like I’m taking advantage of your hospitality.” The last thing you wanted was to become your mother. Leeching off other people. 

“You’re my sister.”

“We share a father,” You pointed out. “Be glad you don’t share my mother.”

“Dad told me plenty of stories.” Mitch grimaced, “I don’t know how you made it out of there in one piece, kid.”

“I might have nine toes. I haven’t counted lately.” You snorted, “Think there’s a black market in toes for coke?”

“Jesus Christ.” He grimaced, before quickly changing the subject. “That’s the school you’ll be going to.”

You peered out the window at the school, “Better than Richland.”

“It’s where Darla went. It’s a great preparatory school for girls.”

“An all-girls school?” You groaned, crossing your arms across your chest. 

“You're more likely to get a scholarship there.”

“Fine.” You couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that. You still had the two and a half years of school to finish before you could think about college — but a scholarship would help. “I don’t need any distractions anyways.”

Mitch gave you a curious look, “Kid, you’re allowed to be a teen, you know. Don’t hold back from living just because you’re staying with us.”

“It’s not that,” You chewed on the inside of your cheek. “I’ve never really been a kid or whatever. I don’t plan on regressing just because I don’t have to deal with the witch.”

“Dad always said you were wise beyond your years,” Mitch remarked, turning down Chestnut Street and parking the car in front of a gorgeous brick townhome. 

“You live here?”

“Darla’s folks gifted it to her when they moved out west,” Mitch explained to you as he put the car in park.

“Oh so, rich-rich.” You gave him an amused look. “Looking at you, pitching out of your league.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Mitch rolled his eyes, climbing out of the car and shutting the car door behind him. 

You climbed out of the car, moving around to the trunk as he unlocked it. “I really do appreciate this, Mitch. I’ll do whatever you guys need me to do. Vacuuming, dishes, I’ll even babysit — I can’t promise I’m good.” 

“Kid, you’re family not the new nanny.”

“New?”

“We’re in-between currently.”

“Jesus.” You whistled. “Well, I promise not to bring the property value down. It’ll be like I’m not even there. Promise.”

Mitch shook his head, “I look forward to you warming up to us. This can be your home, kid. You don’t have to act like a visitor.”

You shrugged your shoulders as you slung your duffel bag over your shoulder. “I tried the ‘home’ thing, but dad’s dead... so.” 

“I’m just saying, you can put down roots.” Mitch pulled the cardboard box out of the trunk, before he started up the stairs to the townhouse. Darla must’ve been waiting just behind the door, because she swung it open the second your feet hit the stop.

“Look at you!” Darla grinned broadly at you, “You’ve shot up like a weed since the wedding.”

“We saw each other at the funeral,” You reminded her with an awkward laugh, tucking your hair behind your ear as you warily looked around their house. “But thanks.”

Mitch was about thirteen years older than you. You had seen him only a handful of times over the course of your life. His mother, Patrice, had always been kind to you — your father and Patrice were the type of divorced parents you’d wished your own mother had been. They were still friends, up until his death. 

Before the funeral, the last time you had seen Mitch was at his wedding. He’d wanted you to actually be part of the wedding, but someone had gone postal at the thought of someone else’s family liking you. You were also only ten — what could you do about anything?

“Tate, sweetheart, this is your aunt.” Darla crouched down beside the little boy. “Say hello.”

“Hello!”

“Hi, Tate.” You smiled at him. “And how old are you?”

“Almost six.” He beamed, “Do you like cars?”

You shrugged, “They get you from point a to point b.”

“He’s been collecting Hot Wheels.” Mitch explained to you, “I’m sure he’ll show you his collection.”

Tate nodded excitedly. “Do you wanna see them now?”

“Oh—“

Mitch ruffled Tate’s hair, “Actually buddy, I’m sure your aunt would love to see them, but we need to get her unpacked. Alright?”

You glanced at Mitch before looking back to Tate, “You can show me after dinner.”

“Why don’t you go play out back?” Darla suggested, sending Tate down the hallway. “He’s been so excited about having someone to play with.”

“I see.” You nodded, your eyes flickering around the entryway, back towards the living room area. It was different to see a house that was put together. They had nice pieces of furniture and none of them were broken or unusually stained. 

Mitch cleared his throat, “If you want to, of course. Six-year-old boys can be quite rambunctious.”

You offered a strained smile, “I’m happy to help, like I said.” 

“Do you need help with anything from the car?” Darla questioned, clasping her hands together. “That can’t be all you broug—“

Mitch made a gesture to silence her, which you caught out of the corner of your eyes and you couldn’t help but laugh. 

“This is all I have,” You gestured between your duffel bag and the box he held. “I promised I wouldn’t take up too much room.”

“Speaking of your room,” Darla grinned at you. “I hope you don’t hate purple. I went a little overboard once Mitch brought up you moving in.”

She led you up a flight of stairs lined with family pictures, which led to a hallway of bedrooms. 

“Ours is at the end of the hall, beside Tate’s. You’re over here.” Mitch explained, pushing open the doorway that led to a bedroom that was at least double what your room had been before.

“Wow.” You breathed out as you stepped inside, holding your duffel bag close to you as you looked around. “Guys, I told you I didn’t need much, this feels…”

“Homey?” Darla questioned. “That’s what I was going for.”

You put on a smile as you nodded your head. You knew you had to be grateful. Mitch didn’t have to give you a place to live. Sure, your dad had wanted it, but that didn’t mean he had to. 

You were emancipated from your mother now, you could go anywhere — live…. anywhere. Realistically, you had three options; your mother’s, Mitch’s, or the street. 

“Homey… is a great word.” You threw your duffle bag down on the foot of the bed, watching as Mitch sat the cardboard box with your few personal items down on the floor. 

“You’ll be starting at Girls’ High next week.” Darla explained. “We can go shopping for your uniform this weekend. That’ll give you a few days to settle into your new life here.”

“Thank you,” You told her with a slightly more sincere smile. “Thank you both.”

Mitch scratched at the back of his neck, “Yeah, well, it’s what dad would’ve wanted.”

“I miss him.”

“Me too.” He nodded. “Alright, well we will give you a chance to settle in. Dinner is usually around six.”

Darla smiled at you, “No pressure. You can join us or I can bring a plate up. I know things have been a bit chaotic for you.”

You tucked your hair behind your ears and nodded, “You don’t have to make dinner for me. I would be happy with a cheese sandwich.”

She shook her head, “I won’t hear of that. I’ll bring it up to you. How’s that sound?”

“Good.” You kicked off your shoes and sank down on the side of your bed. It was a real bed. Matching sheets, a mattress topper, and nice metal headboard. 

It looked new, which really was a novelty. 

You waited until Mitch and Darla could be heard walking down the steps, before you sank back on the bed and finally relaxed. 

You didn’t know how long it would take you to really be relaxed. Being on edge had kept you alive this long. But it was a feat not to give into the urge to grab the chair that sat at the vanity and wedge it under the doorknob. 

You covered your face with your hands, letting out a heavy sigh as you let the reality of your new life settle in. 

Next week would mark a new beginning. A new school, a new chance to be someone. You weren’t beholden to anyone but yourself now. If you failed, it was your own fault. You weren’t trapped under the shadow of your mother. 

Though, the thought of having to wear a uniform until you graduated sounded like bullshit. 

You pushed yourself back upright, looking around the room for the folder you’d spotted sitting on the vanity. You climbed off the bed to retrieve the fold. It was white and yellow, with the school seal set in the center. Darla had clearly gone to great lengths filling everything out for you — the forms were mostly filled in, save for your name and signature where it was necessary. 

Apparently, you had just missed the father-daughter dance. 

You closed the folder and sat it back on the vanity, before you retreated back to the bed to collect the cardboard box. You didn’t have much to unpack. 

A framed picture of you and your father that had spent the better part of its existence hidden from your mother’s sight; the trophy you won freshman year for the science fair; three of your favorite books; and bedside alarm clock. 

Aside from that, you had only taken the clothes you wore most often, not even bothering to worry about other seasons. You had enough money to buy new clothes in the winter. 

And with uniforms for school — you didn’t have to worry about other classmates judging you for repeating outfits. 

School was just a means to an end. Get good grades, get a scholarship, and do something worthwhile. Something that would actually help someone. 

Your mother had screamed at you that you were worthless — that you would never amount to anything because you were ungrateful — more times than you cared to recall. You had to prove her wrong. One day, she’d see that her daughter had amounted to something. Not because of her, but in spite of her. 

 ——

 “How did you sleep last night?” Darla questioned as you joined her in the kitchen, sitting down at the kitchen table across from Tate. 

“The bed was super comfortable,” You offered, preferring not to tell her that you hadn’t slept at all. Though there were bags under your eyes that told a different story.

You had slept for an hour — maybe two. You couldn’t relax, despite how hard you had tried. You had gone to sleep on a comfortable bed, with clean sheets, and a full stomach, but sleep just didn’t come to you. 

The only reason you slept at all was because you had gotten up and put the chair in front of the door. The house was quiet — there were no addicts down the hall getting high, no yelling, no chaos, but your mind told you there could be. 

Darla sat a glass of juice down in front of you, “Do you drink coffee?”

“Yeah,” You nodded, taking a sip of the juice. “Cream and sugar if you don’t mind.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t mind at all. I know you think you’re a burden to us, but I’m happy to have you here. Really.”

“I don’t want to be a charity case.” You told her, taking another sip of your juice as Mitch walked down the stairs and joined all of you in the kitchen. 

“Well, you’re not one. So don’t worry.”

“Hey, kid.” Mitch gave your shoulder a pat as he walked past the table. “Didn’t know if you’d come down.”

You shrugged, “The smell of coffee was too strong of a temptation.” 

“Do you have plans for the day?” He questioned as he poured himself a cup of coffee. 

Tate rolled one of his model cars across the table to you and you turned it around and rolled it back. 

“I thought I might check out a book shop we passed yesterday. What does a normal Monday look like for you?”

“I’ve got work,” Mitch explained before gesturing to Darla. “She’s got her committees.”

���Committees?”

“I’m on the board of the Philadelphia Museum of Art,” Darla offered. “And the Daughters of the American Revolution.”

“Don’t forget the Trocadero,” Mitch supplied, pressing a kiss to Darla’s cheek, before he circled back around to the table. “She’s very connected to the art scene here in the city. If you have any interest in the arts, I’m sure she can find you a job or an internship.”

“I don’t know what I want to do,” You admitted, playing with the end of your braid as you stared down at the glass of juice in front of you. “I never thought I’d get out of Johnstown.”

“Hopefully you can figure that out,” Darla said as she handed you your cup of coffee. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” She told you, “But I found a passion for art in high school.”

“Does it pay well?”

“Oh,” Darla exchanged a look with Mitch. “Technically I’m a volunteer.”

“Ah.” You frowned. Given the house you were eating breakfast in and what Mitch had said last night — Darla had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. “As nice as that sounds, I really need something somewhat lucrative.”

Mitch day down beside Tate, across from you, “You’ve got plenty of time to figure out what you want to be. Don’t grow up too fast.”

You smiled a little, “I’ll try not to.” You drummed your fingers against the side of your mug, “What do you do again, Mitch?”

“I’m a real estate broker.”

Your brows furrowed together, “I have no idea what that is.”

“I work for a real estate agency as a manager.” Mitch clarified, sipping at his coffee. “If you wanted to work in real estate, I could get you an internship.”

“I don’t know if I could sell houses,” You made a face. “I’m just going to focus on high school right now. Work on getting a scholarship.”

Tate rolled his car across the table again, “Do you like my car?”

You picked the car up and examined it, “I do. It’s very cool.” You rolled it back to him, glancing at Mitch. “I’m pretty self-sufficient. I'm sure I’ll figure out what my life’s calling is.”

“Philadelphia has so much going on. It’s very up-and-coming in areas.” Darla told you. “You could make a whole life for yourself here in the city.”

“Maybe.” You took a sip of coffee then. Now that you were free — there was a whole world of possibilities. You didn’t have to stay in Pennsylvania for the rest of your life. 

You could go anywhere, be anything, make a name for yourself. 

Mitch and his little family were great, but you didn’t feel any attachment to them. You didn’t feel any attachment to much of anything, frankly. Maybe you were broken. Maybe you’d been through so much shit with your mother, that you’d just shut down emotionally. 

You knew what love was; you even knew what home and family was supposed to feel like, but you weren’t sure you had it in you to feel those things. It was like falling asleep on your hand — you could feel touch, but it didn’t feel real. 

Maybe that’s what your mother felt. Maybe Rebecca was the way she was because there was a big black hole where her heart was supposed to be. 

But you weren’t going to let yourself become her. Maybe one day you could feel something. 

Wouldn’t that be something? 

[carewyncromwell]

Why hello, everyone -- allow me to tell you a rather odd love story, set in the timeline of HP: Magic Awakened.

From stage left, we have Anastasia “Ana” Read, an independent, dreamy Gryffindor who contrary to the stereotype thinks a lot more than talks and believes the pen is just as mighty as the sword.

From stage right, we have Charlie Copper, a sociable, outdoorsy Ravenclaw who loves dragons as much as his namesake Charlie Weasley and will do any number of stupid things in the name of “science!” @drinkyoursoupbitch

When Charlie first encountered Anastasia, he was struck by her strong moral compass, given her tendency to challenge bullies and blood purists to Wizard Duels and then completely kick their asses fair and square, as well as her clear intellect, apparent in how every single essay she’s ever turned in since first year received an O. So he got it in his head -- “this girl and I? We should be friends!” Unfortunately Anastasia was NOT on the same page. She’d heard plenty about Charlie’s older siblings (who were in Gryffindor) and how much trouble they got into, and she could not understand why anyone would do things like checking out every single book in the library before she could just to try to get a complete stranger to be their friend. On top of that, she couldn’t help but resent Charlie a bit for doing so well in Care of Magical Creatures, a class she always struggled with.

After a lot of persistence, though, as well as seeing how good of a friend he was to Chip Winger @department-shoe-stud and others, Ana finally, finally gave Charlie a chance in sixth year and agreed to hang out with him. By the time they were seventh years, the two both considered each other friends, and once they graduated Hogwarts, Ana exchanged diligent correspondence with Charlie, her letter count to him only being beaten out by that to her best friend, Robin Isherwood @cursebreakerfarrier.

Now by the time this odd pair officially became friends, just about everyone in Charlie and Ana’s circles -- Robin, Chip, Mitch C. Hodge @department-shoe-stud, Jordi Prewett @cursebreakerelmswood, H.G. Gray @ljthebard1, Scotty Rosier @drinkyoursoupbitch, and Noa March @that-ravenpuff-witch -- could tell that Ana had developed romantic feelings for Charlie. Those suspicions were more than confirmed when Ana wrote her first book -- the first in a series featuring an eccentric, handsome, dark-haired traveling adventurer and dragonologist named Ardon Ronne. Everyone pretty quickly guessed the character was based off of Charlie Copper, who post-Hogwarts had started working at the Romanian Dragon Preserve alongside his namesake Charlie Weasley. When Chip Winger brought the book up to Charlie (with a little *wink wink nudge nudge*), however, Charlie was blissfully oblivious and brushed it off completely, saying it was kind of weird, but hey, “that’s Ana for you.” Turns out -- yeah! -- he really had been working so hard just to earn Ana’s friendship. He had not had a crush on her, like so many suspected. Needless to say, just about everyone wanted to throw hands at this revelation. This IDIOT!

It was only as the years went by that romantic late-bloomer Charlie started to notice girls. When he wrote about a rather pretty girl at the Preserve in his letters home to Ana, he was taken aback by how much Ana interrogated him about the girl in question, as if she was testing the girl vicariously through Charlie. “Is she honest?” her letters demanded. “Is she brave? What do you have in common? Does she treat you with respect?” What Charlie couldn’t have realized was that this was Ana fighting with herself. She felt frustrated and jealous beyond reason that Charlie had ignored all of her sincere efforts to love and support him and be someone he could potentially see in a romantic light -- but at the same time, she had always suffered from low self esteem about her appearance and knew that if this girl could make Charlie happy, she had no right to get in the way. Once she’d gotten every answer she wanted from Charlie and concluded that the girl would be a good match for him, she stopped writing. The young woman who used to send five letters every week abruptly went silent, leaving Charlie incredibly confused.

Fortunately, two months later, Ana’s stepbrothers, Jasper and Preston -- well aware of how unhappy their stepsister was -- decided to surprise her by inviting her “friend” Charlie Copper to the Pinkstone family’s annual Christmas party. As it is every year, the event hosted a select handful of both Muggle and wizard friends of the Pinkstones (the male members of whom all worked in a Muggle theater in their hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon), with the dress code being formal dress robes (for wizards) and pre-WWI-inspired fashion (for Muggles). This made the Christmas party a rather colorful and theatrical sight, with everyone wearing top hats, tails, petticoats, corsets, vests, ties, and their finest robes, and everyone walzing to music ranging from traditional classical pieces to orchestral arrangements of Christmas songs to symphonic metal.

However Charlie had expected to greet Anastasia after two months of silence, though, it didn’t happen -- for when Ana descended the main staircase into the party already in progress, dressed in a low-cut white dress and matching white top hat, the newly girl-aware Charlie felt himself freeze up. She was beautiful. Charlie stowed away out of sight, trying to pull himself together, but he could see he wasn’t the only one who thought so. A lot of men danced with Ana. A lot of them were looking at her. It was only when one in particular got a bit too aggressive with his flirting that Charlie -- barely thinking at all -- intervened, coming up right behind Ana and advising the wizard to back off before Ana was tempted to say “no” in a way that didn’t involve words. Anastasia, previously unaware that Charlie had been there, was almost as red in the face as he was when she whirled around, startled, to look at him.

For the first time they looked at each other -- and felt the exact same way about each other.

Will they act on it, though...? Only time will tell. :3

[petersasteria]

You Again?! - H.O. // 18

Pairing: Haz x Reader

*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.*

Series Masterlist

"Lunch trade time, Y/N!" Harrison smiles at her as he walks to her desk with a paper bag. He takes Y/N's lunch and puts his on her desk. "I hope you don't mind eating something home cooked."

Y/N looks at the paper bag in front of her before looking up at Harrison. She warily points at the paper bag and asks, "You... cooked this?" Harrison grabs a chair and sits across from Y/N. He looks at her just nods as he takes out the food from the bag and eating it.

"Wow. That's new." Y/N shrugs, mimicking Harrison's actions. "Mitch still isn't here. I miss him. He's back at his hometown, because his grandpa just died."

"Oh." is all Harrison says. "Give him my condolences."

"Okay."

They eat in awkward silence. Harrison clears his clears his throat and says, "So, how was your day so far?"

"It was surprisingly not stressful."

"That's good." Harrison nods, taking a bite of his food. "How's the food?"

"You know, it's really good! You really outdone yourself." she smiles at him politely. "I like it."

"Sam helped me." Harrison shrugs. Y/N nods, "Yeah, he's great. I miss him."

"He misses you too." he says with a small smile.

"I'm going on a date tonight." Y/N blurts out. Harrison looks at her as his face falls. He couldn't believe what she just said. He wants to get his girl back, but she's going on a date with someone else.

Y/N takes his silence for her to continue, "Yeah, his name is Mark. I went to Ainsworth with him and we bumped into each other last week and he said that he's free tonight so he asked me out to dinner. I, uh, said yes. I figured I need to put myself back out there in the market seeing as it's been two years."

Harrison just nods, "Okay. Will you go home first to change your clothes or will you go straight to the restaurant? Not that there's anything wrong with your outfit today; you look really beautiful. I just asked, because maybe you wanted to freshen up before your date or something." He rambles, still trying to process what Y/N said to him.

"I'll go home first and then I'll go to the restaurant."

"...Can I still give you a ride home?" Harrison looks at her shyly. She just nods as she finishes her food.

-

Harrison sits on the couch and checks the time on his phone.

9:45 PM

'She's probably enjoying her date right now.' he thinks. He sighs and calls Tom. It rings for a while and Tom picks up on the fifth ring. "Haz? What's up?" Tom asks.

"She's on a date with some guy named Mark and she's probably having a good time." Harrison rants.

"At least she's having a good time. She wasn't having a good time doing your chores, that's for sure." Tom chuckles, knowing damn well it would annoy Harrison. And it did.

"Yeah, I got that." Harrison snaps. "You don't have to fucking rub it in my face."

"I know, but's just funny!" Tom laughs. "Anyway, just be her friend if this date goes well. Maybe you guys aren't meant for each other." Harrison could imagine Tom shrugging it off like it's nothing.

"But Tom I need her!" Harrison sighs.

"I get that, but when she needed you, where were you?" Tom asks, suddenly getting angry. "You weren't there, were you? Where were you when she did all of your work? Where were you when she called me to pick her up from the place where the board exam was supposed to be held, because she told them to remove her name from the list? Where were you when she was crying to me about how it was hard for her to let go of the one thing she loved doing just so she could attend to ALL of your needs?"

Harrison stays quiet.

"Answer me, mate. Where were you on her birthday? Which by the way, is the same day of your anniversary. Where were you when she got so insecure the moment she saw Elle chatting you up? Haz, I know you love her. But Y/N's my best friend and I've known her longer than you. She's basically my sister at this point. I look out for her and she looks out for me."

"So when I found out that things have been going down hill all because of you, I was hurting with her, because I didn't expect YOU OF ALL PEOPLE to cause her pain. When she came to me crying, I cried too."

"Now that she's finally putting herself out there, you're stopping that? I'm sorry Haz, but I'm not siding with you on this one. I won't let you ruin her happiness like you did before. Would you like it if Charlotte goes through the same thing Y/N went through? Of course not! As her brother, you'd be pissed! Like I said, Y/N's like a sister to me. I'm telling you this so that you know where my anger comes from. Don't ruin this anymore for her. If she needs a friend, then be a friend."

"That day she left you, you weren't the only one who lost someone. After she came crying to me, she said that she needed to leave me so that YOU have someone. I hated her for that, because FUCK, you already hurt her so much but she was still thinking of you! You lost the love of your life, but I lost my best friend and my sister." Tom finishes his rant with a sigh.

"Talk to me when you've fixed this, yeah?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Harrison says.

"Okay. Talk to you soon, mate." Tom hangs up and Harrison groans in frustration knowing damn well Tom was right.

Harrison gets up from the couch to get a beer from the fridge, but stops when he hears the ring of the doorbell. "That's weird. I didn't expect anyone today." Harrison mutters to himself as he walks to the door and opens it. His heartbreaks when he sees Y/N standing there with tears streaming down her face with her purse on one hand and her heels on the other. She wipes her tears and forces a small smile, "Hi Harrison."

"Y/N.. hi. Is there- is there anything you, uh, need?" Harrison asks.

"I, um, went to Tom's place, but all the lights were out so I went to his childhood home and he also wasn't there and this is my last resort. I need him right now." Y/N cries. "I really need him right now. So please tell me he's here."

Harrison frowns, "I hate to be the messenger of bad news, but... he's not here. He's out of the country, Y/N."

"Oh my god." Y/N sobs violently. "I'll just go home, then. Thank you." Before she gets the chance to turn around, Harrison stops her.

"Wait!"

She turns around and wipes away more tears. "Yeah?"

"You're in no state to go home like that. Come on in." Harrison motions for her to come in and she shakes her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, you might have company." she says.

"I actually don't and I meant what I said about being here for you. So, please allow me to. I know you need Tom right now and I understand if you want him here instead, because he's better at this than I am. But, I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere." Harrison stares at her.

"I can be your acquaintance or your friend or whoever else I can be in your life just please, let me help you." Harrison pleads. Y/N cries harder and walks up to Harrison to hug him tightly. He immediately hugs back as tight as he could and tries to calm her down.

They pull away after a minute and Harrison wipes her tears away, "Come inside and make yourself at home. I'll lend you a change of clothes and make you some tea and we can talk about it, yeah?"

She only nods as Harrison closes the door after she comes in. He locks the door and goes straight to his room to get some clothes for Y/N. She sits on the couch in the living room and looks around. Harrison comes down soon and hands her a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt.

"Do you want a bath or a shower? It seems like a good idea to relax, don't you think?" he asks. She gladly accepts the clothes and says, "I'll take a quick shower if you don't mind."

He shakes his head, "Nah. You know where the bathroom is. I'll make us tea." She smiles at him gratefully before heading to the bathroom.

After showering and getting changed, Y/N quickly makes her way down to the living room and she sees Harrison already sitting there with to cups of tea on the coffee table. She sits next to him, leaving a small space in between them of course, and takes the cup of tea before sipping it.

"Thank you, Harrison."

"Anytime. So, what happened?"

"He stood me up. We were supposed to meet at 7 PM, but after waiting for an hour, I decided to just order something to eat and leave. Don't give me shit like 'maybe he was late', because he wasn't. He stood me up on purpose. I saw it on his Instagram and he changed his profile picture on Facebook. He was at a club and his new profile picture is with some chick with purple ombre hair which is so 2012, by the way. Galaxy stuff and shit." Y/N says bitterly.

"I'm sorry for ranting it's just that," she sighs, "I had a crush on him at Ainsworth and when he asked me out, I kinda freaked out because the most handsome guy in college wants to go out with ME. Then he fuckin' stood me up and I feel like I don't deserve to be dating anyone."

"You don't deserve to date anyone who's a jerk like him; like me. You deserve someone better and I'm pretty sure Tom would say the same thing." Harrison chuckles.

"Yeah, he would." she gives him a small smile. "Thank you so much for letting me stay. I couldn't think straight when I was out there. I just walked and my feet are killing me so I took off my heels and stuff."

"Yeah, you need a car." Harrison jokes and he smiles when she laughs at his joke.

"Yeah, I do but I can't buy a car right now. I'm kinda tight with money." she gives him a tight-lipped smile.

"Is that why you're eating the same lunch everyday?" he questions. He was really curious as to why a beautiful girl like her is eating some garbage food when she deserves better.

"Mhm." she hums in response. "It's the only thing I could afford. I'm paying bills and with prices getting higher and shit, it's getting kind of hard to make ends meet. I'm also saving up for a new apartment."

He nods, "Oh, I see. What's wrong with your current one?"

"The roof has a leak and stuff and the AC isn't working anymore so it gets super hot. I don't even have a fan to cool me down, because I don't have the time to buy one and I don't want my already expensive electricity bill to add up." she chuckles.

"If you're struggling, why don't you ask Tom for help?" he asks her as he sips his tea.

"I don't him to get worried even more."

"Then, I'll help you. Also, how is your bill so expensive?"

"I'm late in paying rent and a few other stuff. To be honest with you, if I don't pay my rent that's three months late, they'll kick me out. They're giving me until next week. I don't even know anymore. I look like I have my shit together, but I don't." she sighs.

"I'll help you. I won't take no for an answer." Harrison offers her a small smile and she asks, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I want to help you." Harrison takes her hand in his, "It's okay to ask help sometimes."

"Thank you."

"I'm here for you."

* * * *

wow this is long

Tag list: @sweetdespairbarnes​ @marvelislove10​ @fanficparker​ @mrs-captainsteverogers​ @trustfundparker​ @xximaweirdoxx​ @justasmisunderstoodasloki​ @ixchel-9275​ @singingcatlady​ @with-my-soul-and-heart​​ @myblueleatherbag​​ @spnobsessedmemes​ @marvelousell​

[mesmeret]

Femlux: The Rise and Fall of E-Girl Hux

Inspired by a tweet from starsshine77  Fem!Kylo and Fem!Hux with catfishing, internet trolling, Diva Hux, and crybaby Kylo.

Still thinking of e-girl troll Hux. She has a vid of her wearing novelty vampire teeth and chewing on strawberries. She looks all innocent despite posing in her dark corner set up wearing a blood soaked dress. The caption says "i wuv vegans uwu save the earth!"

She composes these videos wanting to shock and confuse as many people as possible. She loves the high.

Kylo knew her in the K-8 private school they went to. Kylo had been in awe of the snooty older girl. When Kylo got her first laptop, she started following Hux's descent into trolling and performative arts. Hux would talk on her blog about how much she loved going to school wearing a normie flesh suit and then shedding it after school.

When Hux went to college for her MBA, she wasn't very active online. Kylo was dismayed but kept checking her blog. When Kylo is 19, Hux posts that she's starting a makeup and fashion channel. Kylo is startled to see that all of Hux's old internet presence is gone. Kylo was glad she saved all of the photos to a hard drive to prove that those years existed.

Kylo is Hux's first subscriber. She's so embarrassed thinking Hux is going to show up and confront her about it. But nothing happens.

Kylo works at a cafe while going to community college while Hux is making herself look like a living doll. The 24 yo doesn't say much about her life. Just off hand comments like:

"This mascara really stays on when you cry in the toilets at work."

"Sometimes you have to wear a mask around men."

"I hate the New York stench. So I use this perfume."

Kylo's pillows get two spurts of the perfume each week.

It's around this time Kylo realizes she's in love. She feels silly that she hadn't noticed it earlier, but she's always been slow.

Hux posts a video about once every two weeks. Kylo watches and studies each one voraciously. Hux slowly goes back to her cynical, dark self. Kylo missed it dearly while others find it disturbing.

Hux offers livestreams and Kylo rearranges her work schedule to attend with an alternate account. In Kylo's rush, she chose a very fit male torso as her profile pic.

The livestream is a shit show. Chat is accusing Hux of things while Hux slings insults at them. The service ends the stream and bans Hux.

Hux's next yt video does not mention the stream at all. She's chipper and cheeky as she does a clothes haul. Kylo is in awe. If she was in Hux's position, she'd have to be institutionalized for severe depression. Instead Hux is beaming at the camera saying the day's date and how much she loves this day. Kylo wonders why and goes down a rabbit hole to discover Mr. Hux passed away last year due to a heart attack.

Kylo uses her alt account and DMs Hux that she loves her smile. Kylo stares at the screen in shock that she sent the message. But she did.

Two hours later, Hux writes back with 'I give you something to smile about, fuckwad.'

Kylo types lightning fast before fully comprehending Hux's words, 'Oh yes please do.'

A couple minutes later, 'For real?'

Kylo bites her lip, 'Please.'

They fall into a weird pattern of Kylo complementing Hux and Hux replying in insults.

As Kylo turns 21, Hux becomes an overnight sensation on a viral platform. Kylo is wrapping up her accounting bachelors degree and nearly fails her midterms due to watching Hux's daily vids.

Their routine takes another turn when Hux starts sending Kylo photos of outfits. Hux would rarely wear the ones Kylo picked.

After a stressful day, Kylo is thrilled to see Hux wearing the checkered bra peaking out of a tight black body suit. 'Thank you. You made my day.'

Hux responds with a puke emoji and a very suggestive pic of the body suit unzipped. Her pale belly glowed. Kylo wrote back, 'My whole year is made. Beautiful. Thank you.'

Hux doesn't reply until next week.

Hux becomes a global phenomenon. Kylo is worried. She catches herself wanting to type 'are you okay?' But doesn't feel like it's her place.

Then the joke that got out of hand happens the next year.

Kylo's alternate account became a true catfish in order to be a top tier patron of Hux.

Kylo declines the video chat perks but wants the bathwater.

------

Hux's life sucks. She's never been happy. Never even had the chance to recognize it, really. She liked things but would get bored or hurt sooner than later.

It was weird that some girl from her hometown became her number one fan. Hux had no idea until a year into talking with Kylo in her DMs. She was stupidly catching feelings for this supposed guy who was nothing but supportive and kind to her. She wanted to know who he was, but he was very shy and declined to answer.

She had been partying after big sale with the sales team when she bumped into a guy that recognized her from the internet. He simpered at how amazingly scary she was. Intrigued, she got to know that he worked at a background company. She offered to use him if he gave her the info on this Kylo Ren guy.

It was nice to vent her frustrations of being catfished on the guy. Mitch was his name? She never saw him again since the morning after.

But she couldn't confront the weird goth girl from her hometown. Hux liked the compliments too much. They kept her going.

And as her corporate job found out her internet life along with the rest of the world, she needed Kylo desperately.

The suggestive photo was a shot in the dark. She had no idea if Kylo saw her as a gal pal or a /gal pal/. Hux returned to their hometown to see Kylo from a far after the Beautiful comment. Hux was stunned to see how tall Kylo is.

Kylo's social media only had two photos of herself. One of her at High school graduation and another of her tagged in her mom's second marriage. The former photo was her at a distance walking up to receive her diploma and the other was her sitting uncomfortably.

Hux couldn't enter the cafe. Kylo's snaggle tooth smile as two kids ordered something made Hux feel like the Grinch. She turned around and stomped back to her rental car feeling like an idiot.

It lessened when she got her first brand deal the next day. Money is one hell of an aphrodisiac.

Then the bathwater...

...and Kylo pouring it down her ample cleavage. The water shimmered down the sloping belly with the filter Kylo was using. It joined the rest of the frothy bathwater. Hux was bummed Kylo's mound was hidden below the surface.

'Now that's some bathwater I could drink for days.'

She smirked at Kylo's reply: 'I am so sorry for lying to you all this time. I didn't know it would ever get this far. Please don't hate me!'

'Sweetie, I just told you I'd drink your bathwater. I like you. You're sexy af.'

'Oh. Uh, thanks. You, too.'

'I knew who you were for a while.'

'Oh! Wow. Would you prefer if I was a guy?'

'No. Never.'

Hux frowned as twenty minutes went by, 'You good?'

'Yeah, I was crying. You're so special to me.'

Hux felt flushed instead of her usual reaction of 'Oh, get over it.' Kylo was genuine.

As Hux's businesses crumbled due to a volley of harassment and misconceptions, she knew she had a golden parachute. She cut her hair to a severe pixie cut after finalizing her business arrangements. She packed up her condo the next day and put it on the market the following day.

She rented a car on the fourth day and drove back to her hometown with her favorite clothes. Kylo was unaware of what she was up to and was sending sweet words of encouragement three times a day.

Hux pulls into Kylo's apartment complex feeling dead tired. But she wants this moment to be truly special. So she changes into an outfit that Kylo loved. Her strawberry school girl outfit, her orange tabby cat ears, and her pink faux fur coat. Her feet hurt too much for heels and she wants to enjoy Kylo's extra height. She grabs two of her suitcases and heads up to Kylo's apartment. Taking a deep breath, she knocks.

Kylo answers the door in a sports bra and pj pants. She stares at Hux dumbfounded before squeaking a hello. Hux sighs, "If you don't hug me in the next-"

Kylo pulls her into a hug and Hux hums appreciating their height difference. Kylo's chest feels just right against her own and Kylo's hands are so big!

"Wait a minute... why do you smell like my old perfume?"

Kylo blushes, "I, um... been following you for a while?"

Hux nods slowly before getting her voice back, "Well, now you won't need to follow me. I'm moving in."

Kylo pulls away trying to form words for a moment, "Really?!"

"Deadly," Hux gestures at her suitcases. "I've got four more in the car."

Kylo turns away but can't hide the sobs. Hux feels a wave of discomfort and has no idea what to do.

"I, uh, will get my things?"

Kylo looks over her shoulder, "Y-yeah, I'll go clean things up for you in the guest room."

Hux's stomach drops but Kylo hadn't rejected her completely.

When she has all six suitcases and two boxes of shoes in the living room, Kylo is crying silently while making pasta. "You can put your stuff in the room to the left. I'm making cheesy pasta for dinner. That works for you?"

Hux almost objected but remembered she doesn't have to maintain her skin anymore, "Sounds good."

She moves her clothes and sees the guest bed is a twin with Wonder Woman sheets. The primary colors are bold. Not at all Hux's aesthetic. But she wasn't going to complain. Instead she threw her pink coat over the coverlet. She went back to the kitchen area where Kylo was still crying.

"Allergies?" Hux asked.

"No. You're here and it's so amazing. Wow," Kylo sighs taking Hux in. Her nose and cheeks were exactly what Hux and all the other e-girls were trying to achieve. "You're here."

"For good. Had to liquidate everything. No more internet for me," Hux threw her hands up.

Kylo blinked, "Are you in danger? I, um, saw what those guys tried to do..."

Hux shook her head, "Nah, I'm gonna go by my real mother's surname and get used to people calling me Armie."

Kylo nods and pours pasta into the boiling water. Hux moves closer, "Like my hair?"

Kylo startles but nods, "Can I touch?"

Hux nods back and removes the cat ears. Kylo smiles shyly as she runs her hand through Hux's short hair. Hux mumbles, "Sorry you weren't able to feel it when it was long."

Kylo blushed, "It makes your cheek bones amazing."

Hux wants to blurt out 'Kiss them! Kiss me!' But Kylo is already awkwardly kissing her. Hux has to tilt her head up slightly and takes advantage of her balance slip to hold onto Kylo's broad hips. Kylo kisses her slowly, gently but commanding. Hux has to follow. There's no wiggle room like with everyone else. She started shifting her hips feeling arousal burn deep. Kylo pulls away with a satisfied sigh before stirring the pasta. Hux bit her lip. She wasn't going to scream. Her stomach was perking up after the long day of packing and driving.

Kylo wordlessly guided them to the couch with two heaping bowls of cheesy pasta. Kylo kissed her forehead before whispering, "Water okay?"

Hux nodded and watched Kylo's backside jiggle slightly with each step.

They kissed each other good night two hours later. Kylo tried to give Hux the wi-fi pw but Hux declined. She had gotten rid of her phone, iPad, and laptop. Kylo had squeezed her hand and told her things would get better.

Hux believed her. Especially when they ended up in Kylo's bed the next night. They hadn't done anything more than cuddling and kissing before falling asleep. The next day, Hux's new accounts were open with the money she was able to move from her past. She could've easily lived the rest of her life on the money. But Kylo's CPA study books caught her eye. She had a MBA with a focus on finances. When Kylo came home that day, Hux announced they were going to be accountants together. Her money could be put towards their business rent. Kylo cried for an hour before she could speak in clear sentences. Hux petted her hair while watching TV.

"That would be pretty fucking awesome, Hux," Kylo whispers.

Hux smiles, "I know."

Kylo sits up and wipes her face before kissing Hux, "Does mean you'll have to interact with people and be on the internet."

Hux shrugs, "Numbers are concise aside from human error."

Kylo's smile grows, "Fucking nerd."

Hux giggles, "Yes, fuck this nerd."

[shittyfandomimagines]

Going, Going, Gone

Word count: 1,856

Pure angst, my pure heart is hurt.

Obviously some things are distorted.

(GIF creds to owner.)

Tour was supposed to be fun or whatever, but then again I wasn’t the one who was singing. I wasn’t the one who gets to be around thousands of hyped up people. I wasn’t the one who did the meet and greets.

I don’t want to sound like an attention hog, but I was not the one who had Calum’s attention. I knew that I wouldn’t always be when I first got here after their second leg of the tour started, it’s just that Calum was ecstatic to be around me. As time went on, I was just kind of there like a coat-hanger, useful sometimes but in the way.

We have just started to argue more and bicker about stupid stuff. I knew the guys were picking up on it and I tried to just let it go, but I couldn’t. I hated that they heard all the arguing and how it didn’t seem like Cal was here for me.

The quick wind that pushed past me had snapped me out of my trance, I look up to see Calum had walked past me to get some coffee from the little deck towards the corner of the bus. “Good afternoon,” I mumble quietly and twirl my thumbs. “Yeah.” He replies in a monotone voice, per usual.

We were up bickering most of the night and I didn’t like it, but what was I gonna do? Neither of us had apologized for a fight in so long that I didn’t even feel like we were the same Calum and y/n that everyone knew.

“Good afternoon beautiful people!” Ashton came bounding down the hallway cheerfully, completely nosediving to jump his way beside me on the (very) small couch. Calum gave him a look and the sat on the other small couch in front of us. Ashton laid his head on my lap and completely ignored Calum’s glare.

His hair was slicked back and I kept flicking the one piece that was hanging over his forehead. “You should dye your hair,” I suggest as he was swatting my hand away. “What color?” He asks as he finally gave up trying to stop me. “Red. You’d like nice with red hair.” I think aloud and he just shrugs. “We’ll see. Maybe after the tour is over I will.” He says and then sits up.

“I’ll be outside walking if anyone needs me, just try not to,” Calum utters under his breath and then stomps towards the door. Ash and I give each other a look, this wasn’t the first time this week that he did this. “I’ve got him this time, it’s my turn,” I say and stand up from the couch.

I had to basically jump off the last step because it always seemed so high, usually, Cal would laugh but he hasn’t recently. He hasn’t done a lot of things recently. He had just made it past the back of the bus, he was still walking straight ahead. Luckily, there were no fans in sight.

When I finally get behind him, I tug his jacket slightly. “Calum, just stop for a second.” I plead and he comes to a halt, turning very abruptly. “What the fuck do you want?” He snaps and my eyes widen. “Jesus, what is wrong now?” I roll my eyes.

“You! You’re always so lovey-dovey towards Ashton and you never fucking care about me! Why the fuck would you even come on this tour if you didn’t plan on caring about me and just fucking being around everyone else all the time?” He yells and I signal my hand for him to be quieter and I point towards the bus still being fairly close to us.

“You had the chance to ask him to move. You had the chance to act that way with me any fucking time. This is not my fault Calum, you’re the one constantly bringing up shit that doesn’t make sense. At least your best friends are more caring about me than you are.” I snarl and he just laughs. He fucking laughs!

I wanted to rip that pretty little smirk off of his face.

“You’re right, they care more about you than I do nowadays. Just because I invited you here doesn’t mean that everyone fucking wants you here right now. Fuck off!” He says emotionless and I feel my heart break a little. I guess it’s one thing to not feel wanted by your peers but another thing to not be wanted by your boyfriend.

“I-uh. Yeah, well I just wanted to check on you. Ash mentioned something about an interview in 20 minutes.” I lie about Ashton saying it, I just memorized the schedule this morning at 3 am after our fight so I could distract myself.

I just try to pull all the tears back in and turn around as quick as I could so he wouldn’t see my eyes becoming glassy.

I keep my head low as I walked onto the bus and the guys tried to speak but I just wave them off. “Cal said he’d be done with his walk soon so you guys could leave for the interview.” I lie, once again, and go to the empty spare bunk bed to lay down.

“Change in interview stuff guys, the interviewers have moved the production of it to the actual arena. They want to do a backstage thing with you guys before the show, so they thought it would be easier to just start off the day here. They’re going to be setting up and I’ll give you the call when they’re done. Tell Calum.” I couldn’t pick up whose voice it was because of how far back this bunk was, but I just let the guys do their own rejoicing thing. God knows I’m a bother to them.

—-

The guys had left for their interview like 15 minutes ago and I was currently doing my annual sweep of the venue. I liked to do this so the night of the concert when things were more hectic, I could do my own thing and know where everything was.

I accidentally found myself at the section of the venue where the interview was being placed, I stopped in my tracks so quick. I slowly walked backward and just stood behind everyone and listened in. No one knew I was there, per usual.

“So love guys? What are we feeling about that subject?” The girl from the interviewer asks. “I don’t believe in love anymore, all I love is Duke and music,” Calum says something first and my heart literally shattered. “So you and your girlfriend aren’t in love anymore?” The interviewer sounded intrigued.

“Of course we’re in love, we’ve been together for 2 years.” He says quickly and I shake my head, tears begin to brim my eyes. Being together for 2 years isn’t exactly the reason to be in love. I don’t want to be here anymore. I don’t want to be around Calum anymore.

I wipe off any sign of tears and I tap Jakes shoulder (the guy who was in charge of flights and hotels) and he turns around quickly. Jake was a complete jokester, we all absolutely loved this guy. “Hey, sweet girl.” He says and it probably sounds weird, but he’s like 50 and a hero.

I could see in his eyes that he was apologetic and upset, but he smiled at me anyway. “I need you to cancel any flights or hotel rooms for me, I’m going home,” I say and his nose scrunches up. “Are you sure? Have you spoke to Calum?” He asks as he gets his phone out of his back pocket.

“Yeah, we spoke. Thanks, Jake!” I say and hug him slightly, I turn around and sniffle quickly. I start to walk away but someone tugs my shoulder lightly.

“Oh, hey Mitchy.” I smile warmly and he gives me a look. “I heard you speaking to Jake. You’re leaving?” He asks and I nod quickly. “Calum knows, I just need some time for myself.” I lie and he chuckles.

“You still suck at lying.” He jokes and I shrug. “It doesn’t matter where I am at, Calum wouldn’t care.” I groan and Mitchy scrunched his eyebrows. “Calum loves you and he’s probably just going through something. You can’t just leave without telling him.” He crosses his arms and I just roll my eyes.

“Mitch, I can just leave a note on his bed. If I know this guy pact that you guys have going on, you’ll end up telling him. So, please just wait until after the show. Please. I don’t want this to make the show weak and hurt the fans.” I beg and he nods. “Fine, but what should I tell him?” He asks.

“Tell him I’m staying with my sister, he’ll get the memo. Bye, congrats on hitting number 1 by the way.” I hug him quickly and had to literally jog away before I let my tears all out.

“Y/n! Y/n!” Fans were calling my name and I literally froze. How was I supposed to leave with suitcases and bags? I breathe in deeply, turn away and wipe my eyes. I take the sunglasses that were hanging off my shirt and put them over my eyes.

“Hey, guys!” I smile warmly at all of them and they were acting calm thank goodness. “Can we get a picture? If you’re not busy or anything.” They were so polite and it literally warmed my heart. There were only about 5 girls and they had all just been so cute while taking pictures. Then it hit me, I knew how to make sure they were gone so I could leave.

“Do you guys have ID on you?” I ask and they all nod. “Tell me your names,” I ask and I pull my phone out and text one of the guys in management. I send him their names and tell him that they have their ids to verify. I requested that they make it inside m&g because they were so nice. They respond with a thumbs up and I smile.

“You guys just scored some m&g tickets, just show them your ID. They all line up in 30 mins.” I say and they all had tears. “Thank you so much! We love you!” They all cried as they were basically running back towards the front.

I let my tears come back as I walked inside the bus. I write a quick note and lay it on Calum’s bed. I drag my suitcase out and put all my items back in. I get my pink bag and put all my items from the bathroom back in it. I look around and make sure that I had everything. I took one more deep breath as I called my sister, she could obviously hear the wavering in my voice but gladly said I could join her.

I book a flight back to my hometown and the flight leaves tonight.

I guess this is it. This is it.

Part 2 guys????

[virtchandmoir]

Ice-dance pair Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir named Postmedia's Team of the Year

December 28, 2018

Twenty-one years ago, Carol Moir made the Canadian sporting match of the century.

The coach at the Ilderton Skating Club asked her nephew Scott to hold Tessa Virtue’s hand because she figured it might be a strong team for ice dance competitions.

Scott, back in his more bashful days, knew the drill. He grew up steps from his hometown rink in a family that discussed figure skating around the supper table — in the hour or so before the puck dropped for the Maple Leafs game on Hockey Night in Canada

The Virtue clan, from nearby big-city London, were athletes. They had sport in their blood.

Tessa, who loved ballet, impressed her first teachers with the uncanny ability to replicate movement almost immediately on first sight.

When she and Scott took the ice together, the talent was evident.

“We weren’t skating to win the Olympics when we were skating (then),” Moir, now 31-years-old, said. “Pretty much, we were worried if we could go up and get ice cream afterward.”

They quickly outgrew their home rink, moving first to Kitchener-Waterloo and then to Canton, Mich., for pro-style training. Mike Slipchuk, then a coach and now Skate Canada’s director of high performance, first saw them skate on the other side of the world — at a junior Grand Prix event in Harbin, China, in 2004.

“It was one of those things where I was well aware,” he said. “As they were young and moving up, there was always a lot of talk about them. It’s neat to see where they started and where they end up in their careers.

“It’s been an incredible journey to watch.”

How many star athletes have risen to the top of their field, then got knocked off their pedestal, took a couple of years to regroup, then returned to dominate their event like no one has ever done before?

That list is short.

Michael Jordan, probably, after he came back to the NBA from his self-imposed hiatus to try professional baseball.

Muhammad Ali, for sure, when he reclaimed boxing’s heavyweight title.

That’s what Virtue and Moir accomplished these past two seasons. That makes them the perfect pick for Postmedia’s Team of the Year.

When they became the first North American duo to win Olympic ice dance gold in 2010 on home ice at Vancouver, they were only four years into their maddeningly platonic partnership on the senior circuit.

They still produced the performance of a lifetime, but it was understandably pushed into the national sub-conscious during a massive two-week Canadian gold rush capped by Sidney Crosby’s famous goal against the United States in the men’s hockey final.

Four years later in Sochi, Virtue and Moir were bested in figure skating’s most riveting rivalry. They finished second to training mates Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who used their post-Olympic Dancing With the Stars platform to become TV celebrities.

The Canadians retreated from the competitive realm for two years before creating their legendary bounce-back. This time, they moved to Montreal and constructed a familiar training pattern.

They were at the same club as the reigning world champs and their top competitors — Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France.

“They never shied away from training with the best,” Slipchuk said. “When you’re in that environment, there are no days off. It’s something they always did in their career, and with (coaches) Marie-France (Dubreuil) and Patrice (Lauzon), they recreated their skating and passion.

“The last two years was the best I’ve ever seen them. They went undefeated (in 2016-17) and then went out and won the Olympics again.”

The volume of their careers, which started with whispers and a growing buzz, developed into a deafening roar.

Virtue and Moir were Canada’s hopeful faces at the start of the 2018 Olympics in South Korea. They carried the flag into the opening ceremonies of a Winter Games without NHL players.

Then they delivered a transcendent skate that brought their discipline to its highest level.

They have become as revered as Kurt Browning, Brian Orser, Elvis Stojko, Liz Manley and Sale-Pelletier are in the country and figure skating world.

“The one thing that will always stick out to me is they wanted every piece of information to make them the best,” Slipchuk said. “Here’s the best dance team we’ve ever seen and they were always open and wanting advice any time we brought in officials, judges or technical people. They were so respectful of everyone there to help them. They’re professionals and perfect ambassadors for their sport.”

The 29-year-old Virtue was selected by ESPN as one of the most-recognizable female athletes in the world. People worldwide continue to be stumped by how her relationship with Moir isn’t romantic.

They’re flattered by it, but that’s not what makes them tick.

“If we can inspire young people to follow their dreams and believe in themselves, how fortunate are we that we can have that connection,” Virtue said.

Every so often, we get a glimpse of tremendous chemistry — from the way the Golden State Warriors move a basketball to John Tavares and Mitch Marner creating a goal. But those partnerships won’t last two decades.

This one did.

VIRTUE VERY TRENDY

When the Olympics rolled around in February, Canadians took to the Internet to search for the answers to their most pressing questions.

They wanted to know why NHL players weren’t participating this time, how come so many Russian athletes were banned and a lot of us just needed a refresher on the rules of curling.

But the most sought-after information in Canadian sports this year revolved around the relationship status of two beloved champion athletes.

Are Tessa and Scott dating?

“It’s not a surprise to anyone this was the No. 1 question on everybody’s mind,” Google Trends expert Nicole Bell said. “Coming of their very emotional performance in Pyeongchang where they won the gold medal for ice dancing to that sexy Moulin Rouge song, people were like, ‘Omigoodness, is it possible this is ‘The Notebook’ for real?’

“We want this to be real-life love — but sadly, it’s not true.”

Google is able to chart the rise in interest in personalities from year-to-year. Justin Bieber and Donald Trump, for instance, aren’t found on the list because online searches for their names didn’t move the needle much above their 2017 levels.

In this country, Tessa Virtue ranked first among Canadians and athletes in general in 2018. Hoopster Tristan Thompson is second among Canadians and new Raptor Kawhi Leonard is runner-up for athletes behind the figure-skating star.

Though the anxiety over William Nylander’s eventual signing with the Leafs and John Tavares’ Toronto homecoming checked in highly, the level of curiosity around Virtue and Moir, especially during and after the Winter Games, was the biggest story.

“It’s kind of interesting because they have been on the scene for a long time as a pair, but that (dating) questions hasn’t been a burning topic in the Canadian mind until this year’s performance,” Bell said, “and Tessa did a lot of beauty campaigns (for Dove and Nivea), along with being involved in fashion, and those activities produced additional interest in her beyond the skating world.”

Virtue finished fourth on Canadian searches for people around the world, behind Demi Lovato, Khloe Kardashian and Hailey Baldwin.

“Demi Lovato had a bit of a dramatic year with an overdose, Khloe Kardashian made the news for (a stormy relationship with) Tristan Thompson and Hailey Baldwin married Justin Bieber. Tessa is there with no scandal — just someone whose athletic feats and talent was so incredible.

“She’s somebody Canadians are incredibly proud of and she’s a role model. If you had a vote for Canada’s sweetheart right now, she would win, hands down.”

THEIR GREATEST HITS

2017-18 Moulin Rouge free dance

They put their own twist on a tried-and-true figure skating theme and it proved the final step to another Olympic gold medal. Though it was deemed second-best on the big night to the runner-up French, it still scored 122.40 points, enough for the win. The program is still burned into everyone’s brain — including theirs — and that’s why it will remain a favourite on tour for years to come.

2012-13: Carmen free dance

The final scores say it was only good enough for second at their hometown worlds behind Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White, but the boundary-pushing dance highlighted the athleticism and chemistry of the Canadian duo. Moir has stated he wished they would have kept the program the following year for the Sochi Olympics, believing a polished version of it with nothing held back (and some less dodgy judging) could have put them over the top.

2009-10: Symphony No. 5 (Mahler) free dance

Then-coach Marina Zoueva described it as a marriage proposal and it was the launching point for Virtue and Moir as “Canada’s Sweethearts.” The program delivered their first Olympic gold in Vancouver and first senior world title in Turin, consistently scoring 110-plus points. It included their signature Goose Lift. And don’t forget, Virtue could barely walk from the immense pain in her legs due to her compartment syndrome woes along the way.

—Toronto Sun

[timetravelingheart]

My Side of the Fence Part Three: A.M. Imagine

I know it has been a while, but these next few chapters in the build-up have really stumped me. They’re just not the exciting parts, you know? But I did my best and I hope that you are all still interested in going along in this journey! Also, for being just a build-up, this turned out to be obnoxiously long and I’m sorry! I’m the most wordy person. 

Still no big warnings for this one. Also, I should disclose that I know next to nothing about figure skating schedules or times, Skate Canada, or anything of the like. I’m just a huge fan of the sport and thought it fit well with this story to give the character a career that also takes up a lot of her time and life. Sorry if anyone is frustrated by any errors in that particular area! 

In the week that Auston spent in Arizona, he had thought of asking Mitch for Savannah’s number no fewer than five hundred times. It was his first thought every morning, on his mind constantly throughout the day, and his last thought before he finally fell into a restless sleep. The bags under his eyes were darker than usual, and even that was saying a lot. His parents noticed that he seemed more restless than usual, but didn’t quite know how to approach it. His mother was concerned; his father confused. 

Sitting on the edge of his bed in his childhood bedroom, Auston held his phone in his massive hands and typed, erased, and re-typed variations of the same message over and over again on his phone to Mitch. Frustrated, he groaned loudly and threw himself back on the bed, covering his eyes with his tattooed forearm. How is possible that this girl he met for literally one night was worth this stress? He had already received countless offers for ‘meet-ups’ with girls in his hometown, some from high school, and some who he knew from running in the same circles as his friends. They were all attractive girls with bright white smiles and glowing tans from the Arizona sunshine, and were all girls he absolutely would have been interested in six months ago. Hell, probably even two months ago. But he didn’t want a random hook-up anymore. He was used to getting a release pretty regularly, so maybe that’s why he’s even more frustrated than usual currently, but he really wanted to have something like what Mitch and Steph had, what Jake and Lucy had, and eventually something like what Patty and Christina had. 

He wanted someone to come home to after a tough game or a road trip and just fall into her arms and feel safe. To find a home in someone else that he so desperately craved now. He wanted to find someone who would listen to his fears and vulnerabilities without judgement, someone who would call him on his shit (other than Mitch of course), someone who would love him for who he was and not the sport he played or the money he had. And more than he even wanted to have that kind of love, he wanted to give that kind of love to someone. 

And even though it sounded absolutely, positively, undeniably insane, he felt like that this kind of love was a real possibility with Savannah. And not just someone like Savannah, but Savannah specifically. 

Rolling over onto his stomach, he reached for his phone again and opened his message thread with Mitch. Before he could start typing, his phone vibrated with a new group message invite from Steph. Huh. 

Steph: Hey everyone! Wanted to send out a quick invite to Savannah’s upcoming Stars on Ice show. It’s Friday night at the Scotiabank Arena. Sav says she can probably get us some tickets, but we just need a headcount so let me know if you’re interested! 

Auston couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. This was the perfect opportunity to see her again without coming off as desperate, and without relegating himself to asking Mitch, which was likely to turn into its own version of insufferable hell for the near future. His phone vibrated again as messages from his teammates started to pour through. 

Mitch: I think I know someone who would for sure be interested... 

Fucking hell. He really needed a new best friend. Maybe he should hang out with Tkachuk and Eichel more. 

Actually, scratch that. Either they would be ten times worse than Mitch and actually call him out on his crush in front of his crush, or they would just hit on her themselves. Both thoughts made his whole body flame with two very different emotions. His phone vibrated again. 

Morgan: Definitely in! And Mitchy, leave Matts alone. Any guy with eyes would be stupid not to be attracted to Savannah. 

Kasperi: As much as we’d love to support Savannah, and see Matts squirm, Willy and I won’t be back in the city until the week after! 

Jake: Lucy is currently begging me to say yes. She is apparently obsessed with figure skating (who knew) and is dying to meet THE Savannah Lane. So, I guess you can put us down for two! 

Connor: I’m in, but Zach and I already have tickets sitting with McDavid. Also, Matts has a thing for Savvy? Fuck, McDavid is going to have a fucking field day with this.  

Auston read through each message carefully, rolling his eyes at his teammates’ lame attempts at getting under his skin, and in Mo’s case, his weak attempt at defending him. They all know now, so he might as well own it, right?

Auston: I’m in. 

He went to close the message thread, but thought better of it. 

Auston: And also, fuck all of you. 

Steph: Oh Matty. Let me just say that you are not the first, nor will you be the last, unwitting guy to fall head over heels for my best friend upon meeting her one time. It’s what she refers to as both her gift and her curse. Anyway, I’ll make sure to get tickets for Auston, Morgan, Jake, and Lucy! See you all there! 

Well, Auston thought, hopefully this would be his chance to see Savannah again and get a read on her. He wanted to ask her out on a date, but something about her made him nervous. He was intimidated by a tiny blonde in figure skates. What the fuck. 

** 

Auston had been back in Toronto for almost a week and still had not seen Savannah. According to Steph, who kept him informed without him even having to ask (”I just thought you’d be interested” she said, with a knowing gleam in her eye that would have normally bothered Auston had he not been so thankful for her openness) Savannah was busy with show rehearsals, while also getting back into competition with meetings with Skate Canada, her coaches and choreographers, costume designers, mental prep coach, trainers, and all of the things that Auston did not even know were involved with figure skating. Basically, he wanted to see her and couldn’t. 

So here he stood, wearing black skinnies with holes in the knees, a white tee, black bomber jacket, black and white sneakers, and a black baseball cap, and waiting in the arena who knew like the back of his hand. Steph mentioned that they wouldn’t be able to see Savannah before the show, but that she made sure to invite everyone backstage after. Auston had debated with himself about bringing her flowers (do they do that for these kinds of performances?) but immediately nixed the idea when he remembered the look of hesitation on Savannah’s face when he had merely offered her his hoodie. He still didn’t know why she was hesitant, but he also didn’t want to push or cross any of her boundaries before he really knew anything about that side of her. 

Looking up at his group’s sudden movements, he spotted Connor McDavid, Brown, and Hyman walking towards them. Reaching out to each of them do a quick shake and half hug, Auston immediately felt the amused stare of McDavid. “So I hear you fell for it,” McDavid grinned. Shaking his head, Auston fought to keep a similar grin off of his own face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” McDavid let out a bark of laughter, clearly amused by Auston’s denial. “Don’t sweat it man. She has that affect on just about everyone.” 

The smile on Auston’s face faltered. Who else was in this situation with her before? “She has never really reciprocated anyone else’s feelings though, at least not any hockey players.” Auston let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “She has a thing against hockey players?” he felt himself asking before he could stop himself. “Nah, she just was either already in a relationship or too focused on skating to even notice or care that anyone was interested.” 

Auston made a mental note to ask Connor more about Savannah and her dating history, or lackthereof, when they were alone.

“Are we all ready to go in?” Steph, arm hooked in Lucy’s, addressed the group. “The show starts soon.” 

Hours later, after each performer skated a final lap and took a bow, the group of hockey players and significant others made their way backstage to wait for their star skater. Auston, not really one to watch figure skating before this event, was mesmerized by Savannah. Her group routines to ranged from comedic and sassy to sexy and sultry. And while he loved seeing those versions of her, it was her solo routine to Landslide that affected him the most. It was one of the most beautiful moments he had ever witnessed and heard - or perhaps felt - the chorus of ‘wows’ from his friends and the strangers around him at the end. 

She was an absolute star, and he wanted nothing more than to continue watch her shine brightly. 

After waiting about twenty minutes, the cast finished up their meet and greets with fans and started making their way to their respective families and friends waiting for them. Savannah was now changed into simple black leggings, a Stars on Ice sweater that swallowed her petite frame, black and white Nikes, hair up in a high ponytail, and not a hint of makeup on her face. She looked relaxed, yet elated. Auston thought no one had ever looked more beautiful. 

Savannah’s smile stretched further across her features as she reached their group. “I can’t believe you all came!” She wrapped each person up in as big of a hug as her short arms could manage, stopping briefly to be introduced to Jake and Lucy for the first time, and lastly turned to Auston. Her smile remained just as warm, but something flickered quickly and faded before Auston could place a name on it, and soon enough she was wrapping her arms around his middle to pull him into a soft hug. “Long time no see,” he whispered into her hair as his nose briefly grazed the top of her head. She smiled up at him again, that same flicker there and gone in a flash, before she turned to address the whole group. 

“Did you enjoy the show?” she asked as if she were genuinely concerned that they did not have a good time. “I know figure skating isn’t really that interesting for most of you.” 

“You were phenomenal!” Lucy gushed, as if she had been keeping her excitement bottled up inside for far too long. “Landslide made me cry!” Savannah blushed profusely as Jake pulled Lucy into a side hug. “She’s been talking about you non-stop ever since Steph mentioned that you were moving here and that she was friends with you,” he offered as a way of explanation for his wife’s unbridled joy. 

“That’s so kind of you! Landslide has always held such a special place in my heart. And Steph has told me all about the wonderful partners she’s met and become friends with in the Leafs family, so I was really excited to finally meet you!” 

“She actually choreographed Landslide herself,” Steph couldn’t help but boast about her best friend, knowing that she would never do it for herself. Savannah was confident in her abilities and proud of her success, but she was not one to brag about her accomplishments or even her skillset. 

“That’s incredible!” Morgan turned to her in amazement. “I can’t even begin to imagine what would go into something like that.”

“Thank you, but I’ve had a lot of help along the way to learn the ins and outs of choreography for performances like that. Choreographing for competition is much more challenging, and I haven’t done anything like that yet except give a few ideas here or there.”

“You were amazing,” Auston felt the need to say something, anything, to have her look at him again. So, he opted for complete honesty. Everyone turned to look at him, most with knowing smiles on their faces, Savannah with surprise. “Thank you, Auston. That means a lot.” Savannah’s eyes lingered on his for a moment longer than necessary, as if she were searching for answers to questions neither of them felt ready to ask. 

“So tell me, Sav,” Mitch started conspiratorially, “what kind of underwear do male skaters wear to hide their bulge?” 

The entire group groaned loudly, finally starting to head for the exit. As Steph and Lucy swatted at Mitch, the rest of the crew followed along laughing and joking around. Auston and Savannah held back a bit, just the two of them at the end of the line. 

“So since you’re going to be hanging out with us, I think it’s probably best that we add you to our group chat,” Auston held out his phone to Savannah. “Put your number in and I’ll add you so you can join the rest of us in making fun of Mitchy.” 

Savannah didn’t laugh like he thought she would, or reach for his phone right away. Instead, she kept her gaze forward for a moment, before turning to look at him with wide, questioning eyes. Careful, she thought. 

Just when Auston thought he had overstepped or come on too strong, she reached out for his phone and quickly typed in her number. 

“As if I would ever not want to be part of a group that tears the piss out of Mitchy on a regular basis!” she laughed, and Auston felt his heart squeeze. What a woman. 

[thecrimsonarcher]

The Fireman's Tale--Personal Account of Mitch Russell

"At the time of the Zion Mountain Incident, I had been with the Grundy Fire Department for over 10 years. 10 years couldn't prepare me for what I saw on the night Zion Mountain burned to the ground. I've always said the whole thing was unnatural, but no one else paid it any mind. About 5 miles above Zion Mountain, past the Unicoi Grill and a few of those rental cabins along the river, my crew and I came across what we believed was the starting point of the initial fire. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't just one fire that destroyed the town. It was several. Most of them started from sparks coming off downed power lines, transformers, and hell, even a couple of gas stations that didn't close down for the evening. It was the eeriest damn thing I've ever seen in the 10 years I had been in the fire department. Sure, I've seen some crazy shit over the course of a decade by that point. House fires, forest fires, horrible traffic accidents....you name it. 10 years couldn't prepare me for what I saw up on that mountain. There was a path that started from the base of the mountain and eventually, went about a half a mile or so up the ridge to this clearing where some logging had been done. It was so strange. Nothing had burned above this clearing. As far as I could tell at that point, the first fire originated within the clearing. As for who or what started it, it was anyone's guess. Stupid me, I decided to go up there with a couple of others---Chris Wilson and William Campbell. I knew we weren't supposed to be up there until Jace Moser, who was the main fire investigator at the time, stopped by to access the damage and begin his investigation. I could tell you right now this wasn't an act of arson. All three of us agreed on that. Nothing about the whole thing made sense. We weren't dealing with drought conditions that year. On the night of June 13th, there were no reports of high wind or thunderstorms. It was a muggy, clear night. There were prescribed burns in parts of the Unicoi Range that March, most of which got rid of the debris from the tornado we had back in April of 2012. The rest of the downed trees were logged off, leaving a big scar near the entrance of the Range. The clearing where the fire originated was part of that logging operation. In fact, we found the scorched remains of logging equipment--skidders, harvesters, knuckleboom loaders....they were still logging the area up until that point in time. By first glance, it would've looked like a fire was started by the logging outfit and it just got out of control. Walking up that logging road was like walking into an apocalyptic wasteland. Hell, it was spooky enough seeing how barren it was from all the logging, but walking into this was like a nightmare. Everything was pitch black, as far as we could see. Every once in a while, you'd see tree stumps of different sizes. Some were as tall as a man and others, below your knees. They were blackened, hollowed out by the fire. The smell....oh god, that smell....it was horrific, like a mix between a rotting corpse, burned flesh, and strong metallic odor. If it weren't for our masks, we would've been throwing up non stop. William Campbell was, I can remember. It was 86 degrees that day and the humidity was very high. You can probably imagine what it was like, both up on the mountain and in town. We didn't see human remains initially, but the further up we went, the smell became stronger the closer to the clearing we got. We had all been shaken up pretty badly by fighting the fire itself. I had been without sleep for 72 hours. Same with William and Chris. Within that circle, there was a pretty good sized bolder that stood about five or so feet tall. The top part of it was stained with this deep reddish brown color. There were splatter marks on the side of it and these strange symbols. At first, I thought it was on old prank some teenager pulled a long time ago to fuck with whoever came across it until William came out and said he knew what those symbols were. Can you believe that? William of all people--quietest guy on the squad. William was from Zion Mountain. You know, I hadn't given it a second thought, since we were caught up in the chaos. It wasn't a relevant piece of information at the time. Our main goal was to attempt to reduce the amount of civilian casualties by evacuating them and putting out the fires that spread across town. I didn't ever consider how William felt, watching his hometown burn to the ground in front of him. If it wasn't for the fact he had to work that night at the station, he would've been one of the people we had dig out. He still hadn't heard from his wife, Hannah. Personally, I wasn't too optimistic about it, but I wouldn't dare tell him at the time. He was already pretty shaken up by what happened anyway. I didn't express my doubts, even after we found her....or rather, what was left of her, near the front door of their house. When Chris and I asked him what the significance behind this place was, he said this was where the church elders would perform sacred rites and other strange rituals. As for what exactly would go on during this rituals, it was anyone's guess. The only ones who were allowed to attend the ceremonies were a select few, the most influential people in Zion Mountain. This would've probably included the Yearwoods, Tallents, Millers....you name it. William openly admitted he had no idea why they'd conjugate up on the mountain. As he put it, "white trash like us aren't privileged enough to get closer to God". "What do you mean, you're not privileged enough?" I remember asking him. "Will, you're a fireman, just like us. It's our job to put our lives on the line to save the lives of others. Surely that's enough to convince them you're worthy." "No. Not even that is enough." I can recall him answering back. He looked so defeated and betrayed. 'I'm not one of them. God loves everyone in his flock, but he holds a special place in his heart for them, his most 'dedicated' disciples." Something about that statement really tipped me off, you know? Now, we're taught in church that God each and every one of us, regardless of our imperfections. Every man, woman, child, saint, sinner, and everything in between was worthy of Her love. If there's anything I learned on that day, it was that Kalona was the God of the wealthier, more privileged citizens of Zion Mountain. Everyone else beneath him was nothing more than pigs wallowing in the mud. Part of me wonders if such a thing would behave like that or if his disposition was the result of his human followers. The symbols on the bolder not known to belong to any human language, he claimed. They were some sort of divine message, special instructions on how the ritual was supposed to be performed, passed down from their patron deity, Kalona. Being that the rest of our unit was from Grundy, we all were pretty acquainted with Zion Mountain's weird religious practices. They didn't worship the same God as we did. We let them do their thing and we did ours. It wasn't our place to tell them they were in the wrong for believing what they did, but....maybe we should've stepped in a long time ago. They called him "Kalona", the God of land and the bearer of fire. He was always portrayed as looking like an angel, specifically one of the Archangels. He had giant, flaming wings, wore armor, carried a ridiculously huge sword...you know, like something out of a video game or movie. No one ever knew what to make of it. Behind their backs, we'd kind of have a good laugh over it, say they'd discover soon enough how wrong they were to worship their strange, Pagan god. Now....we're no longer sure. The moment we stepped into the circle, we were bombarded by blow flies. There were hundreds of them, like a black cloud humming in the dead silence of the woods. We knew....all of us knew...that we were about to find human remains. It had been like that all day. Casualties were numbering in the dozens by that point and morale was running low. The entire time we had been within the city limits, we could not find survivors. We braced ourselves for what we might find....but.....there was nothing in this world that could've prepared us for the horrible shit we had seen. It had been about 3 days at that point. Most of the fires had been put out, except for the one on Atsila Branch, near old Doc Larson's facility. The Atsila Branch Fire burned for over 700 acres and it was finally contained a few days later. Chris was the one who saw it first. I was inspecting the bolder in the middle of the clearing when I heard him let out a yelp. I called out to him and asked what he found, but he didn't answer. I called out a second time and again, he didn't answer me back. I admit, I was a little bit annoyed at the time. When you go that long without sleep, everything gets on your nerves. Every last one of them. He was standing several feet away from me near this burned out stump. "Chris, what the hell are you doing?" I hollered. "I told you to stay close, goddamnit!" When I finally caught up with him, he was just standing there, completely frozen in his stance, breathing rapidly like he was on the verge of a full blown panic attack. I saw this....it was like this sludge that was brown, gelatinous, filled with thousands of maggots, and smelled like rotting meat. There were splintered bones floating around in it, some with the muscle tissue and skin still attached. It was splattered all over the place. I went 72 hours without sleep. At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me from sleep deprivation. I really wanted that to be the case, no matter how many times I tried to pinch myself. I've never seen human remains that were in that condition before, completely liquified with the exception of bones, pieces of hair, and even teeth. There were no visible singe marks, save for a layer of soot. Something wasn't right, nor did it add up. Why weren't the remains we found near the center burned like everything else? What caused this person or group of people to be essentially liquified? My radio suddenly came on, snapping me out of it. I heard Miles Grady, who was the lieutenant of the Grundy Fire Department at the time, on the other end. He demanded to know where we went off to since we weren't technically allowed to leave the city limits. Boy, was he pissed! I hollered at William and Chris and told them we should get the hell out of there before Miles went apeshit. Units were spread out across the city limits, focusing on the many fires that popped up on June 13. Most of them were contained by the next morning, with the occasional hot spots. Atsila Branch was still on fire. Smoke was billowing above the trees, raining ashes down on the remains of town. There was a sickly, brownish tint in the skies that cast a depressing, dingy glow across the smoldering ruins. The smell was horrendous, far worse than what we had experienced in the clearing. My unit mostly worked around the business district, which was clear on the other side of town. There used to be a strip mall on the other side of the highway. They had a Piggly Wiggly, Wilson's Drugs, Dollar General, a Mexican restaurant, a book store, and a video game shop. Nothing of the strip survived. It was like bombs had been dropped all up and down the highway. Chris, William, and I helped with recovery in what was left of the Pig. I'd rather not go into full detail about it, but....if there's one thing I can say, whatever happened in Zion Mountain was sudden. It came out of nowhere and it came out of nowhere so fast that no one really had time to react. The town square was the part of Zion Mountain that catered mostly to rich tourists from up north. They had expensive art galleries that sold high dollar paintings to people who had more money than common sense, several tacky themed restaurants, souvenir shops, thrift stores, the town library, city hall, police station....all of them were reduced to smoldering piles of rubble, just like that. Miles Grady, the lieutenant of the Grundy Fire Department at the time, grabbed ahold of Chris, William, and myself and told us to come with him because he had something he wanted to show us. It was like someone had taken a wrecking ball to the outer walls of the buildings. Most of the buildings in the town square were some of the oldest in the county, built after the Civil War. They survived everything both nature and man threw at them, including other fires. But this....none of us were prepared for what we were about to see. There was this strange silence about the place, even though dozens of first responders were on site, sifting through the rubble in vain to find survivors. It was like the hands of God grabbed ahold of the phone poles and snapped them into splinters, just as simple as that. They were lying on the burnt pavement, charred, with the wires snapped in half. It reminded me of the tornado that tore the place apart the year before, only worse. All up and down the main drag, there were dozens of bodies that were burned beyond recognition. Some of them were decapitated, while others were missing limbs or huge chunks of their body. We even found a few that were ripped in half and their entrails were slung into the sides of buildings and the sidewalk. We thought that it was the work of scavengers like buzzards, coyotes, raccoons, and the like....until we saw these huge claw marks on the pavement, like scratches. The way it moved, it was like it drug its feet along behind it, ramming into anything in its path, including innocent bystanders who were trying to flee on foot or in their vehicles. We found at least two cars that had indentations of these....footprints(?) Paw prints(?) on the hood, barring them from leaving the inferno behind. On one car, the roof was completely ripped off, exposing the driver and passenger. The driver was forcibly ripped out of their seat and as for the passenger...All that was left of them was from the waist down. Whatever it was, it must have tried to rip them out of the car, just like the driver. I don't know if just couldn't do it for whatever reason, but....it either ripped them in half by grabbing onto them with its claws or clamped down on them with its teeth. Whether it was doing this as a method of attack or it was just eating them, we don't know. We had so much resting on our shoulders at the time, which made things even worse. There was this constant feeling of paranoia, of looking over our shoulders every time we heard a sound that was out of place. No physical evidence was ever found of the entity that laid waste to the town square, meaning that somewhere, it was roaming free, waiting for another opportunity to strike. What happened in Zion Mountain was not some tragic, freak accident like you've been led to believe for all these years. All of us who were involved....we all agreed to never speak about what we saw so that it wouldn't cause mass hysteria. Morale was low enough as it was. It was covered by every major news channel, both local and nationwide. People were constantly glued to their TVs, phones, and computers, desperately trying to figure out if their loved ones died. Everyone in my unit lost someone. I lost several cousins, my two younger brothers, my sister-in-law, and my nieces and nephews--4 girls and one boy. William, who was from Zion Mountain, lost his wife, parents, and god knows how many cousins. Chris lost his parents. That's just how it was. Even that didn't stop us from doing our jobs because who else would? People view us first responders with such a high regard, but I didn't feel like the hero they made me out to be. Despite all of our efforts, we only managed to save 12 people. Zion Mountain had a population of 906. 894 people lost their lives for absolutely no reason, other than to appease that thing they called God. I don't know what happened that night and I probably don't want to know. Something dark happened in Zion Mountain, something so horrible we can't even begin to understand. I stopped going to church after we were finished in Zion Mountain. Maybe it was a combination between everything I witnessed while struggling in vain to stop the fires and to save everyone and the things William told us in the aftermath. Those people....they were lied to. Were they offered as a sacrifice to appease their own god? Did they blindly follow their absurd doctrine, never knowing they were being led to the slaughterhouse like sheep? I had forgotten when the realization hit me. Whether it was the 10th body I dug up or maybe even the 100th, I don't remember. What if...we're being led down the same path? What if the thing we worshipped every Sunday morning was the same as Kalona--a mindless monster who would stop at nothing to completely destroy us? Could that be the reason why we're asked to give it so much of our devotion and love? Are we being groomed to prepare for it when that moment comes? --Personal account from Mitch Russell, former member of the Grundy Fire Department

[not-another-imagine-blog]

Livin’ On a Prayer (Auston Matthews)

Word count: 1495

Warnings: Kind of a sex scene

Author’s note: This wasn’t requested, but I had the idea for it when Bon Jovi came on Throwback Thursday while I was driving to work last week. My first attempt at something even remotely coming close to smut. Let me know what you think!

You absolutely adored the Matthews family. Between the constant dry heat of Scottsdale, a vastly different climate than Toronto, Auston’s sisters always finding the time to tease him and tell you embarrassing stories about him and Ema trying to include you, the hopeless cook who once managed to actually burn water, in the Matthews family tradition of cooking large meals together, Auston’s family quickly became another family to you, in addition to your actual family and the Leafs family. Even though you loved all of the Matthews, you missed your hometown. After a really nice month in Arizona at the conclusion of the season, you were more than ready to show Auston where you had grown up.

Turns out, your family loves Auston just as much as Auston’s family loves you, if not more so. They found your quiet giant of a boyfriend incredibly endearing. Even your dad, the man that was the reason that none of your friends wanted to go to your house in high school, wasn’t his intimidating self around Auston. Even though your family was more than welcoming they, much like Auston’s family, are very overbearing to two people who really just enjoy the company of each other.

Today, you decide to take Auston sightseeing as a pseudo-date. Although Auston is the one that handles driving in the busy cities of Scottsdale and Toronto, you decide to take the wheel for this tour, the numerous back roads getting confusing for even a local. As you back out of the driveway, Auston looks at the interior of the car.

“Is this your car from high school?” He asks, lips twitching as he takes in the odd shoe, school sweatshirt, sports gear and school spirit items that you had abandoned the day you graduated.

“It is! She was supposed to be passed down from kid to kid, but they all get rides from their friends. My baby needs some love.” You give the dashboard a loving pat as you coast down the street. Auston continues to inspect your car.

“Does this thing even have an aux cord?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Auston laughs. “Trust me, all of my friends used to make fun of me for it, I don’t need my boyfriend to do the same thing.”

“Don’t worry, I have nothing against your car.”

“I sure hope not. Y’know, we have coyotes out here, and if I were to have to leave you on the side of the road because my car got offended by you, I would be a little worried for you.” Auston looks at you, a huge grin on his face.

“Did you just threaten me, (Y/N)?” You shrug, trying to fight a smile off of your face. As the radio plays quietly in the background, you suddenly come to a realization.

“It’s Thursday!” You start to fiddle with the radio, trying to find the right station.

“I’m glad you have your days memorized. Why is Thursday so important?”

“The big radio station in town does a Throwback Thursday, where they take requests and play a bunch of songs from the 80s and 90s! This was our favorite day of the week; we would always ride to school and sing all of the old songs at the tops of our lungs.” You smile, referencing your siblings. Finally, you remember the radio station and get the radio tuned, laughing triumphantly as the music of David Bowie spills out from the speakers. Auston can’t help but to smile at your enthusiasm for Throwback Thursday.

“I’ve never heard of a station doing this before.”

“Perks of living in a small town, I guess.” As you cruise down the interstate, you entertain Auston with your renditions of the Backstreet Boys, Wilson Phillips, Salt N’ Peppa, En Vogue and Madonna. You’re about to speak when the beginning strains of a familiar song fill your ears. Auston groans as you squeal and lightly smack his arm, making sure that he hears.

“Why this song?”

“Well well well, guess they know who’s in town?” Bon Jovi begins to sing and you join in, nearly yelling the lyrics and dancing in your seat. “‘It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not. We’ve got each other,’” You grab Auston’s unwilling hand and swing it. “‘And that’s a lot. For love, we’ll give it a shot!’”

“Don’t do this to me, babe.” You groan and pout.

“Auston, please? You know you wanna. I know that I’m no Mitch, but I’m still pretty fun to sing with.” Auston says nothing so you decide to drop it, changing lanes and getting back into the song. “Whoa, we’re halfway there, WHOA, LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER, take my hand and we’ll make it I swear-”

“Whoa, livin’ on a prayer!” You’re sitting at a stoplight off of the interstate, so you completely justify taking your eyes off of the road and smiling widely at Auston, giggles leaving your lips. The look on Auston’s face, a grimace at the fact that he actually just sang the song that made him into a meme, turns your giggles into full-on laughs, a snort escaping as you clasp your hand over your mouth. At that sound, Auston bursts into laughter.

“I-can’t-believe-you-snorted!” Auston gasps out, sending you into another bout of laughs. A car angrily honks behind you, causing you to jump. You turn and sheepishly wave as you start to drive, pulling into a parking lot so that you don’t crash due to your boyfriend still laughing.

“I’m so mad that you just caused some guy to get angry at me because you made fun of my laughter.” You feign anger at the whole situation before miserably failing, a smile gracing your features.

“I’m sorry (Y/N), I just haven’t heard you snort from laughter in a while.” You both quiet as Auston stares at you, moving a stray piece of hair out of your eyes. “My family stole you away from me the whole time we were in Arizona.”

“And my family’s been stealing you from me too.” You realize. “I miss these little moments, Aus. I like it when it’s just the two of us.”

“How do I miss someone that I haven’t been apart from in over a month?” He asks, almost to himself.

“I miss you too.” His lips are on yours in a matter of milliseconds, hands becoming tangled in each other as you clamber over the center console, straddling Auston’s lap.

“I feel like I haven’t touched you in ages.” Auston mutters against your skin, nipping at your neck as you moan out his name.

“Y’know, I never did get to have sex in this car.” You breathe out, testing the waters. Auston pulls away, smirking at you as his eyes darken.

“Well then, I guess we’ll have to change that.” He immediately lifts you up, making it seem almost effortless as he tosses you into the back seat, climbing in after you. Auston’s hands immediately go for your breasts while he goes to work sucking a hickey on your neck. Your mouth falls open as you attempt to speak, not being able to force any words out. Your hand moves to palm Auston’s bulge as he groans through clenched teeth.

“Oh God, (Y/N), the things you do to me.” You pull his face back down to yours in a searing kiss. As articles of clothing are thrown all over your car, you thank your lucky stars that you managed to pull into an abandoned parking lot. Your heavy breathing mixes with Auston’s, the only sounds in your car besides the sound of the radio, still playing throwback music.

After an adventurous afternoon that consisted of absolutely no sightseeing (“except for that gorgeous body of yours.”), you and Auston make it back to your family home. After spending 20 minutes attempting to find your phone, which you realize you left on the charger in your room all along, you finally check your phone. You’re surprised to see plenty of messages; normally, you only ever get texts from Auston. Instead, Sydney, Steph, Mitch, Freddie and plenty of others have all left you texts about how good of a singer you are. You whip your head up to Auston, who attempts to look nonchalant, as you immediately scroll to Instagram. On both his story and as an actual post is a video of you singing and dancing exuberantly to ‘Livin’ On a Prayer.’ Every so often, Auston switches the screen back to his face, where he’s desperately trying not to laugh.

“Someone’s ready for hockey season to start #GoLeafsGo” is the caption that accompanies the video.

“Now everyone knows how terrible of a singer I am!” You groan, cheeks going red. Auston pulls you onto his lap, kissing your nose.

“Yeah, but they also know that I have the most supportive girlfriend in the world.” Auston starts to kiss you again.

“I’m never going to get to take you sightseeing.”

[hottytoddynews]

Wanting to know what new movies are playing at the local theaters this week? HottyToddy.com is proud to bring you a sneak preview from both of the Malco theaters in town!

Malco Oxford Studio Cinema

Peter Rabbit

Peter Rabbit’s feud with Mr. McGregor reaches new heights as both compete for the affections of a kind animal lover who lives next door.

The 15:17 to Paris

From Clint Eastwood comes “The 15:17 to Paris,” which tells the real-life story of three men whose brave act turned them into heroes during a high-speed railway ride. In the early evening of August 21, 2015, the world watched in stunned silence as the media reported a thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris—an attempt prevented by three courageous young Americans traveling through Europe. The film follows the course of the friends’ lives, from the struggles of childhood through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack. Throughout the harrowing ordeal, their friendship never wavers, making it their greatest weapon and allowing them to save the lives of the more than 500 passengers on board. The heroic trio is comprised of Anthony Sadler, Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, and U.S. Air Force Airman First Class Spencer Stone, who play themselves in the film. Starring alongside them are Jenna Fischer (“Hall Pass,” TV’s “The Office”); Judy Greer (“War for the Planet of the Apes”); Ray Corasani (TV’s upcoming “The Long Road Home”); PJ Byrne (“The Wolf of Wall Street”); Tony Hale (TV’s “Veep”); and Thomas Lennon (“Transformers: Age of Extinction”). Paul-Mikél Williams plays the younger Anthony, Bryce Gheisar plays the younger Alek, and William Jennings plays the younger Spencer. Eastwood (“Sully,” “American Sniper”) directs from a screenplay by Dorothy Blyskal, based on the book by Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Jeffrey E. Stern. Eastwood also produces the film, along with Tim Moore, Kristina Rivera and Jessica Meier. The film’s executive producer is Bruce Berman. Behind the scenes, the creative team includes frequent collaborators Tom Stern, who served as cinematographer on 13 of Eastwood’s previous films, and Deborah Hopper, who has served as Eastwood’s costume designer on 17 prior films; editor Blu Murray, who most recently cut “Sully,” and that film’s composer, Christian Jacob. Veteran art director Kevin Ishioka, whose work can be seen in “Sully” and in “Dunkirk,” serves as production designer. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Malpaso production, “The 15:17 to Paris.” The film will be released in theaters on February 9, 2018. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

Black Panther

After the death of his father, T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king — and as Black Panther — gets tested when he’s drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.

12 Strong

In the wake of Sept. 11, Capt. Mitch Nelson leads a U.S. Special Forces team into Afghanistan for an extremely dangerous mission. Once there, the soldiers develop an uneasy partnership with the Northern Alliance to take down the Taliban and its al-Qaida allies. Outgunned and outnumbered, Nelson and his forces face overwhelming odds in a fight against a ruthless enemy that takes no prisoners.

Early Man

A plucky cave man named Dug, his sidekick Hognob and the rest of their tribe face a grave threat to their simple existence. Lord Nooth plans to take over their land and transform it into a giant mine, forcing Dug and his clan to dig for precious metals. Not ready to go down without a fight, Dug and Hognob must unite their people in an epic quest to defeat a mighty enemy — the Bronze Age.

Winchester

After the sudden death of her family, firearms heiress Sarah Winchester becomes convinced that she’s haunted by the souls of those killed by guns. Winchester then decides to build an enormous mansion that’s designed to keep the evil spirits at bay. When skeptical psychiatrist Eric Price visits the estate to evaluate her state of mind, he soon discovers that her obsession may not be so far-fetched after all.

Fifty Shades Freed

Believing they’ve left behind the shadowy figures from the past, billionaire Christian Grey and his new wife, Anastasia, fully embrace their inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. Just as the Greys begin to step into their new roles, sinister events come to light and jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Thomas leads some escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all. Anyone who makes it out alive will get answers to the questions that the Gladers have been asking since they arrived in the maze.

Click the link for showtimes at Malco Oxford Studio Cinema.

Oxford Commons Cinema Grill

Forever My Girl A music superstar reunites with his first love and realizes the steep price he has paid for his success in Forever My Girl, an uplifting and emotional romance based on the novel by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heidi McLaughlin. Liam Page (Alex Roe) and his high-school sweetheart Josie Preston (Jessica Rothe) were the golden couple of Saint Augustine, Louisiana, until Liam left her at the altar for a shot at fame and fortune. Eight years later, Liam returns to his tiny hometown for the first time as a world-famous recording artist, but not even his own father is thrilled to see him. As he tries to rebuild the bridges he burned years earlier, Liam reconnects with his small-town roots, his close-knit community and Josie, the girl he left behind. As he attempts to reclaim everything he loved and lost, Josie does her best to keep him out of her heart, but life has one more surprise waiting for Liam, one that could change everything, in this heartwarming look at love, family and second chances.

Hostiles

In 1892, legendary Army Capt. Joseph Blocker reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their tribal land. Embarking on a harrowing and perilous journey from Fort Berringer, N.M., to the grasslands of Montana, they soon encounter a young widow whose family was killed on the plains. The travelers must now band together to survive a punishing landscape that’s crawling with hostile Comanches and vicious outliers.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Four high school kids discover an old video game console and are drawn into the game’s jungle setting, literally becoming the adult avatars they chose. What they discover is that you don’t just play Jumanji – you must survive it. To beat the game and return to the real world, they’ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, discover what Alan Parrish left 20 years ago, and change the way they think about themselves – or they’ll be stuck in the game forever.

The Greatest Showman

Inspired by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

I, Tonya

In 1991, talented figure skater Tonya Harding becomes the first American woman to complete a triple axel during a competition. In 1994, her world comes crashing down when her ex-husband conspires to injure Nancy Kerrigan, a fellow Olympic hopeful, in a poorly conceived attack that forces the young woman to withdraw from the national championship. Harding’s life and legacy instantly become tarnished as she’s forever associated with one of the most infamous scandals in sports history.

Samson

When his youthful ambition leads to a tragic marriage, the all-powerful Samson embarks on a quest for vengeance that brings him into direct conflict with the Philistine army. As his brother mounts a tribal rebellion, Samson’s relationship with a Philistine temptress and his final surrender to God will help turn imprisonment into a final victory.

Click the link for showtimes at Oxford Commons Cinema Grill.

For more questions or comments email us at hottytoddynews@gmail.com. 

The post Weekend at the Movies: Here’s What’s Showing Now at Malco (with Trailers)! appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

[not-another-imagine-blog]

Not My Jersey (Auston Matthews)

Anonymous said:

Can I request an Austin Matthews imagine when you are taller than most of your friends with being 5'7 and you go to one of his games wearing heels and you start to feel self conscious with you being so tall? (Ps wearing his jersey would be a plus ;) )

Word count: 1897

Author’s note: I love Mitch, so if you ever wanna send anything in for him, you’re more than welcome too...

Part 2

“Stretch.”

“Legs.”

“Lurch.”

“Giraffe.”

“Treetops.”

All throughout your childhood, these were just a few of the names that your classmates would call you in order to make fun of your height. It’s not like you were even that tall; you just liked to wear heels, which pushed your height right up to about six feet even. Of course, you learned to laugh when people would tease you as you walked down the hall. By the time you got to high school, the majority of the ‘name-calling’ came from your best friend Mitch.

But eventually, childhood comes to an end, and so, too, does childish teasing…

Unless your best friend gets drafted by the hometown NHL team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and you get accepted to your dream college which is conveniently located in Toronto.

Then you end up getting an apartment with the guy who leaves you notes such as

“You were snoring last night, so that’s why your door is closed. Love ya, Stretch!”

The notes didn’t make you mad, though. In fact, quite the opposite. When you would see that familiar purple sticky note on a counter or on the fridge, you would grin and save it with all the others. Today, though, it wasn’t the sticky note that made you grin. It was the fact that Mitch had gotten you and your other (lesser, as Mitch liked to say) best friend two tickets up against the glass to the game tonight.

“Mitchell!” You squeal over the phone when he calls you to see if you want to meet for lunch in between your classes and his practice. “You didn’t have to get us such good seats! Now I’m going to be, like, indebted to you or something.” Mitch laughs.

“No way. If you were indebted to me, that’d mean that I’m stuck with you, and I just can’t handle that. What you can do, though, is wear a Matthews jersey to the game, though.” Your brow furrows as you lean against the counter.

“Um, one; I don’t own a Matthews jersey and two; why the hell do you want me to wear Auston Matthews’ jersey instead of yours?” Mitch clicks his tongue and you groan, knowing that he’s going to start mocking you.

“Um, one; maybe you should check in your closet, because I put one there last night and two; I just need you to do this favor for me, alright? Maybe then we can call it even and you won’t have to be indebted to me over the fact that I got you good seats and a new jersey.”

“You’re too nice to me, Mitch.”

“Hey, I gotta get the cops off my trail somehow, don’t I?” You chuckle.

“See you at the game tonight?”

“Of course. I’ll be the one in the blue jersey. Love ya Y/N.”

“Get back to practice, Marner.” You grin as you hang up the phone, immediately running to your closet. Sure enough, there’s a brand-new Auston Matthews jersey with a token purple sticky note attached to the sleeve.

“Wear those jeans that you claim make your butt look good (personally I don’t see it) and your black heels.”

You add the note to your collection and pull the jersey off its’ hanger, holding it up against you as you look in the mirror. Even you have to admit that Mitch knows you a little too well; the jersey is exactly your side. Pushing aside your questions about why he wants you to wear his HBFF’s (Hockey Best Friend Forever, as he says) jersey, you gather your things for class and rush out of the door, the jersey left lying on your bed.

You and (Y/B/F/N) stand outside of the Air Canada Centre as you rummage through your bag for the tickets.

“So he just gave you these tickets and that new jersey that’s not even his?” (Y/B/F/N) says incredulously. You hand (him/her) the ticket as the two of you walk towards the main doors.

“Why is that weird to you? We have been best friends since 1st grade, after all.”

“I don’t know, it’s just odd that he would have you wear a jersey that’s not his to the game he got you into.” You shrug, handing your ticket to the taker standing inside.

“He said he’d tell me after the game. I don’t know, I’m not stressing, though. He does random stuff like this all the time and makes it seem like it’s this big adventure.”

“That does sound a lot like him. Hey, you look super hot, by the way! Showing those gorgeous legs of yours off!” You blush and start walking faster.

“Let’s just go find our seats.”

Once the Leafs skate out onto the ice for warmups, you notice Mitch waving at you. You pull one of your heels off and wave it at him, deciding to be a smart ass. He rolls his eyes, but you can see his shoulders shaking with laughter. You grin as you lean down to put your shoe back on. When you come up, Mitch has his face pressed right up against the glass, making you jump as (Y/B/F/N) laughs hysterically.

“Yeah, yeah, really funny.” You mutter, jokingly slamming the glass Mitch is leaning against. You glance onto the ice to see none other than Auston Matthews himself standing right behind Mitch, also laughing. He waves at you quickly before turning away, but not fast enough, as you see the red start to cover his face. Your own face grows hot as you busy yourself with making fun of Mitch.

“Go do your job!” You holler at him. Mitch looks at Auston before looking back at you, an absolutely evil grin on his face. Suddenly, it becomes all too clear just what Mitch has done. Right as you’re about ready to climb the glass and chew his ass out, it’s time for puck drop. Mitch skates away tauntingly as (Y/B/F/N) turns to you, a wide smile on (his/her) face.

“(Y/N), is Mitch doing what I think he’s doing?” You shrug, sinking down in your seat.

“Can we just watch the game, please?” You groan as, sure enough, Auston skates by you, but not before shooting you a wink.

You don’t stop blushing for the rest of the game.

The Leafs end up going to overtime against the Preds, with Nazem Kadri scoring the game winner. As everyone files out of the arena, you get a text from Mitch.

“Meet me by the locker room? I left my keys to the apartment in your car the last time I used it, and I’m going to forget them if I don’t grab them now.”

You roll your eyes. Mitch leaves his keys somewhere at least once a week. You’ve lost count of how many new keys he’s received from your guys’ landlord.

“One of these days I’m just going to leave a sleeping bag outside of the apartment and that’s where you’ll sleep.”

“But today’s not that day, right? :)”

“...be out of the locker room in the next ten minutes, please?”

“Deal.”

“Hey, you can just head on home. Mitch left his keys in my car again.” You say to (Y/B/F/N).

“Sixth time this month, right?” You laugh.

“Something like that. Thanks for coming.” You say as you embrace (Y/B/F/N).

“Thanks for hooking me up with sweet tickets, (Y/N).” You bid (him/her) farewell and walk down to the locker room.

You’re leaning against the wall, texting your mother after she texted you and asked how the game was when you hear the door open. You look up, expecting to see just Mitch. Mitch is walking out, but he’s also accompanied by Auston. Auston blushes when he sees you and tries to make it look like he’s busy on his phone.

“Hey Mitch!” You chirp as he slings his arm around your shoulders. “Way to not get completely knocked on your ass by Fisher tonight.” You tease.

“I got right back up!” He defends. “Hey, I was right!”

“About what?” You and Auston say at the same time.

“Auston’s still taller than you even with your heels on!” You shoot him a glare.

“Is that why you made me wear my heels tonight?” Mitch looks up at the ceiling and whistles.

“Let’s get walking, huh? Is it okay if Auston walks with us?” You shrug, as it’s increasingly obvious that the three of you are going to end up walking out together anyways.

“So did Mitch get you to wear the jersey, too?” Auston asks suddenly, after you’ve already entered into the quiet night.

“Sorry?” You question, shocked that he asked you a question.

“You said that Mitch told you to wear those heels, did he tell you to wear the jersey too?”

“Please tell me that he did not steal this from your house.” You deadpan, not putting the action past him. Auston lets out a loud laugh.

“No, it’s not my personal jersey. I-I mean, it is my jersey, but it’s not my jersey.” He stutters before groaning. “I’m sorry, let me start over again. I think my jersey looks great on you, but have you owned that jersey for more than a day?”

Mitch decides to speak up. “Oh please, I can barely get Stretch to wear one of my jerseys. I forced her to wear this one; told her I’d get her kicked out if she didn’t.” You turn to Auston.

“He didn’t tell me I’d get kicked out.” Auston has an amused look on his face.

“‘Stretch?’” He questions. You let out a huff.

“Childhood nickname. He insists on making fun of my height like the mature 19 year old he is. You can call me (Y/N), though.”

“I think you’re perfect.” He breathes out as you let out a startled laugh.

“What?”

“I meant I think you’re a perfect height! Not perfect! I mean, you’re pretty wonderful, but-”

“It’s okay, I get it.” You decide to end his suffering. You finally reach your car. Mitch walks ahead as you unlock your door, quickly opening the passenger door and rummaging around the car.

“So, Mitch loses his keys a lot, huh?” You nod.

“Usually about once a week.”

“Um, could I get your number? Y’know, in case Mitch loses his keys while he’s with me.” You blush.

“Sure!” You kick yourself at the dumb response, sliding the screen on your phone and entering his name into your contacts. He hands you his phone and you type in your number, with him doing the same on your phone.

“Thanks, (Y/N). Honestly, I kind of hope Mitch loses his keys soon.”

“Me too.” You giggle.

“Found them!” Mitch yells, emerging victorious with the keys. He jogs over to you and Auston.

“Ready, Auston?” Auston nods.

“See you at home, (Y/N).” Mitch says as he and Auston start to walk away. You grab Mitch by collar.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you did tonight, Mitchell Marner. I know.” He laughs, getting out of your grasp.

“You’ll thank me later!” He yells over his shoulder. You look down at your phone as it buzzes with a text from Auston.

“Hey :)”

That ‘thank you’ might just come sooner than Mitch thinks.