#to come back to this. the ticket company specifically said the tickets went back on sale. but they didn't. HOW DOES THAT WORK????

[officialkendallroy]

anyone need a ticket for the eras tour in warsaw

[irondadmadlads]

The Shoebox Problem

A/n: For @call-me-coley . Thank you for talking through ideas with me @yes-i-am-happyaspie .

December was a busy month for Tony Stark. With the holidays on the horizon, the hero planned multiple galas and charity events. At least once a week balls were attended by Tony. Sometimes the man went by himself. Other times, Pepper would join him. Even Peter accompanied him once or twice.

Only those closest to him knew the real reason he made an extensive amount of plans during the winter month. As a distraction from his parents’ deaths.

But that’s neither here nor there. This story is about the shoebox problem. Underneath Tony’s tree were dozens of gifts. Every one about the size of a shoebox. And they were all addressed to the same person: Peter Parker.

Tony was overjoyed to learn Peter and May would be spending Christmas with Pepper and himself. The holiday was usually a lonely one for the billionaire. Sure, Pepper would spend the day with him. But while she received calls from her extended family wishing her “Merry Christmas,” Tony’s phone remained silent.

But this year would be different. With Peter and May Parker keeping the man company, there’s no way he could possibly feel lonely.

So when his phone rang with Peter’s contact, his heart skipped a beat. Did something come up? Did they have to cancel. Tony hesitantly answered it.

“Hello?”

“Merry Christmas Mr. Stark!” Peter exclaimed. Through the receiver, Tony could hear the boy coughing.

“Merry Christmas Peter,” Tony replied. “What time are you and May coming over?”

“Actually…” the boy trailed off and Tony’s anxieties began to return full force. Of course, spending Christmas with his mentee was too good to be true.

But the boy’s sentence surprised him. “I’m downstairs…”

“Downstairs?” Tony asked. It didn’t take him long to realize exactly what Peter was implying when he said “downstairs.” The teen had a tendency to end up in Medbay. Tony sighed, “What did you do this time?”

“Nothing,” Peter replied, before breaking into a coughing fit. “I have the flu.”

Tony frowned. He then looked back at the tree with dozens of boxes under it. Even if the boy was in Medbay, he could still make his Christmas a good one.

“I’ll be right there.”

Tony entered Avenger’s Medbay about half an hour later. He was carrying a few boxes in his hands. Peter gave the man a wary smile, despite being in the sterile hospital room.

“Hey Mr. Stark,” Peter greeted. “Thank you for the gifts… you really didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Tony replies. “There’s more than this.”

Peter’s eyes widen. And this is where the shoebox problem comes in.

About a month before the holiday, Tony asked Peter what he wanted for Christmas. Peter replied nothing big. “Think shoebox sized,” he said specifically. But that’s the only limitation the boy set. He didn’t give Tony a price limit. Nor a limit on the gifts themselves.

So that’s how Tony ended up carrying a pile of medium sized gifts into Peter’s hospital room.

“Mr. Stark…” Peter frowns. A shiver wracks his body and he pulls the sheet closer to himself. “How much did you spend on me…?”

“Nothing is bigger than a shoebox,” Tony deflected. And Peter could only sigh. The man had a point.

Seeing Peter’s defeat, Tony handed him a gift to open. It took him longer than usual due to the IV in his left arm, but he eventually got it open nonetheless.

Peter raised a brow, “I thought I said nothing big-“

“Nuh uh-uh,” Tony quickly could Peter off. “It’s shoebox sized.”

And unfortunately, the man was right. “Thank you for the Switch, Mr. Stark…”

Tony beamed, “Ready for the next one?”

Peter nodded and let Tony continue to hand him gifts. The boy realized he probably should’ve given Tony a gift limit. He definitely should’ve given Tony a price limit. Because he’d ended up with a new phone, new watch, tickets to Disneyland, tickets to Hamilton, video games for his Switch, and multiple gift cards.

“Okay buddy,” Tony handed a gift to Peter. “Last one.”

Peter opened it to see a teddy bear dressed in a little Iron Man suit. The boy beamed. “He’s my favorite!”

Tony chuckled. “Really? It was a gag gift,”

“It’s you,” Peter replied. “You’re my favorite,”

“Oh…” Tony glanced back at the sickly boy. He was ignoring his games and new phone to cuddle with a cheap teddybear that was dressed as his mentor.

The boy let out a yawn and placed his head on the pillow. The iron man teddy in his arms. “Thanks for the gifts,” Peter murmurs. “Merry Christmas, Dad.”

Tony’s heart skipped a beat. Peter called him “dad.” The man placed a kiss on the boy’s forehead as he drifted off to sleep. “Merry Christmas.”

[raytorosaurus]

I hope it’s okay to ask you but you seem to know everything about MCR so you might know. But I read recently that they were the designated bbq band on their first Warped in 2004 so they had to cook for everyone. Have you ever heard of that being the case? It just feels like a weird thing, with Ray apparently being a hermit in the bus and Frank being vegetarian and Gerard being blackout the whole time. I can’t imagine Mikey or Matt Pelissier holding down the fort.

haha yeah apparently so! warped tour was designed to be as efficient to run as possible because its primary purpose was to book up-and-coming bands and put them out there. it had a lot of weird components as a result - e.g. the sheer number of bands and locations, cheap tickets and free tickets for parents, and a constantly changing lineup schedule so attendees couldn't plan their day in advance around specific artists (so the artists were on a more ~equal footing and to encourage ppl to show up when the gates opened and stay all day). it was also notoriously gruelling and uncomfortable for the bands - really demanding schedule, no showers, etc etc.

so one of the things it did (along with showcasing local acts at each location) was invite a "bbq band" to join the tour for free and play every day if they helped run the nightly bbq that fed all the musicians. according to this podcast (around 17 mins in, but the whole episode is a short and really interesting listen, i recommend it!), mcr were that band in 2004 (they were only on the first half of the tour tho, june 25-july 18,24). i'm not sure exactly what his source is but he seems to know his stuff, and i'm almost positive i've heard gerard refer to it in an interview at some stage, though i can't remember when 😭. anyway, that doesn't mean they fully ran the bbq and were the only staff - they were just helpers! warped had a catering company and served a truly enormous amount of food every day, and apparently the artist's bbq was something like 300 hot dogs, 300 burgers, and 100 veggie burgers a night (all from that podcast). mcr definitely wouldn't have been doing that on their own, they were probably just helping out hahaha.

anyway, this was all in 2004, when the lineup included thursday, the used, tbs, coheed and cambria, the bouncing souls, etc. so revenge had only been out for like a month and they didn't have their own bus yet - i'm like 80% sure they stayed on senses fail's bus that tour, but i can't remember which one of them said that or where haha (they definitely shared a bus directly afterwards as they toured back towards nj).

after that is when they went to japan, came back, fired otter, and filmed inok, and went back on tour with bob and face to face all in the space of 2 weeks. that tour is when their van finally broke down for good and they got on their first own tour bus at the end of it.

the more ~famous mcr warped tour is 2005, which is the one with fob etc. i haven't seen lotms in a while but i actually assumed the bit where ray said he'd been a total hermit in the back of the bus was from that 05 tour, because that's the one they had the bus studio where he spent a lot of time writing parade demos. either way, he might not have been partying and socialising a whole lot, but i'm sure he would've sown up to bbq duty anyway! it was their free ticket, after all.

[tonguetyd]

☕ Pioneer record by a band called The Maine

LETS FUCKING GO! GET READY TO GET INFODUMPED BABY!

Pioneer is the third studio album by a band called The Maine and it shOULD NOT EXIST!!

So in late 2009 TM got signed to Big Huge Record Company Warner Music. Yeah. The bugs bunny guys. Warner. THAT Warner. Because Warner saw them as five guys they could market and get some money from the neon/emo scene that admittedly was kinda fading and moving towards more of the indie vibe you associate with the early 2010s.

So while on that label they recorded Black and White which while it HAS GOOD SONGS. JUSTICE FOR B&W! is…definitely not people’s favorite. Because they lost…almost all creative control during that record. Everything was a cowrite with people they had never met and it was a clusterfuck because nobody *got* who TM was and it was clear on the record.

And TM, being the humans they are, said this isn’t genuine it’s not us and we DONT want to do this again!

…so they said fuck you warner, moved all of their gear from Arizona to Texas, hid out (LITERALLY! HID! IN SECRET!) from *EVERYONE* and recorded like. Fucking…idk 30 songs? In SECRET!!! Without anyone knowing!!

And so they went to the label and were like “hey we’ve made this, and we think it fucking rocks” BECAUSE! IT! DOES! I will come back to this. But the record company was like “…we can’t sell this shit.” And we’re going to force them back into this box of control. And they. FOUGHT. Over it. They were gonna put it out under a different name at one point I think.

Finally they put up such a stink and wrote a fucking SCATHING letter to the directors of the label and were like “either you let us out of our contract or we break up and you lose even more money” and they were like. …fine.

And so The Maine were free with this DOPE ASS record and went well. Okay then. We’ll do it ourselves. We have the fanbase for it. Here you go

And that is how *THE MAINE*’s label 8123 was born! And that’s where 8123 comes from and it really the first time that there was a real community around this band. It was no longer fans and band. With Pioneer it became *us*.

And that’s what the entire record is about. It’s about struggle and not knowing your place and being told no and saying it doesn’t matter. Saying that I’ve got people behind me and if we just keep acting like we did when we were young then we’re at home.

“If we’re lost. At least it’s together.”

Which is a line that is TECHNICALLY not on this album (it’s on a b-side reimagine of one of the album tracks but!). And it’s a line I have said COUNTLESS times in tags especially in the last couple of years because that is what the years have BEEN like. None of us have any idea what the FUCK is going on lately. And all we fucking have is each other.

We are lost. We are submerged. We are drifting.

But we are together.

And that is the point of it all and while not explicitly the main point of Pioneer specifically it is absolutely the point of The Maine. And it’s where THAT thesis of the band really started to take hold.

Because it was a secret! It was an act of rebellion! It shouldn’t exist! But it does and it’s because *ALL OF US* have made it exist. It was fought for and supported and loved.

We bought the last plane ticket to the end of the world. And this record was what awaited us. And it opened the door for everything TM has done and became since then. And is so important to MY life because it is what solidified “no. I’m in this shit for life” with TM.

It is the record that gave me something to believe in. It still gives me something to believe in fuckin…13? Years later.

I’m still running with those wolves and we’re all howling at the moon.

Awooooooo

[laundrypause]

PT. 2 of F1 drivers as idols

Pierre Gasly: Lead rapper, Visual

Was on track to becoming a football (European) player but had an injury which led to needing surgery. It went well but when he was still unconscious from the anaesthesia, he dreamt about being performing on stage and being an idol. When he woke up, it felt like an enlightenment of some sort, as if it was a sign that that was his true calling. If that wasn't a sign enough, when he was skimming through the daily newspaper, an article about global auditions being held caught his eye and it felt like everything was falling into place right before his very eyes. The problem was the place the auditions were held at wasn't in Rouen, not even in France but in London. The train tickets didn't come cheap and he had to beg his parents before they finally relented after seeing how much it meant to him. The problem was, this all happened fairly quickly and Pierre didn't have a specific talent in mind to audition. He was put into a room with 8 other hopefuls during the audition and they all took turns showcasing their talents, Pierre's being a rap song that was at that time trending. One by one, the other auditionees were thanked and politely asked to leave the room. By the Grace of God, Pierre was the last one in the room and had made it into the next audition and consequently the trainee programme. You have potential the judges said. Pierre moved to Korea and after 4 years, he debuted at 21 with a rebellious bad boy concept with 4 other members.

Oscar Piastri: Leader, Main dancer, Lead Vocalist

Had participated in talent shows when he was younger and has been scouted by the Big 3 (SM, JYP, YG) multiple times but always ended up rejecting them becaus he wanted to focus on his studies. Never thought of being an idol as a possible, serious career for him and he was kind of set on being an architect. Then when he was competing in another dance competition as one does, a woman probably in her mid-thirties approached him to pass him a company card. He'd usually thank whoever had passed him the card and throw it into his bag, ready to be forgotten about. Yet, this time, he looked at the card and considered the possibility of being an idol. He hadn't really been exposed to anything K-pop at that point so research he did. Fell into an internet hole where he watched performances by SHINEE, EXO, 2PM and it kind of solidified his decision to at least try auditioning. Long story short, he was so impressive that he passed all the rounds of auditions and was a trainee for only about 2 years before debuting at 18 with a haunting, supernatural concept which is kind of leaning towards vampires. (Drunk-Dazed Enhypen or Favorite NCT127). He was made to be the leader of his group consisting of 9 members including himself. Young? Yes. Could've gone wrong? Definitely. Regardless, Oscar handled the pressure immensely well and led the group incredibly. Yea he was young but you couldn't deny that he led sometimes even better than some other leaders. Always kept a calm head and strived for excellence, qualities that certainly had a hand in his group's success. It really was a feat since leading 8 other members was no easy thing to do. (Yk how there are compilations of idols clapping back at either haters or sasaeng [obsessive fans/stalkers]? Yea, Oscar's in them and appears more than once.)

Logan Sargeant: Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer

Went to auditions because of a dare when he was 14. He didn't have a dream but he knew his goal and that was to be successful so college was the most probable path for him. He didn't prepare anything going into the audition and when he was asked to yk, audition, he said he was going to rap. It was...okay. Wasn't bad but wasn't that good either. So the judges asked him to dance and they played some black eyed peas song. All he did was some fist pumping and clapping to the beat. Most of the judges had had enough but before he could leave, one of the judges asked him to sing. Him? Sing? Wanting to leave asap, Logan sang Best of Both Worlds from the one and only Hannah Montana. Till this day, he doesn't believe the judges when they said he was good. Why didn't you start singing in the first place they had asked. He made it through the next audition and the next audition after that and became a trainee. It was hard, it was so hard and at one point he even asked his mom if he could drop out because he was so homesick and tired. His mom said she'd support him whatever decision he made but she hasn't seen him this passionate for something in a really long time. Logan pushed through and after 3 years, made his debut at 17 with a royalty kind of concept which will slowly descend to a dark concept.

[sapphyreopal5]

I don't know what an aa is but I am a Jensen fan who likes jared

Are you sure about that anon? You have not said a single even remotely nice thing about Jared. You claim its just his fans you hate but you seem to be holding a lot of rage for the Pads. You have dragged everything about them and no, tacking on "nothing wrong with that" every time you drag them doesn't change your intent (which is loud and clear to everyone anon).

And where does JARED do those things anon?? Gen's whole schtick is mom/lifestyle brand. SHE does ads and on occasion the fam is in them but that's it. The kids aren't even in them as much as they get older. She used to be a mommy blogger, so yea, her family was part of what she talked about. Now its more lifestyle/books/going green/etc vs just family stuff.

Show me an ad involving Jared recently anon. Gen and Jared POSTING about each other is not automatically an ad, no matter what you have convinced yourself of anon. I'm looking through Gen's ig now and the posts with Jared are just family pics celebrating bdays, etc. He's in a few of her book posts but that's promoting her book club, not an ad. Seriously though anon, show me ads with Jared (and not from years ago). He's on her account on a few book club posts (because he also read the books and was in the discussions), he's in some of the posts she makes about work (a few con posts and a handful of Walker posts), other than that its just her posting the family or their trips. I went through all of her 2023 posts and that's what he was in.

His account he has promoted Walker, a few random cons, and his Stands campaigns (for AKF which is a charity anon). Should he not promote his show or charity??

So anon, before you start performatively yelling about "THE PADS DO ALL ADS ALL THE TIME" maybe just, I don't know, check yourself??

And the difference between the Pads and the Ackles and money are a couple fold but lets just go for some basics since you seem extremely mad at the Pads for this whole thing anon. Gen (I will talk about her because she's really the only one selling things from the Pads even though anon likes to generalize) makes her little promo ad vids and posts and shares links for a percentage off and if you buy the products using her link she gets some money (she has actually said that the money she makes from these ads goes into TOWWN so she's using it to sustain her passion project, not just to line her pockets). She is not forcing you to buy things in order to interact with her or Jared. The Pads actually still interact with fans on sm from time to time just because. The Ackles basically all but ignore their fans unless money is involved. You want to see Jensen at a "concert"? Better get ready to bust into your savings because those $700 tickets aren't cheap. Want to "run into" them at FBBC? Don't worry, that only costs $1,000 for their "membership" which basically only guarantees you meet Jensen for a quick photo op like its a con (they legit had a photographer at the members only party and Jensen stayed in the back and only interacted with fans during those ops minus a wave here or there). The Pads (aka Gen) makes ads for stuff and you can take it or leave it. The Ackles have monetized themselves.

Well thank you for quite the ask here Anon, I appreciate you advocating for me here. I am going to say that both of you actually have made some good points here and also some not so correct points. What the other Anon was talking about with the ads on Gen's page is that her page is mostly full of ads. I myself asked with the cake post made a few days AFTER Odette's birthday and I think on Tom's actual birthday "is this about Odette's "cake dreams" coming true or an ad for that specific cake company [thewhittexperience]?" Also, the book club talk about the Daniel Kraus book "Whale Fall" with the author himself and surprise, Jared with the potential for a Meet and Greet back in October could be perceived as an "ad" that was using Jared to get more people interested in what's primarily Gen's book club.

Most of Gen's posts on her public page are as you said Anon, affiliate commission type of partnerships. Also, on another note I keep seeing ads for Jared's Always Keep Fighting attire on Instagram, which I can't blame Jared but I will say that people have been criticizing the Pads for years talking about them both being walking advertisements. Now, I've read from other followers on here things about "branding" and celebrities and whatnot. This isn't too far off the mark with what I think Gen is trying to do with her social media presence, establishing her "brand" as an environmentally conscious homestead type of individual who cares about the environment. Jared's "brand" happens to be Always Keep Fighting and talking about depression, anxiety, etc. Now as for Gen, her "brand" and her approach to it could also on the flip side here be perceived as also promoting consumerism while claiming to be environmentally friendly and "green" (two pretty conflicting philosophies admittedly). She did admit to being a bit hypocritical when she had chosen to get breast implants at the age of 40 per this video post she made during the Bathroom Chronicles Episode 11 podcast. She ultimately had them removed after she realized she started having issues running no more than 2 miles and then developed some joint pains within 6-8 months after getting the implants. She's 43 today so she had them put in 3 years ago, fairly recent if you ask me.

As for the Ackles, I would say that for the FBBC membership fees I personally feel like this is more of a Gino thing than a Jensen thing to be quite frank. I think that he is probably being dragged into doing these said meet and greets at FBBC to bring in more money for the otherwise doing poorly business. I mean, they had to shutdown production at the FBBC main location but still have 1 other location where they do the actual brewing. Rumor has it that they let go of several staff members from various departments not just the brewers back in December. This post here is one where a brewer informed people he was being laid off in January from FBBC, due to no longer producing beer at the main location. The topic of FBBC and how it's showing many signs it's doing poorly is a whole different ballpark but it is my understanding it is mainly being run by Danneel's brother Gino these days. There are also some crazy fans that show up to FBBC looking for Jensen (looking at you Jensensgroupie). This isn't excusing Jensen's hiding in the back when fans were promised some interaction time with Jensen. It's like I said however, in this particular instance I would say this is an obligation thing to merely keep FBBC afloat which seems to be a main source of income outside of cons for Jensen...

Overall, I think in ways both the Padaleckis and the Ackles "sell themselves" out to fans. However, given the number of "out in the wild" photos I've seen both Jensen and Jared willingly and happily (at least seemingly) take with fans at times, I can't entirely agree with either notion that the Pads and/or the Ackles will only interact with fans if it means they get money out of it or if it means exposure/"content" if you will. I frankly have no interest in participating in the Jensen versus Jared battle that's ongoing, it just goes round and round the hamster wheel and we'll learn nothing new or gain anything from the conversation.

[thedragonqueens]

TVDu femslash week

Day 3 - slice of life

Hayley's birthday was coming and Rebekah wanted make a surprise to her girl <3

"Rise and shine beautiful one!" Rebekah says with a smile in her face while opening Hayley's bedroom windows. "I planned an amazing day for you and we are going to enjoy everything from now until midnight."

Hayley just sat on her bed and smiled.

"Where are we going to?"

"Well, first we are going to my closest get you the best outfit we can. I'll take you in one of the best New Orleans bakery for breakfast, we are going shopping, lunch, Movies and a little party on my room because you don't really like people." Rebekah just grabbed Hayley's hand and pulled her out of bed. Rebekah choosed something simple but stylish for Hayley, that was just waiting on Rebekah's bed while thinking how hungry she was.

"You really look like a mean girl movies but better, nicer and hotter" Rebekah said for Hayley while the brunette was looking herself on the mirror.

At the bakery, they had an amazing breakfast with everything they could: cake, cookies, juice, coffe, milkshake, tea, fruits, bread, mixed eggs, bread... while eating, they were talking about life and just telling what gossips they knew and didn't told each other. Was kinda weird or dark because all gossips were like "he died" "she got turned into a vampire" but they couldn't just turn into humans and pretend those things didn't happened.

When they finished, they went to various brand and expensive stores to buy clothes, bags and jewelry for themselves.

"Isn't all that too expensive?" Hayley said naively.

"Oh, Hayley, don't worry with that. First: we can compel anyone here so they will let us get for free; Two: Mikaelson family is probably richest than those stupid and ugly millionaires; Three: you think Klaus and Elijah wouldn't buy some stuff for their little sister and for you? They obviously would." Rebekah replied in a simple way. "Just enjoy and let the money with me, that will let with my older brothers."

Hayley bought more stuff than she thought she would, Rebekah made her keep almost everything she liked. They didn't payed much ofc, just part of it because "it's not theft then" according to Beks.

They went lunch after going shopping, was already late but Rebekah insisted. She had made a reservation on Hayley's favorite restaurant of New Orleans.

"That was delicious, Bex. How did you knew thats my favorite restaurant?" Hayley was so happy, she was having something that never had before in her life and in the company of her best friend.

"I have my own ways to find out" Rebekah replied with a smile. The blonde girl was happy to see the little wolf smiling and having fun without any problems around.

After eat, Rebekah took Hayley to the Movies.

"You wanna watch anything specific?" Rebekah asked softly.

"Not really. You can choose this time." Hayley replied. "You buy the tickets and I'll get us some popcorn."

Hayley got the popcorn and they went watch it. Hayley didn't knew what movie was but she trusted Rebeka's choice. In fact, the movie was amazing and Hayley loved, but got intrigued. Was a sapphic movie and she started to think if Bekah was into girls just like she was. Hayley had an affair with a girl when she was 16, but things didn't went well and the girl was human what made harder.

Was already dark when the girls left the movies and went back home. Hayley went to her bedroom for a shower and Bex prepared everything on her room. They were going to make nails, drink wine and eat candies until get tired and then sleep.

Hayley was on pijamas in Rebekah's bed waiting for the blonde, she was having a shower. Hayley started imagine again, if Rebekah was into girls or not. She didn't even knew why she was so bothered with that at all. When Rebekah come, Hayley just ignored her thoughts and girls went talk and drink. They made their nails together and after some wine glasses, Hayley decided to ask:

"Bex, why you decided do all that?" Hayley said. That's not what she was going to say but she was also curious about this.

"Look, when I was young, nothing of this existed. I wasn't poor but I wasn't even close to be rich and we just lived our lifes simply. You never had the chance to have any experience like this and you definitely deserve it. Im rich has a thousand years but I'm not your friend that long. I thought would be good enjoy our time together living the life we never could get."

"That's so beautiful, Bex. I can't even thank you enough for today"

"You should thank Klaus. He made you pregnant and a part of this family. Technically wasn't him who made you part of this family but-" Hayley interrupted Rebekahs speech.

"Are you into girls?"

"Yeah, of course, but why the question?" Rebekah was curious to know what Hayley was going to say. Obviously she liked girls too, she just didn't felt like needed to tell anyone because her partners would end up killed anyway.

"I just... I don't know why this bothered me so much, but I couldn't keep wondering."

"Are you into girls?" Rebekah asked a little apprehensive.

Instead of just say "yes" or something affirmative, Hayley went to Rebekah and kissed her. Rebekah was confused at first, but started enjoy the kiss. The blonde put her hands on Hayley's waistline and brought her to her lap. After some minutes, Rebekah put Hayley on the bed and they took off their clothes while still kissing.

[...]

[pbandjesse]

It's our anniversary!!! We have been married for an entire year! That's crazy!!! I am so happy. And I love my James so much.

And today was great. It was so much fun celebrating together. And we had a busy day.

I didn't sleep amazing. My sinuses are still really bothersome. But it was fine. I mostly was able to sleep and that was good. But for like an hour at like 3am I was up suffering. But with the fan and some water I was able to sleep until 9.

When I woke up I pretty quickly got washed and dressed. I wore my wedding earrings and I felt so pretty. Me and James told each other happy anniversary!! And then I squirreled away in my studio to write James a note. But then just as I was starting to write James came in and said that we had to leave right now immediately. Because they had misread the train schedule. And if we did not leave right then we would have to wait until 11. So we ran out of the house. Jackets and umbrellas. And we drove to West Baltimore

We left at 922. The train was at 937. We arrived at 931. It was raining and we had to park so far away and then when we got over there we realized we had to go under the overpass and up the stairs. I don't run!! I can't breathe right!! But we ran! And James stopped at the ticket machines while I ran ahead. And James, with their log legs, caught up to me. And we were on the platform at 936.

Of course the train did not come until 941. But that is okay! I was mostly recovered and had stopped hyperventilating. I did feel really shaky but I knew we would be sitting down soon and I would be okay.

The ride to DC was nice. I had brought my earbuds but they had sadly not charged in their chase. So instead I just enjoyed overhearing the just buckwild conversations the people around us were having. Everyone knows each other and people on scoffers getting hit by cars? Just wild behavior. But it was a nice ride. Just enjoying James's company.

We arrive at union station at 1030. I was low on energy and looking forward to brunch. We decided we would go to founding farmers. Which is where we ate on our minimoon last year. It was not the same location but that's alright. And it ended up being the best choice.

We did not know but they have a weekend brunch buffet!! It is a little expensive but it was awesome. I love buffets. And I love breakfast foods. So this was great.

After we sat down James ran to the bathroom and I waited for them to come back before we went to the buffet together. I got eggs and potatoes and beignets and fruits. I was having the best time.

We had a very nice waitress and a nice waiter who came through a few times. After we finished our breakfast plates I decided I need to try some of the lunch foods. So I got artichoke dip and bread and chips and guac and Mac and cheese. It was great. I was having a great time.

We finished up eating a tiny cheese cake. And I went to find some brownies and cookies to wrap in napkins and save for later.

I got a little frustrated when we were done eating and our waitress went missing for 15 minutes. I asked James to go find her so we could head out. And then we were off.

We walked to the national portrait gallery. And it was great. I loved seeing all the art. Specifically the art of indigenous people. But I am going to be honest I was struggle a bit. For one there were entirely to many people. It was because it was raining and a Saturday but man it was loud and I was going through it. I also was weirdly dizzy and winded. Like I felt super dizzy and wasn't doing great. I had to keep sitting and taking a break.

But I did have fun. I enjoyed hearing James talk about art. And I enjoyed their company greatly. Even if they made me go up stairs. But I really enjoyed the art. The Indigenous art was wonderful and I learned a lot about a lot of different people.

We would go to the exhibit about about sports champions which James seemed to love. I liked that the pieces were all so different. And then we headed to the contemporary wing which I thought was great. I was incredibly dizzy though and I was mad at myself for feeling so tired. I would sit and observe. Watched a video. Really tried to be present. We would wander away from each other a few times but mostly we were together. I got to earn that James loves the artist Alma Thomas, who I had taught a class about with my students at BAS a few weeks ago. It was fun learning something new about my husband.

We finished up at the portrait gallery and headed towards the national gallery. They aren't far from each other. We had done that gallery last time but they had another indigenous exhibit James wanted to see. We had seen the Many West show at the portrait gallery, so now onto the next one.

We did get lost at the museum though. It's huge. Firstly we went And then we had to get checked my security because my bag went off. And it turned out it was my spin pins. And security guard woman had never seen them before and was like what are these and I had to explain what they were but I was a little frazzled and she was like oh that's very cool. And then waved us through. But then it turned out we were on the exact opposite side and in the wrong building so we had to walk very far away.

But in the mean time we looked at the art as we walked. And eventually found an information desk that was able to point us in the correct direction. And w we got to go through the beautiful light up tunnel and see the water feature I like so much. And then we found the gallery.

I really enjoyed this one. But again I was dizzy tired so I ended up sitting and looking through the gallery book. And James apparently lost track of me and texted me in a panic but would find me before I even saw the text. I felt bad that they thought I left them! I was literally sitting on a bench in the center of the room. But they found me and we decided we had musuemed out. And it was time to go. And if we left right then we could make the 435 train home.

We had to backtrack to the original other side of the building to get our coats and umbrellas. And once we did that we walked the 3/4 of a mile to union station. Which was tough on me but I held it together. My legs and feet were a that fine, it was mostly my breathing and head.

I requested that we get a piece of pizza and a soda at the train station before we left. And I swear I was so frustrated that as soon as I ate that pizza and drank that soda I felt 1000% better. I think I had just not had any caffeine and was cloudy because of it and I was very frustrated that I did not think of that all day. I just assumed my brain and body were broken. But the soda fixed me and I was doing a lot better.

We waited for the train. And at 415 they called for boarding. They would not leave until the scheduled 435. So I was very angry when a guy pushed me to get ahead of me in the group is us walking to the train. I was like. No I won't let you push me into a trash can to get last me we are literally all going to the same train. I hope he felt really stupid when we got to the train and just sat there for 20 minutes.

It was a nice ride back. I broke out those brownies and cookies for a train snack. And my headphones has charged so I listened to tiktoks while James sent the photos of the sports art to their group chat. It was a good ride with nice views. Everything was foggy and grey. We didn't get to see the eclipse but that's alright. I still enjoyed this fall day.

We would get back to West Baltimore. And we were happy to see our car was safe. And then it was time to go home.

When we got back to our neighborhood I asked to take picture outside since we didn't get to in DC. Mostly because it was raining and entirely to busy and crowded. But I love the pictures we got and I felt so happy.

We got inside and I finished writing my note to James. And then it was present time!

James got me an adorable beer we have named Louie. And some beautiful jewelry. A piece of landscape jasper (something I have loved for a long while and so excited to own) that is both a pin and a pendant. They also got me a new gold heart carabineer, this one with little stars on it. And they got me the Barbie necklace earrings. Meaning the style of necklace she wore in the movie except they are earrings. And I love them and I love my husband.

They had made a linoleum print that was so sweet. But the best thing they made me is a recut of our wedding video. With our first dance song on top and our friends and family members talking over it and I was so close to crying it's so perfect. It's so much better then what it originally was. The original cut upset me so bad and this is perfect. I love my husband so much for organizing this for me and it means the world to me.

After we exchanged gifts I would take a bath. And Sweetp would keep biting James because they wanted food and attention. James would make me vegan shrimps which were great. And then we would get in bed to watch a show. Something we almost never do so I'm enjoying it greatly. I love my husband and I am so lucky.

As we finish this first year I just feel so lucky. I have found someone so perfect in so many ways but also someone I can watch grow and change with. I feel lucky for everyday and I hope we get many many more years.

Until next time everyone. Goodnight!

[thessalian]

Thess vs Tech Updates

Good news and iffy news on the “trying to set up the work from home stuff” front.

Good news! I found my stupid Bitlocker password! I eventually thought to log onto our company’s IT helpdesk site and look through the closed tickets.

Also good news! Once I got that unlocked, and after a little bit of fanangling, I did the VPN thing no problem!

And now we get into the iffy part, because after that, I still need to access the company server. Which is where some of the instructions started getting unclear. See, the VPN instructions also gave me what I should be doing to connect to the work server, but it’s different servers per building. The example given on the paperwork gave a server address for the main building. I don’t work in the main building. The instructions said, “See list below” for server addresses. There was no “list below”.

Soooooooo back I went to the company IT helpdesk site. Flagged up the issue on the open ticket. Two things happened in fairly quick succession at that point. First was an email from the guy I’ve been dealing with, saying, “Okay, here’s the address you need to use; let me know if you have problems and I’ll walk you through it by phone”. The second was another IT guy going, “Okay, we’re starting a new ticket for this specific issue so we’re closing the current ticket”. Because apparently they’re really picky about one ticket per issue and they’d rather have five tickets for five separate niggles instead of one big ticket going, “Get this person set up with work from home” that incorporates all five niggles. I have no idea why.

But I have a server address, so that’s fine, right? Nope. Server address doesn’t work.

So I respond to the email (which was copied to Scruffman, so I copied him in the thing as well so he’d have an interim update) saying, “The address doesn’t work; I’m at home at the moment so please call my mobile and walk me through this”. No response a half-hour later, but I can be patient.

Thing is, I want this resolved today for a lot of reasons. First of all, it would be really nice to be able to just have this sorted and work from home as of this week. But also, Mum emailed me yesterday going, “How about dinner Thursday?” Which ... thanks, Mum, but could I get a little more lead time than that, or at least have things arranged for a Monday when I know I’m not going to have to be at work? As it is, Thursday’s problematic specifically because the Tube and Overground strikes set up for that day weren’t cancelled like the National Rail strikes for this week were, and my commute has been iffy enough as it is. Particularly given that Scruffman and I have basically agreed Thursdays as my one day per week to come in (though I’m going to try to renegotiate for this week at least, if everything works out today), this Thursday is going to be potentially bad. Anyway, I told her I’d let her know by the end of the day so I can at least get a time frame. Honestly, I wish she’d ask in a less specific way - like, “Let’s go to dinner - what day would be good for you?” instead of picking a day herself. A retired person has a rather different schedule than someone who a) isn’t and b) relies on unreliable public transport.

I would dearly love to go back to bed - I ran something of a fraught bit of combat last night and couldn’t sleep without copious wind-down time - but I am waiting for a phone call. Of course, I’m boned if said call doesn’t come by, say, half-three because Scruffman leaves the office at 4pm these days and if I don’t get things sorted before he leaves, there am I dealing with another week of commute. Eh, there’s still a few hours to go. Fingers crossed.

[smollobsession]

25.3.

I'm 40. damn bro.

I finished Mark's book about not giving a fuck and it was really good.

there was a part about death that i found most intriguing, saying that if death is inevitable you might as well live until it comes. which is true and something i've been struggling with since my mom died.

Idk now if I said it in the last post but I also finished Dan's book and it was so helpful, I really wish I could force my teens to read it. (lovingly)

i'm now listening to "because internet" which is a fun linguistic study of internet language.

today i finally made crepes on the crepe maker E gave me ages ago. depression had a hold on me so i couldn't try it for ages but finally i'm there! i need to buy milk and mineral water for good pancakes but the experiment was a success!

in pogo news, I did groudon and kyogre raids and ... got nothing special :D but raiding was fun :D annoying tho that it's obvious you just can't have certain pokemon on certain levels. i played with my secondary, much lower account, and it just wouldn't let me catch groudon, even tho i won 3 raids for it. boo.

This weekend was Intense.

On friday i had my korean lesson and then met up with F for Zone of Interest. It was a great movie, I was immersed in it to the point that I kinda forgot it wasn't present. I also couldn't help but draw parallels to gaza but apparently I'm not allowed to talk about that.

Satuday was raid day and then Sunday I went to the protest. This time I got a flag and I made it all the way to the end of the protest! (minus the dancing, i went home for that :D ) it was ok despite my horrific anxiety making my back hurt and some details I didn't like (a guy spilled a bag of flour to prove some point but like... why are you spilling food while pointing out people are staving pls.) it was quite interesting how I spent most of the day today trying to see myself in pics and vids of the protest and only found ONE pic. soothes my anxiety a little, knowing i'm invisible :D

i've been following exercises from here and i've been increasing the number and length, i'm pleased! My flat is currently fairly clean and things are mostly in their place. yay mental health? and on the note of mental health i'm working on my fic again slowly too.

I did end up buying all the currently published Mo Dao Zu Shi comics :D which is 5 :D oh well! I'm also going to get a in person local Korean teacher. It'll cost a bit but it's fine I hope. Meanwhile I tested spotify and i don't like it. the organization is sadly a mess. the main feature i miss is the ability to see all songs by an artist. without that, their whole app is useless to me. I watched cooking crush and it's a really good show, I recommend it to all my friends now :D even tho the asian parent thing... it's not for me. i'm too chill toward my family even for my culture.

I got tickets for a musical in april, which i'll see with a student. (and another student is in the musical!)

had some good talks with my therapist, mainly about whether or not i care about being fat. i combined this with a chapter from mark's book, and it's quite simple i think. do i care? somewhat. certainly some mobility is not as it should be and i def want to fix that part. but a lot of my feelings about my own body are from outside. and he talks about how wanting to be something isn't the same as wanting to do the work for it, and that's basically it. would i like to be skinny? sure. am i willing to do the work for it? ... not? really? at least not now.

anyway exams are approaching, the end of this career is approaching. i'm chewing on that but so far i haven't reached anything specific. i need to write an email to the company i'm gonna ask for help, so this is my reminder to do that tomorrow :D

happy skz day :D my babies are 6! <3

[wild-at-mind]

Why are small Pride event organising committees such trainwrecks?? My hometown has had two separate ones duking it out for who gets to do a Pride event here for as long as I've lived here, so at least since 2016. I never attend as what the 'winner' comes up with is always small and embarrassing. I think they have both given it up now (the 'winning' side of the past few years having blown all their money in a depressing failed bar project that they didn't have proper permissions for and was open like 3 months), so we get nothing. The next city over has 3 Prides- Trans Pride which is a separate and small event; a long running and well established Pride event that happens in late summer; and a newer Pride that is unconnected to the established one and is held in June. This newer event is the trainwreck. A couple of years, ago, almost immediately after it had first been held, whoever was in charge of their social media posted a quite manipulatively worded urgent plea for donations from attendees, because they had gone over budget and not made enough in the donation buckets on the gate. I asked them what on earth had happened in a comment and they said something about being let down by a company, blah blah...I don't know, it just struck me as incredibly manipulative. 'You attended this event already but your donations were over the weekend were disappointing :( so give us money now or we will NEVER hold this event again!!' Fuck off with that. Yesterday I was on facebook on a depression scroll and saw an odd post on their page. It was long and basically was heaping criticism on the way the event was held in previous years- they called it a 'glorified family fun day' (???) and said it had too many stalls selling tat and was not accessible enough- this was not elaborated on but I do know it had no steps, a mobiloo and a quiet zone so they probably could have added more detail on the specific problem there. Then it said that everyone needed to apply for free tickets in order to attend, on an app, but that people's personal data would not be used for anything and implied that this had caused concerns in previous years. It had not- in previous years the event was fully unticketed. All Prides in this city are free and you can just walk in and out. I thought this was a very weird post- as far as I know there had been no consensus that the previous events had been rubbish and too much like a family fun day. It is a family friendly Pride but was not child orientated and there were attendees of all ages. (There was an inflatable bouncey castle type thing present but hardly the main focus and I don't think it's enough to rant about family fun days, personally.) I think there was feedback from the first event about too many MLM stalls, but this was fixed at last year's event and the stalls were totally fine in number and quality. So what was up with this post? I ended up commenting expressing my confusion about the supposed feedback they had apparently received about what was wrong with the event previously, and especially about the ticketing system that it was introducing but talked about as if it was not new. Just went back and now the post has been deleted. Who is running this social media???

[blzzrdstryr]

Like a fairy tale

Yandere!Diluc x maid!fem!reader

Wordcount: 1921

CW: Yandere and slightly suggestive themes.

You loved reading fairy tales as a child - they were magical and hopeful, a needed retreat for a child of destitute parents. They were a promise that if you were good and kind and beautiful enough, eventually some faraway prince would come by and save you from poverty. And you tried to be good - you were obedient and hardworking and you pushed your hardest in the local school, yet hardship and scarcity still trailed your every step - the meager earnings your parents made weren't enough to buy you nice clothes or let you eat until you were sated, which in turn made social interactions harder: some kids sneered and humiliated you, some tried to help you out of pity. You disliked both groups: whether they were friendly or aggressive towards you, they still looked down on you.

Thus you decided to distance yourself from your peers - there was no knight in shining armour galloping towards you on a snow white steed, yet a good education could be your golden ticket to a better rich life. It was hard at first - to work and to study and to help your parents all while ignoring the demeaning and insulting comments the bullies made, but you gritted your teeth and pushed forward, imagining how wealthy you’ll become in the future and in the end our efforts were rewarded - you graduated as the best student, that led you to receiving a scholarship from Sumeru academy. Sparks and shine appeared in your eyes as you read the letter, barely stopping yourself from outright squealing and jumping from joy.

The moment of happiness didn’t last long though, as a reality again reminded you that there’s no place for fairy tales in the real world - scholarship covered the full cost of apprenticeship, but only it - you still had to spend money on the journey from Mondstadt to Sumeru, a place to rent and food, and if you still could find a job after your arrival in the foreign country and pay off the later two, trip required mora that you never had. At first you had a mad idea to traverse Teyvat on your own two feet - it would be a slow and arduous process, but cheap nonetheless. You later gave up on this plan - archons didn’t give you any vision, nor did you have fighting and travelling experience to aid you on the trail that no doubt would be full of slimes, hilichurls and other dangerous monsters.

And that’s how you started job hunting - you took on any work that promised you a hefty pay, be it some boring reports for guild of adventurers or an exciting yet risky endeavor of getting information for an extravagant cavalry captain, which then led you to Dawn Winery. Head housemaid, Adelinde, posted a job opening for a maid, and the prospect of a stable salary, free food and comfortable bed was enough to lure you in there - two or three years ago the previous owner of the winery died in the accident and his successor left Mond for some reason, leaving the maintenance and management of the winery on the shoulders of the said housemaid.

After a quick interview, the head maid demanded you to show her your cleaning skills, which you effortlessly did, having to look after the house by yourself all your childhood. It seems she was satisfied, as she nodded to you and asked to follow her as she led you to your room. Compared to the other two maids here, Hillie and Moco, who preferred to spend their work time in idle chat, you came off as highly professional and diligent worker. This contrast raised both your position and salary in the winery, as Adelinde started to entrust you with tasks more interesting than simple sweeping and cleaning.

You were outside the winery the day you met Diluc - returning from the city and carrying several stacks of milk and wheat you got chased by the hilichurls. Monsters didn’t leave you, no matter how long and how far you ran. You were ready to drop all the goods and have Adelinde to scold you for wastefulness and dereliction when Ragnvindr appeared and stole a breath from you. He looked just like the prince from your childhood tales, impossibly pretty and strong, arriving just when the creatures caught up with you and then defeating all of them with a single slash of great claymore. And just like a fairytale prince he helped you to get up and collect the scattered baggage and asked if you were okay. Then you two headed for the winery, you didn't know that he was it's owner at the time, chatting and thanking him, as he carried purchases. Adelinde almost fainted when she saw the return of the prodigal master in your company. After hastily taking goods from his hands, she made you apologize for rudeness and insubordination, but Diluc interrupted you saying it was fine.

Ragnvindr heir returned back to the winery and life went on its own, except the unreadable glares Diluc started to send you when you both were in the same room. It started off small: the quick glances that soon grew into intense staring. With his impassive stone face it was impossible to tell why he was glaring at you so much, so you acted as polite and professional as you could in his vicinity - after all you didn’t want to get fired and look for a new job. The key to this riddle presented itself during one day.

It was a bleak windy morning when Adelinde sent you to the city again, and as you walked the sky darkened and rain started. You returned absolutely soaked and shivering, teeth chattering and limbs slightly numb from cold and when Diluc saw you he ordered you to change in a low commanding voice. Frightened by the possible dismissal, you hurried putting on the uniform. Because of the haste you pulled it too tightly, hiking up a maid dress a little. It wasn’t up enough to reveal your hips or thighs, showing just a portion of knees that was usually hidden by the wide skirt.

Diluc’s eyes were glued on the uncovered joints, a subtle blush appearing on his pale cheeks. You continued to work, feeling how he consumed your legs with his eyes alone. He is lusting after me. You didn't know what to do with that revelation back then, embarrassed and slightly scared of attracting master Diluc's attention.

Nonetheless, an answer quickly came on the next day as you found a bonus to your salary, so big that it could be considered a payment for the next month. Diluc, despite his usually impassive face, seemed to be ashamed of the thoughts he had yesterday, with the body language telling you of his true feelings.

A plan came to mind. You hated yourself for it at first - it was low and disgraceful, you felt like a stereotypical manipulative gold digger, yet still decided to realize it in life - you needed mora, as fast and as much as possible. Over the time you spent working at the Dawn winery you noticed that Diluc, despite his obviously high intelligence, wasn't really good at judging one’s character, so he fell for your scheme pretty easily. Design you had in mind was pretty simple - to stir him up with small, innocuous gestures and changes that would slip past the outsider’s eyes.

Sometimes you applied a thin layer of healing lip balm on your lips, that so conveniently happened shine and glitter under the light, sometimes you donned your dress a little bit higher, opening the view of two delicate knees and sometimes after cleaning and working all day you felt so hot that you had to unfasten one or two buttons to cool off. Diluc, despite not showing it on his face, was obviously distracted and aroused, hands clenched into fists and a shaky, barely controlled exhale escaping his nose.

He started to pile you with bonuses and prizes; “for a well done job”, he said one time, averting his gaze and masking the shame in his voice under a huff. He also started to request you to specifically clean the rooms he occupied, his eyes sizing up almost every inch of your body. You felt how the lust and desire radiated off him, how his hands itched to trace your skin and have you at his mercy, yet he stopped every time with his steel strong control and self-discipline. You sensed how it dwindled little by little.

Diluc, in some perverted sense, was that fair prince of your childhood daydreams that would save you from poverty.

You almost had saved up the needed amount of money when you noticed the loss of your most cherished possession - an invitation to the Sumeru academy and scholarship certificate. With heart booming in your chest you started to look for it in the whole winery, without giving out that you were searching for something. It seems that you were unsuccessful in your attempts, as master of the winery soon called you into the office.

Here, he was sitting behind the desk with a familiar paper in his hand - your eyes widened as you saw it and you had an urge to run up to him and snatch the invitation from him. You performed a curtsy instead, closing the door behind you and waiting for him to speak, eyes still on the sheet in Diluc’s hold.

“[First], you are a diligent and skillful employee, Adelinde has a very high opinion of you” he started from afar, a slight rosy blush dusting his cheeks at "skillful employee".

"So as your employer I wouldn't want any harm to befall on your person, and" he shaked the invitation a couple of times, "it came to my attention that you were planning on travelling to Sumeru. I advise you against this nonsensical idea".

You gritted teeth, careful not to insult him with the couple of barbed words at the tip of your tongue. Nonsensical idea? This was your goal, a main reason why you worked so much and allowed yourself so little.

“I am sorry, master Diluc, I am afraid I can’t abandon this idea”, you say, response flat and controlled, a thunderstorm of emotions hidden beneath the faux calm, “It is my goal, and the main reason why I work here”. So I can have a bright and secure future, in which I won’t have to worry about the tomorrow ever again.

“I also learned that you were born into a low income family and you had to struggle in your life because of that ” a sudden mention of your less than glorious origin makes your face burn from the shame you thought you buried a long time ago. You are stunned, so he continues: “I believe this little endeavor of yours is also motivated by your desire for a stable future. Drop it, I travelled all across the Teyvat and there are horrors that can easily destroy you both in body and spirit”.

He stands up from the desk, and gets closer to you: “I can look after and provide for you, just stay there and you won’t have to worry about the future again ”. His hold on the paper gets tighter, pyro vision shining with a dangerous glint. A faint smell of smoke spreads through the room - a warning if you remain stubborn and unyielding.

Who could have known that the fair prince was a greedy dragon all along?

[a3shithole]

can I request headcanons of spring troupe (or any troupe) with an idol!s/o? thanks in advance!

Ooh! This should be interesting and kinda difficult, since Japanese idol culture when it comes to love life is kinda... y'know (´∀｀；)

I'll write headcanons for spring troupe for now! Spring Troupe with an idol!s/o! I'm more confident and comfortable on doing female idol since I used to be a Wota (an extreme one, if I'm being honest 💦), so reader will use feminine pronouns, sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. Feel free to request other troupes if you like this one. Have a nice day! 🌻

Sakuya

- Before you two date each other, you were already a fan of Mankai. You accidentally saw a poster of Romeo and Julius and decided to go watch the play. And then you saw Romeo. He became your favorite actor. He shines the brightest on stage and you just can't help but fall for him. You always disguise yourself, not wanting to divert the attention of the troupe to you when you go to Mankai plays. You always leave a gift for Sakuya on the closing night

- He can't believe he got a fan, on his very first play nonetheless! He keeps all of your gifts, along with the fan letter you include because it motivates him. He really wants to know who you are and thank you personally for your endless support

- One day, he saw Kazunari and Taichi watching an interview of an upcoming popular idol group in the living room. It was your group. It was showing a segment of your group doing a punishment mini-game. You are scribbling an answer on your paper and show it to the screen with a charming giggles

- That's when Sakuya almost yelped in surprise. He recognizes that hand-writing. The curve and how you put decorations around it. He felt like Kazunari and Taichi can hear his heartbeat, since the two of them looking at him with concern

- He excuses himself to his bedroom to do his homework, now feeling bashful knowing someone like you would be a fan of his

- He is now curious about you. He found your instablam and almost shrieked when he saw you holding one of the gift that is now in his possession. The comments flooded with who is that gift for or from

-  He is confident that it is you the one who's been supporting him. He had the urge to thank you face by face

-  So on closing night, he decided to sneakily hide and wait for you to drop your gift on the front table people usually put their gift. Each table labeled with the actors that are playing tonight

- It's almost time for the plays to begin and he almost gives up and goes back to backstage when someone with a hoodie and sunglasses arrives and drops a gift on the table with 'Sakuma Sakuya' labeled on it. He recognizes the cover letter you always use and finally realize it is really you behind those sunglasses, confirming his suspicion

- "S-She is so pretty!"

- Little did he realize, he said that out loud and not just in his thought. Surprising both you and Sakuya himself. He apologizes for creeping on you and explaining himself

- You were embarrassed that he knows who you are. But he is genuinely thanking you for your support and would like to know you better. And with that usual bright smile of his, you felt like you are falling for him

Masumi

- It is a total surprise for the Spring Troupe to hear Masumi listening to cheery idol songs. Is it something the Director likes? No, they know Izumi is not into that type of music

- He even starts hanging some posters of a certain girl that appeared to be an idol, on his bedside. Tsuzuru is kinda scared to see this change

- They also notice that he acts differently. He's less cold than he usually is. And most importantly, he didn't cling to Izumi like he usually does. And Izumi seems to be more close and more sister-like towards him. Leaving the entire company baffled. Did they miss a note somewhere?

- So the entire Spring Troupe decided to investigate and follow their fellow dark-haired friend around for some days

- And that's how they all ended up at an underground idol concert. Citron describing what's an underground idol so detailed to Sakuya is quite a bizarre sight

- "Can't believe this is what puberty does to oneself."

- "Itaru-san, now is not the time to joke around!"

- Then that's when they saw Masumi. With a girl that was just on the stage before. Dressed in cute bright colors. He looks so happy, chatting with you. And so does you

- And with that, Spring Troupe silently agrees to help Masumi and you to be with each other. In a healthier way. Which, Masumi accept, surprising them

- They helped him prepare himself for a date with you. Where the date should be. How he should confess his feelings. All of that cutesy stuff

- It took the entire Spring Troupe and a long tiring explanation from Tsuzuru to stop Masumi to get a wedding ring to give to you. With the help of Tsumugi, they get him a bouquet of flowers that Masumi can give to you. Yuki even helped Masumi dressed up

- Sakuya and Citron cheered and wish him good luck, Tsuzuru gave him a soft pat on his back, while Itaru and Chikage just gave a small thumbs up for their friend

- And there goes Masumi, going on a date

- You were flattered to receive the flowers from him and put them on a vase before you two went onto your date

- He brings you to a zoo. It was fun walking around, looking at animals while holding each other's hands. When it's the closing hour, he confesses how he felt towards you, with his face slightly flushed

- When he came back home, the Spring Troupe didn't need to ask him how the date was. It was answered clearly with his bright smile plastered on his face

Tsuzuru

- He met you when he was doing his part-time job as a barista. It was an embarrassing first impression. From Tsuzuru's point of view, that is

- You walk in to order something to drink while you wait for your manager to pick you up. But when your gaze met each other, he just stood still. In a daze. Staring at you. He was mesmerized by how beautiful you are. He finally snapped from his daydream when you waved your hand in front of him. He profusely apologizes with a red face and asked for your order again

- You're amused by his demeanor, you found him cute. So that's how you ended up being a regular on this cafe, just to met him

- Tsuzuru felt like he's about to combust when one day you casually introduce yourself and ask for his name

- When your manager taps your shoulder to go, you leave a piece of paper for him. Tsuzuru felt like he can die in peace when he realized you gave him your LIME ID

- He was about to message you when he's back at the dorm, until his eyes landed on a magazine, almost choked on his own spit when he saw YOU with some girls in a cute dress. "Sensational Idol Group This Year!" imprinted largely on the cover. He felt a bit intimidated. What if he's intruding on you while you're busy? But a part of him really wants to talk to you and want to know you. He realizes it was love at first sight for him

- He already typed something on his screen. All he needs to do is click the 'send' button. He's been staring at it for half an hour. Then someone surprised him, making him drop his phone. To say that he is in absolute horror when he realized the message was delivered was an understatement

- When you see that you are typing back to him, he closed his app. Heart beating fast. And then his phone vibrates. He cautiously opens his phone, to see a reply from you. He immediately replies

- You two text almost every day. Getting to know each other, what he does for a living, telling what happened at your work, his brothers... The topics keep flowing naturally. When he told you that he found out you are an idol is so funny to you

- You asked him if he wants to go on a date with you. You're a bit concerned if you were a bit too straightforward because he didn't reply for almost an hour. He finally replied with a simple 'sure'. The truth is he is freaking out with joy on the other side

- It was a nice date. You two watched a movie and ate lunch at a cozy desolate restaurant. He insists on escorting you back home

- You thanked him for today. When you're about to enter your home, he finally musters up his courage and confesses his feelings to you. You turn yourself back to him with a grin, and happily reciprocate his feeling

Citron

- It's kinda a funny accident that you and Citron ended up dating each other

- You got a day off and your manager let you do whatever you want to do, so you decided to take a stroll. That's when you saw a guy doing a... street act? He's reciting a line while doing wonky dance moves, managing to grab people's attention on the street. You finally recognize the dance. You saw it every day, your fans made that specific dance just for you after all

- You did not realize that people were starting to notice you there. An excited scream from an audience alerting everyone around you, and now all attention is on you

- You awkwardly smile at them, and they are now surrounding you. Asking for an autograph, a selfie, or even a handshake

- You felt a hand grab you, and it guides you out of the crowds. You now ended up in a secluded alley. It's the guy that was dancing just now. He doesn't look Japanese, so when he finally asks if you are okay in Japanese, you are relieved. You tell him you're okay and thanked him for helping you out from the situation

- He realized he hasn't introduced himself properly. Citron is his name. He seems like a nice person, so you decided to introduce him with your real identity. You're not surprised that he recognizes your name

- He then starts cheerfully rambling about someone in his theatre company who is quite popular like you, and... start advertising? You kinda didn't get what he said with his sloppy Japanese, but it's endearing to see how passionate he is talking about his theatre company

- He offered you a spare ticket to watch his upcoming plays, and before you could decline his kind gesture, he's already gone. Leaving you with a ticket in hand. You stared at the ticket with Mankai Company imprinted on it. It's not that far from here and you have a holiday on that day. So you why not?

- You came and watched the play. Now with proper disguise, not wanting to repeat the same mistake twice. You are pleasantly surprised watching how different he look on stage, and how different he sound

- When the show ends, he approaches you, complimenting him and thanking him for giving you a free ticket. He's a nice company to be with, so when he invites you to join the closing night party, you agree to it

- When you show up to the Mankai dormitory, everyone is so welcoming to you, some can't believe that you know Citron of all people. You and Citron become really close after that

- You always come to his plays and he always comes to your shows, sometimes with someone from Mankai. Or even the entire company

- One day he gave you a box of dates*. On valentine's day. You thought he mistook it as chocolate, but with a serious expression, he then explains to you that it is a tradition from his country to give these to someone you love. You are flustered to hear his... confession. But you accept it gladly

Itaru

- Before you two were dating, he was your number one fan. All of your merch? He has an altar full of it. Your live shows? He never misses one. Your appearance in an obscure rhythm game? You bet he will whale his way to get that exclusive card of your character just to be able to hear your voice lines of "Welcome home, Producer!"

- "Chigasaki, did you sleep...?"

- "No, and I refuse to do so until I get her card. Now leave, I'm busy here."

- "But today is Monday."

- "...Can you tell the boss that I'm si--" "No."

- The fact that you two ended up dating each other is a dream come true for Itaru. You are as angelic as your idol persona appears to be. Sure, you have a side you never show as an idol, but that shows you are just a human like him. And that just make him love you even more

- You two met through work. Itaru's company was doing a promotional campaign and he was the one assigned to be the head of the project. He was irritated because it will affect his gaming time and his time fanboying over you

- But when you show up at the meeting to discuss the promotional campaign, he almost screams. The idol that he adores so much is in front of him! In a casual dress and polite smile threw to him

- It took so much for him to stay in his business persona. He saw you on your live shows. But to be able to sit in front of you? God. You are so beautiful up close, he can't help it. It is a miracle that he stayed in character the whole meeting. When he's back to the dorm, he gushes himself to Banri, Sakuya, and Citron that are happened to be in the living room

- "Ooh! You met a gravure* idol?"

- "The hell you know gravure from? She's from an idol group. Not gravure."

- "...what's gravu--" "I will stop you right there, Sakuya."

- You were charmed with his princely persona. You two ended up getting close with each other and even staying in contact after the promotional campaign is over. He asked you to a fancy dinner one day, you happily accepted. He dressed up so nicely, you can't help but stare at him the whole night. At the end of the date, he confesses to you about his feeling, and you accept his feeling

- When you find his secret side, you find it really adorable, while he got extremely flustered. He's trying his best to explain why he has an altar filled with your merch, but you just hush him down, telling him that you are flattered that you are his oshi*. You even tell him that he0 can secretly be on backstage on your next lie show. Knowing you don't mind this side of him, he took a mental note that you are the one for him

- He is still your number one fan, even after you two date each other. He sometimes sent you a fan cam of you making weird faces that he found on the internet and jokingly said "this u?"

Chikage

- It is a mystery how you two ended up dating each other. Whenever someone asks Chikage about it, no one can tell if he's telling the truth or his usual lie

- "Ah, yeah. We met each other when my company was using her group for promotional purposes."

- "Hold on Senpai, our company never did a promotional campaign...?"

- When people from Mankai asked you how you two met, you laughed and said, "He kidnapped me."

- Perhaps Chikage's habit of lying rubbing onto you. The highschooler of Mankai is playing detective and trying to solve this mystery. Will they find out the truth? Who knows

- He is not fond of showing his private life, which benefits both of you, considering both of your work. It will be a huge scandal if people found you are in a relationship. With that, Chikage takes extra steps and makes sure to erase traces of any kind of hint that you are in a relationship. Theory? Gossip? No one able to see it because it mysteriously disappears as soon as it touches the interweb

- He has zero interest in idols, and found the culture around it weird, but he is still supportive of you being one

- "Oh! I'm surprised you have this magazine! There's my interview in it!"

- He got his way to make sure you are safe when you are doing meet and greet. Idol fans, especially female idols can be extreme at times, and he will not allow you to get hurt

- When you come back from your tour, you always bring Chikage local spices that you got from your tour. It's a tradition at this point

- "I found a lot of spices in Korea!"

- "Nice. Did you get anything special from there?"

- "Yup! I got this thing from a fan! Apparently, it's really popular because of how spicy it is! It's uhhh... Samyang*? We can try it together!"

- You ended up crying yourself out from how spicy the instant noodle is. You curse on him when you saw him casually put more spice in it

- From an outside perspective, Chikage seems to be okay with you often going on tour and the two of you can't spend a lot of time together. Chikage himself often have a business trip so he respects your dedication

- But when he starts missing you, he always tries to busy himself with work. Even if it's mundane stuff like hanging out with the Spice Club more or the Spring Troupe. Which, only Hisoka notices

- "I know you are thinking about her. Just go call her if you miss her, April."

- "I'll give you marshmallow to shut you up."

*dates: small sweet fruits from dates palm

*gravure: female model on magazines marketed to men

*oshi: term for someone you support/fan of

*samyang: a brand of spicy instant noodle from Korea

[nicknellie]

@theanarik requested: a willex alive au, friends pining so much for each other to lovers, in which Alex maybe gets flirted at and he tries to downplay it but Willie gets jealous (or vice versa) and they end up fighting about it but then realize they are in love with each other BUT THEN THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. And then they kith out of nowhere????

I love this prompt so much, I’m always here for friends to lovers and pining! Thank you so much for suggesting it! I’m going to be honest, most of this was written between midnight and half past one in the morning, but that’s when I do my best work so I honestly think this might be one of my favourite and best things I’ve written.

Delicately Deliberate

It was a typical Saturday. Though the day was bleak and chilly, the sun shone brightly, illuminating the otherwise washed-out early spring streets and the bustling people going about their business, heads bowed against the biting breeze. Alex stood outside the museum doors like every Saturday, wrapped up warm in two hoodies but relishing the feeling of the sun on his face – he could bear the cold if only for the promise of brighter, happier days. He was waiting for Willie; they met at the museum every Saturday because entry was half price and they both enjoyed visiting. Luke called these meet-ups dates, Reggie called them cute, and Julie called them domestic, but Alex simply called them friendship.

But there were times he had to remind even himself that that was all there was between him and Willie, a friendship. A very close friendship, but a friendship nonetheless. So what if they held hands more often than not? Sometimes holding hands with friends was comforting. So what if when they met up at the museum they talked about their days, shared secrets and gossip, stared at each other more than they did the artwork? Sometimes it was nice to catch up with a friend. So what if Alex’s heart skipped a beat every time Willie laughed? Sometimes it was nice to see a friend be happy.

Although he could admit that maybe he was lying to himself with that one. Every time Willie flipped his hair, smiled that cheeky smile, playfully nudged Alex’s arm, discreetly slipped his hand into Alex’s, or truth be told did anything at all, Alex melted. If Willie smiled, Alex smiled; if Willie laughed, Alex laughed; if Willie was sad, Alex was too. He knew that his feelings for Willie ran deeper than just friendship, but what they had – this friendship of theirs – it was good, it was silly and fun and he didn’t want to do anything to ruin it.

So he took those silent confessions to himself, every thought about the crinkle of Willie’s eyes as he smiled or his endearingly scuffed shoes or his legs that were covered in plasters more often than not, and he locked them far away. Besides – he loved being friends with Willie.

“Hey, hotdog,” Willie said, sliding up to Alex with a smile brighter than the sun, hopping off his skateboard and tucking it under his arm. “Sorry I took so long. Traffic was hell.”

As Willie took off his helmet and shook his hair free, Alex wanted to tell him that the way the sun glinted off his hair made him look like an angel on Earth, and the way it caught in his eyes made them shine brighter than any star. He wanted to say that when the streaky sunlight broke through the clouds it was as if it sought Willie out specifically to shine on him, to show him off to the world, to make him glow.

Instead of saying any of that, Alex pointed out, “You don’t drive.”

“I skated directly into someone,” Willie admitted with a shrug. “They threatened to sue me but I’m pretty sure they were joking. I don’t know, I skated away before they could say anything else.”

Alex wasn’t the least bit surprised. Willie was amazing on a skateboard but he had the unfortunate tendency of getting lost in his own thoughts which led to a worrying amount of accidents. Once Alex had pulled him out of the way of an oncoming car just moments before disaster would have struck – when he had asked Willie what he had been thinking about that had distracted him so much, he hadn’t been given an answer.

“Well, I say we get inside before whoever you ran over finds you and seeks their revenge,” Alex said, gesturing to the museum behind him. Willie beamed and took Alex’s hand, leading him inside.

They had a very comfortable Saturday routine. They met at the museum at ten o’clock and whoever arrived first (usually Alex because he hated being late) would wait for the other. They would go in, pay their entry fees, alternating each week between who paid, and they would wander around. They wouldn’t pay much attention to the exhibits unless there was something new or a temporary instalment to check out – mostly they just talked to each other, enjoying one another’s company. In a completely friendly way, Alex had to remind himself on occasion.

Their schedule didn’t waver, and neither did the museum’s, so every time they came it was the same guy on reception. As a result, they’d become sort of friendly with him, enough to be on a first name basis. His name was Todd, a lanky redhead with kind eyes and a permanent smile. He was a charming boy about Alex and Willie’s age who had a weekend job at the museum. He was always pleased to see them, and chatting to him was a nice part of their weekly routine, Alex thought.

Willie had never seemed keen on Todd. Alex had never figured out why and Willie was unwilling to tell him.

“Like clockwork,” Todd said as they approached the front desk. He was grinning from ear to ear, enthusiastic as always. Alex smiled back at him. “The usual? Two tickets coming right up. Which one of you is paying today?”

“I think that’s me,” Alex said, reaching into his pocket to dig out his wallet. He handed over the cash and Todd, if possible, smiled even wider.

“Look at you, always the gentleman,” he said, laughing too loudly. Alex smiled awkwardly. “You should really let someone be a gentleman for you once in a while.”

Alex wasn’t sure what he was getting at. Todd knew that he and Willie took turns paying, it happened every week, surely it was obvious that Willie was just as gentlemanly as he was.

“Well, Willie does it quite a lot,” he pointed out. Willie smiled gently at him, playfully nudging him in a way that sent his heart into overdrive. Todd just tittered.

“Yes, well,” he said dismissively. “If you’d let me then I could show you just how much of a gentleman I can be. I know I’m at work so I shouldn’t really be asking, but would you mind if I got your number?”

Oh. Oh. That’s what this was. Todd was flirting. Probably – people usually only asked for other people’s numbers when they wanted to go on a date, right? And Todd had said he wanted to prove he could be a gentleman. Surely that meant he was planning on asking Alex out?

Alex suddenly had no idea what to do. If he was reading this right, and he was fairly certain he was, then he and Todd were on completely different pages. Alex saw Todd as an acquaintance and that was how he wanted to stay, he didn’t want it to be anything more. There was only one person he wanted anything more with, and that boy was currently stood beside him, stiff as a plank, face eerily devoid of emotion, toying with a wheel on his skateboard. But he couldn’t just tell Todd that he couldn’t have his number, that would be awkward on a thousand levels – equally he couldn’t say yes because it would be unfair to lead Todd on.

He did a quick toss-up between his two options and made his decision purely on what would embarrass him less.

“Sure,” he said quickly. Grinning, Todd handed him a post-it note and a pen and Alex scribbled down his phone number, handing it back to him. He gave a tight smile, then turned on his heel. “Okay. Come on, Willie, let’s go.”

Willie didn’t say anything, but Alex felt him fall into step beside him. Well, if it could be called ‘beside’ – Willie was arms’ length away, so far that Alex couldn’t have touched him if he reached out as far as he could. It was strange – usually they would walk so close that they bumped shoulders and almost always ended up hand in hand – but Alex shrugged it off and just walked himself closer to Willie. It only registered that something definitely wasn’t right when he saw Willie’s shoulders tense, and he ducked his head when Alex looked in his direction.

“Hey,” he said gently, slowing his steps and placing a soft hand at Willie’s elbow, stopping him too. “You okay?”

Willie avoided eye contact like it would kill him which was how Alex knew he was lying when he said, “I’m fine. Come on, let’s just get this over with.”

They walked through the museum, stood as close as they normally would, but this time it felt uncomfortable and invasive somehow. Alex couldn’t pinpoint when, but Willie’s chipper mood had dulled and he had turned sullen and sulky. He made several attempts to start a conversation, asking Willie about his day and the rest of his week, telling him his own stories, but he was met either with a disinterested hum or cold silence.

It felt so wrong. Where had Willie’s heart-stopping smile gone? His bright, unrestrained giggles? The spark in his eyes that glowed especially brightly here, in the museum? Where was he?

It went on for twenty minutes until Alex finally grew tired of it. When they were alone in a deserted room which housed only a picturesque oil painting, he stepped right in front of Willie so he had no choice but to look at him.

“What’s going on with you?” he said, trying not to let his frustration show. It ebbed away just slightly when he saw the stung expression on Willie’s face. “When we got here you were happy and excited like normal, what’s changed since we came in?”

“It’s nothing,” Willie insisted. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It clearly does or you wouldn’t be this upset.”

“I’m not upset,” Willie protested, clearly lying, the waver in his voice betraying him.

“You are,” Alex said, taking a risk and planting his hands on Willie’s shoulders. “I know you, Willie, and this isn’t you.”

“You clearly don’t know me,” Willie snapped.

Alex’s hands dropped from Willie’s shoulders without him meaning to let go. Hurt, he took a step back. There was anger on Willie’s face now but Alex had no idea where it was coming from. Maybe Willie was right – this certainly wasn’t the version of him Alex knew.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, weak.

Willie’s face worked for a moment and Alex could see the cogs in his head turning as he desperately searched for the right words to explain himself.

He gave a haggard sigh and said, “That guy was flirting with you, Alex! He has been for the past three months, as long as we’ve been coming here together!”

Alex didn’t see what that had to do with anything. Why would Todd flirting with him mean anything? But that was the path Willie had chosen to stray down, so Alex followed him.

“I’m sure he was just being friendly.”

Willie laughed mirthlessly. “Sure. Friendly. He’s been more than friendly with you ever since he first saw you.”

Alex shuffled uneasily. Maybe he hadn’t noticed at the time, but after Todd’s little display earlier a lot of his previous behaviour had made a lot more sense. Like the time he’d called Alex ‘possibly the most attractive guy I have ever seen’. Alex wasn’t sure now how he had dismissed that as friendly chitchat.

“Okay, fine, maybe he was flirting with me. So what?”

“You gave him your number!”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Yes,” Willie exclaimed.

Alex raised an eyebrow. He suddenly didn’t like where this conversation was going. “So I’m not allowed to have people flirt with me?”

Eyes widening, Willie seemed to realise how Alex had taken it and immediately started to backtrack. “No, that’s not– that came out wrong, I mean–”

“You know, at least he’s taking an interest in me,” Alex sneered. He still couldn’t understand where Willie’s initial burst of anger had come from, but now that he was riding high on his own he didn’t care to find out. “It’s more than you’ve done today, ignoring me like I’m some stranger to you. Go on then, if the problem isn’t that he was flirting with me then what is it? Are you angry because he wasn’t flirting with you? Do you like Todd?”

“No,” Willie groaned exasperatedly. He took a desperate step towards Alex, but he instinctively stepped back. He half regretted it when he saw Willie flinch at it, but the other half of him felt some sick satisfaction. “That’s not it. I don’t like Todd. It’s just— God, Alex, how can you tell when I’m upset and when Todd’s flirting with you but you can’t tell...”

Willie seemed to lose momentum, run out of battery. He wilted, looking down to the ground, and Alex had enough.

“What is your problem?” he yelled. He hadn’t meant to. In the empty room, his voice bounced off the walls, echoing around the pair of them. He heard the scorn in his own words and shattered. He sounded hateful – he never wanted to sound like that to Willie.

Willie stood there, silent, motionless. He looked like he would break if anything touched him, even as lightly as a butterfly. But then he swallowed thickly, blinked a few times (Alex prayed he wasn’t blinking tears from his eyes) and looked at Alex dead on.

“I’m going home,” he said, voice heavy. “I’m sorry.”

And without another word, he hurried out of the room, leaving a wide berth as he swerved around Alex and passed through the large double doors, out of sight.

*

That night, Alex lay in bed, unable to sleep. His mind, which usually wandered at night like it was out for a pleasant stroll, was stuck in one place like a broken record. All he could hear was his furious voice ricocheting off the museum’s walls, all he could see was Willie’s broken expression, all he felt was his own private kind of heartbreak.

He picked up his phone and opened up his chat with Willie. There was a long message that he’d written out waiting for him, he just hadn’t hit send. The words hadn’t felt right as he wrote them and they felt even worse as he read through them for what must have been the hundredth time. He erased the entire thing, left himself with a blank slate, but couldn’t find the words to fill it.

Instead of wasting time trying to locate words that didn’t want to be found, he turned his attention to Willie in another way. He opened up his camera roll and scrolled mindlessly through his photos. Some of them were photos of him, Julie, Reggie, and Luke. A lot of them were strange photos of things that Luke had sent to him, always captioned ‘this is you’. But a good third of all his photos were of him and Willie, or simply Willie by himself.

Him and Willie at the beach. Him and Willie on their trip to the farm. Him and Willie dressed up as an angel and devil on Halloween. Willie wearing a full suit of armour (Alex still didn’t know how Willie had got his hands on that). Willie behind Alex’s drums when Alex had unsuccessfully tried to teach him how to play. A selfie Willie had sent to him from A&E six months ago, his arm in a cast - it had been captioned ‘you can be the first to sign it’.

Their argument baffled Alex. He had no idea where any of it had come from. Until he came across one particular photo.

It wasn’t even of Alex and Willie, not really. It was focused on Reggie posing beside a statue like it was a real person. It had been taken when Alex, Willie, Reggie, Luke, and Julie had all spent a day in Hollywood as if they were tourists, trying to see everything for the first time, experiencing it all like it was brand new to them. There was a detail in the background however that caught Alex’s eye.

He zoomed in to see him and Willie sat together on a bench. Alex himself was looking at Reggie, laughing at his antics. He remembered it, specifically hoping that Julie wouldn’t accidentally get him in the photo when she took it. But next to Alex, Willie wasn’t looking at Reggie. His eyes were focused solely on Alex and on his face was the softest, most genuine smile he could have ever imagined. It was a smile he knew very well.

It was the same smile he wore himself whenever he was with Willie.

At that point, Alex realised two things. The first thing was that he was so completely and utterly in love with Willie that if he wasn’t careful it might actually have killed him and he had no idea how he hadn’t realised the extent of his feelings before. The second and more exciting thing was that if Alex’s suspicions were right then there was a chance Willie felt the same way. It was a terrifying thought, but the more he considered it the more sense it made.

That had been why Willie was so angry at Alex giving Todd his number. He didn’t dislike people flirting with Alex, and he didn’t like Todd and envy Alex for it. No, nothing of the sort. Willie was angry because he liked Alex.

Alex prayed he wasn’t misreading the situation. God only knew he was oblivious when it came to matters like this. Still, even though he had worked out what was going on, it left him wondering where he was supposed to go from here. What was he supposed to do? He still wanted to text Willie, reach out to him at long last, but their argument was still fresh in his mind and he wasn’t sure Willie would want to be contacted by him. Besides, he still had no idea what to say.

So he did nothing but lie in wait and eventually he fell into a fitful sleep.

*

Willie and Alex had a routine for Sundays as well. At midday, they would meet in the sand beneath the pier and simply be with each other. Sometimes they would just sit there and talk or rest in comfortable silence, sometimes they would stroll up and down the sand clasping each other’s hands, sometimes they’d chase each other across the beach and howl like excited children. Like the museum, Luke called these meet-ups dates, Reggie called them cute, Julie called them domestic, and now Alex could admit that maybe that’s what they were.

All he could do was hope that Willie would show up. They hadn’t spoken since the day before and Alex couldn’t be certain Willie would still want to see him today. Now he sat in the sand in the shade underneath the pier, watching the sea breathe as the waves rose and fell, swelling and drooping like a lazy heartbeat. The day was much warmer than the day before, the sun even brighter too.

He felt Willie drop into the sand beside him. Neither of them said a word. The only sounds were the crashing of the waves and footsteps above them from people walking up and down the pier.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d still come,” Alex ventured. It sounded lame. He wished he could have said something a little bit… more.

Willie shrugged. “It’s you. I’ll always come for you.”

It was such a typical thing for Willie to say, and so telling. Alex huffed a laugh, shaking his head fondly. He had no idea how he hadn’t clocked onto Willie’s feelings long before.

“What’s so funny?” Willie asked. There was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

“I’m an idiot,” Alex replied.

Another silence fell between them, lighter than before. Alex kept watching the sea, but found that his eyes kept straying in Willie’s direction. Willie was glancing around, watching gulls swoop through the sky, gazing at a dog that ran through the shallow water not far away, looking above at the wood of the pier above them. Alex watched as Willie’s fingers traced lazy, thoughtless patterns in the sand. The sand wasn’t wet so the patterns didn’t hold, grains cascading as soon as Willie’s fingers moved on, blurring whatever lines he made.

Alex didn’t think. He just took Willie’s hand. Willie, without so much as looking, linked their fingers together.

A beat passed. And another. The world faded to a haze of faded colours and dim white noise. Alex looked at Willie and Willie looked at Alex, and Alex couldn’t tell who moved first but a moment later they were kissing.

It was gentle but full of surety and care. Delicately deliberate. And it couldn’t have lasted more than five seconds before both pulled away. There was the tiniest of pauses and in unison both descended into giggles, clutching each other’s hands, foreheads pressed together.

It was everything Alex had ever imagined and so much more.

He couldn’t tell how long it was before they calmed down. Naturally, like it was all he was built to do, Willie leaned against Alex, his head on his shoulder, and took a deep, calm breath.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Alex said quietly. “I should have realised so much sooner.”

Willie laughed, merry but subdued. His long fingers started toying with the sand again – this time Alex was fairly sure that one of the patterns he drew was a heart. “Don’t apologise. It was both of us. We got there eventually, right?”

Alex chuckled, linking his fingers through Willie’s again. “Right. We got there in the end.”

And then, for no other reason than the fact that he could, he pressed a kiss to the top of Willie’s head.

“You missed,” Willie said, turning around. His eyes were glinting with something like mirth. Alex raised an eyebrow.

“I did?”

Willie nodded, placed a sand-covered hand on Alex’s cheek, and pulled him in for another kiss. Alex melted, his heart skipping a dozen beats at once, and realised once and for all that this thing he had with Willie definitely wasn’t just a friendship.

[mokuhchi-manuscripts]

Summer Troupe with an S/O who Shares the Same Hobby

A/N: For Kumon's, I say baseball but please know I mean baseball AND softball, I just didn't want to keep writing 'baseball/softball'. Hope that's okay! Hope y'all like it!

CW(s): none

❂ Tenma Sumeragi - Acting

Tenma thinks it’s really interesting that the two of you are into acting

He’ll definitely ask to practice scenes with you, although he seems to always get flustered when practicing romantic ones -so he just avoids eye contact because the moment he looks at you he dies inside-

If you do film acting, he’ll make sure to watch every movie you’re in no matter if you’re a lead or an extra. If you do theatre acting, he’ll try to attend as many of your performances as he can. If you just like acting but don’t really participate in anything, he’ll still support you and love practicing with you

If you need to practice for an audition, he’d love to help you out. No matter if it’s critiquing a performance or helping you practice dialogue, he’ll do anything to help you be successful

“Hey Tenma, can you help me?”

“Yeah, sure, what do you need help with?”

“I have an audition coming up and I need to work on this dialogue with someone.”

“Sure, I’ll gladly help.” You went over to sit next to Tenma and shared a script between the two of you. You couldn’t help but notice how his ears turned red from the proximity. The two of you went back and forth reading the dialogue, Tenma giving pointers at times on which emotion you should convey when, when to pause, and how to effectively give the best performance you could give. Even if he could be a bit redundant at times with his pointers, he did it out of love for you and hope for your success as he knows how amazing you are, and he wants everyone else to be able to know too.

If he ever has the opportunity to act with you, he’ll take it in a heartbeat. He’d absolutely love to work with you no matter what type of acting it is

Tenma is one of your main supporters in your acting career, and you can bet that he will stay by your side through all of it

❂ Yuki Rurikawa - Fashion and Sewing

Yuki loves that you’re good at fashion; I mean, he never has to worry about whether or not you look fashionable so he knows you two are always the cutest people in the room

If you ever make him clothing in his style he’ll feel incredibly honored that you took the time to make something for him that he’d actually wear

If either of you are struggling to pick an outfit for the day, the other will help and throw out ideas

Yuki was amazing at fashion. He knew it, you knew it, and most people knew it. No matter the type of fashion, he could easily put together a concise outfit in every style that would accentuate everyone’s so-called good side. So on days like today when you had no clue what to wear, Yuki was the person you went to. You hit the video call button next to his contact and waited for him to answer.

“Hey, what’s up?” Yuki answered the phone.

“Hey, Yuki! I’m not too sure what to wear today so I was wondering if you could help.”

“Sure, I’d love to. What are you thinking so far?” You set down your phone as he spoke and held up the outfits you were thinking about.

“Right top with left bottoms would look good. They’d look really good with that one pair of shoes you own too…”

If you enjoy sewing and are good at it, you can bet that Yuki is making you help him with costumes.

If you help with sewing the costumes, you’ll most likely befriend Taichi as well and the three of you may become quite close due to the amount of time you spend together

❂ Muku Sakisaka - (Shoujo) Manga

Muku is ecstatic that you also love manga, specifically shoujo

He’ll invite you to the shoujo manga club meetings he has with Sakyo and Kazunari so all of you can talk about that meetings manga

If you actually attended, he’d be so beyond himself with excitement that he’d be basically vibrating the whole time (Kazunari thinks it’s sweet how happy you make Muku)

He’ll give you so many recommendations that he won’t expect you to read them all, but if you do he’ll be so happy

He’d love it if you gave him recommendations too! Muku would be sure to read your favorite mangas so he can talk with you about them

“Hey Muku! Look at this new manga I found! I think you’d enjoy it!” you said, walking into his room.

“Oh, hey! What’s the manga called?” he perked up at the sound of your voice and began making his way over to you.

“It’s this manga called Wotakoi: Love is Hard for an Otaku?”

“Oh, I've heard of it!”

“Really? Would you like to read it? I have the whole set if you’d like to borrow it.”

“I’d love to! Oh my gosh, I’m so excited to read this!”

“I’ll bring it over tomorrow then if that’s alright.

He just feels so accepted with you since you have the same interest in manga and he feels like he can be his full authentic self with you, just as he can be with his troupe

❂ Misumi Ikaruga - Triangles

Misumi is ecstatic to find someone with the same passion for triangles as him

He definitely calls you his triangle, and it makes him happy beyond belief you understand how much that means to him personally as you also love triangles

If you call him your triangle, he will positively melt on the spot and cover you in small kisses

Triangle hunting dates! The two of you will most definitely go out together to search for the shape

Be ready to be gifted so many triangle things- you can hardly believe how many items he finds especially to gift you but that’s Misumi for you

“I brought you a gift!” Misumi said one day as he walked into your room.

“Really?” you said, excited.

“Mhm! Close your eyes and put your hands out.” You complied with Misumi’s orders as you buzzed with anticipation. You felt a light object be placed into your hands as you heard Misumi shuffle closer to you. “You can open your eyes now.” When you did, you spotted a triangle shaped charm with a heart on the inside in your palms. You reflexively clenched your hands and held the charm to your heart. “Do you like it?” he asked. You could almost hear a hint of nervousness in his voice.

“Misumi, I love it.” a smile broke out onto his face as he heard you say that.

“Really!? That makes me so happy!” he said as he pulled you into a hug.

The rest of the company find it so odd that Misumi is dating someone with the same love of triangles as him, but at the very least the find it cute and mildly entertaining

❂ Kazunari Miyoshi - Painting

Kazunari thinks it’s so cool that you like painting as much as him!

Get ready for painting dates where the two of you just talk about everything and nothing while working on your own projects

Do you know that old social media trend where people would paint on their significant other’s back? Yeah, he’d definitely love for the two of you to do that and take a picture so he can post it on Instablam

If he’s ever stuck on a project, he’ll ask you for help

You walked into Kazunari’s room and saw his head on his desk. Before you approached your boyfriend you waved to Muku who gladly said hello.

“He’s struggling.” Muku said as he climbed down his ladder and left the room. You just nodded in acknowledgement, grabbed a chair, and went to sit next to Kazunari. “I need help.” he whined, placing his head on your shoulder in an attempt to get your attention.

You placed a kiss on his cheek and then spoke, “what is it?”

“I can’t think of an idea for the next play’s poster.

“Okay, what’s the play about?” He explained the entirety of the plot in one fell swoop, and in the back of your mind you couldn’t help but applaud Tsuzuru at his creativity.

“Okay, so I was thinking…”

If you’re ever stuck on a project, he will also always help!

If you ever need any critique he’d love to go over your works with you, and he’d also love to receive constructive criticism when he asks for it

He just loves dating someone with the same passion for art he does since you can understand where he’s coming from a bit better when it comes to talking about it

❂ Kumon Hyodo - Baseball

Although Kumon doesn’t play baseball anymore, he still loves the fact you enjoy the sport as much as he does

If you play, he’ll definitely practice with you and attend any games he can. He’s definitely one of the loudest on the sidelines but he can’t help it! He’s so proud of you

Kumon cheered as you went up to bat. He wanted to make sure you could hear that he was there watching and supporting you. He mentally wished you good luck, but in his heart he knew you didn’t need it as the two of you had been practicing very hard. He watched as you went up to bat and he sat with baited breath and he watched as you did amazingly.

After the game he went to greet you and immediately pulled you into a hug.

“Kumon, I’m sweaty!” you protested, but the entire time you were laughing and didn’t make any move to push him away.

If you don’t play but only watch baseball, he’s still excited to have someone to talk baseball about to someone/watch baseball with

He’ll definitely invite you to any professional baseball games he gets tickets for

He absolutely loves enjoying his favorite sport with you and he hopes that you do as well

· · ─────── · ☆ · ─────── · ·

Masterlists || FaQ || Requesting Rules/Remarks

[theartofimagining13]

WRITTEN BY: A.Wölf.

SYNOPSIS: They are very bad men but, on the scale of evil, where do they rate?

ALEX INTRO | COMPLETE CAST POSTER & SOUNDTRACK |  AESTHETIC, POSTERS & MORE

PREVIOUS CHAPTERS: 1.”Parallels”  2. “Master of Puppets”  3. ”White Knuckle Tight” 4. “Bad Hombres”

WARNINGS/NOTES: Let us not forget that this is a work of fiction and the actors mentioned here are just portraying my characters. There’s violence, blood, and death.

There’s also changes in POV.

Enjoy.

The neon cow sign was buzzing outside the butcher shop under the cloudy sky.

Inside, Bill was standing in line and staring at his take-a-number ticket. The butcher smiled at him when his turn came up and he approached the counter. He asked for a specific cut of meat.

“Do you mind if I cut it myself?” Bill asked motioning at the cleaver on the counter. He chuckled at the butcher’s reaction. “Sorry. I’m a chef.”

The butcher stared into his green eyes. There was something about them he found quite unsettling. Only then, he became aware of the two men behind Bill who looked nothing like customers even though they were holding their tickets too. Through the glass doors, he could see a third man, discreetly blocking the entrance by standing there and lighting a cigarette. The silence that followed was unnerving. The man started to sweat. He instinctively reached for his cleaver but Bill was faster.

He snatched it and viciously swung it to chop the butcher’s fingers on his right hand, each one of them except his thumb. Drops of blood landed on Bill’s face while the man screamed from the excruciating pain.

“Where the fuck is he?” Bill asked.

One of his men pulled out a shotgun, previously concealed in his jacket, and aimed at the butcher who was sobbing. Bill grudgingly got a plastic bag from a dispenser adjacent to him, picked up each severed finger and put them inside. He waved the bag in front of the butcher.

“I heard somewhere that if you put them on ice, a doctor can reattach them. I might let you get to it if you answer the fucking question.” He raised his eyebrows. “Come on, man. Don’t you want your fucking fingers back?”

The terrified, trembling butcher slowly turned his head to glance over his shoulder for Bill to follow his line of sight. He noticed the plastic strip door in the back of the store.

“Thank you.” Bill said as he forced a smile and let the plastic bag fall on the counter. But that smile faded in the next second as he walked away. “Shoot him.” He ordered.

The butcher immediately received an impact to the chest and his lifeless body plopped down on a chair behind him.

Bill got the shotgun and his men pulled out their pistols as they went through the strip curtain and into the walk-in freezer. In the back, behind all the hanging meat, they found a secret door that led to an underground room. They barged in and found four men forming a circle around two others; one of them was on his knees, with his hands tied behind his back and a black hood over his head, while the other was just standing in front of him and holding a chainsaw, about to pull on the start cord.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” Bill warned calmly enough to get their attention and without provoking an immediate violent reaction.

But they all reached for the guns holstered in their waistbands at the sight of his shotgun and company. All in vain, for Bill and his men fired away before their fingertips could even brush the handle of their weapons. One by one, they all fell to the ground. The man with the chainsaw had been shot in the kneecaps and was still alive and writhing in pain. Bill kicked the chainsaw out of reach and stood next to him.

“Cine dracu’ ești!? (Who the fuck are you!?)” The man yelled.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” Bill scoffed. “You’re with that Romanian Black Sheep son of a bitch?”

While the man kept cursing in Romanian, Bill squatted down next to the one that was kneeling and tied up. He removed the hood and met his older brother’s blue eyes which widened slightly with surprise and relief. Alexander was badly wounded and showed obvious signs of torture. Angry and worried Bill freed him and helped him stand up. He then pressed the shotgun barrel against the Romanian man’s cheek, ready to end his life.

“No.” Alexander stopped him with a hand gesture and hoarse voice.

Bill frowned but watched as his brother staggered towards the chainsaw, picked it up. While the man begged for his life, one of Alexander’s saviors brought back two gas cans and started pouring it all over the shop. Alexander pulled on the start cord. The Romanian man’s blood splattered all over the two brothers, Bill calmly pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. After a few drags, he threw it on the ground.

The victorious Swedes were walking towards their cars when the butcher shop exploded behind them.

Alexander was immersed in a bath of ice, finally healing in his Swedish mansion after being kidnapped and tortured for days by Black Sheep’s people. Bill entered the bathroom holding a clean towel, a glass of water and a couple painkillers. He set everything down next to the bathtub and sat on the edge, adjacent to Alexander’s feet so he could face him.

“How are you feeling?”

Instead of responding, his older brother took the pills.

“I’ve been thinking about your plan to take over America but if you want to deal with Black Sheep first, I’d be more than happy to help you.”

“How many times have I told you not to get involved?” Alexander scolded.

“Alexander, I am ready.” Bill retorted. “I think I proved that today.”

“You’re not ready.”

“No? Who saved your fucking life then?”

Alexander stood up and wrapped the towel around his dripping body before getting out of the bathtub. Bill tried but it was hard to keep a straight face at the sight of the multiple bruises all over his brother’s body. Almost as hard as it was for Alexander to see Bill for the grown man he was; in his eyes, he’d always be just a kid and the baby brother he had to protect. Especially from the life of crime he had inherited from their father.

“Alexander, come on!” Bill complained. “I can do this. I’ve been going over it in my head and it’s the perfect plan to destroy Oscar’s cartel.”

“Bill, you’re asking me to let you infiltrate one of the most dangerous cartels out there. We’re not dealing with amateurs here. Oscar and his people have been in the business for a very long time.”

“Who could you possibly trust to get this done if not me then?” Bill asked. “Let me help. With this or… I don’t know. I can go after that Romanian prick, if you want.”

“Nej. (No.) ” Alexander said with a threatening glare. “Black Sheep är mitt. (Black Sheep is mine.)”

“Sedan ska jag till Amerika. (Then I’m going to America).”

 Amerika.

Bill’s voice resonated in Alexander’s head as he was pulled out of the past when he felt a hand on his left shoulder.

If only he had been more strict or inflexible, perhaps he wouldn’t be there staring at an open grave and his little brother’s casket in it with a shattered, grieving heart. The burial had come to an end and every attendee was leaving.

“I am deeply sorry for your loss.”

Alexander tightened his jaw as soon as he recognized Jeremy’s deep voice, and he acknowledged his presence by lifting his head just a little but kept staring straight ahead.

“May God give you the peace you need.” He added.

When Jeremy removed his hand from Alexander’s shoulder, he finally spoke but with undertones of disgust.

“Your friends did this.”

“And I am sure you’ll make a wise decision on what to do next.”

Alexander could hear him walking away.

“Was it… wise… what you did after your wife was murdered?”

Jeremy froze in place, utterly taken aback by the audacity of his question.

“I heard it was like the Spanish inquisition in Ireland.” Alexander carried on.

“My wife did not infiltrate a cartel, Alexander.” Jeremy clarified while turning back around. “You and Bill played with fire and he paid the price. And if you so much as lay a finger on any of them, you’ll have to deal with me. So, I suggest you let this war stay cold.”

Without another word, Jeremy left, and Alexander clenched his right fist so hard his nails tore his skin and a couple drops of blood fell to the ground right where his little brother rested now.

The last drop of freshly brewed coffee fell in the waiting pot while I finished making breakfast wearing nothing but one of Oscar’s shirts.

I suddenly realized I was humming a song and I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this happy. So many things had happened since Oscar walked into my life, especially in the last few months when Bill brought nothing but chaos with him. Something that I was sure had died with him. We hadn’t left the Greek house out of precaution for weeks and it was surrounded by the security team anyway; I felt lighter and safer than ever.

The car crash bruises had completely faded and some of them had been replaced by sex bruises, but I’d never complain about those. I bit my lower lip as my train of thought was interrupted by Oscar when he entered the kitchen and playfully spanked me as he walked past me and towards one of the cabinets. He was wearing light gray sweatpants, no shirt and only a gold chain around his neck.

I realized I had been staring for too long when the bacon started to burn.

“Shit…” I whispered as I turned off the stove.

He put two plates on the kitchen counter and peeked at the pan.

“You don’t have to cook.” He started scolding me. “I’ve told you a million times that we can hire a chef.”

“I thought you liked my cooking.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I love it.” He murmured while staring into my eyes. “But you don’t have to lift a finger around here. Not on my watch.”

For the first time in a long time, I had the closest thing to a normal life.

The fresh smell of his aftershave invaded my nostrils. This felt like the beginning of our relationship again, before I even knew about the dangerous life he led. I kissed him. And I walked backwards without letting go and until I hit the counter. Oscar knew what I wanted, so his hands traveled down my body and he hoisted me onto the surface. He broke the kiss only to gently put his hand around my throat, like he always did, and pulled me in again. I was breathless when I felt him getting hard.

The moment came to an abrupt and frustrating stop when we heard the front door and Pedro walked in, in his black shorts and white t-shirt. I got off the counter and noticed that he looked very uncomfortable. Oscar just scratched one of his eyebrows, trying to hide his annoyance while Pedro apologized.

“That’s fine.” Oscar said. “You should have breakfast with us.”

Each of the muscles in my back tensed up just like my situation with Pedro had ever since our last conversation. I had to sit through breakfast for over an hour, forcing smiles and pretending like nothing had happened between us. But I also realized that this too resembled the beginning of our affair; having breakfast together without a threat in the horizon, only this time, Oscar was there too.

Perhaps, that’s how it should’ve been from the start if we had respected the one line we weren’t supposed to cross.

Pedro’s eyes kept wandering and finding mine every now and then, as if he wanted to say something to me or deciding on whether he should or not. I had practically deafened myself to their conversation until I heard Oscar asking his friend to accompany him outside. He kissed the top of my head as he stood up.

Oscar and Pedro walked out into the balcony to enjoy a cup of coffee over a private conversation.

“A masquerade?” Pedro scoffed. “Really?”

“Hey, don’t mock Jeremy.” Oscar playfully reprehended as he took a sip of his coffee. “It’s an important birthday. Especially in a job like this.”

Pedro kept staring at the ocean but frowned as he came to a realization.

“Is he really the oldest drug dealer we know?”

Oscar nodded with an amused look on his face.

“What are you going to do when you turn 70, huh?” He teased.

“Turn into Hector Salamanca, probably?” Pedro chuckled.

“We could rule the nursing home, you and I.” Oscar joked. “Listen… I had a dream the other day. I had a kid, around 12 years old actually, and he got into a fight at school with this other fucking kid. Apparently, all the other dads were scared of me and told their children not to mess with mine so I was really pissed when my son showed up with a black eye. The other punk turned out to be your son. You and I had become estranged over the years but when we learned that our kids were fighting, we ended up reuniting and accepting this... sort of unavoidable fate, like we just could not get away from each other.” Oscar paused. “And we looked like the fucking Sopranos.”

For the first time in months, the two friends shared a laugh, and Pedro observed Oscar and noticed how it hadn’t been like that in a very long time. He seemed happy. They both did, except Oscar had something Pedro didn’t and he hated himself for even thinking about it. Pedro remembered how a little before the car crash, the business pressures were starting to take a toll on Oscar and he reached a new low when he suspected his girlfriend was cheating on him.

And along came Bill.

Pedro thought that maybe he had to thank his lucky stars for that. After all, balance seemed to have been restored now that he was gone and after the things he had done. But then Pedro also remembered how he had to shoot him in the eye so he’d keep his mouth shut. Now, as he realized how healthy and strong Oscar looked again, he cursed himself for missing his best friend’s girlfriend and having her in his arms.

“Anyway,” Oscar said, “We’ve been invited to the party but… I feel bad because we’ve been locked up in here for months and she has been such a good sport about everything, you know?” Oscar paused, staring at his coffee. “What do you think? I mean… it’s been a while. Do you think it’s safe to go?”

“To France?” Pedro sighed, pondering on the question. “Taking the necessary precautions, I don’t see why not.”

“And we are going to be wearing masks. We sure as fuck don’t go anywhere without our guns and, I’m sure Jeremy’s gonna have the whole place surrounded.” Oscar paused. “But I could take some of our guys as well.”

“Sounds good.” Pedro nodded.

“I haven’t told her anything yet. I wanted to discuss it with you first.” Oscar confessed. “I just… I want her to enjoy herself a little. She deserves it. We deserve it.” He paused. “And speaking of blowing off steam, you and the guys are going to have the house to yourselves this evening.”

I walked home hand in hand with Oscar after spending a romantic evening together.

We had dressed up for the occasion and he surprised me with a beautifully decorated party tent on our house’s private beach. Oscar made it clear that if we couldn’t go outside, then he’d bring whatever we needed here. It was our very own little restaurant with a chef, his cooks, a couple waiters and even a violinist to serenade us. After endless weeks of chaos, I could not remember the last time we had gone on a date.

We crossed the threshold and I immediately understood what Oscar meant when he told me he was going to let his guys blow off some steam and why he had arranged a completely different thing for us; the house was filled with cigarette smoke and the loud music coming from the living room was hurting my eardrums.

“Turn that shit down.” Oscar barked at one of them as we walked by.

The volume decreased. I lied to Oscar saying I would make tea and join him later, and I watched as he walked away. I couldn’t help but stare. Pedro was slouching in one of the couches, with a beer bottle in his right hand and a stupid smile on his face for the half-naked stripper giving him a lap dance. The rest of the security team was pretty much in the same situation in the background or playing poker. My stomach clenched. She put one knee between his open legs and I hated the way Pedro put his hands on her hips and how much he seemed to be enjoying it, and even flirting with her.

Fun was over the second he noticed me and his face fell. For the next five seconds, I had his whole attention and we just stared at each other until I rolled my eyes and headed for the bedroom. But then, I felt his fingers curling around my wrist right when I entered the hallway.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I hissed as I yanked my hand away and scowled at him.

“Can we talk?”

“I don’t think so. You looked very busy just a second ago. Goodnight, Pedro.”

I tried to leave in vain. Pedro trapped me by putting both hands on the wall.

“I know you’re mad at me…” He began.

I nervously shot a glance in the bedroom’s direction. Pedro was being extremely careless.

“But you need to understand why I did what I did.” He added.

I could feel my blood starting to boil. I felt like screaming but I had to whisper instead.

“When did you start giving a fuck about what I think?” I asked. “I told you I loved you and you just left me.”

Pedro fixed his brown eyes on mine with what looked like a mixture of embarrassment and concern.

“Do you really think so little of me?”

He managed to sound so brokenhearted as if all of this was my fault.

“You think it’s easy for me seeing you with Oscar? Wishing I had met you first? Or wishing that I could at least… fucking hate him?” He paused and let out a frustrated sigh. “He’s my best friend.”

My heart was racing and a lump formed in my throat. Just when I thought I was starting to leave this behind, Pedro decided to do this. I was mortified. Someone could see us. Oscar could see us. And at the same time, we seemed to be the only two people in the world.

I had to be strong. I tried but my voice broke.

“Pedro, just let me go.”

He studied me carefully, every inch of my face and then he shook his head.

“That’s the thing, I…” He breathed out. “I can’t.”

He suddenly leaned in and crashed his lips against mine for a reckless kiss. He tasted like beer. I missed him and my knees weakened but my boyfriend was just two doors away and Pedro was way out of line. I had to pull away… and I slapped him.

“You’re drunk.” I accused between gritted teeth.

His mouth fell open when his chin almost reached his shoulder but then he scoffed and smirked, and I just had to walk away. I was so mad at him. More than words could ever describe. I glanced at him one more time and watched as he put his hands on his waist and looked at the floor seemingly amused and offended.  He had ended things. What exactly did he expect from me or what kind of game was he playing?

I was seeing red.

I walked into the bedroom to find Oscar sitting on the edge of the bed and removing his shoes. The second I kneeled in front of him on the floor, he wrapped his arms around me. I loosened his tie a little. His eyes darkened when I tugged on it to kiss him with more passion than I ever had before. It caught him off guard and he was a little out of breath when I pulled away. He stared at my mouth with a sort of lascivious fascination, and he lightly caressed my bottom lip with his fingertips.

I stared into his soul before making a plea in a whisper.

“Fuck me.”

He instantly pulled me up to meet his hungry lips again.

I could not believe we were finally leaving the Greek house.

I was very excited when Oscar told me about his friend Jeremy’s birthday party. We had only packed a couple of suitcases, and the helicopter that would take us to France was waiting outside. I entered our bedroom and opened the safe. It was weird to be looking at our gold guns again but that was the one condition Oscar had mentioned. We would attend but we could never be too careful.

A file folder fell down as I took the pistols out and a few papers were scattered on the floor. Shivers went down my spine when Bill seemed to be staring back at me in a photograph. I squatted down to pick everything up but I saw another picture. I was there the day Oscar received this from one of Jeremy’s men. He went through the file in his study but I knew it was best not to ask and left him to it.

It contained all the information about the Swedish cartel. I read between the lines and found myself staring at a photograph of Bill’s older brother, Alexander. His name rang a bell. Oscar and Pedro had mentioned him that day when they were sharing a beer on the beach, but I had been too distracted by all the other heartwarming things they said. I knew they feared the possibility of retaliation after Bill’s death, and that’s why we had been confined to this place for quite some time.

I just hadn’t put a face to that possibility.

But now, as I stared into Alexander’s dead blue eyes, I was suddenly unsure of leaving.

I heard footsteps getting closer so I put the folder back in the safe in a rush.

“Are you ready?” Oscar asked standing in the doorway.

He gave me a smile and it was contagious. If he and Pedro thought it was safe to go, I didn’t need to worry, did I? Or were we supposed to hide for the rest of our lives? That wasn’t like them, and after all, it was a masquerade party, which meant our identities would be safe behind the Venetian masks we had bought.

I took the guns and followed Oscar.

We would get on that damn helicopter and go enjoy ourselves.

The bellboy pushed the luggage cart as he led Oscar, his girlfriend, Pedro and two other men through the luxurious hotel lobby and into the elevator. He kept taking glances at them, forcing polite smiles. Once they reached the top floor, he opened the door to the suite Oscar and his girlfriend would be staying in, and as he grabbed their suitcases, he knocked over the white box on top; a couple of Venetian masks fell out and landed on the floor.

“Je suis très désolé. (I am very sorry)” He immediately apologized.

“It’s fine.” Oscar’s girlfriend said with a friendly smile.

Oscar gave him a generous tip and he walked out the door.

As soon as he found himself in the lobby again, he moved towards the old phone booths and dialed a number. The second someone picked up, the bellboy uttered three words.

“De är här. (They are here).”

The butler hung up the phone.

He exited the mansion and crossed the garden to enter the cold, big, white room.

A shotgun went off and echoed inside the shooting range. It was Alexander’s new favorite place to be and where he spent most of his days since his brother’s death. He cocked the shotgun, ready to fire at another target when the butler walked in and stood next to him.

“Sir, I just got a very interesting phone call”. The man announced.

Alexander fired his shotgun one more time and waited for him to elaborate.

“They’ve checked into a hotel in France.”

Alexander slightly lowered his weapon with furrowed eyebrows.

“France.” He echoed.

“Our informant says they won’t be staying very long, and he saw something that might interest you.”

Alexander quirked an expectant eyebrow.

“Venetian masks, sir.”

Alexander stared at the butler briefly before a condescending smile spread across his face. This was the moment he had been waiting for. This was why he had his people scattered all over the world; to have eyes and ears in every nook and cranny, hoping for his enemies to make one single mistake. Just like Bill had before they found him. 

“They’re attending Jeremy’s party.” Alexander realized but then he turned serious as he began to experience an epiphany. “When you say ‘they’...?”

“I mean the leader of the cartel, his friend, and the girl, sir.”

The curiosity made Alexander’s eyes darken.

“Så, horan lever också... (So, the whore lives too...)” He muttered under his breath.

“Will we be… inviting ourselves, sir?” The butler inquired.

As Alexander cocked the shotgun and aimed again, he thought about his little brother and his untimely and gruesome death, but Jeremy’s voice and their little passive-aggressive exchange at the funeral resonated in his head like a warning.

“I’m sure you’ll make a wise decision on what to do next.”

Alexander tightened his jaw with a death glare and almost palpable frustration.

He fired for the third time, and watched as the bullet destroyed the target.

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

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