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#i tried to find as many receipts as i could
ninallthatjazz · 10 months
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I am rewatching Shadow and Bone and I have so many thoughts about the Kanej wound dressing scene in S2E3 dkwbjdorbr it's one of the best scenes in the show imo.
The hesitant way Kaz enters the room, like he knows exactly that it will be hard for him to see Inej hurt and, more importantly, angry at him. He looks at the floor for a second to gather his courage before he speaks.
Mirroring Kaz in the first episode, Inej senses his presence before he makes himself known. She goes still for a second, staring straight ahead, before resuming what she is doing.
The trembling in Inej's voice on the line "you are gambling with our lives" because she is so furious and hurt and can just not understand why Kaz is not his usual level-headed, cold-hearted, calculated self. Kaz can be cruel and detached, but she knows how to work with that, she knows him. This is uncharted territory, and it terrifies her, especially because she will be right back where she started if this goes wrong.
Kaz immediately turning away when Inej starts to take off her blouse (despite the layers she wears underneath). I am wondering if it's more for her sake or if he doesn't trust himself to keep his desire for her locked away in the dark corner of his heart where he usually keeps it buried.
Kaz fighting to get out the words "Pekka Rollins killed my brother", breathing heavily like speaking those words are enough to make him drow.
Inej looking at him with fire in her eyes and saying in the most eerily calm voice "then we destroy him". He gave her a reason, and this is all she needed to trust in him and fight by his side.
Kaz looking up at those words like he can't believe that he heard correctly, like he has to make sure the hope growing in him is grounded in reality.
The resolve in his eyes when he starts walking towards her, hand shaking when he silently asks her to give him the cloth so he can clean her wound.
Inej's stunned look at his face, trying to read the situation. Is Kaz Brekker trying to take care of me? In a situation that requires touch?
Her little gasp when the cloth makes contact with her skin. I don't think pain is the cause.
Kaz trying so hard, but still clenching his jaw like he is biting steel, breathing fast, feeling the water rise.
The look they share after "was there no one to protect you?" saying that no, they were both alone then. But they are not alone any longer.
Inej's little arched brow and casual tone when she asks "do I have one?" (a tell). She wants to know if he sees her, her, who tried to be invisible most of the time. Him immediately giving an answer.
Her asking him to be vulnerable with her in return. "what's yours?" whispered in the intimite air between them.
Kaz trying desperately to keep his armor on by deflecting with the limp. Immediately losing it when she keeps looking at him (looking at his mouth) telling her what she wants to know, he would tell her everything, if she just keeps looking at him like that..
Inej understanding even without him saying it (I want you), leaning into him.
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I could rewatch this another 100 times and I would still find new things. Freddy and Amita deserve all the awards for this incredibly nuanced performance.
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jamminvroomvroom · 2 months
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die for you.
ln x driver!reader
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in which you can’t stand each other, or so you say…
this took waaaay too long for me to hate it sm but she’s here! and she’s long! love this concept so much, thank you for this request. so many feels so many vibes, tell me what you think <3
loosely inspired by die for you by the weeknd
warnings: 18+!! minors dni!! smut, language, slight glimpses of she fell first, he fell harder, rivals to lovers/enemies to lovers, choking, hate sex? bar fight, mentions of blood
8.3k words (oop)
it’s rare that you miss a podium, so when you do, it tastes bitter and stings like a bitch.
the car has been on fire all season long, a thing of beauty in your calculated hands. so, the string of bad luck you’re enduring, small mistakes with big consequences, it’s quite the pill to swallow.
out of the car you jump, teeth grinding hard out of frustration. you could see the commotion ahead of you, members of the papaya team celebrating their driver. your eyes roll so hard in your head that you feel a lasting ache. you side step members of your team, dodging every single person that tries to talk to you, your comms officer knowing better than to try and engage with you. you know you’re being unreasonable, it was a p5 finish! but it isn’t a podium or a win, so quite frankly, you aren’t interested, and you certainly don’t have any energy left to hear how amazingly well he had driven.
lando fucking norris.
what was once quiet disdain had grown into fully fledged hatred and you fear you’ll be violently sick if you catch a single glimpse of him on the podium. sure, he’s talented, and sure, he’s beautiful, you suppose. that doesn’t mean you have to like him. not anymore. he lives under your skin, inescapable.
you struggle through every interview in the media pen, most of which dissect your recent fall from grace, your mouth forming a hard, unimpressed line every time they mention the orange goblin and his recent streak of podiums and good luck. you wish the journos would bring up his string of women and the probable plan b receipts that went with them. that, you would love to talk about.
you drive in silence back to your hotel, leaving the track as soon as possible, and quickly find solace in your bed for the night. the idea of seeing the inside of a club makes you nauseous after your epic downfall. as your eyes are drooping, your body going limp under the thick duvet, a knock sounds from the door.
“no.” you shout flatly, but the only response you get are giggles from the hallway. for fuck sake, you mutter, groaning as you shift out from beneath the covers and trail apprehensively towards the door.
george and alex appear before you, and you throw your head back is exasperation.
“mate, it’s 9:30.” alex laughs, taking in your fancy attire; pyjamas that you’ve had since you were 17.
“what’s your point?” you croak, glaring up at your obnoxiously tall friend.
“why aren’t you getting ready to go out?” george questions, leaning against the doorframe. he, too, was obnoxiously tall, you thought, feeling the strain in your neck as you move your glare onto him.
“if it wasn’t obvious, i’m not going.” you deadpan, crossing your arms over your chest. “i thought that was clear after i ignored all 77 of your texts.” you smile sarcastically, rubbing sleep from your eyes.
“don’t be boring! you’re an f1 driver, you’re in a cool city, you’re rich and, let’s face it,” he sasses. “you need to get laid.��� alex says, like it’s the most causal thing in the world. your eyes bulge out of your head at the utterance of the last bit. george bites back laughter.
“choosing to ignore that.” you hiss. “i’m sorry but i refuse to go out and celebrate that arrogant, whiny little bitch.”
they both know exactly who you’re talking about.
you and lando have simply never seen eye to eye. your karting days were spent pushing one another off the track or into a muddy puddle if things got a bit heated out of the car. sure, olive branches were extended, and maybe adolescent feelings were secretly harboured, but he never gave you any reason to tell him that. you’d grown out of the childish violence when you graduated into formula 1, but you hadn’t been able to shake the rage he made you feel.
it didn’t matter how many dinners you attended where others had conspired and forced you to sit next to each other. it didn’t matter how many times you turned up to play padel and were met with the same lame excuses of ‘oh, did we not mention lando would be here?’ it didn’t matter how many times you’d hugged it out on the podium while adrenaline and tensions were running high.
it didn’t matter how many times he’d watched you from across a crowded room and you’d found his eyes, watched him back. it didn’t matter how many times he’d smirked at you at the start of a race weekend, made you blush. and it certainly didn’t matter what happened last time you found yourself in a club with him.
you just don’t like him. not anymore. you sleep better at night when you lie to yourself.
~ the last time
you sink shot after shot, cocktail after cocktail; the taste of fruity liquor stains your lips and burns your throat. you feel electric, sizzling with ecstasy and the heat from the flashing lights above your head.
it’s approaching 4am and you can’t recall a time in your life where you’d felt so fucking good. the high of your first win is indescribable.
you’ve lost track of the guys, alex and george have packed it in and gone back to their hotels with their girlfriends. pierre and kika are somewhere in a corner, you’re certain. you’re pretty sure you’ve even seen lewis with his entourage and a brick wall of a bodyguard trailing behind him. and at the bar, a set of eyes watch you.
lando isn’t even listening to oscar anymore, no. he is too entranced in the way your hips move to the beat, lost in the carefree lines your body makes in the crowd. he’s itching to go to you, put his hands in places that would stay between you, him, and god, but he doesn’t think a broken nose would be good for business.
everything changes when you spin around, facing his direction. then, it begins: the same thing that happens every time you end up going out in the same group. you watch one another, pretending you’re not both achingly desperate to find out how the other tastes.
but lando is feeling bold. he tells oscar he’ll see him in the morning, and then, egged on by a moscow mule and a few too many shots, he makes his way towards you. it is instinctual, magnetic, the way he is drawn to you.
hands on your hips, lips on your neck. the song changes. you recognise the weeknd’s voice. you are disappointed in yourself but it feels too good to stop.
you know what i’m thinkin', see it in your eyes
you hate that you want me, hate it when you cry
you’re scared to be lonely, 'specially in the night
i’m scared that i’ll miss you, happens every time
the lyrics sober you up. you’re in the first taxi you can see when you finally get outside.
alone.
~
as much as that memory makes you shiver, for several different reasons, you find yourself putting on some makeup and raking through your suitcase for something to wear. george and alex are waiting downstairs for you at the bar, and when you finally make your way down there, they have a martini waiting for you. they watch in impressed horror as the alcohol disappears from the glass mere seconds after it touches your lips.
“let’s get this over with.” you sigh.
-
it could have been worse, you suppose.
the club is packed, hundreds of faces blurring into nothing. you feel better knowing that there is a one in a million chance of running into lando.
you’re tucked into a booth with alex and george, carmen and lily, a few faces you can’t quite place, and charles and pierre. you’d conspired to sit on the outside, prepared to make a quick getaway at the first sign of tension.
you’d been in a state of fight or flight since your last run in, nails bitten down every time you thought about his hands on you, how good they felt on you. it scared you more than anything had in a long time, how your desire had festered.
you go to take a swig from your glass, only to find it empty, aside from a few sad ice cubes. you watch jealously as they melt into nothing, wishing they would take you with them, shoving your glass across the smooth table top when your frustration boils over.
you’re on edge, ridiculously afraid of bumping into a curly haired man. it wasn’t him you were scared of, per-say, more yourself. god knows what you’d do if you felt those warm, calloused hands pulling your hips into his again.
“you okay?” pierre calls across the table. he and charles abandon their conversation as soon as your glass goes flying towards their side of the table. you’re broken out of your trance, caught off guard like a deer in headlights.
“tired.” you reply, shrugging it off like it was nothing. it’s clear immediately that they don’t buy it.
“she’s hiding.” alex chimes in from beside you, and your elbow goes straight into his ribs. he feigns pain for a moment, cackling at your reaction.
“from who?” charles inquires. you roll your eyes, blush spreading down your neck already. you hate everything about the conversation, and yet you need to see where it goes. you’d planned your escape, and now was the opportune time to make it, but you seem to be glued to the leather of the booth.
“lando.” george smirks into his drink as a he speaks, wiggles his eyebrows.
“oh yeah, we know all about that.” pierre laughs, his head tipping back in amusement.
“what?” you spit, eyes wide with confusion.
“don’t think me and kika didn’t see you two before the summer break. that night you won? we thought you’d finally cave.” pierre explains, his grin conveying pure evil.
several “what?!”’s sound from around the table, and now all eyes are on you.
“nothing even happened.” you mumble. “he came over to me and then i left.” you look away, twisting your hair around your finger. you are sweating.
“you looked like you were minutes away from being arrested for public indecency.” pierre smirks. you almost launch yourself across the table, intent on strangling him, and then perhaps throwing yourself in front of an oncoming uber outside.
“well, well, well. i fucking knew it.” alex is giggling beside you.
“come on guys, leave the poor girl alone.” lily winks at you, but even she has a twinkle in her eye. “there’s obviously feelings there.” and just like that she betrays you. her sympathetic smile doesn’t make you forgive her.
“i think you guys just need to get it out of your system,” charles starts, pausing to take a sip of his drink. “just fuck.” he waves his hand, like it was the most causal thing in the world.
the table erupts in laughter and you decide that you are well past the end of your tether. you shake your head, declaring that you need another drink, or ten, and strut away from the table. a chorus of ‘love you’-s and ‘get some’-s sound from behind you. you reply simply by raising your middle finger and refusing to look back.
the bar is in sight, just about in your reach when your evening goes from mildly bad to aggressively worse.
“fuck sake.” you sigh.
“and good evening to you too.” lando replies. he’s blocking your path, materialising before you out of nowhere.
“get out of my way, lan.” it sounds like you’re pleading and you cringe internally.
“don’t you wanna congratulate me?” he feigns a pout and you almost swing for him.
“no, not particularly.” you say dryly. “all i want is a drink, so if you’d just…” you gesture for him to move. of course, he doesn’t.
“haven’t seen you in a while, though. thought maybe you’d missed me.” he takes a step closer; goosebumps litter your bare skin.
“you are such an entitled prick.” you spit, moving to step around him but he catches you, gripping your wrists and pulling you in. you feel heat radiating off of him, expensive cologne overwhelming you in the best possible way.
“and you, honey, are such a fucking brat. but you don’t hear me complaining, do you?” lando whispers, cool breath hitting your face, minty, laced with champagne and cockiness. you almost fold, thighs clenching so tight that he must have noticed.
“move.” you grumble through gritted teeth. you are crumbling painfully, embarrassingly fast.
“make me.” your underwear is damp, but you are fuming.
“don’t fucking test me, lando.” something in your chest sets on fire and you’re over him and his bullshit, and the way he makes you feel.
“i know you want me.” he dips his forehead down to rest gently against yours. his grip on your wrists tightens, thumbs swirling circles into the flesh, right where your pulse is.
you lean in, mere centimetres separating your lips. his eyes darken, the assumption of victory over you tugs his lips into a smirk.
“all i want is my fucking drink. come find me when you’ve managed to navigate your gigantic, stupid head out of your arse.” you catch him off guard, wriggling out of his grip. you’re shaking when you walk away, thoughts of doing things with him that would get you both fired invading your foggy brain.
you try to disappear into the crowd, finally breathe a sigh of relief when your hands meet the cool surface of the bar. you order your drink, putting it on your tab and drum your nails against the marble top. you’re lost in your own world, watching as concoctions are mixed, as shots are downed. you finally feel at ease, until your evening takes yet another turn, one that was somehow even more unfortunate than all the others.
your attention is rudely stolen by the guy stood next to you.
“can i get that for you?” the random man speaks, in a way that he must of assumed was smooth. slimy, you think. he’s gesturing to your drink, clearly having watched you add it to your bill already.
“no, thank you. it’s already paid for.” you smile politely, turning on your heel. it seems he wasn’t quite done with you. you feel a clammy hand tug on yours, a wave of sickness washes over you.
lando’s hands are bigger, warmer, softer.
“where are you rushing off to, babe?” the sweaty man asks, his tone fake in a way that makes you uneasy.
“i need to get back to my friends.” you try to pull your hand free, but he won’t budge. “can you let go-“
“i can show you a good time. always thought you were kinda hot.” you’re panicking now, looking every which way for a familiar face, a security guard, anyone.
“take your hands off of me.” you snap, still wrestling to pull yourself free.
���one night with me would pull you out of that little slump you’re in.” he leers. you visibly gag, white hot rage blurs your vision.
“okay you piece of shi-“ you snarl, interrupted by a flash of curls and tanned skin.
“she told you to let go.” lando stands in front of you protectively, rigid and furious. you’ve never been so happy to see his annoying(ly beautiful) face.
“and what are you gonna do?”
“hands. off.” lando stands up even straighter, looking bigger than you’ve ever seen him.
“okay, mate, whatever.” the stranger rolls his eyes, shoves your hand away.
lando turns to you, opening his mouth to speak when…
“keep that stuck up bitch all to yourself.”
and then, everything goes to shit.
lando whips around, fists are flying, the stranger topples to the ground, amassed to nothing in the face of the mclaren drivers rage. lando doesn’t stop there, makes sure he is sufficiently dealt with, flat on his back on the sticky floor. you don’t know what to do, calling out for lando, begging him to stop, as satisfied as you are. lando hears your shouts, pulled out of the chaos and back to you. always back to you.
“are you okay?” he has his hands on your face searching for any remaining fear or upset. a crowd has formed and you see alex and george towering above the other club goers, jaws agape.
it’s as if he dj has it out for you, and you realise that the song has changed to something moodier, slower, one that gives you whiplash.
even though we're going through it
and it makes you feel alone
just know that i would die for you
baby, i would die for you
“we need to get out of here. security are coming.” you mutter, keening into his touch.
“i have a car outside.”
“well, let’s use it then.”
-
you can’t help but stroke over his knuckles mindlessly in the car, an unlikely comfortable silence settling between you. they look raw, cracked slightly and you have an overwhelming desire to kiss them better. your head is fuzzy, and you’re unsettled with confusion, but at the same time, you feel lighter.
“why did you do that?” you murmur, disrupting the quiet that has settled over the backseat of the town car, the question burning desperately on your tongue.
lando turns his head so that he’s looking down at you, his good hand comes up to cup your jaw softly.
“no one can talk to you like that.” he’s staring so deeply into your eyes and you almost squirm at the intensity. you feel exposed, bare.
“but why did you step in before that?” you reiterate shakily. lando hums in understanding.
“i’ve known you since we were 10 years old. i know when you’re scared.” he whispers, breath dusting your cheeks. you almost lean in, then, something about his words pull you even closer towards him. you feel warmth creeping over your chest, sinking into the pit of your belly.
“we’ve arrived.” the driver calls from the front, signalling that you need to get out of the car. it was like an elastic band had snapped, and you spring away from lando, scrambling to undo your seat belt, the moment of weakness long gone.
you sneak into the lobby, on the lookout for any angry PR teams or incognito photographers that are scoping for their next pay check. the coast seems clear, so you manage to scurry discreetly into the elevator. you hit the button for the third floor.
“can you hit the button for five?” lando asks, leaning against the opposite wall.
“you’re coming to my room.” you state, offering no other explanation, even when he raises his eyebrows.
the ding of the lift has lando pushing himself off of the mirrored wall, trailing behind you into the corridor. the lights are low as he follows you to your door, hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. he watches in anticipation as you rifle through your small bag for your keycard. the green light gives you the go ahead to open the door, and he awkwardly follows you inside, peering around the room.
you notice the slight apprehension in his features, eyes blown wide from alcohol and adrenaline. they seem to sparkle more than you’d seen in a while, a hazel-y blue twisting with secrets and unspoken thoughts.
“let me find my first aid kit.” you tell him. you guide him towards the foot of your bed, gesture for him to sit. “make yourself comfortable.”
“you don’t need to do this.” lando replies, sitting down anyway.
“and you didn’t need to get between me and that dickhead but here we are.”
your words elicit a low chuckle from him, and you’re glad you have your back to him while you dig through your suitcase. he can’t see your smile at the wholesome sound, and he doesn’t need to.
random pieces of clothing fall out of the bag as you rummage through it, your attention taken up completely by your mission to find the small box. you don’t notice the pile of garments littering the floor.
“wow, didn’t take you for that kinda girl.” lando teases. your cheeks flame red when you catch sight of the cherry red thong that has managed to get caught in the wheel of your suitcase.
“shut up, i’m helping you.” you grumble, balling up the lace and burying it at the bottom of the case.
“why is it ferrari coloured? something you wanna tell me? do you think charles is… foxy? or is it fred? oh, i bet it’s fred, isn’t it.” he’s laughing now, loud and boisterous, and if it wasn’t for the butterflies erupting in your belly at the sound, you would have throttled him.
“i’ll leave you to bleed out.” you tease back, pointing at the dried up blood across his knuckles.
“of course, i am in urgent need of medical attention!” he exclaims sarcastically, clutching his hand. you roll your eyes.
“you know where the door is.” you stand from the floor, carrying a little square antiseptic wipe with you.
“yeah, i do. feel like staying now, though. i’m just so comfy.”
and with that, he throws himself back on your bed, closing his eyes as he sinks into the mattress.
you stare at him for a second, noticing the way his eyelashes dust the tops of his cheeks, his tanned, thick neck peeks out from in between the undone buttons of his dress shirt. you exhale shakily, moving to sit beside him on the bed.
“give me your hand.” you instruct him, tearing the packet open and unfolding the wipe.
“romantic.” lando snarks. you shove his shoulder in response. he holds his hand out.
“whatever.” you sigh, avoiding eye contact as you run the wipe over his knuckles. you can see how they are already tinged purple, wincing at the idea that it is your fault.
“what is it?” lando asks, noticing.
you don’t respond. this proximity is odd, you can’t quite tell yet if you like it. what you do know is that you certainly don’t know how to handle him now that the alcohol is wearing off and you’re left tending to the wounds of a man that you could have sworn you didn’t like.
“so that’s how it’s gonna be? we’re going back to the silent treatment again?” lando scoffs.
“don’t know what to say.” you mutter, keeping your eyes trained on every line and indent of his knuckles.
“why do you hate me so much?”
“i don’t.”
“yes, you do.” he scoffs.
“i don’t think about you enough to hate you.” you lie. it’s cruel. he winces.
that shuts him up.
“i’m gonna go. thanks for this.” lando waves his hand and you feel a wave of guilt hit.
“no, fuck, i’m sorry.” you apologise, bowing your head. “stay.”
“i’ll stay if you tell me why you hate me.”
“i’ve never hated you, lan. haven’t always particularly liked you but i never, ever hated you.”
“okay.”
that’s all it takes for him to flop back onto the bed. some unexplainable instinct that you loathe has you crawling onto the bed beside him. you wrap your arms around your pillow, watching him watch you.
“i used to have such a big crush on you, you know.” lando says. you stare at him blankly.
“what?”
“yep. i think i was about 15. you were the first girl i ever really liked that way.” he smiles, recalling the memory. “it kinda sucked because i knew you wouldn’t even look at me twice but it’s funny thinking back to that time.”
~ 15
he watches the way her hair gets caught in the breeze as she takes off her helmet. two messy braids are shaken free, and his heart skips a beat or two, or seven, when she turns around with the biggest grin on her face.
she’s just won a race, another one, and he’d be so jealous if it wasn’t her.
he thinks she’s the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. george and alex go over to her, congratulating her, hugging her. he wishes he could do that. he definitely can’t.
she doesn’t see him, the only times that she does are when they argue, when they push eachother off the track and scream at one another across a gravel trap. the times when she plants her pointed finger in his chest and calls him dirty, the times he gets heated and calls her something he doesn’t mean under his breath. and she always hears him. always. he watches her eyes pool with tears every single time.
he wants her, in a way he’s never wanted anyone before. he’s never felt like this, wonders how he can make it go away. she hates him. she must.
he can never have her, so why even try?
~
“i had no idea you ever felt that way.” you’re quite shocked, really. you knew that you had this intensely charged sexual tension between you now, but you had failed to realise how far back this all went.
mutually, at least.
“i’d say i’ve done a pretty good job of hiding it.” his smile changes slightly. it was now a sad smile, one that conveys disappointment in himself, and that you hated to see. it reminds you of the one you’ve gotten used to seeing on your social media feed after he’d had a shitty race.
you sigh, bracing yourself for what you are about to say.
“you’re not the only one who hid it.” you raise an eyebrow, your face says ‘guilty!’
“no?” lando’s eyes widen at your revelation.
“i think we were 13. you gave me half a cookie to apologise for pushing me off track.” you smile coyly. “it’s kinda sad but 13 year old me died inside.” you laugh.
“so, we’ve both… liked each other.” lando assesses. you nod.
“when did you stop?” you inquire, scanning his face. you take in each detail, each individual freckle, the curve of his lips. he seems closer, all of the sudden, and that’s when you realise you’ve closed the space between you. lando is within reach now, it would have been so, so incredibly easy to shift even closer still; it was like you were in his gravitational field, reeled in by pretty, pretty eyes.
“who said i stopped?”
“oh.” you breathe.
~ 13
he snaps the crumbly biscuit between his fingers, trails towards her awkwardly. he feels bad, feels a strange pang in his chest that he doesn’t recognise.
he finds her around the back of her parents car, arms crossed, eyebrows scrunched, pouting hard. he thinks she’s cute.
“why are you here?” she whines.
“this is for you. i know it doesn’t make up for the race. i didn’t mean to take you out, i swear.”
he sounds panicked, sincere. her tummy turns funny.
he’s holding out a cookie, the children’s equivalent of an olive branch.
her face softens. she accepts it. they bite into their cookies at the same time.
it’s not the worst day in the world anymore.
~
messy kisses and soft whispers lull you to sleep.
his nose bumps yours every time your lips meet, gentle and plush.
you feel delicate in his arms, treasured. his lips press gently to your hairline. he’s different, softer than you’ve seen him since you were teenagers splitting cookies.
it’s the easiest thing in the world to curl into his side, mould together until you’re part of him, and drift off.
-
the heat wakes you up.
you stir, eyes fluttering open, searching for the source of the onslaught of warmth. it clicks quickly, and you realise that you hadn’t dreamt the events of the night before.
lando is in your bed.
lando had protected you.
lando had wanted you since you were stupid kids who didn’t know any better.
he is the heater that had woken you up, and suddenly you don’t care that you’re far too hot. you curl back into his side, head rests on his chest. it rises and falls softly, his heartbeat thrums beneath your ear. you are jealous of how pretty he looks when he’s asleep, relaxed and infatuating. you lose track of time, gazing up at him.
a sharp pain in your side makes you groan. you had fallen asleep in your dress, lando in his jeans and his shirt, and now you’re paying for it, your fingers searching for the zipper that was now digging into your side. your movements draw him out of his slumber, and when you look back at him, he’s watching you, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“you okay?” lando croaks, his voice deep and sleepy. it sends shockwaves through you.
“mhm. how did you sleep?” you ask, mindlessly running your hand over his jaw like it was the most natural thing in the world. a smile breaks out across his face, eyes fluttering shut once more.
“really fucking well.” he laughs, almost in disbelief.
“yeah, me too.” you smile at him, shy.
“what’s bothering you?”
“well, a human heater woke me up and now this fucking zipper is killing me.” you joke. it’s weird that this doesn’t feel weird.
“i am pretty hot i guess.”
“yeah, yeah.” you roll your eyes and stand from the bed.
lando sits up, resting on his elbows. his eyes follow you as you walk around the room. you take a bottle of water, drinking half of it before passing it to him. his lips wrap around the bottle and you have to turn away, the ache between your legs that you’d been fighting for months rearing it’s irritating head. you clear your throat, composing yourself.
“need to get this dress off.”
lando pulls himself off of the mattress, stalking towards you. you stop in your tracks and he meets you at the foot of the bed. his hands find your cheeks, thumbs smoothing over your skin in little circles, and then kisses you deeper than he did last night.
it’s impossible not to melt into him, hands running over his chest, his shoulders, and finally finding solace tangled in his curls. if someone told you the morning before that you’d wake up in lando’s arms, you would have cackled, urged them to seek medical attention, and probably spat in their face. how things change.
“i think you should keep it on, look so pretty.” lando breathes, staring down at you. you blush hard, leaning into him.
“but i’m uncomfortable.” you grin coyly. and then, a surge of confidence has you whispering: “i’ll let you take it off if you want.”
“let me make you comfortable first.” lando murmurs, dipping his head down until it rests in the crook of your neck. “want me to get you nice and comfortable, baby?” he kisses up your neck.
you cave, finally.
it takes him all of thirty seconds to have you spread out on his face, laying himself down on the mattress and pulling you on top of him so that you’re hovering over his lips. he mouthes at your panties for a second, getting his first taste of you, and then he drags them to the side, clearing a path. his tongue laves over your cunt, groaning as soon as he gets a proper taste.
your dress fans out over your thighs, and lando has disappeared beneath the fabric. you can tell he’s there, though, by the strong hands gripping onto your thighs, the tuft of curls peeking out, and the feeling of his nose bumping your clit as he buries his face deeper and deeper between your folds.
“lando.” you cry, throwing your head back. the straps of your dress are slipping down your arms, skimming your goosebump ridden skin. he just groans into your pussy in response, pulling you impossibly closer to his mouth, backwards and forwards until you’re grinding down on his willing tongue. you reach down blindly, grabbing one of his hands where it rests on your thigh, and your other threads through his hair, gripping tight as you revel in the pleasure.
lando pulls your clit between his teeth, grazing over the bud and you’re jolting, writhing above him. you feel like you’re going to die, heat pricking all over your skin, your tummy tight from the building orgasm. he’s so eager, sliding his entire face through your slippery folds, obscene sounds falling from his lips that ricochet through your quivering body.
tears prick your eyes when you finally let go, slumping forwards from the overwhelming sensation taking over every single nerve. he lifts you off of him, laying you back on the bed as you come down from your high.
“you okay, baby?” he coos, brushing sweat dampened hair from your eyes.
his lips are stained, dark pink and shiny, a mixture of enthusiasm and your slick coating them. lando scans your watery eyes, feral at how fucked out you look all because of him, and tantalisingly licks his lips.
“need you.” you moan, reaching out for him. his shirt is wrinkled where he’d slept in it and your shaky hands find the few buttons that are actually done up. you push the material off of his shoulders, pupils blown wide at the sight of his toned chest, at the feel of smooth, golden skin. you pull him in by the shoulders, swallowing him whole as you kiss him with everything you’ve got left.
lando’s hands find your thighs once more, running his hands over them to push your dress up your hips.
“wanted this for so long.” he whispers into the kiss, pulling away so that he can take the dress off of you. he looks ravenous the more he pushes the fabric up your body.
you feel vulnerable under his intense gaze, watchful eyes taking in every movement you make. you try to pull him back in for another kiss but he resists.
“let me look at you, please?” lando asks. “there you go, baby, let’s get this off, hmm?” he sits you up so that he can get it over your head, and you lay back, bare aside from your panties that he’d left in disarray.
he sucks in a breath, raking his eyes over the curve of your lips, your collarbone, the slope of your breasts. his gaze lingers there for just a second, before continuing further over your belly, the length of your legs. you want to hide away, pull him in so that he can’t look at you like this, or just dive under the duvet and stay there until you need to catch your flight.
“god, you’re so, so fucking beautiful.” he gasps, awestruck. he sounds speechless, and you feel yourself going red again.
“come here.” you whine. “needed you for so long.”
your admission seems to kick him into action, because seconds later, he’s on top of you, fingers grazing the band of your underwear while you fiddle with the button on his jeans.
“gonna be good for me, aren’t you?” lando stares you down, tone sending a shiver down your spine. you nod, batting your eyelashes. “words, my love.”
“yes, lando.” you affirm, arching into him. that’s all he needs to know, kicking his jeans away, boxers too.
“good girl. took care of me so well last night, now ‘m gonna take such good care of you.”
your eyes skim his body, honing in on how hard he is. your hand finds his cock, tentative at first, stroking over it softly. it’s heavy in your hands, red and dripping already. he wants this just as bad as you do. you continue to jerk him off, watching the way his eyes squeeze shut and his lips part, soft pants falling out. a low hum sounds from the back of his throat, and you wet your lips, threading your free hand through his hair.
lando opens his eyes at the sensation, gently batting your hand away. he dips down even closer, resting on one of his forearms. he lines himself up and your legs wrap around him instinctively. slowly, he pushes inside of you, his breath catching in his throat.
“fucking hell.” he groans, deep and guttural, something carnal sending shockwaves through his body. “been dreaming about all the ways i’d get to fuck you.”
your eyes roll back and you go languid in his arms, feeling every inch of him slide against your slick walls.
“want you.” you rasp, clinging to him, your fingernails leaving patterns between his taut shoulder blades as you beg for it.
“you have me, baby.” and then he kisses you, messy and slow, stealing the air from your lungs. you’re dizzy when he pulls away, sitting back slightly to change the angle. you cry out, feeling him even deeper and everything is more sensitive, warm. you roll your hips, meeting his thrusts deliciously, and he chokes out a moan as you clamp around him. “yeah, that’s it. fuck yourself like that for me.” he encourages.
this is all too much, too good. you have whiplash, physically and emotionally, eyes pooling with tears as the man you’d wanted so badly that you hated him for it rocks into you. lando hits the right spot every time he pistons his hips harder, and his nimble fingers slide up your abdomen, applying light pressure to your navel that makes you writhe.
“fucking perfect for me. gorgeous.” lando slurs, entranced by the sight of where you’re joined. he can see just how wet you are and it drives him insane, barrelling into you like a man possessed, drunk on every single way that your body responds to him.
his wandering hand finds your breast, kneading it before he traces your nipple. he watches the way it hardens at his manipulation, wetting his lips. he collapses back on top of you, sucking the bud into his mouth. you’re panting, whining beneath him as his tongue swirls over your chest, switching to the other side. you jolt, a silent scream scratching your throat when he slips his hand between your thighs, working your clit with the pad of his thumb. he’s rutting against you, grinding deeper, faster, uncontrollably.
“come on, baby. you’re so close, so tight for me.” he mutters into your skin. you nod frantically, your words lost on you. he kisses over your collarbone, the base of your throat, until he finds your lips.
“so close.” you sigh.
he stops.
“tell me you’re all mine.” lando growls, his entire demeanour changing. the tone of his voice almost finishes you off but you’re suddenly enraged. you’re too close for him to stop.
“c’mon lando.” you hiss, trying to move your hips but he has you firmly in place.
“need to hear you say it.” his hand slithers over your chest, finding a new home at the base of your throat. it makes you throb, the way his thick fingers wrap around you. slowly, his grip tightens, and you see an opportunity.
you buck your hips hard, whimpering at the sensation, but your plan works and now you hover over him. he’s still buried inside you, and you can feel him pulsing as you steal control.
“for once in your life, honey, shut the fuck up.” you smirk, mischievous in victory.
slowly, you build up your rhythm. he feels bigger like this, deeper, and you almost lose yourself in the small circles you make with your hips.
“knew you’d be like this. you liked giving yourself to me but i just knew you’d need to take back control.” lando teases. his hand is back around your neck, squeezing slowly, and you grind frantically, dizzy for him. “i was right last night, wasn’t i, baby? pretending to be my good girl when really,” he pulls you down so that you’re chest to chest. “you’re just a fucking brat.”
lando holds you close as he fucks up into you, feeling the way you go limp on top of him as the pleasure washes over you like a million electric shocks. you’re crying, tears pooling on his chest, because there is nothing you can do, nothing you want to do, but take it. he’s got you right where he wants you, and you’re loving every fucking second of it.
“yeah, baby, take it how you want it.” lando commands through gritted teeth, and you move your hips in a feeble attempt to match his speed. everything is slippery, everything feels wet and flushed.
the power play, the position, the frenzy he seems to be in as he fucks you, it all has you gushing, spilling all over him. you choke out a sob, shuddering as the elastic band in your belly snaps. lando stops his thrusts, replacing them with small rolls of his hips to help you through your orgasm.
a sharp breath and a string of curses from him give you the strength to muster the last little bits of energy you have left to look up at him. you pull your head up off of his chest just in time to watch him shatter into a million little pieces.
his neck flexes as his head rolls back, sinking into the pillow, his eyes tight. swollen lips part and your name falls from between them like a prayer. you can feel him filling you up, his hands tightening their hold on your hips like he’s scared to let go, like the world will stop if he does.
the world stops anyway, because then you’re looking at each other. really looking at each other.
it only takes a second for you to be drawn in and his hands leave your hips to cup your face. his calloused hands feel your skin, stroking over rosy patches on your cheeks. it’s deathly silent all around you, apart from the breathless pants you share.
swollen lips crash hard into yours and you melt. he’s still buried so deeply inside of you, your hips digging into his, impossibly close. you’re blindly reaching for any part of him you can get your hands on, and his big hands slide down your body until they meet the small of your back. ever so carefully, he flips you onto your back, easing your spent body into the mattress.
lando collapses on top of you, mouthes at your neck for a moment, delicate kisses making your eyes flutter shut. the eye contact almost sends you into cardiac arrest as he pulls out, oh so slowly. tease.
he holds you close in the shower, fingers massaging every part of you. sex and sweat are washed away, almost lovingly. you let the water run for far too long, content in clinging to him. it’s quiet, reflective time for both of you, exactly what it needs to be. you’re both hung up on questions that need to be asked, neither one of you brave enough to take the first steps. you know one thing, and one thing only: something has changed, in a forever kind of way.
your hair is stringy, half dry, and you’re stood in your underwear. your legs are still shaky.
“your flight soon?” lando asks. he’s stood in his boxers on the other side of the room, scrunching the water out of his curls.
“yeah.” your throat feels raw.
“and you’re going back to monaco?” he’s stopped what he’s doing now, staring at you. you can see the cogs turning behind his eyes.
you nod.
“fancy a sleepover?” he grins, boyish and careless. your heart falls to your feet.
you’re giggling when he sweeps you into his arms and kisses you into the freshly made bed. the sheets are on the floor by the time you finally remember you have a flight to catch.
you’re his now, you realise. he’s too beautiful for his own damn good.
-
“baby?” you hear lando call from his bedroom. you make out the faint sound of his footsteps making their way in your direction. he appears before you can even answer him, and he’s smiling softly at the sight of you bundled up in a blanket, sprawled across his couch.
“what is it?” you ask. the next thing you know he’s on top of you, peppering kisses over every single inch of skin he can get to on your face. “hey, get off, muppet.” you whine playfully, ruffling his hair.
“do you know how much i love having you here?” he murmurs. it’s endearing as fuck and you fight a foolish, dopey grin.
“you’ve mentioned once or twice…” you’ve been here since your flight touched down a week ago. you haven’t even been home to get clothes, not that you needed them in his company.
“we might have a teeny, tiny issue.” he squints, pulling a face.
“and what’s that?” you ask, your voice measuring equal parts cautious and amused.
“so, alex called…”
“oh, shit.”
“we have to go to dinner tonight.”
“we have to?”
“he’s suspicious as fuck. you do realise they’ve been plotting for us to happen for years,” you roll your eyes as if you say duh. “and also, you’ve been in monaco for a week and haven’t seen him once. oh, and also, the last time we saw them, we were running away from a fucking crime scene.” lando smiles sarcastically, and you sigh, defeated.
before you can reply, your phone is ringing somewhere beside you. you root around in your blanket searching for it and when you find it:
“son of a bitch.” you exclaim, showing lando the caller ID. alex is one persistent motherfucker.
“hey girl.” alex singsongs down the phone before you can even say hello.
“hello to you too.” you can hear the fear in your own voice.
“dinner. tonight. although, i’m sure lando already told you.” alex teases.
“why would lando have told me? what?” you choke. lando slaps his hand over his face. your voice has gone up several octaves. not suspicious at all.
“so, you’re at home? you haven’t been at his place since last week?” the playful interrogation begins.
“why would i be with lando?” you try and feign disgust at the implication. it does not work.
“because you hate fucked after he beat up that perv? i have to say, i didn’t think he had it in him but he’s been in love with you since he was like, ten, so, you know-”
“bye alex.”’
“you’re not denying it-“
“bye alex!”
you’re flaming red when you throw the phone to the other end of the sofa. lando, as on brand as ever, is cackling into a pillow.
“he is such a fucking shit stirrer.” you bury your face in your hands, slumping back into the fuzzy cushions.
“well, he’s right about one thing.” lando trails off. suddenly he’s looking anywhere but you and you see him gulp, hard, swallowing his words, like he’s too afraid to bare his soul.
“huh?” you ask gently, sitting up to reach out for him. “what’s wrong?”
“we need to get ready for dinner. that’s what he’s right about.” lando says, standing from the sofa and walking towards his room. you’re suspicious, watching him go with furrowed eyebrows.
-
“lando, behave! you’re the one making me go to this dinner.” you squeal, batting his restless hands away.
you’ve made it as far as the elevator before he pounces on you, caging you in against the metal walls.
“but you look so good, can’t help myself.” he mutters between kisses on your neck, pressing himself even further into you.
the hand that finds it’s way between your legs, exploring beyond the hem of your skirt, is the one that makes you press the button for his floor. why have plans when you can have sex?
he gets through the door to his apartment at lighting speed and carries you all the way to his bed.
when you’re sweating and breathless a good hour later, half of the bedding on the floor with your clothes, you realise you never cancelled your plans.
lando is drawing shapes into the bare skin of your arm, kissing over your shoulder as he does so. his eyes are dropping from all of the over-exertion and you want to count each and every freckle on his face while he falls asleep. he’s cute like this, soft and yours.
and idea comes to your mind, and as if he can see the lightbulb, lando half raises an eyebrow at you. you giggle, somewhat evilly perhaps, and scramble for your phone on the beside table.
“what’re you doing?” lando groans, pouting as his outstretched arms try to find you.
“getting even.” you state.
with the phone in your clutches, you roll back over towards him, holding the camera above you both. he hears the shutter sound as you snap the picture, and peers closer to see the screen. when he sees the groupchat open, he quickly understands what you’re plotting.
“may i?” you ask for his consent.
“are you kidding? go for it. that’ll shut them up.” he laughs sleepily, muttering something about how this is the most lando thing you’ve ever done
FROM: you
TO: the groupchat
1 image attached
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couldn’t make dinner. something came up xx
“alex always thinks he’s right, this’ll teach him for being such a little shit.” you flop back into bed even more satisfied than you were before.
you hear lando inhale shakily beside you.
“he is right sometimes you know.” he repeats his earlier words.
you hold your breath. his eyes say so many things that are too delicate to be spoken yet.
“like… like what he said on the phone?” your voice quivers with anticipation, fear. your heart is thunderous, hammering away like it wants to escape the clutches of its cage.
“yeah. i-“ he stops himself. you don’t need him to finish, you know which two words follow. they can follow in good time, you both know it.
“me too, lando.” you coo.
he’s beaming, eyes half shut. you watch as he falls asleep, the both of you ignoring the way your phones are vibrating so aggressively that they might buzz their way off of the night stand. you lose count of his freckles, but it doesn’t matter.
you’ll have plenty of time to figure it out.
-
let me know what you think :D
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whetstonefires · 9 months
Note
Hey you said something about the my hero academia creator being unhinged about sexism, do you mind explaining?
I tried to write like, a thorough explanation of this and it just got longer and longer and longer and I have not touched this series in actual years and yet I've still got all these receipts a;lkjk;lfasd.
So rather than trying to build the whole massive case, here's a pared-down version. It's normal to have sexism in media, and shounen manga especially. Everyone does it. The level and mode and intentionality and so forth all vary, but of course it's there.
What's not normal is to have lots of varied and interesting female characters with discernible inner lives, and on-page discussion of how sexism is systemic and unjust and holds them back in specific ways, and then also deliberately make consistent sexist writing decisions even where they don't arise naturally from the flow of the narrative.
Horikoshi is actively interested in gender and sexism, he's aware of them in a way you rarely see outside of the context of, you know, fighting sexism. He is hung up on the thorny issue of what women are worth and deserve and how power and respect ties into it. He genuinely wants, I think, to have Good Female Characters, and not be (seen as) A Sexist Guy!
But. He doesn't actually want to fight sexism. He displays a lot of woman-oriented anxieties, and one of the many churning paddlewheels in his head seems to be that he knows intellectually that morally sexism is bad, but emotionally he really feels like it ought to probably be at least partly correct.
There are so many things I could cite, and maybe I'll get into some of them later, but the crowning item that highlights how the pattern is 1) at least partly conscious and deliberate and 2) about Horikoshi's own weird hangups rather than simply cynical market play, is Mineta Minoru.
The writer has stated Mineta is his favorite character. Mineta is also designed to be hated--that is, he is a particularly elaborate instantiation of a character archetype normally deployed to soak up audience contempt and (by being gross and shameless and unattractive and 'unthreatening') make it possible to include a range of sexual gratification elements into the narrative that would compromise the main characters' reputations as heroic and deserving, if they were the actors.
Good Guys don't grope girls' tits and run away snickering in triumph, after all. Non-losers don't focus intense effort around successfully stealing someone's panties. Nice Girls don't let themselves be seen half-dressed. And so forth. You need an underwear gremlin for that. So, in anime and manga, longstanding though declining tradition of including such a gremlin, for authorial deniability.
Horikoshi definitely uses him straight for this purpose, looping in Kaminari as needed to make a bit work. And yet he has Feelings about the archetype itself.
The passages dedicated to the vindication of Mineta, then, and the author's statements about him, let us understand that Horikoshi identifies with the figure of the underwear gremlin. He understands the underwear gremlin as a defining exemplar of male sexuality, at least if you are not hot, and finds the attached contempt and hostility to be a dehumanizing attack on all uh.
Incels, basically.
It's not fair to write Mineta off just because he's unattractive and horny (and commits sexual harassment). Doesn't he have a mind? Doesn't he have dreams? Doesn't he have human potential?
So what's going on with Horikoshi and gender, as far as I can figure out, is that he knows damn well that women are people and are treated unjustly by sexist society, but however.
He also understands the institutions of sexism as something protecting him and people like him from life being nebulously yet definitively Worse, and therefore wants to see them upheld.
So you get this really bizarre handling of gender where obviously women's rights good and women cool, women can be Strong, and the compulsory sexualization imposed by the industry isn't them or the author, and so forth.
But also it's very important that in the world he controls, women never win anything important or Count too much, and that jokes at their expense that disrupt the internal logic of their characters are always fair game, that women asked about sexism on TV will promptly get into catfights amongst themselves, and they are understood always in terms of their sexual and romantic interests and value, and sexual assertiveness and failures to perform femininity well enough are used to code them as dangerous and irrational, and that the sexy costumes are requisite and will never be subverted or rebelled against--at most they might be circumnavigated via leaning into cute appeal.
And that Yaoyorozu Momo, who converts her body fat into physical objects, is being frivolous when she wants to use money to buy things instead (rather than as sensibly moderating her Quirk use) and is never encouraged to eat as much as possible at every opportunity to put on weight and even shown being embarrassed by hunger (even though Quirk overuse gives symptoms that suggest she's been stripping the lipids out of her cell walls or nervous system to keep fighting) and always, no matter how many Things she has made, has huge big round boobies.
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retrobutterflies · 2 years
Text
Velvet Kisses | e.m.
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Eddie Munson x Female!Reader
Summary: Your shitty job has you turning to your almost-boyfriend for help, making both of you admit the full extent of your feelings.
Word Count: 4k
Warnings: Slight Angst, Major Fluff, Semi-Established Relationship, A creepy man but nothing happens
A/N: This is my brain vomit.
There were few jobs in Hawkins that were desirable. Last year you worked at the 5 & 10 and your boss didn't understand that you couldn't work shifts before 3pm because of school so he fired you for showing up late to shifts you explicitly stated you couldn't work. Over the summer you were a camp counselor and had dealt with enough crying kids and kickballs to the face last you a lifetime. And your job at the minimart lasted all of three days before the former employee who you were replacing had come back begging for their job.
But working at the gas station had to be one of the better jobs you've had. It required little brain power, the most taxing job being wresting with the cash register that seemed like it was a hundred years old. Your boss was a kind man, paying you generously and forcing his son to drive you home at the end of your night shifts. And he even let you leave early if it was a particularly slow day.
That being said, you had never encountered so many walks of life as you had at your evening night shifts at Hawkins Oil. Young kids trying to see if you'd let them buy beer, raiding the snack aisle, and asking you strange probing questions like 'Have you ever been to Skull Rock?' Older patrons frequenting the back freezers and packs of cigarette lining the wall behind you. Some people asked for strangely specific amounts of gas to be put on their pumps and others counted their change down to the last cent as if you were planning on jipping them a nickel.
The worst, however, was the creepy men whose eyes lit up at a young girl working the night shifts. They would lean in close enough so you could smell the tobacco on their breath as they asked for a lighter or gum or whatever was behind the counter so you had to interact with them. And they would purposely brush your hand as they paid, making sure to ask you questions as you hurried through the sale as if it would prolong the conversation.
Your boss made sure to never have you working alone. Either him or his son would accompany you, staring down any strange man that tried anything. It was the reason you felt safe enough to work there. And you had never had any problems until today.
"I just need to leave ten minutes early. I'll do all the inventory and clean up. All you have to do is lock up once your shift is over." The owner's son Mikey was hard to say no to. His green eyes and swooping hair made him a complete sight for sore eyes and his continuous begging throughout the day about how important this date was tonight and how he couldn't be late or he'd never find true love made you acquiesce faster than you'd like to admit. And you wanted him to be happy you just didn't want to finish your shift alone.
"All the inventory?" you questioned as if you hadn't already made up your mind. His eyes lit up as he shook his head up and down.
"All of it. And you can leave ten minutes early on Monday," he added. You smiled. You were already going to say yes but you weren't going to argue with leaving early.
"Okay, fine. But you better fall in love," you said as he jumped up, scrambling to finish the inventory count so he could leave in twenty minutes.
"I'll tell this story at our wedding," he said, his grin highlighting his sharp cheekbones. You let out a laugh.
Twenty minutes came and went and soon enough Mikey was zipping out of there, his "See you next week!" fading until all you heard was the muted buzzing of the overhead fluorescent lights. You busied yourself with doodling on the discarded receipts, pen swirling in random patterns as you waited for the minutes to tick by. The ringing of the bell on the door had your eyes flickering up as a man wandered in. You didn't think much of it at first, continuing your aimless drawing as he meandered to the back freezer. But then he made his way up to the counter, making you jump as you noticed his proximity.
"That all?" you asked, straightening up as he placed the coke can on the counter.
"A pack of reds, too," he said after a moments hesitation. You nodded, turning behind you to grab the pack of Marlboro cigarettes. When you turned back, you couldn't help but notice the uncomfortable way his eyes lingered on you.
"That'll be $3.81." He nodded, pulled a five from his wallet, and slid it over the counter.
"You can keep the change," he said. You nodded, averting your eyes down to the cash register as you loaded in the bill. When he didn't leave, you glanced up at him feeling an uneasy prickling in the back of your neck at his stare.
"Do you need anything else, sir?" you asked. Maybe he was just tired. It was late and the sun had long set now, the only light illuminating the parking lot coming from the store.
"What time do you guys close?" he asked. It was an innocent question. Many people had asked you before and you didn't bat an eye. But there was something about this time, about him asking with his oddly piercing gaze that made your stomach twist uncomfortably.
"Ten." It was quiet for a moment, neither of you saying anything else before he nodded, gave you a smile, and headed out the door. You watched him walk into the parking lot. He turned around halfway, eyes staring back at you. He smiled, again, and you felt your gut twist more. Then he walked to his car.
You waited with bated breath, waited for him to start the ignition and pull out of the lot. But the seconds ticked by and he wasn't leaving. You counted to sixty, then sixty again. Still the car sat motionless, shrouded in the darkness of the corner of the parking lot that the storefront didn't illuminate. Why wasn't he leaving? Why was he just sitting there?
You looked up at the clock, watching the big hand tick to ten o'clock on the dot. A sudden rush of dread flushed through you. Mikey had been your ride. In his excitement, neither of you remembered that he was supposed to drive you home. Your home which sat on the other side of town. Even if you wanted to walk it would take you nearly an hour. And looking at the car quiet and unmoving in the empty parking lot made the idea of walking a fool's mission.
You hopped up quickly, heading to the door to flip the lock. Even closer up you couldn't see the driver's seat of the car. If you hadn't watched the man get into it you would've believed it was abandoned.
"Shit," you muttered.
You walked back to the counter, grabbing for the phone as your eyes kept glancing back at the car as if it was finally going to leave. You called your house phone close to seven times. You knew your parents were staying with your grandparents but your good for nothing sister was supposed to be home. She wasn't even supposed to have plans tonight so why wasn't she answering.
You felt near hysterical as the phone went unanswered for the eighth time. You slammed the phone down, sending every curse under the sun to your lousy useless car-wrecking sister who was the whole reason you didn't have a car in the first place.
The car was still there and you still didn't have any way to get home. But like hell were you sleeping in this place. You gnawed on your lip, weighing your options before his face popped into your head.
Eddie Munson. You squeezed your eyes shut, wracking your brain to try and remember the combination of numbers of his landline. You had called him two days ago. It was written on a pink post-it note taped on your mirror. You stared at it every time you did your makeup. Grabbing the pen, you flipped over an un-doodled receipt and quickly wrote down the numbers you remembered. Four . . . nine . . . three . . . Come on.
You and Eddie had started seeing each other maybe three weeks ago. You weren't exclusive and you had only gone on a handful of dates but you did call each other often. You knew his number was somewhere in your brain you just had to pry it out.
Minutes passed by and your hope was dwindling exponentially until like a light bulb the number appeared in your brain. You quickly scribbled it down before you forgot and picked up the phone, punching the numbers in.
The phone rang and you nervously tapped the pen in your hand on the counter as you waited for him to pick up.
"Hello?" You had never been happier to hear his gruff rumbly voice.
"Eddie!" you breathed, smile over taking your face. You heard movement on the other end before he responded.
"Hi Sweetheart. I was wondering if you'd call," he commented. You could hear the smile in his voice, imagining him leaning onto his counter, phone pressed to his cheek.
"I was gonna, when I got home. But I'm still at work," you said. He let out a hum.
"Still working? Did you miss me that much?" he let out a soft chuckle. You would've laughed if you weren't so on edge.
"You wish," you replied, a smile working it way onto your lips. Just the sound of Eddie's voice had your anxious nerves settling a bit. "Um, are you doing anything right now?"
"Burning some Spaghettio's. Was gonna play a little guitar but," he cleared his throat as if he was suddenly nervous. You heard movement again, "Was kinda waiting for your call. Didn't wanna miss it."
The thought of Eddie loitering around the kitchen, eyes watching the land line waiting for your call had your stomach doing somersaults. You had had a crush on Eddie for the better part of a year, hopelessly pining from a distance as your social groups were miles a part. He was always so vibrant and engaging and it was hard to miss him around school. His big brown eyes, wild hair, and general disregard for societal standards had you roped in immediately but the thought of him liking you was still a foreign concept.
When he had admitted that he had been crushing on you for years before you finally started talking because of a group project, you nearly called him out on what you thought was a blatant lie. And he was adamant that the minute he saw you, sparkling eyes and witty tongue, he was sold. But your relationship was still new, unlabelled and fresh that you struggled with what was appropriate to say or do. Was it too early to be calling him every night? Could you admit you missed him when he was away?
Sometimes, however, Eddie would say something so indulgently sweet that it took your breath away for a minute and had you bursting at the seems with affection.
"Eddie," you knew your eyes were rounding, bottom lip pushing out as you felt your chest squeeze in adoration, "That was really cute. I was looking forward to calling you all day." Your admission had him humming contentedly, his wide smile so evident in his tone.
"Yeah? I kinda wish I could've called you yesterday but duty calls or whatever bullshit," he sighed, referring to his band practice that seemed to go into the late hours of the night despite Gareth's mother's disproval.
"It's okay. I know you're a busy man," you said, tracing the side of the phone as you pictured Eddie's smile.
"Not too busy for you," he let out a sheepish laugh before adding, "You could probably convince me to cancel any plan I had. Just to see you."
You felt your heart flutter.
"Stop being cute. You're distracting me. I need to ask a favor," you said.
"Ask away. The answer is already yes," he replied, voice rumbling happily over the static. He was going to make you pass away.
"Do you think you could pick me up from work? My sister isn't answering," you admitted, voice growing softer. Your eyes flickered back to the parking lot, watching the car that still sat motionless.
"I thought that Mikey kid was your ride?" he asked. If he picked up on your unease he didn't comment on it.
"He was. We kinda forgot and he left early for a date," you explained. He hummed again and you heard movement and the jangling of keys making your stomach uncoil.
"You know, I could be your ride home from now on. So you don't have to rely on loverboy," his tone was slightly sharper as he referenced your coworker.
"He's usually reliable. He got caught up in the excitement–"
"And ditched you," he interjected, huffing at his annoyance.
"He didn't mean to. I'm not mad at him," you reassured.
"Right, no, s'okay. He works tomorrow though, right?"
"Eddie," you warned but he let out a laugh.
"I'm only kidding. Partially. I'm on my way, though, so hang tight, okay? I'll be there in like ten minutes max."
You let out a breath, nodding though he couldn't see you. When you said your goodbyes you tried to visualize what Eddie was doing to distract yourself from the foreboding silence of the empty store; door swinging shut, car beeping, keys ratting, ignition starting.
True to his word, not even seven minutes later Eddie's truck was peeling into the parking lot. You had never been so happy to see his wonky rusted old truck. You hopped up, grabbing your bag and hurrying to the door. The keys jangled loudly as you locked up behind you. As you turned around, you were distracted from Eddie's wide smile as the lights from that godforsaken car suddenly turned on. You froze, watching the red car pull out, pause, and then drive out of the parking lot.
You knew he had been waiting for you. Waiting to see when you were leaving, how you were getting home, but to see it be proven made you feel a little lightheaded. Your eyes met Eddie's as he glanced over his shoulder at the retreating headlights in the distance.
"Who was that? Not that sorry punk Mikey," Eddie asked as you hopped into the passenger seat, dropping your bag to your feet.
"No, he–" you took a sudden shuttering breath that had Eddie's mood dropping significantly, "He was a customer. And he was being weird and he's been sitting in his car for the past half hour probably waiting for me to leave."
You had never seen Eddie this angry. His joking tone before about being mad at Mikey suddenly transforming into hot anger at the idea that he had left you alone for some creep to stalk you like you were his prey.
"I'm picking you up from now on, okay? You tell that son of a bitch if he does anything other than grovel at your feet for forgiveness I'm paying him a visit," he seethed, hand flexing so his rings glinted in the muted lighting.
You turned in your seat to face him, cheek resting against the headrest as you gazed up at him. His eyes were hard, jaw clenched tight and brows furrowed. You reached out a hand to cup his cheek, thumb stroking the high of his cheekbone until his face relaxed. He turned to meet your eyes, his own softening at the look you were giving him.
"I'm okay. I have a baseball bat tucked under the counter as a last minute resort," you assured, voice soft and melodic as he leaned into your palm. His hand reached out to grab your free one, linking your fingers together and squeezing.
"I don't like you being scared," he admitted.
"My fear turns to rage pretty quickly under pressure," you hoped some humor would lighten the mood and he managed to crack a small smile at your comment.
"You'll call me if you ever need anything, right?"
"Of course," you said. His eyes trailed from your abused your bottom lip from worrying it between your teeth to the tension set in your jaw.
His free hand moved up to caress yours, holding it tighter to his cheek as his other softly stroked your palm.
"I'll never let anything bad happen to you, you know that, right?" he said, eyes burning into yours, tone soft but firm. You felt a swell of emotion in your chest. You nodded but he seemed adamant to continue, like you didn't grasp the seriousness of his words.
"I don't care if it's a paper cut or a spider or if the president himself was bothering you, I'll handle it. You call me and I'm there," he pressed, leaning in closer so you could smell his smoky cologne.
You nodded again but your throat suddenly felt tight and your eyes were prickling with moisture. He clocked the tears instantly and he was leaning in, lips pressing to your forehead, hand moving to the back of your neck, weaving his fingers into the hair at the base of your head. He massaged it gently, lips trailing kisses down your temple, to your cheeks, on your nose, and finally to your lips. You didn't realize tears had fallen until he was swiping them away with his thumb.
Your free hand clenched the front of his shirt, pulling him closer as he pressed soft, comforting, sweet kisses on your face. His hand scratched your head, fingertips swirling in hypnotic circles until he was pulling back and stroking the hair out of your face. His lips found yours again, pillowy soft and warm as if they were forcing you to relax. The tension slowly eased from your body until your head felt light and your mind gooey.
All at once you wanted to say those three sacred words. You wanted to spill all of your feelings and emotions and tell him you loved him until the sun came up. You wanted to drown in him, kiss him until you didn't know your own name anymore. And you wanted him to know you were completely and utterly sold on him. He had ruined anyone else for you.
"You wanna come to mine?" he asked, his voice close to a whisper, breath fanning over your face as you wilted at the loss of his lips. You nodded, still unsure if you could form proper words, your head spinning with thoughts of him kissing you over and over again.
The drive was quick, his right hand sandwiched between both of yours as you watched the trees whir past the window. He gave you a few sideways glances, feeling his anger at your air headed coworker swirling in his stomach. But every brush of you fingers over his tense knuckles had him deflating until he was solely focused on you and your perfume and your pretty glassy eyes.
You had been in Eddie's room multiple times but most of them were to work on that school project. Only one other time had you been here after you had both admitted your feelings. And suddenly stepping into the muted lighting, eyes trailing over the myriad of band posters, piles of records and cassettes, a mountain of laundry, and his messy unmade bed had a wave of nervousness washing over you. Eddie sheepishly pulled his comforter up, haphazardly pushing a few shirts and a few books to the ground, clearing the space.
"You want a change of clothes?" he asked, pausing his movements to look at you. You blinked at him, bag already discarded by the door and nodded. You probably looked great in the polo shirt and plain jeans that your boss had you and Mikey wear for "professionalism" even though it was a gas station.
You could tell the Metallica shirt he had handed you was old because it was soft and well-worn, a few holes decorating the collar. You pulled it over your head, the material caressing your sides. You pulled on the boxers after, an unused pair he said bought in the wrong size and left to reside in the bottom of his drawer. You timidly pushed out the bathroom door, glancing down the dark hallway to where Eddie's uncle was snoring loudly on the couch before heading back to Eddie's room.
Only the bedside lamp was on now casting sleepy shadows around the room. Eddie was resting against the headboard of his bed, legs laid out, his own sleep shirt adorning his torso, rings discarded on the bedside table. His eyes found your form as you shut the door behind you, trailing up and down your clothes, his clothes, draped over your body. He had never seen anyone look so good in a T-shirt before and frankly he didn't think he ever would again. You were otherworldly to him.
Hesitantly, you crawled onto the bed, mattress dipping under your knees as you got closer. His arms instantly encircled around you, pulling you flush against him giving you no time to hesitate. You melted into him, his scent overwhelming you and his warmth fighting back the chill of the room. He pulled the duvet over the both of you, shuffling you down until you were laying before nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck.
"I was talking to Steve," he said breaking the silence, his voice rumbling into your neck making tingles run up your spine. Your arms wrapped around his torso, cheek pressing against his forehead, eyes fluttering shut as you waited for him to continue.
"He likes to give dating advice. Mostly unsolicited," he murmured, the vibrations tickling your skin. His hand trailed up your side until it found the side of your love handle peaking out from your shirt. His fingers grazed it, swirling around the velvety skin making you squirm slightly at the tickling sensation. You felt his grin.
"It's mostly all crap. All of his experience is from his shitty douchebag days. Probably why he goes on such shit dates." He pressed a kiss to your throat, his other arm tightening around your back to pull you impossibly closer. You felt your mind go gooey again at his affection.
"He did say though that," he paused and you felt him take a steadying breath, "if I waited any longer to ask you to be my girlfriend that you'd think I didn't like you anymore."
It took you a moment to move the thoughts around in your molasses mind before you processed his words.
"Which is ridiculous because even Dustin Henderson has known I've been in love with you for years," he added, fingers dipping under your shirt to draw shapes on the ridges of your ribs.
"What?" you whispered, eyes opening. His movements paused as if he himself just realized what he said. You felt him tense, hand pressing flat against your side as he let out a sigh. You pulled away from him slightly. You could tell the instant the rejection settled in his mind, his body growing tenser as he pulled back to meet your eyes. His eyes were dark, filled with hurt and worry. He tried to pull back more but your tight grip prevented him.
"You love me?" He was quiet for a moment, eyes flickering between both of yours weighing his options. You shuffled closer, grabbing his hand and placing it on your waist again, a silent command to keep drawing shapes. He softened, shifting closer as he shoved his insecurities to the back of his mind.
"If," he started, brown eyes flickering around your face, gaging every micro expression to make sure you weren't uncomfortable with his words, "If it doesn't scare you away, then yes."
He leaned in closer, breath fanning over your face, minty and cool. "If it does, then I have no idea what you're talking about." His hand squeezed your side making you let out a laugh, squirming again as a smile overtook your face. He stopped, eyes hooded as he gazed at you and your pretty smile and your warm eyes.
"Can you say it?" your voice was small, smile loosening until you were staring at him with big, vulnerable eyes. He knew then that you weren't scared. You weren't dismayed by his feelings. By the glint in your doe eyes and the way you melted at his affection, he knew you felt the same way.
"You need to answer my question first," he decided. Your brows pulled together slightly as you tried to remember what he was referring to. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to your pouted lips as if he couldn't help himself. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
You felt your face flush and your pulse spike. You nodded, pressing closer hoping he would kiss you again.
"With words, baby," he insisted, hovering his lips over yours, hand moving up to stroke the swell of your cheek.
"Yes," you breathed, feeling like you might never stop blushing.
He finally leaned in and pressed a searing kiss to your lips.
"I love you," he said, hand stroking your hair back so he could kiss you deeply again and again and again, repeating the phrase between kisses like he couldn't get tired of saying it.
"I love you, too," you managed to say before he was covering your lips again, greedy for your attention.
You felt dizzy at the intensity, love drunk on Eddie and his velvet kisses and sugary words. You didn't care that it had only been three weeks and that an English project that you both barely managed to get a C on had been the catalyst. You had loved Eddie for a year and he had loved you for more and you'd be damned if you waited any longer to tell him you loved him over and over and over again.
Link to my masterlist :)
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l0ve-bug-m1les · 10 months
Note
Miles Morales x Male reader
When the reader has dyslexia and has trouble with spelling certain words or just forget how to spell the most simplest words ever gets insecure about their learning disability and then falls into a depressive episode (which is just them distancing themselves from other (Miles) for weeks)
First off please let me know if i got some things wrong. I myself don’t have dyslexia, so please correct me on anything. And I hope you’re okay if you’re feeling this way. Sending love and Miles Morales your way! <33 But seriously if you need to talk I’m here, okay? I hope you enjoy!
————
Distence Distance
Miles Morales x Male!Reader
Summary: When it has once again been made apparent spelling isn’t your strong suit, your mind spirals out of your own control.
Warnings: Swearing
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Your brow furrowed. Is it tom—orrow? Or tom—morrow? This shouldn’t be this hard. It’s a word. A simple word. But despite your best efforts, you can’t get it. Defeated, you lean over and quietly tap your finger Miles’ arm. He knows about your dyslexia, and helps you whenever things get a little tough. He’s never made fun of you, and has never acted like he was annoyed with you asking him how to spell things. This is quite a common occurrence, but recently, nothing seems to click. It can go from constantly spelling a word wrong, to forgetting how to spell completely. Miles tells you all the time to not worry about it, but what does he know! He doesn’t ask his boyfriend how to spell tomorrow every night!
"Hm? Oh, what’s up?” He looks at you, finishing whatever word he was writing. Your finger drags over to the roadblock on your paper as you mumble a small “Is this right?” Miles takes a look at your paper for a moment before softly shaking his head. “Ah, no, there’s only one m,” your shoulders slump, “but—uh—everything else was right!” His hands wave a little bit, trying to cheer you up. His eyes dart over you, searching for a reaction. A breath escapes your lips as you quietly thank him.
———
A few weeks later, Miles is proofreading your science paper. He’s got a red pen, and is occasionally writing his thoughts or correcting something. That’s to be expected, essays are about trial and error so of course it’s not gonna be perfect on the first try. What you don’t expect, is to find the pages covered with spelling corrections. You can’t even keep up with how many there are on the first page. As you look through, all you can see is what you got wrong. “Replace the i with an e”, “Erosion has one r”, “Con-VEC-tion, there’s a c”, “Don’t forget the—“. You quietly stop reading and get up to grab your things. Your thoughts are cloudy, even as Miles pulls you into a warm embrace to hopefully soothe your anguish. It doesn’t help.
“I gotta go,” you push away, “see you tomorrow..” Your feet lazily carry you out of his dorm room. Miles doesn’t protest. He knows sometimes being practically slapped with how much your disability affects you, doesn’t do you well. So he lets you go, knowing he’d see you tomorrow.
He couldn’t be anymore wrong.
———
Well he wasn’t entirely wrong. He did see you, but you had no intention to see him. Every glance he threw your way went unnoticed. Every time he tried to speak, your headphones went in. He saw your smile wasn’t there, and your usual glow was gone. All of these things worried Miles but he didn’t know what to do. His thoughts were focused around you for the whole day, and how he could help. In the end, he decided it’d be best if he just texted you. Maybe you just didn’t want to speak in person because of yesterday.
Yeah, that’s it. He’ll text you, comfort you, come over to your dorm, and cuddle and comfort you some more. A foolproof plan! Now all that’s left is to get through today.
———
You don’t respond to the first text.
You don’t respond to the second text.
You don’t respond to the third text.
You don’t read any of them. And he knows your read receipts are on.
Miles is frantic now. Where could you have gone? He knows you’d tell him if you were gonna be busy, and he knows he’d catch any signs of you thinking about….No. He wouldn’t let himself think about it. Maybe you just needed some space. It’s normal for a relationship, especially one as new as this. He decided to give it a day or two.
You’d come around eventually.
———
You didn’t come around.
It had been two weeks and Miles still hasn’t heard from you. You were still coming to school, but you arrived before everyone else, and somehow managed to get out before everyone left. If he tried to call you, it’d cut off immediately. If he texted you, it would stay on delivered—read if he was lucky—and if he tried to get into your room, you wouldn’t open the door. Even if your roommate was there, he’d always say: “Oh, [name]? Yeah he’s not here. Sorry.” Then the door would shut. Every day Miles tried. And every day Miles failed.
He’d spend his nights racking his brain for any clue, and reason for you to go a-wall like this. It’s not like you. Whenever something’s troubling you, he’d be the first to hear about it. For the millionth time, he tries to call your phone. And for the millionth time, you pick up. Just like he thought—
Wait what.
Miles sits up and hears quiet sobs on the other end. “H-hello? [Name]? Please answer me.” After a quiet moment you speak up. “Mhm?” Your voice is weak on the other end, but nonetheless, it’s your voice. Miles jumps out of his bed, already putting on a jacket and shoes. “Are you still in the dorms? Where are you?” He opens the window, waving to Ganke who’s woken up. “Please, love.”
“The park. The one we always go to.” Your voice is hoarse and hiccups are breaking through. “Alright. I’ll be there. Wait for me, okay?” He hops out the window and swings through the streets, keeping you on the line. At this point in time, Miles is a great swinger and has almost perfected the art. But tonight, he’s going faster than he’s ever gone before. Faster than his common sense would normally let him go. Even when making an escape, he’s careful to watch his speed just in case. Not tonight though. This is you. He’d risk everything for you.
In a matter of minutes, he’s at the park already looking for you. “[Name]? I’m here,” his eyes dart in every direction, “where exactly are you?” He jogs over to a nearby tree, catching a glimpse of a light from a phone screen. You’re silent for a few more moments as you can tell he’s the cause of those footsteps coming in your direction. So you just keep scrolling on your phone. Miles catches up to you, and before a word can be said, he’s fallen to the ground and pulled you into a hug. Possibly the tightest he’s ever hugged someone. And that’s the crack that sends the dam crumbling.
You break down and sob into his shoulder, clawing the fabric at his sides. The world no longer exists and it’s just you and him. You and the person who cares about you. You and the person who came for you. Miles’ grip tightens around your shoulders as stray tears escape his own eyes. “What happened? Why were you gone for so long?” He asks.
“I was tired of being stupid,” you manage to get out, “tired of being a burden.”
“A burden?!” Miles pulls away and cups your cheeks. “Now who told you that?”
“Don’t you understand, Miles?!” You shout. “I’m probably the dumbest person on this planet!!” He starts to object but you cut him off, “And don’t give me that “Oh but it makes you, you!” Bullshit.” You stand up and begin to pace around. “You can’t possibly wanna deal with me!” Your breath quickens and tears are still falling. “Couldn’t-couldn’t possibly wanna actually spend your life dealing with some who can’t spell for shit. Who’s always asking if he spelled—fucking i don’t know—Wednesday right.” You finally stop and stand in one place, hugging yourself tight. “I fucking hate it.”
Miles makes his way to you and pulls you into another hug. He doesn’t try to convince you otherwise because this isn’t the time. It’s time for you to let it all out, and for him to listen for as long as you need him to. He’s got you back and that’s all he needed. And right now you don’t know, but you needed him just as much if not more.
You two stay in the park and talk for what feels like hours. After two weeks of radio silence you’ve got a lot to say, and best believe your boyfriend is gonna take note of all of it.
🌸~~🌸 🌸~~🌸 🌸~~🌸
A/n: OMG HOLY SHIT WHY DID THIS TAKE SO LONG OMG. @babyqueen17 HERE YOU GO IT’S DONE!!!
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jo-harrington · 10 months
Text
Peak Sales Hours (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)
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Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader
Summary: After his first Black Friday, Eddie is exhausted and takes comfort in his new relationship with you.
Previous Part: Promotion
Warnings/Themes: Established friendship/new relationship, fluff, hurt/comfort(?), idk it's a lot of comfort, working in retail hell, Eddie works at Tape World and Reader is the Store Manager at Claire's in Starcourt Mall, angry customers, weariness
Note: So...hi guys. Welcome back to the Store Manager Verse. This little installment is sort of skipping a step. I had a whole thing planned and half-written of Eddie and our favorite SM actually confessing their feelings and being fluffy...and it's still gonna happen I'm just...on day whatever of work and have a big deadline and have had sleep for lunch the past I-don't-know how many days.
And it just took me back to the countless Black Friday and Peak Holiday shifts where all I wanted was to get back home. So here we are.
You can find my masterlist here.
Please do not interact if you are not 18+.
Enjoy!
___
Never, in his entire life, had Eddie Munson felt more akin to the heroes from his favorite fantasy stories.
Long journeys and harrowing battles.
Deep wounds and comrades lost to the beyond.
Hoards of villains and the promise of a better future if only there was hope.
Taran. Aragorn. Luke Skywalker. They had seen it all.
"What's taking so long? I just need a gift receipt!"
But none of them had ever worked Black Friday.
He had experienced Black Friday before, as a shopper.
Thanksgiving hadn't ever been anything magnificent in the Munson household, especially after his mom died. Wayne and Rick had always tried to make it still feel special for Eddie, with hearty midwest comfort foods.
There would always be a full belly and an even fuller heart with his uncle and his almost-step-dad around. Eddie could never complain.
Then after a late afternoon dinner, Wayne would pack up a plate of leftovers to make his shift at the plant that paid time-and-a-half, plus a little something extra from the plant manager, cash in hand. By the time Eddie woke up the next morning, Wayne would pull up with a box of fresh donuts, honk three times, and they would be on their way to the Kmart on Rt 9 and get some steeply discounted goods with Wayne's holiday pay.
It was always a madhouse, but Eddie could swiftly dodge screaming kids, empathize with over-caffeinated employees, and wait in long lines if he and Wayne didn't need to fret about things like work boots and gloves, t-shirts and underwear, and usually one nice little Christmas gift for each of them.
This year, of course, had been a little different. Wayne had been a little disappointed--he would never admit it, but Eddie could tell--that their tradition would be forsaken for Eddie's shift at the mall. But your addition into the Thanksgiving festivities had been a welcome one.
Eddie had extended the invitation weeks ago, when you mentioned you wouldn't be able to make it home to spend the holiday with your family thanks to work.
You, of course, promised to pull your weight--
"It's always really casual," he tried to ease your worries as you began to fret over what kind of dessert Wayne and Rick might like. "You don't even need to dress up. Come in your pajamas. Rick makes a really good pumpkin pie, and I have my mom's old scalloped potato recipe that will literally put you in a food coma."
"What about turkey?" you asked.
"We don't really do turkey." He shrugged. "There's only three of us. So we do different things every year. Rick usually catches some kind of fish if it's warm enough. Wayne has a good recipe for fried chicken. We were thinking of doing meatloaf..."
"I can do the meatloaf!" You perked up immediately.
--only to show up laden with a roasting pan for the meatloaf, a plastic-wrapped gravy boat full of some kind of mushroom gravy, a salad, and a casserole dish overflowing with green beans, cream-of-something soup, and heaps of french fried onions.
Eddie, of course, scolded you as you shuffled through to the kitchen, much like he had the first time you showed up for dinner at his place. But he also placed a soft peck on your lips, which earned him a bashful smile as you shoo'd him away.
That was a new development to your...friendship, if you could even call it that anymore. There really hadn't been time to discuss the logistics between the frenzied makeout session in his van outside of the Hideout this past Tuesday night and Thanksgiving dinner.
Now that he had been trapped at the cash wrap, ringing out ungrateful customers for the past 8 hours, he was almost loathing his past self for wanting to be a little discreet in front of Wayne and Rick. For not...making himself have the "what are we" conversation with you, because your lips had soothed every frazzled nerve he had the other night.
Knowing that at the end of the day that he wasn't going through it alone, that his girlfriend was also in the mall suffering through the mass chaos and that he could go upstairs and steal a kiss whenever he wanted...well it certainly would have done him a world of good to mentally prepare him for this.
For the entirety of his time working at Tape World, he thought he had been doing a pretty good job. Sure there were some hard days, some rude customers. But at the end of the day, an 8-hour shift was an 8-hour shift, and he was only selling tapes. Not...ending world hunger.
"Ah you say that now," Kyle told him on Wednesday as they were putting together cardboard "dump bins" for the discount tapes that would be placed every 10 feet in the store. "But Black Friday is a beast, and Christmas Eve is worse. You're honestly lucky you only work here and not at, like, Radio Shack or something. My buddy Todd has seen some shit.
"Actually, I'm almost regretting scheduling you as a mid but I needed a second key." Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. "Peak Hours. Mid's a rough shift for Black Friday weekend."
"I'll be fine," Eddie scoffed. "I've done mid shifts before. I'm almost excited. How bad could it get?"
Famous. Last. Words.
He had barely been able to squeeze into the store when it was time for his shift, the line for the cash wrap blocked the way to the stockroom door. As soon as people saw his name tag, they started shouting at him to open the other register, how they needed help; he could barely get a word out to explain that he wasn't clocked in yet. They didn't care.
He was no longer Eddie Munson, Tape World Keyholder and your boyfriend, probably, maybe...
He was a body who could unlock the electronics case and ring them out.
He was a husk who said "welcome in" and "thanks have a great day" and smiled until his face started hurting.
And for the first time since he had gotten this job back at the beginning of summer...it really fucked with him.
His legs were cramped from standing at the Cash Wrap for so long, he wasn't sure which of the associates had his keys, his hair was damp with sweat even if he threw it into a some haphazard bun hours ago.
He'd been yelled at by more people than he could count, counted so much change the edges of his fingers were pretty much stained from all the muck and grime on everyone's money, and had made so many returns from people with buyer's remorse that he was sure they had given more money back than they had made in sales today.
Eddie hadn't even gotten a chance to take his lunch out in the mall and pay you a visit like he typically would. He had just collapsed in the little metal folding chair in the break area of the tiny stock room. Kyle had clapped him on the shoulder with a quick "good job kid" as he left for the day and Eddie hadn't even moved.
"Alright Ed," Paulie shuffled over as Eddie wrapped up the last in a long line of transactions and was about to wave the next customer over. "Quitting time."
Eddie sighed and backed against the counter as Paulie counted him down. The adrenaline of the day finally started to wear off as he came to realize that it was all over, and a weariness unlike the one he had been feeling his entire shift settled deep into his bones.
He went through the motions as he went back to the stockroom to grab his jacket and punch out. He wove his way through the still-crowded store and out into the mall, sighing in relief as the cooler mall air hit him.
It was gonna be a mercy once he got out to his van. He'd drive home with the windows down.
His ears rang as he headed towards the employee entrance and he wondered if it would be worth waiting in line at the Orange Julius before he left or if he should just stop through the McDonald's drive thru or something on his way home.
"Eddie."
But then, he didn't really need to stop for anything. There were leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner at home. He could smoke a little bit, make some kind of meatloaf sandwich, and then sink into his bed.
"Eddie."
And sleep until...
Fuck.
He was gonna have to do it all again tomorrow. And the day after that.
He thought back to his favorite fantasy heroes and wondered how they did it. How they put themselves through endless journeys, practically sacrificed themselves time and again.
And he could barely make it through a shift at the Starcourt Mall of all places.
"Eddie!"
He crashed right into your hands as you planted them on his shoulders and prevented him from absolutely barreling into you.
"Jesus are you ok?" you exclaimed and pulled him off to the side of the walkway to get out of the way of foot traffic.
Was he? Probably not.
"Yeah," he shook his head and answered. He finally looked at you, finally actually saw you. Dressed in your Teen Vogue best, as you called it, although a little worse for wear, if the eyeshadow smeared where it definitely shouldn't be and your jewelry all askew was any indicator. "Yeah I'm fine.
"You sure? You looked like you were in a trance," you explained. "I've been calling your name for a little while."
"Oh shit," he sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Yeah, no...it's...It was just a long day."
You didn't hesitate. Your arms immediately wrapped around him and you pulled him in. Pulled him back from whatever precipice he was about to launch himself off of, and straight into the comfort of you.
---
Before long, Eddie found himself in your apartment, fully upside down with his legs propped against the wall as he enjoyed the Blizzard he'd picked up on the way.
"You know just cuz you can hold it upside down, doesn't mean you're supposed to eat it upside down," you laughed as you filled a pot with water and put it on the stove.
"And what are you, the Blizzard expert," Eddie scoffed. "If you'll recall I was the one who took you to Dairy Queen for the first time."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." You rolled your eyes and turned to grab some cans from the cupboard.
You had offered to make dinner--again--while he vented about his shift. Nothing as spectacular as what you made for Thanksgiving dinner, but it left the leftover meatloaf for Wayne to take for his lunches.
"You're lucky I like your spaghetti sauce," Eddie grumbled, a little sad that he couldn't have his meatloaf sandwich.
So he talked as you ran to your bedroom to rid yourself of the remnants of who you became when you were at Starcourt, and as you emerged the person that, he liked to believe, was reserved especially for him.
He told you about the back to back returns he had dealt with when he came back from lunch as you dropped dried pasta into the boiling water and grated garlic into sizzling oil.
He complained about the man who demanded help from a manager only even though all he wanted was a special edition cassette deck that had all the bells and whistles and anyone with keys could help him. His voice got louder and meaner as he quoted the jackass verbatim, but the sharp strike of your wooden spoon against the side of the pot brought him back down to earth.
And as he finished up his story about having to count Sam's register three times because he forgot that there were large bills under the cash tray, you joined him on the couch with a bowl of steaming hot pasta for each of you.
He righted himself and discarded the empty blizzard cup on your coffee table.
"First Black Friday in the books," you announced and you passed the bowl to him. "I'm proud of you."
"Proud?" Eddie groaned. "Seriously? It was a disaster."
"They always are," you explained sagely.
"You survived," he pointed out.
"So did you."
"Barely."
"So?" you asked and twirled noodles on your fork expertly. "Doesn't that count? This is, like...my 5th Black Friday? My 6th? I count each one as a victory. And so should you."
You leaned over to kiss his cheek, then clinked plates with his in a salute, and then the two of you fell into contented silence as you ate.
As Eddie worked ravenously through the layers of starchy, cheesy, garlicky goodness, he realized that the weariness that had settled within him after his shift had started to alleviate. How he felt more like himself now that he was sitting next to you, basking in the warm glow of your company.
He briefly considered this ritual the two of you had been engaging in for months. The way you shared stories and foods and got closer to one another. He had always been a little worried that things would change if he ever got his wish, if this friendship with you ever became more.
But it was like nothing had changed at all.
He wanted to ask, was tempted to ask, what this was? If this was a date, like all the dates that weren't dates hadn't been before? If you were his girlfriend now?
But then...he recalled the time that you had a bad day and you immediately found relief in him, how he thought that he didn't need to be your knight as long as he could be your home.
And Eddie realized that whatever the two of you decided it would be, whether you were still just his friend, or if you were his girlfriend, or maybe...maybe something else...
You, too, would always be his home at the end of a long battle.
---
Next Part: Disaster Preparedness
Tag List for Store Manager Verse is still temporarily suspended. Thank you for understanding.
388 notes · View notes
hellsite-hall-of-fame · 11 months
Note
Morbius (2022)
\[♪♪♪\]
\[WIND WHISTLING\]
\[BIRDS CHIRPING\]
\[THUNDER RUMBLING IN DISTANCE\]
\[WATER DRIPS ECHOING\]
\[BATS SKITTERING\]
\[HELICOPTER WHIRRING\]
\[MEN YELLING INDISTINCTLY IN SPANISH\]
We shouldn’t be here when it gets dark.
Set the trap at the mouth of the cave, please.
\[MEN SPEAKING IN SPANISH\]
\[WINCES\]
PILOT: You need a doctor?
\[CHUCKLES SOFTLY\]
I am a doctor.
It’s impressive, don’t you think?
Vampire bats weigh almost nothing, but they can down a creature nearly ten times their size.
\[FLIES BUZZING\]
Wow.
What are you using as bait?
You volunteering?
Leaving.
\[TRAP CLANKS\]
Pay me now.
Before the sun goes down.
You throw in that bushcrafter on your belt and we have a deal.
\[♪♪♪\]
\[GROANS SOFTLY\]
\[ALL CHITTERING\]
\[SCREECHES\]
\[BATS SCREECHING\]
\[SHOUTS IN SPANISH\]
\[YELLING IN SPANISH\]
Come on.
\[BELL TOLLING\]
\[STUDENTS LAUGHING, CHATTERING\]
Move!
\[TICKING\]
\[CAR HORN HONKS\]
NICHOLAS: Should be able to take better care of you here.
\[CAR DOOR CLOSES, CAR DRIVES AWAY\]
Everyone’s here to help you.
Michael, this is Lucian. Lucian, Michael.
Michael knows more about this place than I do.
\[WHISPERS\] Play nice.
LUCIAN: Hello.
Hello, Milo.
My name’s Lucian.
The person who was here before was Milo.
No.
He was also the new Milo.
And before him was the other new Milo.
I don’t even remember the first Milo.
How long have you been here?
Long as I can remember.
\[MACHINE BEEPS AND WHIRS\]
And you’re still not cured?
There is no cure.
There’s something missing from our DNA.
Like a piece of a puzzle.
And until they find it, the only way to stay alive is an oil change three times a day.
What would you do if you could be normal?
Just for an hour?
I don’t think about it.
Hey, look at the freaks! Look at them!
\[STUDENTS CHATTERING, LAUGHING\]
Best not to be outside when school gets out.
Like the original Spartans, we are the few against the many.
\[BEEPING\]
Milo?
Milo?
\[ALERT BUZZING\]
Nurse?
\[♪♪♪\]
\[WHISPERS\] Okay…
\[BEEPS AND WHIRS\]
Lucian.
Lucian!
With one of these?
It took a team of scientists to build that machine and you fixed it with a ballpoint pen?
There’s a school for gifted children in New York.
I think that I could get them to agree to cover your tuition and provide private care to help manage your condition.
Somewhere you could study, learn, hone your skills.
You have a gift, Michael.
I don’t think I could forgive myself if I saw it go to waste.
MICHAEL: “Dear Milo, this isn’t goodbye. I’m gonna find a cure for us, so we can be cranky old men someday. Your friend, Michael.
P.S. You shouldn’t have unfolded this. Now you’ll never get it back together. See you this summer.”
No.
\[STUDENTS CHATTERING\]
“Dear Milo…”
\[ALL LAUGH\]
Please, can I have my letter back?
What?
Please, can I have my letter?
Okay. Here.
\[LAUGHS\]
Please. Ah!
\[SHOUTS\] Please!
\[BOYS LAUGHING\]
Please!
\[YELLS\]
Stop.
\[GROANING\]
\[BOYS GRUNTING\]
\[NICHOLAS YELLS IN SPANISH\]
Go away!
\[SIREN WAILS IN DISTANCE\]
Let me have a look. Let me have a look.
\[SCREAMS\]
He tried to steal my letter!
Milo, Milo, stop.
Stop. Stop. Stop.
\[CRYING\]
What about Milo?
I’ll look after Milo.
He needs me.
NICHOLAS: Michael Morbius completed his doctorate by 19 and quickly established himself as the world’s leading authority on blood-borne diseases.
His development of artificial blood has saved more lives than penicillin.
Michael Morbius, please step forward to acknowledge the receipt of your prize from His Majesty, the King of Sweden.
\[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING\]
\[TRUMPETERS PLAY FANFARE\]
ANNA: I can’t believe you dissed the king of Sweden.
The king and the queen, their loyal subjects, all of Scandinavia and the entire scientific community.
Yeah, but who does that?
Well, Anna, we both know I have issues.
But, hey, I kept the program.
\[TONE SOUNDS, THEN WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY OVER PA\]
\[KNOCKS\] There you are.
Hey, Dr. Bancroft.
Hey, Anna.
We going to play?
Oh, I don’t think so.
See, now that Dr. Morbius is back, maybe you should try losing for a while, see how that feels.
MICHAEL: Not gonna happen.
Michael.
Uh, yes?
You got a minute?
Of course.
New one. For your collection.
\[WHISPERS\] Dr. Morbius is in trouble.
I’m in trouble.
MARTINE: “I can’t accept a prize for the by-product of a failed experiment.”
Lab 1.
Front page, “American Scientist Rejects Nobel Prize.”
You know that people actually like writing checks to Nobel laureates?
Makes them feel better about their investment.
It would help if you stuck around long enough to cash them.
\[GROANS\]
You’re pushing yourself too hard.
\[SIGHS\]
Does our generous benefactor, Milo, know what you’re actually doing here?
What am I actually doing here?
Remixing human DNA with bat DNA.
I have no idea what you’re…
Talking about?
Is anything ringing a bell?
No bells ringing. Uh…
Okay. Maybe this will jog your memory.
MICHAEL: I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.
\[BATS SCREECHING\]
That is a…
It’s a fish tank.
Hmm.
Like, for… flying mammals.
Oh, I see.
Some friends I brought back from Costa Rica.
So when were you gonna tell me?
More importantly, how did you get my pass code?
It’s the first six digits of pi backwards.
It’s your password for everything.
You should change that.
You could lose your license for this.
I’m not gonna need it much longer, doctor.
You, on the other hand, will.
You know, there’s something called “plausible deniability.”
You should be thanking me.
These are the only mammals on Earth that have evolved to feed exclusively on blood.
So in order to drink it, these bats produce saliva that contains unique anticoagulants.
So your theory is, if you can successfully splice vampire genes into your DNA, it would allow your body to produce those same anticoagulants.
MICHAEL: Yes.
It would be a cure.
At what cost?
The fusion of different species is a legacy we already carry in our bodies.
Viruses insinuating their nucleic acid onto our own over hundreds of thousands of years.
That’s evolution. This is different.
I don’t think it is.
We have to push the boundaries, take the risks.
Without that, there is no science.
No medicine.
No breakthroughs at all.
\[MACHINE BEEPING\]
\[CHIMES, THEN BEEPING SOFTLY\]
Okay.
\[RECORDER BEEPS\]
Test subject for cell combination 117.
\[MOUSE SQUEAKING\]
\[BEEPS\]
Come on, come on, come on.
\[SQUEALING\]
\[RECORDER BEEPS\]
\[SIGHS\] Test subject 117 has resulted in…
failure.
\[RECORDER BEEPS\]
I don’t wanna see you get hurt.
I should’ve died years ago, Martine.
Why am I still alive if not to fix this?
To save my best friend, Milo.
And everyone else like us.
Not like this.
Dr. Morbius, it’s Anna.
\[♪♪♪\]
\[MONITORS BEEPING RAPIDLY\]
\[PANTING\]
Her temperature’s spiking, and her kidneys are shutting down.
We have to induce a coma before she has a stroke.
A hundred milligrams of propofol.
NURSE: Sure.
MARTINE: Now.
Come on.
MICHAEL: It’s okay.
It’s okay. We got you.
There you go.
There you go.
Thank you, nurse.
We’re gonna let you sleep a bit.
Take a nice long nap.
\[MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY\]
\[SQUEAKING\]
Michael.
What?
It worked.
\[♪♪♪\]
\[CLOCK CHIMES\]
Dr. Michael Morbius.
\[IN NORWEGIAN\] Some crippled guy’s here to see the Boss.
MILO: Michael! Get over here!
\[IN NORWEGIAN\] As long as I am a cripple you’ll be fine.
♪ Stop dreaming Of the quiet life… ♪
You’re late. I was trying out this new thing called “working.”
Oh, yeah. I don’t believe I’m familiar with the word.
I don’t believe you are.
So, what’s up with the goon squad?
Oh, I won a hand of cards against some Russian gentlemen.
Apparently they found his luck improbable.
There you are.
More like impossible.
So, doctor, how is our favorite patient?
Still determined to make his short life even shorter?
Yes, I am. Anyway, you’re one to talk.
You look terrible. Look at the state of you.
Says the man wearing… What is that, a quilt?
Oh, sorry. I didn’t get the memo to dress for a funeral.
\[LAUGHS\]
\[CHUCKLES\]
Right. I will see you later.
And you… my door is always open.
We miss you at Horizon.
We could use your mind.
I’ll leave you two to your fun.
Bye, Nicholas.
I have some good news.
Let’s go for a walk.
How’s Martine doing these days?
Dr. Bancroft? She is, uh, overqualified, outperforming, brilliant as usual.
And a royal pain in my ass.
But she’s keeping me honest for the most part. Why do you ask?
Eh, no reason. Just haven’t seen you in forever.
I wondered if she had something to do with it.
Aw, I miss you too.
But, yes, she has been working with me to save our lives.
I could ask her to stop if you like, put us out of our misery.
Just don’t do something stupid and go and fall in love because, believe you me, there is absolutely no cure for that.
Says the guy who knows absolutely nothing about the subject.
Not true.
I read about it in books all the time.
Books, really? Wow.
Yeah.
Or romantic comedies. The point is…
The point is, love is not on the cards for us, my friend.
Listen, if you start quoting The Notebook to me, I am going to stop and hobble very slowly in the opposite direction.
\[LAUGHS\]
Throw it!
MICHAEL: I’m close, Milo.
I can feel it.
A cure.
It’s finally possible.
Seriously?
Highly experimental.
Ethically questionable.
Very, very, very expensive.
I knew that was coming.
And not exactly legal.
Oh, and it has to be done in international waters.
\[LAUGHS\]
You were always expensive.
Is it dangerous? Should I be worried?
You want me to lie to you?
That would be nice, yes.
It’s a walk in the park on a sunny day.
Oh, yeah, that bad, eh?
Listen.
We don’t have much time left.
This could be our last chance.
So, what do you say?
We go out with a fight?
\[SIGHS\]
Yeah.
You with me?
Till the day you die, brother.
Till the day you die. You’ll have everything you need.
We’re the original Spartans, mate.
The few against the many.
Yeah.
\[♪♪♪\]
\[INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER RADIO\]
You know, I’m sure you’re cheating.
No. No, you’re not.
What you got?
MICHAEL: Putting another one in the oven.
Wish me luck.
\[CHIMING\]
The moment of truth.
\[CHIMES AND BEEPS\]
Success, Martine. We did it.
It’s holding together.
\[RECORDER BEEPS\]
Test 243.
\[INHALES DEEPLY\]
Human trials.
\[RECORDER BEEPS\]
\[EXHALES SHARPLY\]
I’m glad it’s you.
Had a lot of other suitors, didn’t you?
Yeah.
You know, the whole near-death thing is very, very chic.
I read it in Cosmo.
\[LAUGHS\]
Do they still make Cosmo? I don’t know.
I know it’s just what you always wanted.
Could be a collector’s item one day, you never know.
This better not be my last one.
I know this is painful, but you got it.
\[GROANS SOFTLY\]
That’s it. Bingo.
Right there.
\[SHUSHES\]
\[GROANS\]
Almost there, almost there.
\[EXHALES SHARPLY\]
\[SHUSHES\]
It’s all right. Come on. Come on.
There you go.
\[GROANS SOFTLY\]
You can buckle me up.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You all right? Great.
\[♪♪♪\]
\[ELECTRICITY CRACKLES\]
I call.
Bringing out the big guns.
Let’s go again.
I’ll be back. I’m gonna check on the doctor.
All right.
\[MONITOR BEEPING\]
\[DOOR CLANGS OPEN\]
You shouldn’t be down here.
I can be wherever I want, nurse.
It’s “doctor,” actually.
\[SNICKERS\]
I’m afraid you’re gonna have to leave.
Doctor. Sure, I can see it.
But, uh, you’re still the help, just like me.
Wow.
You can tell all that by just looking at me, huh?
Here I thought you were just another jacked-up dumb shit.
\[LAUGHS\]
Get out.
\[ALERT BLARING\]
Michael?
\[GUN COCKS\]
\[METAL CLANKS\]
Michael?
Where is he?
\[METAL CLANKS\]
Don’t move.
\[ROARS\]
What the hell?
Everybody down to the lab now.
\[WALKIE BEEPS\]
Roger that.
\[GRUNTS\]
Don’t shoot!
\[ALARM BLARING\]
Michael!
\[FOX GROANING\]
Stop!
\[GROWLS\]
Michael.
\[GROWLS\]
It’s just me.
\[ALARM BLARING\]
It’s just me.
\[POUNDS ON GLASS\]
Michael, please.
Michael, stop!
Stop! Please!
You’re hurting yourself! Stop!
Hey! Step back! Move!
Stop. Put that gun down…
Move!
\[GROWLING\]
\[GROANS\]
\[SCREAMS\]
\[YELLS\]
Shit. Close it! Close it!
What the hell is that thing?
\[♪♪♪\]
\[ROARS\]
Fall back! Fall back!
Shit.
MAN 1: Let’s move.
MAN 2: Go, go, go!
\[GROANS\]
Johnny!
\[GRUNTING\]
\[SCREAMS\]
\[MORBIUS GROWLS\]
Get out of here!
MAN \[OVER RADIO\]: Sweeping Level 3.
Jason, come in.
Jason. Jason?
\[SCREAMS\]
Oh, shit.
Son of a bitch!
\[GROANS\]
Shit! Oh!
Oh, shit!
\[HIGH-PITCHED SCRAPING\]
\[GROANS\]
\[GAGGING\]
\[MORBIUS GROWLS\]
\[PANTING\]
\[SCREAMS\]
\[ROARS\]
\[GASPS\]
\[♪♪♪\]
\[BREATHING HEAVILY\]
Martine.
Martine.
\[HEART BEATING STEADILY\]
\[WHISPERS\] Oh, my God.
\[VOMITS\]
\[GROANS\]
\[BREATHING HEAVILY\]
\[FEEDBACK OVER RADIO\]
Mayday, mayday, mayday.
This is the LCV Murnau.
Call letters 3-X5Y.
We are 13 nautical miles off the coast of Long Island.
Request immediate airlift.
Repeat, this is the LCV Murnau.
Mayday, mayday, mayday.
\[♪♪♪\]
It’s up here to the right.
\[PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY\]
FBI Agent Stroud. Can we have the room, please?
RODRIGUEZ: You heard the man. Can we please have the room?
If you could start exiting, that’d be fantastic.
Well, we haven’t had anything this good since that thing in San Francisco.
Uh, eight bodies, running IDs right now, but apparently they all shop at the same mercenary supply store.
Uh, one survivor, a Dr. Martine Bancroft.
Can we talk to her?
If she wakes up.
Uh, she fell down and hit her head, apparently.
Anything else?
Someone made a mayday call.
Not Dr. Bancroft.
Nope.
It was a male, didn’t identify himself, then wiped all the surveillance footage.
SIMON: He grew a conscience and jumped overboard?
It happens. Oh, and get this.
All the bodies that you’re looking at are nearly drained of their blood.
So, what hunts at night and drinks human blood?
You’re gonna love this.
REPORTER: Early this morning an unmanned cargo ship was discovered near the eastern tip of Long Island with multiple bodies on board.
Authorities are not making any comment at this time.
But there are reports of one survivor, and we have learned from a high-ranking Coast Guard official that the vessel was flying a Panamanian flag when it drifted in from international…
What’s happened?
Some kind of accident.
How’s your pain today? On a one to ten?
Eleven.
\[TONE SOUNDS, THEN MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER PA\]
\[MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY AND VENTILATOR HISSING\]
\[TONE SOUNDS, THEN MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER PA\]
\[WHISPERS\] I’m sorry.
You’re going to be okay.
\[♪♪♪\]
here you all go!! also I did have to read though this whole thing to make sure it wasn’t anything bad because I actually didn’t know what Morbius was lmao and idk if this is even the whole script (also i’m so incredibly sorry to everyone…. including myself, bc my phone is glitching so badly trying to post this)
457 notes · View notes
shanbinswf · 9 months
Text
KILL THE GIRL — jake sim [repost]
Tumblr media
landing page. main masterlist.
pairing: nerdy jake x player afab reader
genre: mild angst, mild fluff, smut (mdni)
plot: jake sim was known for his smarts. he was well lusted over, being insanely handsome and good at everything he did. you decided to take matters into your own hands and show everyone just how easy it is to make jake putty in your hands.
wc: 3906
warnings under the cut.
warnings: inexperienced jake, experienced reader, reader thinks she's all that, jake kinds of puts reader in her place, getting off through underwear so no d in v action.
Tumblr media
Everybody knew who Jake Sim was. Smart, handsome, and good at almost everything he did. It was hard not to like him, with his wide eyes and excited demeanour at all times, which often wore you out just by looking at him.
You were well known, too, but in a totally different way. You weren’t feared, so to speak. You were just a little more… fierce. You were known for skipping your classes, which often made your college tutors mad, but you couldn’t have cared less. You turned up sometimes, which was better than never, you believed.
But no one knew that, really, you weren’t half as much of a hard ass as you liked to pretend. Really, you had a part-time job which always asked you to cover shifts at all times which was why you ended up skipping classes.
And Jake Sim became the only person in the world who knew the truth when he entered your café way across town one day.
The café you worked at loved to torture you. They made you wear a normal beige shirt with a black skirt and any black formal shoes you wished, but a pair of bunny ears on a headband sat atop your head and took away your ‘cold’ look. Unlike in your everyday university life, no one at your workplace was scared of you. If anything, you were often called the cutest barista in the café. Many men and women had offered you their numbers, just for the paper to be discarded in the bin seconds later. Unless you found them hot. Then they would spend the night in your bed. One time wonder. That’s what the guests who spend the night with you often called you.
You were tasked with cleaning the tables; the café had been quiet for the last good hour as it was so close to closing time. You hummed to yourself as you walked around the tables and wiped them down, placing any cups or plates into the black bowl you held against your hip.
You made your way to the counter and placed the bowl of dishes down, but then the door opened, and a loud bell filled the café, so you turned with your famous customer care smile on, only for it to waver when your eyes met Jake Sim. Jake looked like a dear in headlights, his eyes wide and his lips parted in surprise. He quickly composed himself, cleared his throat, and then made his way to the counter.
You rushed to get behind the counter, your hands resting on top of your stomach You tried to count your breaths, to remind yourself to breathe. Maybe he didn’t know who you were? It was probably wishful thinking, but that was the only mindset you could allow yourself to be in for fear of risking your whole job if you blew up at him.
Jake cleared his throat as he got to the counter. He used his left hand to rub at his neck, his cheeks flushed pink in an awkward shy manner while his voice was quiet. He didn’t stutter, but the concentration on his face told you he was finding it hard to find the right words. “A pink latte with a red velvet cupcake, please?”
You pressed the screen on the computer, then looked back at Jake. “What art would you like?”
“Art?” Jake asked, his eyebrows raising in confusion. You smiled, but rolled your eyes at his reaction.
“Latte art. I can do swans, hearts, stars, most things. What would you like?” You offered, to which Jake opened his mouth and closed it a few times as he considered your word.
“Just a heart, please?” He asked, to which you smiled and nodded, then pressed to print off the receipt.
“That will be-“ You began, blinking in surprise when Jake just slid his bank card across to you. You picked it up carefully and swiped it, then handed it back to him.
“I’ll bring it over to your table when it’s ready,” You smiled, then turned away to grab the cupcake and begin making the drink. In record time, you completed the drink with a simple heart on the top before you made your way around the counter to Jake.
Jake sat at the window, but his back was to the outside world and his eyes seemed to watch your every more. You placed the tray on the edge of the table, then placed the cupcake and latte before Jake.
You picked the tray back up and turned to leave, but Jake rushed out with flushed cheeks, “Won’t you sit with me? It’s not busy here and I would like some company.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” You began, but as your eyes flickered to the clock tower outside the courtyard the café sat in, you noted the time and knew Jake would be the last customer of the day.
You sighed, placed the tray on the table behind you, then sat down opposite Jake. Your hands folded on top of one another on the table, your eyes watching his every move. Jake shifted in his seat, his eyes now looking around the whole café as he avoided your gaze.
“I actually came here because your friends told me this was where you worked,” Jake rushed out, his eyes finally daring to look right into your own but he could barely last a few seconds before he felt his whole body was lit on fire, so he rushed to look away again.
You raised an eyebrow, your friends never told anyone where you worked. You couldn’t check your phone until you clocked off work, the one rule you always made sure to follow. “They did? Why would you tell you where I work?”
Jake’s fingers gently picked at the paper around the cupcake, his eyes focused on the item as if it was the worlds most interesting thing to ever exist. “Well, I told them I needed some help with getting some more experience so I could win the girl I like over, and they told me you were the best chance I got so I had better come here and speak with you.”
Your face deadpanned for a second before you jutted your jaw out, silently cursing your friends. Sure, you had made jokes that you ‘wanted to ruin Jake’ in some unsavoury conversations, but you never thought they would announce you would help him with such a thing. Sure, you liked sex and you weren’t shy of admitting that, but you weren’t some sex-tutor.
You weren’t really sure how to respond to Jake, sitting in silence for several long minutes. Jake looked up at last, his eyes looking right into yours. He must not have known the expression he was pulling, but your thoughts cursed you as once again, your mind wandered to all the ways you wanted to ruin him and the kinds of faces he would make as you did so.
“Just once will do, please? I know you have a lot of experience so you know what feels good and what’s a bad position, etc. We don’t even have to actually do anything, you can just talk me through it,” Jake’s words began to merge as he talked faster towards the end of what he was saying.
You sighed softly, looking up at the ceiling. You couldn’t look at his face for fear you would pounce on him and fuck him right there on the café floor despite the wall of windows beside you which would expose the whole world to your actions.
“Fine. Come with me after work and I’ll teach you everything you might need to know, but you won’t be allowed to touch me unless I say otherwise, got it?” You asked, to which Jake grinned and nodded his head.
You stood and grabbed the tray from behind you, needing some space from Jake to consider how fucking stupid you had just been all because of a pretty boy.
You were already regretting your decision.
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Jake sat on your sofa, but he was on the edge with his fingers fiddling with the holes in the knees of his jeans while you sat in the single chair opposite him, your eyebrow raised and your arms crossed. He looked like some kind of kid getting scolded for hitting his mom’s vase with a football that he shouldn’t have been kicking around inside the house.
Cute, you couldn’t help but think.
“So, be honest with me, how much experience do you have?” You began with the hard hitting question from the offset, leaning back in your chair. Your eyes watched Jake carefully, his cheeks flushing pink in an instant. You had to hold back your laugh by biting the inside of your cheek. Cute, you couldn’t help but to compliment him again.
“Just a little bit. I’ve had sex, obviously, but I don’t really know how to make my partner feel good,” Jake mumbled, his eyes staring at his hands as he refused to look up at you. “I’ve never been told my sex was boring or they didn’t enjoy it, but I just know there’s some things I could always improve on.”
“Well, that can be a of a bit tricky thing to teach someone as honestly, everyone has their own specific likes and dislikes when it comes to sex,” You sighed softly, letting out a huff of air from between your lips. You wanted the man sat before you, but you were trying to calm down on your old actions of fucking whoever, whenever.
“For example, you might like it when a woman kisses your neck, but some men may prefer not to have anyone close to their skin like that,” You explained, trying to offer a situation that he could understand and maybe not find awkward. But he for sure had to have known you’d had many sexual encounters. Some were… worse than others.
“What do you like?” The man asked casually, not knowing his words caused your breath to hitch and your own body to heat up. You tried not to give yourself in by pressing your thighs together, and instead lifted your chin to appear more in control and collected.
“Well, I don’t care who takes control when it comes to sex. As long as I’m with someone who has good stamina and knows how to eat pussy real good, then I’m usually more than pleased. It’s easy to win my body over,” You had to bite down hard on your cheek to stop the smirk from forming, Jake choosing now the best time to look at you.
Jake’s whole demeanour seemed to change as he pushed himself to sit back, nodding his head slowly. His cheeks were no longer pink, and his eyes were determined to stare right through you into your soul. He looked cocky, almost. Oh?
You had become the shy one at this, your hands gently picking at the pillow which sat on your lap. You were a sucker for men who were cocky, but could also back up their behaviour. Was Jake secretly playing you and about to pull a ‘Sex God’ card out? You sure hoped so. He was definitely your type in all other aspects.
“What do you like? Don’t leave me the only one vulnerable here.” You continued after he stayed silent at your confession.
“I like to be in control and show my partner where they belong,” Jake’s voice also now sounded confident, cocky. Your body reacted to that with a bit too much excitement, and you finally gave in to press your thighs together ever so slightly, hoping he didn’t notice.
“Where they belong?” You asked, curious as to exactly where he meant. You leant forward, your elbow on your knee and your chin on your hand as you showed him your full interest and attention.
Jake smirked, rolling his eyes. “Either on my dick, or in my bed.”
You gasped at his words in an almost choke which caused a cough to form in your throat, which shortly turned into a laugh and you shook your head. “You don’t have to try and act all confident now. You’re a virgin, right?”
Jake scoffed and shook his head. “No, but I’m by no means experienced like you are. But I still know what I like and I think I can do just the right things to make you satisfied.”
“Go on then,” Your mouth dared before your brain could even comprehend the words you were saying. What the fuck had happened to the puppy-eyed, flushing boy at the café who drank pink lattes with heart art? Jake was now acting like a totally different person.
“You asked for it,” Jake stated before he got up and pounced across the coffee table, his hands gripping your face as he pulled your body to the edge of the chair. He kissed you with an open mouth, his tongue lazily brushing against yours.
Your eyes were wide at first, unsure if you should kiss back or kick him out. But the tight grip he had on your hips was sending your brain right to between your legs and you knew you had no chance of rejecting the offer. This man was either going to cave in and admit he was putting on a show to appear more dominant and would fall back into his shy manner, or he was about to fuck you into the mattress until you were ready to pass out.
You had no idea how this was going to turn out, but you were more than excited and willing to find out.
You stood, Jake following the action as his hands now both grabbed at your hips with a little too much force, but you was in no mood to be complaining. Your fingers tangled into his hair, then you tugged playfully to try and gauge which response you would be getting from him—this dominance he was ‘putting on’, or the cute and timid man you met earlier.
Jake’s eyes seemingly darkened as he pulled away from the kiss, one of his hands snaking around your body before he gave your ass a harsh spank. “Do that again and I’ll fuck you on the floor, right here, right now,” Jake warned, to which you felt wetness forming between your legs. Once again, you pushed your legs together to try and tame yourself. It didn’t work.
You weren’t about to up your dominance just yet.
“Go on then, I fucking dare you to try. I bet you pathetically hump your pillow every night and you’ll end up crying at seeing my naked body, anyway,” You tried to stir him up, but the laugh he gave only caused your confidence to crumble.
“Baby girl, if you think talking big is going to make me let you take control, then you have another thing coming. What was it you said you liked, a man who ate your pussy real good? Keep it up and you won’t get to feel my tongue,” Jake threatened, but he knew deep down he was going to be eating you out tonight regardless of if you behaved or not.
He didn’t need to let you know that just yet though.
You playfully closed your lips, then used your hand to run across them like a zip before you threw an imaginary key behind your back. Jake laughed, his demeanour changing once again.
This time when he kissed you, he was softer and the kiss was tender, almost loving.
You never kissed men like this, you never allowed yourself to have any form of feelings for them. But Jake, you’d been admiring him from afar for quite some time, and you were fine being a one night stand if it meant you had him in your life for just a moment.
Jake’s hand moved from your hip to your cheek, his lips parting to speak against your skin, “I’ve dreamt of doing this for so long.” His breath was hot, causing your skin to only burn hotter if possible.
You pulled back, hands resting on his chest with an eyebrow raised. “Excuse me?” You weren’t usually one for loving talk when it came to sex. If he wanted to get his dick wet, you’d prefer he just get it over with. You may have been a player, but men who spoke soft words had a tendency to make your knees buckle.
Jake rolled his eyes. “God, you’re so fucking stupid. How have you not heard about all the rumours of me being madly in love with you and pining after you?” Jake dared to kiss his way from your lips down to your jaw, stopping between kisses to confess, “But you never gave me a second look, huh?”
You frowned and shook your head. “We never crossed paths…” You sounded confused. You had admired him from afar and never were usually within the same room often, bare in mind within close proximity for you to hear any rumours about his supposed feelings for you.
Jake groaned and lightly began to pull your bodies to the hallway, to where your bedroom sat. “Yeah, we did, you just always kept up this ‘holier than thou’ attitude and ignored me whenever I was literally right in front of you.”
While you were still confused, you didn’t doubt his words were true. You often ignored the men your friends tried to chat up in front of you. You still felt guilty though. How could you ignore him out of everyone? Your precious Jake Sim, the man you secretly wished would hold your hand but also push you into an empty classroom and fuck you raw on every desk space available.
“But you won’t ignore me now, not anymore. Not when every time you even hear the first letter of my name, I’m going to make your legs quiver with the memory of me,” Jake smirked before he picked you up by your thighs, led you to your bedroom, then he threw you onto your bed.
He spared no thought or care to close the bedroom door.
Lucky for you both, you lived alone
You leant up on your elbows and watched his every move. You were undecided who was the deer in headlights this time, and if it was you, you could handle that status. The Jake before you was really exciting you.
Jake made his way to you with long but slow steps, then as his calves hit the edge of the bed, he leant down on top of you using his hands to hold himself up. He smirked at you, daring to lean down to brush his lips against yours before he pulled back and stood back up.
Jake pulled his shirt over his head, your hand immediately going to his chest to run its course down to the top of his pants.
Jake tutted and grabbed your wrist gently, pushing it away from his body. “Tonight is about you baby, not me.”
Jake leant back over you, and finally pressed his lips to yours in a gentle and slow kiss, which only caused the butterflies in your stomach to erupt into inpatient flutters. You needed him. Rough and fast.
You used your hand to tangle into Jake’s hair. You kissed him back gentle and slow at first, but as you grew needier, you tugged in his hair and tried to part your lips to get him to take the hint that you wanted, needed, more.
Jake laughed against your lips, and the sound made you whine. You wrapped your legs around his body and mumbled against his lips, “Stop teasing me, I need you.”
Jake tutted and shook his head, daring to even roll his eyes. “Don’t talk to me like that again, or I’m getting my ass dressed and I’m walking out of here with or without even touching you. And I don’t think either of us want that.”
You pressed your lips together hard against one another to prove you were gong to listen to him, to which Jake couldn’t hold back his laugh. He let his image drop for moment as he pulled back to kiss your forehead, but he soon returned to acting like he was the one with total control over you.
Well… was it really an act? The man before you didn’t know it, but with a few words, he could likely have you on your knees for him at any time of the day for any given reason.
You let your hands run down his body again, playfully pinching his side before your fingers dared to push into the top of his pants. Jake didn’t stop you from touching him this time. He pulled back enough to look down and watch you to push the material down as far as you could before he pulled away to finish pushing them all the way down.
You lifted your hips to pull your own off, discarding them on the floor. Your mind was getting hazier the longer he was taking. This wasn’t like you, to be the cockdrunk one. But you almost liked the feeling when it came to Jake.
Finally he leant over you again, your arms and legs coming to wrap around his body. You dared to grind up against him to which Jake let out a moan, resting his forehead against your shoulder as he grind himself back into you, wearing only the material of his boxer. Your underwear was soaked enough to sink through your own underwear and onto his, making him feel the slick.
Jake smirked against your shoulder at the feeling and whispered against your skin between light kisses, “You’re so needy for me already. Guess I don’t need your help to please women then, huh?”
Jake moved his hips and caused the curve of his dick to push your lower lips apart, the head of his dick now rubbing against your clit in a way you thought could cause a human to purr.
“Shut up,” You spoke through gritted teeth as your hips moved faster, Jake soon catching up and falling into sync. You began to move even faster, letting your moans and breathy gasps betray you to let him know you were enjoying the feeling. He was making some noises himself, a mix between grunts and whispered moans which only riled you to move faster.
Soon enough, you both came undone just from the grinding. Jake came not long after you, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment that he came so soon.
“Don’t worry baby,” You mumbled, your hand going to stroke his hair gently as his head rest on your chest. “We can move the second round to the bathroom. What better place to have sex and clean up at the same time?”
Jake smirked against your skin and even dared to laugh, the sound almost sinister. “Don’t think I’m letting you off easy with just two rounds. We’re going to be going at this all night.”
“I wouldn’t expect any less of you,” You began but then let out a shriek/giggle mix when Jake gripped your hips and lazily pulled your body up against his into a short embrace before he picked you up to carry you to the next destination—and round.
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copperbadge · 5 months
Note
Hey Sam, I remember reading a post or response from you about how to give to charities anonymously, but now that I’m searching, I’m finding a few different responses but still have questions. Any chance you could do a round up post? Wondering about the following:
1. How to give cash
2. How to give small amounts anonymously (e.g., if you can’t set up a DAF)
3. How to opt out of being sent branded junk if you can’t give anonymously, because it will end up in the garbage (seriously, no more pens, stickers or magnets please)
4. In giving anonymously, how important is the tax receipt? I only take the standard deduction on my taxes… is there a reason to bother with tracking the receipts?
Appreciate your help!
Ah yeah, it's rough knowing how to do some of these things. I've written about some of them, probably most of them, but disparately over several posts, so let me see if I can answer succinctly and all in one place.
How to give cash: You are pretty much confined to two options, giving cash to a staffer in person or mailing cash in an envelope. If you have access to the office of the nonprofit you may be able to swing by and drop the cash off, but it's not super convenient and often not possible. If you're at an event you can hand it in an envelope to a staffer, and that's really the only way my organization gets cash donations, but that requires you to be at the event. And technically I can't recommend mailing cash since the risk of theft is a real one. Giving cash is fine legally, but nonprofits often aren't thrilled with it because it can put their staff at risk and also there's, well, there's no way to track that donation to a person. But yeah, throw them dollars between two thick sheets of paper and mail that in with a note saying "This is for the XYZ organization" so they know they can accept it.
2. Giving small amounts anonymously: It depends on how you're defining 'small'; I have a DAF (for the readers: a Donor Advised Fund -- I talk a little about them here but I've never gone indepth) which has no minimum deposit or minimum monthly contribution, but they do have a minimum donation amount of $20. To me that's not especially large, but I know to many people it can be. Pretty much the only way to give an amount smaller than $20 anonymously is to give online through the nonprofit's website using a cash giftcard (like a Visa gift debit card), and just not give an address. If you custom-order checks you can sometimes order checks without a home address, or with the bank's address, and pay with one of those, but I've never tried that.
If you do use a DAF (and I can recommend Charityvest, they've been mine for several years now) you can always set up to pay small amounts into it and just have them send all that money in a lump sum once or twice a year. I pay in $75/mo and from that they pay out three $20 donations a month, and at the end of the year the extra $180 that has just sat there becomes a nice extra donation. Always bearing in mind of course that once you pay into a DAF that money is gone, you can't claw it back even if you haven't "donated" it yet -- just putting money in a DAF is considered a donation. Readers, if you're curious about DAFs I recommend googling, lots of banks have "what is a DAF" pages, but if you're not finding what you want to know do feel free to come ask me.
3. Opting out of swag when not giving anonymously: I'm tempted to just say "Ya can't" because it's hard, especially with larger orgs. Even if you opt out, often you'll still get mailings that are considered "stewardship" (maintaining a relationship) rather than "solicitation" (asking for giving) and swag counts as stewardship. You can always start with sending the org a letter saying "Please put me on a Do Not Contact list, I will continue to give but don't want to get your swag". If that doesn't work, start returning mailings -- if you get something from the org don't even open it, just write "return to sender -- no longer resident" and drop it in the mail. This is not guaranteed effective; some places will either just change the name to 'resident' or retry every so often just in case. You can call the org and ask to speak to "records" or "data", and then just be super up front: "I want to keep supporting you but I really don't want the swag, how do I get that turned off?" They can help, but if you give to another similar org, a lot of times orgs will do "list exchanges" where they swap mailing lists, and if the org does that and you're on the other org's list, you get put right back on the "ok to mail" list for the first org.
I will say, swag is very, very cheap and gets results, so you can also look at this as "well, it was wasted on me, but the five cents this pen cost will get them $1 from someone, so in accepting it, I am still helping them to gain donations." This depends on your tolerance for waste, of course, which I'll talk more about in a minute.
(I personally like getting magnets, because I put stickers over top of whatever's printed on the magnet, cut it out to the shape of the sticker, and behold! I have a cool magnet!)
4. Tax receipting: I'm not a CPA or a tax lawyer and I fucked this up the last time I talked about it, so take this with a grain of salt, but there is an "above and beyond" deduction -- after the standard deduction I believe you can deduct an additional up-to-$300 for charitable giving, and if you were to be audited you'd need receipts to prove that. (As I said, if you're planning on this, fact-check first, I am not a strong source for this information.) (Edited to add: comments informed me this is no longer the case, so I'm glad I added in the disclaimer :D) If you give via a DAF, no problem; the DAF tracks where and when and how much you gave, so I could use my DAF's records as "receipts". You can also, if you lost or didn't get a receipt, contact the org and ask them for your giving record for the year. Here's the problem -- if you are giving in a way that allows you to avoid giving your address, there may be no way to get those receipts, since you can't prove their record with your name on it is you. So if you want receipts but want to give semi-anonymously definitely make sure they have your email address. If you're giving $300 a year, you probably want to take that deduction; if you're giving $20 a year, probably it isn't worth it. But yeah, to get a receipt you generally have to give them enough information for them to identify you, but you don't need giving receipts if all you take is the standard deduction.
All in all, the options are -- give cash and get no receipt, give via DAF or using a giftcard and get receipts to your email, give with your address attached and just hope they honor your request to be removed from swag mailing, or give however you want, put up with the swag, and bear in mind that them sending you the pen or magnet or keychain wasn't much of a problem or cost for them and will get them money from someone.
Honestly, option four isn't the least irritating, but it's probably the least labor-intensive for you. But it really is a question of what you want from your relationship to the nonprofits you support, and how passionately you feel about the "waste" status of swag they send. Only you can determine where your tolerance point is between "having to put in so much effort not to get this stuff" and "having to throw this stuff in a landfill". It's a regrettable part of being a donor and building a relationship with a nonprofit, but we in the nonprofit field do appreciate your giving and your tolerance :) While there are some outlier bad-actors in the space, trust me, for most nonprofits, nothing we do is gratuitous. Almost all of us are on such a thin wire that if something costs us money and doesn't get us more money, it gets binned very quickly.
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Text
Long way home
Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Reader
Warnings: Very cheesy 🧀 so I hope you're not lactose intolerant 😁
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"You won't believe this, Bradley, but before we started dating, I used to walk alone all the time." You smiled as your boyfriend patiently waited for the end of your shift.
"I know, but that doesn't mean that you still have to do that." He smiled. "I'm here now." You blew him a kiss and handed the last receipt to the customer. As the last person left, Bradley started putting away the chairs and moped the floors. You stared at him and tried telling him that it's not necessary and that you could do it in the morning before your next shift, but he was unmoving, even though he hated moping the floors. He had you sit on the bar and together you laughed at the situation.
"Bradley, I'm serious. Please go back to the base, you have training in the morning." You said after giving him a kiss at the closed Hard Deck door.
"I can't in good conscience let you walk home alone in the dark." Bradley put a hand over his heart, making you roll your eyes and smile.
"I know a short-cut. I'll be home in 15 minutes. I'll even send you a text when I enter my house."
"How about we take the long way home and I sleep over?" He smirked at you.
"Lieutenant Bradshaw, did you just invite yourself over? You slapped his forearm in disbelief.
"I was waiting for you to invite me, but I'm getting restless." He paused for a second, blushing. "That being said, I would really like to make you breakfast." Bradley scratched the back of his head.
"Come on, wise guy, let's go home." You smiled, grabbing his hand, pulling him after you.
The walk home was much longer than the one you were used to, but it was still a pleasant night walk. You were used to just listen to waves crashing with the shore as you walked along the ocean, but this road was paved with a few street light illuminating the path. Walking along the houses you voiced your opinion on a few houses and you were more than tempted to just stop and stare at some of them.
Just before you were about to turn down the last big street, you let out a big yawn.
"Getting tired?" Bradley pulled you into a hug and as your hands went around his body, you sagged into him. Has he always smelled so good? So calming?
"Mhm. This 'long way home' after a full shift at the bar is really exhausting." You tried rubbing your eyes.
"Come in, I have an idea. This is the last big street before we come to your little street. So let's play a game. At each street light you have to give me a kiss." He smiled at you. "That way we'll walk a bit and then take a break."
"That actually sounds nice." You smiled back, but still pulled him back into the hug, ducking your head into the crook of his neck.
"Come on, baby. Let's get you home." Bradley laughed, your breath tickling him.
As you turned the corner, you came to an abrupt stop.
"What's the matter?"
"You planned this, didn't you?" You accused.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Your boyfriend smirked as he followed your eyes down the street. There were so many street lights. More than there were throughout the entire walk.
"Bradley." You lifted one of your eyebrows.
"Think of it like this. Each one of these street lights is a month that I haven't spent with you. A kiss I didn't get because I didn't know you."
God, your boyfriend was so cheesy. But adorably cheesy.
Grabbing his hand and turning to him while walking with your back to the street, you pulled him to the first street light and kissed him sweetly.
"One month / One kiss down." You turned to look at the street. "Ten thousand to go."
His brilliant idea of taking the long way home meant you entered your apartment almost 2 hours later. Giggling, you finally separated as your umpteenth attempt at finding your keys proved unsuccessful.
"So this is the place you so wanted to visit and I have been 'keeping' from you." You giggled as Bradley followed you into your cozy apartment. You were wondering whether he first went to the kitchen and checked the fridge just for show or he actually wanted to make breakfast for you.
"I can work with this." He smiled as he closed the fridge.
"You really just want to make breakfast for me?" You asked as you put your jacket and keys away.
"Yes."
"And that's it?"
"Everything else will come at its own time." He leaned on the dining table. "I'm not going to pressure you into something like that."
Making your way to him, you cupped his cheek. "Where have you been Bradley Bradshaw?"
"Searching for you." He smiled and kissed your palm.
Thank you for reading! 😊💙
The GIF belongs to the amazing creator! 🙏😊
I think I told everyone that I fell in love with Top Gun, I think it was suprising because I haven't see the first one before going into the new one 😅 but it's really not that hard to understand the references 🙈 Anyway the Lieutenants were all GORGEOUS and I now have too many drafts that are waiting to be written. But today I had a really tough day so this was my treat for myself 💙
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jebewonmorelike · 10 months
Text
Pay You Back
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wc: 1.3k (failed my own 1.1k challenge but close enough) pronouns: none used; n/a warnings: fluff, some themes of social anxiety/embarrassment in public but nothing descriptive, asking about financial troubles, hao being both your mom and boyfriend, he's in zb1 in this summary: idolboyfriend!hao has to come rescue reader when their card declines at the grocery store and he is not prepared to find out the reason it's maxed out. ~masterlist~ ♡ ~kofi (no pressure at all)~ so i wrote this to see if i could force myself to limit to under 1.1k words... i have a tendency to get carried away and not as many people like longer fics so. i failed bc i went 200 words over but it was a pretty close. anyway if i write shorter works, i can write more so i want to get back in the habit of it. better for my stress levels too lmao. just finished my second "semester" back at school i'm so happy!! third semester stars 7/3 tho so that's annoying but. i have one whole week to do nothing (except work but). ANYWAY hope you enjoy :)
“(Y/N)?” You hear your boyfriend’s voice as he enters the grocery shop. Even though Zhang Hao is quite reserved, he’s more than willing to make a small scene if you’re in trouble. “(Y/N)!?”
The store owner, who is also manning the checkout counter, lifts his arm high enough for Hao to see it over the aisles, pointing at you exaggeratedly— more than unamused.
Hao rushes over to where you stand in the checkout lane; your groceries half-bagged, half sitting askew on the conveyor belt. A couple people are beginning to line up behind you. He frowns, trying to decipher what about this scene could’ve possibly made you text him: 
🚨 EMERGENCY AT MARKET!! PLEASE COME HELP!! 🚨
“Honey, what’s wrong?” He asks, brows furrowed in confusion. “You said there was an emergency!”
“Is not being able to pay for your large grocery order after someone has already gone through the trouble to scan and bag most of it an emergency?” The owner asks, resentful eyes still locked on your embarrassed ones. 
Hao starts to open his mouth to respond, but the owner cuts him off. “I’ll answer for you. It is an emergency... if the owner forgot to pay his utilities bill and the electricity went out while his wife was curling her hair for work this morning.”
Your boyfriend glances at you then back at the store owner. “Right…”
“I tried to just leave, but he kept this exact same rant going for ten minutes,” you whisper to him as the owner continues to moan and groan about how his wife chased him around the house with a slipper. “I’m really sorry to bother you. I know how busy you are.”
Hao shakes his head definitively. “It doesn’t matter how busy I am— I’ll always have time to help you out,” he says with an affectionate smile, raising his hand to squeeze your right shoulder comfortingly. “As long as you continue to conveniently call when I’m already on lunch break.”
You sigh, looking back down at your shoes in embarrassment.
“Did you forget your credit card? Is that the issue?” Hao asks, taking his wallet out of his back pocket before you even answer.
The store owner laughs. “Worse. It declined.”
Hao looks at you concernedly. Maxing out your credit card was not like you at all. Despite the occasional shopping splurge, you were usually quite practical with money. The look of worry on Hao’s face is valid. 
Still, he hands his own credit card to the store owner and begins throwing some of your grocery items into bags himself. As the owner hands Hao his receipt and credit card back, you pick up a few of the bags and head toward the sliding doors. Hao grabs the last bag and follows quickly behind you.
When you’re outside, you breathe a deep sigh of relief; even a couple of people’s annoyed stares had caused your heart to speed up and your body temperature to rise. Hao falls into step beside you, but it takes you a few moments to relax enough to remember he’s there.
When you finally look over at him, he smiles reassuringly. The token introvert had set aside his nature (and sacrificed his coveted lunch break) to rescue you. And he’d also paid for your groceries.
“I’ll pay you back,” you promise softly, cheeks turning rosy once more.
Hao purposely bumps into your side as you walk, trying to get you to smile and break your tension. It works. You scrunch your nose up at him in a smile and he glues himself to your side, hooking a finger in your back pocket to keep you as close as possible as you make your way down the quiet street.
After another few moments of comfortable silence, Hao clears his throat. “So,” he starts, trying his best to sound nonchalant. “Are you behind on credit card payments? There’s no shame in it; it happens.”
“No,” you answer simply, shaking your head as you steal a glance at your boyfriend. You watch as his brow furrows in confusion.
“Oh,” he replies, lips forming a small pout. “Well, you know you could tell me if you were, right? I'd do my best to help you if that’s what you needed.”
“I know,” you say with a smile, watching again as he blinks curiously-- trying to figure out what the problem could be. “I’d tell you if I was having financial problems. I'd refuse your help, but I would tell you.”
“Right,” he affirms, nodding as if to convince himself that he could end his interrogation there. He fails, of course, and an unstoppable flurry of questions begins to fall from his lips. “So... So what happened? Did the card expire or something? Why didn’t you use your debit card? There’s money on your debit card, right? And I know you despise cash, but--.”
You stop walking and Hao’s finger still hooked in the pocket of your jeans pulls him back to face you. “There is an incredibly simple explanation for this,” you explain, placing your grocery bags on the ground for a moment as you pull your credit card out of your phone case. “This card isn’t my usual credit card. It’s a very limited credit account that I opened for a specific purchase. It looks almost identical to my actual credit card I use on a normal basis so I grabbed this one by accident before I left this afternoon. I was in a rush and couldn’t find my debit card, so I took what I thought was my credit card thinking I’d be fine, but... I was obviously not fine.”
“Ohhh,” Hao sighs, nodding in both comprehension and relief. “Well that makes a lot more sense. I was worried about you! I didn’t think you’d suddenly developed some sort of debilitating shopping addiction, but...”
“Rest assured,” you soothe, picking your bags back up and continuing with your boyfriend down the street to the bus stop. “I have plenty of money. I wish I had more, of course. But it’s enough to survive for now.”
“Are you sure you want to take the bus?” Hao asks, running his hand down your back comfortingly. “I can drive you.”
“No, you can’t,” you reply, taking the last grocery bag from his hands and draping it on your arm. You rummage through it for a moment before pulling out a fresh deli sandwich. “Your lunch break is almost over and I've used up all of it already. So, eat this on the way back to Wakeone or I will find you and I will shove it down your throat myself.”
“I can see you’re back to normal,” Hao says with a grin, taking the boxed sandwich in his hand as you reach the bus stop. “I love you.”
“Love you more,” you say, checking to make sure no one is around before kissing his cheek. His eyes closed, he sighs blissfully.
Your bus makes its way around the corner, pulling to a stop in front of you. 
“Oh, I forgot to ask,” Hao says quickly as you walk up the steps. “What was the purchase that you opened that new credit card for?”
You turn around, biting your lip in a smile. “I bought 40 copies of your debut album!”
“YOU DID WHAT!?”
You’re not sure if you’ve ever seen Zhang Hao more shocked than he is right now. You’re lucky the sandwich box didn’t fly out of his hand and onto the sidewalk. 
“It’s okay: I’m pretty sure I made a good investment!” You call back with a wink to your boyfriend, whose jaw is still dropped as the bus door begins to close. “Didn’t I?”
All Hao can do is nod-- a slow, exaggerated nod as he processes what you’ve said.
You wave at him, grinning-- any embarrassment you had felt ten minutes ago entirely washed away. Zhang Hao may have had to buy your groceries for you, but you think you might’ve already paid him back.
As the doors close, you call to a now smiling but awestruck Hao:
“You’re welcome!”
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judasgot-it · 1 year
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Jouno x Reader
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"Please stop embarrassing yourself, if not for yourself then for me."
Scenario - Jouno gives you tampons when you forget to bring some to work because let's not lie to ourselves, he kinda looks like one...
The work day started off as normal as it could be, being a part of the hunting dogs.
There were no big missions set out for anyone, so today was a fun day that involved torturing the prisoners kept in headquarters until one of them breaks. One which involved many different methods, all of which were violent.
Well, Jouno decided this was a 'fun' day. You had decided to tag alongside him as it was either that or paperwork. You could leave the latter for someone else, like Tachihara.
He could take one for the team, as you were not going to give up spending some alone time with Jouno.
Although as you walked toward the holding cells, you couldn't help but feel dread. Today was supposed to be some bonding time for you and your work crush, but right now you only felt the need to go to the bathroom and cry.
You knew your period was coming up soon, but why today? Of all days? This was one of the worst-case scenarios, seeing as this was what you could consider a 'work date' with Jouno. The closest you could get at least, seeing as neither of you had no social life outside of work.
What was also worse? You didn't have a tampon on you. Usually, you would keep some in your pockets but you didn't prepare for today. Your pockets were instead filled with half-eaten crackers and salt packets.
You tried to quietly fumble around your pockets, hoping the man wouldn't notice. He had heightened senses so what he knew was a mystery to you, but hopefully, he would ignore you checking every single pocket 3 times over for a goddamn tampon. It was frustrating, as you only needed one just so you could have a fun day with him.
You sighed softly as all you managed to find instead was a rolled up receipt.
"Did you lose something? You're being annoying."
Jouno stopped and turned towards you, furrowing his brows. He noticed, and with his hands in his pockets, was going to really have a sit-down conversation about this.
"Um...nothing important. I'm just checking for something." You felt your cheeks go red as you looked away, feeling like he was burning you.
Jouno scoffed.
"You're a horrible liar y/n."
You stayed silent, hoping maybe you could outlast him. He stayed, absorbing your presence as if you were guilty of a horrible crime.
He started rummaging around his own pockets though, which surprised you. He pulled something out, hidden in his clasped hand.
"Take it."
You took his hand, where lo and behold, there was a tampon in its glorious bright pink packaging. You quickly shoved it in your pockets as that shit was embarrassing. You blushed, looking at the ground.
"Um...thank you."
Jouno just nodded, walking forward on the pathway.
"Come prepared next time so you don't embarrass yourself."
Even though he sounded gruff, you could tell there was no malice in his statement. You smiled. Then you stopped.
"How'd you know?" There was a creeping horror in your body as you felt something settle in your stomach. How far did his senses really go if he knew about this and came prepared?
Jouno kept walking, picking up the pace a little as the conversation agitated him. You had to speedwalk to catch up to him, as he was running away from the conversation topic.
You really wanted to press it further, but you were pressed for time as you saw the bathrooms up ahead.
Sorry this is short and poorly written LOL I wrote this after taking a nap. Anyway rip Jouno and his senses this thought never leaves me tbh. Same with being called a bloodhound...
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ashsostrange · 5 months
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"averagegirlie" is just "xxoxobree", formerly known as "breeandhermunches" on a burner. newsflash, your "fav" miles writer isn't who you think she is!
ik a lot of us must be VERY confused so let me help you out. @/averagegirlie and @/xxoxobree are the same mfkn person! why did bree make this account? i assume that it's so she could fend for herself and keep the "unbothered" act up on her main page. that's why she deletes all her reblogs after arguing w someone then comes over to this account to start bsing. not to mention she can say extremely problematic things with no repercussions, because she doesn't have a following on that page + it's not tied to her.. at least it wasn't before! bree's a very messy liar. i peeped the truth so lemme share it w y'all.
bree if you're seeing this, go take a couple shots before you read. you should've kept it cute but you didn't, so let's get nasty mf.
i have receipts! let's start right here cz i find this the funniest:
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nobody but her spells "internet" like that... this is one of the many examples of the two accounts talking alike, even though bree said she wouldn't refer to "yao" as a friend when the whole rashad thing was going down. yesterday, i reminded yao of that. she said "i like bree, so what" but she deleted that and changed it to "when are y'all gonna catch on to the fact that we talk?" mhm.. bree's a lil confused, but next!
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y'all see "yao's" tag? telling alexa to play some bs... then y'all see bree?? NEXT!
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go look on miss average's page. she only comes online to defend and ride the hell out of bree's dick. remember ts w amani? why are you going so hard for someone who says they dk you like that LMFAO. not to mention, when the rashad shit was happening, bree said "this my girl and she never been wrong" but then she turns around and says "i wouldn't say we're friends" WHICH ONE IS IT MISS MUNCH??! 😭🤣🤣 next!
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why we praising tf out of bree's oc? ts was ai bro. we got a self supafan. next...
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look at this smart anon, putting tg the pieces and shit. "ash and dalia fight your battles every time" is literally.. a lie. what battles are we referring to? talia's never in drama as much as you're implying. and ima ride for my friends anyway, tf? but my entire blog will never be centered around ONE human being. it ain't that serious ever. "yao" and bree need hobbies cz writing obv ain't doing it for her. next.
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bree has also said she's messy lol. she likes drama. hm!
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look at how she came on her white horse when bree was battling the great war w anons over miles morales smut (which i don't fw, js to be clear.) who summoned her? BREE LMFAIOFHDGFKJAS... NEXT!!!
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here's miss xxoxo munches being ableist, much like her alter ego. bro went silent and blocked lia after this. now let's get into miss average again.
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look at this bs. ion even gotta say much.. this girl is black & not chinese!! y'all should know why this is weird. here's the "evidence" she gave me btw:
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here's me proving her wrong! she tried! next.
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y'all see the way they're tagging their posts w their usernames? mhm.. ik you do.
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HMMM....
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these are both bree. i don't mean to bring up maye again, but i have to for context. what happened wasn't js "drama"... the things she said to dalia were racist + that post she was lyin' about lia in. she also liked the post.. dead giveaway you silly bitch! 🥱 nd she was also instigating in honey's inbox. i know her typing style and her emoji colors lol. it's common sense atp. it's not hard to tell when an anon is bree. and from what i'm seeing not even maye is fw her.. LMFAISAIDHSAY GIRL YOU'RE DONE! 😭 feel free to go thru their accs, you'll see ts too. she's funny asf for this, i'll give her that and that only. i've never laughed so much in under 24 hours. 💓
in conclusion, bree is messy, bored, insecure, ableist & miserable! she thought nobody would ever find out but here we are today. she fronts not gaf but then switches to this acc to let off some serious steam... as miss freeman once said: "Alexa, play yikes!"
but bless bree 💗 maybe if you change now, you'll still be able to collect your tokens like dalia says.
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lulublack90 · 5 months
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Prompt 11 - Boots
@wolfstarmicrofic Prompt 11, word count 684
Sirius walked into the first shoe shop that he came to. He needed new boots. His had finally given out, they had been pretty old and well-worn.
The shop was small and stacked to the ceiling with boxes of shoes. A tall, lanky man appeared from behind one of the precarious stacks. 
“Can I help?” He asked Sirius politely. Sirius spotted a name tag. It said, Remus. Interesting name, he thought.
“Er, yes. I need a new pair of boots please.” Remus grinned excitedly at him. 
“Right this way, boots are over here.” Sirius followed behind Remus as he darted and wove around the many boxes. 
“What sort of boot are you wanting?” Remus asked Sirius. 
“Just a boot. Something that won’t wear out too quickly.” Sirius said. 
“There’s no such thing as just a boot!” Remus shot back, looking strangely offended. He turned and started pulling boxes expertly out of the stacks and passing them to Sirius to try on. 
Half an hour later, they were still looking for the perfect pair. Remus was exasperated. But determined to figure out the puzzle. His hair was stuck up where he’d raked his hands through it after each failure. He’d yanked his wool jumper off after the first ten minutes. It lay where he’d flung it on top of the discard pile of boots they’d already tried. 
Sirius, on the other hand, was bewildered. Some of the boots had actually fit quite nicely. He would have happily bought them, but Remus had refused and thrown them into the pile. 
Eventually, they’d gone through every boot on the shop floor and Remus hadn’t been satisfied with any of them. He sat on the floor and pondered. 
Sirius had just been about to suggest that they try one of the pairs he’d quite liked again when Remus suddenly lurched to his feet. 
“I’ve got it!” He yelled as he ran into the back and out of sight. “Don’t go anywhere!” He called through. Sirius wasn’t going anywhere. He’d been enjoying Remus’s unbridled delight and was secretly quite glad that they couldn’t find the right boot as it meant he could spend more time with the strange man.
Remus reappeared with a very dusty box in his hands. It was so dusty in fact that Sirius couldn’t see what the box said. Remus approached him and slowly opened the lid. Nestled inside, surrounded by tissue paper were a pair of black leather work boots.
“These have been in the back for years. I inherited the shop from my dad and he inherited it from my grandad. They said they were good luck, been on a shelf since the 70’s, I think.” Remus told him as he carefully removed the boots from the box. 
Sirius was gobsmacked. They were exactly what he wanted. He sat still, allowing Remus to place them on his feet. Watching his long, slender fingers deftly lace them up. 
Remus looked up at him, beaming. “Perfect.” Sirius had to agree. 
Remus put Sirius’s trainers into the dusty shoe box and went to ring it up. Sirius paid Remus and while the receipt was printing looked at the devastation they had caused. 
“Do you want a hand tidying up, I feel guilty leaving all that for you to do.” He asked, turning back to Remus, hoping he’d say yes so that he could stay a little longer. 
“Oh, no, no, It’ll take me two ticks to sort that out. No, no, you go and enjoy your new boots. I’ve popped your receipt in the box for you.” He said as he handed over the shoe box, now dust-free after Remus had given it a quick wipe. 
“Well, if you’re sure. Bye then.” Sirius replied, taking the bag and heading to the door. “Thanks for all your help.” He told Remus before he left.
 It wasn’t until he’d gotten home and removed his trainers from the box that he noticed Remus’s phone number scribbled at the bottom of the receipt and the words ‘fancy a date?’ written next to it. Sirius grinned and unlocked his phone.    
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omarera · 6 months
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So so proud of Omar. I am so happy he is let in to new types of media. SvD and DN are the biggest national morning news papers in Sweden. He has been in evening papers and might be silly but I am glad he is covered in these papers. And now also Hellenius Hörna and Så mycket bättre. Thank You TV4. Now let’s hope national radio stations let his music in as well.
Here are some bits of the interview in SvD. It resembles his Sommarprat and nothing new for us really but a really nice interview with a nice tone in it and it will reach many households in Sweden that still has morning papers…
He talks about where he was a few years ago from the interview and I think it’s beautiful that he opens up about feeling lost, experimenting and on his journey to get to know himself and feel confident being who he is and that he also dares to vocalize his dreams. Remember that Jantelagen is strong in Sweden and vocalizing such big dreams is not usual. His journey continues!! I so want for him to reach his goals❤️
They start off with his FO&O and talk a out his bringing and his mom and dad and moving to Sweden.
One thing he hasn’t touched so much on before is how being known so young affected him:
“It was the sickest thing I've ever been through. It was both a kick and very scary to break through, especially when you were alone in town or going home on the bus. I was up in Stockholm and felt very watched. It was an emotional rollercoaster.”
He takes a deep breath.
“Every single person my age has known about me since I was 14 years old. It has been very intense and probably affected me in different ways. I've probably become more shy and stick mostly to my friends that I've had for many years.”
(We know he always pick stay home and that he is very close to his friends and has a circle of friends he feels safe with. And then about after FO&O)
“I released a few singles, but then the pandemic came and everything was put on hold. That's when it started.
Omar Rudberg puts one hand in his baggy leather jacket pocket and looks out through the Connection Hall in the Slaughterhouse area, where we met on a cool autumn afternoon.
“I was incredibly lost. Both in my professional role and in myself. I had no idea who I was or what I was going to be, what I liked and didn't like.
He set out on an experimental journey.
- I tried to find myself and started hanging out very intensively with friends. We hung out every day and became almost like a collective. It was incredibly fun and above all nice to see people who were in different ways.”
(I also liked this part where he talks about his creativity: )
“In the new homeland, the song and dance continued to be palpable, as did Omar's wild imagination. By the age of eight, it was so intense that his parents took him to a child psychologist.
- What they reacted to was that I didn't need toys. I could just enter another world, be chased by dinosaurs or have the worst action movie in my head. But I wasn't crazy, the child psychologist noted, just a child.
The creativity and musical gift can be traced to the grandmother and the mother. Early on, the latter ensured that Omar participated in talent competitions, often with success.
(And then more in creativity and using it to find yourself)
- My friends and I started trying different types of clothes. We played music and got dressed up. Some tried to put on makeup and nail polish. I really experimented. Those who are not in the know immediately think that a guy who wears make-up is gay or transgender - that bothers me. Make-up should not have to have an orientation, it should be for everyone. Now I wear black eyeliner when I feel like it without being ashamed.
Playing with the outside became a way to find home more in one's inner self, and the fact that Omar was named Best Dressed Man of the Year by the magazine Café this spring is something of a receipt for that.
- I have realized that I have to feel comfortable, stable and free with who I am if I am to be able to move forward in life. Clothes clearly play a role in that. They can also help me get into a certain character more easily.
(There is more text in YR and Karusell but he gets back to: )
“Although it is as an actor Omar has become known in recent years, it is the music he wants to focus on the most in the future. A few days ago, the new single Off my mind was released and tonight is the premiere of this year's So much better on TV4, where Omar is one of the participants.
Perhaps the participation will also be revenge for Omar as a solo artist.
- Yes, I hope people are reminded that I'm actually a singer at heart, it's music that I love the most. I'm looking forward to releasing an album eventually and especially to playing live.
A decade has passed since Omar Rudberg first broke through, when I ask what he thinks life will look like in another ten years, he first laughs at the thought of being 35. Then comes the answer:
- I want to have done the sickest gigs, have had several hits and be out on a world tour. I want to be in a Latin American TV series or movie and for my own company to be worth an incredible amount of money. I will not buy a Lamborghini, but a nice apartment for my mother so that she can be free as a bird. I want to give back everything I got from her.
He runs his hand through his slightly wavy hair and walks over to the mirror to get ready for the photo shoot.
- I would never have dared to have it this way a few years ago. Thankfully, I am much more confident in myself now.
You're not as lost anymore?
- No, I have grown a lot in recent years and now I feel stable enough to take myself forward in life. But I'm probably not quite there yet, the journey continues …
Translated bits from: Elin Liljero Eriksson - 23 oktober 2023 SvD Magazine.
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jinwoosungs · 1 year
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{ 101 }
nonsense.
rei suwa x fem.reader
{ i'll be honest, lookin' at you got me thinkin' nonsense; cartwheels in my stomach when you walk in... }
there was a regular who often came to your bookstore with his daughter-
and you were crushing on him hard.
the first time you had ever seen him was during a rainy afternoon. you had spent that morning placing your new order of books on the shelves to sell, making sure to give the latest releases and new authors the attention they deserved. due to it being a slow day, you figured you wouldn't have many customers and spent most of your time reorganizing your shelves.
you were in the midst of going through your inventory when you heard the doorbell jingle, alerting you to an incoming customer. you smooth out your hair and stand back to your full height, ready to greet your customer and ask them if they needed help finding anything-
only to have your voice and words become lodged within your throat.
the customer who just walked in had to be the most attractive man you had ever laid your eyes on. he wore a fitting black shirt with a pair of jeans, donning some comfortable sneakers. with long locks of ebony hair, and deep eyes the color of a moonless night, you couldn't stop yourself from drinking him in. you watch as his full lips remain parted as a calm expression paints his handsome features.
he didn't say a single word, yet still, you found your cheeks warming up from the mere sight of him. your brain felt like it was fried, and each time you tried to speak to him, the sudden sensation of butterflies erupting all across your abdomen made it difficult for you to focus as you slowly began to feel nauseous.
his eyebrows were furrowed, and before he could ask you what was wrong, you felt your voice come out in an embarrassing squeak, "h-hello! how can i help you?!"
you wince at how the quality of your voice became so loud, internally cringing as you mentally berated yourself for looking so foolish in front of this handsome stranger. dear god, it was almost like you had never spoken with a man before-
although admittedly, he had to be one of the most beautiful people you have ever spoken to.
not seeming to mind your sudden outburst, you see a tiny smile decorating at his full lips, hands reaching back to scratch at his head when he tells you, "my daughter's birthday is coming up, and i wanted to get her something nice. do you have any recommendations for a 16 year old teenager?"
your heart sank at the realization that he was potentially married, yet still, you were able to hide your disappointment and flash this handsome man a smile. "but of course! f-follow me!"
you lead him towards the young adult section, picking out two novels you were certain his daughter would enjoy. both novels were coming of age novels that displayed the heroine in a very realistic light. along with the novels, you decided to throw in a ribbon-like bookmark for free as a gift.
the man seems grateful for your selection, and as you rang up the books at the register, you tell him with a bit of a sad smile, "your wife and daughter must be lucky to have you."
the sudden silence was deafening, turning awkward when you carefully bag the books and slide it over to him. the man appeared...shy, with his mouth half open in a gape as he held his jet black debit card towards you, yet still, you didn't take it from his grip so as to not appear rude.
finally snapping out of his trance, he shakes his head and places his card within the machine, paying for the transaction. as you printed out the receipt for him to sign, he clears his throat and admits to you.
"i'm not married."
his sudden admission makes the butterflies erupt once more, causing you to look up at the man with a bit of a hopeful gleam in your gaze. his expression was gentle, sporting a bit of a smirk as his lips were tilted upwards with a bit of a smug expression. "it's kind of complicated, but it doesn't change the fact that i love my daughter a lot."
once he signs the receipt, he takes the bag of books and thanks you for helping him. your eyes were still in a daze even after he leaves, and once you were truly alone in your bookstore did you look down at his signature,
"rei suwa..." you repeat his name a few times, smiling and giggling just the tiniest bit, feeling as though the name suits him.
ever since that rainy evening where your first meeting with rei took place, you often found yourself daydreaming of him, wondering if he would come back and whether his daughter enjoyed the novels you had picked out for her. your mind would think up of scenarios where you would meet again, filling you with even more butterflies as your heart raced almost immediately at the thought of seeing him once more.
and lucky for you, you didn't have to wait long for his return.
nearly a week later, you were met with rei and his daughter once more. as you were in the midst of ordering more books for your store, you felt a gentle hand give you a tap on your shoulder, catching your attention.
you turn around to see an achingly cute girl with short, brown hair and golden brown eyes. her smile was wide as a cute blush dyes at her cheeks. as you look down, you saw that she held in her hands the two books you had recommended to rei as birthday gifts for his daughter's birthday.
"hello! m-my name is miri, and i wanted to thank you for these books! papa rei told me he bought me these books from your store, and i loved them so much!"
"ah, i'm so happy you enjoyed them!" this girl was so cute! you could see why rei loved her; and truly, if she was your daughter, you may have had the urge to spoil her as well.
"i loved these books so much, and when papa rei told me how he bought them from the pretty bookstore lady, i had to come and meet you myself!" miri was giggling, her confession about what rei had you filling you with a sudden warmth felt deep within your chest.
"ah- miri! what did i tell you about saying such weird things like that!" you recognized his voice, this time with a hint of panic heard from his tone. you watch him from your periphery, appearing shy as he mumbles something beneath his breath.
the cute teen giggles once more before excusing herself to one of the aisles, leaving you alone with rei once more. your heart was pounding when you face him, and you prayed that your palms wouldn't start sweating in response to the way your face was quickly heating up.
the silence that lingered between you and rei was something you weren't sure you could ever change or get rid of, but... you knew you had to do something if you truly wanted to get closer to him.
deciding it was best to just be yourself, you end up giving rei a wide smile before telling him, "so, i am the pretty bookstore lady?"
you nearly let out a laugh when rei chokes at your question, hiding his embarrassment when he coughs into his hand. "i didn't know what else to call you since i don't know your name."
filled with a sudden surge of confidence that rei found you to be pretty, you step forward and finally tell him the syllables that make up your name. his eyes seem to shine upon hearing your name, with him repeating it, as if tasting it against his lips for the first time.
his smile was enough to send another wave of butterflies to course through your very veins when he tells you his own name, feeling the pinpricks of something beginning to bloom inside of you as you stood next to rei.
the following days were spent building what felt like a friendship; rei would often come to your bookstore with miri, and sometimes with his literal partner in crime, kazuki, who was the third member of their found family.
each time rei visits your store, you recommend books for him to read, while he in turn tells you bits and pieces of his life.
the more you got to know him, the more you wished to tear down the walls that seemed to surround his heart. your crush on him was slowly but surely developing into something that was much stronger. rei suwa was no longer the man that made your heart twist into knots, causing you to babble nonsensical words each time he was near-
he was the man you wanted and desired to get to know better. each time you ask him in passing about his past, the forlorn and distant look in his eyes would make your heart clench as you listen to him tell you, "my past doesn't matter all that much. after all, i'm still here, living, right?"
it was clear that rei was keeping himself shielded, preventing anyone from truly getting closer to him. you knew what you felt for him was becoming genuine, your yearning to be by his side and share his burdens seeming to grow-
it seemed as though you and rei were caught in a dance, on the cusp of becoming more than friends, but neither parties wishing to acknowledge or act on these budding emotions. based on your instinct alone, you knew rei felt something for you if he made an effort to come by your store so often, simply just to see you and talk to you, even without purchasing a book.
so you decided to finally make the first move.
your heart was racing with anticipation, waiting for the day rei would return. so as to not wallow in your sudden anxious thoughts, you busy yourself with tidying up the shelves and putting back misplaced books, humming the tune to your favorite song as the hours slowly pass by.
it was around mid-afternoon when rei appears in your store, catching your attention as you saw him carrying a bag of your favorite carryout in his hand. the sudden kind gesture was enough to make your heart melt for him, eyes turning misty at how thoughtful he was.
"hey, i figured you needed a bit of a pick-me-up. i got the usual from your favorite takeout place." normally, the scent of your favorite foods would make your mouth water, but not this time-
now that rei was standing directly in front of you, you knew you had to act fast before you began to lost your nerve and became a coward.
"thank you so much, rei! just place it on the counter!"
he hums in agreement, giving you time to grab the novel you wanted to give him as you held it close to your chest. when rei faces you, you hold out the book for him to take, hoping that he wouldn't hear the way your heart was racing.
his brows were lifted up in question, "what's this?"
"ah, it's a book that i think y-you'd enjoy!" damn, your stutter had returned, and rei was growing even more suspicious with your behavior. with a furrowed expression on his face, he takes the novel you had recommended to him, "alright then, how much do i owe you?"
you bite down on your bottom lip, shaking your head vehemently while telling him, "c-consider this as a thank you for buying me f-food!"
he gives you a head tilt before letting out a rich chuckle, keeping the book tucked safely within his arm while thanking you. "okay, thank you for the book. and i suppose we're even now."
rei tells you how he needed to go and run some errands, making you nod your head as you told him to take his time when reading the book. with your heart felt pounding within your throat, you watch as rei leaves, heart already racing painfully within your chest at what was to come.
{ ... }
when rei returns home with a few bags of groceries in hand, he keeps the book you had recommended to him, holding it against his chest while he settles the bags on the counter.
thinking of you fills his heart with warmth, and admittedly, he couldn't deny how deeply you made him feel. either he was too obvious, or miri was just that observant. she knew from the start that he had felt something for you, the pretty bookstore lady, and teased him about his eagerness to see you again.
but he wasn't that great at dealing with such emotions, never before experiencing what it was like to be in a normal relationship. when he told kazuki his concerns, his best friend merely rolls his eyes before giving him a hard slap on his back, telling him to 'man up,' before leaving with his date for the night.
in many ways, rei was jealous at kazuki for seemingly being able to make such connections so easily. perhaps it was due to his naturally introverted nature that he found it so difficult to talk to you.
recalling his interaction with you just a few hours ago, he could tell that you were nervous when giving him this book. it was made to be glaringly obvious with how fidgety you were once the book was in his hand. completely ignoring the groceries, he looks down at the novel and opens it to the first page-
only to see a series of numbers written in a hurried scrawl along with a simple note:
i want to get to know you better. will you give me this chance?
a sudden grin was felt forming against rei's lips, and he couldn't hide it even if he tried. were you really making it this easy for him? and was he perhaps that obvious to you as well?
he had to fight back the urge to laugh; to let out all these incoming emotions as happiness was felt surging through him. taking out his phone, he saves your number within his contacts, his thumb hovering over your name as he gathers himself.
letting out a deep sigh, rei presses on your name, calling you with his heart pounding within his chest. within a few rings, he hears you answer with a breathless, "hello?"
just hearing the sound of your voice was enough to make him smile when he asks, "would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"
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a.n. - AHHH I AM SO SORRY FOR MY LONG ABSENCE! college has been rough on me, and i was uncertain if i would even survive this semester. BUT! i'm alright, i survived and i'm back with a brand new story for papa rei 🥹 i hope you readers enjoy it, and i apologize for any mistakes!
all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.
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